Dear parents,
Another week rolls to a close. For many of our younger pupils their trip to Frinton will be the highlight of the term. Lots of fun was had through wave jumping with Mrs Maslen and Mrs Floodgate, or building huge sand constructions with George, Laura and Bryony (our shadows). The behaviour was beyond impeccable, with teamwork and collaboration being shown in sandcastle building. The Year 2 reservoir and river system, the Year 3 wheel decorated with seaweed, the Year 3 guitar – and multiple other constructions were all impressive. I loved it… A massive thank you to Mrs Taylor and Mrs Boddice for all their work planning – and the staff who attended.
The Fete last Saturday was a huge success with some great stalls and a real buzz of enjoyment (raffle winners listed below). It was lovely to see the children getting stuck into the day. The singing was super. Thank you to the Friends of Holmwood for their efforts in planning and delivering a great occasion.
The Pre-Prep (and Reception, Pre-R and Nursery) sports day was a real success – with Mr Lesiak’s team providing a well organised and busy day. There were some lighter moments, not least in the Pre-R races where lane changing, additional runners joining from the side, and potential winners pausing before the rope at the finish brought smiles to faces. Lots of videos I hope to be rolled out on 18th birthdays…
You are preserved my assembly this week as the slot was taken up by rehearsals for the concert tonight. Instead I thought I would introduce Pre-R, R and Year 1 parents to our new Phonics scheme – Monster Phonics – see link https://monsterphonics.com/. The Department for Education has had various action research projects underway for the last few years on phonics and have highlighted the very best phonics schemes – we are moving to Monster Phonics as the research says it is one of the most effective. More details will follow in the new academic year. It is my goal that curriculum innovation to provide the very best curriculum we can, is at the core of our school.
‘Monster Phonics is child-centred and improves results. Children make progress because the approach is meaningful, interactive, and easy to understand, creating high engagement. The systematic colour-coding of graphemes linked to phoneme monsters makes phonics easier to understand. Children also love the monsters, and this brings phonics to life. Our activities are multisensory requiring reading, writing, singing and actions. Typically, schools that fully embed Monster Phonics increase phonics screening scores by 15% points in the first year. Studies also show a 23-month improvement in reading age over a 5-month period. These gains can be attributed to the child-centred systematic phonics teaching that underpins Monster Phonics.’
Have a very good weekend.
Ed Bond
Headmaster