Ashley C of E Primary School

Headteachers Message! 

 Good afternoon,

Another half term has flown by and we’re quickly heading towards Spring. It is lovely to see the snowdrops in bloom, at the front of the school.

At the moment, the weather is particularly wet so please ensure your child brings in a coat and a change of shoes so that they can still go outside, on the playground and on the field, as much as possible.  

The book fair will be visiting Ashley from Monday 19^th February to Friday 23^rd February.  The book fair helps to support the purchase of additional books for our class libraries as well as giving children additional reading materials for home, so your support is always greatly appreciated. The World Book day tokens will also be accepted at the fair.

Booking for the virtual Parent Consultation Evenings will open after half term. The appointments will be for Tuesday 5th March and Thursday 7th March . Full details of how to book will be sent to you after half term. During the 10 minutes appointment, there will be time to discuss the progress your child has made so far this academic year and how s/he is doing in school.

It has been a pleasure to welcome parents/carers to our 'VIP' events, these are lovely opportunities for you to come into school and see your children’s work in their classrooms. The children love to show you what they have been learning and celebrate the progress they are making. Please keep checking the newsletter and website for forthcoming dates.

Finally, just to say, I hope that you have a lovely half term and it is a little drier. We look forward to seeing you on Monday 19^th February.

Best wishes,

 Mrs Ratcliff 

Polite Notice - Road Safety

Please can we remind you not to park across our neighbours driveways, and take note of the parking restrictions such as residents parking only. We ask that you are always considerate to our local residents.

Please can you also ensure that you cross the road by the school in a safely manner and not cross in front of ongoing vehicles. Ashley road is very busy during drop off and pick ups. 

Welcome to our new staff!

Honey Postle – Learning Support Assistant

Lamia Acar – Learning Support Assistant

Kathryn Burge – Learning Support Assistant/Extended Care Playworker

Ben Pratt – Extended Care Playworker

Josh Wilson – Sports Coach from Pleiades

The Past Fortnight- 

The Year 5 and Year 6 netball teams went to Cleves for a fixture. This was Year 5s second fixture and Year 6s first fixture. Both teams played some excellent netball and grew as a team as the game progressed. The Year 5s created lots of space, opportunities to score and came out victorious winning 2-0. The Year 6's opposition was tough but they played well and gained lots of experience to take forward into their next games. Thanks to Miss May for running her club and training the children during Autumn term, it was clear to see all they had learnt - thank you! 

-Miss Sen  

Year 5

Year 5 have been designing and building fairground carousels. First, they learnt how to programme using Crumble. They then built their rides using a pulley mechanism to make it rotate. Finally, they connected the Crumble circuits and programmed the rides to turn. It took a lot of hard work, problem solving and perseverance, but the successful rides were amazing and everyone was incredibly proud of their achievements. 

 - Miss Hood 

 

Year 4

In Year 4 we've been continuing our learning about water and have looked at the artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser. Interestingly, 'wasser' means 'water' in German so it was a great link to our learning for this half term. We studied how he created his artwork and how it had an abstract look and feel. We began by experimenting with mark making and how to represent different textures in an abstract way. Following on from this, we created our own piece of artwork using oil pastels, inspired by water and in the style of Hundertwasser. We think the results are amazing! A few weeks ago on a glorious Friday afternoon, Swan Class walked up to Cleves school to take part in a mini Olympics tournament with other Year 4 classes from the local schools. It was a fabulous afternoon where all of the children participated and did Ashley proud! Although we didn't win, we had a fantastic afternoon and Swan Class represented the school brilliantly. Their behaviour was wonderful and they truly showed the Ashley value of courage. I was extremely proud of their sportsmanship, resilience and support of each other and the other schools. 

 - Mrs Ready

 

Year 3

Year 3 have completed our unit on ‘What do Sikh’s value?’ we invited in a Sikh visitor to come and talk to us about what is important to Sikhs. We took part in some meditation, learnt about the importance of the 5Ks and the teachings of the Guru’s. We ended our workshop by eating parshad - similar to what Sikhs would eat after a ceremony at the Gurdwara.

