Newsletters

24/25 - Autumn 1, Week 5

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Dear parents and carers,

We hope you’ve all had a great week! Here are the latest updates and important information for the upcoming weeks at William Ford Junior School.

Flu Vaccinations

Well done to all our pupils who had their flu vaccinations this week! They were incredibly brave, and we’re so proud of them. If your child missed out on the vaccination, there will be another opportunity on 18th November. Please visit our website to find the link to our school calendar for further details.

Harvest Festival – Supporting Local Foodbanks

As we celebrate our Harvest Festival, we are collecting donations for local foodbanks to support those in need within our community. We encourage all families to bring in suitable non-perishable food items, such as tinned goods, pasta, rice, and cereals. Your generosity will make a real difference to families who need it most, and we appreciate your kindness and support.

Parents’ Evening – Save the Dates!

We are looking forward to meeting with you during our Parents’ Evening on 25th and 28th November. Please keep these dates free as we’ll soon be sending out the link to book your appointment via the school news app. We strongly encourage you to attend these meetings with your child. It’s a valuable opportunity to discuss their progress, celebrate achievements, and set goals for the term ahead.

Lighthouse's trip to Billingsgate Market

Please see our news article below following our trip last week for our children in the Lighthouse.  In addition, we have also had some great feedback from the staff at Billingsgate Market:

“Great group from William Ford last week - fantastic staff. Those children are so fortunate to have such dedicated and kind people working with them. Each child was encouraged to have a voice - and we had great engagement with them.

Faith - one of the students - noticed that the mussels were alive - and said she saw the 'lips' moving - meaning the shells.  We loved it...

It is wonderful to hear such positive feedback from others who work with our school.  Well done everybody.

Collective Worship Focus – Jonah 3:6-10

This week in Collective Worship, we focused on Jonah 3:6-10. We learnt how the people of Nineveh, led by their king, changed their ways and turned to God after hearing Jonah's message. This passage teaches us that it's never too late to make better choices and that we can always seek forgiveness and strive to do the right thing. We encouraged the children to think about times when they might need to change their attitudes or actions to make positive choices in their own lives.

Black History Month

Ms. Nash led a fantastic Collective Worship this week to kick-start our work on Black History Month. The session inspired our pupils to learn about and appreciate the significant contributions of Black individuals throughout history. We look forward to a month filled with learning, reflection, and celebration of the rich cultural heritage that shapes our world.

Thank you for your continued support and engagement with our school community. Please make sure to visit our website regularly for updates and information on upcoming events.

I pray you all have a wonderful weekend.

 

Mr. David Huntingford

Headteacher

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Nessy is a fabulous resource we have access to at William Ford. October is Dyslexia Awareness Month, and they are offering some free resources for any parents to access-Free Dyslexia Resources

If you are concerned about your child and suspect they may have dyslexia, please speak to your child's class teacher or make an appointment to speak to me.

There have been some issues with the School News App. Once it is fixed we will resend parent portal log-in links to book your parent evening slots.

Please be advised the door to the school conservatory will be locked until 8.30 am, when staff will be available in the school office.

There are many pupils arriving very early for school - please note that the school gates open at 8.35am for children to make their way to class and there are no staff monitoring pupils in the driveway area. For the children's safety, please ensure they are not leaving home too early, especially with the weather changing.

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Year Three

Chibuikem

 

Year Four

Suriel

Year Five

Shiven

 

Year Six

Ewura

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Life among the Nettles by Gerth Hansen

I like this book because it tells you facts about bugs and plants. I enjoyed reading about how snails like to eat lots in spring and hibernate during the winter. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes insects.

