1. SHOBNALL PRIMARY SCHOOL Dear Parents We have pleasure in presenting the Autumn Newsletter which brings you the latest information and the range of activities which have been happening within the School during the first half of the Autumn Term 2015/16 NURSERY Our Nursery and Reception children have settled really well into their new classroom and school life. Within a very short time children are grasping class routines, forming new friendships and are growing in both confidence and independence. It is a joy to see our youngest children interacting so well together and supporting one another in times of needs, for example with putting on aprons, coats or accessing provision, and showing pleasure and giving encouragement when celebrating children’s successes. Well done to you all! This half term, The children in the EYFS have enjoyed their topic of ‘All About Me’. Through this topic, they have learnt to talk about themselves, their families and have developed their creative skills by drawing and representing themselves through the use of different media and materials. They particularly enjoyed painting their faces on stones! Children have been talking and writing about themselves and ways to keep themselves clean and healthy. They are becoming superb at using their counting skills and listening skills too! Mrs Wheeler, Mrs Farrington, Mrs Curran and Mrs Roberts are very proud of the progress the pupils have already made so far! Well done children!. RECEPTION New Intake : How time flies! We can hardly believe the first half term has come and gone for our new intake of EYFS children! Mrs Farrington and Mrs Wheeler are delighted with how the children have settled into their new school routine and are embracing all the exciting learning activities and experiences here at our wonderful school! It has been lovely to see their confidence blossom over the past few weeks in particular, and we look forward to seeing each child make lots of progress with their learning in the next half term Thank you and well done to our wonderful parents for getting to grips with the classroom routine in the mornings and of course, managing those long evenings with very tired little children! ‘HELPING YOUR CHILD AT HOME’ MEETING FOR NURSERY AND RECEPTION PARENTS At the beginning of September, Mrs Farrington and Mrs Wheeler met with parents of the children in Nursery and Reception. Aspects of the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum were explained including reading strategies, daily phonic time, maths in everyday routines, the importance of talk and physical development in order for children to begin writing and the use of topics as a vehicle for children’s learning. Parents were informed as to how they can support the assessment process through both school and home involvement and shared a Learning Journey book, which celebrates children’s achievements throughout. YEAR 2 In English this term Year 2 have been learning about instruction writing. We learnt about time connectives and bossy verbs. The Year 2 children even created a super display on instructions entitled ‘How to wash your hands’. This term Year 2 have learnt all about doubling and halving numbers. They also learnt about the less that (  ) and the more than (  ) signs. They learnt that Charlie the greedy crocodile always eats the larger number! greater than (>) or less than (<) In Science Year 2 have been learning about living things and their habitats. The children have learnt all about living processes and have even learnt the acronym MRS GREN, which summarises all seven life processes.

2. YEAR 1 The children have all settled into Year 1 and have coped well with the transition from Reception. In Art, children have all produced a portrait of themselves and have written in a speech bubble about what they want to be when they grow up. These are on display in the classroom. In English, the children are learning about labels, lists and signs. Children have been introduced to a variety of stories including, Billy’s bucket and Not a stick. Children have thoroughly enjoyed producing work based on this topic and their fantastic writing is displayed in the classroom. As part of English and our Harvest piece, children have learnt to orally re-tell the story of ‘The Little Red Hen”. In Mathematics, we have been learning to count and recognise numbers to 20 and above. We have also been looking at doubling, addition and subtraction practically and with a number line. In addition, children have enjoyed learning about different 2D shapes. Children have now been given an Education City Pass, so they can complete Mathematics activities on the internet. numeracy homework on the Internet. Nursery, Reception and Key Stage One are collaborating to produce artwork and written work on the story of ‘Aliens love underpants ’. Please look out for the fantastic work that is displayed in the corridor. The large art was produced by Year 1. The children have thoroughly enjoyed using a variety of different mediums. Helping your Child at Home Meeting Mr Gordon, Miss Dhadwal and Miss Cooper would like to thank all the parents who attended the ‘Helping your Child at Home’ meeting this half term. Useful websites were popular with the parents so please find the list below:-  Phonics play  Oxford Owl  BBC Science Clips  BBC Learning Zone  Topmarks  Topic Box  Mathszone. For Topic, children have been learning about ‘ourselves’ and our senses. They have labelled different body parts and produced an exciting display about the topic. In Geography children have been learning about the human and physical features of our environment. Miss Cooper and Miss Dhadwal would like to thank all children who attended the after school club, ‘Playground games’ and we hope that you have thoroughly enjoyed all of the activities and games you have experienced as well as spending time with your friends.

