Newsletters

23/24 - Summer 1, Week 4

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Dear parents and carers,

It's that time again - 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 (although these will not be produced this year).  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 sportsman 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. 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.

Having experienced two years of disrupted education, during the pandemic, and a host of changes that have been made at William Ford to improve the school further, 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.

I pray you all have a wonderful weekend.

 

Mr. David Huntingford

Headteacher

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This week we had a special assembly with the Sycamore Trust. Please see our article on the website for more information.

If you have not yet provided an updated pupil form to the school office, please return them as soon as possible. It is important we have your up to date contact information and at least two additional contact numbers in case of an emergency. 

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The Harry Potter Series

The reason I would recommend this book is because it has loads of mysteries, secrets and cliffhangers along the way. This book is definitely a very fun book to read, and it has loads of lore in its seven books.

By Adoniya 6I

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SATS WEEK
All Day
From 13 May until 16 May
13
May
End of SATS treat trip
All Day
17
May
France Day Trip Yr5&6
6:00am – 11:00pm
17
May
Pupil Voice Meetings
All Day
From 20 May until 24 May
20
May
Parent Meeting - Our approach to Sex and relationships education
9:30am – 10:30am
20
May
Parent Meeting - Our approach to Sex and relationships education
5:00pm – 6:00pm
20
May
HALF TERM
All Day
From 27 May until 31 May
27
May
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10 May 2024
Sycamore Trust Assembly
Special Assembly with the Sycamore Trust
Read more
10 May 2024
William Ford FC reach the Semi Finals!
William Ford 5 - 4 Five Elms
Read more
10 May 2024
Lunchtime Performance
This week Joanna, Ajwa and Violet from Year 5 tell us about a lunchtime performance.
Read more
09 May 2024
Borthwick Performing Arts workshops Y4/5
Drama, dance and acting for our Year Four and Five pupils
Read more
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Year Three

Following a lovely, long weekend, the children have returned back and have been working hard in all areas.

What we have learnt about this week

In maths this week we completed our fraction work. The children looked at partitioning the whole and used their knowledge of division to calculate unit fractions of a set of objects.

In English, we practised using apostrophes for singular possession. The children also planned and wrote a description of their own superhero which they really enjoyed.

In science, we were excited to observe the results of our germination experiment and the children wrote their own conclusions from their findings.

In history, the children had an interactive and immersive lesson about the Battle of Marathon. Hopefully they will tell you about what they learnt.

What we will learn about next week

Next week we will begin our new maths topic of telling the time. Children always find this very challenging, so any extra practise they can do at home would be beneficial to their understanding. We will begin by revising o'clock, half past, quater past and to. 

In English we will plan and write a recount and also practise summarising. We will also practise writing in the first person.

We will also begin our new geography topic called 'Coasts'.

Year Four 

We have had a fantastic week in Year 4, as always, full of action!

What we have learnt about this week

This week in Year 4, pupils have been working hard to research and write the main body of the brochure, all about the impact of the Romans in Britain. This is a cross-curricular topic, linking our English, Reading and History. 

In maths, pupils have been learning about angles, practising identifying the types of angles, comparing angles and looking at the properties of triangles and polygons. 

In Geography, pupils have started a new unit: Rainforests. This is a really exciting unit and the pupils used atlases to learn how to locate the key rainforests in the world, on a map. 

In Science, pupils began a new unit: Living things and their habitats. They began by learning about the key life processes, whilst making a poster to demonstrate this knowledge, using description and art. 

What we will learn about next week

Next week, pupils will be continuing their maths unit of shape and measure, learning how to measure. In English, pupils will be looking at persuasion and preparing for the work they are going to produce, regarding their trip to Colchester castle. 

In Science, pupils will be looking at local living things, including school habitats. 

In Geography, pupils will begin to explore the layers of vegetation in a rainforest.

Year Five

Although it has been a short week, Year 5 have been extremely busy.

What we have learnt about this week

In English this week, the children have been looking at how to write captivating descriptions of different settings. They collected words and phrases to describe magical forests, bustling cities, churchyards and dilapidated houses. They were encouraged to make bold choices in their vocabulary in order to make the description more interesting for the reader. Once they had written their descriptive passage, they looked at how they could edit and improve it.

In maths this week, we have been learning how to translate shapes and how to identify what translation has taken place. We have also continued with our work on arithmetic and we are really pleased with the progress in this area. Keep it up Year 5!

