Abbey Lens a Year in review 2021-22

A celebration of some of the work and events at our school in 2021-22

BB8Y LENS September 2021 Vol 8: Issue No. One Excellence Through Partnership

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We’re back! 8th Year of our Abbey Lens

MEET THE STAFF Fun, short videos that introduce some of our staff. http://www.abbeyfederation.co.uk/whos- who/ CALENDAR OF EVENTS Planned out for the year, including a link to add the dates to your smart device. https://www.abbeyfederation.co.uk/diary/ grid/2020/9/ OUR CURRICULUM A detailed guide to the national curriculum and how we tailor it for our children. http://www.abbeyfederation.co.uk/parent- guide-to-the-national-curriculum/ KIDS’ ZONE Educational based games that change every month supporting many areas of the curriculum http://www.abbeyfederation.co.uk/special/ kidszone/ CLASS PAGES Year group pages and lots of great events that our children have taken part in. http://www.abbeyfederation.co.uk/topic/ class-pages ON-LINE SAFETY Advice and guidance for parents on keeping our children safe in the ever growing technological world. https://www.abbeyfederation.co.uk/on-line- safety-information/

Have you got a paragraph of good news to share? Write in under 100 words, attach a picture and your story may be published.

www.abbeyfederation.co.uk All submissions to office@abbey-

jun.sandwell.sch.uk or office@abbey-inf.sandwell.sch.uk

BB8Y LENS September 2021 Vol 8: Issue No. Two Excellence Through Partnership

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What is it? 8th Year of our Abbey Lens

SHARE & SHINE

We try to celebrate the work of our school through our weekly Abbey Lens. It’s a way to shine a light on curriculum experiences. Sometimes it’s a way to share trips, visits and visitors. We also like to see what our children and families are getting up to in the local community. Many of our children share their outside interests and charity work. We keep every issue and make a digital flip-book as it builds a sense of pride across our school. It also shows the range of experiences that our children get during their time at Abbey. We’d love you to contribute with short stories and a picture or two. We can’t promise to publish all but we’ll certainly try. Our last seven years can be found here :

Have you got a paragraph of good news to share? Write in under 100 words, attach a picture and your story may be published. All submissions to office@abbey-jun.sandwell.sch.uk or office@abbey-inf.sandwell.sch.uk

www.abbeyfederation.co.uk

BB8Y LENS September 2021 Vol 8: Issue No. Three Excellence Through Partnership

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The gift of the Nile. Workshops begin

EGYPTIAN DAY Year 5 were straight back to work with an inspiring start to their topic of Egyptians. It was a content rich day of workshops and activities. 5P commented on Dr Worrell and her fun and engaging delivery. Stand out moments included: mummification process; writing and decoding hieroglyphics; Egyptian board games. Information, facts and interesting bits of history peppered the experience and a great day was had by all. Did you know that Egyptians would hunt wild cats but domestic cats were sacred? Thanks to 5P for the story! GROWING UP GREEN Growing Up Green is a free Children’s Arts Festival happening in Bearwood that celebrates action on climate change as part of The Great Big Green Week 18- 26 September 2021. https://www.growingup.green/bearwood Growing Up Green Bearwood: Toy Swap St. Mary's Church Hall , St. Mary’s Church Hall, Bearwood, Smethwick B66 4BQ / 18th Sep, 11:00 – 13:00 Join us for a community event where kids can swap up to 5 toys with other children. The swap is free to attend, but you must give away a toy to get someone else’s toy. Toys will be divided into categories and assigned a value sticker. Toys should be clean and given in good condition. Toys can be dropped off before the event from 9am. Toys must be received by 10.45am on the day to be included in the swap.

www.abbeyfederation.co.uk

BB8Y LENS September 2021 Vol 8: Issue No. Four Excellence Through Partnership

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McCoos. Stephen Brown art knowledge.

SCOTTISH DAY On Wednesday 8th September, Year 2 had a wonderful Scottish day, linked to their Autumn topic ‘Super Scots’. The children enjoyed finding out facts about Scotland and taking part in some traditional activities. They looked at artwork by Steven Brown and even created their own individual art pieces. Highland cows, using lines of colour, were everywhere! Energetic too, the children took part in some Highland Games. They learnt the ‘Scottish Fling dance’ and created a class Loch Ness monster. Throughout the day there was plenty of fun and laughter, especially when we shared The Gruffalo in Scot together. The teachers tried their very best to use a Scottish accent! Thanks to Miss Stocking for the story! BARNEY’S BARNET When Barney's auntie lost her hair through cancer treatment, he wanted to do something to help. We found out about the Little Princess Trust and he decided to support their work. He has been growing his hair for two years, ready to donate it to them! He's put up with all of the brushing and extra hair care that having long hair takes; he's dealt with people confusing him for a girl or telling him that he looks girly with long hair (thankfully no one from school - his friends have been awesomely supportive ! ) and now it's done!! He's also raised over £1800 for the charity! [Ed - Magnificent effort Barney - we are all really proud of you!] Thanks to Barney’s mum for the story!

