Celebratory lunch in the sunshine - Happy 90th Birthday your Majesty!

Wow! All the children and staff were treated to a special lunch in the sunshine to celebrate the Queen's 90th birthday. What a lovely time was had by all!

Thank you so much to everyone who made it so special and super fun!

Queen's 90th Birthday - special lunch

As part of our special day on Thursday to celebrate the Queen's 90th Birthday the children had a giant street party in the playground.

Thank you to all our cooks, lunchtime staff and all staff who helped.

Enjoy the pictures below!

Queen's 90th Birthday - visit to Church

We had such a wonderful morning on Friday when the whole school walked to Church to celebrate the Queen's 90th Birthday.

It was so lovely to see the children and staff walk through the village together and to see the Church full.

We had a fantastic service led by Rev. Geoffrey Marshall and the children were also given a beautiful booklet about the Queen to bring home.

A brilliant start to the weekend.

Royal Celebrations!

What a fantastic few days celebrating our Queen's 90th birthday. In class 1 we celebrated by preparing a British snack- scones, jam, cream and strawberries...Yum! Well done for all of your fabulous crowns! 

Oh I do like to be beside the seaside!

This week in Class 1 we have started our new topic 'Coast and Sea'. We have had a brilliant week reading the Lighthouse Keeper's Lunch and producing some beautiful chalk pastel lighthouse artwork. We are also learning a new song ready to perform in Gold Book assembly next week. Here is a sneak preview of us practising!

CPD - reviewing successes and sharing good practice

We have had a brilliant series of staff meetings this Summer Term so far. I'd like to share two of these with you.

Before half term staff met to review school improvement plan but also at the same time our Shared Vision for 2015/16. I'm pleased to say we are making great progress with both and very soon our chickens will be arriving! Watch this space!

Also, at tonight's meeting staff led a mini Teachmeet to share their best practice with each other. The room was buzzing with ideas and creativity with staff sharing positive,simple ideas that work!

There were a range of topics including; creating exciting hooks, the value of having school trips at the beginning of the term, the power of using music in lessons, using brilliant texts to engage children, learning outdoors, instruments in EYFS and beyond, using your imagination, practical Science, valuable ideas shared from the Education Psychologist, Brain Gym, Differentiation, Grammar and Writing skills and improving children's Reading.

The standard was incredible and I was so proud to be Headteacher of such a talented and committed team who are prepared to share with each other and ensure their teaching becomes even better! We are very lucky here at Smalley.

There are a few pictures below of our shared vision and staff in deep discussion reviewing it.

Visits to Church - Smalley Flower Festival!

I have been fortunate enough to attend Church with every class this week over three afternoons to see the stunning flowers in Church around the 'Once Upon a Time' theme.

All our children were a credit to the school when walking through the village and in their behaviour at Church.

Staff commented how lucky we are to work in a village with a strong sense of community.

Enjoy the pictures!

Maths fun

This week we have been learning about position and direction in year 1. We have been locating treasure on a treasure map using directions provided, writing directions for each other and also taking turns to tell our partners how to get from place to another using directions.

We played some games on the interactive whiteboard which are here if you would like to have a play at home too :-)

http://www.iboard.co.uk/activity/Dance-Moves-678
http://www.iboard.co.uk/activity/Cheese-Sniffer-657
http://www.iboard.co.uk/activity/Naming-Positions-The-Picnic-677

CIRCUSOLOGY!

HOUSE TEAM REWARD

Last Friday, we had the pleasure of welcoming Alex, from CIRCUSOLOGY, into school.

KESTRELS & EAGLES were our winning teams over the Spring term, winning the most weeks over the half terms.

Each team got a session enjoying the many activities that you can in the photographs.

Members of Hawks & Falcons also had a taster session.

Please have a look!

Well done children, keep up the hard work - I wonder what will be the treat for the Summer term?

I wonder which team or teams will win?

Good luck!

Phase 6 Letters & Sounds

This week we have been looking at the end of words and investigating the rules for when we add the suffix:

tion, sion and cian

Take a look at these links and enjoy playing the games.

https://www.spellzone.com/games/index.cfm?wordlist=127

http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/game/en19patt-game-wordsearch-tion

https://www.studyladder.co.uk/games/activity/spelling-rule-tion-and-sion-lesson-17390?lc_set=

1 merit if you can make a list of words which have 'tion', 'sion' or 'cian' at the end.