3. YEAR 3 YEAR 4 English The children have been learning about stories by author Michael Foreman and have enjoyed looking at the various features in his books. They worked hard to plan a story based on one of his books titled ‘I’ll take you to Mrs Cole!’ I have been impressed with the way children developed their initial ideas and used fantastic description to bring their stories to life. A great start to their story writing in KS2! Mathematics This half term the children have been developing their understanding of place value. They have successfully partitioned number and used these skills to support them in solving addition and subtraction questions. Children did very well when sorting a variety of 3D shapes by using Venn diagrams. They have also had a focus on the 3 and 4 times table which they have become more confident in recalling. Science The children have been learning about rocks. They have enjoyed identifying various features of rocks and sorting them into categories. They were surprised by some of the results to our investigation when they discovered some of the properties of different rocks. Children have also engaged in work involving the change in rocks over time and the development of fossils. We will conclude this unit of work with a focus on soil. We are really proud of all of the Year 3 children who have made a great start to KS2 following a successful transition period. Maths Year 4 have been working very hard this half term in maths. The class has studied a variety of units this half term ranging from addition and subtraction to symmetry and fractions. The class have made progress in all of these areas and will have the opportunity to return to them later in the year to fine tune their skills. English Year 4 have written their own Shipwreck Stories over the past few weeks. The class used an example of a Shipwreck Stories and used it for inspiration. The children were challenged with writing a story that painted a vivid picture in the mind of the reader that transported them to the island with the castaways! Science In science the class have been learning all about sound. Year 4 have carried out several investigations and experiments to find out how sound travels and how we can change sound. The unit ended with a trip to Rosliston Forestry Centre where engineers from Rolls Royce ran a science day focusing on sound. History The topic for this half term’s history has been the Anglo Saxons and the Vikings. The class has investigated both sets of people and discovered where they travelled from before they settled in Britain. The class also found out the reasons for their respective settlements. Art The Year 4 classroom is now decorated with a wonderful selection of portraits draw by the children themselves. The class examined various examples of portrait techniques including the importance of shade and sketching.

4. YEAR 5 English - In English, we have been studying classic fiction. We discussed what is meant by the term ‘classic fiction’ and we found out the titles of different classic fiction texts. We read the ‘Iron Man’ by Ted Hughes and we wrote sequels to this story. We have also completed grammar work to develop our understanding of sentence construction, as well as reading, handwriting, spelling and punctuation. Maths – In Maths we have been following the new National Curriculum. We have covered a range of mathematical skills, including rounding numbers, ordering numbers, understanding place value, multiplying and dividing by 10, 100 and 1000 and using addition and subtraction. Science – Our topic this half term in Science has been ‘Forces’. We have learnt about gravity, and have learnt that Sir Isaac Newton discovered the existence of gravity. We have also learnt about friction and we conducted an investigation in which we used force meters to measure the force needed to pull a show across different surfaces. We also carried out an investigation to test the air resistance of different paper spinners. History – Our History unit for this half term is entitled ‘Crime and Punishment’. In this unit, we have learnt about the laws and punishments associated with different periods in British history, from the Roman period to the present. We learnt to place different periods in history on a timeline and to develop our understanding of how laws and the way in which crime was punished changed over time. Art – In Art, we have been learning about the artist, Georgia O’Keeffe. We looked at a wide range of her artwork, discussed how she enlarged images, including flower. We have experimented with a range of media, including pastels, crayons, fine liner pen and pencil. We also used photographs to create our own individual pieces of artwork kin the style of Georgia O’Keeffe. Swimming – Year 5 children have been attending weekly swimming sessions at the Meadowside. This continues the lessons they have at the end of Year 4. Children have been working hard to develop their swimming skills and are working towards achieving swimming certificates. YEAR 6 I In Science we have learned abut how we see and shadows. Shadows are made