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George Spicer Newsletter - 24th January 2025
As we fly through this half-term, I find myself reflecting on how our school, much like a well-oiled machine, thrives on the collective efforts of pupils, staff, and parents alike. It's this collaboration that propels us forward, enabling us to tackle challenges and celebrate victories as one united family.
Speaking of challenges, I'm thrilled to share that our focus value for this half-term is determination. This powerful attribute is the bedrock of success, the fuel that keeps us going when the going gets tough. It's a quality I've observed time and time again in our pupils, whether they're grappling with a tricky maths problem or improving their hockey dribble in PE.
To bring this concept to life, my assembly centred around the fascinating story of Lego. This tale of perseverance and innovation serves as a perfect illustration of how success often stems from unwavering determination and the courage to pursue one's dreams. Just as Lego's founder didn't give up in the face of setbacks – 3 factory fires and 2 near bankruptcies to mention but a couple - we too must encourage our young learners to persist, to see obstacles as opportunities for growth rather than insurmountable barriers.
The Lego story resonated deeply with our pupils, sparking discussions about their own aspirations and the steps they can take to achieve them. It was heartening to see the glimmer of understanding in their eyes as they grasped the power of resilience and the importance of following their passions. Many of them enjoyed telling me about their favourite Lego builds, and it was interesting to see who just liked to build and who liked to stick to the plans.
On a different note, I must address a matter of practical importance. I kindly ask all parents and carers to be mindful of how and where they park around the school. Our local community's safety and well-being are paramount, and considerate parking goes a long way in maintaining positive relationships with our neighbours and ensuring the safety of our pupils. I would also ask that parents treat each other with some kindness and respect as these are essential school values we can all model!
As we continue to build our school community, brick by brick, let's remember that each one of us plays a crucial role. Like the interlocking Lego pieces, we are stronger together, supporting one another as we construct a vibrant, nurturing environment for our pupils to learn and grow.
Let's embrace the spirit of determination this half-term, encouraging our children to dream big, persevere through challenges, and never lose sight of their goals. After all, today's determined pupils are tomorrow's innovators, leaders, and change-makers.
Mr Spong
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Information
Sketty Road Siblings – when collecting siblings from Kimberley Gardens older siblings must stay with their adults. No children, including Kimberley Garden children, are allowed to climb on the climbing frames, run around in the playground, play football or with any of the equipment left out in the Reception area or ride scooters/bikes. This is for safety reasons and demonstrates our 4 Bs – Be Respectful, Be Safe and Be Sensible. Thank you.
Governors’ annual report to Parents/Carers 2023-2024 - Please click this link to read the report, this can also be found on our website.
Governor's Report - Please click to view the most recent Governor's Report
Playleaders - We are currently looking for lunchtime playleaders. If you are interested in applying, please email office@georgespicer.enfield.sch.uk and request an application form. Please see link for more information https://www.georgespicer.enfield.sch.uk/page/?title=Lunchtime+Playleader&pid=179
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Important Dates for Diary
Maths Workshops:
Year 2:
Monday 27th January - Sparrow 9:15am
Tuesday 28th January - Woodpecker 9:15am
Thursday 30th January - Owl 9:15am
Friday 31st January - Robin 9:15am
Friday 7th February - FoGs Glow Disco Year 3 & 5 (see FoGs section for more info)
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Quote of the week
“Life is a gift, but it’s more than just that. Life is a challenge…only the best effort will do!” – Ole Kirk Christiansen, Founder of LEGO
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Attendance week ending 24/01/2025
Overall school = 95.06% Lates = 114
Best attendance: 1st Thames 97.73% 2nd Sparrow 99.09% 3rd Fuji 92.12%
Punctuality: Well done to Thames with 100% for punctuality.
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Tesco Stronger Starts Scheme
George Spicer has been selected to take part in the Tesco Stronger Starts Scheme, with votes being collected from Mid-January 2025 until the end of March 2025.
