Meridian Primary School Parent Newsletter 7 - Friday, 19th October 2018 meridian.greenwich.sch.uk What have we been learning during Week 6 of Autumn Term 1? Nursery children have been thinking about all the different languages which are spoken in class—there are 14 altogether. Reception children have been developing their bal- ancing skills using bean bags and quoits. The Rocking Horse Room, Y1 and Y2 classes enjoyed their bus tour of London admiring some of the city’s famous landmarks to help them with their own guidebooks. Well done to Y3 on their brilliant assembly this morn- ing. In Geography this week they have been learning about the different tribes in the Amazon. With the help of a lighthouse, Y4 have been understanding negative numbers. Why not ask them to explain? Children in the Castle Group have been writing persuasive letters to ask the man from their class book not to chop down the Kapok tree because it would have a devastating effect on the planet. Y5 have been writing poems to describe a setting in Antarctica using expanded noun phrases. The Discovery Group have been learning how to find factors of numbers and building up strategies to help them. Y6 have been developing their multiplication methods and applying them to different problems. The 2018-19 School Council’s first official engagement was to help one of the nation’s oldest children’s TV programmes cele- brate its 60th birthday this week. We were invited to take part in a BBC One Show programme to help mark Blue Peter’s special milestone. Children ap- peared in a film montage of young and old singing along to the programme’s well-known theme tune. If you missed it, you can watch the clip via BBC iplayer at https://www.bbc.co.uk/ iplayer/episode/b0bn87dn/the -one-show-15102018—check us out around the 16 seconds mark. A claim to fame no matter how brief! Mummy says Gutentag. Ceanna, FS1 If the kapok tree is cut down, it can’t hold the earth in place and then it will become a huge dry desert. Guin, Castle Group Piano player wanted If there are any parent or carers who can play the piano and you are available on a Monday from 3.15pm for an hour, we would love to hear from you. The choir need someone to accompany them in the run up to their Christmas concert which takes place at the Old Royal Naval College Chapel on Monday Monday, 3rd December. Please contact Elizabeth to find out more. Piano seeking new homes We have two tuneable pianos which the school no longer needs— they are free but removal costs would need to be met by the recipient. If anyone is interested, please contact the school office. It was good to see so many parents and carers at Parents’ Evenings. If you missed this opportunity to discuss how your child is settling in and the next steps in their learning, please contact the class teach- er to make an appointment at a mutually convenient time. Young Voices at the O2 Thursday 31st January Choir members have been given details of next year’s Young Voices concert. Chil- dren will be singing at the O2 as part of a mass choir made up of hundreds of school children. It’s a great night and children have been working hard to learn their song words. If par- ents/carers want to order tickets or t-shirts, please do so by Monday 5th November. Children will be at the O2 from 1pm on that day for rehearsals with the concert starting at 7pm. Nelson Mandela said: “What counts is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.” October is Black History Month—a time when we re- member and celebrate the positive contributions black people have made, and continue to make, to our world. In assembly, children learnt about Frank Arthur Bailey, the first black firefighter in London. He recently passed away at the age of ninety. Born in Guyana, Frank came to England in 1953 and heard about the Fire Brigade. Frank said: “I was told that the authorities were not hiring black men because they were not strong enough physically or well enough educated to do the job.” Frank still applied to become a firefighter and had a very successful career. He said, “I saved a fellow fire- fighter’s life when he fainted while we were on the fifth floor of a ladder drill session. I brought him down to the ground in a fire- man’s lift.” Frank’s legacy is still felt today. Bitter cold ice cre- ates an isolated jig- saw puzzle in front of us. Bea, Y5 The Tower of London is really big. It was used as a prison until 1952. Big Ben is getting fixed right now— maybe they could superglue a real clock to the front so that we can still tell the time. Nicole & Cillian, Y2 Sam and Alice en- joyed being tour guides and talking through the microphone and telling everyone their facts: You can see everything from the London Eye. Alice, Y1 HMS Belfast is the biggest boat on the River Thames. Sam, Y1 The Korubo tribe put stilts at the bottom of their houses to keep out water. Joshua, Y3