Newsletters

Summer 1 - Week 3

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Dear parents and carers,

It has been a short week but nevertheless a busy one!  From our King's Coronation celebrations to trainee police dogs visiting Year Five, the school has been a flurry of activity.  And on top of that, the final preparations have been made in Year Six for the upcoming SATS exams.  We have also had Year Five learning how to make a healthy pasta salad with Mrs Watkins, our school cook.

Year Six SATs

Next week, Year Six pupils across the country will sit their Standard Assessment Tests, or SATS as they are most commonly known. I do not think it is any secret that in the vast majority of schools across the country, these tests are not popular with staff or school leaders.  But why?  Yes there is the issue of league tables.  Yes there is the issue that these provide a measure of school performance that does not take into account the wider curriculum or other excellent opportunities that many schools, including William Ford, offer its pupils.  However, the main reason is the unnecessary pressure such testing places on pupils.

These tests provide a narrow measure of pupil attainment, based (with the exception of writing) on performance on one day out of a whole primary school career.  They do not take into account that your child excels in geography, is a gifted sports person or can play a musical instrument.  It does not recognise that maybe your child is fluent in two languages, has knowledge about space or dinosaurs better than most adults or is an incredible artist.  Do we want our Year Six pupils to work hard and achieve well?  Of course – this will provide the best start to secondary school for them.  Is it the end of the world if your child does not perform well?  Absolutely not.  Compared to other places where I have worked in the past – and there have been a few – I am delighted that William Ford not only prepares the pupils well for SATS but also does not prevent participation in sporting events, narrows the curriculum or prohibits attendance on school visits such as our very successful recent France trip. 

I would argue these experiences are just as, if not more, important than SATS yet some schools would not entertain such ideas – especially at the start of the summer term.  Let me be very clear, I want our pupils to perform well but certainly not at the expense of the well-rounded, engaging and exciting curriculum we offer our pupils - regardless of where this places  us in the league tables.

Our pupils deserve to achieve well, and we wish them (and the whole Year Six team) all the best for next week and assure them of our support and prayers.

William Ford 5 - 2 Eastbury Primary

Speaking of wonderful experiences, huge congratulations to our Year Six football team who recovered from being 2-0 down to win 5-2 against a very good Eastbury Primary School Side.

King's Coronation 

A huge well done and thank you to everybody involved in arranging our celebrations today.  Not only did the school look wonderful, the pupils enjoyed a delicious tea party, but the pupils also developed their understanding of what actually happens during a coronation.  We also joined with several other schools across the country singing this song to mark King Charles' special day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=JcIAZd8p5fQ

I do hope the pupils will continue their celebrations over the weekend, whether this is in London, a community or street event or within the comfort of their own homes, watching the celebrations unfold on TV.   

I pray you all have a wonderful weekend.

 

Mr. David Huntingford

Headteacher

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Romans 13: 1-5

All of you must obey the government rulers. No one rules unless God has given him the power to rule. And no one rules now without that power from God. 2 So if anyone is against the government, he is really against what God has commanded. And so he brings punishment on himself. 3 Those who do right do not have to fear the rulers. But people who do wrong must fear them. Do you want to be unafraid of the rulers? Then do what is right, and the ruler will praise you. 4 He is God’s servant to help you. But if you do wrong, then be afraid. The ruler has the power to punish; he is God’s servant to punish those who do wrong. 5 So you must obey the government. You must obey not only because you might be punished, but because you know it is the right thing to do.

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On Wednesday, Year 5 were visited by the Metropolitan Police well-being dogs. The officers spoke with the children about the important work the police dogs do to keep London safe. 

The children got to meet Daisy, Bess and Mica and had a fantastic time.

 

As a reward for ranking as one of the highest schools in LBBD in the Big wheel and walk week

We have been offered a free road safety magic show on Monday 26th June 2023.

This will be an amazing FREE treat for all children at Wi.lliam Ford

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Year Three

Aaron 3N

Year Four

Aisela 4D

Year Five

Reggie 5H

Year Six

Emmanuella 6T

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I recommend 'Julius Zebra:Battle with the Britons' by Gary Northfield. I really enjoyed this book and found it to be very funny. The main characters in the book are animals and there are lots of illustrations throughout the book for comic lovers.

By Ebun 6T 

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Kings Coronation - Bank Holiday
All Day
08
May
King Charles Corination - Extra Bank Holiday
8:00am – 8:30am
08
May
Cooking in the Curriculum Y5
1:30pm – 3:00pm
10
May
Dental team - Year 6
1:30pm – 3:30pm
17
May
Colchester Castle - Year 4 trip
8:00am – 4:00pm
19
May
Bikeability Session y5/y6
All Day
From 24 May until 25 May
24
May
Lilly Jo Mental Health Workshops
All Day
25
May
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05 May 2023
Coronation Celebrations
This week Elidar and Samuel from 3P write about the coronation lunch.
Read more
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Year Three

This week, year 3 have continued their English work based on the book Here Comes Hercules. They have been considering the descriptive language that is used in the text and have been using adjectives and similes to write their own description. In maths the children have been partitioning whole numbers to make fractions and have been working out fractions of a group of objects using their division skills.

