1. family and parenting
2. children

The Cobbs Newsletter
Spring Term 2015
On behalf of everyone at The Cobbs, a Happy New Year to you all and a particularly warm welcome to all our new
parents and children.
Primary Arts
Project (PAN)
Network
Our school is a founder member
of PAN. Each year a number of
Warrington schools collaborate in
a joint project based on an
agreed theme and the children’s
work is shared through an
exhibition and a performance.
This enables us to participate in
exciting cross-curricular work and
show case work within the arts.
The theme for this year’s Primary
Arts Network is ‘One Touch of
Nature.’ We are already thinking
about our contribution which will
be based around the children’s
knowledge of the seasons and
nature’s changing colours. Our
children will contribute to an
exhibition at the Gateway Centre
as well as performing at the Parr
Hall in March.
and the rainforest?’ First the
children will research what a
rainforest is like, including
differences in climate. The
environmental
issues
threatening the rainforests will
also be considered to make
strong
scientific
and
geographical links in their
learning. Art work will involve
drawing, painting and using
multimedia to create Rainforest
pictures. Year Two will explore
mixing different colours and
shades and also look at and
respond to Rousseau's jungle
paintings. In Design and
Technology the children will be
designing and making rainforest
animal
glove
puppets.
Opportunities will be taken to
read and write non-fiction texts
linked to the theme.
The
children will learn about
animals and plant growth in
Science and relate this to the
life in the rainforests.
Curriculum
Year Two
This half term in Year 2 the main
theme is ‘Our World’. Focusing
on two localities, the children will
learn about their features and
climates. They will begin with the
key question of ‘What are the
differences between Appleton
The second key question will
begin the next locality study, of
Hong Kong. Through pictures,
video clips, non-fiction and
fiction texts, Year Two will
investigate this contrasting
place and also be involved in
emailing someone who lives
1
there to seek answers to their
questions.
During Literacy lessons the focus
will be on information texts,
instructions and poetry as well as
looking at stories set in the
rainforests and in Hong Kong.
The RE focus will be on Judaism.
The children will learn about the
figure of Moses and reflect on the
celebration of Passover. Chinese
New Year takes place in February
and we will be learning about this
event linked to our work on Hong
Kong.
In the second half of the term,
the topic will be Heroes and
Heroines and history will be the
main subject focus. The starting
question will be ‘Why were
Christopher Columbus and Grace
Darling very brave people?’ The
children will focus on a selection
of famous people from the past
and have a workshop planned to
find out about why Grace Darling,
the Victorian heroine, is famous.
Year Two’s art focus will be
learning about the life and work
of some famous artists. People
and events will be added to our
external time line to further
develop a sense of chronology. In
Science, the children will be
learning about forces starting
with the key question ‘How can
wheels help us to move?’ Cross
curricular learning will involve
designing and making suitable
vehicles for Grace Darling. During
literacy lessons the children will
look at information texts,
character descriptions and an
extended story by a significant
author – ‘The Minpins’ by Roald
Dahl. In RE the focus will be on
Christianity. The children will
reflect on the significance of the
Easter story. Computing work this
term will start by using the
internet and selected websites to
help to research our topic of the
Rainforest before moving on to
messaging and email. Children
will look at communication and
the use of appropriate language.
They will learn how information
can be sent and retrieved digitally
and will have the opportunity to
explore our new VLE as it is being
developed.
Year One
The topic for our Year One
children is ‘Storyworlds” and the
children are looking at many
traditional fairy tales.
Next half term, our topic is
called, ‘I Spy Around Us’. The
children will be looking at our
local area and using local
resources to study geography
and history. In science, we will
be looking at growing plants
and using our grounds to watch
for changes in plants and keep a
weather watch.
For our art work, we will be
looking at seasonal art for the
PAN display. World Book Day
will be used as a focus for
literacy work; the children will
be discussing their favourite
books and dressing up as story
characters. In RE, the children
will be remembering Saints days
– St George, St David and St
Patrick.
Reception
Year One will be making towers
in design technology. In science,
they will be sorting different
materials investigating their
properties and Adrian Bowden, a
science specialist, will be
delivering a workshop looking at
different materials and their
properties. In RE, the children will
be celebrating Chinese New Year
and Geography work will focus on
Hot and Cold Climates. For their
art work, the children are looking
forward to drawing their
favourite fairy tale characters.
Towards the end of the half term
Year One are holding a “ball” for
the children where they will
create their own healthy
banquet. You may like to start
organising a costume for the ball.
