Pumpkin Afternoon

The children in Malta Class found out about pumpkins today. Jessica didn't enjoy touching the seeds but loved watching the carving. Gabby, however, was fascinated by the seeds and we all decided that we should keep some to plant next year. Jacob started to count some out and put them on a plate. Then the children practiced their cutting skills by chopping sections of the pumpkin up. Joseph cut his into tiny pieces. Mrs Jolly then carved a face on the side and the children put a light pebble from the sensory room inside. The pebble changed colour and Jessica named them all. 

Happy Halloween.

We need your help!

In Reception, our current maths learning focuses on 3D shapes.

We are asking for any kind donations of clean items which the children will be able to use in junk modelling activities next week.

The different shaped items will encourage the children to apply their growing knowledge and understanding by identifying 3D shapes and talking about their properties.

Junk modelling is also hugely beneficial to your child's development as they use their imagination and develop their problem-solving skills.

Examples of useful items you could bring in include:

yogurt pots

cereal boxes

empty kitchen roll

plastic bottles

bottle tops

egg cartons

Many thanks in advance,

The Reception Team

Parent Governor Election

Please click here to vote for the new Parent Governor representative on the Learning Federation governing board.

Year 6 Spellings

Here are the Year 6 spellings for this week. The children will be tested on these on Friday 13th December.

minibus

miniskirt

miniscule

minibeast

minicab

minimum

microscope

microchip

microphone

microwave

Here are week 2 spellings for year 4. The children will be tested on these on Friday 8th November.

scissors
science
scent
scene
ascend
descend
muscle
fascinate
different
difficult
disappear
early

Year 1 Star Writers

Year 1 Star Writers

Before half term, Year 1 were writing letters to their favourite super hero . Children were asked to think about their sentence structure, remembering their full stops and capital letters.

This weeks Year 1 Star Writers are:

Sadie from Australia
Marvellous from Palau
Francesca  from New Zealand

Well done Year 1!

Reception reading workshop reminder

"Words are our most inexhaustible source of magic"  

JK Rowling

We would like to invite our Reception parents/carers to come and join us tomorrow for our reading workshop. The workshop will take place in the KS1 hall from 9am after our stay and read session.

Reading is a vital part of your child's development and it opens up a whole world to them. Here is why reading is so important:

1. Children who read often and widely get better at it.
After all, practice makes perfect in almost everything humans do, and reading in no different.

2. Reading exercises our brain.
Reading is a much more complex task for the human brain rather than watching TV, for example. Reading strengthens brains connections and builds NEW connections.

3. Reading improves concentration.
Children have to sit still and quietly so that they can focus on the story when they are reading. If the read often, they will develop the skill to do this for longer.

4. Reading teaches children about the world around them.
Through reading a variety of books children learn about people, places, and events outside of their own experience.

5. Reading improves vocabulary and language skills.
Children learn new words as they read. Subconsciously, they absorb information on how to structure sentences and how to use words and other language features effectively in their writing and speaking.

6. Reading develops a child's imagination.
As we read our brains translate the descriptions we read of people, places and things into pictures. While we are engaged in a story we are also imagining how a character is feeling. Young children then bring this knowledge into their everyday play.

7. Reading helps children to develop empathy.
As children develop they begin to imagine how they would feel in that situation.

8. Reading is a fun.
A book or an e-reader doesn't take up much space and is light to carry, so you take it anywhere so you can never be bored if you have a book in your bag.

9. Reading is a great way to spend time together.
Reading together on the sofa, bedtimes stories and visiting the library are just some ways of spending time together.

10. Children who read achieve better in school.
Reading promotes achievement in all subjects, not just English. Children who are good readers tend to achieve better across the curriculum.

We hope to welcome as many of you as possible to next weeks workshop.

Reception stay and read reminder

Reading morning in Reception

We will be holding our November reading morning on tomorrow from 8.30am. Please remember our gates close at 8.50, please ensure you arrive before this time. We are asking parents to come and join their child in their classes for at least 5 minutes reading a book to them or with them. We are continuing to promote a child's love of reading and we hope it will provide an opportunity for you to be able to share in this.

We very much look forward to welcoming you then and hope you will join us after for our reading workshop in the KS1 hall.

Year 2 request!

Please can we have empty plastic bottles and cardboard tubes for our Science lessons.