Lilly 5P

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Visual Impairment Awareness week
All Day
From 07 Oct until 11 Oct
07
October
Black History Month
8:00am – 8:30am
From 01 Oct until 25 Oct
01
October
Individual Photographs
8:30am – 9:00am
14
October
Parent Meeting - supporting your child's mental health and behaviour at home via ZOOM
9:00am – 10:00am
16
October
Break up for Half Term @3.15pm
All Day
25
October
Autumn Half Term
All Day
From 28 Oct until 01 Nov
28
October
Children return to school @8.35am
All Day
04
November
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11 Oct 2024
Democracy at William Ford
This week our pupils tell us about the William Ford elections
Read more
08 Oct 2024
Lighthouse visit to Billingsgate Market
Children took part in a cooking workshop at Billingsgate Fish Market. They learnt about different types of fish, food hygiene, how to prepare fish for cooking and worked with chefs to create a meal. We made a prawn cocktail, healthy fish fingers and smoked markrel pate. The children t...
Read more
04 Oct 2024
TT Rockstar's Day
This week Ophelia, Mia and Patricia from 5W tell us about TT Rockstar's Day
Read more
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Year Three

The children have continued to work enthusiastically this week, across all subjects.

What we have learnt about this week

In English, we have been looking closely at the elements which make up an adventure story, in preparation for writing an adventure story of our own. We have also practised using inverted commas in our grammar lesson.

In Maths, we have started a new unit, 'addition and subtraction', and have practised adding and subtracting ones, tens and hundreds.

In science, we continued our work focussing on the food groups and further developed our understanding of a balanced diet by meal planning for clients with specific needs.

The children were excited to begin our history lessons introducing Ancient Egypt. 

What we will learn about next week

In English, we will continue our work using inverted commas. The children will use their prior knowledge and planning of an adventure story to write an exciting story of their own.

In maths, we will continue adding and subtracting, crossing the boundary and using the formal method of presentation to help with this.

In geography, the children will be finding out about explorer Woni Spotts, whose ambition is to travel to every country in the world.

In R.E. we will be moving on to a new unit of work, 'Incarnation', focussing on the  Holy Trinity.

Year Four 

The children have continued to work hard this week in all subjects. 

What we have learnt about this week

This week in Year 4, we have been engaging in a variety of exciting lessons. In English, we have been planning our adventure stories, and we look forward to writing them up next week. 

In Maths, our focus has been on addition and subtraction using the column method. The pupils have been practising their skills and developing a solid understanding of these essential concepts.

In Science, we have been creating classification keys, helping us identify and organise various organisms. This hands-on approach has fostered curiosity and critical thinking among the children.

In Religious Education, we have explored the Parable of the Prodigal Son, discussing its moral lessons and relevance today.

Finally, our geography lesson took us to India, where we examined both its physical and human geography, enriching our understanding of this diverse country.

What we will learn about next week

Next week, the childre will write their own adventure stories, developing their narrative skills.

In mathematics, we will continue to focus on subtraction.

In science, the children will engage with data collection, learning how to gather and interpret information through various methods. This will provide them with valuable skills in analysis and observation.

In religious education, we will introduce a new topic on Hinduism, exploring its beliefs and practices to foster a deeper understanding of diverse cultures.

Finally, in history, we will delve into the fascinating era of hunter-gathering, allowing the children to grasp the lifestyles of our ancient ancestors.

Year Five

It has been another busy week in Year 5 this week. We are looking forward to finding out the results of our ballots for the school council representatives.

What we have learnt about this week

In English, we have been learning about embedded clauses and planning our next piece of writing. We are using our plans to write a biography about Dorothy Vaughan, one of the main characters in our reading book, 'Hidden Figures'.

During maths lessons, we have been  extending our addition and subtraction skills using larger numbers and using rounding to help us estimate and check our answers.

For our science, we started to research and prepare information about space ready for our presentations.

In geography, we compared the Anglo-Saxon justice system with our own in modern-day Britain.

What we will learn about next week

Next week, we will be looking at parentheses and using this to add extra information to our writing.

In maths, we will be using this week's addition and subtraction skills to complete multistep questions, problems and worded questions.