We love to read!

Yesterday Class 1 and Class 3 had a lovely 10 minutes at the end of the day where the children paired up for reading. The children took turns sharing their stories with each other and year 3 supported their partners too. It was lovely to see year 1 confidently reading and year 3 listening carefully and praising year 1.

3D shape creations

Class 1 have been revisiting their learning on 3D shapes this week and have been creating different shapes with art straws and plasticine. Some of the shapes were quite tricky but teamwork and perseverance meant we had some fantastic results! Take a look! Well done Class 1 :-)

Smalley TeachMeet 2016!

Yesterday the school was host to teachers from 14 different schools across the county for our first ever TeachMeet.

A TeachMeet is basically staff from
Schools sharing good practice and learning with and from each other which we believe is the best way to learn. Each speaker has either 2 or 6 minutes so it is fast moving!

This is the first of its kind in our area so we were very proud to host and ensure it was a success.

We had international speaker and friend of the school Andy Cope to host the event and he quickly had everyone laughing whilst also passing important messages about how we can best use the 4000 weeks that on average a person lives for. We learned about 7 second hugs, the 10:5. Principle used by Ritz Carlton and how high performing teams ensure there are at least 6 positives for every criticism.

Andy also spoke about changing our thinking so we didn't get the same results if we wanted to be World Class for our children. A truly brilliant start to our session.

Our own Chair of Governors Sarah Armitage spoke about National Leaders of governance and their role which was fantastic.

We had a wide range of topics after from Racing to English, Modern Foreign Languages, Class display books, chickens, newspaper in a day, effective times tables, travel smart and lots of other fascinating talks.

Amazing artist and friend of the school Anthony Greentree captured the event and you can see what a fabulous job he did in the picture below.

Our Local Authority was well represented; Paul Livingstone, head of IT was a huge technical support ensuring the evening ran smoothly, Rob Bounds spoke about Travel Smart whilst Senior Advisers Carolyn Brearley and Sue Potter attended too and enjoyed the evening.

The event was kindly sponsored by Teacher Active who supply teachers across the country and wanted to give something back to schools whilst providing training for their staff as well. This positive event was nothing more than we've come to expect from this forward thinking company.

They also provided a fantastic buffet which was enjoyed by all.

We finished on time at 6:00 with a few speakers missing out which means we must now begin to organise Smalley TeachMeet 2!

We couldn't be happier with our first event and huge thanks to everyone involved for their help and support.

Enjoy the pictures below!

Plants!

This half term Year 1 have got stuck in to their topic of 'Plants'. We've been growing cress and beans, making pictures using different types of seeds, learning about different types of plants, what plants need to be able to grow and the list goes on...

We had a lovely, sunny day for our plant hunt and we searched high and low around the school grounds for different types of plants. We recorded these and then put them into categories once we got back into the classroom. 

In Art we have made plant and Jack and the Beanstalk themed pictures using seeds, pulses and beans. We were amazed to see the variety of colours and this meant we could create beautiful pictures. It was a very quiet Art lesson due to the concentration in the room!! 

Well done Year 1 for your super effort in all your learning, keep it up :-)

Piano skills!

Isobel played beautifully as the children walked into our assembly on Friday.

123......Dodgeball!!

As part of our Sports Premium funding our children benefit from excellent coaching from Miss Elizabeth every Tuesday afternoon and Mr Willdig each Wednesday. We also have access to a wide range of clubs and competitions.

Part of the coaches role is also to up-skill staff so as well as staff joining them for lessons each week we were also lucky enough to receive staff training from Mr Willdig yesterday which ended with a few games of Dodgeball.

The staff demonstrated amazing skill and teamwork and we also had lots of fun!!

A huge thank you to Mr Willdig for a wonderful staff meeting, we appreciate your expertise.

We have been challenged to a match by the staff from Loscoe Primary and after seeing the talent on display last night we are more than happy to accept!

Enjoy the pics below!

Another visitor to Class 1!

We are so lucky in Class 1... we had another special visitor this week from a relative of Hamilton the tortoise! This week we got to meet Shelly the tortoise. Shelly was much bigger than Hamilton as he (yes, he!) was a type of tortoise called a Leopard Tortoise. Even though he was bigger, he was younger. Shelly was 5 years old, the same as some children in Class 1. He had a bite to eat in our classroom of one of his favourite foods and then had a slow walk around to meet everyone. 

