Year 4 Newsletter 05.02.20

Learning

Term 2

Please visit our Curriculum Pages for more information about learning in Year 4.

Residential

Primary Residentials are now very close. Please find a link below to the residential blogs, where you can find information, and a kit list for our trip to Hua Hin. 

During the residentials these blogs will be updated daily with summary of the day and a photo of every class. More photos will be shared when we return to school.

All medication must be handed to our school nurses. No students should be carrying any medication. It is recommended that medication is handed into the Primary Nurses office a week in advance of the departure date.

No electronic devices or ‘tech wearables’ on Primary Residentials

We expect that all electronic devices are kept at home during your child’s Primary Residential.

This includes GPS trackers, mobile phones and smart watches of any brand.

Any electronic devices or tech wearables will be removed for safekeeping by the accompanying staff and returned to you on our return.

Please give yourselves permission to take a short break from parenting duties whilst our wonderful teachers look after your child.

Pocket Money on Residential not required

Due to current restrictions there will no longer be an opportunity for students to spend money on residential. Therefore they do not need to bring money or wallet / purse with them.

PE - Term 2

Patana PE kit (including water bottle) required for all activities. Please remember football boots and sunhat for Teeball.

TGFU = Teaching Games for Understanding (team games).

Music - Musician of the Month

As some of you know, each month we focus on a particular musician and listen to/discuss their music. The musicians are chosen with consideration to diversity of gender, nationality and music style. 

This month is Yo-Yo Ma, a Chinese-American cellist and United nations Messenger of Peace.

Well-being

Dance Extravaganza 2021

Global Citizenship

Christmas Appeal - Thankyou!

Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year is on Friday 12^th of February and all children are encouraged to wear costumes that celebrate the Chinese New Year festival.

General Information

Birthdays

Happy Birthday this week to...

Ben (4L)

Parent Workshops

All parent workshops are postponed for Term 2 and will be rescheduled for the next academic year as gatherings at conferences, seminars and presentations are currently limited to 100 people.

Smart watches, trackers and other wearable technology in school

Many students now wear some kind of smart watch or wearable tracking device to school.

Many more parents now keep a GPS tracker in their child’s bag so that they can check arrival times to and from school. This gives peace of mind without any impact on the child’s independence.

Before equipping your child with a smart watch or other device, please consider whether this is something that your family actually needs. Responsible parenting doesn’t mean knowing where your child is 24/7, and school is a very different environment to a busy shopping mall or transport hub, where a child could more easily become separated from their family.

Once a student has passed through the school gates, they fall under our Duty of Care. Our start and end times are known, and someone will contact you if there is a problem at the end of the day.

Many wearable devices allow for two-way communication with the parent’s smartphone.

Please note that we do not allow Primary aged children to contact their parents during the school day. Our policy restricts the use of mobile phones to those in Y7 and above.

If you do decide to purchase a wearable device for your child, please choose one that allows you sufficient control of any settings and alerts.

• Choose a model which allows you to turn off any two-way communication function, whether sending messages or making calls.
• Check whether a device comes pre-loaded with games or other entertainment content which could then become a constant distraction.
• Be assured that any device that rings, pings or vibrates during the school day will do nothing to support your child’s learning.
• Find out if device has a Student or Airplane mode which could then become your child’s default setting whilst in school.

Contacts