when a light shines at an opaque object and blocks the light. We made puppets and we put them in different lengths away from the torch and measured the shadow. Some of us investigated whether the colour of the object would affect the colour of the shadow. It is all very well that we see properly, but …how do we see? Well it is a very good question which Year 6 asked too. Apparently, there is an object that the eye sees, but the eye sees it upside down so it goes to the brain which turns it the right way up and that is how we see. Students are really interested in learning bout this. We have been learning about World Ward II and the Blitz. We have also learnt about various battles such as: Battle of Atlantic, Operation Sea Lion etc. Operation Sea Lion was Germany’s mission to scare Britain to make us surrender. The Year 6 pupils really enjoy this subject on History. The Blitz was a scary time when Germany’s pilots tried to bomb Britain to make us surrender in the nights. A full moon was classed as a bomber’s as they could see better with a full moon. We started to have blackouts to minimise light so that the Germans couldn’t see. The battle of Atlantic was a ferocious time when the German’s decided to build a ginormous battle ship to stop Britain from getting resources. Their ship was called the Bismarck. Britain found out about these plans and we sent HMS Hood and the Prince of Wales ant lots of others were sent to stop them. After a few minutes, a bomb sunk the HMS Hood. A ship aimed a torpedo at the Bismarck and damaged its rudder and after the attack the ship sunk. HISTORY

5. Singing Club Singing Club takes place on a Tuesday lunchtime and has been attended by Reception children and Mrs Wheeler. The children have particularly enjoyed the LOUD action songs this half term, with their favourite being ‘Five Little Monkeys’! If you’re not sure how that song goes, any of our members would be happy to sing it for you, but please remember, it’s LOUD, which we love! Children have enjoyed singing solos, duets and using puppets and instruments to enhance and accompany their favourite songs! HARVEST FESTIVAL Transition Meeting – Year 6 Children in Year 6 participate in a transition process which gradually introduces them and their parents to their future secondary schools. This process involves Teachers and Teaching Assistants meeting to blend practice and ensure continuity and progression. Your child’s safety and happiness is of paramount concern and to ensure that this transition is positive, Mr Donoghue, the Head Teacher from John Taylor High School, delights in the opportunity meet and speak with Year 6 parents. This year, the meeting took place on Wednesday, 14 th October 2015 and parents took the opportunity to ask questions. During years 5 and 6, we build in opportunities for greater independence and responsibility so that our children are ready to meet the challenges and changes they will encounter. Mr Donoghue's visit is part of the effective transition we have established. It is always a special time for children at Shobnall School. It is a whole school opportunity to take time to reflect on why millions of the poorest people in the world still live without the most basic human services. For this reason we are supporting the charity ‘Water Aid’, who work with the poorest people and call on their governments to provide access to a safe and sustainable supply of water; for drinking, washing, cleaning and growing food. The children have been made aware that this essential supply of water is a basic human right and that in many countries around the world taps, wells and pipes simply do not exist. Even when they do, they are often not affordable for the poorest people. In our service at St. Aidan’s Church we have reflected on the difficulties many poor people face. The children presented readings, hymns and poems to give thanks for the opportunities and food supply that most people are lucky to have access to in Britain. The coins kindly donated by parents and families were placed around the hall. These have been counted and the grand total of £170.00 has been sent directly to Water Aid. Thank you for all your support shown by everyone in our school community. CLUBS Film Club Film Club was open to children in Years 4 and 5 and was very well attended. Children used the iPads in a range of different ways to develop their understanding of filmmaking. They first created trailers using iMovie. This involved using photographs and short videos to create a short trailer to film. They learnt how to edit the credits and to select the style of trailer they wanted to make. Next, they experimented with special effects. Using an app on the iPads, they created short superhero clips, in which they were able to fire lightning bolts from their hands or lasers from their eyes. There were some truly spectacular results from this. Finally, children completed some work on animation using an app to help them do this. The children responded very enthusiastically to the work they completed and there are some very talented budding filmmakers in our midst.!

