Dear TLAS Community,

We would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to all our parents, pupils, governors and the wider community for the support last week during the school’s Ofsted inspection. It has meant a lot to the staff to feel so supported. We will share the Ofsted report with you when it is made public.

Please find an updated Spring Term 2023 Calendar below and note the following changes: we will be postponing trips this term, aside from swimming, and will instead be holding two in-school seasonal festivals, Imbolc (the melting of winter) and an end of term Easter Egg Hunt.

We strive to offer enriching experiences for all children, and one way we can supplement our curriculum is through our assemblies and guest speakers. Next Monday 30th January we are delighted to welcome Shamalia from Earth Cubs with Otis the reading dog (and star litter picker) to talk to pupils about the environment and sustainability. Since Oak Class have recently been learning about Service Dogs and Hazel Class are learning about Rainforests, this is a serendipitous opportunity for us. Please inform the office if your child has any allergies or fears that we should be made aware of ahead of this visit. Please email tamara@thelondonacornschool.co.uk.

Next academic year’s Term Dates 2023-24 are now available on our website. Please consult this information prior to booking any holidays or appointments. Also note that there is an extra Bank Holiday on Monday 8th May 2023 in honour of King Charles III’s Coronation.

A reminder to parents, particularly in the Kindergarten, of the dress code for all pupils. Please make sure pupils are dressed appropriately for learning with sensible shoes. Outdoor learning is a key part of our curriculum so please ensure your child has warm clothing (layers, gloves, thick socks, thermals). Fancy dress outfits, logos and sequins can be distracting for other children and therefore not appropriate for school. For more detailed information of what is and what is not appropriate please refer to The Kindergarten Welcome Pack.

Best wishes,

The TLAS Team

Last week Willow Class continued their study of Andy Goldsworthy in Art and worked on creating pattern in natural materials. Children used materials such as paper and chalk to guide and practise, before collecting natural resources from the garden to turn into living sculptures; this included twigs, leaves, flower petals, pebbles and grass.

Hazel Class have been combining their geography and science skills with their creative writing skills to enter The Big Green Poetry Machine Competition. The competition is designed to encourage eco-poetry and allow children to share their views about nature and the environment. Watch this space to see if we have any winners!

In English, Oak Class have been investigating examples of non-chronological reports in order to create their own reports about service dogs.

In Maths, Oak Class have begun investigation quadrilaterals and their properties.

Willow Class’s Woodland Craft session was a ‘proper winter’ afternoon with ice to admire and snap, the first catkins and the iced-in Willow Dome to enjoy on our walk. Warm tea was very welcome in between selecting, peeling, whittling and decorating their individual staffs, which double as ‘boot sticks’. These can help steady them when crossing the stream, and the marker showing how high their gumboot reaches helps to test the depth and safety of the stream.  Some organised their own game of coo-whit, and there was a general delight at being outdoors on such a day.

Hazel Class’s session was bitterly cold, but the ice filled the landscape with a sense of wonder. At first, students looked to see if there were any animal tracks, and some were found. We looked at fox tracks by shaking flour over a stencil of them, and got a rare sighting of an actual fox on the other side of the stream.  The students organised groups of animal cards into food chains, asking each other good questions, such as ‘what does a bee eat?’ and ‘ what does a worm eat?’. There was some great climbing and balancing before we played ‘sink and fade’, and drank tea whilst hearing the story of the unicorns and the narwhals.

In Oak and Chestnut’s Woodland Craft session we stopped to jump in glorious pools of ice in the meadow, and greeted our familiar trees, noting their clear and bare shapes. Arriving in the woodland, children located ten different tree species, and then played a true/false game about tree facts, which many remembered very well, whilst drinking a reviving cup of hot tea. After a break finding more ice pools, we all planted twigs of lavender, which should grow into healthy new plants.

Back in the Science Room. what was astonishing was that the ice-puddles reflecting the sky, the bare trees and the skeleton leaves, much of what we had just seen, simply took shape on their winter pages, as if they wanted to appear there.