The girls will need princess
costumes or similar and the boys
could dress as princes or knights.
The Reception topic this term is
‘Once Upon a Time,’ and the
children will be learning about
traditional and fairy tales. They
will be focussing on Little Red
Riding Hood and the Three Little
Pigs. The role play area will
become Grandma’s Cottage
from the Red Riding Hood story
and Grandma will be visiting the
children to talk about her
experience with the wolf! This
will link to the work the children
will be doing about Stranger
Danger and the Community
Police will be visiting the
Reception classes to talk about
this. In science the children are
learning about materials, which
also links well with the story of
the Three Little Pigs. As part of
this work the children will be
visiting the Wild Garden for
some Forest Schools work
including making stick houses
and stick people. At the end of
this half term, the children are
looking forward to celebrating
2
Chinese New Year and are excited
about trying some dragon
dancing and origami. They will
also have the opportunity to taste
traditional Chinese food and read
fortune cookies.
In the second part of the spring
term, the topic will be “What
Would You Finds at the Farm?”
and a farm will be coming to visit
our school. Literacy work will be
centred around the author
Martin Wadell as the children
read Farmer Duck and Pig in the
Pond. Tesco have kindly invited
the children to visit to help them
learn about what happens to
food after it leaves the farm. In
the outdoor area, the children
are hoping to start growing some
food of their own. They will also
be learning about lifecycles and
looking out for frogspawn in our
pond.
Nursery
To start this half term in Nursery,
the children have been talking
about
their
Christmas
experiences which will link to
their topic about toys. They will
be designing their own toy
models and using them in our
role play toy shop. There will be
a maths focus on 2D and 3D
shapes. In February, the children
will be using the theme of “A
Touch of Nature” to produce
work for the Primary Arts
Network
Exhibition
in
Warrington.
We will be celebrating Chinese
New Year with lots of fun
activities
including
Dragon
Dancing and tasting Chinese food.
Later in the term, we will be
outdoors looking for signs of
spring.
The children will be
practicing songs for their end of
term nursery concert and they
will also be looking at Easter
celebrations. Keeping healthy
and safe will link with finding out
about the emergency services.
to talk about nocturnal animals
as part of the children’s science
work and they Year Two
children
will
have
the
opportunity to visit Grappenhall
Keys Walled Garden to go pond
dipping and look at pond
habitats.
School Visits
Assemblies
We have some exciting school
visits and visitors planned this
half term. Adrian Bowden will be
running a science workshop on
materials for the Year One
th
children on 16 January and this
will give them practical science
experience.
On 21st January,
Travelling by Tuba are visiting to
work with all the children on
instruments from around the
world, their history, how they
are played and also looking at
rhythm and control. There will
be a concert for parents of Year
One children 2.15pm which will
involve the children performing
some of the things they have
learnt. Tempus Fugit will be
visiting Year Two on 3rd March
and will perform a theatrical
event based on Grace Darling to
help develop the children’s
knowledge of history.
Key Strings will create a music
workshop for all the children in
school based on 4th March. For
the Year Two children, Adrian
Bowden from Travelling Science
will be working with Year Two to
develop their interest and
understanding in science by
looking at “forces”.
The
Reception children are very
excited to be having a Mobile
Farm visit them on 31st March
where they will meet the animals
that live on a farm and learn all
about them. After half term,
Blakmere Falconry will be visiting
Year Two with their birds of prey
Following on from our work on
Friendship, we have begun the
term by considering how unkind
behaviour can lead to bullying.
This topic is one that the
children are expected to know
about but we try to make it
appropriate for their age.
However, we stress that it is
important for children to know
what to do if they feel unhappy
or if another child is doing
something that they do not like
or feel comfortable with. We
will then move on to thinking
about setting personal goals
and challenges. This will
encourage the children to set
themselves a target and work
consistently to achieve it.
School Closure
Although we are not aware at
the moment of the possibility of
snow, we wish to make you
aware of the procedure in the
event of bad weather. Our
school has rarely closed,
however, the safety of our
children is our paramount
concern and if staff are unable
to get to school or the roads
around school are inaccessible,
we may have to close or have a
partial closure.
If this is the case, the
information stating school is to
be closed will be displayed on
our website from 8.00am. All
parents using our email system
for their correspondence will be
3
sent an email at approximately
8.00am and a recorded message
will be put on our answerphone.
Please visit www.thecobbs.org.uk
for the latest information.
Parents Survey
Thank you to all who completed
our
most
recent
survey.
