School Newsletter : 03 February 2023
| Issue 5 | Spring 1 | Week 19 |
Parent Governor Elections
A reminder to parents & carers that there is a vacancy for the role of parent governor on our governing body.
Our school’s governing body is responsible for providing confident and strategic leadership, and creating robust accountability, oversight and assurance for our school’s educational and financial performance.
We are keen to invite candidates who have skills in the areas of law, finance and fundraising.
- If you’re interested in applying for the role, please complete this candidate form (Google Form).
- Alternatively, you can download a PDF copy to print and fill in.
- If you require a printed form, please ask at the school office.
All forms must be submitted by 9am Wednesday 22 February. Printed forms are to be handed to the Clerk to Governors, Ms. K Baker via the school office.
If we receive more applications than there are vacancies, a confidential ballot will be carried out. We will inform you closer to the time if we have to do this.
Should you have any queries about the process or would like to find out more about the role, please feel free to contact our Chair of Governors by emailing nbowles@burdettcoutts.co.uk
Friends of Burdett-Coutts: Come to our meetings!
On Thursday, the Friends of Burdett-Coutts, our school’s Parent-Staff Association held their first planning meeting for the upcoming Easter Fete! Thank you to all the parents who attended – it was a really useful meeting, with so much discussed and decided!
If you are a parent, carer or a guardian of a child that attends the school, then you are automatically a member of the Friends of Burdett-Coutts. Being part of FoBC is a great chance to meet other parents, while supporting our school. Even if you only have a small amount of time, it’s an amazing opportunity to participate more in school life.
Please come along if you can to our next planning meeting. Our next one will be at 9am on Thursday 9th February in the Ground Floor Hall. EVERYONE is welcome and we would really value your input.
If you’re unable to attend Thursday’s planning meeting but would like to help out, please speak to Miss Rachida in Nursery & Reception.
Extended School Day Clubs: What’s been happening!
Circus Skills Club with Miss Mattey & Ms McCormack
In Circus Skills Club we are going to learn how to: juggle, spin plates, do card tricks, balance, and use the Poi. We have begun with juggling using scarves and some of us can almost juggle with 3 scarves already! Once we have mastered scarves, we will move on to balls.
As circus is a performance, each week we perform our new skills to each other, and these photos are of last week’s show. We are all really enjoying learning many new skills and using our brains in different ways. We can’t wait to show you all, in an assembly before Easter.
Science Club with Miss Sweeney & Miss Russell
This half term in Science club we have been learning all about what an omnivore, herbivore and carnivore are. We have grouped animals according to their diet and thought about the different types of foods they consume.
We then discussed the impact of our diet on the planet, thinking about where our food is grown and in what climates. From this discussion, we designed our own burgers thinking about where the produce comes from and enjoyed trying vegetarian burgers with all the toppings……. yummy!
Upcoming Events
February 2023:
- Guards Chapel Service: Year 6 performing at the Guards Chapel as part of their service from 2pm.
- Half Term: Monday 13th – Friday 17th January
March 2023:
- Barbican Concert: Monday 20th March from 19:00 – 21:00 Year 6 have been invited to perform alongside pupils from Westminster School in their concert at the Barbican. What an amazing opportunity! More details to follow, including how parents can obtain tickets.
- Pimlico Music Foundation Singing Event at St. Gabriel’s Church: Tuesday 21st March (Time TBC) Year 5 to perform and parents are warmly welcomed.
Strike action: Our school will be open
Many of you may be aware from the national press that the National Education Union (NEU), has balloted for strike action on the following dates:
- Thursday 2 March 2023
- Wednesday 15 March 2023
- Thursday 16 March 2023
Kindly be informed that our school will be open on all the strike days listed above, with all classes and wrap around provision (Breakfast Club, Extended School Day and After School Clubs) operating as normal.
Community Corner
Collective Worship
The whole school attends acts of Collective Worship every day.
- Mondays and Tuesdays: key stage singing assemblies led by Mr Carden.
- Wednesdays: Church service led by Graham or Helena, the clergy at St Stephens with St John on Rochester Row. These services are very child-friendly, and Year 6 take a leading role by processing, singing in the choir and reading the Bible readings and prayers.
- Thursdays: We focus on celebrating achievements, led by a member of SLT, School Council or a class teacher with their class. When a class teacher leads the assembly, their class also recite a piece of poetry they have been learning. We would be very grateful if parents could support their children in learning these poems when it is their turn.
- Friday: Opportunities for classes to share what they have been learning with their families and the rest of the school.
Class Assemblies
Class assemblies start at 9:00. Parents, kindly be seated by 8:55.
