Welcome from the TLAS Team

Dear TLAS Community,

We look forward to welcoming you into The London Acorn School this Thursday at 2:45pm for our Open Classrooms in the Junior School. This is a great opportunity for current parents to come into school, see their child’s work and gain an insight into school life. Please note that clubs will still be running as normal.

Next term, we will be hosting an Open Day for prospective parents on Friday 28th April from 1:30pm to 3:00pm. If you have friends that might be interested in finding out more about our education, then please direct them to our Open Day page to book their place. What’s more, if you would like to help at our Open Day by offering a parent’s perspective, then please get in touch: tamara@thelondonacornschool.co.uk

Next term, we are also thrilled to announce two new clubs on offer on Friday afternoons. Please read below for more information including the club timetable and when and how to book.

Also, take a look at some of our pupils dressed as characters from their beloved books from our recent World Book Day celebration.

A few reminders:

Swimming: Parents with siblings in Kindergarten who attend clubs will be able to pick up their Kinde child at 2:45pm from the club to enable them to collect their Junior children from swimming on time. Please let us know any alternative pick up arrangements.
School Pictures: Whole school class pictures will be taking place on Thursday 27^th April 2023 (smart casual), weather permitting.
Just to reiterate that as a low-tech school we are very careful about exposing our children to screens and we ask our community to support this approach to technology at home by limiting screen time as a family. If you are new to the school, please take a look at our Shared Beliefs and School Handbook.
Feedback Fridays with Sarah Thorne runs each week from 4.30pm-6pm. To book a slot in advance please contact the office: tamara@thelondonacornschool.co.uk

Best wishes,

The TLAS Team

Kindergarten News

Wet and cold early spring weather didn’t stop us from enjoying nature. The many puddles in the park have been children’s favourite playground. We tested our sense of balance by walking on a long trail of wood logs and warmed ourselves up by skipping and running. Not enough snow for skiing in the park? Don’t worry, we can still do ice skating indoors and have a cup of hot drink afterwards at a shop that used to be a volcano!

This term, older Kindergarten children have been looking after our Kindy tree area by picking up rubbish using a rubbish picker and this week we talked about man-made environments in contrast to nature. The signs of spring are still in faint colour, but we’re getting ready for spring’s arrival by singing lovely spring songs and playing spring finger games. In celebration of the World Book Day, children brought their favourite books to share with the class. Each child showed their favourite page of the book to friends and we read some of the stories during story time. They must be so inspired that many children also decided to make their own books!

Junior School News

Willow Class

Last week, Willow Class demonstrated just how far they have come this year by producing some amazing Maths (working with subtraction and addition) and through producing a significant amount of writing in English. The children wrote this week the fairytale of ‘The Rich Merchant and the Poor Cobbler’ into their books, independently formulating their own sentences. It was a very proud moment for them as many produced more writing then ever before.

Hazel Class

Hazel Class are in the midst of studying the Anglo Saxons this term. They’ve been looking at maps of where invaders settled, writing pleas of help to the Roman Emperor, having a go at Anglo-Saxon runes, and experimenting with different weaving techniques on a loom.

Aside from this immersive topic, for Hazel Class, Science came to life last week as we had an impromptu piano concert courtesy of Sophie, which taught us about pitch, volume, pace and tone. This week, we might even take a look inside the piano…

Oak Class

When you visit for our Open Classrooms this week, you will be able to see for yourselves Oak Class’s motivational display on the Seventeen Goals for Sustainable Development.

Woodland Craft

Willow Class: World Book Day for us and some very excited children came with Jody, student Abigail and I to the woods. Activities included a treasure hunt with an elementary map, wax leaf rubbings, and sowing flower and vegetable seeds in pots for home. More bird nests were made in flower pots, and lots of games played by the stream: fishing with sticks and finding a very oily can under the mud!

Hazel Class: Hazel Class rotated three activities: plant bracelets, Saxon- style weaving of a handspun mat, and den making. Students excelled in all three, and were better than I thought at simple knots for the den, which was a great collaborative improvisation.

Oak/Chestnut Classes: Our fire in the garden, which would normally be a rare treat, was quite an ordeal in spite of roasting apple slices with toppings. Even in that freezing, muddy, and rainy afternoon, we discovered a dry supply of wood could deliver a decent fire. Students didn’t seem to mind however when they had to go inside for book work.

Summer Term Clubs 2023

Clubs will be available to be booked from Monday 20th March. Look out for a specific Clubs email with a booking link.

We are delighted to be announcing two new clubs available on Friday afternoons to expand our after school provision and broaden the range of exciting extra-curricular opportunities on offer.

Firstly, we will be introducing a Music Club.

Through games and activities, which evoke natural joy that children have in music, from call and response with piano accompaniment, fun rhythmic and pitch recognition exercises that engage children in singing, moving and clapping, to exploring the sounds of instruments, the Music Club invites children to discover and embrace their own creativity by learning music through experience. Part of the sessions will also focus on singing and breathing exercises intended for this group age.

Secondly, we will be introducing a Lego Club.

Lego Club builds on the skills learnt in our newly-launched Lego Team Work sessions: communication, vocabulary, fine motor skills and building fantastic teams within our school. Most of all, a chance to have some fun at the end of the week! Once again, thank you for all the donations of Lego we have received so far.

These clubs will rotate termly so that both Kindergarten and Juniors are able to access these opportunities.