Deputy Head’s Newsletter

Issue 22 - 15 November 2024

Owl-standing Reports by Year 3!

As part of their Owls topic, Year 3 have

produced fantastic non-chronological reports.
They used fact sheets, books, and websites to
research fascinating facts about owls, including
their appearance, diet, and habitats. With
careful thought, they planned how to lay out this
information in an engaging way, ensuring it would
captivate their readers. To add extra interest,
they even included ‘Did you know?’ and ‘Fun Fact’
boxes.

Year 3 have also enjoyed creating their own

pinecone owls this week. In English, they wrote a
set of instructions on how to make a pinecone
owl, making sure to include features such as
imperative verbs, adverbs, and bullet points.

Make sure you follow us on Instagram

for more photos and videos….
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Cross Country at Cobham Hall

Last Friday, our Bronte School team participated in the Cross Country event kindly
hosted by Cobham Hall. The girls kicked things off in the Year 5 & 6 Girls’ 1.7km race.
Among a large field of approximately 150 runners, our team of six - Abigail, Bea,
Alice, Electra, Isabela, and Suhaavi - all managed to finish in the top 100, a fantastic
achievement! Special mention goes to Abigail and Bea, who placed 35th and 40th,
respectively.

Next up were the boys, competing in the Year 5 & 6 Boys’ 2.3km race, with nearly 200
boys at the starting line. The front-runners set a brisk pace from the start, but
Jack, Dayisi, Anand, Oscar, Charlie, and Alex showed impressive endurance,
completing the challenging course in good time. Jack and Dayisi stood out, finishing in
41st and 45th places.

For some of the children, this was their first experience of cross-country running or
even a parkrun, making their determination and resilience all the more commendable.
My final advice to the children was to give it everything they had, aiming to cross the
finish line with an empty ‘energy tank. All 12 runners did themselves and the school
proud. Well done to you all! - Mr. Johns
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Match Report: Netball and Football vs Steephill

Year 6 had a fantastic afternoon competing against Steephill with two football teams
and two netball teams, showing great teamwork and impressive skill development.

In netball, Bronte’s teams played four matches with the following results:

•3-0 Bronte win

•3-1 Bronte win
•3-3 draw
•1-0 loss

The football teams also played four matches, with their results as follows:

•0-0 draw
•0-0 draw
•3-2 loss
•1-0 Bronte win

A special thanks to Mrs. Sutherland for preparing a delicious match tea afterwards,
which was enjoyed by all. Well done to everyone for their hard work and sportsmanship!
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Match Report: Netball and Football vs Steephill Continued

Reception’s Magic Music Adventure

Reception had an exciting day when they

discovered a magic music box in their
classroom. Inside was a clue that led
them to the park, where they set off to
find some missing ducks in the pond.

The children sang and danced to the

music as they searched, and they found
all five ducks! Well done, Reception!
What a fun adventure!
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Singing Stars Shine on Stage

This week, children taking singing lessons with Miss Dunk took to the stage to
perform Breakaway by Kelly Clarkson, an inspiring song about reaching your goals no
matter the obstacles. They sang with remarkable confidence, showcasing their hard
work and growth as young performers. Bravo to all involved!

Coding in Year 2

This year, Year 2 pupils have embarked on an exciting coding journey! Over the last
few weeks, they have been working together to explore the basics of coding. The
children have been learning to follow instructions, debug their code, and write simple
commands.

This week, they took things a step further by creating their very own scenes. With
great enthusiasm, the children applied the new skills they’ve gained, adding buttons
and exploring "nesting" to build more complex interactions. It’s been wonderful to see
them problem-solve, experiment, and support each other as they bring their creative
ideas to life through code.
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Year 1 Explores the Moon Landing!

This week, Year 1 became historians and had a fantastic time learning
about the moon landing! They explored a range of sources, including the
internet, newspapers, books, videos, and pictures, to gather facts and
stories about this incredible event. Working together, they recorded all
the information they found on a giant mind map. The children discovered
who the astronauts were, how they travelled to the moon, and what it was
like to walk on the moon’s surface.
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Bear-y Exciting Adventures Await!