- 20 January: Year 6
- 27 January: Year 5
- 3 February: Year 4
- 10 February: Reception
- 3 March: Year 1
- 10 March: Year 2
- 24 March: Year Nursery
Graham and Helena were away this week so we were led in worship by Jeremy, the curate of St Stephen’s, instead.
We learnt about Candlemas, the Feast of the Presentation of Christ, which is celebrated 40 days after Christmas every year on 2nd February. This special festival is seen by many Christians as the official end of the Christmas period, and celebrates the return of the light after the darkness of midwinter as well as the time Jesus was presented at the Temple of Jerusalem.
In church, our Year 6 readers retold the story from Luke 2:22-40 of Jesus being brought to the Temple as a baby. All firstborn children were presented in the Temple and a sacrifice made in keeping with the laws and traditions of the time. We learnt about the old man, Simeon, who had been told by the Holy Spirit that he would not die until he had seen the Messiah. On seeing Jesus with Mary and Joseph, he took the baby in his arms and praised God, blessing Jesus and his parents.
There was also another elderly person there, a woman called Anna, who spent all her time fasting and praying in the Temple. When she saw the baby, she gave thanks to God and declared that he would be the saviour they had been waiting for. After the reading, the Year 6 Choir were joined by Choir Club to sing The Lord is my Shepherd, which they did beautifully.
Another theme for the week is generosity, as we learn more about God’s provision in times of trouble. Our Community Questions are linked to the theme of giving and providing for others if they are in need:
Community Questions
- Have you ever donated food to a food bank or helped someone who was going through a time of trouble? Why? What happened?
- Have you ever been on the receiving end of someone else’s generosity?
- Do you believe God provides for people? Why/why not? In what ways do you think God might provide for people?
FREE family activities
Messy Cathedral, Saturday 1 April 10.30am – 1pm
St Paul’s Cathedral invites families to a FREE session of activities for all ages, including crafts, singing and storytelling, all journeying through the days of Holy Week. All the fun will culminate in a Holy Communion.
Term Dates 2022-2023
Please find here the agreed term dates set by our school’s Governing Body for the upcoming academic year, starting September 2022.
Please remember that holidays will not be authorised during the school term, and that all children should be in school (on time) every day.
Please refer to the table below for the term dates, including INSET days and Bank Holidays when the school will be closed to pupils.
Alternatively, you can click on the image thumbnail on the right to view the PDF (please note this will open in a new window) or you can click on the link below:
AUTUMN TERM 2022 |
||
Start of Term (for Years 1-6) |
Monday |
05 September 2022 |
To |
Friday |
21 October 2022 |
Half Term |
Monday |
24 October 2022 |
|
Friday |
28 October 2022 |
Return on |
Monday |
31 October 2022 |
End of Term |
Friday |
16 December 2022 |
SPRING TERM 2023 |
||
Start of Term |
Wednesday |
04 January 2023 |
To |
Friday |
10 February 2023 |
Half Term |
Monday |
13 February 2023 |
|
Friday |
17 February 2023 |
Return on |
Monday |
20 February 2023 |
End of Term |
Friday |
31 March 2023 |
SUMMER TERM 2023 |
||
Start of Term |
Monday |
17 April 2023 |
To |
Friday |
26 May 2023 |
Half Term |
Monday |
29 May 2023 |
|
Friday |
02 June 2023 |
Return on |
Monday |
05 June 2023 |
End of Term |
Friday |
21 July 2023 |
INSET DAYS | ||
Teaching & Learning: Curriculum Map Autumn/Spring |
Thursday |
01 September 2022 |
Teaching & Learning: Phonics |
Friday |
02 September 2022 |
Assessment & Pupil Progress |
Friday |
02 December 2022 |
Teaching & Learning: Curriculum Map Autumn/Spring |
Tuesday |
03 January 2023 |
Assessment & Pupil Progress |
Friday |
07 July 2023 |
|
|
|
BANK HOLIDAYS (school closed) | ||
May Bank Holiday |
Monday |
01 May 2023 |
Coronation Bank Holiday |
Monday |
08 May 2023 |
PE Days
Classes will have PE lessons on the following days for the Autumn Term.
- Monday: Year 1 (PM)
- Tuesday: Year 4 (PM)
- Wednesday: Year 5 (AM)* and Year 2 (PM)
- Thursday: Year 6 (PM)
- Friday: Reception & Nursery (AM) and Year 3 (PM)
*Kindly note that ONLY Year 5 pupils will need to come to school in their school uniform and bring their PE kit to change into after attending Church, on their designated PE day (Wednesday).
