10th January 2025
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Headmaster’s Message
Pupil news
We would like to say a huge congratulations to Rosie W in Year 3 for her amazing swimming achievements in the holidays. Rosie swims with Abingdon Vale Swimming club and competed in a competition in Witney where she was awarded Gold in the Breaststroke, Gold in the Freestyle and also received the Too Fast medal in the Backstroke. Rosie and her family were keen to thank Mr Paul for always encouraging Rosie, and for being one of the main reasons she developed her love for Swimming!
ONLINE TALK FOR ALL PARENTS
nursery
Topic: Our stories this week were ‘Oliver’s Vegetables’, ‘Handa’s Surprise’ and ‘Kitchen Disco’. These have given us the opportunity to notice the differences in fruits and vegetables, (comparing length and colours, for example). We have also planted some cress seeds. This week in... NURSERY
Phonics: We have introduced the short, bouncy sound ‘u’ for umbrella. We have also been learning the Days of the Week and have been listening to stories.
Maths: Our focus numbers are 1 and 11.
RECEPTION
This week in... RECEPTION
TOPIC: This week, we have been celebrating the New Year. We have been learning about New Year’s resolutions and talking about the things we would like to do in the coming year, for example, I want to try my best at school, I want to be a kind friend, I want to be a better listener. We listened to a story called Squirrel's New Year’s Resolution. Click here, if you would like to listen at home.
PHONICS: We have been consolidating all the sounds we have learnt so far in Reception, and we learnt the new Tricky Word ‘her’. We are so impressed with how confident and enthusiastic the children have been in using and applying their Phonics knowledge!
MATHS: The children have been focussing on counting up to 8 objects and showing them using concrete representations, including counters in a ten frame.
YEAR 1
This week in... YEAR 1
Topic: We have introduced our new topic, ‘Our Wonderful World’, by sharing lots of non-fiction books, looking at globes and atlases and using maps to locate continents and oceans. The children loved learning a catchy song to help them remember these! We have carefully located the countries and capital cities in the United Kingdom. Can you remember these?
Literacy: This term, we will be sharing stories from all around Our Wonderful World! The children have loved listening to and joining in with the repetition in our class story book this week, which is, ‘Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain’. The children worked collaboratively to sequence the story and write simple captions to re-tell the story.
Maths: We have begun a new unit, focusing on counting to twenty. The children have used concrete resources to practise counting carefully by adding and taking away counters from a tens frame. We have continued to practise using a number-line to add two numbers together to find a total. Count how many yellow objects you can find in your home. Now add how many blue objects you can find. Can you write this as a number sentence?
The children have all worked so hard, returning to Phonics lessons this week. We have been busy reading and writing, practising our Set 2 and Set 3 sounds to spell carefully! Well done!
YEAR 2
This week in... YEAR 2
Science: As an introduction to our ‘Pole to Pole’ Topic we have looked at animals that live in Polar regions. We sorted them into categories of Arctic and Antarctic. Did you know that Polar Bears and Penguins do not live together?
Maths: We have started our new topic on Money. We have identified the value of different coins and notes, finding the total amount by adding them together.
Literacy: New Year’s Resolutions. We have been thinking about aims and goals for this year. We discussed which ones were more important than others and how we could work to achieve them.
middle school
This week in... Middle School
It was wonderful to have the Middle School playground awakened from its wintry slumber, with laughter, smiles and hugs this week!
Our Take One topic was launched on Wednesday with our annual trip to the Ashmolean Museum, which followed the ‘Big Reveal’. The children had a wonderful day and demonstrated great interest in the term’s chosen artefact: Powhatan's Mantle. Following our introduction to the artefact, the children asked a variety of excellent questions, demonstrating an impressive thirst for knowledge.
Well done on a great day Year 3 and 4!
‘take one project’ - the big reveal
‘take one project’ - ashmolean museum
‘take one project’ - ashmolean museum
Leviathan
A new calendar year brings with in a new series of Leviathan for you all to enjoy. Last term, ten challengers went on to defeat the beast in the final week. Will that number increase this term? Only time will tell, but I know that a good number of those who fell short of the mark last time are in a determined mood to improve this term. For those who might not have participated in the past, a series of questions will be posted here in the Cygnet on a weekly basis for you to research the answers to (eight for pupils in Upper school, and four for those in Middle school). At the end of the term, there will then be the opportunity for individuals to test themselves against the mighty beast that this Leviathan quiz will have become by attempting to recall as many of the answers as possible. For those who are successful comes the award of House points and a badge that shows off how many times they have successfully conquered the quiz (Jago G-I and Sophie L were our first recipients of a purple circle last term to denote five victories). Forms will also pit themselves against the Leviathan in a team competition, working together to match up questions and answers faster than the other forms. Last term's victors were 4NP in Middle school and 8AR in Upper school. Will they be the fastest forms again in March? We shall have to wait and see.
So, without further ado, here are this week's questions.
