Newsletters

24/25 - Spring 1, Week 4

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Dear parents and carers,

Celebrating another fantastic week!

It has been an exciting and eventful week at William Ford, with numerous visitors praising our innovative curriculum approach and inclusive practices. Their positive feedback reaffirms our commitment to providing an enriching and supportive learning environment for all our pupils.

Our School Council had a fantastic opportunity to deepen their understanding of London politics and democracy with a visit to City Hall. The experience, which included a trip on the cable car, was both educational and inspiring, giving our young leaders valuable insights into the workings of local government.

Lighthouse provision tuck shop – opening Tuesday!
We are thrilled to announce that next Tuesday, students in our Lighthouse provision will be launching a breaktime tuck shop! This brilliant initiative will help develop pupils’ confidence and essential money-handling skills. Healthy snack items, including cereal bars and fruit, will be available for purchase during break time. Please remember to bring cash, preferably coins.

On this note, may I also take this opportunity to remind families that children should not be bringing crisps, chocolate bars, or sweets into school for breaktime. These items will be confiscated as part of our drive to encourage healthy eating habits amongst pupils.

A concern about Squid Games
While spending time in the playground this week, I was pleased to witness the positive interactions between pupils, something that two of our visitors also noted. However, I was concerned to see some children re-enacting ‘games’ from the TV series Squid Games. Through discussions with pupils, it has become clear that a number of them have been watching this programme via Netflix.

I must stress that Squid Games is entirely inappropriate for primary school children. The series is highly violent and explores themes such as gambling, suicide, sexual activity, and murder in graphic detail. It carries a 15+ age certificate, meaning that children under this age should not be watching it. Already the games I observed were turning aggressive and perhaps even more concerning, the pupils participating were from our younger year groups. Please help protect your children by ensuring they do not have access to this series.

Collective Worship: Peacemakers and Resilience
Our focus in Collective Worship this week has been on peacemakers, with a particular emphasis on resilience. Pupils have been encouraged to reflect on how resilience helps us navigate challenges while maintaining a sense of peace within ourselves and our relationships with others.

I pray you all have a wonderful weekend.

 

Mr. David Huntingford

Headteacher

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Children's Mental Health Week 

3rd - 9th February 

This year we're exploring our theme Know Yourself, Grow Yourself in partnership with the Inside Out 2 characters. We will be hosting a range of activities, including a special assembly and a fund-raising activity on Friday 9th February.

Don't forget to bring some money to school from Tuesday to access the Lighthouse Tuck Shop.

We have had a number of reports of children taking other pupils' food and sharing food.

Please provide your child with a healthy snack for break and after-school clubs. This should be only one item and a drink / bottle of water.

Please do not encourage your child to share food as they are not always aware of food intolerances and allergies. 

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Food and Clothing Bank

Do you have any pre-loved uniform or food to donate to our Foodbank and clothing selection in the conservatory?

Please bring any donations to the school office

 

Thanks in advance 

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Year Three

Kris, 3M

 

Year Four

Quinn, 4IW

Year Five

Slav, 5H

 

Year Six

Avani, 6B

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The White Fox by Jackie Morris 

 

This book is very interesting. The book has interesting pictures. It’s about a wolf who came from a dark place found a beach. My favourite character was the white wolf. 

 

By Orlaith 6I 

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Childrens Mental Health Week
8:00am – 8:30am
From 03 Feb until 07 Feb
03
February
Brilliant Club Graduation Trip
All Day
05
February
Y5 Group 1 Swimming
9:30am – 10:30am
05
February
Y5 Swimming Group 2
10:30am – 11:30am
05
February
Egypt Day Year 3
All Day
07
February
Ancient Egypt Day
All Day
07
February
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24 Jan 2025
Wototo Children's Choir
This week Rodiatu tells us about watching the Watoto choir
Read more
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Year Three

This week, the children have been working incredibly hard and showing impressive focus and enthusiasm in all their lessons. It’s been wonderful to see their curiosity shine as they explore new concepts and apply their learning in creative ways. 

