Other activities this week include Year 3 enjoin searching for angles, creating African art and writing African poems. Year 4 have been hunting for treasure with coordinates and Year 2 have been learning all about similes. Take a look this weeks gallery.

Next week, we look forward to Healthy Eating Week. We have many exciting things planned for the girls and information is displayed in the atrium and on the Bulletin and the Class Bulletins. 

This week has also been a time when as a school we have reflected upon and reacted to the terrorist attacks that the country has been subjected to in Manchester and London. We have  joined with millions across the country in observing a minute silence to remember those that have died or have been seriously injured. To support those very public demonstrations of remembrance and respect we have taken time in class, to reassure and to explain. We have used the advice given by the NSPCC  and the PSHE Association to guide us in how to manage those discussions and given that sadly we have now had to do this on two occasions I thought it would be useful for us to share those guidelines with you. Teachers were asked to, if and when appropriate:

• clarify the facts: What has happened? What is happening now? How do we know?

• recognise that terrorist attacks can result in a range of strong feelings, from curiosity and excitement to personal anxiety and fears

• listen carefully to any fears and worries and offer reassurance and comfort,  avoid complicated explanations that may leave children feeling frightened or confused

• allow children to talk about their feelings and encourage questions and answer them honestly

• remind them that such things are in actuality rare and that we live in a safe and well protected society

• help children separate the facts from speculation and rumour. Ask them whether the facts could support different interpretations

• discuss that the aftermath of such events can bring out positive and negative responses in human beings and that we should enhance the first and challenge the second

• ensure that children should not be placed in a position of defending their community or faith and that there is a danger of ‘generalising’ the actions of a few to a larger group or community

• children should understand that the number of people supporting a rumour does not affect the likelihood of its being true

Obviously this advice and guidance was adapted as appropriate to the age of the children that the tutor or teacher was working with.

I hope you have a lovely weekend.

Miss Barlow

Merit Certificates Edie Weispeiser (Reception), Florence McArdle (Year 1), Sylvie Corley & Lucy Philp (Year 2), Maddie Smith(Year 3), Jessica Burgess (Year 4),Anya Howard & Shamailah Islam (Year 5) and Karina Mehta (Year 6) 

Bunny Awards Sophia Lyne (Reception) for trying really hard to be her best self, and Suhani Bhalla (Year 6) for being so welcoming to our visitors and being an amazing ambassador for the school.

Winning House St Therese