www.abbeyfederation.co.uk

BB8Y LENS October 2021 Vol 8: Issue No. Five Excellence Through Partnership

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Raw recruits. PCSO return

ON THE BEAT This week the new Junior PCSOs met for their first meeting and were welcomed to the Junior PCSO programme, which is a community initiative in conjunction with West Midlands Police. They considered the qualities needed to perform their role and agreed to be approachable - easy to talk to or deal with and friendly. Polite - showing good manners; being courteous, considerate and tactful; helpful- providing assistance; proud - feeling or showing justifiable self-respect; reliable - dependable and trustworthy and smart - someone who wears their Junior PCSO uniform with pride. Our Junior PCSOs have a full programme of work ahead of them. They will; use the PCSO Pledge to know what is expected of them; learn essential information about the laws of the road to support safer parking and road safety; promote the message of reduce, re-use and recycle with a poster competition; learn about the Clean Air Charter with respect to air pollution around the school; attend a virtual meeting with the UN at the Climate Summate; work with a charity called ‘Living Streets’ to promote a campaign called ‘WOW’ which encourages pupils to walk to school then deliver monthly WOW badges to classmates; meet the Sandwell Litter Watch Team to learn about the impact of litter on the local environment and local wildlife; register with the charity Hedgehog Street; train to be a ‘Safeguarding Champion’ to support with pupil wellbeing and safeguarding across the school, including training to support the schools anti-bullying campaign and have lots of fun along the way! Thanks to Mrs. Flanagan for the story!

www.abbeyfederation.co.uk

BB8Y LENS October 2021 Vol 8: Issue No. Six Excellence Through Partnership

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Kick off! What a difference one week makes.

COME RAIN OR SHINE On the 23rd September Abbey Junior's Football Team Kicked off their season with an away match vs St Phillips. The sun shone down and it was a fantastic occasion with the team super excited to get started. Despite a competitive performance and ideal playing conditions the team fell to a 4-1 defeat in their first game. Still full of excitement they looked forward to the next game vs Hargate the following week. Fast forward to Tuesday 28th September and what an unbelievable change! The rain had set in but it did nothing to dampen the confidence of the Abbey team. As the rain poured in, so did the goals! Abbey played magnificently and ran out 13-2 Winners! Well done!

Thanks to Miss. Hinton for the story! AUTUMN DAYS

This week, the children in EYFS celebrated the start of Autumn with an Autumn Day. Everyone came dressed in Autumn colour clothes, we made salt dough hedgehogs, leaf crowns and Nursery made pumpkin soup. The children all had a go at chopping the pumpkin, Mrs Arif cooked the soup for us, the smell in nursery was amazing! Once it had cooled down we enjoyed tasting the soup with a delicious bread roll. A great day was had by all

[Ed - I can confirm it was delicious!] Thanks to Miss. Harwood for the story.

www.abbeyfederation.co.uk

BB8Y LENS October 2021 Vol 8: Issue No. Seven Excellence Through Partnership

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Oscar worthy! WOW PR.

AMBASSADORS Our wonderful Abbey Junior PCSOs did a brilliant job last year in setting up and promoting the WOW programme, working with the charity Living Streets. The WOW programme encourages children to ditch the car and walk, cycle or park- and-stride to school. Children learnt about the benefits of walking to school which included benefits to physical and mental health; protecting the environment with less carbon emissions from cars; protecting the air quality around our school and saving our young lungs. Children who walked to school, at least once a week, were awarded a badge at the end of the month. Our school became the most successful school in the West Midlands and both Abbey Juniors and Abbey Infants took the top two places in the WOW Leadership Board. WOW! Due to our great achievements and interest in the programme we were asked by Living Streets, who work in partnership with Transport for West Midlands, to work with a videographer and photographer. They filmed the children talking about why walking and active travel to school was a benefit. The material will be used for promoting the walk to school and safer streets message. The children had a fantastic experience and provided the researchers with a wealth of material (they were very impressed with how much they knew). What an exciting opportunity for our Abbey Junior PCSOs to help and make a difference to their community - it's the very heart of everything that they do. Thanks to Mrs. Flanagan for the story!

www.abbeyfederation.co.uk

BB8Y LENS October 2021 Vol 8: Issue No. Eight Excellence Through Partnership

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Heart! Dissection.

THE HEART DISSECTION In Science, we have been learning about the circulatory system. We put our safety goggles, aprons and gloves on and got to work! We discovered the main artery is called the Aorta, where the oxygenated blood travels to the rest of the body. We looked at the external structure and labelled the parts. Then, we made incisions to explore the insides of the heart to look at the different chambers. We noticed the right atrium and ventricle were much smaller, as this carries the deoxygenated blood to the lungs. This was a fantastic experience to physically hold and dissect a real lamb's heart up close. We have learnt so much about the heart and the circulatory system.

