Newsletters

George Spicer newsletter - Friday 27th May 2022

Parent Survey 2021/22 - To help us make sure we’re providing the best standard of education for your children, we’d like to know how you feel about our school.  Please click Parent Survey 2021-22 to complete the survey.

New menu - Please click on the link to see the new menu for next term menu

School Dinners/Packed lunches next half-term - Please confirm meal option by clicking the link Meal option.  Deadline to complete Monday 6th June 2022, this is mandatory and must be completed for every child.  

Jubilee lunch/non-uniform day - Will be on the 10th June 

Current vacancies - We are currently advertising for the below post.

Finance and Business Officer - Finance and Business Officer

Data and Attendance Officer - Data and Attendance Officer

SEN TA with a nurture intervention role - SEN Teaching Assistant

Update from Mr Spong

It’s been quite a half-term with all that has gone on.  So many trips and visitors into school to enrich the children’s learning; Statutory Assessments in Year 2 and Year 6 thankfully completed; as well as all the regular learning activities.  Yesterday was National Thank a Teacher Day and I am certain you will join with me and say a big thank you to all our school staff who regularly go over and above what is required here.

I cannot believe we have reached May half-term, this year has flown by, thankfully with minimal interruptions.  As a leadership team we are already looking forward to our new academic year as we are already contacting and preparing our new Reception parents/children as well as looking at classes and staffing for next year.  This is a strange time of year because it is the final week that teachers can find jobs in other schools and we then work frantically to ensure we are fully staffed.  We have several members of staff moving on to new schools in September for jobs with more responsibility and/or easier journeys on the commute.  We say farewell and good luck to Miss Foster, Miss Buckley and Miss Spillman.  Mrs Michalowska and her family will be relocating over the summer and we wish them well for their return home.

The final goodbye I wish to make you aware of is for Miss Southgate, it is tinged with sadness but also a sense of pride.  Miss Southgate has been at George Spicer since 2006.  She has quite literally, overseeing KG, built the school up into the great school we have today.  For the children, parents and staff she has overseen, supported and developed over the years I want to say a huge thank you on behalf of us all.  She is moving on to become a Headteacher of her own school and that community are very fortunate to have her.  We will do a proper farewell in the second half of the Summer Term.

I hope you all have a lovely half term break and enjoy the Jubilee Bank Holiday Weekend, see you all on Tuesday 7^th June.

Attendance week ending 27/05/2022

Overall school = 94.56%  Lates = 65

Best attendance: 1st Sparrow/Sioux 98.57%  2nd Anubis 98.39%  3rd Ra 97.47%

Punctuality: Well done Oak, Navajo, Ra and Daffodil with 100% for attendance

Reception Class

Outdoor Learning

On Tuesday we enjoyed watching the thunder storm from the safety of our outdoor shelter. Lyra said "It's rumbling!" as the thunder came through our ears. We saw many flashes of lightning and had lots of fun. After the storm passed, the sky turned a beautiful blue. As we began playing in the playground, we noticed the funny looking smoke that was coming from the ground, the shed and the climbing frame (if you look closely at the picture - you might be able to see it). Jakob said, "It's like incy-wincy spider when the sun dried up all the rain!". We discussed different words like steam and evaporation. It was a lovely unplanned learning moment - just what we love in Reception! 

Year 1

In Science, we had the task of saving our animals who were stuck in ice cubes. We were given 5 ice cubes and each table had to use a different method to try to get the ice cube to melt the fastest. Water made the ice cube melt the fastest. The classroom was hot which helped the ice melt. Salt also made the ice cube melt quicker. The salt made the ice cube bumpy and rough. The ice cube in the sugar took the longest to melt. Nate said ‘I enjoyed the experiment because we were excited to melt the ice to free the animals’. Jakub ‘We used the same size ice cube to make the test fair’.

Did you know that salt works to lower the freezing or melting point of water? The salt interferes with the ice crystals and by mixing with the liquid water on the melting ice it speeds up the melting process. Wow, we love Science!

Year 2

In Science this week, Year 2 have continued with their learning all about 'Growth'. We discussed and compared the needs of human and animal babies. We were very fortunate to have Mrs Wright and baby Charlie come to visit us. We learnt lots about what Charlie is able to do now compared to being a new born baby. 

Amyra asked a fantastic question - "Why do babies' eyes and hair colour change as they get older?". We discussed how this is determined by genes that are passed down to us from our parents. 

