Sally Atkins Sally Atkins

Reading Festival

On Monday we held the first Stanmore Reading Festival. This was a truly memorable event. Thank you to all the parents / carers for supporting this event by sending the children to school in festival clothing. They looked brilliant. The event focused on the story of Little Red Riding Hood and the children were introduced to different versions of the story. Each child was given a festival wristband and a lanyard pass to the different stages. After visiting each stage, the children collected a ‘stamp’ on the back of their festival pass. There were a variety of outdoor activities including storytelling, drama, and ‘silent’ stories puppet making and building the story in the woodland area. Two parents, Mr Thomas and Mr Valentine kindly supported this event sharing their talents as a story teller and musician. It was lovely to hear some live music and a lively, positive atmosphere was enjoyed by everyone as a result.

Year 5 and 6

Cooking up a storm!

In year 5/6, we spent an afternoon creating a Greek inspired dish. We cut up the ingredients we needed for a salad or tzatziki and added extra spices for more flavour! We were then able to taste our creations and mark flavour and presentation out of 10.

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Chris Lindsay Chris Lindsay

Stanmore Post - 2 July 2021

Dear Parents and Carers,

It was lovely to see the children arriving for the Hawaiian Disco on Wednesday. They seemed to really enjoy themselves and I was reminded how few opportunities many of them will have had to attend this type of event. The Friends of Stanmore ensured that the evening ran smoothly and they were well supported by the staff team. I would like to pass on my appreciation to all involved. It was one of the best school discos I have attended and the behaviour of all of the children was excellent. The Hoodies presented to the Year 6 children were worn proudly today, thank you to the Friends and parents for organising this.  

Yesterday the children found out about their new classes. Each year this is a challenge to piece together. We aim to create an even balance of children in each class while accommodating friendship choices. The children will be naturally excited and anxious about the change. It is worth giving them time to settle into the new situation, but if there are genuine problems, then please let me know by contacting the office on adminoffice@stanmore.hants.sch.uk . Next Thursday the teachers will be outside the classroom doors and so the challenge is for your child to take you past their new class teacher so you can say hello. There will be more formal opportunities to meet the teacher in September but it will be good to be able to put a face to a name.  

Children in Catkins have been writing and delivering letters to people around the school. I loved the one I received from Harriet. The children in Year 1 and 2 have been investigating materials to make a blanket for a teddy and this afternoon a mysterious blue metal box arrived from a famous person. There were lots of objects inside that the children will investigate to find out more about the past. Children in Year 3 / 4 have been finishing their chocolate stories as well as planning the journey of a cocoa bean. In Year 5 / 6 it has been a week of appreciating Greek food, participating in a tasting session and innovating by creating new recipes from more traditional Greek ones.   

See more of our work this week.

The forecast doesn't look much better on Monday but we will go ahead with the Reading Festival. This promises to be an amazing event. Please send children to school in Festival Clothing fit for the weather and we will have a wonderful day. 

Best wishes,

Sharon Taylor

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Sally Atkins Sally Atkins

Using switches and going Greek!

Catkins

The children in catkins have been really busy this week writing letters for people around the school. Check out their fantastic writing.

Year 1 and 2

This week in history we have looked at Mary Anning and the importance of her historical discoveries. The children were very excited to have one of the history boxes from Hampshire history centre come to class and enjoyed exploring the different artefacts. The children made excellent links between artefacts and could explain which source of information was the most important and why. Quite a few future palaeontologists in year 1/2 I think!

Year 3 and 4

Year 3 /4 have been experimenting in science with switches to turn a bulb off and on. They have learnt about conductors and insulators.

In Geography they had to present all the knowledge they have learnt about the production of chocolate from Bean to Bar and the importance of Fairtrade chocolate. Our outcome shows the whole journey of a chocolate bar, from the harvesting of cocoa beans to the nipping down to Tesco Express to buy an emergency bar Miss Evers’s favourite Cadbury’s Dairy Milk chocolate!

This week we have worked hard to publish our books based on the Roald Dahl classic, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. In our versions, there was a sixth lucky golden ticket winner! All of the characters then visited an extra room in the factory before our new character met a sticky end!

