Newsletters

Newsletter 22– Friday, 4th March 2022 

Headteacher Message

Hello all,

This will be a short newsletter today as we are all slightly run off our feet.  It only takes a few staff to be out in a small school to create a challenge and I think we have had at least 5 staff out today.  One of them being the amazing Laura Gavin who effectively runs the school!  Today I have been a teaching assistant, receptionist and am now running the after school club. I mention this because, when I am doing this, it invariably means that all staff are pitching in and working outside their areas of responsibilities.  They get on with it, smile and ensure your children have the best experiences possible.  They are a fantastic team, and I am really proud to be headteacher of this school.  Today we had a visit from a former pupil turned author who spent the day visiting class groups.  What an amazing role model. I need to go and make baked beans on toast now so have a lovely weekend.  

Joe Porter

Curriculum 

I wanted to continue last week's focus on writing in this part of the newsletter. As I have mentioned before, story is a key driver for our curriculum. Using well chosen and powerful stories helps to drive children's motivation and engagement in writing. Across the school, we use texts from a wide range of authors and backgrounds to inspire and engage the children. Today, I was absolutely taken aback with the quality of writing produced in Year 4 in response to the Anglo-Saxon epic poem 'Beowulf'. I have shared a short snippet of the writing below.

Listen! I will tell you the tale of Beowulf, the beast killer! To Denmark he came. To the hall of Heorot, home of Hrothgar, the best-ruler. To rid that place of Grendel, the man-slayer. All where dream chasers when Grendel came. None heard the door-crasher step into the hall. None... except Beowulf.

Zones of Regulation 

Monday 7th March at 9.15am in school hall.

   https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/3e/f7/76/3ef776c06472ee4400071d5ef7d5ca07.jpg        https://i.pinimg.com/originals/b2/4a/ac/b24aac5829a056917c34ccb9027c50a5.jpg       https://i.pinimg.com/736x/fe/d2/80/fed28004639980d56d6c7184e67420be--zones-of-regulation-emotional-regulation.jpg       https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/aa/4f/7c/aa4f7c27fce7af68b7c0876b0edd809e.jpg

Presentation for parents delivered by Sophie Casson and Zita Nagy from the Educational Psychology service.

This is a popular approach being used here at Darell and at many other schools.  

This presentation will cover:

  • Making sense of children’s behaviour and fostering emotional development
  • Explaining the key skills and vocabulary that children learn from The Zones of Regulation programme
  • Becoming familiar with some of the activities involved in The Zones of Regulation.
  • Designing a toolbox of helpful strategies to help your child manage their emotions.

If you would like to attend this session please contact the school office on 0208 876 6721 or email parents@darell.richmond.sch.uk to book your place.   It is anticipated the session will last about an hour.

 Donations for Ukraine

I am sure if you have been following the news, you have thought about ways that you can ‘Make a Difference’ to the current situation in Ukraine. One way in which our community can help is by supporting the Ukrainian restaurant Prosperity in Twickenham which is collecting donations to be sent out to the Ukraine.  They're after certain items (included on the list below) which can be dropped off there.  If you're able to donate any of the items, they would greatly appreciate it.

  • power banks (for charging phones)

  • large and medium size backpacks

  • socks

  • camping mats

  • sleeping bags

  • protein bars / energy bars

  • first aid kit

  • warm blankets

  • thermals/base layers

  • hot water bottles

  • insulated flasks

  • baby food

  • nappies

  • feminine sanitary products

Please see below for address and dates/times of collections:

Prosperity Restaurant, 59 York Street, TW1 3LP

07853514567

Tuesday: 11am - 6pm

Wednesday-Saturday: 11am - 9pm

Sunday 12am - 9pm

Office Updates

Parent/Teacher Consultations 

We are looking forward to holding parent/teacher consultation meetings this half term. These meetings will take place on the following dates and times.

  • Monday 14th March, 3:40 - 7:00 (Year 6)
  • Tuesday 15th March, 3:30 - 6:00 (EYFS & KS1)
  • Tuesday 15th March, 3:45 - 6:00 (KS2)
  • Thursday 17th March, 4:00 - 7:00 (all)

We are pleased to be able to welcome you into school to hold meetings in person. The meetings will take place in a well ventilated classroom with your child's teacher. The meetings will last for 10 minutes. If you are unable to come into school or would prefer to have a telephone call then please could you indicate this preference on Arbor in the Notes section when you book. Please note that if you do request a telephone appointment, we will do our best to ensure that calls happen at the allotted time slot. However, there may be a slight delay if meetings are overrunning. We will do our best to keep to the times requested.

Please log in to Arbor to book a meeting with your child's class teacher. If you require any support with booking your appointment, please contact the school office. We look forward to meeting with you and relish the opportunity to discuss your child's learning with you.

Head Lice

We have seen a rise in cases of head lice throughout the school. Please, over the weekend, could we ask you check your child's hair and treat if necessary. Please follow the link to the NHS for more information and how to treat headlice. Thank you.