By Alex 6H, Ewan 6H and Diyan 6Y

www.abbeyfederation.co.uk

BB8Y LENS October 2021 Vol 8: Issue No. Special Excellence Through Partnership

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Community Spirit Working to support others

SMETHWICK FOODBANK HARVEST APPEAL Every day people in the UK go hungry for reasons ranging from redundancy to receiving an unexpected bill on a low income. A simple box of food makes a big difference, with foodbanks helping prevent crime, housing loss, family breakdown and mental health problems. Schools, churches, businesses and individuals donate non- perishable, in-date food to a foodbank. Large collections often take place as part of Harvest Festival celebrations and food is also collected at supermarkets. Abbey is supporting our local food bank and even one donation can make a difference. Last year we collected over 1000kg of donations and our local foodbank was really appreciative. Let’s see if everyone can bring in one item. FUNDRAISE FOR FREE We need your help! If you shop online, please could you sign up to easyfundraising to support our school? It’s a really easy way to raise money for us – you just use the easyfundraising site to shop online with more than 3,300 well known online stores like Amazon, Argos, John Lewis, ASOS, Booking.com, eBay, Boden, and M&S. When you make a purchase, the retailer sends us a free donation, at no extra cost to you. We want to raise as much as possible, so please visit our new easyfundraising page at https:// www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/ abbeyinfantjuniorsch/ and click ‘support us’. Since October 2018, following these links has raised £400 for our school - all for free clicks!

www.abbeyfederation.co.uk

BB8Y LENS October 2021 Vol 8: Issue No. Nine Excellence Through Partnership

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BCM! Victorian inspiration

BACKWARDS ALPHABET Our trip to the Black Country Museum was a very enjoyable and exciting experience. We were able to explore and play with different toys from the Victorian era and even learnt how to compare them to the toys we play with now. 1DP loved playing street games and cheering each other on. We also found out that some people lived in ‘back to back’ houses and had to share their toilet with their neighbours (which was at the bottom of their shared garden)! 1G’s favourite part was when we learnt that some children would get a job just to buy a sweet! They would taste the sweet and then put it in their pocket to save for later! 1V had an eventful time in the Victorian school, where Mr Griffiths made us learn and recite the alphabet… backwards! LEGGING IT On Sunday, Heidi took part in the Race for Life, for Cancer Research. Over the last year Heidi has gained a lot more understanding on what the money can do, after her Nan was diagnosed with cancer, just over a year ago. She wanted to take part in the race after seeing the advert on the tv. She asked lots of questions and was so excited to take part! She set a target of £100 and exceeded this, raising a total of just over £200! She was very emotional on the day but put her all into completing the race and managed it in exactly an hour - with her mom running with her! She is very proud to have raised so much money for such a good cause and cannot wait to take part next year [Ed - Great effort Heidi and we are all proud of you!]

Thanks to Heidi’s mum for the story.

www.abbeyfederation.co.uk

BB8Y LENS November 2021 Vol 8: Issue No. Ten Excellence Through Partnership

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Football partnership! Girls’ football.

BLAST On Thursday 14th October, a group of Year 5 & 6 girls travelled to Sandwell Academy to participate in the ‘Girls' Football Partnership Day'. The day was organised by the Sandwell Girls Football Development Lead, hosted by Sandwell Academy and delivered by Sandwell College Girls in partnership with West Bromwich Albion Women's FC. The Sandwell College Girls put on lots of fun football games for the girls to enjoy and they all had a blast! A great way to boost the girls confidence as they now go on to participate in the Girls After School Club after half term! In other football news -The Abbey football team continue their winning streak as they beat Shireland Hall 19-0! WILD & WINDY Year 2 had a blustery visit to Weston-Super-Mare on the windiest day of the year so far. This did not stop them having an amazing day, it just added to the excitement. After a noisy, fun-filled coach journey, the children arrived at the beach. We found a sheltered area where the children built sandcastles with moats: dug holes to fill with sea water; chased seagulls and drew pictures in the sand. Shells were collected and used to decorate them too. During this time the children went off to ride the donkeys; some children were very brave conquering their fears and having a go. Sienna said, " I loved riding the donkeys, it was amazing!" Next the chips arrived for us all to eat (including the seagulls) followed by a scrumptious ice lolly. We all certainly ate enough. We also compared Weston super Mare to Bearwood using our geographical skills. Thanks to Mrs .Johnson for the story. [Ed - thanks to our parent helpers who made the day successful too!]

www.abbeyfederation.co.uk

BB8Y LENS November 2021 Vol 8: Issue No. Eleven Excellence Through Partnership

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Barging around! Canal trip.