-Mrs Nawaz 

Year 2

Year 2 have been learning about Cooking and Nutrition in D&T. We ended our unit off by planning, preparing and making our own healthy wraps. We have been using our cutting skills to prepare our vegetables. They are the claw grip and bridge hold. The other skills involved were grating and peeling.

 - Mrs Van Der Schaff 

 

Year 1

Year 1 had a fantastic trip to Windsor Castle today. We visited the grand Staterooms and spotted the features of a castle! Some lucky children even dressed up as the King and Queen for our own Coronation! We delivered our fact files that we wrote in English about King Charles III to hopefully be read by him. Watching the guards march up and down was great fun and we copied their actions

-Mrs Rayner 

Reception

In Reception, we have been learning about road safety and different modes of transport. The children all took part in a road traffic survey at the front of the school, and they were surprised at how many vehicles drove past the school during the survey. The fireman waving at them as they drove past really made their day. We have finished off our week with a wonderful talk from Esther’s Mum teaching us about Chinese New Year. We have then spent the day making Chinese New Year crafts and learning about traditions.

-Miss Key  

Book Fair - 

On the week we return after half term 19-23 February, we will be hosting a book fair! This will be hosted by Scholastic but we are hoping to welcome some other local book providers. Buying through Scholastic raises funds for our school, which we put into our school libraries and reading areas. Click here to read more information about times, purchasing information and further information.

Ashley  Celebrates -  

 

 A VERY BIG Ashley congratulations to Mrs Semec (Squirrels class teacher) and family who welcomed baby Archie last Sunday. Both Mum and baby are doing great. 

 

Chinese New Year

Wishing you a happy Chinese New Year this 10^th February. The dragon, one of the luckiest and most powerful animals in the Chinese zodiac, eagerly awaits its yearly celebration, the Year of the Dragon. In Chinese Astrology, each year is associated with an element and an animal sign. 2024 will be the year of the wood dragon.

 - Mrs Harris 

Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday

Next Tuesday 13^th February is pancake day! Lasting 40 days, Christians will fast or give something up for Lent. The day before Lent begins, Shrove Tuesday is a day for preparation when people like to indulge in pancakes and sweet treats before fasting. We hope you enjoy your pancakes and wonder what will you be giving up for Lent this year? 

 - Mrs Harris 

Assembly Songs - 

During our singing assemblies on Thursdays, we have been learning the following songs and if you'd like to sing along from home, you can have a listen here!

Extraordinary Me! Extraordinary You!

https://app.sparkyard.com/shared/song/599/d2655c8c-0c68-4c28-baef-6376e98e429f 

Psalm 23 (The Lord's my Shepherd)

https://app.sparkyard.com/shared/song/620/d50e598c-a86b-47d7-9686-ab88e290d00b

If I were a Butterfly

https://app.sparkyard.com/shared/song/617/5a501184-fafe-4c4b-9be2-b76c69d8d674

As One

https://app.sparkyard.com/shared/song/427/72f183a9-a73f-4e77-97b7-2b5141b394df

These links will last for two weeks.

 Happy singing!

Garden Diaries - 

the gardening diaries jan 24.pdf

EMBEDDED_PDF_{/docs/Hampton_Court_Flower_festival_24.pdf

• We are looking for donations of chipped bark and log stumps to help develop our allotment and faith gardens - so local tree surgeons who could supply as a one off or regular basis.
• If anyone knows of a company that supplies Installing one at school will allow us to extend our growing season and use with the children in cold/wet weather. 
• Clean Jar lids/glass Mosaics or mosaic tiles/shells/pebbles- to help us create features for our new Sensory Garden.

     - Mrs Winstanley Fisher

Online Safety- 

what parents need to know about fortnite chapter 2.pdf

persuasive design 2.pdf

Friends Of Ashley - 

 

 

Library Services - 

WELL DONE - 

On Sunday 28th January Zachary (Y5) and his dad Jon, were one out of 12 teams of climbers that completed the London Landmark Climbing Challenge 2024. As a collective the groups managed to climb 11,140 metres, well over the height of Mount Everest. Zachary and Jon personally raised over £1000 for MAN&BOY (a charity that supports boys aged between 9 and 12) and climbed 1000m between them, the furthest any of the teams climbed and they also set the climbing record for all MAN&BOY events to date!

Well done Zachary and Jon