We are very proud of them!

Year 5 and 6

This week, Elm class have gone all GREEK! We have spent time designing and moulding a Greek theatre mask out of paper mache.

In DT, we have been tasting a range of typically Greek foods. Next, we will be creating our own meal based on the food we tasted but the recipes must have a twist! Olives will not be appearing in many meals- these were not a favourite in Elm!

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Chris Lindsay Chris Lindsay

Stanmore Post - 25 June 2021

Dear Parents/ Carers, 

Thank you to the parents who attended or viewed the New Year R Parents meeting this week. We are pleased to welcome you and your child into the Stanmore family from September.  As part of the presentation, Miss Day talked about transition as a process not an event.  Our process of transition begins before the children start school and continues through each year linked to our values of Belonging, Excellence, Support and Trust. Transition works best when children feel rooted, secure and known. Relationships in our school are positive, which helps children feel like they belong and can be themselves as they grow up and move on. Feelings of anxiety are normal for children changing year groups or moving school, you can support us by reassuring them that they will be fine.  We can all help our children to manage these feelings by reminding them of how much they have learned this year and the possibilities and choices that lie ahead.  

As part of the Grounds Development, the Governors have committed funding that will enable us to move forward with the KS1 playground equipment. To maximise this funding we have applied for grants and expect that we will have an outcome soon. You can see the design drawings here.

This week children in Year 5/6 were invited to Winchester College to take part in a range of environmental based activities. The children enjoyed cooking on a camp fire and exploring the river. We are very appreciative of the partnership work with Winchester College. Children in Year 3 and 4 have been writing stories inspired by Charlie and the Chocolate factory, creating animations using Purple Mash and building electrical circuits. In Year 1 and 2 children have started to investigate the work of sculptor Andy Goldsworthy and are starting their History Mystery topic by finding out about St Catherine’s Hill. In Catkins children have created a fantastic poster for the Onion Stage at the Reading Festival. 

See more of our work from this week. 

Unfortunately the weather does not look good for the Reading Festival on Monday. Although we could carry on it seems a shame to spoil what promises to be a really memorable day. We have taken the decision to postpone this event until Monday 5th July. Please can children save all of their festival wear for another week.   

Best wishes,

Sharon Taylor

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Chris Lindsay Chris Lindsay

KS1 Play Equipment

As part of the Grounds Development, the Governors have committed funding that will enable us to move forward with the KS1 playground equipment. To maximise this funding we have applied for grants and expect that we will have an outcome soon.

We are splitting the scheme into two phases. The timing of the phases will depend upon the outcome of the grant applications and potential fund raising. We hope to have Phase 1 built in the Autumn Term.

Phase 1

Phase 2

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Sally Atkins Sally Atkins

Rivers, Sausages and Electricity

Year 5 and 6

Year 5 and 6 took part in a school trip organised by Winchester College this week to explore their nature reserve and learn more about life in our local rivers. Activities included: lighting their own campfire, cooking sausages over the fire, learning how the chalk base of the river affects the purity of the water and identifying some of the many creatures that live in our local rivers.

The weather held out for all groups and everyone had a fantastic time. Some of the comments after the trip included:

“I loved that we were able to see dragonfly up close.”

“I never realised there were so many different animals living in the rivers and that fly larvae could look so different form each other.”

“The walks were beautiful and the sausages were delicious!”

Thanks go to Winchester College for allowing us into their nature reserve and leading the tasks and for Mrs Horkan for organising the trip.

Year 3 and 4

This week, Year 3 and 4 have been learning about electrical circuits. They explored the components of circuits and used this knowledge to look at images of circuits and predict if they would work or not. The children used a variety of bulbs, buzzers and motors to check their predictions. What a lot of bright sparks!

Year 1 and 2

We began to look at the artist Andy Goldsworthy this week in year 1/2. We researched him using the chrome books, drawing his sculptures and making notes about his life. Then we had a go at creating Andy Goldsworthy inspired art using natural objects we found in our outside area.

