Primary Newsletter 06/12/2024
Dear Parents and Carers,
We are now fast approaching the end of term. There are still plenty of activities taking place and lots of learning happening, some through non-traditional methods, which are just as effective and still important.
Primary teachers and students spent some of their time over the last few weeks preparing for the amazing Festival of Lights and their hard work really paid off. I am sure everyone who came had a fantastic time. The weather was kind. There were lots of activities for the children to do and the stalls looked such fun. I was particularly impressed by the Primary performances this year and it was great to see the students enjoying themselves on the stage. We had some special Santa’s helpers in the form of a stand-in for Father Christmas (Mr Johnson) and his elf (Mr Sunil) who told us a funny tale and stayed for some photo opportunities. The food was delicious and we rounded off the event with some fireworks this year. Sparklers on the stage, rain candles too and a series of fireworks off the school roof. Can this event get any better.
Friday 22nd November was Fluffy Friday when we all dressed in our cozy clothes and in the afternoon the Primary Student Voice and Class 2 let us have a chance to taste some warming teas.While we were tasting the delicious drinks, sitting on cushions and rugs, Class 2 read us some stories. Thank you to everyone who made it happen.
Last Friday we had a lovely music performance from Class 3. They had practised all the different parts to the popular song ‘Old Town Road’ usually performed by Lil Nas X. They were in four different groups. We had some students on the special drums known as ‘cajones’ keeping the rhythm. The rest were then divided into the bass part, the alto part and the melody. These groups were playing xylophones. It was very effective and the rest of the primary classes really enjoyed the performance as did I. Well done Ms Nichols and Class 3.
Every week we award a student from each class the title of positive role model of the week. We take the IPC Personal Learning Goals and identify students who have personified a particular one. The class teachers discuss the personal learning goal with the class and then take a photo of the student chosen and we put it up on our notice board. Just recently we have also begun awarding Athlete of the Week in our Primary assemblies. These are students who have been recognised by Mr Gabor for great effort, good sportsmanship and skill improvement. Well done to all of our students who receive these awards.
Today we had a special visitor in school. Yes it was Sinterklaas! He visited with Zwarte Piet and our students sang for him. Then he read the information he had gathered on the students, some good, some naughty. I’m pleased to say that most of our students have been fantastic and there have only been one or two little things to improve on. No one ended up in his sack. Zwarte Piet then shared his sweets and went off to knock on some Secondary doors. That naughty scamp!
On Monday Class 2 took a trip to Chocolate Nation in Antwerp. This was to round off their unit on chocolate. On the trip all of their learning about chocolate came together and they were lucky enough to have a chocolate making demonstration. It was very exciting but probably not as exciting as tasting all the different types of chocolate at the end of the tour. The class then ate their lunch in Starbucks and had a hot chocolate drink to finish off with. Everyone was very well behaved and learned a lot.
On Tuesday classes 3 and 4 visited Urania, the planetarium and observatory in Hove. This visit also compliments their studies in school and the students get to build on their knowledge of the solar system and the stars. They paid a lot of attention, enjoyed the planetarium show, and went up to the telescope to see the sun through a special filter. It looked green but they were able to see the sunspots on the surface. The students had lots of questions. They got to hold (and smell) a real meteorite. At the end of the day we had an electronic quiz and the class winners won a small prize. A lovely educational day out. Urania is open every Friday evening if anyone in your family is interested and free to visit at that time.
On Wednesday Class 2 and 3 took a walk up to the local care home to deliver Christmas cards, perform some songs and share some activities with the old folk who live there. They were a tremendous hit. They were fantastic ambassadors for ISBe and have been assured they can come back any time.
This coming week is the last one for Ms Saachi as she is leaving. She has been an amazing teacher; very hard working and so dedicated to her students. She has also worked very hard for the school as a whole by leading the Primary Student Voice very successfully. She is a very creative and innovative teacher and we will miss her very much. We wish her all the best and hope she will stay in contact. If your child has been taught by her they might like to make or send her a good luck card.
We have appointed Ms Wynne Buckner, an excellent candidate to take over from Ms Saachi, but there will be a delay while she moves to Belgium so Ms Irina has kindly agreed to teach the class in the interim.
Next week Class 5 will be on a residential trip to the European Space Centre.
The parent teacher conference will be on Friday. Please make sure you have booked your appointment.
I wish you a wonderful weekend and a great week ahead and just in case I don’t write to you in the meantime, a fun filled break.
Sharon Short
Head of Primary
Safeguarding Lead.