6. Debating Club Our older students always value the opportunity to participate in the School Debating Club. Their skills, confidence and experience to stand up in front of an audience are developing well. Our first debate of the term has been the concept of balloon debate. Our pupils have been studying World War II in their History curriculum and for this reason they have had to present an argument to say why they should not be thrown overboard from the hot air balloon. The hot air balloon will be (hypothetically) travelling over Britain in April 1942. Each of the debaters have chosen a character from that era, for example Winston Churchill. After the children have presented their argument to an audience of pupils, votes will be cast to see who the audience thought presented their argument the best. Well done to all the children who dressed up as the character chosen. It was a fiercely contested debate and a difficult choice to elect the final remaining character in the hot air balloon. After School Hockey Club This half term children from Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 have attended the after school club at school. The children have looked at improving basic hockey skills such as dribbling, passing and stopping the ball. At the end of each session the children have played games to put these skills into practice. All the children have worked hard to improve the skills and are looking forward to more preparation for the hockey tournaments next term. Art Club The children in Art Club have had lots of fun creating a variety of Art. They have used leaves to make a wonderful picture thinking carefully about patterns and colours. They were able to follow instructions to create various models using origami and had lots of fun decorating them. They enjoyed using various heart shapes to create a wonderful picture which they then decorated using different materials. Art Club has been lots of fun this half-term and I have been very impressed with the variety of skills the children have shown. Board Games Club A number of children from Years 3 and 4 have been taking part in ‘Board Games’ Club. At the club, the children had the opportunity to learn games and thoroughly enjoyed competing against each other. The children were extremely enthusiastic and keen to develop their skills. Special thanks to Victoria and Katie from Year 6 who helped and supported the children with how to play Monopoly and Cluedo. Well done to all children who attended! Strictly Come Dancing Mrs Farrington and Mrs Roberts have spent this half term with a group of Year 1 and Year 2 children learning to dance a cha cha cha. The children have really enjoyed learning a new style of dance and have demonstrated great improvement each week as they have begun to grasp the basic steps and technique of this popular Latin dance. We may not have had the glamour and glitter of the Strictly Come Dancing show, but I thought you were all … Fab-u-lous and would definitely score you a 10!

7. Dove Valley 6-a-side Tournament – 3 rd October Football Tournament Shobnall entered two teams into the Dove Valley 6-a-side tournament this year. One team was predominantly made up of the children who regularly play the league fixtures and the other consisted of many children who were representing the school for the first time in a competitive tournament. The Blue Team had a very tough group which was dubbed ‘The Group of Death’ by the organisers, whereas the Yellow Team played against many players who play for local teams in the Burton Junior Football League. The Blue Team won one and lost two very close games and narrowly missed out on a semi-final place. The Yellow Team bravely took on their opponents which were largely made up of older, more experienced children but were also unable to progress out of the group stages. A huge thank you must go to the parents who attended the event as I know the children really enjoyed having your support. In addition to this it is important that the children themselves are given credit for the way in which they represented the school showing perfect manners to the referees and opponents. Well done all! St. George’s Park Football Event The girls represented the school wonderfully at the St. George’s Park Football Event. They were coached by FA skills programme coaches and they then had the super opportunity to watch the England Women’s Football Team train. Afterwards they even got to speak to the players and get their photographs and a couple of selfies. All in all the girls were superbly behaved and learnt a lot throughout the day. Their brilliant attitude even got them a cameo appearance in front of the camera! Who knows maybe in years to come our Shobnall Girls’ Football Team may be training at St. George’s Park themselves. Alrewas Away 24.9.15 Shobnall kicked off the new season with a trip to Alrewas to play All Saints’ Primary School. Many familiar names took the field for Shobnall alongside the new faces of Liam Chilton and Ahrees Hussain. Shobnall made on assured start attempting to pass the ball patiently around the midfield. This approach was soon rewarded as Tobias whipped a nice ball in from the left to