Learning Journey – ‘Surroundings’
Reception finished our work around the story ‘The Magic Paintbrush’ this week. The children came up with a name for their own dragon and they have been fantastic at putting themselves in the shoes of the characters, imagining that Shen painted something useful for them. In maths we have been exploring number bonds for 7 and 8.
Year 1 had an extra PE session this week led by Wilson where we were all very busy using our ‘collaboration’ tool because lots of the activities involved us either working in pairs or in teams. In maths we have been building numbers up to 50 and then saying what is one more or one less than that number. Keep spotting numbers in the environment during the holidays and then challenging your child to see if they can say what one more or one less would be. Linked to our story ‘Lost and Found’, which is about a penguin we have been exploring the similarities and differences between the continent of Europe (where we live) and the continent of Antarctica (where the penguin is from). We were fascinated with all the facts that we learnt. Thank you to those who have already completed their home learning, it’s lovely to be able to share the fact files with the class. We’ve heard some very interesting facts!
Year 2 have been working so hard in collecting data and presenting this using block diagrams! We looked at the birthdays in Year 2 and used this to create our own block diagrams. In Literacy we have been using our planning tools to plan our own version of ‘Jim and the Beanstalk’ we will be writing and publishing these wonderful stories by the end of the week, so watch this space!
Year 3 headed to the woods for an adventure on Wednesday! When we arrived, some amazing parents had hung up the children’s fantastic junk models to create year 3’s very own Tin Forest! They were soooo excited! The children then performed their interpretation of the story, the Tin Forest. They were brilliant!! They shared their thoughtful insights into the messages of the story and showed great empathy. Afterwards, we had some time to explore the woods and its dens, listening to the wildlife and looking for plants. The children (and adults!) had so much fun! Thank you to Mrs Jary and all the parents who helped to make our school trip a huge success!
Year 4 have had an excellent week and worked incredibly hard, especially with writing their own legend style stories based on the ‘The Mermaid of Zennor’. We have had a big focus on cohesion in literacy, making sure our paragraphs link to each other and flow smoothly. We are very proud of their efforts! In maths, we started looking at fractions, reminding ourselves about the different parts of a fraction, counting in tenths and beginning to look at equivalent fractions. We continued with our study of settlements in our Learning Journey, discussing what settlers really need and where they find the necessary resources. We have also finished our science topic of electricity with a big investigation of different circuits and explored the various components that can be added to them. It was fascinating and great fun! We have all earned a restful half term!
Year 5 have finished their crime narratives this week. Everyone was so excited to hear them being read out in class! In science, we investigated what the processes of evaporation and condensation are and made our very own water cycles in bags! Tuesday was Internet Safety day and the children learnt how to make responsible choices with having an online identity as well as discussing ways technology can affect health and wellbeing, we talked a lot about the need to switch off before bedtime and the benefits of at least 9 hours sleep.
Upper Key stage 2 also took part in a bowling competition and came 2nd well done, great collaboration and lots of fun. Next half term we will be taking part in gymnastics competitions a swell as playing more football after school! Thanks again Mr Sean and Mr Blackshaw for making this possible!
Year 6 had an amazing time at Nethercott farm last week! We looked after the animals on the farm, discovered our inner wildling at the spinney and even went to a tree festival! In literacy, we wrote letters of thanks to the staff for such an amazing time, as well as reviews based around the activities provided and our own experiences. We have been challenging ourselves in maths, looking at percentages, decimals and fractions along with finding percentages of amounts! In history we have been learning about ‘The Blitz’, locating the cities in the UK that were attacked by the Germans. We were shocked to learn just how many cities were attacked and the length of time (57 days) they were attacked for.
Star Pupils this week
Reception: Raya & Aimee
Year 1: Dominic & Aiden
Year 2: Archie & Tyrai
Year 3: Rozi & Yasmina
Year 4: Aila & Greta L
Year 5: Ceyla & Otto
Year 6: Semi & Ava
Acorn Awards
Bronze Acorn Awards – 150 points!