This week, Reception Class loved reading The Everywhere Bear, a story that
inspired a walk around our local area, with our own class Everywhere Bear in tow!
Along the way, the children had fun exploring, and afterwards, they drew maps to
capture their journey. Aren't they fantastic?

In the weeks ahead, the Everywhere Bear will be off on even more adventures. Each
weekend, he’ll go home with one of the children, who will add a drawing or
photograph to his little journal (maybe even capturing a visit to different places in
our community).

Some of the older children in school might remember their own bear adventures.
Have fun, Everywhere Bear! We can't wait to see where you'll go next.
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A Winter Wonderland in Art Club

This week, the children in Art Club created enchanting

wintery paintings that captured the serene beauty of a
snowy landscape. Using just three colours; purple, white,
and blue, they brought their scenes to life. By carefully
blending these colours (taking care not to over-blend)
they achieved a lovely tonal quality, giving depth and
character to their artwork.

The resulting paintings are fantastic, with each child

putting their unique touch on their winter scene. Well
done, Art Club!
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Supporting Learning at Home

Over the last few weeks, we’ve welcomed many members of our
community to special workshops. These sessions provided an
opportunity for parents to gain insights into Bronte’s teaching and
learning philosophy, along with practical tips and resources to support
their children's learning at home.

In our reading workshop, we explored the foundations of reading from

a young age, phonetic awareness, and ways to foster a love of books.
For Maths, we looked at the mastery approach, emphasising the
importance of strong foundational skills and encouraging self-
exploration to build confidence and understanding.

We’re delighted with the positive feedback from parents, and we look
forward to continuing to strengthen this partnership in support of
every child’s learning journey.
"The workshop was very well
delivered, with some great insights
into how to teach maths to my
children."

"The reading workshop was,

engaging, practical, and well
presented."
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Children in Need Day

This Friday, Bronte was buzzing with

excitement as everyone arrived in spotty
and Pudsey-themed outfits for Children in
Need. Mrs. Sutherland treated us to a
special fun lunch.

The lunchtime Fun Run, led by Mr. Johns,

was a real highlight. With lively music by
Miss Dunk and energetic activities like
hurdles and bean bag balancing, the
children embraced every challenge with
enthusiasm.

Thank you to our wonderful school

community for your generous donations.
You raised almost £500! Your support will
make a real difference to children’s
projects and charities.
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Children in Need Day Continued
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Year 2 Brings "Kapiti Plain" to Life!

Our Year 2 pupils have been looking at the enchanting story of Bringing the
Rain to Kapiti Plain by Verna Aardema. Inspired by Ki-pat, the children have
been stepping into his shoes by writing their very own diary entries from his
perspective. They explored his thoughts and feelings as he worked to bring
much needed rain to his land.

The pupils also had the chance to practice their aim with a bow and arrow - just
like Ki-pat shooting into the sky to burst the rain cloud! It was a fun,
interactive way to connect with the story and develop their skills in imaginative
storytelling.
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Celebrating Success

Naavya in Year 4 had an incredible weekend in Bristol, where she competed in a martial
arts competition and came 2nd overall out of nearly 200 competitors. What an amazing
achievement!

Taran in Year 6 has been making strides in cricket and was awarded Most Improved
Player by his club this season. Well done, Taran!

Ethan in Year 2 has continued to shine on the football field, earning a well-deserved
Player of the Game trophy. In a thrilling 7-5 victory for his team, Ethan scored an
incredible double hat-trick; yes, that’s six goals!

In gymnastics, we’ve had some fantastic successes. Kara in Year 3 competed brilliantly,
earning a special certificate for her impressive scores in a recent competition,
especially in the vault. Lila in Year 4 received a medal to celebrate passing her Level 6
skills assessment. Congratulations to both gymnasts!

This week Hood and Nelson came out with the same result in the House Points
competition after a very close contest. Well done everyone.

Mathletics

Year 1 and year 4 were awarded Mathletics

Monkey this week as both classes achieved 11
certificates each.
Bronze: Gold:

Avi - YR Kobe - Y1
Tiko - Y5 Veer - Y1
Zara - Y1
Callie - Y3
Preet - Y3
Silver: Naavya - Y4
Dayisi - Y5
Nkemdi - Y2 JJ - Y5
Shaiya - Y3 Abigail - Y6