We hope to complete our research in science and begin to present what we have learnt from our space topic.

We will continue our geographical work about the United Kingdom by looking at industry and the jobs people do in the U.K.

 

Year Six

The Year 6 children have continued to work hard this week.  If your child has been selected to take part in a maths or reading intervention group please ensure they arrive at school at 8:25am so the groups can begin promptly at 8:30am

What we have learnt about this week

This week in English, the children examined how authors use language to create settings and then wrote their own setting based on a Victorian workhouse.  In maths, the children worked on using their number skills to solve multi-step problems.  In R.E. the children considered the challenges faced by the Christian scientist, Dr Wiseman by writing a letter to her asking questions about her faith and her role as an astrophysicist.  The children are also making good progress making their waistcoats in technology.  In science, the children concluded their unit of work on evolution by creating their own cladograms. 

What we will learn about next week

Next week in English, the children will plan and write their own balanced argument exploring the positives and negatives of Victorian workhouses.  In maths, the children will begin a new unit of work on fractions.  During our geography lesson next week, the children will examine evidence from photographs in order to draw conclusions.   In history, the children will examine a range of sources of information about Victorian workhouses and decide how reliable each source is.  In DT the children will continue making their waistcoats in anticipation for our Victorian Day. 

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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: Desiree

For: increased participation in lessons this week.

 

Name: Michelle

For: always offering her time to help others.

 

Name: Shameer

For: always having a smile on his face.

3F

Name: Sofie

For: working diligently in maths 

Name: Alexandra

For: acting generously with her peers

Name: Hassan 

For: always making people smile

3M

Name: Victoria

For: working hard in all lessons and our recent tests 

Name:  Emily

For: showing care and kindness to a classmate when they were upset

Name: Kristian

For: working calmly, peacefully and trying his best in all lessons.
 

Working diligently

 

Acting generously

 

Promoting peace

Year Four

4D

Name: Abby

For: sharing really good ideas for her story 

 

Name: Suriel

For: always being kind and always asking if she can do jobs around the class

 

Name: Demi

For: always having a calm attitude in class

4IW

Name: Rosy

For: working hard in maths this week.

Name: Alexander 

For: being helpful and generous with his time around the classroom.

Name: Arya

For: always having a calm and positive approach to learning. 

4N

Name: Hunter

For: contributing well to maths lessons this week.

Name: Adesewa

For: being kind and caring to her friends and to adults in school.

Name: Azowa

For: being a calm influence in the classroom.
 

Working diligently

 

Acting generously

 

Promoting peace

Year Five

5H

Name:  Slav

For: always working diligently and making a great contribution during lessons.

 

Name: Kaima

For: volunteering to help in class so regularly.

 

Name:  Jamie

For: always sitting up so smartly, setting a great example.

5P

Name: Adesewa

For: working really hard in her maths group.

Name: David M

For: being helpful at the end of the day, tucking in chairs.

Name: Sumaiya

For: always being a great role model, showing calm and peaceful behaviour.

5W

Name: Cherie

For: working diligently in all lessons.

Name: Mia S

For: acting generously and being an amazing role model to a new member of the class.

Name: AJ

For: living at peace and having a calm approach to lessons.
 

Working diligently

 

Acting generously

 

Promoting peace

Year Six

6B

Name: Claude

For: great effort in lessons resulting in pleasing work

 

Name: Charlie

For: helping his peers during our technology lesson

 

Name: Jordan

For: his calm and sensible approach in lessons this week

6I

Name: Cherish

For: a fantastic manifesto, which was inspiring and well written.

Name: David

For: your kindness and patience in class this week.

Name: Andrea

For: her cheery disposition, you always bring a smile to my face every morning.

6L

Name: Teslim

For: working tremendously well in all Maths lessons this week. Well Done 

Name: Daniel

For: handing out books and resources with enthusiasm.

Name: Daniella

For: staying calm and composed when faced with challenges
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