Our vision is to upgrade the playground, so it is a more exciting place to play and be active. It will improve both the children's physical and mental health.
The stores which will vote on our project are:
London - Enfield 2467 Enfield Southbury Rd Large unit EN1 1NW
London - Enfield 2473 Enfield Express Small unit EN3 5UT
London - Enfield 3032 Ponders End Extra Large unit EN3 4DP
London - Enfield 3361 Bullsmoor Ln Wal X Exp Small unit EN8 7RS
London - Enfield 5042 Enfield Lock Express Small unit EN3 6GS
London - Enfield 5477 Windmill Hill Enf Exp Small unit EN2 7AE
Please support us. The more tokens we receive, the greater the chance of winning the £1,500 reward.
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Reception
In Reception, we have been reading The Magic Paintbrush by Julia Donaldson.
The Magic Paintbrush is a traditional Chinese folktale about a girl named Shen who uses a magic paintbrush to help the poor, as everything she paints comes to life. The story is a celebration of imagination, creativity, and courage.
We have been sorting the items Shen painted into useful and non-useful groups. The children also have been painting their own things, that they think are useful or not useful to display on our classroom working walls.
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Year 1
This week, Year 1have been creating abstract art in the style of Kandinsky. The children really enjoyed taking their line for a 'walk' and creating fabulous pieces of art. We discussed how Kandinsky's art makes us feel.
"It makes me feel really excited because there's lots of colours around it."
"I can see different shapes like triangles creating a face."
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Year 2
Year 2 have started their new Literacy Tree book 'The Minpins' by Roald Dahl. We entered our classroom last week to find a brick wall had been put up on our working wall! The children were very curious to find out what could live behind the wall; some children thought there might be something terrifying, a monster! After reading some of the book and discussing the monsters, the children experimented with different suffixes to name their monster! We played with verbs and nouns, changing 'ing' to 'er' until we discovered a new name.
There is a terrible eye-popping, toe licking, brain-sucking belly tickler!
Do not cross the wall! You might find a hand pulling, spine wobbling, teeth chattering, leg cruncher!
We then created wanted posters and warning signs to stop people from crossing the wall and entering the forest.
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Year 3
Year 3 entered their classroom at the start of the week and were surprised to see a mysterious object (tear drops in a jar) and a letter from … The Tear Thief!
They worked well at identifying what the different coloured tears could represent - for example, tears of happiness, tears of sorrow or tears of envy. The Tear Thief by Carol Ann Duffy has already proved to be a popular text amongst the children, and we look forward to seeing how it will inspire the children’s writing throughout the term!
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Year 4
As part of our new Geography topic on 'Settlements', Year 4 have been learning all about a 'basic settlement hierarchy' (hamlet - village - town - city). So far, we have focused on what you would typically find in towns and villages in the UK. We have also been comparing villages with towns and looking at the similarities and differences between the these types of settlements. As part of this topic, the children will see diverse examples and build up their understanding of the range of settlements using vocabulary such as urban, rural, inhabitants and facilities.
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Year 5
Year 5 has been a hive of activity and learning once again this week. Atlantic and Arctic had their second swimming lesson on Tuesday and Thursday respectively. The children have adapted to the new routine in fine fashion; already demonstrating skill, determination and progress within a short period of time. We look forward to seeing the children progress further over the next 10 weeks. Who knows... we may have a future Olympic Swimmer within our ranks!
This week, each Class Teacher hosted a Maths Workshop for parents and carers. The workshops were well attended, and we thank those who came to support their children. As mentioned during the Maths Workshop, in the coming weeks we will be moving to Sumdog as an alternative online provision to TTRS.
In Science this week, we were tasked by Pampers to carrying out investigations into what type of nappy is best for babies. We tested disposable and reusable nappies for their absorbency, flexibility, comfort and efficiency. We used our predicting, observing and concluding skills to give an informed response to the CEO of Pampers.
