Summer Term 1 2016 - Underground/Overground

the Kingfisher Community Special School

Newsletter – Summer Term 1 Topic – Underground/Overground

Dear Parents, Carers and Friends,

I wrote to you last Friday sharing the sad news of the death of Kevin Fennelly our Chair of Governors. This was very sudden and unexpected and, in fact, Kevin was actually with me at a conference working on behalf of Kingfisher.

Kevin worked for many years as Deputy Head at Foxdenton School (which was one of the schools that amalgamated to become Kingfisher) and after his retirement in 2000, he became a Governor at Kingfisher. When I was appointed in 2005, Kevin was the Vice-Chair of Governors and after Alderman Sid Jacobs passed away in January 2008, Kevin became Chair of Governors.

Kevin has been a tower of strength to all of us at Kingfisher drawing on his intelligence, experience, quick wit and dry humour to help us with many situations. Kevin gave of his time to be an outstanding Chair of Governors – not only working for the children and staff of Kingfisher -but also as a National Leader of Governance since 2011, working with a number of schools and Local Authorities in the North of England, supporting Governing Boards and Senior Leadership Teams

In 2014, Kingfisher’s Ofsted Report said:

“The local authority’s excellent partnership with the school ensures that other schools benefit from the expertise of several of its staff, as well as its Chair of the Governing Body.”

“Governance of the school has continued to be very effective since the previous inspection. The Governing Body has not become complacent but has continued to drive the school forward…… Governors are supportive and have empathy, but they are also sharp and businesslike.”

Kevin has left a massive hole in the life of Kingfisher – he was always readily available to be called upon to offer advice and words of wisdom and he was fully involved in leading the school forward. It is hard to put into words what a loss Kevin will be to both the school and personally to myself and many of the staff, Governors, children and friends of the school. Kevin was devoted to improving outcomes for the children of Kingfisher and gave an awful lot of his time in this pursuit.

We hope to celebrate Kevin’s life at a later date but ask that you remember Kevin’s contribution to Kingfisher with thanks and gratitude.

Yours sincerely,

Anne Redmond

Splash!Nic Found

SPLASH AROUND FOR £1This campaign is being launched with Oldham Schools Swimming Service and we are asking all local primary school children to donate £1 between the 4th and 8th of July to take part in a massive ‘Splash!’ to help raise money and awareness for our new hydrotherapy pool.

The children at Kingfisher will also be taking part in the event and details will be sent home soon. Watch this space!

Kingfisher Community Special Schoolin conjunction with Oldham

Schools Swimming Service

Your child’s school is supporting the Kingfisher School Big Splash

to raise money for a much needed hydrotherapy pool.

Please join in!

When? 4th to the 8th of July as part of your school’s swim session.

How? Return this flyer to your school together with your £1

donation.

What? 5 minutes at the start of your swim session to make the

biggest SPLASH possible!

Sellotape

your £1

here

WellbeingJenni Cryer

As part of our exciting partnership with the Manchester United Foundation, a team of Kingfisher children had the opportunity to visit the Aon Training Complex in Carrington to take part in an event to celebrate the work the children have been doing with the Foundation. The children were joined by Manchester United’s first team, led by their captain Wayne Rooney.

The children had a fun-filled afternoon and the players looked like they enjoyed it too! They worked together using the parachute, balls, a large balloon and even a water spray to demonstrate good team work and how to make physical activities engaging and fun for all. The children demonstrated their amazing football skills by passing the large balloon to the United players.

Juan Mata was there and as he was celebrating his 28th birthday,the children presented him with a handmade birthday card. The children also met the Manchester United mascot, Fred the Red, who was a big hit.

Harley demonstrated his superb communication

skills using his communication aid to ask Wayne

Rooney to help us with our hydrotherapy pool

fundraising! All in all, the children had a fantastic

time and really showcased how to have fun and

work together – well done Team Kingfisher!