Please ensure that your child is wearing the correct PE uniform to school on their designated PE day. If you have any questions about school uniforms, please call, email or pop in to the school office
Correct PE uniform:
- Navy PE t-shirt (with school logo)
- Navy sweatshirt (with school logo)
- Navy jogging bottoms, leggings, skirt or shorts
- Trainers or plimsolls (black)
September 2023: Nursery & Reception places available
If you are looking for a Nursery or Reception Place, for your child from September 2023, please contact the school and make an appointment to join a school tour.
We’d be delighted for you to join us for a 30-minute bespoke EYFS tour, where you will have the chance explore our Early Years setting, speak to key staff and ask any questions regarding admissions and your child starting with us at Burdett-Coutts.
Please contact us to register for our tours which take place every Thursday, with times available from 09:30 – 14:30 during term time.
- To book your tour place, please call 0207 828 6790
- For further information about starting Reception at Burdett-Coutts, please click here >
Funding eligibility letter for Pupil Premium, Early Years Funding & Free School Meals
Due to changes in the eligibility criteria for Pupil Premium, Free School Meals and qualifying for 30 hours of funding for Nursery provision, many pupils currently enrolled at our school may now be entitled to one of these funding allocations.
We will be issuing letters to families who are currently not in receipt of the above, asking you to complete the registration for the identified funding option your child/ren maybe eligible for. Thank you so much in advance for your help in completing this.
This funding allows us to increase additional staffing hours to run booster groups, and an exciting range of extended day activities, that benefit our school and your child, and your cooperation is greatly appreciated at this difficult time for school budgets.
- If you should have any queries with regards to the letter sent to you, please contact Mrs Deary or the school office.
Nursery:
Nursery are on a trip around the world and have been creating different versions of the Eiffel Tower! Using their critical thinking skills, the children created the tower out of blocks and decorated it with the people from their reference pictures. Working together creates team building opportunities that they will carry through life.
Reception:
This week in Maths we have been learning about 2D shapes. We have explored the properties of common 2D shapes to learn how many corners and sides each shape has. We also had a shape hunt around our classroom and discovered many 2D shapes we hadn’t noticed! We have used our knowledge and understanding of shapes to create pictures, thinking carefully about the picture we wanted to make and what shapes would be appropriate.
Year 1:
What a busy week we have had in Year 1! In PSHE and RE we have been talking a lot about friendships; what makes a good friend, how we show friendship towards others and how Jesus showed friendship – even when it was hard! Today we made some friendship flowers to give to a new friend, showing how sometimes small gestures can be important to keep friendships strong.
Year 2:
During PSHE, Year 2 have been talking about and reflecting on their dreams and goals. Children discussed what a dream is and how to choose a realistic goal for themselves and how to achieve it. We discussed the trait of perseverance, when they find things difficult as well as recognising their strengths as a learner. Children talked about working as a group, and reflected on who they work well with and who they don’t. They also reflected on sharing success with other people and recognised how contributing to the success of a group feels and store those feelings in their internal treasure chest.
Year 3:
This week in Science, we have been learning all about different forces. We played with different magnets to see if we could decipher where the magnetic fields around that magnet began, and what they look like. We went through everyday items to see if they were magnetic or not. We then learnt all about the properties of metal that makes something magnetic or not. We found out that some metals are not magnetic like aluminium cans because they don’t contain iron.
Year 4:
We have been studying the artwork of the well-known French painter, Henri Rousseau. It has been particularly interesting as we are focusing on the Rainforest in our Geography lessons, and he painted many jungle scenes in his distinctive style. Interestingly, we learnt that he had never actually travelled outside of France! We then sketched and painted our own version of his famous picture “Surprised!” and are looking forward to our forthcoming trip to The National Gallery to see the real thing!
Year 5:
In our class text ‘A Boy and a Bear in a Boat‘, the Bear has a very dubious sense of taste, and eats things like gooseberry, sherbet and anchovies altogether in one sandwich! We have been practising using expanded noun phrases to describe our ideas for sandwiches for the Bear, and the imperative verbs needed to write the recipes! We have really enjoyed thinking up disgusting combinations.
Year 6:
This week in English, we have been writing persuasive speeches to the Home Secretary. The aim of these were to allow Ahmet, (the main character from our class text The Boy At The Back Of The Class), to be reunited with his parents when they were separated on their journey to the UK after fleeing war in Syria. We found this a challenging task as we had to remember to use formal language consistently, include flattery, the power of three and repetition for impact. We are proud of our finished speeches.