We have had a busy second half of the Autumn term in school with many highlights. I was delighted to have Lisa McArdle join me as Headteacher for the Day a few weeks ago; Lisa was a natural at spotting great learning behaviours on our walk around school and giving out certificates in Celebration Assembly.

The past few weeks have been packed full of Christmas festivities, including the magnificent FOTS Christmas Fair, Christmas Jumper Day, Christmas lunches, nativities and much more! It’s such a special time of year in school and wonderful to see pupils and staff embracing the Christmas spirit. 

From a teaching and learning perspective this term, we have had two very positive visits from our school improvement partner. Our staff training has been focused on adaptive teaching and scaffolds and how we are meeting the needs of all of our learners in the classroom. We have also been focusing on our provision for those in receipt of pupil premium and developing our practice in maths teaching. In addition to this we have been reviewing our homework policy and further detailed information about this will be shared in the new year.

In line with our school vision, we continue to be very committed to providing children with extra curricular opportunities in addition to the main curriculum. We are so fortunate to benefit from wonderful grounds and outdoor spaces at Trinity which enables us to host Forest School onsite. However, currently this would not be possible without parent volunteers to facilitate it so I wanted to say thank you so much to everyone who has helped to support the school to provide this for the children. 

We continue to focus on ensuring we are supporting any pupils or families who are at risk of low attendance. High attendance is so imperative for pupils to be successful at school and we have added further explanation around this on our website page - Attendance. I am delighted to share that our current whole school attendance figure is 96.2% and it will be wonderful to see this continue to rise even further in the new year.  

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and a very Happy New Year. I hope to see many of you at our Christmas Service on Friday, 20th December at 10.30am. 

Congratualtions to the following children for being awarded Star of the week this half term. These children were all acknowledged in our Friday achievement assemblies and the children joined Mrs Whitttle for a hot chocolate.

BRYON - Arthur T, Alice, Rocky, Jake and Lucy

JEFFERS - Rosen, Elodie, Hugo, Henry and Arthur M

MURPHY - Elle, Sammy, Nina, Sharan and Indiana

ROSEN - Isabella, Amy, Holly, Thomas and Martha

DAHL - Bodie, Lucy, Benji, Charlotte and Rosie

COWELL - Wesley, Esia, Annabella, Austin and Millie

COELHO - Finley, Ted, Sebi, Abigail and Maisie

PILKEY - Noah G, Noah D, Michelle, Alfie and Olivia

PALMER - Tabitha, Oliver, Charles, Anna and Bella

ZEPHANIAH - Frank, Poppy, Jago, Alice and Enzo

RUNDELL - Teddy, Elin, Jack, Ben and Sienna

In Reception our Learning Means the World (LMTW) topic is BLAST OFF!  We have been looking at how we travel into space, what we need in space. We looked at planets and the order in which they are from the sun. The children invented their own planet and made lists of what they would take into space. 

In Phonics, we have been learning the sounds ll ff ss w g v u j i x y z qu d ck e b zz th sh ch ng nk. We are continuing to blend simple words. We are reading and writing CVC words and continuing to learn our tricky words. 

In Maths we have been:

• Identifying and naming circles and triangles 
• Comparing circles and triangles 
• Looking at shapes in the environment 
• Describing positions 
• Finding 4 and 5 
• Subsisting 4 and 5 
• Representing 4 and 5 
• Identifying 1 more 
• Identifying 1 less 
• Identifying shapes with 4 sides 
• Looking at day and night 

In Literacy we have:

• We have been working on the story ‘How to catch at star’ 
• We have been thinking of words to describe something hot and cold and  putting them into a sentence
• We have also been looking at Penguins and learning some facts about penguins
• We have independently written a fact about a penguin

Our new LMTW topic is Snow and Ice and we have been looking at: 

• The Arctic is located in Northern most point of the world
• There are four seasons- Autumn, Winter, Summer and Spring 
• In winter the weather is cold, it sometimes snows and is frosty
• Some animals hibernate in the winter months
• Water freezes to ice. Ice melts to water
• Winter is a warm season in Australia
• The Arctic is a cold environment
• Arctic Foxes, Arctic Hare, Reindeer, Polar Bears, Snowy Owls, Beluga Whales and Narwhals live in the Arctic and have adapted to their environment 
• Penguins do not live in the Arctic (North Pole), they live in Antarctica
• Share their thoughts and feelings and consider the feelings of others 
• Talks about being a kind friend
• Knows what to do if someone is being unkind to them 

Merry Christmas from the Early Years team!

Oxfordshire Museum

The children in KS1 were very fortunate to have a visitor from Oxfordshire Museum as part of our Literacy unit on toys and games. Thank you FOTs for supporting this.

The children had an opportunity to learn about the history of toys and take part in practical activities as well. During the circle time discussion we found out about how toys were made in the past and what materials were used. Lots of toys were made by hand using wood and cloth before the Industrial Revolution. 

Later, many toys were made by machines in factories using other materials such as metal and then plastic. The children found it very interesting that in Victorian times boys and girls had different toys. The girls were playing with dolls and tea sets to prepare them for motherhood and housekeeping duties. The boys played with trains, cars and soldiers for their future roles in society. 

During practical activities the children had a go at playing with a variety of toys, made their own thaumatrope toy and sorted toys into old and new depending on materials they were made from. 

Asquiths Toys Shop Visit

Huge thanks to Asquiths Bearpawium on Hart Street for allowing Year 1 and 2 pupils to visit their enchanting shop and learn about the history of the Teddy Bear and the remarkable legacy of Steiff Teddy Bears. This links to KS1's current topic of learning about toys from the past. Owner Rachel commented ''It’s wonderful to see the children so engaged and enthusiastic about the history of toys, especially the Teddy Bear. The stories behind these Teddy Bears not only teach us about craftsmanship and innovation, but also about love and resilience over the years."