Shelly belongs to Brooke's Grandma Ann, so we had a lovely question time where Brooke and Ann answered our questions. Later on Class 1 wrote lots of facts they could remember about Shelly, just like we did with Hamilton. 

Class 1 and I would like to say a big thank you to Ann for bringing Shelly in to meet us :-)

Bollywood dancing!

This week Class 1 learnt a new style of dance with Miss Elizabeth- Bollywood dance. Harry knew this style of dance originates from India. Class 1 loved the dance moves and learnt them very quickly. Take a look at them performing their dance! 

Using our senses in Science!

As part of our animals topic, Class 1 have been learning about the human body in Science- this week with a focus on our senses. First of all we talked about our five senses and how we use them to explore and then we identified which of our body parts are associated with each sense.

Class 1 then had a challenge! We had to use our sense of touch and smell to try and identify what was in each container or cup... Without using our sense of sight! Some of the feely containers left us with gooey, slimy hands and some of the smelling cups left us with a bit of a pong up our nostrils!

Class 1 did an amazing job of recording their findings which were all quite different.

Can you remember some of the things you smelt or felt?

Well done class 1!

Special visitor in Class 1

Class 1 had a special visitor today as part of their 'Animals' topic... Miss Tulley's pet tortoise Hamilton Button came in to stay in Class 1 for the day. Hamilton had a busy day taking a tour of Class 1, letting all of the children feel his shell and he even inspired their writing! Hamilton also found the time to squash in a visit to see Class R and Class 2 :-)

Can you remember any facts about Hamilton? 

A Miracle in Town!

We were so very proud of all 90 of our children as they sang and

performed to the packed audience on Monday evening and Tuesday afternoon. 

Well done children and a very Merry Christmas!

More photos to follow when technology allows....!

The Sorcerer's Apprentice - Blunderbus visit Smalley!

Our children loved the Blunderbus performance of 'The Sorcerer's Apprentice' today.  From start to finish, the excitement and delight on the children's faces was very clear to see!  The children giggled, sang and joined in with the performance - a real delight.  If you get chance to see any of the Blunderbus performances, we'd recommend them!  Here are a few photos to share.......

Happy Christmas from Thailand!

Happy Christmas all the way from Thailand!

It was lovely to be sent this picture from Phoebe who is visiting the Lyford family in Thailand.

Love to all and have a brilliant Christmas.

Christmas disco!

Great fun was had at the Christmas disco - thank you so much to our valued members of the PTFA for organising and running the event.

Christingle

We had the pleasure of attending a lovely Christingle service this afternoon at St. John the Baptist Church, Smalley. It was so good to see so many of our school community at Church enjoying this lovely tradition. Our choir performed two songs beautifully and I am so proud of them. I would like to say a huge thank you to the church, especially Reverend Lisa for the warm welcome and excellent service. Thank you also to our choir who were brilliant and to all the parents and grandparents for your support. Massive thanks also to Mrs Mason for playing and organising the choir and to Mrs Evans and Mrs Rhodes who supported the event. What a fantastic way to spend Sunday afternoon, enjoy the pictures below.

Road Safety Week

Happy Retirement

We send you all our best wishes for a long, healthy and happy retirement.

Maths in Class One- Days of the week, months of the year and time!

The children in class 1 have been working hard on ordering the days of the week and the months of the year. They have also been exploring time on an analogue clock, looking at 'o' clock and half past. Please use the links below to consolidate their learning at home. 

http://www.iboard.co.uk/iwb/Days-of-the-Week-713

http://www.iboard.co.uk/iwb/Months-of-the-Year-712

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spi77By9-iA

http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks1/maths/telling_the_time/play/

Our school song for Friendship and Respect week 2015

Each morning, we have been listening to this song by Bruno Mars.  We have been learning the lyrics together and we plan to sing together during Friday's special Friendship Assembly. We will also find out how each class have been celebrating Friendship week....watch this space!

The Creation Station

Smalley School welcomed Rebecca and her 'Creation Station' into school this afternoon to run her after school club.  The club was very popular and Rebecca has a waiting list where in 5 weeks time, new children will be able to come and join the fun.

Thank you Mrs Hird for helping to make this first session a great success.

The children loved making their pencil toppers and can't wait until next week!

Link to Hope

Children in Need

Our Appeal

Amazing addition!

