Last weekend several of our students participated in the Science Olympiad Foundation Maths competition. This year the whole format was changed to online and I have to say that there have been a few teething troubles but I am happy to report that all of the primary students completed their papers successfully. This year students were able to access the practise materials in advance and I know that some students worked very hard to prepare for it. We look forward to receiving the results later in the year and hope that this time all of the medals and certificates will arrive in good time.
Our classes are busy preparing for the parent coffee morning on the 10th February. It will start at 9.00am and we will send you a zoom link to participate in the nearer the time. It is so interesting and informative to see the students sharing their learning virtually but we do look forward to the time when they will be able to perform face to face again.
We had some great entries for the House Poetry competition last year. This year we are working towards a poetry collaboration with other international Belgian schools. More details to follow.
We are reviewing our homework guidelines at the moment. Homework can be useful to help children explore learning in different ways, develop good study habits, research information for themselves and to revisit and practise things learnt in the classroom. However, it is also very important for primary children to have a wide range of experiences outside of the classroom: Cultural experiences such as going to shows, museums, festivals and exhibitions, travel experiences such as visiting local villages, towns and cities using a variety of different transport services, historical experiences visiting places of historical interest, social experiences mixing with other cultures and their own peer group, sporting opportunities and so on. Of course in these covid times it is far more difficult to provide these sorts of experiences for the children but please remember that playing board games as a family, walks to the park, investigating nature and other simple activities are all part and parcel of extending a child’s development. We really value the contributions parents can make to their children’s education in this respect.
Wet weather play times are less satisfying for our students but each class has a ‘wet play’ box or agreed activities that the children can undertake indoors. If your child has comics that they have already read and that other children may enjoy please think about sending them in to the class teacher and they can be added to the ‘wet play’ box.
Wishing you all a lovely weekend.
Sharon Short
Head of Primary
Safeguarding Officer.