Thank you

Year 4 Spellings - Autumn term 2- week 1

Here are the spellings that the year 4 children will be tested on on Friday 1st November. Please remember to practice these spellings every night for 15 minutes.

serious
obvious
hideous
anxious
tremendous
jealous
enormous
glamorous
consider
continue
decide
describe

British Legion Poppy appeal

We will be selling poppies and other items, as shown in the photograph below, in aid of the Royal British Legion poppy appeal from Wednesday 30th October.
Please be reminded that any money sent into school should be in an envelope with your child's name clearly written on it and handed to the class teacher so it can be kept securely-Thank you

IMPORTANT UPDATE - CHILDREN IN NEED

Unfortunately Pudsey is unable to come to Mead this Wednesday (30th Oct) as he is otherwise engaged.  He will, however, be in next Wednesday (6th Nov) instead to meet the children and sell merchandise.

FLU IMMUNISATION MESSAGE FOR PARENTS

Year 3's Navigate Bedford's Park

Year 3 enjoyed a very adventurous trip to Bedford's Park as a part of our UK Studies and Stone Age topics. The children had great fun using bush craft to build a Stone Age shelter, orienteering to find clues with a map and using a compass and instructions to navigate their way around the park. Everybody had a brilliant, and muddy, time! 

'I loved using the compass to find our way around the park!' Mervin, Scotland class.

'I really enjoyed learning about cave paintings and making our own paint using forest materials.' Francesca, Northern Ireland class.

'Finding the clues with the map and racing the rest of my class was my favourite part.' Charlie, Wales class. 

Nursery Newsletter Autumn 2 Week 1

27.10.2019










Welcome to our Nursery Newsletter. We hope you have had a good half term and we look forward to seeing the children back at Nursery tomorrow.

This half term we  will be looking at colour. This week we will have some activities based around pumpkins and be particularly looking at the colour orange. We will give the children the opportunity to mix red and yellow paint together and see the impact.














Some of our parents have been asking us about applying for a Reception place.
Even though your child is attending Mead nursery you  must apply for a place through Havering Admissions. You must apply for a primary school place by 15 January.

We will be running open school sessions, an opportunity to ask questions about Reception and have a look at the school environment. The first of these is this Thursday 31st October at 10a.m.
Thank you for those parents who have already completed their appication. Feel free to ask Nursery staff if you need support with this.

We are continuing to ask for donations for our Harvest festival. Our Harvest Festival will take place on Tuesday and contributions will go towards  the Harold Hill food bank. The food bank supports Harold Hill families in times of need. We ask that you send non perishables in as it might take a few days for all the food to be distributed.

Thank you so much to those parents that have been working on their child`s independance with putting their coat on.This was much improved during the week before half term so we really do appreciate your support.

We hope you have been able to find a family picture over half term.Please send these in and we will display these in our home corner.This is a really nice way of maintaining the connection between home and school.

We will be holding parent meetings on Tuesday 12th November and Thursday 14th November.
Please look out for the sign up sheet that will be going up early in the week.




.INSET Dates and Polling day for 2019-20

INSET 1	INSET 2	INSET 3	INSET 4	INSET 5
4th September	3rd April	20th July	21st July	22nd July

Last day of the summer term will be Friday 17^th July 2020.

You can access Havering term dates for 2019-2010 here: https://www.havering.gov.uk/download/downloads/id/2023/term_dates_2019-2020.pdf

Reception Newsletter Autumn 2 Week 1

Autumn  2  28.10.19

                                                                                             

Dear Parents/Carers

We hope you have had a lovely half term .We are looking forward to seeing the children back at school Tomorrow to start this very busy half term which of course leads us right up to the Christmas holiday.

This half term our topic is festivals and Celebrations and we will be starting by learning about Diwali.Diwali is the five-day festival of lights, celebrated by millions of Hindus, Sikhs and Jains across the world. The festival, which coincides with the Hindu New Year, celebrates new beginnings and the triumph of good over evil and light over darkness.The children will be making rangoli patterns in a range of ways and hearing the story of Rama and Sita.

If your family celebrate Diwali please send in some pictures so the other children can see how different families celebrate different things.It would also be great if any of our parents could pop in during the week to share their diwali family celebration stories 

We will continue our Read, write inc sessions this week, learning the sounds u,b,f,e. 

On Friday your child will bring home some sheets to practise their letter formation.Please help your child by reminding them of the rhyme and encouraging your child to say the rhyme. Please note your child is not required to return these back to school.

In maths this week we will be looking at 3 dimensional shapes.The children will be naming shapes and looking at the properties of each shape.We would appreciate you looking at the shapes of common household items and seeing if the children can spot cylinders,cubes,cuboids and spheres.

As a reminder the school day starts between 8.30 and-8.50am with a 3.00pm collection time. 