What we have learnt about this week 

In English, we've continued to dive into imaginative writing by crafting diary entries from the perspective of someone visiting a new city. The children have been describing the fascinating sights, sounds, and smells they imagine encountering, helping them develop rich and vivid descriptions. In Maths, we’ve been consolidating our division skills using the short method. The children have been gaining more confidence as they practice, and it's great to see their growing understanding of this important concept. Science was a real highlight this week, as the children had a hands-on lesson using Lego to model different rock types. They loved getting creative while learning about the properties of rocks, which made the lesson both fun and educational. In Geography, the children researched a country of their choice and then put their findings into a detailed fact file, practicing their research and writing skills. 

What we will learn about next week 

Looking ahead to next week, we will begin our spring assessments, giving the children the chance to demonstrate all they have learned so far this year. These assessments will include a reading test, a spelling and grammar test, and two maths tests, providing a well-rounded opportunity for the children to showcase their knowledge. In Science, we will continue our exploration of rocks, this time focusing on grouping them based on their appearance. The children are excited to further develop their understanding of the natural world. To top off the week, on Friday the 7th, we’ll celebrate our Great Egypt Day! The children will engage in a variety of hands-on activities to deepen their learning about Ancient Egypt, making the history come alive in a fun and memorable way. It’s sure to be an exciting and enriching week ahead

 

Year Four 

What we have learnt about this week 

This week in Year 4, the children have been continuing to write their manuals explaining how to train a dragon. They have been writing descriptions of various types of dragons for the trainees to choose between. They have also begun learning about imperative verbs in order to write instructions. 

In maths, the children have been continuing their work on fractions and have been introduced to improper fractions. 

Geography this week saw the children comparing the United Kingdom to Scandinavia. They were interested to find out about some of the unique physical features of the region, including the Norwegian Fjords. 

The children have also been learning and using French numbers this week. They now know the numbers up to 31 and have even completed some maths tasks in French! 

What we will learn about next week 

Over the next week the children will be completing tests in English and maths. The children will also be continuing to work on their dragon training manuals. In maths they will be consolidating their understanding of division in order to apply it to their continuing work on fractions. 

History next week will see the children investigating how and why technology advanced from the use of bronze to the Iron Age. The children’s studies of sound in science will see them investigating how volume is increased and decreased. In RE the children will continuing to investigate the different beliefs represented in the local are

 

Year Five

Year 5 have had another fun-filled week of learning.

What we have learnt about this week

This week, in maths we have continued our unit on multiplication and division, moving onto multiplying fractions. 

In English, this week we began to write our own legend, based on inspiration from our book of study: Beowulf. Pupils enjoyed creating their own characters and setting descriptions. 

In science, pupils continued and finished their science investigation, exploring which material was best/most suitable for keeping drinks hot or cold. Pupils created a graph to analyse their results. 

In RE, we considered what Jesus talked and taught about giving, pupils looked at examples from the bible. 

What we will learn about next week

Next week, pupils will be continuing their legends, developing their stories, by creating dilemmas and resolutions for their characters.

In maths, we will be moving onto our second fractions unit, learning how to find fractions of amounts.

In art, we will be continuing our art and design skills, by beginning to build a collage.

We hope you have a wonderful weekend! The Year 5 team. 

Year Six

What we have learnt about this week 

This week in Year 6, we have been busy exploring a variety of topics in both Maths and English. In Maths, we’ve focused on addition and multiplication patterns, where students have been identifying and analysing numerical sequences. We also introduced ratio language and used the ratio symbol, helping students understand how to express relationships between numbers. Additionally, we’ve revisited arithmetic skills through revision activities. In English, we’ve been working on descriptive writing, encouraging students to use their senses to vividly describe an Indian market. The class has explored the sights, smells, and sounds of a bustling market, using rich, sensory language to bring their writing to life. In Art this week, the children analysed the work of Lubiana Humid, discussing the powerful messages in her art and reflecting on the issues we face today. In Music, the students had the opportunity to explore various instruments and experiment with sounds to create their own unique soundtracks, sparking their creativity and musical expression. In History, we delved into the legend of Robin Hood, exploring the stories surrounding his actions and what they reveal about medieval times. The children engaged in thoughtful discussions about the social and political issues of the era, deepening their understanding of this fascinating period in history. 

