https://www.alexandraprimaryschool.co.uk 31st January Issue No. 8
Message from the Headteacher
This week we celebrated Luna New Year, Happy Year of The Snake! We also commemorated Holocaust Memorial Day by reading Anne Frank’s story and listening to Lesley and Caroline recount the experience of their relatives during the Holocaust. A particular thank you to Caroline Schloss, our Chair of Governors, who gives so much of her time voluntarily to support the school, please read her message below.
I have been delighted to receive lots of entries for our values competition and have enjoyed reading the creative ideas and suggestions for animals to represent each of our four school values. The school council will help me judge the winners on Monday and Jo Gold will be in school on Tuesday to run a creative workshop and develop the ideas into images. Look out for the new designs in our next newsletter.
What's been happening this week?
Young Voices 2025
Our visit to the O2 last week was one of our highlights of the term so far. Our choir went to sing as part of the largest choir in the world at the O2 on Tuesday. It was a marvellous experience, full of the magic of music and dance. Lucky Nala In Mexico Class was very lucky to meet the famous MC Grammar who was also performing on the night. Well done to all our choir who sang and danced their hearts out!
A huge shout-out to Ms Kennedy, Ms Shah, Ms Ibrahim and Ms Aurelia as well as our Choir for attending this event and representing our Alexandra Primary!
Holocaust Memorial Day Talk
This week, we had the privilege of hearing from two special guest speakers who shared their experiences of the Holocaust. Their powerful stories provided a deeply moving and important learning opportunity for our children, helping them to understand the impact of history and the importance of remembrance.
We are grateful for their time and for the valuable lessons they shared.
Thank you to Caroline Schloss, our Chair of Governors, for sharing her experiences with Year 3,4 and 5 and to Lesley for speaking to our Year 6s.
Hello
As governors, we tend to spend most of our time in meetings but always enjoy any opportunity we get to spend some time with the children.
This Monday, 27th January, was Holocaust Memorial Day and as the child of Holocaust survivors, I was honoured to be asked to speak to the children in Years 3, 4 and 5 about the importance of this day and why we must not ever forget what happened. We also mentioned that Holocaust Memorial Day also commemorates the victims of more recent massacres around the world.
We talked about Anne Frank and how her experiences during the war were very similar to what my mother went through although, of course, my mother was lucky enough to survive. I also explained how, after the war, Anne Frank’s father, who was the only member of Anne’s family to survive, married my grandmother.
The children were an amazing audience and listened attentively and asked some great questions. I was very impressed.
Best wishes
Caroline Schloss
Chair of Governors
Lunar New Year 2025
Some of our Inclusion Ambassadors helped deliver an assembly about Lunar New Year. They shared information and photos showing how this celebration takes place in different countries. The children also listened to The Great Race, a mythological tale about how the animals were chosen for the Chinese zodiac calendar. This year marks the Year of the Snake!
Year 1 & 2 Singing assembly
This week in singing assembly, Ken was eager to translate a song he wrote into different languages. Some of our children from Turkey took on the challenge, learning the song and performing part of it in Turkish. It was a wonderful celebration of language and music, highlighting the diversity within our school community!
Thank you to Ms Nejla and Ms Shannon for their help too!
Year 1 Making Rockets
Year 1 have been exploring and learning about space through the story 'Vlad and the space race'. The children had a fantastic time designing and painting their own rockets using recyclable materials.
A big thank you to our Year 1 parents for bring in so many supplies and to Ms Shannon and Mr McKenna for organising this fun and engaging activity!
Y2 Colombia Class Assembly
Colombia Class were star performers in their assembly last week. We had lots of songs, penguins and even a polar bear which changed colour.
Well done Colombia Class!
Year 3 Argentina Class Music Lesson Sharing
This week, Year 3 had the opportunity to showcase their musical learning in a special lesson-sharing session. The children demonstrated their growing confidence and skills, performing rhythms, melodies, and songs they have been working on.
It was fantastic to see their enthusiasm and progress—well done, Year 3!
Developing our Playground Champions
Our incredible Playground Champions have been taking their roles very seriously! They meet every 2 weeks to develop their skills as play leaders. This week they learnt how to draw a hopscotch game and how to teach others to play the games. Lets hope for lots more sunshine so that the children can all benefit from their expertise!
A huge thank you to all of our play ground champions for all their hard work at playtimes.
Pots and Pans for EYFS!
We need your help in Early Years!