Information about all our surveys
will soon be put on our website
so there will be further
information to follow
Events
Parents’ Evenings
These are scheduled to take place
for school on 3rd February at
3.30pm to 6.00pm and 12th
February from 6.00pm to 8.00pm.
Lists will be displayed outside
classrooms from 3pm on 21st
January for you to choose your
appointment times. If you do not
come in to school, then friends,
childminders or Link Club staff
can do this on your behalf.
They will be held in school for
Nursery children who are due to
start school in September 2015
only and their appointments will
commence from 4.00pm/5.30pm
on 12th February. The times for
3rd February remain the same.
The parents of younger children
will shortly be informed of dates
for them to meet their child’s
teachers.
Book Fair
We will be having a Book Fair in
school from 9th February for one
week. The event will also be
open during Parent’s Evening.
School receives a generous
percentage of free books based
on the number sold through
school.
H.S.A Cake Sale and Pre-Loved
Uniform, School Parties
On Friday 6th February, our H.S.A
have very kindly organised a Cake
Sale. This is to raise money for
school funds and parents are
invited to bring their home made,
or bought, cakes in to school on
the morning of 6th. They will then
be
sold,
at
exceptionally
reasonable prices, at 11.30am in
nursery and at 3.00pm in the
school playground. This is a
lovely treat to organise for the
end of this half term. To run
alongside this event, there will
also be a pre-loved school
uniform sale at the same times.
If you have any uniform items at
home that your child may no
longer wear, we would be
grateful to receive them in the
school office. There will be a
th
Year Two party on 27 January, a
Year One party had been planned
for 27th March but this date has
now been changed.
Further
details will follow nearer the
time. We would like to take this
opportunity to thank all H.S.A
members for their very valuable
support. It is greatly appreciated.
National Book Week
This year, we will be celebrating
World Book Day on Friday 6th
March.
We will be asking
children to dress up as their
favourite character and be
prepared to share their favourite
book with other children in their
class. We will have a special focus
on authors.
Information Evenings
We have planned our SATs
Evening for the parents of Year 2
children for Tuesday 3rd March
at 7pm. This will explain and
answer any queries for the
forthcoming end of Key Stage
Assessments.
Housekeeping
Safeguarding
and
The following items may appear
very trivial but in effect
contribute greatly to the
smooth running of the school
and the safety and welfare of
the children. We would be
grateful if you would take a few
minutes to read the following
section and adhere to these
guidelines. If you have any
suggestions as to how these
procedures may be improved,
we would be delighted to hear
from you.
After School Clubs
Many children enjoy our after
school clubs organised by
outside providers.
These
currently
include
Drama,
Gymnastics, Dance and Sport.
Membership application or
membership renewal forms for
these clubs are sent home at
the end of each half term. If we
do not have these forms
returned before the end of half
term, we are not aware that
your child wishes to remain in
this club.
Our Teaching Assistants have a
register of children attending
each club, given to them by the
provider at the start of term so
4
they know which children they
are collecting from each class. If
you have not re-registered your
child, it is very possible that their
place will be given to another
child, or that the Teaching
Assistants will not collect them to
take them to the club and there
may not be an adult to meet
them. In future, all we ask is that
you complete the renewal form
for the club and return it to
school by the last day of term or
half term. If this is not done, your
child will not be collected from
their classroom by our Teaching
Assistants and taken to their
activity.
School Dinners
The majority of children now
have a free school meal,
however, if you wish to change
this arrangement, please inform
the office. If we do not provide
the kitchen with notice, then
there is a charge for the meal. so
keeping us informed will save
unnecessary cost.
Absence
If your child is unable attend
school due to a tummy upset,
then we ask that you do not
under any circumstances send
your child back in to school within
24 hours of the last episode of
sickness or diarrhoea. In addition
to the 24 hour timescale, we
would ask that you use your
judgement to ensure they are
feeling well and are eating
normally again.
If children return to school too
soon after a sickness bug, then
this simply gives the bug time to
manifest and spread throughout
the school. If your child is absent
for any reason, simply contact
school by phone or email on the
first day of absence only, to
inform staff they will be absent
due to illness. Thank you for your
support in ensuring our children
remain healthy and minimising
the spread of germs and viruses.
Useful information can be found
on the NHS Choices website
which contains some very
valuable
information
about
guidance for absence from
school, if you are interested, go
to www.nhs.uk and follow the
“Live Well” link and click on “all
live well topics”. At the bottom
of the page under “Y” you will
find “your child at school” where
lots of useful information and
advice can be found.