pick out Liam who promptly opened his account for the season with a neat finish. The opener was quickly followed by another as Bruce flicked on another Tobias crossed into the far corner. Shobnall continued to create chances however they we pegged back on the stroke of half-time with a breakaway goal against the run of play. 1-2 half-time. Shobnall were soon back in control and it was Tobias who restored the two goal cushion with a rocket into the All Saint’s goal. The SPS outfit saw out the remaining minutes with relative ease and recorded their first win of the season. A fine away performance which saw all nine children contribute towards a very impressive team effort. DV Home Football Games Vs Mosley and Richard Wakefield. Shobnall continued their fine start to the season with two wins in as many nights by seeing of the challenge of Mosley and Richard Wakefield. Tuesday night saw the visit of Mosely, however the visitors caught the hosts in a ruthless mood as the SPS team romped to 8-2 victory which included a Liam Chilton hat-trick. The Year 5 striker carried his form into Wednesday evening as he notched all four of his team’s goals in a 4-1 win. Both games displayed the team passing the ball wonderfully and taking every chance that came their way. Some tough fixtures lie ahead, but the children are more than capable of continuing this great run of form. Keep it up guys! Mr Yates

8. ROSLISTON FORESTRY TRIP Whole School Photograph The whole school photograph is taken of all registered pupils approximately every five years. We were delighted that the scheduled date brought sunshine, even though it was mid-October! The staging was set up and the staff were very impressed with the excellent presentation and good behaviour shown by he children. Over the years we have found that returning pupils always take the time to find themselves on past photographs and they often recall happy memories of their time here at Shobnall. We hope that this recently taken photograph will also take pride of place in our hall of fame photographs which adorn the junior library. There is always an opportunity to purchase a copy of this photograph and further details as to how this can be done will be sent as soon as we are given the final copy. Year 3 The children in Year 3 had a wonderful time when they took part in some exciting workshops at the Rosliston Science Festival. During the first workshop they were able to develop their understanding of forces and used a newton metre to measure as well as recording results on a graph. They then used the results to support them in shooting a water balloon using a sling shot. Many were close but only a few managed to hit the target. Well done Isla and Emily! The second workshop allowed the children to develop a variety of skills as they designed their own model to protect a small water balloon. The children worked fantastically in their teams to decide on the best materials to use to construct their idea. They then used their addition and subtraction knowledge to add up the cost to buy their chosen materials. After some super team work the children watched as each groups model was dropped from a height. Well done Golden group your balloon managed to survive! Year 5 On Wednesday, 7 th October, Year 5 children visited Rosliston Forestry Centre to attend a science festival. The children completed two activities while they were there: ‘Cargo Drop’ and ‘Rocket Launch’. Members of staff from Rolls Royce led the sessions. In Cargo Drop, the children had to design their own parachutes to support a water balloon that would be dropped from a height. They had a budget of up to £100 to spend on materials and the less money they spent, the greater number of points they retained. When their parachute wad dropped, if the water balloon remained intact, we received 100 points. If it burst but landed on target, they received 20 points. Children learnt about the scientific concepts of gravity and air resistance, and how these two act as opposing forces. Year 5 In Rocket Launch, the children first found out about chemical reactions. They set off a rocket using Mentos and Coke, which react together to create a gas, which launched the rocket. They then designed their own rockets that would be fired using a pump, water and air pressure. They learnt about making the rockets aerodynamic to reduce air resistance, as well as adding fins to make our rocket launch in a straight line. When they launched their rockets, they scored marked according to how high their rocket flew and how straight it went. Overall, it was a very fun and hands-on-visit, and the children also lent abut a range of new scientific concepts PARKING AT THE ALBION As you know, we are very fortunate in that the Albion Public House allows all our parents to use their car park for both am and pm drop offs and pick ups. A number of pubs no longer offer this facility. We know that you are grateful for this benefit but, if you are able, why not express your gratitude by popping into the Albion for a quick drink or a bite to eat. In fact, why not consider the Children’s Halloween Party which the Albion is holding on Friday 31 st October (see below).

