Happy New Year from everyone at Garden Village Primary Academy and a warm welcome back to the Spring Term.

The children and staff have returned to school, refreshed and excited about the term ahead. In this short period of time, so much has been achieved which we are proud to share with you in this newsletter.

Our attendance continues to be fantastic, 96.2%. We are so very proud of this achievement despite the virus that keeps trying to come into school! Thank you once again to our parents for valuing the importance of attending GVPA daily.

The independent application of phonics by the children to segment words as they write and the spelling of tricky words is a joy to see. Knowledge of sentences starting with a capital letter, gaps between words and full stops are now part of everyday talk when we write.

This term, we are continuing to learn more Phase 3 sounds and tricky words. We are learning to read tricky words; push, was, you and they. Miss Matthews and Mrs Guild are so proud of our blending and ability to read so many words more fluently.

In Maths, we have been learning about 'Mass & Capacity' and 'Growing 6, 7, 8'. Recognising and using the correct vocabulary has been so important.

Using the balance scales, we have explored the concept of heavier and lighter using the phrases "The mass of the cubes is ..." and "I know the .... is heavier/lighter than the ... because..."

Extending our knowledge of numbers, we have moved onto fully understanding the composite of numbers 6, 7, 8 and also finding out practically or recalling one more or less than a number up to 8.

In Spring Term 1, we have a new set of virtues to explore, learn and develop.

Last week, Mrs Burke taught Reception about ‘cleanliness’ – the importance of washing our hands, tidying up after we use a resource, eating over the plate at lunchtime and even flushing the toilet. Pip and Mrs Hand are so impressed with how well we are eating and trying to keep the floor clean!

This week, the virtue on the week was 'fairness'. We are also exploring this in PSED through our learning about the importance of having and following rules. To help us understand this, we have learnt how to play many games, such as Connect Four and Snakes & Ladders. Using our 'mini-me' characters, we have been very successful in learning how to play these games.

This term, the children have started their new art topic called 'Paint My World'. Last week, Miss Matthews and Mrs Guild took us to the hall to give us more space to be super creative using our finger painting skills. We had the best morning, using our fingers to create some wonderful pieces of art.

In our wellington boots, we went into the outdoor area to collect leaves and mud and twigs to use as a natural tool to paint with. It was so much fun!

In music, we have started to learn how to create simple actions to well-known songs such as "Row, Row Row your Boat" and the "Wheels on the Bus". Using Makaton signs, we realised that by adding actions it helps us to remember the songs better. Plus it is more fun!

This week, we have learnt that a piece of music has a beat. We can now find the beat by listening carefully first and then clapping along. The suggested song choices by the children did amuse us - we have a rather ecliptic music taste at GVPA from Katy Perry, Queen, Dolly Parton and even the Supremes!!! 

This week, the challenge was slightly harder as we had to transfer our balloon handling skills to a ball. Luckily, Mrs Burke gave us a variety of different sizes of balls as the smaller tennis balls kept rolling away!

On Friday, Miss Matthews and Mrs Guild set us an even harder challenge - the Irish jig! 

Telephone: 01827 214630

Office Email: office@gardenvillage.fierte.org

Headteacher / SENCO: headteacher@gardenvillage.fierte.org