Headlice
There have been a few cases of
headlice reported in school.
Children in infant schools work
very close to each other and
therefore the lice can spread
quickly.
To support us in
managing the situation, we ask
that parents ensure long hair is
tied back and most importantly,
parents check their child’s hair
regularly. Modern treatments
are very effective, but only when
the instructions are followed
correctly. It is important that all
traces lo lice or eggs are removed
from the hair. As a general rule,
anything found further than a
centimetre away from the scalp
has died but we still advise that
they are removed. This can be
done with a nit comb which can
be purchased very cheaply from
the chemist.
For further
information as to how to spot
them, please look at our website.
Traffic
This is a regular item on our
Newsletters. Please be careful
when driving in the locality of the
school. Conditions are worsened
with the current dark mornings
and excessive rain we have been
experiencing. Please observe
the voluntary one way system
from Bridge Lane downwards.
Many children enjoy coming
into school through our Wild
Garden. You could try parking
around Farm Lane and coming
to school through the rear gate,
thus avoiding Wood Lane
altogether. We ask for your
utmost support in this matter to
ensure that none of our
children are injured on our
roads. We also have permission
to park at St Mary Magdalene’s
and Bethesda Churches and
there are some parking spaces
accessed via Hilton Crescent.
We do hope the above outlines
some of our procedures to
enable you to support us with
the smooth running of the
school. This is just a polite note
to remind you of the systems
we have and why we have
them.
Website
Our
school
website
is
www.thecobbs.org.uk.
All
children in school have been
provided with a username and
password to enable them to use
our V.L.E through our website.
This can be accessed on most
home computers, iPads or
tablets and means the children
can use software at home that
they use in school therefore
greatly enhancing their learning
opportunities. The site also
contains a wealth of other
information.
All recent Newsletters are
available in addition to a
calendar of events throughout
the year.
Photographs are
regularly updated of the
children and their work
together
with information
5
about which topics they are
currently studying. Our weekly
What’s On is also displayed and
information on any assessments
we are required to carry out in
school. The school dinner menus
are displayed in addition to a
section from the H.S.A detailing
ways in which you may wish to
help. We also have a Health
section with further information
about Headlice!
In
the
section,
"Parents
Information,” we have recently
added two leaflets about the end
of year expectations for Year One
and Two children that relate to
the demands of the new national
Curriculum for Reading, writing
and maths. Our current Year Two
children are following the old
curriculum for this year only as
they are still required to
complete the current SAT tests
and
tasks.
However
this
information will show you the
expectations for entering into
Year Three. Parents Information
also contains a section called,
“Helping Your Child at Home,”
which provides lots of useful
information on how to support
your child in literacy and
numeracy together with an
especially dedicated Phonics
section. The information from
our recent Phonics Evening is
displayed here. This is a very
useful tool as the children in Year
One prepare to undertake their
phonics test in the summer term
and the Year Two children take
their SATs.
We would be
delighted
to
receive
any
feedback, positive or negative to
continue to help us support you
and your children further.
Wanted in School
Our Gardening Club would be
most grateful for any small
baskets you have and no longer
need in which they could plant
spring bulbs. We sold baskets of
hyacinths at our Christmas Tea
Afternoon for example. Please
send them to the school office.
Recycling
As you know, we are constantly
looking at ways to support in
improving our environment so
as well as recycling stamps,
shoes, and used printer
cartridges,
we
are
now
collecting used pens. Collection
boxes are situated in each
classroom. Thank you for your
support.
Term Dates
School closes for half term on
Friday February 13th and reopens on Monday 23rd
February. We will close for
nd
Easter on Thursday 2 April and
th
re-open on Monday 20 April.
In addition, our nursery are
always grateful to receive empty
small boxes, ribbons, small lids
etc and any items they could use
for model making. Items can be
taken directly to nursery or to the
school office. Reception would
like to change their construction
areas this term and would love to
challenge the children by
introducing Lego in to the areas.
If you have any Lego that you
would like to donate we would be
most grateful. Thank you for
your donations.
We are always looking to
improve our communication so
if you would like to make any
comments or suggestions about
it, please contact the school
office.
Finally, we do thank you for
your continuing help and
support. If you have any further
comments or queries, please do
not hesitate to contact us.
We also have a shortage of
underwear, particularly for the
older children, both girls and
boys. If you have spare clothes or
underwear that we could have in
school, we would be most
grateful to receive it.
6