Links News - 31st March 2023

Dear Links families,

 

Well there we have it- another term over in the blink of an eye. I can’t believe how quickly this year has gone and how much amazing learning has been happening. I’ve spent a lot of time in classes this week and have seen some fantastic learning going on. I was especially pleased to see the amazing writing that some of the boys in Reception have been doing. In Year 3 the children were learning about the similarities and differences between Italy and the UK and I popped into Year 4 on Tuesday to see some great work with the Lego computing kits.

 

Today we said goodbye to Mr. Triggs and Miss Thurlow, two integral parts of the Links team. We wish them both all the best as they move on to new ventures,

 

Highlights of the term

 

Nursery

This term we have enjoyed learning through the topic 'Food Glorious Food' and 'How Does Your Garden Grow?' We have read stories including 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar' 'Jasper's Beanstalk' and 'The Enormous Turnip.'  We got to taste lots of different fruits, including strawberries and plums, and talked about our favourite fruits. We planted bean seeds and made daily observations, watching them grow really tall! We talked about healthy eating, and what foods are good for you, and why. As the season has changed, we have talked about the weather and the changes that are taking place now it is Spring.

 

Reception

This term our topic was, 'How does your garden grow?' The children have enjoyed planting, learning what a plant needs to grow and observing the growth of different plants e.g. daffodils, basil, marigolds. Our core books were Jack and the Beanstalk and My Bean Diary; we have been looking at fiction and non-fiction texts. In RE, we looked at different religions and different places of worship. In maths, we have been learning about one more than any given number to 10 and ordering numbers 1-20, thinking from the smallest to the greatest number. The children have explored different media in art this term, for example, observational drawing of daffodils, drawing with a purpose in mind- using different colours and adding detail to a piece. The children learnt about a Japanese artist,  Yayoi Kusama, 'The Princess of Polka Dots'  work, recreating our own versions.

 

Year 1

In Spring 1, Year 1 read Traction Man and explored toys through time. We visited Fulham Palace to learn about the history of toys and how the materials they are made from have changed. In Maths, we counted to 50 and learnt about mass and weight. The children enjoyed using scales to weigh classroom objects. This half term, we were visited by some fairies who asked us to teach them about where we live. We went on a trip to Tooting to learn more about our local area, explored the plants and trees which grow here and learnt about the history of Links in English. We hope the fairies loved their stay with us! 

 

Year 2

It has been a busy, fun filled term in Year 2. We have enjoyed learning about the Crimean War and two incredible women who played a significant role during the war, Florence Nightingale and Mary Seacole. We have ended the topic by participating in the "Florence and Mary" virtual workshop organised by the National Army Museum. The children have had a chance to share their knowledge and look at an extensive collection of artefacts. 

We continued to improve our mathematical knowledge in Multiplication and Division, Money and Measurements. The children have had a chance to use varied scales and other measuring equipment to widen their understanding through experience. 

The children have been lucky enough to take part in many trips. To celebrate World Book Day, they went back to Wimbledon Library to watch the performance of Magical Quest's adaptation of the book "Matilda" by Roald Dahl. To broaden their RE knowledge, they visited St. Paul's Church where Rev. Belemo answered some fantastic questions. 

In science the children have loved learning about living things and their habitats. During our latest science lesson, they have loved applying their scientific knowledge in search for some creatures and minibeasts within varied microhabitats in our school surroundings. There was a lot of excitement related to our findings of worms, ants and spiders. 

We are all looking forward to next term, when we will have a chance to observe close-up the fascinating life cycle of butterflies and plants. We are sure you will hear all about it!

 

Year 3

This term in Year 3 has been filled with lots of wonderful learning. In Science, we have been learning about plants and the children even carried out their own investigations into what a plant needs to grow healthily. Some of the results were quite surprising! In Geography, we have been learning about what life is like in Italy and how it compares to life in England. In RE, we have learnt about some different religious festivals across some faiths including Christianity, Judaism and Islam. The children have loved sharing what they already know about some of these festivals too. In PSHE, we have been learning about how to keep our bodies and minds healthy and the children have been trying to remember this in their everyday life. In DT, we have been learning about and building our very own aqueducts. The children loved researching, planning and building their own water transport systems and they were very successful! What a busy, productive and exciting term it has been!

 

Year 4

Our Viking topic generated lots of questions from the children which they enjoyed exploring. They particularly enjoyed designing and building their own Viking longhouses. The houses were evidence of how much they had learnt, for instance the inclusion of animals, weaving looms and Viking shields. We are really proud of how the children worked together in teams, taking on specific roles (architects and interior designers) and collaborating together with their ideas. In science, the children investigated how to build complete circuits and even made their own switches. Will any of Year 4 be future electricians?!

The children had an opportunity to build a variety of Lego models which they then programmed to move. It was wonderful to see their excitement and partner work. Also, the children visited St Boniface Church as part of the RE curriculum. 

Alongside these highlights, the children have worked hard in all subjects. We are really proud of the children that they are becoming. We wish them all the best in their final term in Year 4. 