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/head-lice-and-nits/

Diary Dates

Parents Consultation Evening
3:30pm – 5:30pm
15
March
Year 6 Junior Citizen trip
12:30pm – 4:00pm
16
March
Parents Consultation Evening
4:00pm – 7:00pm
17
March
Year 2 Kew Archives trip
9:00am – 3:00pm
22
March
Year 2 Scooter Training
1:00pm – 3:00pm
25
March
Year 2 St Paul's Cathedral Trip
9:00am – 3:00pm
28
March
Easter Holiday
All Day
From 04 Apr until 19 Apr
04
April
Inset Day - children do not attend
All Day
19
April
Y4 - Thames Young Mariners Residential Trip
9:00am – 4:00pm
From 25 Apr until 26 Apr
25
April

Wellbeing 

Positive affirmations are designed to be little reminders to help you recognise the magic that is within you! Below is a great example, why not have a go! 

Printable Wall Art, Digital Download - Children's Positive Affirmations Poster | Positive affirmations for kids, Affirmations for kids, Affirmation posters

The Reading Corner

Welcome to our weekly section of the newsletter all about reading. Every week, we will share a question (or two) with you about the book your child is reading in school. Please use these questions to help you find out a little more about what your child has been reading in school and continue to develop their love of reading.

 

Wonder - What can you see out of your hot air balloon?

Peake - Can you imagine who used to live in the house that once was? Why might this person have left?

Weir - How has Fox changed from the beginning to the end of the story? What do you think he will do without Star?

Walker - What did the boy do to help care for the puppy?

Newton - Why did Atir hang an amulet around the giraffe's neck??

Thunberg - Why did Perseus try to find Medusa?

Darwin - Beowulf fought Grendel. How many other mythical monsters can you name?  Do you know a story which has the monster in it?

Attenborough - What did we find out about Tutankhamun's life from the scroll inside the Anubis jar?

Parks - Can you explain why Kensuke is so vehemently opposed to fire?

Can you predict what will happen to Michael once he is strung by the jellyfish?

KS1 Star of the Week

Wonder Class 

Mohammed- for his excellent blending and improved grapheme recognition. Well done for working so hard!

Peake Class

Karima - for using her geographical knowledge and creativity to make a superb collage street scene. Well done Karima!

Weir Class

Niyayesh - for  some super independent work in maths. Well done, Niyayesh!

Walker Class

Anders - for exploring different strategies to support himself with regulating his emotions. Well done, Anders!

Rashford

Liana - for overcoming challenges and proving how resilient you are. Well done, Liana!

KS2 Star of the Week

Newton Class

Josh - for working hard on his organisational skills and independence

Thunberg Class

Judi - for excellent learning behavior and always having a big smile for everyone!

Darwin Class

Aroush - for her attentiveness and focus on making her work better

Attenborough Class

Alexis - for her bravery and enjoyment in our swimming lessons

Parks class

Maria - for being such an exemplary role model within the school community

E Safety News

Follow the link below for helpful tips and advice :

https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/4_7/

Darell Primary & Nursery School Follow
Today, we welcomed a very special visitor to our school. Former pupil and children's author, Simone Greaves, spent time in classes reading her Colourful Me books before completing a book signing at the end of the school day. #WorldBookDay https://t.co/TmNcNKdbWG
16 minutes ago
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Attendance

Overall school attendance this week was 93.6% our target is 96.8%.

Well done to Thunberg class for the highest attendance of 99% this week.

Best for punctuality was Attenborough, Darwin and Mozart  class with 1 late!

Let's do our best for next week!

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Craft Corner

Broccoli pasta shells

Broccoli pasta shells served in a bowl

Kids will love this healthier take on pesto and pasta, with broccoli upping their veg intake. It takes just 20 minutes to make and is low in calories

Ingredients

  • 1 head of broccoli, cut into florets
  • 1 garlic clove, unpeeled
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 250g pasta shells
  • ½ small pack parsley
  • ½ small pack basil
  • 30g toasted pine nuts
  • ½ lemon, zested and juiced
  • 30g parmesan (or vegetarian alternative), plus extra to serve

Method

 1 - Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Toss the broccoli and garlic in 1 tbsp of the olive oil on a roasting tray and roast in the oven for 10-12 mins, until softened.

2 - Tip the pasta shells into a pan of boiling, salted water. Cook according to packet instructions and drain. Tip the parsley, basil, pine nuts, lemon juice and parmesan into a blender. Once the broccoli is done, set aside a few of the smaller pieces. Squeeze the garlic from its skin, add to the blender along with the rest of the broccoli, pulse to a pesto and season well.

3 - Toss the pasta with the pesto. Add the reserved broccoli florets, split between two bowls and top with a little extra parmesan, the lemon zest and a good grinding of black pepper, if you like.

Tin Can Windsocks

It’s starting to feel like spring time around here, so to welcome the warm weather, why not have a go at making  these colourful recycled can windsocks to hang up outdoors! They’re SO simple to make, and they look awesome!

You will need:

  • Clean Recycled Can (any size will work!)
  • Acrylic paint & Paintbrushes
  • Glue
  • Assorted ribbons or even paper 
  • Embellishments like, glitter, stickers, gems, sequins, etc
  • Masking tape

How to:

  • Start by painting the can in colours of your choice.

 

  • After the paint is dry, use glue to attach colourful ribbons to the bottom rim of the can. We also added a ribbon to the top of the can for hanging.

 

  • These recycled can windsocks would make a great addition to your yard or garden!

     

 

Community News

Useful Links

     Arbor Parent Portal - darell-primary.uk.arbor

     Follow us on twitter - twitter.com/darellschool

     School Uniform Shop - The Shoe Station