Social MediaNic Found

To keep our parents and friends even more even more up to date with our exciting news, we are developing our use of social media. This will be an additional platform for telling the world about how fantastic their children are and what they are learning in school!

At Kingfisher we are very careful not to put images and film of the children on any social media sites if parents/carers have requested us not too.

School consent forms which include media, photographs, website, and film are sent home with children when they join Kingfisher. Parents can indicate on these forms what consent they give for their child to be involved with. We ask that parents keep school updated with any changes by contacting the class teacher or the office, so we can update your child’s information.

Please follow us on the following social media accounts and see what we have been up to.

Twitter - @kingfishersch or www.twitter.com/kingfishersch

Instagram - kingfishersch

Facebook - KingfisherCommunitySpecialSchool or www.facebook.com/KingfisherCommunitySpecialSchool

You can also access the YouTube page by going to -http://bit.ly/kingfisheryoutube

Keep up to Date!

CanariesClass Team:• Carol Whitehead• Lois Carlisle• Cheryl Wight• Donna Paterson• Pam Dean• Sarah Lees• Margaret Stanley

Our half term topic, ‘Underground/Overground’ has given us lots of opportunities to search for things around our classroom and school.

In English, we have been reading the book ‘This is the Bear’. The bear gets pushed in the bin by the family dog and gets taken along with the rubbish to the dump. We have been searching for the bear around school and in Humanities, we have been picking up recyclable rubbish and sorting it into groups of plastics, card and paper. We have used some of the things we collected, including plastic bottles, boxes and yogurt pots and have filled them with different types of pasta, rice and couscous to make our own instruments to use in our music lessons.

We were very lucky to have two sessions with ‘Live Music Now’ when Caroline and Bea worked with us to make music about a train ride. They played their clarinet and oboe for us and we were able to listen to the sound of each instrument and to touch them to feel the vibrations and to feel the air which was used, along with the instrument keys to create the beautiful sounds they made. We also had the chance to be creative by painting along to the music as they played.

We have been finding out about capacity in Maths and seeing which sets have ‘more’ and some of us have begun to recognise that the smaller amount is ‘less’. We also filled and emptied different sized containers to see how much (sand, rice, cubes etc.) they would hold.

In Science, we have been digging for things in soil and finding out whether vegetables grow under or above the soil, sorting and naming vegetables and fruits, saying whether they grow above or below ground, planting seeds and bulbs and trying to remember to water them so they continue to grow!

In Cookery, we have been exploring white and sweet potatoes and cooking and tasting them in different forms (mashed, boiled and roasted) to see whether we liked them and which we liked best.

We have been finding ways to climb over and under the apparatus in P.E. and some of us have become very confident to do this independently and we are very proud of our achievements.

RobinsClass Team:• Bev Lees• Jenni Cryer• Christine Callan• Helen Cummiskey• Anne Tomlinson• Angela Mullington• Kathryn Parker

This topic – Underground/Overground (i.e. Peppa Pig learns in the garden), has been enjoyed by everyone, and we have seen so many special moments and achievements from the Robins. Well Done!

During this topic we have had two sensory stories about Peppa Pig - one about all the things she found in the garden and another about going on a train ride. We have smelled different flowers and herbs, splashed in the mud, planted sunflower seeds, made bees from paper plates, counted during the bee song, tasted honey, done mark making on butterfly shapes and explored different sized balls.

We have done lots of our learning outside in all kinds of weather, and our happy vocalisations and giggles let everyone know we like to learn in the fresh air! We have also done some exploring of mark making materials outside – learning to show whether we prefer wet or dry materials.

When we have gone to explore around school we have had turns on the adapted bikes, been on a big swing and roundabout, and had fun investigating in the Kingfisher Woods.

We have again enjoyed our MILE Room sessions, doing a Yoga and massage story with Cath, massage, Intensive Interaction and communication games on Fridays. Although we love all our learning, I think this is definitely one of our favourite weekly slots.