Geography has seen three volcanic eruptions! Each class has witnessed the volcano on their island erupt and have studied its impact. They were pleased that they had evacuated the islanders to safe parts of the islands. In science the children have started a new unit on plants, looking carefully at the various parts of a flowering plant. We have all been learning a lovely song for the coronation and the children enjoyed their royal tea party at lunch today. Enjoy the long weekend!

Year 4 

This week in year 4, pupils have been continuing to study fractions in maths, consolidating their skills of adding and subtraction fractions. In Literacy, pupils have been carrying out some research on Roman Britain, as they build towards constructing their own informational text on Roman Britain. In RE, pupils looked at the 10 commandments and how and why they came to be created. Pupils used their critical thinking skills to analyse the 10 commandments, deciding which are easier and harder to follow. In computing, pupils have begun to develop their audio editing skills, looking at different input and output devices. In Science, pupils have continued their topic: Animals, including humans, by looking at the vital organs of the human body. The children thoroughly enjoyed the practical aspect of this scientific lesson. We hope you enjoy another long bank holiday weekend! 

Year Five

We have been working diligently in Year 5 this week even though it has been a 3-day week. In English, the children have been looking at the life and work of William Shakespeare and the impact he has had on literature since - we are currently reading A Midsummers Night Dream which the children are loving! In maths, we have been working on statistics - reading and interpreting tables in particular. Although this has been tricky for many, the children have shown great resilience. Year 5 were extremely lucky this week and experienced well-being dogs. It was lovely to witness the children being kind and thoughtful to these beautiful animals. Many children loved the experience and commented on how relaxed they felt. The Year 5 team hope you have a great bank holiday and enjoy the King's Coronation!

Year Six

This week Year 6 have been working extremely hard revising for their tests next week. In Maths, we have been looking at a range of arithmetic questions involving adding and subtracting numbers, multiplying and dividing numbers, finding percentages of amounts and adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing fractions. They have worked in pairs, solving and discussing a range of reasoning questions too. The children have enjoyed doing a range of different reading questions; multiple choice answers, vocabulary questions and impression questions; using evidence from the texts in groups and individually. All three Year 6 teachers are extremely proud of the hard efforts of all the children, they have made great progress and will do amazingly next week, keep up the great work!

 

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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

3M

Name: Divine

For: working diligently in all lessons.

 

Name: Ryan

For: helping around the classroom.

 

Name: Lilly

For: being a quiet, calm influence in the classroom.

3N

Name: Saydul

For: working hard in all lessons and contributing more confidently in class.

Name: Viola

For: being helpful to her peers and adults in class.

Name: Mia

For: being calm and ready to work in all lessons.

3P

Name: Elidar

For: working diligently and reading aloud with confidence in the class.

Name: Nafisa

For: being kind and helpful within the class.

Name: Ani

For: being calm and focused in class.
 

Working diligently

 

Acting generously

 

Promoting peace

Year Four

4B

Name: Aydin

For: working hard in history.

 

Name: Orlaith

For: showing kindness to someone who had been hurt.

 

Name: Ryan

For: having a calm and hardworking approach in all lessons.

4D

Name: Lacie

For: working diligently in all subjects.

Name: David

For: Being kind and helpful.

Name: Samuel

For: living at peace and always working hard, with a calm and positive attitude towards his learning. 

4W

Name: Claude

For: Working diligently across all subjects.

Name: Bethany

For: Acting generously and always willing to help others. 

Name: Jemimah

For: Having a calm approach and living at peace in the classroom and in the playground. 
 

Working diligently

 

Acting generously

 

Promoting peace

Year Five

5A

Name: Mwene

For: working diligently.

 

Name: Kyle

For: being generous to those around him.

 

Name: Chase 

For: being a calm influence in the classroom.

5H

Name: Joy 

For:  making sure that every piece of work she completes is to a high standard.

Name:  Arth

For:  always being so generous with giving his time to help others.

Name:  Frankie

For:  setting the bar so high for peaceful living in our classroom and the playground.

5N

Name: Alexandra

For: her dedication to working to high standards across the curriculum.

Name: Robert

For: his excellent participation in all lessons and being willing to share his valuable ideas.

Name: Dre

For: his positive influence on his peers and for demonstrating humility.
 

Working diligently

 

Acting generously

 

Promoting peace

Year Six

6I

Name: Isabella

For: Making great progress in arithmetic this week, she has doubled her score!

 

Name: Fernando M

For: Being kind, an improvement in his attendance, having a great attitude and being helpful towards others.

 

Name: Fernando U

For: Being focused in class and always having a playful nature that cheers up all.

6P

Name: Gabriel

For: working hard to improve his arithmetic skills.

Name: Khadijah

For: always being kind and helpful in class.

Name: Rayan

For: being a calm and peaceful presence in the classroom.

6T

Name: Kieran

For: working extremely hard in maths and making excellent progress.

Name: Jessica H

For: always being generous and supportive towards others.

Name: Nathaniel

For: being focused and engaged in his learning. 
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