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Friday, 19th May 2017

Lower School Newsletter

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Learning in the Lower School

We have enjoyed another exciting week of learning in the Lower School

 
Science Week
This week we have celebrated everything that is science. A company called The Science Boffins came in to talk to the students about such subjects as animals, habitats, food chains, teeth, slimy materials, forces, chemical reactions and balloons!


We also hosted a sturdy bridge competition. It was great to see our students try out a variety of designs and structures using paper card and glue. The Dwight Scientists wanted to see which bridge could hold the most weight. The pictures above are from our day.

Ducks start hatching
On Tuesday evening we received our batch of duck eggs from a farm in Suffolk. These were given to the EYFS class as part of their understanding about life cycles. This is the first time at the school that we have sourced duck eggs, historically we have hatched chickens so throughout the week there has been a rumbling of excitement not just in the EYFS classes but across the rest of the school too.
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On Wednesday evening out first two ducks hatched. They were named by the Reception class as Pooch and Flip-flop. We are expecting the remaining eggs to hatch shortly. Authentic learning is both memorable and moving and already our youngest students are enjoying learning about the lives of ducks. The ducks themselves are scheduled to remain with us until the end of next week. They don't know it yet but the students are looking forward to providing them with a paddling pool so that they can observe the ducks as they take their first swim.

Super Star Eco Rangers
The Lower School had their Green Flag inspection this week. Our Green Flag flies outside the school and it represents our support of  environmental issues and and education, and demonstrates our hard work and commitment to recycling and other eco-friendly activities. This week the Eco Rangers welcomed Gloria, an assessor from Eco Schools to discuss if we were ready for our next Green Flag Award. She was particularly impressed with our garden, she thought our recycling of uneaten food for compost was great and she also liked our solar panels. 
We will find out next week if we have achieved the status as an Eco School and can raise our Green Flag again. I want to thank the Eco Rangers for being so collaborative and for sharing their learning journeys with Gloria. I also want to thank the teachers for embedding green issues into our curriculum and to Mrs. Weber and Mrs. Sutton for leading us on this journey. I look forward to sharing the outcomes with you all next week (green-fingers crossed).

Year 6 go to New York
The Year 6 students travel to New York tomorrow. There is a lot of excitement and a little anxiety too. For some of our students this will be their first time in New York and for many it will be the first time being hosted by a family. They are scheduled to visit some exciting places like the UN Headquarters, Central Park and the Brooklyn Bridge.
We wish them, Miss Dunaway, Miss Larragy and Mrs. Becci a great time!

Book Look
This week we hosted a book fair. Many thanks to Mrs. Mastoridis and to the students and parents who helped to publicise and run this event. Half of the profits will come back to the school to purchase a variety of both English and foreign language books for our library. 

Congratulations
The Lower School wants to pass on our congratulations to those students in the Upper School who have recently completed their IB Diploma exams. We wish them every success in the future and we like to think we played a small part in some of their successes.
The IB2 students this year have some wonderful university offers in the UK, Canada and the USA...see our website!

Staying on the theme of Upper School, I would like to remind Year 6 students that some of them still need to complete their language acquisition choices for next year. Additionally I would like to send a  reminder to Year 4 parents that the new Upper School Principal, Mr. Andy Atkinson will be visiting us after the Year 4 assembly next week to discuss Upper School life.

Focus
Congratulations to Mrs. Rehman who over the Easter break had her article published in Focus Magazine. In the article she talks about the impact of technology on learning and particularly how recording work viva a radio can have positive outcomes for our students.

Internet Safety

We have noticed that  some children in the Lower School have been posting videos online. Like many internet advice companies we believe that it is best not to until your children are older and if children must send a video it should only be sent to close and trusted family and friends.

A very good website to help parents with internet use is called Internet Matters and is available via this link.

Arts Depot

We have started our rehearsals for the Arts depot Performance that takes place on Friday June 30th. Tickets are still available for the event that will feature all of the children from Year 3, 4, 5 and 6 as well as the students from the Upper School. It should be a great occasion and we hope to see you there.

Reminders

  • Safety  It is particularly important to remind parents to be safe when dropping their children off in the morning. Please ensure that you park in a safe place and that you are aware of over drivers, neighbours, and pedestrians in the area.
  • Holidays: If you are spending some time away from school with your child, you do need to ask permission  and can do so by emailing Mr Parkin.
  • Late for school: If you arrive late at school, please take your child to the office to register, we will then ensure he/she gets to their class. You can also email the school at lsabsence@dwightlondon.org.

The Week Ahead

  • Year 1 and 3 visit Kew Gardens on Monday 
  • Year 4 perform their assembly on Friday and Mr. Atkinson will be meeting Year 4 parents.
  • Year 6 travel to New York on Saturday, 20th May. 
 

Updates and Key dates for Term 3


  1. Year 3 sleepover is scheduled for the evening of Thursday, 8th June.
  2. Our Year 6 exhibition is on the evening of Thursday, 15th June.
  3. Our 3-way conference is on Tuesday, 20th June.
  4. Our Summer Fair is scheduled for Saturday, 24th June from 11am-2pm.
  5. Our Arts Depot Show is on Friday 30th June (see details above).
  6. Our Lower School Sports Day is on Wednesday, 5th July.
 

Super Question and Language of the Week

Our Super Question was linked to New York in honour of our guests from Dwight New York - What is the capital of  New York state? Sara in Year 6 correctly informed us that it was Albany.

 

This week our Super Question was to find out: Which country has just won the Eurovision Song Contest ?

 

Have a good week


Matt Parkin
Lower School Principal

Dwight Parent Association News and Events

May Out and About eventBrixton Market food and history walking tour

Date: Friday, 26th May
Meet: 9.00am West Finchley Tube station or 9.50am in Brixton (exact details will be given the week of)
Tour is from 10am-1pm
Cost: £20 + lunch costs

Join us for a 3 hour guided walking tour of the Brixton Market area. John, from Liquid History, will give us an overview of the history of the area and the eateries. Afterwards we will grab lunch.

Please let Michele – michele@seanoneill.com if you are interested in joining or for more information.


June Out and About event – A re-scheduled tour of Chislehurst Caves in Kent (due to Storm Doris cancelling the last!)
Chislehurst Caves is a 35 km long series of intersecting tunnels used for chalk and flint mining from the 13–19th centuries.
http://www.chislehurst-caves.co.uk/index.html

Date: Thursday, 29th June
Meet: West Finchley tube station 9.00am – or Charing Cross rail station ticketing area at 9.45am – We will take the 10:06 Southeastern Train from Charing Cross to Chislehurst (30 min ride)
We will plan to take the 11.00am caves tour.
Cost: £6 to enter the caves and approx £12 for train ticket

Please let Michele – michele@seanoneill.com if you are interested in joining or for more information.


 

UPCOMING EVENTS

Monday - 22 May 2017
All day
 
Saturday - 27 May 2017
All day
 
Sunday - 28 May 2017
All day
 
 
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Dwight School London

6, Friern Barnet Lane. N11 3LX

+44 208 8920 0600

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