NARROW BOATS Year three were back on the road this week, visiting the canal narrow boats of Dudley. For many children it was the first time of being on a canal boat, made more exciting by being underground for part of the journey. The canal trip brought to life the role of the ‘Navvy’ who they have been studying. [Navvies were the men who actually built railways and canals. ... The word “navvy” came from the word navigator. By the mid-C19th – the height of railway mania – there were 250,000 navvies throughout the country.] Cleo and Harriet in 3V really enjoyed the trip and learnt a lot through the day. They loved the feeling of the boat and were surprised that the barges managed to get through the narrow space. Thanks to Mrs Vickers for the story. REMEMBRANCE Everyone at Abbey observed a two-minute silence in their classrooms, Thursday 11th November. In an age appropriate way we all took the time to reflect upon the importance of this event. Years two and six have also completed some Art & Design work as a mark of respect.

www.abbeyfederation.co.uk

BB8Y LENS November 2021 Vol 8: Issue No. Twelve Excellence Through Partnership

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B67 5LT At school

GREAT WEEK @ HOME While half of Year 6 were having the time of their life in Plas Gwynant, the rest of Year 6 had a fun- filled, creative week at school. World War Art To commemorate Remembrance Day this year, we have made a display based on World War Art. The children created their own watercolour backgrounds and used Indian ink to create the silhouettes of various people who served in the war. Scarecrows Over the first few days of the week, the children designed and made their own scarecrows. They worked in groups to design a theme for their scarecrow. Plenty of fun was had along with a playground filled with hay, much to Mr Edward’s delight. Forest school During Forest school, with Mr Pogson, the children built their own dens and a fire pit over at the Infants. Mr Pogson built a rope ladder and they all had a go at climbing it. There were plenty of mud pies being made and lots of scavenging for natural materials. All of this happened under the watchful eye of the curious, resident fox. Blackwell Adventure On Thursday, we visited Blackwell Adventure park, where the children experienced some amazing adventurous activities such as: Indoor rock climbing, grass sledging, go-carting, tree- trekking and many children plucked up the courage to ride the giant zip-line. Thanks to Mrs. Falconer for the story.

www.abbeyfederation.co.uk

BB8Y LENS November 2021 Vol 8: Issue No. Thirteen Excellence Through Partnership

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LL55 4NR School away

GREAT WEEK # AWAY After a long and tiring journey, we arrived at the huge campus of Plas Gwynant. After we’d finished unpacking, we had delicious burgers and chips. One evening we went on a peaceful night walk. We realised how different and unique nature was compared with the city. Each day we fulfilled many activities such as: abseiling down a slippery rock, amazing gorge walking and canoeing across a freezing cold lake. It was a fantastic experience! Thanks to Keavagh and Clara for the story. Quotes from some of the children: I was put out my comfort zone but it was worth it - Zavia Loved it! I had new experiences and learnt growth mind set on the way - Aiesha I enjoyed doing gorge walking because we got soaked. We learnt about teamwork and communication - Joshua My favourite part was going up the mountain because it was challenging me and the view from the top was amazing! - Olivia Thanks to the Y6 children for the story. [Ed- Thank you to my staff for giving up a week away from home and families to give the kids a great experience]

www.abbeyfederation.co.uk

BB8Y LENS November 2021 Vol 8: Issue No. Fourteen Excellence Through Partnership

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Make a change! Zoo climate

ENDANGERED CONCERN Year 4 have had some fabulous visits to Dudley Zoo this week, keeping it close to reduce our carbon footprint. We have loved exploring all of the animals and finding out more about their natural habitats. We have especially enjoyed having the chance to see some of the world’s rarest animals up close; very up close in some instances! As a year group however, we have been very concerned about about why some of these animals are endangered and have been inspired to make a change, so watch this space! Thanks to Mrs. Piper for the story. GRAND FINALS On Wednesday 10th November Abbey travelled across to the WBA Academy to compete in the first round of the Utilita Kids Cup. Each team had to battle it out in the group stages in the hopes of reaching the semi-finals. Abbey drew their opening game 0-0, but then went on to dominate the group, winning the next two games 2-0 and 1-0. Eventually, they topped the group and went on to compete against other group winners in the semi-finals. A very close game finished the morning, with the opposition disappointed not to have scored after the ball appeared to be over the line - referee decision - no goal! Abbey then went on to take the lead and finished the game 1-0 winners! Abbey now progress to the grand finals in January, hosted once again at WBA. Winners of the grand finals will earn the chance to represent WBA in the regional finals. It’s all to play for!