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Year 6
In Science Year 6 have begun their new topic, learning about light. Over the next few weeks the children will learn about light sources, how light travels, how we perceive light, reflection and refraction. The children started their learning by carrying out an experiment to track how the light leaves the source, reflects off an object and then travels in a straight line to the eye. They then experimented on how a convex mirror changes how light is reflected. Some of their experiments are shown in the picture.
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Online Safety - Whatsapp
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New public square opening Enfield Town
New public square in Enfield Town to be officially opened - Enfield Dispatch
Please have a read as to how we as a school were involved in this project.
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Our Rights - UNCRC
Our Article of the Month for January is Article 17: Access to information. Last week the KS1 and KS2 Ambassadors presented an assembly at their site. They explained what a Rights Holder is and a Duty Bearer. The ambassadors spoke clearly and confidently and the children all listened respectfully. Well done everyone.
A Rights Holder is someone who has rights. ALL children have these rights. They are BORN with it and they CANNOT be taken away. These rights DO NOT have to be earnt and the rights are EQUALLY important.
A Duty Bearer is the adult who makes sure children's rights are being met. At school this is ALL school staff and at home this is YOU, your child's parent or carer.
Talk to your child about your role as a Duty Bearer and share ways that you ensure their rights are being met.
Please click the link for our rights UNCRC explained
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Health for Kids and Health for Teens Websites
Enfield Council has just launched two new public health websites for kids and teens in Enfield
Children, young people and families in Enfield can now access two new dedicated websites which will provide health messages and advice through interactive tools and creative marketing materials. The Health for Kids and Health for Teens websites cover age-appropriate subjects that promote health and wellbeing, with the aim of educating and supporting the development of children at every stage of growing up.
Enfield Council have worked in partnership with Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust to ensure that children, young people and families in Enfield can easily access trusted information about their health at any time of day.
Health for Kids
Health for Kids is aimed at primary school children, aged four to 11 years old and their grown-ups. The kids’ section (www.healthforkids.co.uk) contains four exciting worlds of fun and games to help kids learn about their health. For grown-ups (www.healthforkids.co.uk/enfield), it covers important features of a child’s health and development, including healthy minds, healthy bodies, health issues and where to get professional help and support.
Health for Teens
Health for Teens (www.healthforteens.co.uk/enfield) is aimed at 11 to 19-year-olds. It features bite-sized information on a comprehensive range of physical and emotional health topics for teenagers, including healthy eating, body image, managing stress, advice on relationships, puberty, sexuality and much more.
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EMS Tune up! Band project
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Thank you to all the families that have logged on, read books and completed the comprehension quizzes on Oxford Reading Buddy this week. The number of children using the online platform has tripled! This is brilliant news. Please continue to log on and encourage your child to read. We are keeping a watchful eye on the numbers to see who will be the winner of the prizes at the end of the half term.
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TfL Travel For Life Schools
We have some FREE sessions available on our half term ‘Learn to Ride’ sessions taking place at Raglan Primary School on 17th -21st Feb.
Beep Beep! Day is back and will take place on Wed 19th March. This day promotes Road Safety to children aged 2-7. Sign up for a FREE pack here Beep Beep! Days | Brake
Sustrans Big Walk and Wheel will take place on 24th March – 4th April. Registration is now open, get signed up early and get it in your calendar! Sustrans Big Walk and Wheel 2025
We have FREE family Learn to Ride sessions which can take place either from the family home or at various locations in the Borough. These sessions are great if children have got bikes for Christmas!
Lastly we are now working in partnership with the Police to offer FREE Bike Marking at our Borough Dr Bike sessions in February (while kits are available)!
You can add all these activities to your school account here travelforlife.tfl.gov.uk
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Sports2Inspire
Sports2Inspire will be running a half-term camp in the school during the February half term. Please see below for more information and use the following link to book. https://bookwhen.com/sports2inspiregeorgespicer#focus=ev-sb7r-20241107153000
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FoGS News
For more information about FoGS (Friends of George Spicer), details of our upcoming events, information on how to join our meetings or to read our newsletter, please visit our website
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