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Sally Atkins Sally Atkins

Juniper Class experiment with Skittles

In Juniper the children have had a week of exploring different ideas through science. We have attempted to make balloon powered cars, catapults from lolly sticks and have taken part in experiments with colour. Look below to see the result of our Skittles experiment.

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Chris Lindsay Chris Lindsay

Stanmore Post - 18 June 2021

Dear Parents/ Carers, 

As you will be aware the Government have delayed the ending of the Lockdown restrictions. This will have some impact on our end of year events. The most significant impact is that children have to remain in their bubbles. All other control measures will remain in place, including all visitors wearing face coverings on site and maintaining the one way system. 

  • Sports Day: This will be a children only event and will take place over 3 consecutive afternoons. Weather permitting, we will hold this in the week commencing 12th July. We will share photos on the website. 

  • Hawaiian Disco: The Friends of the School are working hard to ensure that this can go ahead within current Government Guidance and will update you of any revisions to their risk assessment.  Unfortunately, parents cannot gather on site to wait for children while the disco is on.  

  • Transition Days: Regrettably Kings have had to cancel the Yea r6 Induction Days and Information Evening. Instead they will be hosting a virtual information evening for parents on the Kings YouTube channel. In addition there will be an opportunity for the children to access short videos of introduction from the different departments alongside a virtual tour of the school.  In school we will provide opportunities for children to meet their new teachers with other children from their current bubble. We will leave the whole class transition days ‘Shuffle Up’ until the last week of term in anticipation of relaxation of the guidance on July 19th.   

  • Year 6 Production and Year R Talent Show: These will be made available to parents online.  

  • Leavers Service: This is planned for the 21st July. Please hold this date and we will make a decision about whether this can go ahead with an audience of 30 parents or carers, possibly outdoors, nearer the time.  

While I am as disappointed as you are not to be able to return to ‘normal’ events just yet, I am pleased that we are still able to provide a full enrichment curriculum for the children. The school events this term have all been planned so that they could be adapted rather than cancelled. The children are now used to working within their bubbles and continue to adapt and adjust well to the circumstances. Unfortunately it is Parents, Grandparents and Carers who are still missing out on the audience participation experience which I know you will have been looking forward to. 

We were able to hold Parents Evening this week and this included a mix of face to face and virtual appointments. Thank you to all Parents and Carers who attended. If you were unable to make your appointment and would like to talk through any concerns, please contact the school office to arrange a follow up telephone call with the teacher or with Mrs Taylor, Mrs Fenton or Mrs Atkins. 

Children throughout the school have already benefited from a wonderful Enterprise Day. Oak and Elm are now preparing presentations for their preferred charity and will vote on where the money should go. This week we were able to invite the Young Shakespeare Company into school where they gave an outstanding performance of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ to a reduced capacity audience of children in Year 4, 5 and 6. They engaged all of the children and it was a pleasure to see their faces as they were drawn into the production. Watching a live performance after so long was very powerful and we have booked for a return visit next year.

Children in Catkins have held an excellent performance of their own, in a wonderful Talent Show produced as a superb video by Sean Pruen. This will be shared on Tapestry before being published on the website, with the permission of the year R parents. The Reading Festival can go ahead as planned.  

It seems that the new normal is still an unpredictable place to be. As a community we now have a proven track record of resilience. We are in a better situation than we were. Your children are having a wider range of experiences this term than they were this time last year. We need to remain positive and hopeful that better times continue to be ahead of us. 

Best wishes

Sharon Taylor

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Sally Atkins Sally Atkins

A Midsummer Night's Dream

This week Year 4, 5 and 6 were treated to a performance by the fantastic Young Shakespeare Company. The actors cleverly intertwined Shakespeare and modern language and encouraged all the children to be involved. Everyone was thoroughly entertained and it was amazing to see children so young beginning to enjoy the work of such a famous play writer.

Well done to all the ‘actors’ and a huge well done for all the children and their active participation.