To make play and learning more exciting and meaningful for our little ones, we love using real-life objects in their activities. Right now, we’re on the lookout for old (or new!) pots, pans, baking sheets, and kitchen utensils to use in our mud kitchen and music-making areas.
If you have any items to donate, please drop them off with our Nursery and Reception staff or bring them to the office.
Thank you for helping us create fun, hands-on learning experiences for our youngest pupils!
Creative Club Fun
Last week, in Creative Club, we had a great time decorating cookies! First, we made the icing and then we used Smarties to create fun designs, including flowers and caterpillars.
The children loved getting creative with their tasty treats!
This week in creative cub we used water colours and our imagination to create whatever our heart desires. From monsters to flowers and crazy hair styles. We had a lot of fun!
Subject monitoring: PE
I have had a fantastic week reviewing and monitoring PE across the school. It has been fantastic to see and hear children are fully engaged and enjoying PE. Their enthusiasm and smiles show how much they are benefiting from fun, active sessions. A big thank you to Carly for her dedication to making PE lessons fun, as well to our class teachers who are delivering great lessons.
I am working on providing more opportunities for our children to take part in sports competitions and trips, helping them to develop their skills, confidence and teamwork beyond the classroom.
Here are some photographs of our Year 6s enjoying their PE circuit training in the sunny weather this week.
Parents, please can you ensure that your child has the correct PE kit on their designated PE/swimming kit days, so they can take part comfortably and safely - Thank you for your ongoing support!
Ms Shannon, PE Lead
TT Rockstars and NUmBots Tea Party
Fluency in mathematical facts is crucial for our children's success in maths! One effective way to enhance these skills is by practising for just a few minutes each day. Engaging with platforms like TT Rockstars and NumBots makes learning fun and interactive!
This week, we want to give a huge shoutout to some amazing children for their hard work and dedication in developing their maths fluency. Keep up the fantastic work!
Congratulations to our Stars of the Week for demonstrating curiosity in their learning!
A special well done to our four NumBots winners, who will be heading to the tea party this Friday to celebrate their achievement.
Keep up the great work!
National Number Day 2025
On Friday 7th February, we are celebrating NSPCC Number Day. Please encourage your child to wear numbers to school and donate a pound to the NSPCC to support children around the world. We will spend the day celebrating all things connected with maths and work on encouraging our resilience around solving maths problems.
Music Assessbly with Mr Ken
This week, the children enjoyed a fantastic Music Assembly with Mr. Ken! They had the opportunity to sing, explore rhythms, and even learn a song in different languages. It was a joyful and engaging session that inspired everyone to embrace the power of music.
Well done to all the children for their enthusiasm and participation!
Learning Makaton: Signing Our Way to Inclusion!
This term, we are excited to continue our journey of learning a new Makaton sign every week.
This initiative has been a fun and interactive way for our children to engage in communication, helping to enhance their language skills while developing an inclusive environment that values all forms of expression.
With the support of our Inclusion Ambassadors, the children have enthusiastically embraced this new skill, using the signs in class.
A big thank you to Mr Brown and our Inclusion Ambassadors for their dedication and efforts in raising awareness about sign language.
Parent Coffee Mornings
Join Us for Our Safer Internet Coffee Morning!
Enjoy free tea, coffee and biscuits while learning about online safety at our upcoming coffee morning with Mr Smyth our computing lead. This session will focus on how to keep children safe online, with practical tips and advice for parents.
📅 Date: Wednesday 12th February, 8:50 AM
📍 Topic: Safer Internet – Helping Your Child Navigate the Online World
We look forward to seeing you there! Keep an eye on the newsletter for details of future parent sessions.
Attendance
Our whole school attendance target is 95.10%
This week, the whole school attendance for reception and years 1-6 was 95%. Well done to the following classes for having the best Attendance:
Best Attendance for this week:
KS1 – Colombia Class 96.30%
LKS1 – Argentina Class 98.22%
UKS2 – Espana Class 97.04%
Important Dates
Children’s Mental Health Week: 3rd - 7th February
NSPCC National Number Day: Friday 7th February
Safer Internet Day: Tuesday 11th February
Welcome in Wednesday - Safer Internet Parent Workshop: Wednesday 12th February, at 8:50 am in our house
Parents Evening: Thursday 13th February, from 1:40 – 6:30 (children finish at 1:30)
Last day of term: Friday 14th February (Children finish at 3:10)
Children return to school: Monday 24th February