Thanks to Miss. Hinton for the story.

www.abbeyfederation.co.uk

BB8Y LENS November 2021 Vol 8: Issue No. Fifteen Excellence Through Partnership

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What’s in the box? Dancing story

BHANGRA BEATS Last Friday, the ‘BHANGRA MAN’ Sohan Kailey visited Abbey Infants School, Bhangra music boomed as our Nursery and Reception classes clapped, twisted, skipped and jumped along to the rhythm. There was lots of shouting and laughing as the children learnt the moves. Their Bhangra adventure began by discovering the magical box. What could be in the box? Jewels? Stars? Unicorns? Rainbows? The children then had to search for the key. Once found, they realised that they were going on a journey… One moment they were on a farm, the next – Dinosaur land! Then they travelled to the beach. After that, they were aligned in the moves with the Bhangra Pirates! Lots of fun was had dancing on the ship’s deck and climbing the rigging. Then the children had the opportunity to dress up in traditional Bhangra costumes, waving, throwing and catching colourful scarves. Each child had the opportunity to develop their own style of bhangra, and all had a wonderful time! Thanks to Miss. Bevan for the story. CHANGE We’ve still registered with easyfundraising, which means over 4,000 shops and sites will now donate to us - for FREE every time you use easyfundraising to shop with them. These donations will help SO MUCH, so please sign up to support us – it’s completely FREE and doesn’t take long. Visit: https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/ abbeyinfantjuniorsch/?utm_campaign=raise- more&utm_content=w1

www.abbeyfederation.co.uk

BB8Y LENS December 2021 Vol 8: Issue No. Sixteen Excellence Through Partnership

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Bridge the gap! Practical magic

CONSTRUCT IT Year 3 have had an amazing time constructing bridges in their Design and Technology sessions. The children explored the different types of bridges and built on that knowledge to plan, design, make and evaluate their structures. They used a variety of tools such as a junior hacksaws and clamps, as well as using the skill of measuring accurately. “It’s been both fun and challenging” Ansel 3V.

“I enjoyed using the hacksaw to cut the wood” Zaynah 3V.

“I enjoyed gluing things together and getting my hands messy!” Anna 3V. A productive bucket skill day… enjoyed by all -including the staff !

ST HILDA’S As part of Year 3’s topic links to ‘Light’; the children put on an amazing performance of songs, poems, jokes and art work @ St Hilda’s Church. It was a great pleasure and a proud moment for all, to see the children “shine” as they put on an amazing show. Well done Year 3 … you definitely were our stars!

Thanks to Mrs. Vickers for the stories.

www.abbeyfederation.co.uk

BB8Y LENS December 2021 Vol 8: Issue No. Seventeen Excellence Through Partnership

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BSQM! Third time

RE-AWARDED Abbey has successfully been re-awarded the Basic Skills Quality Mark (BSQM) for the third time. Nicola Morris, Quality Mark National Director said: ‘I am delighted that your child’s school has recently been awarded a Quality Mark Award. This national accreditation is awarded to schools which meet the Quality Mark Standard and will last for three years, after which a renewal assessment is required. The Quality Mark promotes, supports and celebrates progress and improvements made by a school in English and Mathematics. Without these ‘basic skills’ of good communication, English and mathematical skills, individuals are disadvantaged throughout their lives – as learners, in the workplace and as parents, consumers and citizens and so they form the ‘bedrock’ of a good education.’ Nigel Edge the BSQM assessor stated: ‘English and Mathematics are at the heart of teaching and learning, as it is seen to be the foundation of unlocking the rest of the curriculum for the pupils. The school is continuing to develop a balanced curriculum that encourages the pupils to become independent learners and functions in a calm and ordered manner, where learning is fun for the pupils. The key strengths are: • Staff are nurturing; they gently encourage and persuade pupils to do things for themselves, skilfully building their independence and self- confidence, enabling pupils to enjoy their learning. • The inviting learning environment. • The intervention programmes that have taken place have had a positive impact upon learning. Well done us! The full report can be found : https://www.abbeyfederation.co.uk/ofsted- reports/

www.abbeyfederation.co.uk

BB8Y LENS December 2021 Vol 8: Issue No. Eighteen Excellence Through Partnership

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Theatre of dreams! Watching and performing

FESTIVE FUN Over the last two weeks, the Year 1 and 2 children have been enjoying a visit to the Old Rep Theatre in Birmingham to watch the wonderful Alice in Wonderland. The Christmas production follows the story of Alice, a young, curious girl who follows a white rabbit down a rabbit hole and into Wonderland. There, she encounters some of the strangest and most peculiar creatures, including the Cheshire Cat and the Mad Hatter. There were songs - old and new, a brand-new script and a talented cast of 25 student performers from Birmingham Ormiston Academy. The songs were so good that if you listen carefully, you can hear Mrs Goldie singing the tunes as she wanders around the school. The children were great ambassadors for the school with their excellent behaviour and good manners. Itt was a real pleasure to take them to a live show after so much time away from the theatre. Nursery, Reception and year 5 have also enjoyed performing and, despite the lack of audience, had a great time! Our Christmas productions can be found on our video resource centre. https://abbey- federation.primarysite.media Thanks to Mrs . Johnson for the story. [Ed- Wishing all of our children and families a very Happy Christmas and may 2022 be good for us all.]