We have also been developing our understanding of numbers through our ‘what’s in the box?’ activity. We have enjoyed finding and counting the ducks and cheeky teddy bears, before listening to the number songs.

In our computing sessions the children have worked on switch skills on the computer; visual focusing and tracking skills with the iPad, and also had the chance to operate lots of different equipment unaided with a big switch i.e. foot spa, hairdryer, fan and noisy bee toy. It has also been exciting to see some of the Robins having a turn on the Eye Gaze software, and we are really proud of the progress they have made so far. Well Done!

Again another fun filled term of learning in the Robins for one and all. Happy Holiday to everyone, hope it is hot, sunny and relaxing. We look forward to coming back after the holidays to get involved with our next learning topic – 'Count on Me'.

WoodpeckersClass Team:• Fran Scholes• Carrie Ashworth• Clare Agnew• Dionne O’Dare

We have had a very busy half term here in the Woodpeckers!

In Science we have been creating our very own garden in our outdoor learning space. We have planted vegetables, herbs, flowers and even some fruit trees! We have been learning about all the different parts of the plants and flowers as well as how to care for them. We are really looking forward to tasting our own fruits and vegetables!

In our Cookery sessions we have continued to explore different fruits and vegetables in more detail. Using symbols and photographs we were able to tell our teachers about their taste, smell and textures as well as finding their different features. We loved tasting the different fruits the most, especially the strawberries!

Our topic story this half term was ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’. Using our own story boards and puppets we were able to follow Jack as he climbed the beanstalk to the giant’s castle. Using junk modelling we created our own beanstalk as well as a nest for the hen and her golden eggs. If only they were real gold!!

For our Music this half term we have been exploring, recognising and listening to different instrumental sounds. We had an Educational Visit to the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester where we were able to experience different brass instruments. Using signs and symbols we were able to control and recognise musical style, tempo and volume. We loved it when we were asked to conduct the musicians!

Through our Art sessions we have been developing our own independence in our learning. Using a board of symbols we have chosen different paints, tools and textures that we would like to use. Then, with help from adults, we went to find them in the Art room. We have made our own version of ‘Underground and Overground’ by creating our own images of the Earth and sky and recreating different forms of transport.

In our Maths lessons we have been learning about ‘long’ and ‘short’. In our outdoor space we created ‘long’ and ‘short’ by using chalk, playdough, straws and Lego. Using the class plasma computer we worked with a friend to create our own ‘long’ and ‘short’ shapes.

We hope you have a lovely half term break full of sunshine and fun!

ChaffinchesClass Team:• Louisa Carter• Kim Meyers• Lois Carlisle• Fateha Begum• Katie Robson• Kim Miller• Selina Gardner

It’s been a busy half term for our new class of Chaffinches. During this topic ‘Underground/Overground’ we read ‘Old Macdonald had a Farm’ and learnt about the different farm animals, listening and making their sounds and learning the signs for them. We also enjoyed the story ‘We’re going on a Bear Hunt!’ and explored squelchy mud, swishy swashy grass and a swirling snowstorm! We loved going into the Woods and listening to the story on a speaker!

In ‘Write Dance’ and other pre-writing activities, we have been learning to use our gross motor skills to make marks with mud in the textured kitchen, as well as making mini beast pictures.

In Phonics we’ve been listening and responding to a ‘sound of the week’; our favourite sounds were the bird whistle and recorder.

In Maths we’ve been learning about 3D shapes and prepositions and have had lots of fun exploring huge inflatable shapes and taking turns to go ‘on’ or ‘under’ the parachute.

In PSHE we’ve been playing with water and learning about keeping our hands clean. We washed dollies, made bubbly water and the best part of all was having a wonderful foot spa!

We have engaged in lots of outdoor learning this half term. We’ve been exploring root vegetables in the Textured Kitchen and have had lots of fun producing different marks with these. In water play we have enjoyed experimenting, filling and pouring coloured and bubbly water into different containers and through water sieves.