We also looked at animals and their offspring. We looked at the features of offspring, comparing the similarities and differences to their mother. We then put our skills to the test to see if we could guess the offspring of a flamingo! Can you guess which one it is? 

Year 3 

PSHE

Year 3 have been learning what it means to be a global citizen and have been reflecting on the lives of others in comparison to theirs. 

We looked at the lives of four different children and discussed what UNCRC rights were not being met for that child. We looked at one child in particular, Eva, and wrote a reflective piece of writing, comparing her life to ours. 

Suleiman: 'I feel fortunate because not everyone has the same rights that we have.'

Year 5 

RE - Alevism 

In RE this week, Year 5 finished their topic on Alevism and what we thought was the meaning of life. We spoke about influential people in our lives and how they may have influenced us, our morals and our beliefs. We spoke about how in our topic of Alevism, a Pir can be an Ana (grandma – meaning and older respected woman) or Dede (grandad – meaning an older or respected man) who fulfil the most important role of the 12 servants in the Cem ceremony. These individuals are considered influential. Similarly, a Pir leads the ceremony and is someone who is well respected by the community. We learned about a famous Pir’s (Pir Mansur Al-Hallaj (858 –922)) in Alevi tradition and his teachings. 

As a class and in small groups, we discussed the big question: 

We spoke about what we thought the meaning and purpose of life was. Many of us agreed the prupose of life was to live by and show important values, such as our school values of Determination, Resilience, Equality, Respect, Responsibility and Kindness. Many of us also said we wanted to improve ourworld slightly and we all felt we could add something to our world/ community. 

Abby said: "The meaning of life is giving back something #to our Earth - making it better than where you found it.

Jayden said, “The purpose of life is to live your life!”

Olivia “Alevi’s think that family is important and the meaning of life”

Well done to Year 5 on your fantastic contributions and discussions in our RE lessons on Alevism this term. We are so impressed with the respect, maturity and enthusism you have shown! 

Celebrating Year 5’s Project with Bush Hill Park & Kingsmead

Congratulations to our 20 Year 5 pupils who were awarded certificates by Feryal Clark MP for their participation in improving our local environment. They should be very proud of their achievements! The signs created and drawn by the pupils are now all up in Bush Hill Park to encourage the community to visit the Wildlife Garden. The celebration event was held on Tuesday in Bush Hill Park, organised by the Friends of Bush Hill Park and attended by George Spicer & Kingsmead pupils.

Year 6 

As part of our computing unit, Year 6 are looking at computing history. Last week on Friday, we looked at codes and how to break them. We realised that although we could break them, a computer could do so faster. 

We began this week with a lesson learning about Bletchley Park. Linking nicely to our WWII topic, we learnt about the men and women who fought the hidden battle - that of code-breaking. We looked at two key figures: Alan Turing and Gordon Welchman. Both these men were vital to the success of Bletchley Park. It has been said that the work done at this place shortened WWII by two years. 

Later this week, we will be researching other key figures in computing history and creating PowerPoint presentations on them. 

Councils Update

At George Spicer's we believe that children have the right to be heard (article 12) and this can be expressed in one of our school councils.

GSPS Ambassadors Update

The GSPS Ambassadors have met this half term and discussed ways to make lunchtime a happier and safer time of day.  They will be working on a new playtime and lunchtime charter.  So far in our meetings they have recognised that at lunchtime children must prioritise Article 27, the right to healthy food.  They are concerned that children are rushing their food in order to go out to play and as a result food is being wasted.  They are thinking of solutions to overcome this.

Community Council Update

The Community Ambassadors have been working  on our  Sketty Road planting areas.  They have weeded and cleared areas ready for year 3 to plant and they have planted vegetable seeds; courgette, lettuce and tomatoes.  The seeds have grown so some of the children replanted the seedlings to give them more space to grow.  They love watching the plants grow and hopefully later in the summer they can harvest the vegetables.

The planters along Sketty Road (near the Year 4 and 5 doors) are filled with a variety of herbs which the children planted last year as part of the edible gardens project.  Feel free to take a sprig to flavour your cooking.  There is basil, mint and rosemary to name just a few.  We are calling this the Community Garden.  In the Autumn we expect to see blackberries and raspberries!

After school multi sports 

Challenge You

After the May Half we will be launching our next “Challenge You” programme at Edmonton and Albany Leisure Centres. As you are probably aware the level of obesity amongst our young people in Enfield is on average 40% by the time a child gets to year 6.

The programme is designed to give exercise & physical activity alongside advice around nutrition, activity, sleep and screen time.