Dear Parents and Carers,
The children have had a great first week back in school, immersing themselves in their new topics. Some enjoyed a fantastic trip to the Sealife centre in Brighton as a stunning start to their work for the half term through the topic “Beside the Seaside”. One child has sorted beach objects into categories of sand and sea correctly. Two classes shared a lovely beach sensory story, enjoying tasting / feeling ice cream, chips and ketchup! Continuing on with the theme, one child has done a fantastic dolphin dive in the pool! Over the last term many children made excellent progress in the pool and have enjoyed getting certificates to show what level they have achieved. Lots of great maths learning has taken place with a number of pupils making progress within shape, space and measure. One child counted the sides on each 2D shape and correctly identified how many sides for a square, triangle, pentagon and rectangle. Two other children matched all the 2D shapes they were working with independently, placing the shapes onto the matching board. One child engaged with 2 step instructions in maths and then was able to do it independently. There have been some great developments in communication too. One child said her first word at school on Thursday. Her first word was ‘cheese’! Another has also started talking and can say ‘sit’, ‘yeah’ and ‘me’. Another child has started to wave goodbye to people. The Engineers classes started off their topic ‘At the Movies’ with a trip to the cinema and are now immersed in creating their own films! Two pupils within the hub, who are unconfident in writing, brought me some beautiful writing they did about their holidays, illustrated too, and both were able to read out what they had written. Finally, some children have worked really hard with their physio, especially their sitting skills.
Strike update:
Next week, the NEU has called for a strike on Thursday 27th April 2023
The following classes will be closed:
- Zebras
- Pelicans
- Polar Bears
- Peacocks
- Geckos
- Sloths
- Llamas
- Gorillas
- Ladybirds
The schools will remain open for pupils in
- Owls
- Pandas
- Hippos
- Sealions
- Crocodiles
- Koalas
- Leopards
- Badgers
- Huskies
Internet Connected Devices – In 2023, it’s predicted that there will be more than 43 billion devices connected to the internet! They will generate, share, collect, and help us to make use of data in all manner of ways. Many families have internet connected devices for their child or home. They are devices or toys that connect to the internet via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or USB cable. Internet connected devices can also be connected to each other and can send and receive data, respond to voice commands and be controlled remotely using a smartphone app. Examples of internet connected devices include:
- Smart speakers, such as Google Home and Amazon Echo
- Wearables, such as Fitbit and Apple watch
- Smart meters measuring household energy consumption
- Toys with voice or image recognition, such as Hello Barbie and Furby Connect
- Robots, drones and other mechanical toys, controlled via an app, such as Dash and Dot
- Smart TVs
- Smart appliances
- Smart doorbells
Many people don’t realise that internet connected devices have the same risks as devices like smartphones and tablets. These can be more likely to happen if the devices aren’t used or set up properly. Some of the risks of using internet connected devices are:
- Other people accessing your device and content without you knowing.
- You may not be able to see that someone’s connected to your device, but sometimes developers or hackers can see your content
- Baby monitors, children’s tablets and even remote-control helicopters or drone toys, can be hacked and used by people outside your home
- Internet connected devices can collect personal data, including audio and visual data
The NSPCC gives tips for keeping your family safe in relation to internet connected devices here. The key points are:
- Do your research
- Read any instructions
- Check apps and settings
- Use strong passwords and don’t use the same password for multiple devices or accounts
- Set up parental controls
- Switch off devices you’re not using
- Talk to your child
Citizens Advice in West Sussex
Citizens Advice are hosting free webinars on disability benefits for parents and carers of children with SEND to help when it comes to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Disability Living Allowance (DLA), so they can better understand eligibility to receive PIP / DLA. They will also offer the opportunity to learn more about how to fill the application out themselves, as well as gain awareness for other disability benefits available to them and their family. Parents and carers can join sessions on a range of dates throughout April – July. These webinars are in a small group session format of no more than 20 people and will take place on Zoom.
To book a place, visit https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/citizens-advice-west-sussex-32589888415
A note about illness
Unfortunately, there is a sickness and diarrhoea bug circulating at the moment. Please do not send you child into school until 48 hours after the last episode of vomiting or diarrhoea. When it circulates in a class it can effect staffing significantly too which can cause disruption and could lead to class closures. Thank you for your support.
Attendance Focus
For the week commencing 27 March, the classes with the best attendance were;
- Explorers hub – Zebra class – 100%
- Investigators hub – Husky class – 100%
- Engineers hub – Koala class – 100%
This week’s sign of the week is sick.
Have a lovely weekend!
Very best wishes,
Catriona