Upper School 1. In which ocean is the Bermuda Triangle located? 2. Which author created the fictional Emerald City? 3. What is the name of the closest star to Earth (other than the Sun)? 4. In artistic terms, what is a fresco? 5. Which war is believed to be the shortest in recorded history? 6. And how long did it last? 7. What part of the plant is a potato? 8. Who wrote down the words of Auld Lang Syne? Middle School 1. What part of the plant is a potato? 2. Who wrote down the words of Auld Lang Syne? 3. What is the speed limit for a car on a motorway in Britain? 4. What is a baby whale called?
boarding
This week in... BOARDING
It has been great to welcome back the Boarders into the Manor house this week after the Christmas holiday. They enjoyed a lively and entertaining quiz night hosted by Mr Harris-Bass on the first evening of term; congratulations to the Year 7 girls’ team who were the overall winners. Other activities have included crafting on the landing, ‘Spotlight’ and there will be a pool party on Friday evening. We are really looking forward to welcoming Circus company ‘ Storm in a teacup’ next Friday who will be teaching the children a variety of engaging circus skills and tricks.
And finally, Happy Birthday to our Boarding prefect, Jonty!
YEAR 8 ART
Year 8 had a term full of drawing and a deep dive into improving skills. We ended the term with this peaceful project which was an exercise in understanding the basics of perspective. We worked out what happens to line, definition, scale and intensity of colour as objects in pictures and paintings are further away from the viewer. It's a complicated subject and we looked at several different forms and photographs, and ended with these deceptively simple pieces, which we worked in chalk pastel.
Bravo, Year 8!
Music exam results
Alfie S: Drum Performance - Grade 3 - Pass
Girls’ Sports
The Year 5 & 6 girls were disappointed on Wednesday, as their matches were cancelled due to the icy condition on the courts. However, it was a great opportunity to have a full afternoon of training at the start of the term for the fixtures ahead. All the girls in Upper school worked hard during the afternoon and we are looking forward to our block fixture next week against Pinewood.
Boys’ Sports
The Year 7&8 boys started the term with some pre-season training for the Hockey season ahead. It was great to see the boys working hard on the astro and we are excited for the Hockey season, with the first matches starting next week.
For Years 5 and 6, the Football season started with a bang on the first day of term, with the U10 and U11 boys diving straight into the term’s fixtures.
The 11As produced a solid first run out of the season against an excellent Chandlings side. The boys led 2-1 at half time, with Billy F scoring on the counter attack, and Edward F scoring from a penalty. Chandlings went though the gears in the second half, eventually winning 4-2. MVP, Bertie H kept the team in the game on multiple occasions with an outstanding performance in goal. The 11Bs won 3-0 with each goal coming as a result of good passing and communication, setting a good foundation for the rest of the season. Ivo T scored all 3 goals and earned himself MVP. Despite the 0-0 final score, the 11Cs played out a captivating, end-to-end match, with Ibrahim A working hard in midfield and MVP Michael E putting in a great performance in goal. The 10As came out 5-0 victors in their match, with Kit C and Oscar H scoring a goal a piece and Herbie DJ bagging a well deserved hat-trick. The U10Bs won 4-0 in a really pleasing performance. Finn H was excellent in defence breaking up so many attacks, Jude’s work rate up and down the right wing was excellent, Oliver H scored a great goal. The clear MVP was Ralph, his passing and work rate was superb, as captain his communication was excellent and he scored 2 goals. Finally, it was heartbreak in the last moment for U10Cs, who lost 3-2. Despite the result, the performance was very promising with Sutch KC scoring 2 goals and Bertie W acting as the rock in the side’s defence and keeping them in the match with some excellent tackling.
holiday camps
Ultimate Activity Camps returning in 2025!
We can't wait to welcome Ultimate Activity Camps back in 2025, offering an incredible opportunity for children to discover new activities, boost their confidence, and make lasting friendships. Each week is packed with over 40 thrilling sports, games, and creative activities, all delivered in a safe and fun environment inspected by Ofsted.
Ultimate Winter Saver - save up to £75 per week
Make significant savings on your 2025 childcare arrangements and enjoy peace of mind for the year ahead.
· Prices start from £45 per day · Offer ends 21st January 2025 · Camps taking place in February, Easter, and Summer!
This offer is available online so please visit: https://www.ultimateactivity.co.uk/locations/faringdon to take advantage and save on your holiday childcare.
External Sports Clubs
External Sports Clubs
We are super excited to open our bookings for JANUARY 2025. Our ethos is to ensure our sessions are fun, inclusive and help develop Netball skills for all. Our sessions are well planned, engaging and we love to see the children finish each session with a smile on their face! When children finish in Year 7, we have links with local clubs and Matrix Netball. Our sessions run on Saturday Mornings for school years Reception - Year 7.
Week 1) 18th January Week 2) 25th January Week 3) 1st February Week 4) 8th February
Week 6) 1st March Week 7) 8th March Week 8) 15th March
Week 9) 22nd March Week 5) 15th February Week 10) 29th March
Times: Years 1&2: 9.00am-9.45am Years 3&4: 9.45am-10.30am Years 5,6&7: 10.30am-11.15am
Venue: Larkmead School, Sports Centre, Abingdon, OX14 1RF
If your child would like to come to Diamond Netball, we have included a link for the next block of sessions.
You can also see some of our sessions on our DIAMOND NETBALL FACEBOOK PAGE and you can also email us for any further enquiries: diamondnetballskilld@gmail.com
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