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Chris Lindsay Chris Lindsay

Stanmore Post - 11 June 2021

Dear Parents/ Carers, 

The children have had an exciting start to the last half of the summer term. This week they celebrated Empathy day through a variety of exciting activities.The children discovered that empathy can be learnt and that reading is a key tool to building their emotional literacy. By identifying with book characters, they found out about how to see the world from other points of view. The children wore their empathy glasses to find shoes hidden in the school grounds with clues to characters they have encountered in the books they have read this year. They also drew kindness monsters and made empathy resolutions. There is a parent pack for family activities and you can find out more at: https://www.empathylab.uk/empathyday-2021

This week is Enterprise Week. Children in Year 5/6 have been aiming to ‘grow a pound.’ Year 5 and 6 children designed, produced, marketed and sold a range of items. These included fidget spinners, masks, bracelets, stress relief toys and refreshments. The children had to consider the quality of their products and their profit margins. The younger children exchanged money for tokens and had the fun of choosing something to buy. The children raised approximately £100 will go towards a charity that they will vote for. We intend to hold this Enterprise event annually to promote innovation through business enterprise. The children learned from the experience and the successes and improvements will shape next year’s plans. See more of the events here.

There are several other events to look out for. You will have had a text notification about Parents Evening next week. This is a blended offer of face to face on Tuesday 15th June from 3:30 – 7pm and virtual via Google Meets on Thursday 17th June from 3.30 – 6pm. The Parents Evening is an opportunity to share successes and challenges that your child has experienced this year. The teacher will be able to give an indication of any significant learning that your child has missed or is not yet secure in due to the period of restrictions to school attendance. Mrs Taylor and Mrs Fenton are also available for an appointment to answer any questions on how the school is addressing this learning loss and any specific additional support that parents could provide. Please sign up through Scopay. You will receive your child’s report later this term. 

Next week we have The Young Shakespeare Company in school to perform ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ to children in Year 4/5/6. This promises to be a memorable event and one that we intend to repeat on an annual basis. 

Mrs Jones will be writing to you about the very exciting ‘Reading Festival’ planned for Monday 28th June. This is a lively outdoor reading experience based on the story of Little Red Riding Hood. Similar to outdoor learning day, the children will be off timetable exploring the events on the various ‘stages.’ Children can dress up on the day and the letter will give more detail about what they can wear that will give the day a fun festival feel. 

The Friends of the School have been busy planning a Covid safe Hawaiian Disco which all of the children can look forward to. This year, they are offering a special Year 6 only leavers Disco in addition to the main discos, which I hope will be a great opportunity for the Year 6 children to celebrate their time together. Later this term we are planning a Year 6 production, a Leavers’ Service and Sports Day. At the moment, these events are being planned within the current Government guidelines which limits the way in which we can involve parents. However, we can adapt as rules allow and we will find ways to share some events virtually if necessary.  

As they grow up through the school, we want all of our children to experience similar enrichment experiences. This shapes their sense of belonging, gives them events to look forward to in the year and a shared history of their time at Stanmore Primary School.  

As we begin to plan transition for September I am able to share the class structure for 2021/22 

  • YR Catkins: Miss Day

  • Y1/2 Maple: Miss Williamson

  • Y1/2 Rowan: Mr Read

  • Y3/4 Birch: Mrs Jones

  • Y3/4 Sycamore: Miss Evers

  • Y3/4 Willow: Mrs Haumann and Miss Hurley

  • Y5/6 Aspen: Mrs Atkins and Miss Kelly

  • Y5/6 Oak: Mrs Horkan

  • Y5/6 Elm: Mrs Kempson

This means that we will be saying goodbye to Mrs Laver and Miss Joyce. Mrs Laver started at Stanmore with me and has made a significant contribution to the school improvement journey. She is a very well-liked and respected colleague and we will miss her but wish her well with her future plans. Miss Joyce has been covering Miss Hurley’s maternity leave and has taught not only her own class but several combinations of bubbles during lockdown. The staff and children have really enjoyed working with her. She is moving to a new school in September and we wish her well. You will notice that Miss Kelly joins Aspen Class as a class teacher and we are delighted that she has been able to take the next step in her teaching career at Stanmore Primary School. 

Best wishes

Sharon Taylor

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