Year 5

It’s been a legendary term for Year 5. We have loved learning about the myths of Ancient Greece, including the stories of the ferocious Cyclops, the brave Theseus and the dastardly Minotaur. We were even able to get the chance to view artefacts from Ancient Greece in the British Museum. It was incredible to see just how much Ancient Greece has influenced our culture - many of the maths topics we studied this term, such as geometry, were first studied by ancient Greek philosophers such as Pythagoras and even the constellations that twinkle above our heads each night are named after some of the gods, goddesses and heroes of ancient Greece. So that was where we went next: exploring the stars and planets in our own solar system and beyond, boldly exploring where no Year Fives had gone before.  We invented our own planets, making Cam toys to help them spin, invented space themed computer games on Scratch and recreated the fantastic rocket imagery of Peter Thorpe. Once out in space, we looked back at the Earth, discovering more about the locations of the countries of the world, the religion of Judaism and the Holy books of all the major religions and the life cycles of the incredible living things on our own, fantastic home planet.

 

Year 6

Year 6 have been working hard this spring term, preparing for SATs with mock tests and focussed practice. Despite this, we have packed in a lot of fun! We learnt all about the Maya Civilisation and had particular fun with creating our own Mayan Masks out of cardboard and papier mache! We took a trip to the British Museum for a seminar on the Mayans and got to see lots of artefacts up-close that we had learnt about. In History, Geography and Science for the last couple of months, we have researched and studied Charles Darwin and his Theory of Evolution, creating biographies on Darwin and studying maps of where Darwin travelled on the HMS Beagle!

 

Beat the Street

It’s been great to hear so many of the children talking excitedly about where they have been tapping their cards for the Beat the Street game. At the time of writing, Links is in second place on the East Mitcham leaderboard. Let’s see if we can get to the top to win some vouchers for school. The Easter holidays will be an excellent chance to get exploring the borough on foot!

 

Year 4 Reed’s

Earlier this week, as part of our partnership with Reed’s School in Cobham, a group of Year 4 children went to take part in a Lego Innovation workshop. They all had a great time exploring science and engineering with the Lego technology kits.

 

Attendance

Earlier this week, you should have received a message through Studybugs to let you know your child’s attendance for the year so far. Now that we’re (supposedly!) out of winter, this really is the chance to get your child’s attendance up to the national expectation of 95%.

 

Here are this week’s attendance figures for each class:

• Morning Nursery- 87.1%
• Afternoon Nursery- 85.7%
• Full-time Nursery- 78%
• Rainbow- 88.1%
• Sunshine- 91.6%
• 1EJ- 93.8%
• 1P- 87.3%
• 2B- 98%
• 2T- 94.7%
• 3B- 96.2%
• 3P- 94.6%
• 4M- 89.5%
• 4T- 90.4%
• 5D- 94%
• 5KT- 91.1%
• 6G- 93%
• 6M- 95.1%

Congratulations to 2B, who will be sharing their learning with Lincoln for the first week back after the holidays. 

 

House Points

A huge congratulations to Yellow house, who snuck up from behind to take the win for the term!

• Yellow - 5405
• Green- 5392
• Blue - 5198
• Red - 5116

 

Values Awards

We’ve ended the term with a record number of Values Awards being given out at our final whole school assembly. Well done to:

• Eva M (Rainbow)
• Tilliyah (Rainbow)
• Marcelo (Rainbow)
• Dheajith (Sunshine)
• Thomas (Sunshine)
• Matyas (2T)
• Sofia (3B)
• Jamie (3P)
• Leo (4M)
• Gauresh (4M)
• Zainool (4M)
• Alif (4T)
• Luke (4T)
• All of 4T
• Cherry (5D)
• All of 5KT
• Anhelina (6G)

Extended Services

Booking is now open for breakfast and after school club for next half term. If you would like to book a place, please complete this form. Please note that all booked places will be charged for.

 

Start of term

Unless your child is starting Nursery for the first time, school starts back for all children on Monday 17th April.

Don’t forget that school finishes today at 1:30pm. There is no after school club.

 

As it’s my last day, I just want to say thank you all for your kind words and well wishes over the past few days. I know I’ve only been at the helm for a short time, but it’s been an absolute privilege to lead such a wonderful school and a time I will never forget. When I started at Links nearly seven years ago, I never imagined I would be in this position. 

 

Having said that, I’ve played only a small part in Links’ history. The school has been here for 111 years and will be here for many more years to come. I leave confident that the staff of Links will continue to provide the excellent learning opportunities that all children deserve. At a time when pressures in education are forever increasing, I can hand-on-heart say that I’ve never met such a dedicated group of educators. The children of Links are very lucky to have them and I am very lucky to have been able to work alongside them.

 

Finally, and most importantly, thank you to the children. I really will miss your cheerful smiles and your excited tales of what you’re learning about with your teachers.

 

With very best wishes,

 

Lee and the Links Team