CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS!
Thank you very much for joining us yesterday to make Christmas decorations with the your children in the school hall. The afternoon was a great success and there were many positive comments. There are many events planned over the next couple of weeks and we look forward to seeing you in school to enjoy the
festivities with your children and the staff!

EXPLORING SOUTH AFRICA!

This week, we explored South Africa as part of a fun-packed multicultural week. We were lucky enough to have some wonderful visitors in school. The Lions of Zululand were a great success. The week got off to an explosive start with a performance from the troupe. They visited us all day and ran cultural workshops such as African singing, artwork and dancing. Although some of us were shocked at first because of the noise, the children (and staff) all had a fantastic time! Key Stage 2 also had the opportunity to take part in an African drumming workshop which was enjoyed by all. Throughout the week, we continued to learn about South African culture and took part in lots of exciting activities. We hope that you got to visit and see some of our exciting learning!

It is national science week, and Miss Shackelton has organised lots of exciting activities for the whole school. Parents are invited into school today to participate in a science challenge in the KS2 hall this afternoon. Here are the children enjoying the science fair today!

On Tuesday 1st March, we will be celebrating World Maths Day at Parkhead. This is an online mental arithmetic competition in which children compete in live games against other children from across the world.

All children from Years 1 to 6 will receive a username and password which can be used to access the site (www.worldmathsday.com) both at school and at home. The children can practise straight away but the scores will only count for the competition on World Maths Day which runs from 11am on 28th Feb to 11am on 2nd March (taking into account world time differences).

Please encourage your children to practice at home. It is an excellent way for them to improve their mental calculation skills while also having fun!

12th January 2011

Dear Parent/ Carer,
We are currently having a drive to improve achievement and standards in writing. We have decided to teach a new style of handwriting to ensure consistency and continuity across the school. It is a far more fluent script, with fewer break letters in it. We are currently teaching both the upper and lowercase letters to all the children from Year 2 upwards and will be encouraging the children to practise this style of writing in all their learning. We have included a copy of the letters so you are able to support the children with their handwriting when they are completing their home learning. If you have any questions about the new handwriting scheme then please feel free to discuss them with your child's class teacher.
Thank you for your support.
Mrs Leach

World Maths Day in 5S

On Wednesday 3rd March children in Year 5 celebrated World Maths Day by taking part in an online, mental mathematics competition. The children showed great enthusiasm for the event, many of them playing at home as well as at school. They have made significant improvements in their mental arithmetic skills and have had a lot of fun in the process. Visit http://www.worldmathsday.com/ to learn more!