General News

We are thrilled to share some highlights from our term so far! The children have shown good behaviour, demonstrating care, courage and respect, alongside a positive attitude in their learning.

Forest School continues to be a favourite, with pupils exploring nature, engaging in team-building activities, and embracing outdoor learning. PE sessions have also been met with great enthusiasm, as students enjoy developing their skills and fitness through fun games and exercises.

Maths Highlights

This term, our mathematicians have been diving deep into the world of numbers! The children have been mastering multiplication, addition and subtraction, building their confidence and fluency with these key operations. Coelho class enjoyed making arrays using skittles to secure their understanding of multiplication. Pilkey class have also begun exploring coordinates, learning how to plot and locate points on a grid. It has been wonderful to see the classes’ problem-solving skills in action!

English Highlights

In writing lessons, the children really enjoyed the story Arthur and the Golden Rope. They have been honing their creative writing skills by exploring this adventurous tale, crafting their own imaginative myths  inspired by the book.

Additionally, students have been working on informative leaflets about Norse Gods, researching mythology and showcasing their non-fiction writing skills. Their efforts have resulted in some beautifully presented and fact-filled leaflets.

Learning Means the World

Our Creative Curriculum lessons have taken the children on an exciting journey through Viking history. They have been learning about Viking life, Ragnar Lothbrok, and the epic tales of Beowulf. Exploring artefacts and Viking times has brought history to life in the classroom. We even made some replicas of Thor's hammer out of clay. The classes have also enjoyed learning a song about the two different perspectives on Viking invasions (see image). The children enjoyed getting into the role and can enjoy learning the lyrics at home!

We’ve also ventured into science with a focus on forces, including magnets and friction. The children have been experimenting with Newton metres to measure forces and discover how these forces impact our daily lives. Their curiosity and enthusiasm have been great to see!

Final Message

Thank you for your continued support in making this term a success. Forest School was a real highlight this term and we couldn’t have done it without you and Mrs Chilvers. We’re so proud of the children’s hard work and can’t wait to share more of their achievements with you soon!

As always, the last week of the year is busy with enjoying nativities, concerts and of course our Christmas lunch.  We look forward to seeing you at the church service on Friday. Have a wonderful Christmas with your families and see you back again on the 6^th January. 

Merry Christmas from the Lower Key Stage 2 team!

In Years 5 and 6 we have had an action-packed term. It all kick-started with forest school and our 'A world full of bright ideas topic'. The children learnt about key inventions through time, how technology has changed our world and even had an opportunity to create their own inventions. 

Forest school is always a highlight for the children and this term was no exception - lots of fun was had making swings, building dens, making campfires and exploring outdoors. Thank you to Mrs Chilvers and all parent volunteers that made this possible for the children. 

Year 6 enjoyed their bikeability course and took to the streets of Henley learning how to ride safely along the roads. Some children have been putting these skills into practice by riding into school each morning!

Moving forward into Autumn 2 and the children went back to the Egyptian period learning all about Hatshepsut - how she came to power and why she was so influential. The children enjoyed learning about her and particularly enjoyed mummifying a tomato. 

As we moved to Christmas, Year 5 enjoyed a workshop with the clergy where they made Christmas houses to decorate the church. Other highlights will include Christmas lunch, Christmas crafts and singing. Merry Christmas from the Upper Key Stage 2 team!

Cross Country

On Saturday 9th November, at Maiden Erlegh Chiltern Edge, a few children turned up to represent Trinity in the Cross Country Race. Considering the talent and number of children from other schools that they were up against, our Trinity group did brilliantly. Very well done to those who raced. For those who wish to take part next time, keep an eye open for future dates. As an incentive, those who come along will get a house point for Trinity. We really would love to have more children taking part and representing our school.

On Tuesday 10th December children from Y3-6 were selected to take part in the cross country competition against schools across the borough. We are incredibly proud of Isabelle who came first in the Y3/4 girls race, and to the Y3/4 girls team who came in second place overall, Y5/6 boys team and Y5/6 girls team who both came in second place overall. What an achievement! 

Well done to everyone who ran in extremely cold weather, and a huge thank you to all the parents who offered lifts and made sure everyone selected was able to get there, as well as to those who stayed on site to help organise things. The children were very excited to take part and I think we can all agree, they did extremely well. 

Swimming

We have three teams from Years 2-6 participating in the Swimarathon at Braywick Leisure Pool on Sunday 12th January 2025 and they are ready to go! The teams are Terrific Turtles, Smiley Sharks and Wonderful Whales. If you would like to sponsor the children, and help us raise money for Trinity Primary School, please visit:

https://www.justgiving.com/page/mrs-evans-1734277480443?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=CL

It has been a busy and heart-warming term as we've come together to support various charitable causes.

Firstly, we hosted a pyjama party for Children in Need, raising an incredible £700! This week, our students wore festive Christmas jumpers to raise funds for Save the Children, and we've raised nearly £200 so far.

At the Christmas fair, we had a stall to support the New Brainstorm School in Uganda, where we’re helping to fund new facilities and resources for both children and teachers.

Lastly, many of our students have participated in the Reverse Advent Calendar by bringing in food and items to donate to Nomads Food Bank.

We are truly grateful for your generosity and support. Your contributions are making a significant difference, and we couldn't be more thankful for the impact you're helping us achieve for these wonderful causes.