Newsletter for Grangetown Primary School

Ofsted Success! As you know, we were recently inspected by Ofsted. We have already passed copies of the Report to all parents/carers, and I’m sure you were pleased to read how impressed the Inspectors were with so many aspects of our school. The Echo recently ran a feature on the Inspection - see it here.
Easter Concert – And you’re Invited! We’d be very pleased to see you at our Easter Concert – it’s on Monday 11 April, 2pm until 2.45. This will be an occasion when we will showcase some of the performing arts work our children have been doing this term. Three of our classes (years 3, 4, 5) have been working with Danielle, our amazing dance teacher – they’ll transport you to India, Spain and Greece! Our wonderful violinists have worked with Emma, our super-talented music teacher. Year 4 can now play the chalumeau, thanks to the skilful teaching of Mr Preston. Our incredible Choir - taught by the amazing Mrs Davies - will sing for you, and you’ll also be entertained by Reception, year 1 and year 2 – they’ve prepared some lovely Easter songs! This is not to be missed. Let’s round of a great term in the best way possible – with music and song!
Red Nose Day – Well Done! We all had a brilliant time on Red Nose Day! The children made a real effort with their costumes, and managed to raise over £228 for this very worthy cause. Well done everyone!
Fun Afternoon! The recent Ofsted inspection report is packed full of praise for our children! During the inspection the Ofsted team were all very impressed with their excellent behaviour, good attitudes and hard work. Therefore, we organised a special Fun Afternoon for the children, as a reward. Over 70 children chose to go swimming at Raich Carter, and the rest of the children had an amazing range of fun activities to choose from, including cooking, football, ICT, art, Wii Club and board games.
Dazzling Dragons! Chinese artist Lip Lee visited the Foundation Stage and he worked with the Ladybirds and Spiders (reception children). We learned about the different animals in the Chinese Zodiac calendar and about the difference between a Chinese dragon and lion. Lip Lee showed us how to say hello in Chinese and we all practised how to bow when greeting each other. The children took part in a traditional lion dance procession, dressing up as the lion and using puppets and instruments. All of the children made a Chinese dragon and a Chinese animal mask. We had great fun and we enjoyed learning more about China!
The Sky’s the Limit at Grangetown! The Foundation Stage team held our third parent event of the year. It was very successful and everybody who attended enjoyed the Chinese chocolate treats made by the children and the hot chocolate. There was also a video which showcased all of our topics and goings-on from this year, so far. Then, all of the families were paired up and we set our sky lanterns alight. The lanterns drifted into the sky and it was a beautiful sight to see them all flying high in the sky. Within a few minutes, our lanterns had gone from sight, taking our dreams and wishes with them Miss Booth, Miss Holt and Miss Hanson.
Visit to see Apple Yang On the 6^th February 2011 me (Arianwen) and me (Eva) and Faith went to see Apple Yang’s performance following our work with her in our Chinese dance. Apple was not in the performance but she choreographed it. There were only four dancers in the whole performance: two girls and two boys. There was a dance before and after the 10 minute interval. The first dance was called ‘Life after life’ and the second dance was called ‘The Heart of Him’. Overall we thought it was GREAT!!!!!!
Year 5 Narnian Party On Friday 4^th February the year 5 children celebrated all their hard work based around the book ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’ with a Narnian themed party. The children dressed in costumes of their favourite character and we were also joined by three parents dressed as Mrs Tumnus, Aslan the Lion and the White Witch herself! A big thank you to Arianwen’s mum who took the children through some dance sequences, Faith’s mum who painted their faces and Eva’s mum who helped the children decorate their own fairy cake. Mrs Dawson also deserves a big thank you for preparing a Mr Tumnus style tea for the children – sardines on toast, honey on toast, hot buttered toast and hot chocolate. Finally, a big thank you to all parents who provided such wonderful costumes.
Football’s Back! The school football season has kicked off again after the winter break. On Friday, 11th, March we played two matches - one against St Leonards and the other against St Patricks. The match against St Leonards was a hard fought game, two nil down at half time, we scored two early goals in the second half to level the match at two all, both of our goals being scored by Karl Gilbertson.After some excellent football by both teams St Leonards scored two late goals to win the match 4—2.The game against St Patricks was an exciting end to end match with both teams having lots of shots at goal. In the end Grangetown won 2—0, our goals being scored by Karl Gilbertson and Callum Redpath.
An Egg-cellent Event! Foundation Stage children and parents took part in a craft session as part of our Easter topic. Parents were invited into the setting to work alongside their child to make Easter baskets, bonnets, masks and much much more! Once again lots of parents took part and it was a great experience for the children. Children had the chance to show off what they can do and even impressed their grown-ups at how good they were at tidy up time! We thoroughly enjoyed it and we hope you did too. We can’t wait to orgainse the next event!
Temple Display On Tuesday February 1^st the year 5 children were lucky enough to spend the day working with a real artist (Frank, Faith’s dad).We had a fabulous day and have a super wall display to prove it! Frank told the children about how the ancient Greeks would have built their temples and the children shared all they had learnt about the ancient Greeks with Frank. I didn’t realise they knew so much! He demonstrated some interesting techniques – drawing from observation and colour mixing. My favourite part of the day was watching the children painting with a small sweeping brush! Frank painted some of the murals at Valley Road School and we hope to walk down to see them soon. A big thank you to Frank. Mrs Collins Y5
Easter Disco…don’t miss it! Our new Parents, Carers and Friends Group have been hard at work organising our Easter Discos. These events will be held on Wednesday 13 April. The Key Stage 1 disco starts at 3.30, and for KS2 the fun starts at 4.45. Tickets – priced at just £1.00 – are available from the office. Hot dogs, sweets and drinks will be on sale!
Year 2 Dancers Last half-term a dance student from the University of Sunderland worked with the children in Year 2. She taught the children a range of dance movements, once a week, linked to our curriculum topics. The children learnt a traditional Italian Carnival dance in the first few sessions and they performed this dance at the end of our Italian fun day. After this topic, Year 2 started to learn about The Great Fire of London. They created a story board dance showing the events of The Great Fire from where it first started to how it eventually ended four days later. The children have thoroughly enjoyed the dance sessions this half-term and are now pros…watch out Billy Elliot! By Miss Grainger.
Easter Craft Day Tuesday 12th April 1.30pm—3.00pm Y1 and Y2 would like to invite parents to join in, come along to our classrooms and join in with your child.
Easter Egg Competition Thursday 14th April. On this afternoon children can decorate a boiled egg ready to be judged on Friday 15th. The children need to bring in a hard boiled egg and craft material.
This month’s Quote: "Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." Ralph Waldo Emerson

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GRANGETOWN NEWSLETTER
March 2011