www.abbeyfederation.co.uk

BB8Y LENS December 2021 Vol 8: Issue No. Nineteen Excellence Through Partnership

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PCSO Graduates! Promising to serve

PLEDGE ‘I promise to serve West Midlands Police as a Junior PCSO with integrity and honour. I will try my best at all time to be honest and trustworthy and to help everyone I meet.’ (Junior PCSO Pledge) This week the Abbey Junior PCSOs (police community support officers) became fully fledged Junior PCSOs after completing their training. In a ceremony held in school, the children were awarded their certificates and Junior PCSO uniforms. Well done team! The children have worked hard to learn about traffic law; to support safer parking and road safety; worked with the charity 'Living Streets' to promote the 'WOW' campaign in our school (walk once a week). This promotes mental health, physical fitness and protects the environment and tells how to be a 'Safeguarding Champion' by signposting children to 'trusted adults'. All the new learning ensures that the child can ' help everyone I meet' in their new role. We look forward to meeting our link PCSOs from West Midlands police who will be visiting the team in the Spring Term and supporting us with our safer parking message. If you would like to find out more about the role of the Abbey Junior PCSO and see the activities that they have taken part in, please visit the Abbey Webpage on https://www.abbeyfederation.co.uk/ abbey-junior-pcso-2020-2021/. Thanks to Mrs. Flanagan for the story.

www.abbeyfederation.co.uk

BB8Y LENS January 2022 Vol 8: Issue No. Twenty Excellence Through Partnership

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Vile Victorians! Role play day

HARD LIFE The children in Year One enjoyed a brilliant day travelling back in time to the Victorian era. The morning was split into three activities with Miss Donnelly, (female teachers were not allowed to get married) acting as the strict Victorian teacher in the school room. Miss Gill and Ms Rouse helped children to make their own bread roll in the bakery. The third activity was in the gymnasium, where children practised Victorian ‘drill’ - a series of instructed exercise. During the afternoon, the children took part in Victorian activities, making paper chains; playing with Victorian toys; making a stick Punch & Judy puppet and playing parlour games, such as charades. A great experience was had by all but we were happy to be back to ‘normal’ the following day! It certainly helped children to understand how fortunate they are and how much harder Victorian life was for children of their age. Thanks to Mrs. Donnelly for the story. [Ed - Happy New Year and welcome back to all of our children and families]

www.abbeyfederation.co.uk

BB8Y LENS January 2022 Vol 8: Issue No. Twenty One Excellence Through Partnership

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AFPE again! Role play day

QUALITY The AFPE Quality Mark is a prestigious award that helps evidence the strength and quality of Physical Education, School Sport and Physical Activity (PESSPA) in Abbey It helps raise the profile of the subject and the school, both locally and nationally, and promotes the great work that is being undertaken on a daily basis. The AFPE Quality Mark is a unique self review and evaluation process that involves the completion of an application form as well as a school visit by one of AFPE’s validation team of highly qualified school improvement professionals. Well done us part 1! [Ed - Thank you to Miss. Hinton, Mr. Hayat and Miss. Humphries who led us through the process] SAFETY Abbey has been working to review the curriculum and safety measures to keep all of our e-users safe. In the digitally literate world that we all live in, this is an area of importance for all, young and old! "360 degree safe engages the school community, provides an excellent way for schools to move forward, is free, comprehensive, easy to use and has clearly been developed with users in mind. It provides advice and resources that save time." - BETT Award Winner Well done us part 2!

www.abbeyfederation.co.uk

BB8Y LENS January 2022 Vol 8: Issue No. Twenty Two Excellence Through Partnership

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Planet protectors! Y4 lobby Parliament

Well done Year 4!

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BB8Y LENS January 2022 Vol 8: Issue No. Twenty Three Excellence Through Partnership

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Wild! Animals real & imaginary

AUSTRALIA Today we had a visit from the animal man. He showed us lots of animals that live in Australia. We saw a kookaburra, cockatoo, scorpion, python, tarantula, a cane toad, a skink and a monitor lizard. "I really liked the kookaburra, I learnt that it is a laughing kingfisher that doesn't eat fish. And if you squeeze a cane toad, poison comes out. It was amazing and I loved all the animals. " Nathaniel 2J. Carmen 2J " I really enjoyed holding the python and how its skin felt, all slimy and scaly." " I liked how the cockatoo showed off its feathers when it liked someone" Albie 2J. Thanks to Miss. Stocking for the story. WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE To kick-start our ‘In The Wild’ topic, children came dressed as their favourite jungle animal on Thursday 6 th January. All the children looked fantastic! Children came as elephants, monkeys, snakes, a Komodo dragon, explorers and many, many more. We read jungle stories, danced creatively like our favourite animal and decorated an Elmer elephant. Children had lots of questions about different jungle animals and they wrote them down so we could research the answers. That’s how we know crocodiles can’t stick their tongues out and snakes keep their eyes open when they are asleep.

