Friday 18th September
At Downs View altogether we learn,love, respect and have fun!
Dates for your diary – a full list can be seen on our website
25th September
· Reception children to be photographed for ‘First Class’ pictures in the Kentish Express
· 9.05 Birthday assembly- for all children with a Birthday in September – parents invited
29th September
· 3-4pm Tuesday Newsday
9th October
· Starfish assembly
16th October
· Seahorse assembly
Friday 23rd October
· Last day of term
11th November
· Stanley Baker Studios to take individual children’s photographs
Shining Stars this week (and last week)
| Class | Star Table | Bonus Card | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Penguin | Tilly |
This is for the class |
Weekly attendance |
| Polar Bear | Gracie-Mai | ||
| Snow Leopard | William | ||
| Sea Horse | Noah | Overall attendance for the year 97.52% |
|
| Star Fish | Issac | ||
| Turtles | Joshua |
| Class | Reading award | Active award | Sunshine award |
|---|---|---|---|
| Penguin | Ava & Grace | Brendan & Tilly Alex & Lilly |
Grace |
| Polar Bear | Brendan & Archie |
Miri & Yana Sasha & Jack |
Sasha |
| Snow Leopard | Harvey & Kaitlin |
Faith & William Riley & Tiger-Lily |
|
| Sea Horse | Mischa & Tilly |
Zak & Cara William & Kassidy |
|
| Star Fish | Emma & Elicia |
Micah & Scarlett Oscar & Katy |
|
| Turtles | Maisie & Alfie |
Ethan & Ella Harry & Freya |
Water bottles
All children should bring a water bottle to school every day. Please ensure that your child has only water in their bottle and NOT juice or squash.
What we’ve been up to……
Reception
We have been amazed at how quickly all the Reception children have settled. They seemed to have enjoyed the school dinners and enjoyed meeting up with their older friends, brothers and sisters in the playground. We have been busy learning about our class animals and have enjoyed walking around the school listening to the sounds in the environment.
A little request… Please don't forget to bring in some welly boots to leave in school so that your child can access all parts of the outdoor area.
Year 1
This week they have been creating their own fantasy animals. They designed their creature by adding new features from other animals. They wrote sentences about these new animals thinking carefully about capital letters, finger spaces and full stops. In maths the children have been practising their counting up to 20, thinking about one more and one less than any number.
Year 2
Have had another brilliant week despite the rain! In Design and Technology we have been tasting different types of fruit: Fresh, frozen and tinned and giving our opinions and thoughts regarding the taste, texture and size of the pieces. We have used different adjectives to describe the fruit and evaluate which was our favourite and why. In English we have been inventing our own 'Gregory the Terrible Goat stories,' with exciting characters and ideas, thinking about the key parts of a story- using a story mountain. In Science we have been thinking about the stages human growth, comparing the differences from a baby up to an adult.
Well done to all of Year 2 who are remembering to change their reading books and read at home, this is definitely helping in class, as well as some excellent Home Learning.
Keep up the hard work!
School Dinners and allergies
We ask you to choose a weekly meal pattern for school dinners. If your child currently has a packed lunch all week but would like to have school dinners for one day a week we are now offering the option of having a school dinner on a Friday only. Please speak to Helen in the office if you would like to change your child’s meal pattern to this option (Packed lunch Monday – Thursday & school dinner Friday).
GS Plus the school dinner providers have given us forms for Special Dietary Requirements. If your child is medically diagnosed with an allergy or intolerance GS can work with you and health professionals to develop an individual menu for your child. Please collect a form from the school office if you require this option or download here.
Collecting Reception Children
Reception children are now collected from their classrooms at the end of the day. When you leave the school could you please leave via the main playground and not through the reception play area and the car park as this is dangerous at this time of day with vehicles accessing and leaving the grounds.
Parent Governor Vacancy
We currently have a vacancy for a Parent Governor and are particularly looking for a parent who has experience of purchasing, premises maintenance/management/ or have links with a local business. If you are willing to give up some of your time and commit to attending ten meetings a year to strategically challenge and support the school we would love you to join our amazing team! If you would like more information, please contact Helen or Felicity Moore our Chair of Governors via the school office. You can also use the email address via the school website. The skills set above is desirable so please do not be put off volunteering if you do not meet this criteria, the most important skills are commitment, enthusiasm and wanting the best for you child!
Voluntary Fund Audit
We are required to audit our voluntary fund yearly and Shirley Leslie, an associate Governor, who has audited it before has recently resigned as a Governor. If you are a qualified accountant or accountant assistant and have relevant experience of auditing and would be able to help, we would love to hear from you.
Our Website
Our website is currently having an overhaul and is being updated regularly with as much useful information as possible to keep you informed. Please check it for letters sent home and updates regularly. There is a new translation button to support parents with English as an additional language. Watch this space! Any comments, compliments or suggestions about the site would be warmly received.
Parking
We are aware that parking is difficult at the beginning of the day and the end of the day. Please can we remind parents to park safely, we would rather you be a few minutes late than rush and put your child or other children at risk. We would like to set up a travel plan working party to address ways of improving the situation. If you would like to be involved, please contact Tracy Kent, Sarah Collins or Helen Rowson in the office.