Archive April 2024

MEET AND GREET

Need a slightly earlier drop off at school each morning?

Why not use our Meet and Greet option?

For just £2.00 per session, you can drop your child at school between

8.20 a.m. and 8.30 a.m. each day.

No need to book.

Drive into the car park or walk your child into school, Mrs Street or another member staff will be there to Meet and Greet your child and hand them over to the Drop & Stop team.

---

TOILET TWINNING

Today we launched our project to support the Toilet Twinning charity.

Our donations will be used to provide clean water, basic sanitation, and hygiene education. This vital combination works together to prevent the spread of disease. Every toilet twin celebrates a new toilet for a family living in a poorer country, and the average size of a household is six people, for every £60 donation represents help for one family, six people.

However, once a family has the knowledge about the link between sanitation and health, they will go on to tell other family members, or people in neighbouring villages, about the importance of building a toilet – so the multiplication effect of our donation will be far greater than help for a household. It will, over the years, represent transformation for many more people without a doubt.

Also, the impact over generations to come is immeasurable, as the sustainable programmes are aimed at behaviour change and cultural change that will last beyond our immediate lifetime as knowledge is passed down from generation to generation.

At The Queen Anne, each class will choose their own fund-raising activity to complete during the summer term. More information will be shared via Tapestry soon.

---

Emotion Coaching with the Emotional Wellbeing Champions

This term, our Year 4 Emotional Wellbeing Champions have been learning about Emotion Coaching, which links well to the learning about the Zones of Regulation that has been happening around the school. 

As Wellbeing Champions, they have been finding out how best to support those who need help on the playground through these four steps:

Connect

Tune into the person’s feelings and your own.

Acknowledge 

Label and validate feelings.

Assess

Separate emotion from the behaviour.

Make a plan

Problem solve and find solutions together.

MARCH NEWS

YEAR 4 ETON CHOCOLATE WORKSHOP   In geography, the Year Four geography lessons were about Mexico. We wanted to know about the importance of the chocolate bean to this country. However, when we went to Eton College and spoke to the chocolatiers the children and I were surprised to hear that 70 percent of the world’s cocoa bean came from four West African countries- the Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon.   With 50 percent of the worlds cocoa bean coming from two countries -the Ivory Coast and Ghana. While, South American countries like Brazil and Ecuador and still relevant produces of the chocolate bean, Mexico (central America) less so.   We also, discovered that cocoa has long been considered a valuable and holy commodity since its discovery by ancient Mesoamerican civilizations. Cocoa beverages, for instance, were exclusively consumed by warriors, priests, and the nobility thought to give them strength.   At Eton College we looked inside a cocoa pod and were surprised to see how moist and slimy it was inside. It also, smelt slightly like a pumpkin once open. The children got to sample; white, milk and dark chocolate and we sampled a dark chocolate mousse and chili hot chocolate drink and they were simply delicious.   Mexico does produce and export many wonderful products including coffee, sugarcane, corn, wheat and avocadoes (we did make guacamole in class).   It was a wonderful opportunity to find out more about the importance of the chocolate bean around the world.

GETTING EXCITED ABOUT BOOKS   This term, we have fostered the children’s love of reading through visits from authors Sam Copeland and Petr Horacek. The children were thrilled to hear about the authors’ lives and the process of making books. I am certain that we have quite a few of our own budding authors and illustrators.   Thanks to QAPAFA, each class enjoyed their termly Book Burst with Jeanette Kemp. A great selection of the latest children’s books for each year group was shared with all of the children, further inspiring the children to read.   Year 3 had an extended opportunity to explore books with a visit to Windsor Library. There the children found out about the Dewey Decimal System and became familiar with the layout and range of resources available in the library. A visit to the library is a great way to spend time during the Easter holidays.

Y2 WINDSOR FIRE SERVICE   The Year 2 children have been fire detectives this year. They studied the Great Fire of London, found out about the fire at Windsor Castle and this week they received a visit from the Windsor Fire Service. The Year 2 children found out how to stay safe, saw the wide range of equipment on the fire-engine and helped the fire-fighters use the very powerful hose. Thank you to Windsor Fire Service for helping to develop the children’s learning.

HISTORY ON OUR DOORSTEP   Historical understanding of children in Y1- 4, and their walking skills,  have been developed through visits to Windsor castle this year.   Year 1: not only did the children find out about the castle as a home, but they were lucy enough to see King Charles III arrival at Windsor Castle. The children saw the Royal Standard being raised and waved to the King as he arrived.Year 2: Found out about the Great Fire at Windsor Castle, discovering how the fire started, how it was tackled, the damage and the repair.Year 3: explored St George’s Chapel and found out about the Knights of the Garter and chivalry.Year 4: heard about the changes to Windsor Castle over time. Discovering what the castle was like in 1066 and how the building and role of the castle has developed over time.

Y1 DANCE FESTIVAL   We are very proud of our Year 1 children who participated in the Dance Festival on Tuesday. The children performed a dance to ‘Under the Sea’ based on the theme of sustainability. They thoroughly enjoyed performing to a large audience and seeing the range of performances from other school. Thanks go to the children and Year 1 team for all of their hard work.

BUNNY BINGO   Great fun was had by all on Friday evening at the very first Queen Anne Bunny Bingo. Thank you to all of the QAPAFA team for putting on this event and congratulations to the Bunny Bingo winners.

EASTER SERVICE   Thank to Reverend Sally for welcoming us to the church for our Easter Service. It was lovely to see so many of our families in attendance. The children had worked hard to learn their lines and songs. It was lovely to see their growing confidence when performing to a large audience. Each class wrote prayers for Easter and hung them on a special Easter tree in the church. You will be able to see the children’s Easter Prayers on the tree in the church during the Easter period.