All the children had a sssssuper day!! Thanks to Miss. Supple for the story.

www.abbeyfederation.co.uk

BB8Y LENS January 2022 Vol 8: Issue No. Twenty Four Excellence Through Partnership

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Goalie Girl! Pencils at the ready

DRAW IT On Friday 7th January 2022, Year 3 had a visit from Chrissy Marshall, a.k.a. ‘Sensible Pencil’. Chrissy is one of Britain’s best live caricaturists. He was invited into Abbey to help to open Year 3’s new topic for this term - ‘Superheroes’. First, the children went to the hall, where Chrissy showed them how to draw cartoon faces. He made it look so easy! The children had a go too, looking at a selection of different facial features. Later on that day, Chrissy did workshops in the classrooms, showing the children how to draw a superhero! He started off by drawing a simple stick man, then adding details. In each class, Chrissy created a ‘Class Superhero’; in 3K the children shared ideas and came up with ‘Goalie Girl’ (maybe she could play for Liverpool with her ability to zap incoming goals)! 3V were persuaded to create an Enrique Iglesias (if you know Mrs Vickers…you know!) inspired superhero and in 3B the children came up with an ‘Ice Cween’ superhero. The children were really enthused by the experience and have enjoyed putting into practise their newly learnt skills. We wouldn’t be surprised if we see some professional cartoonists from Abbey in the future! Thanks to Mrs. Kaur for the story.

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BB8Y LENS January 2022 Vol 8: Issue No. Twenty Five Excellence Through Partnership

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Hands & Teeth! School nurse visit

SPARKLY CLEAN This week Reception had an exciting visit from the school nurse. She reminded the children of the importance of washing their hands correctly with lots of soap. She gave a demonstration of the correct way to wash hands and the children were then given the opportunity to practise washing their hands. The children really enjoyed her experiment with water and glitter to show them how germs stick to our hands if we don't wash them properly. The children then learnt all about brushing teeth and how to keep their teeth healthy. All the children now know that they must go to the dentist twice a year to have their teeth checked as well as brushing them twice a day. They also learnt about which foods and drinks aren't very good for our teeth. At the end the children were lucky enough to be given a brand-new toothbrush and tube of toothpaste. In Reception we will have super clean and shiny teeth!

Thanks to Mrs. Day for the story.

SIMPLY SUBLIME The children in Year 1 became scientists for the morning with a carousel of 3 different learning areas to experience. They took inspiration from Alexander Fleming’s discovery of penicillin to conduct their own investigation. Working in groups, they chose a surface to wipe a piece of bread on. We will discover in a few weeks’ time which is the cleanest surface, depending on how much mould our pieces of bread have developed! The second area involved experimenting in the classroom. Previous knowledge from their art lessons proved useful for the colour-mixing investigation. Gravity was investigated through making and testing helicopters and the children were truly amazed at the chemical reaction that took place to create a mini lava lamp. The final experience was meeting Mad Marc, from the company ‘Sublime Science’. He wowed us all with some clever science tricks and helped the children to explore the science of sound, heat and chemistry. All of the children explored mixing ingredients together to create their own tangy sherbet (some liked it more than others) and a pot of slime to take home. I’m sure Mad Marc has inspired some of our children to pursue future careers in Science. He was certainly engaging and lots of fun. Thanks to Mrs. Donnelly for the story

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BB8Y LENS January 2022 Vol 8: Issue No. Twenty Six Excellence Through Partnership

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Finalist! Runners Up

CUP COMPETITION On Wednesday 12th January, a team of Abbey Junior footballers once again travelled to West Bromwich Albion's Academy to compete in the Utilita Cup. This time the boys were competing against other winners of local first round competitions with teams travelling from Sandwell, Dudley and Worcester. The team played a total of 5 games and improved with every game they played; finishing with a strong 4-2 victory in the final game. Abbey's only defeat came in the opener against Blackwood, who consequently went on to win the competition. Abbey finished a very respectable 3 rd place overall. A fantastic achievement. Throughout the competition the team represented themselves and our school brilliantly and had lots of fun doing it! As we were the highest placed team from Sandwell, we have been invited to take part in another cup competition. Abbey Junior has been asked to represent the District in the English Schools FA U11's Competition in February (Details TBC) Well done Boys! Thanks to Miss. Hinton for the story. LOVELY LANGAR A visit to the Guru Nanak Gurdwara in Smethwick provided the Year 1 crew with a great insight into the beliefs and customs of the Sikh faith. On our tour, we were able to visit different parts of the Gurdwara and our guides shared many interesting facts about Sikhism. We visited the main prayer hall where we were able to observe readings from their holy book, the Guru Granth Sahib. To end our tour, we were welcomed into the Langar (community kitchen), where we enjoyed some tasty chips and beans. A super kickstart to our Spring term focus on Sikhism. Thanks to Mrs. Phillips for the story