Class 1 have been busy working on their addition today and we decided to go for something a bit sweeter than counters or cubes!! We've been using our number recognition and counting skills to find the answers to the calculations using sweets! Well done class 1 😀

Family Shoebox Appeal

A letter of thanks!

We received an email this morning, from the Padley Centre, to say thank you for our generous Harvest gifts. Thank you again everyone.

Thank you for our Harvest

What a special way to end an action packed half term with our Harvest assembly today.

All the children shared the importance of food and thinking about others using poetry, songs and special words.

Thank you to you, our Smalley family and friends, for all of the kind Harvest gifts for the Padley Centre - all of your thoughtful gifts will be warmly welcomed at the centre and will help people in Derby all through the coming year.

It was so very special to have such a full audience too. Thank you again for your generosity and sharing in our special Harvest message. Wishing you all a very safe half term holiday.

Dinosaur experts in Class 1!

Class 1 are coming to the end of their dinosaur topic and have had a fantastic first half term! Children have become dinosaur experts and shown this in their brilliant writing, investigating and exploring. Class 1 are just about to write their own story about a dinosaur and me and Mrs Boole can't wait to read them! 

Here is Class 1's finished display showing some of their learning... :-)

Money in Class One

We are currently exploring money in Class One during our Maths lessons. 

Please follow the link to explore some fun games which use money.httphttp://www.ictgames.com/moneyPage.htm://www.ictgames.com/moneyPage.htm

Also, get your piggy banks out at home and practise counting your money! Can you count all of it? Can you count up in twos with your 2 pence's? 

Travel Smart......

During our art lesson this week the children created dinosaurs and we have entered them into the 'Travel Smart' competition.

Please Join Us.....

19th - 23rd October 2015 Please join us for 'Travel Smart' week by encouraging your child to stand out from the crowd by ' Making a Monster Move' and choosing active and environmentally friendly ways to travel to school.

Fun at playtime with Miss Elizabeth.

Class 1's wonderful learning environment

This week in Class 1 we have been focusing on making a class display in Literacy. First of all we had to think, pair and share our ideas about what we think displays are for. We had a brilliant class discussion and wrote a list together. Tobias said "Displays are to show everyone that we are smart" and Benjamin said "They are to show people our good work and teach people things". I was very impressed with our super listening skills during our discussion as we working very hard on this.
After the discussion, Class 1 planned what they would like their display to look like to help our classroom show their learning and support their learning.
We have now made a start on the display and here is how it looks so far.... Class 1 will be adding to it this week so watch this space :-) well done Class 1!

Using rulers!

We have been measuring outside today using rulers and counting in centimeters. Then we drew the height of a T-Rex on the playground! They were very tall! 

Thank you and good luck Graham

We were so very lucky today, as we welcomed Graham to take his last assembly with Smalley School.  Our children listened beautifully as they heard that Graham and his wife are soon leaving the U.K. for an exciting adventure to Zambia in Africa.  Graham's wife is a nurse so will help to care for people and Graham is going to work with the children in Zambia.

Graham has visited our school for many years and is held in high esteem by all members of staff and children.  Our children have loved his assemblies, classroom activities and a lunchtime group - 'God's Club'.

Graham, thank you so very much for all the thoughtful work that you have done with our children.  We will all miss you dearly and know that Zambia are extremely lucky to have you.  We wish you all the very best and hope that you'll keep in touch and let us know how you're getting along.

Measuring

Last week we were measuring the length of things around our school, including some dinosaur footprints! This week we will be measuring the heights of different things. How tall are you? Can you measure yourself at home with a grown up or an older brother or sister and then post on here your height? We will also be investigating the height of a T-Rex! Do you know how tall T-Rex's were? Can you find out? 

English and alphabetical ordering

We will be looking briefly at alphabetical ordering this week. Follow the link to have a practise at home. 

http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/online/alphaorder1.swf

Golden Book assembly 18.9.15

Well done for achieving Headteacher's Award and Random Act of Kindness Award - Smalley School is proud of you.

Measuring in Class 1

Today class 1 have been measuring dinosaur footprints around the school using cubes. Luckily we didn't bump into the dinosaurs that the footprints belonged too!

Welcome Class 1!

Welcome back Class 1! We have already been so busy settling in to our classroom and beginning our new topic 'Can you roar like a dinosaur?' We are looking forward to the rest of the half term learning all about Dinosaurs!
Miss Tulley and Mrs Boole :-)