As we come to the end of another school year, it is the perfect opportunity to look back and celebrate everything the children have achieved this year. They have all showed excellent resilience and commitment and we couldn’t be prouder of them. It has been wonderful to see them all grow throughout the year and achieve so much, both academically and socially. On behalf of the EYFS team, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the parents for your continued support and encouragement. It is greatly appreciated. I wish you all a lovely summer.
Pre-Nursery
Pre-Nursery have been on an incredible journey this year and it has been a pleasure to see them grow into independent individuals. We ended the final week of the academic year, with the story ‘The Journey Home from Grandpa’s. This lovely story, song book is all about a journey in a yellow car and transport the children see on the way to Grandpa’s house. We identifed the different transport we saw and colour match them in a variety of games. Our mathematical focus was shapes. The children had the opportunity to explore arranging shapes into car, boat and train pictures. Along with this we investigated floating and sinking and made banana sandwiches.
Nursery
To finish Nursery’s summer adventures, the children jumped on board a Pirate ship this week. The children looked through pirate telescopes to see if they could see any desert islands, mermaids, or buried treasure. Nursery created their own treasure maps as well as designing their own pirate ship flags. It was a great end to our adventure learning journey.
Reception
This year has been an incredible journey and we are so proud of all the Reception children. We wrapped up the last week in Reception by exploring growth throughout the school year with the story of Zog by Julia Donaldson. We also shared a Transition to Year 1 video to give the children an idea of the different routines in Primary. We ended our day with an End of Year slideshow, which we hope can preserve some of the memories made in Reception this year.
In Phonics we continued to learn new sounds, ‘igh’ and ‘ow’, so the children can practice reading a larger variety of vocabulary in stories. They also participated in Comprehension and a revision of all the tricky words they have learnt so far. In Maths we revised the 2D and 3D shapes as well as addition and subtraction.
It is with mixed feelings that I write the final newsletter piece for this school year. We have had fun today celebrating our learning from across the year and reflecting on wonderful memories, although it is with disappointment that we cannot come together in person. I have been incredibly impressed by how our Primary children have continuously kept going with their learning, maintaining enthusiasm and their sense of wonder and fun. The teachers have worked tirelessly to make sure lessons have been engaging and exciting and I thank them for their ongoing creativity and resilience. It is with sadness that we say farewell to some families and teachers as we depart for the Summer - although please do stay in touch and I hope you leave with fond memories of your time at Britannica.
Lastly, on behalf of the whole of our Primary team, I would like to thank parents for your support and wish everyone a safe and restful Summer!
We can all agree that online learning has its own unique challenges. This is my second school where we have had to face such challenges and I say we because to succeed it must be a team effort. Teachers, parents and students have to work to together to accomplish our goals. The Secondary school has met many goals this term of which I am immensely proud of. In April we were given the news that all IGCSE and A Level examinations were cancelled and that we should provide three pieces of evidence for each subject. Given the circumstances this was a challenge within a challenge. However, teachers and students demonstrated great resilience to overcome this obstacle and should be rightly proud of their efforts.
I read each student's report carefully and again I am awed by their ability to adapt to changing circumstances. I am proud of the work both staff and students accomplished this term and I am sure that that this will put them in good stead for the next academic year. The end of the year is always a poignant moment when we have the chance to reflect on the events we all shared. It is also the time to say goodbye to friends and colleagues alike. I would like to wish all of our leaving students and staff the best of luck with the new chapters in your life. A special farewell to our Year 13 graduates who will leave home for the first time to follow their new lives as university students. I do not have to wish you good luck because you possess all the tools needed to succeed.
Have a safe Summer and I look forward to seeing you next year.