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BB8Y LENS February 2022 Vol 8: Issue No. Twenty Seven Excellence Through Partnership

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Lunar New Year! Tigers

CHOP IT The children in Nursery have celebrated 'The Lunar New Year' this week. We have listened to the story of the great race, discussed how families celebrate, read lots of stories and looked at photos. On Tuesday, we made a vegetable stir fry with soy sauce and noodles. The children chopped the vegetables, the teachers cooked it and then everyone had a taste. It was delicious! Later in the week, we made dragon stick puppets with streamers attached and danced with our dragons to some music. We had lots of fun. Happy Lunar New Year!

Thanks to Miss. Harwood for the story.

INTERNET SAFETY Safer Internet Day 2022 will be celebrated on 8th February with the theme ‘All fun and games?’ Exploring respect and relationships online. From gaming and chat, to streaming and video, young people are shaping the interactive entertainment spaces they are a part of. Safer Internet Day 2022 celebrates young people’s role in creating a safer internet, whether that is whilst gaming and creating content, or interacting with their friends and peers. There are lots of resources on the school’s website: https://www.abbeyfederation.co.uk/on-line-safety- information/

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BB8Y LENS February 2022 Vol 8: Issue No. Twenty Eight Excellence Through Partnership

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Symphony Hall! Choir on tour

CBSO On Monday 7 th February, the Abbey Junior Choir visited the Symphony Hall, Birmingham to watch a concert by the CBSO (City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra). The concert was based all around the theme: The Natural World. We travelled around the world through music, travelling to Africa, a beach and even the start of a river! We listened to a great piece of music, based on birdsong, we couldn’t believe how high some of the notes actually went. The piece was called The Firebird by Stravinsky; the whole orchestra gives a savage shout, and the demons start their dance. It’s quiet at first – sometimes that can be even more scary than something loud.

Thanks to Miss. Stocking for the story.

MASKS Reception have been very busy doing activities related to Lunar New Year and making tiger masks for their ‘Let’s Do It Day’ for their jungle topic. The children made tiger masks because it also linked to Chinese New Year which is the year of the tiger. They also enjoyed dancing to music following their own dragons or lions, making fans, collaging lanterns and practising some Chinese numbers.

Thanks to Mrs. Gould for the story.

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BB8Y LENS February 2022 Vol 8: Issue No. Twenty Nine Excellence Through Partnership

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Cracking Capes! Stitching up!

NEEDLE AND THREAD We have been doing some sewing using running and chain stitch. Chain stitch was the hardest one out of the two! We were happy when we found out that we were doing sewing, we enjoyed it very much. We are proud that we have done this. We think our super hero capes are fabulous and think we’ve done a great job. Even Mrs Vickers had to learn how to use chain stitch and now she can fix her socks!

Thanks to Zac, Harriet, Lydia and Barney in 3V for the story.

E-BOOKS Did you know that children from Nursery up to Y3 have access to new electronic reading books? These books are matched to the sounds that children are learning in phonics or to a book band for children who have finished learning their sounds. We’d love you to log on and see if you like them! These e-books are in addition to ‘real’ books and you can download an app to make it even easier. The parent guide has been emailed to you to help.

www.abbeyfederation.co.uk

BB8Y LENS March 2022 Vol 8: Issue No. Thirty Excellence Through Partnership

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Creeping and Crawling! Animal Visit.

ANIMALS Just before half-term, EYFS was lucky enough to have a visit from ‘Mo the Animal Man’ and some of his amazing animals. Many of the animas were rescued or adopted. The children got to meet a tarantula called Charlotte and a stick insect called Sticky Steve as well as a skunk, chinchilla, snake, lizard and an owl. Mo told the children lots of interesting facts about the animals and allowed them to stroke or hold each animal. They really enjoyed this real-life encounter with such interesting creatures and some of our children were even brave enough to hold a snake and a tarantula! In between handling the animals, the children used their bodies to act like each animal, flapping their arms like the wings of an owl and slithering like a snake. In class, we will be discussing which animals were their favourites and recalling what they ate, what they felt like and the similarities and differences between them. It was a fabulous end to our Animals topic. Thanks to Mrs. Day for the story.

E-BOOKS

Have you made use of your login? Times Tables Rock Stars is a carefully sequenced programme of daily times tables practice. Each week concentrates on a different times table, with a recommended consolidation week for rehearsing the tables that have recently been practised every third week or so.

See how high you can climb on the leaderboard!

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