Reception are shark experts

 Reception loved learning about sharks this week and were very aware of the environmental issues such as recycling to help stop some of our creatures becoming extinct. They were amazed when we heard how big the great white shark is and to show the children just how big we drew a 6 metre giant shark on the playground

Walk to School Week 2020

Are you up for the challenge?

On Monday the 5th of October we will be taking part in the walk to school five-day challenge. We challenge you to walk, cycle, scoot or park and stride to school every day for one week.

This year Living Streets are asking us to join them this coming week in celebrating the incredible physical and mental health benefits walking brings to every individual.

Strong hearts, healthy bones, increased muscle strength are all well-documented outcomes of walking, but the benefits for the mind are just as powerful. Increased sense of calm and self-esteem, time to connect with friends, family and the natural world, awakened creativity and improved overall cognitive function, phew! All that makes for a happy, healthy child set up for success in and out of the classroom!

Every pupil will be given a fun activity diary to record their journeys, daily stickers for the pupils that have taken part and badges which will be awarded at the end of the week for pupils who have taken part throughout the week.

We hope to see as many of you as possible taking part next week.

If you would like to find out more about the challenge you can visit www.livingstreets.org.uk/parents

Crisp Packet Recycling Update!

Thank you parents and pupils who collected an amazing 27kg worth of crisp packets last year. 

That is  over 5000 packets!

We were able to send several shipments over the year and earned 5,300 points.

In June we converted those points into money for charity (£53.00)

I chose our local foodbank in Harold Hill to donate the money.

Unfortunately we have had to put the crisp packet collections on hold due to the new procedures in school but we hope to start collecting again in 2021.

Thanks again!

Miss Galpin

Big Schools Birdwatch!

Once again, in year 5, we have taken part in the RSPB's Big School Birdwatch.

We turned into conservation scientists helping to track the ups and downs of birds popuations across the country.

We have learnt how to identify species of bird, common to our local area, by looking at:

• The beak shape and colour
• The size of the bird
• The birdsong 
• The colour of its feathers
• The colour of its legs

This is us in action:

Kris said, "I now recognise many of the birds that I see on the way to school- 11 house sparrows this morning!"

Hope commented, "I want to work with animals when I grow up so I'm glad that I get the opportunity to start that now."

Here are our official results:

We also received a certificate for taking part, and helping a national charity.

Well done Year 5!

Help the Environment!

Ruby in Chile class is asking you to help our environment, by making a change in your life! Here are a few things she suggests, to help stop unnecessary pollution:

• Turning your engine off in traffic
• Commute with your friends
• Walk instead of driving

Crisp Packet Recycling Update

Firstly, I would like to thank all pupils, parents and carers for your continued support with this recycling scheme.

I am amazed with the enthusiasm that our pupils have towards this scheme. Helping to keep our environment clean, and recycling crisp packets to avoid unnecessary landfill is very important to our pupils and they feel strongly that they want to do their part for the environment. I am regularly sought out by children that have been collecting at home and brought in bags and boxes full of empty packets.

So far we have sent over 15kg of empty crisp packets (about 7500) to Terracycle. This is worth 3,044 points which has been converted into £30.44 for a charity of our choice. We are able to choose which charity we would like to send our money in December. 

Remember, we have two recycling boxes: one inside in the main KS2 corridor and one by the dinner hall. 

Keep recycling!

Miss Galpin

We're having fun in year one!

The new year one children have had a lovely time settling in this week.  They have been busy exploring their new classrooms and their amazing outside learning environment. 

Well done to all of the children for behaving so beautifully and coping with the changes so well.

Scotland Class on the hunt for WW2 relics!

Scotland class thoroughly enjoyed their trip to Hornchurch Country Park last half term.
The children loved being able to use a map to navigate their way around the park, exploring various artefacts and relics of the site’s RAF history along the way.


This included, Pill Boxes, Tett Turrets and a Spitfire dispersal point, which they drew some fantastic sketches of.


'The Tett Turrets looked very small for a soldier to fit in' said Charly.

'The pill boxes are made from 12 inches of solid concrete!' remembered Afnan.

The children also had a chance to feed the ducks and play in the WW2 inspired playground!

Forest School Fun

Another term of Forest School is over and the current group of children have loved every moment!

Take a look back at what our wonderful Year 3 children got up to over the last couple of weeks.

Week 8: The children were relocated to the school field due to the high winds. For lots of children the highlight was discovering a huge puddle to enjoy and a pile of stones to roll down. Others made kites and flags to play with, making the most of the wind. We closed our session with our sundial reflection allowing the children to express how they had found different parts of the session. It was good to see a range of opinions expressed in relation to puddle splashing, kite making, playing games and using the field instead of the forest.

Week 9: The blindfold trail! The children took each other along taking it in turns to direct and be led. They moved on to fire lighting, making conker spiders and lots of digging discovering worms all over the forest. We finished off with a bit of forest bathing, the children really took to this and for many it was a much appreciate bit of quiet time to reflect on their own.

Week 10: Year 3’s final session... The empty hot chocolate mugs and biscuit wrappers show that the s’mores and hot drinks went down a treat! A few children tried the barefoot trail dipping their toes in mud, sand, dried leaves, fresh grass, conkers and water. Everyone got to spend a little time doing their favourite things for one last time including, digging, lying in the hammock, den building and the blindfold trail. We closed our session by putting out the fire and saying something encouraging to the person next to us. It’s always a lovely way to finish as the children listen to their friends saying something positive about them. Some of our encouragements were,

“You are good.” Rehan to Riley.
“You’re a kind friend.” Brooke to Mia.
“I like the way you built a den with me.” Kezrae to Cameron.
“Thank you for hunting for worms with me.” Olivia to Kezrae.

The new and final group have been selected and are already looking forward to starting in the summer term!

Safer Transport Workshop

On Wednesday some of our Year 6 children travelled to Romford to learn how to travel safely on the buses. We had our own bus for a journey around Romford. We were met by Ariel who spoke to the children about the bus. They learnt where they are allowed to stand and who has priority seating.

Do you know how many cameras are on a double decker bus? 

The safest place to sit on a bus is downstairs especially if you are on your own. The children were then spoken to by the TfL bus inspectors who explained that you have to look after your Oyster Card or it will cost £10 to replace it and you can always ask an inspector to show you their badge if you cannot see it.

Following a series of Met Police actors re-enacting different situations on the bus, Taylor said 'I know not to talk to strangers on the bus' and Joey knows not to play his music without headphones because it annoys other people. The children were reminded not to touch unattended bags and report anything suspicious to the driver.

One of the most important things to remember on every bus journey is to say 'Hello' and 'Thank you' to your driver. It makes their day!

Answer: There are 18 cameras on the double decker bus and 13 on the single deckers.

Calling all crisp eaters!

In year 5 we noticed how many crisp packets are discarded at break and lunch times. Although some packets are put in the bin, others are carelessly dropped and blow around our school environment, making it an unpleasant place for us (and the farm animals). 

We wanted to find out what we could do about it so we did some research and found a recycling company called TerraCycle. We applied and have been accepted onto their crisp packet recycling scheme!

 Read on to find out more.

There are two places in the school where you can post your empty packets: by the recycling bins inside the main KS2 playground doors; and by the coat pegs outside the dinner hall.

In the first week alone we have collected 126 packets! 

Please note: we are not recommending that your child has crisps for their snack or lunch (we would prefer they had fruit or vegetables) but if they do, then recycling the packet with us would be great.

If you have any questions please speak to Miss Galpin.