 

What we will learn about next week 

Next week, we have an exciting and varied week ahead! In English, we’ll be editing our Indian market descriptions, refining our use of descriptive language. We’ll also focus on modal verbs, learning how they can express necessity, possibility, or ability. In addition, we’ll analyse the author’s choice of language in Where the Mountains Roared and write a negative hotel review based on events from the book. In Computing, we’ll explore the ethics of Artificial Intelligence, discussing its impact on society. In Religious Education, we’ll be learning about Hindu views on reincarnation and reflecting on the beliefs surrounding the cycle of life. In Maths, we’ll dive into scale drawings, use scale factors, and solve problems involving similar shapes, ratio, and proportion, reinforcing important mathematical concepts. It’s going to be a week full of learning and exploration! 

 

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Each week, staff select three children from each class who have shown effort and commitment to upholding an aspect of our school vision, shown at the bottom of the page. Congratulations to this week’s ‘stars of the week’ for their tremendous endeavours!

 

Working diligently

 

Acting generously

 

Promoting peace

Year Three

3A

Name: Eliza 

For: producing a great piece of observational drawing. 

 

 

Name: Olivia 

For: sharing her equipment with her class members. 

 

Name: Olivia 

For: sharing her equipment with her class members. 

3F

Name: Ronni-May

For: writing a lovely and thoughtful diary entry

Name: Semilore

For: being a kind and thoughtful member of the school community 

Name: Maryum

For: for being a more confident member of the class and coming out of her shell

3M

Name: Kristian 

For: making excellent progress in reading and passing all phonics levels.

Name:  

For: 

Name: Evolet 

For: being calm and well-mannered during lessons. 

 
 

Working diligently

 

Acting generously

 

Promoting peace

Year Four

4L

was

4D

Name: Helena 

For: working diligently to improve her dragon description 

 

Name: Alex 

For: Being generous with good manner and a good role model in the classroom 

 

Name: Fathima 

For: being calm and ready to learn 

 

4IW

Name: Theo

For: being more calm and focused in all lessons this week.

For: 

Name: Scarlett

For: working hard in maths, even when it became difficult and not giving up. 

Name: Freddie

For: having a calm and peaceful presence in the classroom and always trying his best.

4N

Name:Abigail

For: hard-working approach to all lessons

Name: Naqi 

For: being kind and helpful to his friends and to adults.

 

Name: Regan

For: a peaceful and hard-working approach to his lessons this week
 

Working diligently

 

Acting generously

 

Promoting peace

Year Five

5H

Name: Joseph

For: demonstrating much more confidence when reading aloud and answering questions in class

 

Name: Carsten

For: generously helping others in class.

 

Name: Ezinne

For: ettling into her work quickly and quietly this week.

5P

Name: Ayaana

For: lways working her hardest and taking care over her work

Name: Ryan

For:  great attitude towards improving his handwriting and acting on advice

Name: Cairon

For: A calm and peaceful presence within the class and always willing to help.

5W

Name: Will

For: working diligently in all lessons, showing great enthusiasm. 

Name: Sangeen

For: acting generously and producing some great work in English.

Name: Patricia

For: always living at peace and working well with others. 
 

Working diligently

 

Acting generously

 

Promoting peace

Year Six

6B

Name: Daniella

For: Good listening and offering ideas during discussions 

 

Name: Shekinah

For: working collaboratively and sharing her ideas

 

Name: Kendra

For: having a calm and peaceful approach to class tasks

6I

Name: Jayden

For: his great improvements in maths, keep it up

Name: Shruhika

For: Her Perseverance and resilience in different situations.

Name: Elliot

For: Continued efforts of improvement with his behaviour.

6L

Name: Emma

For:  dedicating herself to learning in every lesson. Superb!

Name: Mya

For: contributing brilliantly in all foundation subjects

Name: Bobby

For: Contributing brilliantly in all foundation subjects
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