9. NETBALL NEWS Shobnall continued to impress on the netball court once again this year when they played in the first stage of the Dove Valley Netball league. It was always going to be a big ask to continue the high standards of the previous season with only Millie remaining from our highly successful team. However, staff and parents were not to be disappointed! We played against All Saints, Alrewas in the first game and even though there was a very obvious height advantage in favour of the opposition, the children were magnificent. We found ourselves trailing 1-0 after the first minute but that proved to be the only shot against us all evening. We continued to push, run and mark wonderfully well and after having 15 shots in comparison to their one, Ella managed a last second score from a long way out. It was nothing more than we deserved. In the second game, we played against a combined school team from Needwood and Rangemore. We began much brighter and dominated throughout, coming away as eventual 2-0 winners although really it should have been more. Both Tobias and Noah were our scorers in this game. We played a friendly against William Shrewsbury, Stretton at the very end and once again won this time 3-0. It was another fabulous evening and well supported by our parents who were surprising subdued during the evening! A big thanks to Mrs Barker who has helped run the netball club and offered invaluable advice and suggestions throughout, it really is greatly appreciated. We will certainly be looking to build on this success when the next round of games start again in Spring and shooting is definitely high on the agenda. The team included: M. Smallwood, Tobias M, Noah W, Anais. McW, Paige B, Joey T, and Ella R. Well done to all of the children. SCHOOL TRIP A reminder that the whole school will be visiting Derby Velodrome on Wednesday 16 th December 2015 to watch a performance of “Aladdin”. Please could we ask for all monies to be paid into the office as soon as possible, but certainly by no later than Tuesday 3 rd November 2015. SATURDAY MULTI SKILLS CLUB Mr Attwood has started a Saturday morning Multi- Skills Club this term for Years 1 to 6 inclusive. This runs from 10.00 am until 12.00 pm and is offered to any child who wishes to attend. The cost is just £35.00 for all 6 sessions. Please pay the Office Staff should you wish to enrol your child/children. To secure a place your child must commit to at least 5 out of the 6 sessions on offer. Please make cheques payable to ‘Active Learning Sports’ and write your child’s name and year group on the reverse of the cheque. Confirmation of your place will be given by a phone or email message. Places are limited and are awarded on a first come, first served basis. ROYAL BRITISH LEGION POPPY APPEAL We will be selling poppies in school from Tuesday 3 rd until Friday 6 th November 2015 in aid of the above appeal. If you wish to contribute to this charity collection please send in your donation with your child/ren.

10. DATES FOR YOUR DIARY School Closes on Friday, 23 rd October 2015 for the October Half Term and re-opens on Tuesday, 3rd November 2015 at 08.45am. SCHOOL IS CLOSED TO PUPILS ON MONDAY, 2ND NOVEMBER DUE TO STAFF TRAINING YEAR 6 PARENTS ONLY Ensure Secondary School Applications are completed for your child and returned by 31 st October 2015 www.staffordshire.gov.uk/www.staffordshire.gov.uk/ (homepage  Parents & Families  Admissions to School  Secondary Admissions) REMEMBER your bag and your completed medical form for Kingswood on Monday, 9 th November PARENTS please pack this ‘with your child and not for your child’. The staff at Shobnall Primary School would like to take this opportunity to wish you a safe and happy half term break APPLICATIONS FOR RECEPTION CLASS – SEPTEMBER 2016 Admission to Primary Schools - How do I apply for a Primary School place for September 2016? Important Points to Remember You must apply by 15 January 2016. You must make an application, even if you have an elder child attending your preferred school. Be realistic about the schools you apply for. It is recommended that you include your catchment school as one of your preferences, as otherwise you will not be considered for a place You are strongly advised to make more than one preference. Failure to do so could have repercussions in terms of the distance your child is required to travel to school. Attendance in the nursery class does not give any priority for admission into Reception class All applications are considered at the same time. Priority is not given to those who put the school first, or on a ‘first come first served’ basis. List the schools in the order that you would most prefer them, and not the order you think you might get them. The order in which you list the schools is only used if you could be offered more than one school. In this case, you would be offered whichever of those schools was highest on your application.