Newsletters

George Spicer Newsletter - 20th September 2024

T: 020 8363 1406 
E: office@georgespicer.enfield.sch.uk 
W: www.georgespicer.enfield.sch.uk 
X @GeorgeSpicerSch 

George Spicer Newsletter - 20th September 2024

September sees the launch of "Article of the Month".  As a GOLD Rights Respecting School, the articles of the UNCRC (United Nation Convention for the Rights of the Child) is at the heart of everything we do.  Each month we will be focussing on an article, making connections in our learning and finding more out about it.

This month's articles is Article 28: The Right to an Education.

Every child has the right to an education. Primary education must be free and different forms of secondary education must be available to every child. Discipline in schools must respect children's dignity and their rights. Richer countries must help poorer countries achieve this.

Talk to your child about these images of children.  Do they have access to an education? Why?  

Harvest Festival

The Harvest Festival is taking place on Monday 30th September. Donations of non-perishable items, e.g. tins, pasta, will be greatly appreciated and donated to a local food bank. Please only bring in your donations on Monday 30th September, not before.

  • Communication with school - a reminder that the main contact with the school is via the Offices: email:  office@georgespicer.enfield.sch.uk Telephone: 020 8363 1406
  • Communication with Breakfast and After School club - Please email basc@georgespicer.enfield.sch.uk 
  • Contact details - please ensure your contact phone numbers, addresses and email are up-to-date. Changes can be made using your Arbor parent portal or email the school office.
  • Absences - must be reported in writing or by phone by 9am daily. Please leave a brief message with the child's name, class and the reason for their absence.  It will be recorded as unauthorised if you do not leave a reason or say your child is 'unwell'.  
  • Arbor Payment – ‘we are a cashless school’ – access to payment is via your Arbor parent portal and app. If your child attends Breakfast and After School Club please ensure that your account is paid in advance and up-to-date. 
  • Foodbank and Felix Project – open every Wednesday at 2.45pm Sketty Road site. We also welcome donations of food.
  • MarvellousMe – We are currently at 75% Parent Engagement, 1 in 4 parents are missing out on their children's rewards! If you don’t have access to MarvellousMe app yet, download it today.  If you need help getting started, contact the school office.  For existing parents, please remember to check if you have the latest MarvellousMe parent app installed and are logged in. You don’t want to miss out!!! Please click the following links for quick guides and parent tips.  Quick guide Parent tips
  • Breakfast and After-School Club childcare vouchers - Please click Childcare vouchers for guidance on the use of childcare vouchers at George Spicer. Please note any overpayment of childcare vouchers cannot be refunded directly to parents due to tax benefits.
  • Labelling school uniform - please ensure that you label your child's school uniform.  Previously, we have accumulated so much lost property, if you label items, they can be returned to the child/ren. 
  • Year 6 walking home alone – If you would like your child to walk home alone, you need to fill in a Y6 permission form and submit it to the office. To request a form please email office@georgespicer.enfield.sch.uk
  • Year 6 mobile phone – Only children with permission to walk home alone are permitted to bring in mobile phones to school.
  • Climbing frames - Please DO NOT allow your children to play on the climbing frames at both Kimberly Gardens and Sketty Road before and after school.
  • Donations - Please can we have donations of tissues.

School Tours - Reception 2025 - 2026 Starters

Important Dates for Diary

Friday 27th September - Reception 25/26 Tour

Monday 30th September – Harvest Festival 

Wednesday 2nd October - Reception Curriculum Meeting for parents 5:30-6:30pm

Upcoming Workshops:

Tuesday 1st October – Elm Phonics Workshop 9:15am

Wednesday 2nd October – Ash Phonics Workshop 9:15am

Thursday 3rd October – Oak Phonics Workshop 9:15am

Monday 7th October - Miss Ahmed's Maths Workshop 9:15am

Tuesday 8th October - Mr McGwinn's Maths Workshop 9:15am

Wednesday 9th October - Mr Demczuk's Maths Workshop 9:15am

Thursday 10th October - Ms Jackson's Maths Workshop 9:15am

Quote of the week

“There is more good than bad in this world. More light than darkness and we can make more light – together... think of each day as a new day… a blank page… a chance to make it the best day yet.” – Peter H Reynolds

Attendance week ending 20/09/2024

Overall school = 95.42% Lates = 65

Best attendance: 1st Sparrow 99.09% 2nd Kingston 99.06% 3rd Everest 98.12% 

Punctuality: Well done to Primrose, Snowdrop, Kingston and Robin with 100% for punctuality.