We were lucky enough to get a workshop with The Borthwick Academy this week. The children got a taste of what it’s like to be in a musical, learning to project their voices and dance to a well-known musical number. Great fun was had.

What we will learn about next week

Next week in maths, we will continue our work on translation, then move on to reflection and lines of symmetry. In English, we will move on to looking at how to build strong characters for narrative writing, as well as creating interesting plots. This will be used to create a full narrative piece.

In RE next week, we will be moving on in our Islam unit, to look at the Qur’an, what it is and how it is significant in the Islamic faith.

Year Six

SATS are nearly upon us! The children have worked so hard to prepare for next week's tests and the Year 6 teachers are very proud of the effort and determination so many of them have shown in the last few weeks and months.  

What we have learnt about this week

This week, we have had the final push in SATS revision in preparation for next week's tests.  Each day, the children have completed past papers in grammar, reading and maths.  They have worked as partners for some tasks and individually for others.  The children have marked their own answers so that they can see the errors they have made.  They have also looked at the  marking schemes that SATS examiners will use to mark their tests.  Each day, the children also had some other curriculum lessons.  This week, we have focussed on art, where the children have begun to conclude their unit of work about different artists.  They had to choose one of the artists studied and then planned and completed their own piece of art based on that style.

What we will learn about next week

Of course, next week is SATS week for Year 6 children.  They will have tests from Monday to Thursday.  On Friday some of our children will be on the French trip, but those not going will be having their own trip to Dagenham Vue cinema to watch a film and celebrate the end of SATS.  

 

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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

3F

Name: Hannah 

For: working diligently in maths

 

Name: Talia

For: being kind and helpful to others

 

Name: Alexandra G

For: being a kind and calm member of the class.

3M

Name: Ellianah

For: trying harder with reading, handwriting and focus within a task.

Name: Eleojo

For: offering help and kindness to a classmate when they were upset.

Name: Paula

For: being calm and more focussed in lessons.

3N

Name: Mehdi

For: trying hard in all lessons this week and working particularly hard in maths.

Name:  Maxwell

For: being helpful and kind to both his classmates and to adults.

Name: Helena

For: a much more peaceful and settled approach to her work.
 

Working diligently

 

Acting generously

 

Promoting peace

Year Four

4D

Name: Dhruv

For: working diligently across all subjects.

 

Name: Viola

For: giving up her time and acting generously around the classroom. 

 

Name: Nathan

For: living at peace and having a positive attitude towards his learning.

4IW

Name: Abdullah 

For: consistently working hard  in all lessons this week. 

Name: Sumaiya 

For: acting generously and being more confident to share ideas in class. 

Name: Morgan 

For: having a positive attitude to learning, especially in English this week.  

4W

Name: Muna

For: working diligently and improving in phonics!

Name: Lyra

For: acting generously and producing a great piece of work in English. 

Name: Gregory

For: promoting peace and having great subject knowledge in geography. 
 

Working diligently

 

Acting generously

 

Promoting peace

Year Five

5A

Name: Aisela

For: her mature responses in PSHE this week

 

Name: Michael F

For: always wanting to help handing out resources

 

Name: Avani

For: always being a calm presence in the classroom

5H

Name:  Shekinah

For:  collecting great descriptive phrases for writing.

Name:  Matta

For: being so helpful in class this week.

Name: Dylan

For:  quietly and gently helping others in class.

5P

Name: Harley

For: working hard on his setting description, using ambitious vocabulary.

Name: Jordan

For: being more willing to put his hand up and share his ideas.

Name: Archie

For: living at peace and having more focus in lessons.
 

Working diligently

 

Acting generously

 

Promoting peace

Year Six

6B

Name: Tishe

For: excellent focus during SATS revision lessons.

 

Name: Aliyah

For: excellent sharing of ideas during SATS revision lessons.

 

Name: Natasha

For: working quietly and calmly during SATS revision lessons.

6F

Name: Amelia

For: Working hard in maths sessions.

Name: Danyla

For: Being a positive member of the class.

Name: Julian

For: Always living at peace.

6I

Name: Kaiona

For: Woring extremely hard in lessons, boosters and morning groups.

Name: Joy

For: Generosity this week and for her kindness.

Name: Corey

For: Being more at peace this week.
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