Access in the mornings is through our main gate Gate 1 and at the end of the day via either Gate 1 or Gate 3.We would ask that you stand back from the doors in order to safely hand the children back to you. Please do not crowd the doors as this will delay us in handing your child over.

Please note we are asking parents not to bring buggies into the corridors as they become overcrowded at peak times and pose a health and safety risk. Please be assured a member of staff will be on hand to provide assistance in looking after buggies in the morning.

It is lovely to see so many children reading regularly and practising their sight words. We will change this book weekly and review the child`s progress. The expectation is your child reads at least 3 times or more each week. As we promoting a love of reading, we encourage your child to read a range of books and is not limited to the one we send home with them.

We are continuing to ask for donations for our Harvest festival.Our Harvest Festival will take place on Tuesday and contributions will go towards  the Harold Hill food bank.The food bank supports Harold Hill families in times of need.We ask that you send non perishables in as it might take a few days for all the food to be distributed.

  Please also remember to return your child's health check forms as soon as possible.

This week we will be on Week 1 of the Havering school menu. Monday's choices are:

Red - Pork sausages with mash potato

Blue - Ravioli pasta

Green-  Vegetable fingers with mash potato

Here is a link to the menu choices https://www.haveringcatering.co.uk/schooldata/mead-infant-primary-school/

School Uniform - 

Please be reminded that children are expected to continue to wear the appropriate uniform of:

• Black or grey trousers (Joggers in Nursery)
• White polo shirt with a bottle green jumper or cardigan
• Black shoes or plain black trainers (no boots)
• Black or grey skirt/dress 

Children will not be permitted to wear Hoodies.

Only plain school coloured head bands can be worn- no oversized bows.

Only studs can we worn in school, please make sure these are removed for PE.

Please ensure children do not have makeup on or acrylic/painted nails.

Uniform will be given to those children who do not wear the correct uniform in the morning and will need to be returned before the end of school.

Messages – 

• PLEASE NAME all items of clothing. This will help when returning lost items, particularly jumpers and cardigans with the right child.
• If your child has had any clothes from school could you please ensure these are washed and returned to back.
• Our PE day is  Thursday. Please ensure your child has a named PE kit in school. If they wear earrings they need to be removed on this day.
•  Thank you to all those parents who have sent in a named set of spare clothes. If you haven’t yet could you please ensure your child has a named set of spare clothes and underwear on their peg as soon as possible.
•  Children can also bring in a pair of named wellies to leave in school. This would be great for use in the mud kitchen and on rainy days.  
•   If your child suffers with asthma please ensure their pump is in school and you have completed the relevant paperwork at the main office.
•  If your child is unwell, please remember to call the school office on 01708 343616 and notify them of your child's absence.

Family news

This is a section of our blog where we celebrate any news from our Reception parents.If you have anyhing you would like to share please let us know. We would like to welcome all of the new children and their families who ahve joined Mead school this week.

Breakfast club is open from 7.45 am. Please make sure there is sufficient money on your child's sQuid account to make payment.

Important dates:

  INSET Dates and Polling day for 2019-20

INSET 1	INSET 2	INSET 3	INSET 4	INSET 5
4th September	3rd April	20th July	21st July	22nd July

Last day of the summer term will be Friday 17^th July 2020.

You can access Havering term dates for 2019-2010 here: https://www.havering.gov.uk/download/downloads/id/2023/term_dates_2019-2020.pdf

Dates for your diary

Autumn 2
Monday 28th October	Pupils return to school
Thursday  7th November	Reception Reading workshop
Thursday 7th November	Reception stay and read
Tuesday 12th November	Friendship workshop for pupils
Friday 6th December	Stay and Play
Monday 9th December	Reception Christmas play PM (time to be confirmed)
Tuesday 10th December	Reception Christmas play AM (time to be confirmed)
Wednesday 18th December	St Pauls Church visit
Friday 20th December	Last day of term

Please note that the final day of the summer term will be on Friday 19th July, 2019.

Our learning objectives this term will be listed under these headings:

Personal, Social and Emotional

Can select and use activities and resources with help

Shows confidence in asking adults for help 

Communication and Language

To follow directions

To use talk to connect ideas 

Literacy

To sometimes give meanings to the marks they draw and paint

Listens to and joins in with stories 

Physical Development:

Runs skilfully and negotiates space

Mounts stairs, steps or climbing equipment 

Mathematics

Beginning to recite numbers in order to 10

Knows that numbers identify how many objects are in a set 

If you would like to contact a member of the EYFS team via email the address is: 

eyfs@mead.havering.sch.uk

We look forward to seeing you all tomorrow. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Reception Team