This week our assembly focus was driven by International Dot Day (September 15th ish), which was to encourage children and adults to continue their discovery of the power of positivity, creativity and ‘making their mark’, just like the character in the book, which inspired the day.  The Dot is an inspiring story of a young girl named Vashti, who believes that she is not very good at drawing. A caring teacher helps Vashti become confident enough to ‘make her mark’ and develop her drawing skills bit by bit.  This is a mindset we are determined to develop in (y)our children.  At Sketty Road we also looked at drawing on true stories from the Olympics of individuals showing courage to rise after they have fallen, ask your children if they can remember any events the sports people did.

This half-term we continue to focus on our value of Responsibility, asking the children to own their own choices and have big dreams and mini-goals, building on their strengths.

Mr Spong.

Reception

We have been settling into life in Reception, getting to know each other better and learning how to be respectful, safe, kind and sensible. These are known as our 4 Be's in the school. We discussed how we can be respectful towards each other by listening to what others have to say as well as sharing our own ideas. We took turns answering questions and thought about how we can be sensible and kind. A pupil in Daffodil class said “We have to be safe when we are climbing on the climbing frame outside”. Another said “we can be respectful by listening to our partner when they are talking”. Later when we were playing, we were reminded of our 4 bes as we were playing sensibly together both inside and outside the classroom.

Year 1

In Science this week, the children in Year 1 began to record the weather and they explored the meadow,  gathering a variety of leaves.  They then identified some leaves, discussing their similarities and differences.  As well as describing the colours and shapes, F closely observed "they have veins - like us!"  The children then went on to sort and arrange to leaves to make a beautiful autumnal collage using natural materials.

Year 2

This week Year 2 have created fact files about water pollution, we are reading, 'We Are Water Protectors' and we’ve been learning about the causes of pollution and what we can do to prevent further pollution. The children collected information and wrote fact files.

Year 3 

Rivers

Year 3’s Geography topic for this half term is all about rivers. We started by learning about the River Indus and how it starts from the top of mount Tibet. We then learnt about where the river flows and drew this onto maps. 

Once we had learnt this, we began to learn about dams. We looked at pictures of dams and completed the information about them in our books. Next week, we will learn more about how dams impact the Indus River and the consequences this has on the surrounding land. 

This links nicely to our History topic: Ancient Egypt as we have been learning about the River Nile and how it was important to the ancient Egyptian people. 

Year 4 

This week, Year 4 began their Strings lesson. We started with a warm up and then explored the differences between a violin and a viola. Did you know that:

-The viola has a deeper, richer sound than the violin, due to its lower pitch range and C string. 

-The viola is typically larger than the violin.

-The bows of the viola and violin are shaped and weighted differently.

-The viola has a larger fingerboard than the violin. 

After we looked at the different parts of a viola. We looked at the scroll, shoulders, bridge, the strings, f holes and the chin rest. We had an opportunity to pluck the strings to hear the different notes. We also sang some songs to help us remember the different parts of the viola. Did you know that horse hair is used for the bow? Our teacher showed us the rest position so that we know how to hold the viola correctly. Our teachers then played some music using their viola/violin. It was so calming. Instantly we all gave them a round of applause. We cannot wait for our next lesson when we begin to play the viola.

Year 5 

This week we have been busy developing our understanding of the text 'The Man Who Walked Between the Towers' by refining our noun phrases and descriptions of what it must have been like to walk a high-wire over New York City. We also acted as Philippe Petit's safety team and warned him, with an email, about the dangers of completing such a risky stunt! We used shades of modality to get our message across in a powerful way. We also wrote a diary entry from the perspective of Philippe and used a range of language devices to depict the experience, whilst immersing ourselves into his world of daredevil antics!

In RW we created poems about 'Love' and what love means to us individually but how it can also help us collectively. We also referred to the UN charter of children's rights and the teachings of Jesus to support our opinions and provide us with inspiration. Well done Year 5! You never fail to amaze us with your talents in all areas of the curriculum. 

Year 6 

Online Safety has been the focus for Year 6's first Computing work. They have been learning all about online scams, phishing and the importance of using secure passwords. These are some of the posters they created informing others of the dangers of clicking the wrong thing! Think Before You Click! They have also learnt how to collect evidence if they suspect someone is trying to scam them or is bullying them online in some way. Although the children wouldn't yet be buying things online themselves, they knew how to make sure their details were protected through password safety, software updates and antivirus technology. 

 

In Art, Year 6 have started studying Frida Kahlo's work The Dream (The Bed). To begin with, they have critiqued the work and said what they thought the different parts represented. They also shared ideas on how her art work related to her own life experiences. They are now starting to think about how they can use her methods and interpretations to inspire their own creations. We will keep you posted on how their artwork develops.

Sports2Inspire

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