Year 2: Dimas, Macy-Jae, Oscar & Ostin
Year 3: Zafirah
Year 4: Gerard
Year 5: Malachi & Nazir
Year 6: Xaynee & Daniel
House Points |
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| 115 | 109 | 113 |
Safer Internet Day: This week, we have seen the launch of ‘Safer Internet Day’ on Tuesday 8th February. Safer Internet Day is celebrated globally in February each year to promote the safe and positive use of digital technology for children and young people. We had assemblies and follow up lessons surrounding those important issues right across the school, which was fantastic to see. For more information and tips on ways to stay safe online please visit the following websites for more information: SAFER INTERNET
We are planning a further session for parents on advice and tips that you can do at home to ensure the safety of all users so please keep an eye out for the date after half term!
Show Racism the Red Card: At Dulwich Wood we are not just committed to not being racist; we are committed to being ANTI-RACIST. It means that we are against any form of racist behaviour. Racism is when someone is treated differently because of their race, ethnicity, nationality or colour. As part of this work, we will be entering the Show Racism the Red Card School Competition.
We want to encourage our children to think about racism and produce their own work/ideas about this serious issue. It can be in any medium – artwork, creative writing, song, film or T Shirt designs. If it’s about racism, we want to see it! You can work in a group of a maximum of 6 children. This competition will be an inspirational way of spreading a really positive anti-racism message. Check your child’s Tapestry account for more information. Deadline: All entries need to be given to Miss Davies by Friday 8th March
(Videos can be emailed to hdavies@dulwichwood.com)
Talking to children about racism: NSPCC
Celebration Assemblies: After the half term, we are going to start live celebration assemblies again. Friday 25th February will be a KS2 Celebration Assembly. If your child is in Year 3, Year 4, Year 5 or Year 6 and is nominated for a Star Pupil award you will be invited to come along and join the Assembly in the Upper Hall. Please note you will receive a text the day before as Teachers chose their Star Pupil’s on the basis of how well they have used their Learning Toolkit that week.
Friends of Dulwich Wood (Parents Association): We are thrilled to be able to announce that our new Chair ‘James’ is holding a coffee morning for all parents on the first Wednesday back. Please come along and meet him and other members of the Friends team, if you are not already a member of the Friends you can join or just find out what they do and how you can help!
Since Covid many of you have commented that you are missing the wonderful community feel the school had pre-covid, so come along to the coffee morning and have your say; Sandra Potter (Chair of Governors), Miss Rowe and Mrs Jary will also be available to hopefully answer any of your questions too!
The Friends are organising two wonderful events next half term to raise money for the school, deliver some fun and to help bring back that fun community feel!
- A Dress to Impress festival- which will be a family event after school
- A Quiz and Chips evening – which will be for adults only
Tightening Up on Lateness: There are far too many children arriving late for school! Our gates open at 8.35 and all children must be in school by 8.55am. After half term we will be monitoring lateness carefully and where necessary involving the Southwark Early help Team. We ask that you work with us by getting your children to school on time. Children who are here for 8.35 essentially get an additional 15-20 minutes learning time than those who arrive late, this adds up over time and has a big impact on attainment. If you find it difficult to get your child to school on time please contact: mbristow@dulwichwood.com for support.
School uniform
We take pride in everything about Dulwich Wood and that includes what the children look like.
We believe that our school uniform plays an important role in promoting a sense of pride in the school and helps to create a sense of community and belonging. It also plays an important role in promoting positive behaviour and ensures children are not wearing clothing or accessories which could distract from learning. This includes wearing makeup, nail varnish and dying hair. School uniform also helps to ensure that children and parents do not feel under pressure to keep up with the latest trends in fashion and face additional financial pressure. Children like to test boundaries especially as they get older. However, it is important to remember that they are children and not young adults so should not be mimicking their older brothers and sisters in dress and style.
We are aware that a greater number of pupils are questioning their gender identity than in the past. Therefore, we have introduced Dulwich Wood jogging bottoms which can be worn for school and for PE.
Next half term we will be reviewing our Uniform Policy and would like to hear from parents who have views on this issue. We will be hosting a school uniform Parents working party, more details to follow.
Dates for the Diary
- Monday 14th February – Monday 21st February – Half Term
- Tuesday 22nd February – Children return to School
- Friday 25th February – KS2 Celebration Assembly
- Thursday 3rd March – World Book day…Come as your favourite book character (more details to follow)
- Friday 4th March – KS1 Celebration Assembly
- Friday 11th March – Dress to Impress Festival- (details to follow)