Headteacher Message

Hello all,

I hope you are all well. It is that time of year when we begin to welcome our new Reception cohort for September 2022. Some will be familiar faces and some will be totally new to the school. Can I just say thank you for choosing Darell school, you will not regret it! From the moment you enter the office and encounter the lovely Laura and Lara you are welcomed into the heart of the school by every member of our community. This was proved to me again this week when we welcomed a Ukrainian child into the school. Our greatest asset is our children and this girl was immediately made to feel at home. She was visibly worried about her first day and unsure about what to expect as she entered the playground in the morning. One of our lovely Year 2 children immediately ran up to her and gave her a flower that she had been carrying. My heart nearly melted and I had to walk away to maintain my composure. She left the school smiling knowing that she would receive the same care and attention the following day and to be honest everyday after that. We are immensely ambitious for all of our children and know that for them to reach their full potential they need to feel happy and safe at all times. Have a lovely long weekend with your precious children. Look for enjoyment in everything that you do. I look forward to seeing you on Tuesday.

Thanks,

Joe Porter

Office Updates

Cooking and Craft Corner

As you may have seen we have introduced a new section to the newsletter Cooking and Craft Corner. It would be wonderful you could share and recipes or crafts ideas to share with the school community. Please email any recipes or craft ides to parents@darell.richmond.scu.uk

Lost Property

We have a number of unclaimed lost property items in the office. Please come and have a look through the items, in the lost property trolley.

No parking

This is a polite reminder that NO PARKING or WAITING is permitted on the yellow zig zag lines on Niton and Darell Road surrounding the school.

Diary Dates

Y6 SATs - SPaG

9:00am – 12:00pm

May

Y6 SATs - English reading

9:00am – 12:00pm

May

Y6 SATs - Maths Paper 1 (Arithmetic) Paper 2 (Reasoning)

9:00am – 12:00pm

May

Y6 SATs - Maths Paper 3 (Reasoning)

9:00am – 12:00pm

May

Half Term

All Day

From 30 May until 03 Jun

May

Year 6 Cycling Proficiency

9:00am – 12:15pm

June

Year 6 Cycling Proficiency

9:00am – 12:15pm

June

Year 6 Cycling Proficiency

9:00am – 12:15pm

June

Year 6 Cycling Proficiency

9:00am – 12:15pm

June

Year 6 Leavers Disco

6:00pm – 7:30pm

June

Wellbeing

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 - Why are cows useful animals?

Peake - What does the word extraordinary mean? Can you think of other words that mean the same thing? Do you agree that Joe's garden was extraordinary? Explain why.

Weir - Do you think Marco and his crew will find the island with tall, sweet grass and short, sweet trees? Do you think he will find foxes there who will be able to answer his questions?

Walker - How should the lazy farmer treat the animals?

Newton - What did the Pasha plan to do with the giraffe?

Thunberg - How would you feel if you lived in the Amazon Rainforest?

Darwin - What are the 3 most important electrical appliance you can think of?

Attenborough - Why is Nelson Mandela's book called "Long Walk to Freedom"?

Parks - Who haunts the dreams of the boy in Treasure Island? What impression do you get of the seaman from his description? Why do you think the seaman is on the lookout for the one-legged man?

KS1 Star of the Week

Wonder Class

Mia Rose - for her wonderful attitude to reading and working so hard at home!

Peake Class

Ruairi & Olly - for fantastic team work on writing, practising and performing a song, helping us to recall pairs of numbers that make ten. Well done, Ruairi and Olly!

Weir Class

Florence - for being aspirational in her writing this week and pushing herself to achieve her best. Well done, Florence!

Walker Class

Scarlett - for working with adults and displaying a positive attitude towards learning. Well done, Scarlett!

Rashford

Acacia - for trying really hard to reach her target and for being a brilliant teaching assistant! We’re very proud of you, Acacia!

KS2 Star of the Week

Newton Class

Sanveer - for facing fears and joining the school journey, trying all the activities and showing resilience

Newton Class

Archie - for facing fears and joining the school journey, trying all the activities and showing resilience and a great transition back to school

Thunberg Class

Adil - for Being responsible for his learning and arriving at school on time all week!

Darwin Class

Kelise - for her teamwork, communication and encouragement during our Thames Young Mariners trip

Attenborough Class

Lexi - for her fantastic team work in maths

Parks class

Siera - for being a positive and diligent pupil, and taking responsibility for her progress!

E Safety News

Darell Primary & Nursery School Follow

Yesterday, we had a delightful inaugural session of 'Art and Craft in the Garden' with @lucybrettstudio Thanks again to the hard work of our community for making this possible https://t.co/PK9QRBlpAE

2 days ago

Attendance

Overall school attendance this week was 92.4% our target is 96.8%.

Well done to Walker class for the highest attendance of 100% this week.

Best for punctuality was Walker class with 0 lates!

Let's do our best for next week!

Cooking and

Craft Corner

Easy banana pancakes

Turn overripe, blackened bananas into sweet and fluffy American-style pancakes. Serve with syrup and crunchy, toasted pecan nuts as a delicious brunch treat!

Pancakes on plates with banana slices and syrup

Ingredients

350g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder?
2 very ripe bananas
2 medium eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
250ml whole milk
Butter, for frying

To serve

2 just ripe bananas, sliced
Maple syrup (optional)
Pecan halves, toasted and roughly chopped (optional)

Method

STEP 1

Sieve the flour, baking powder and a generous pinch of salt into a large bowl. In a separate mixing bowl, mash the very ripe bananas with a fork until smooth, then whisk in the eggs, vanilla extract and milk. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients, tip in the wet ingredients and swiftly whisk together to create a smooth, silky batter.

STEP 2

Heat a little knob of butter in a large non-stick pan over a medium heat. Add 2-3 tbsp of the batter to the pan and cook for several minutes, or until small bubbles start appearing on the surface. Flip the pancake over and cook for 1-2 mins on the other side. Repeat with the remaining batter, keeping the pancakes warm in a low oven.

STEP 3

Stack the pancakes on plates and top with the banana slices, a glug of sticky maple syrup and a handful of pecan nuts, if you like.

Lava Lamp

Lava lamps are a great sensory stimulus for little ones. They’ll also show big kids the science behind the cool chemical reactions. Making a lava lamp might seem like a big step forward if you’re not a keen crafter. But this DIY tutorial is really easy to follow and requires mostly regular kitchen items to get stuck in.

You will need:

Vegetable oil
Food colouring
Small cup
Baking soda
Vinegar
1L bottle or cup
Spoon

How to make your own lava lamp

1. Add the baking soda

In your 1L bottle or cup, add three tablespoons of baking soda.

2. Add the oil

Fill 2/3 of your bottle or cup with the vegetable oil, making sure it rests on top of the baking soda and doesn’t mix with it.

3. Mix the vinegar and the food colouring

In the other, smaller container add some vinegar and three drops of your food colouring.

TIP: Use different coloured food colouring with every new bottle, or mix some together (like blue and red) to create new colours that you often can’t buy. Or instead of food colouring, add some silver glitter!

4. Sit back and watch

Now, add your solution of vinegar and food colouring to the big 1L container, slowly, and watch what happens!

Place either your phone torch or a flat torch underneath you bottle to light up the bottom and achieve that famous lava lamp glow.

Useful Links

Arbor Parent Portal - darell-primary.uk.arbor

Follow us on twitter - twitter.com/darellschool

School Uniform Shop - The Shoe Station

Newsletters

Newsletter 28– Friday,29th April 2022