In Jabadao, we have been learning to move in different ways as part of our P.E. and continue to enjoy daily physical activities outdoors such as using the adventure playground.

We’ve been activating a Disco ball and fan using switches in Computing and have all enjoyed using the dark tent in our classroom for exploring, tracking and turning light toys on/off.

We’ve had great fun learning to move over different surfaces in Geography. We have explored the surfaces under our feet around school itself as well as the Woods and other outdoor areas.

In Science, we have been learning about plants and explored soil and gardening tools. Each pupil planted a sunflower seed and they are growing by the day, so we are excited to see whose grows the tallest!

We look forward to many more fantastic learning opportunities after half term during our next topic ‘Count on Me.’ All the Chaffinches wish you a very lovely and hopefully sunny half term.

RavensClass Team:• Elaine Curran• Adam Hinchcliffe• Stacey McDonald• Jess Tupman• Chelsea Beards• Paula Wright

The Ravens have had a fantastic half term learning through our topic ‘Overground/Underground’.

In English, we read the stories of ‘Oliver’s Vegetables’ and ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’. Some of us were able to make sentences about the things we read about. Some of us enjoyed digging vegetables out of the soil and matching them to symbols and learning about magic beans.

In Maths, we have started to learn about money alongside our number work. All of us understand that money can be exchanged for something. Some of us are starting to learn that different coins have different values.

We have planted a garden in Science! We have grown beans and carrots, a herb garden and a wild flower garden. We can care for these seedlings as they grow and some of us can name the parts of a plant or flower.

In Cookery, we have been learning about potatoes. Using basic tools like knives and graters we have researched and made a variety of food from potatoes including potato cakes, potato salad and roasted potatoes with carrots. We know that all potatoes look different and some of us really liked tasting potatoes.

We had a magic door day in the Ravens as part of our work in Art and DT. We had to rescue some fairies that were stuck in blocks of ice. We melted the ice using salt and warm water. When they were rescued we designed and made them a house and a garden. We then gave our fairies names and made them some fairy cakes and fairy slushies.

We’ve enjoyed using the Woods for our learning in Art and have been busy making natural collages in the spaces that we found. We used pine cones, leaves and twigs to make art work for others to find.

We hope you have a very happy half term and look forward to our last half term together.

ToucansClass Team:• Maria Lovell• Lindy Cartwright• Julie Graham• Andrew Fitzman• Cate Helm

During the topic ‘Underground/Overground’ we researched which animals hunt for food underground, like roots, other plant material, worms and insects. We also learned how some animals, like moles and earthworms spend their entire lives underground and some spend some time below ground and some of their time above ground.

In History, we focused on ‘old and new’. We have explored household objects, toys from the past and looked at Kingfisher school from the past up to the present day. In Drama we had the opportunity to experience playground games from the past; we had lots of fun with some of our favourites being ‘Hot Potatoes’ and ‘The Muffin Man’!

In Cookery, we focused on vegetables found below the ground such as potatoes. We worked together to peel the potatoes and chop them to create homemade chips! After making sweet potato chips it was interesting to compare our preferences. We talked about how they had different textures and flavours as well as a difference in colour.

We planted seeds in different conditions in Science to see which is the best environment for a seed to grow. It was exciting to make predictions, to observe the seeds each week and to draw on our conclusions.

In Maths, we have been developing our skills of addition. We have been adding 2 numbers using different methods such as a number line, counting on by putting the largest number in our heads, using our fingers and using the 100 square. We have been exploring the most efficient method for different calculations. We then applied this knowledge in shop situations including paying for treatments in our vet role play area.

In Writing, we have been busy researching information and recording our ideas. This term we have started a new writing process to help us with our sentence structure; after lots of discussion we first record our weekend news on a writing template grid, then in our draft books and finally in our best books. This process allows us to evaluate our work at every stage; we have thoroughly enjoyed it!

We really enjoyed our class trip to Eureka! The Gross Science Lab was amazing! We learnt about the human body including what happens when you cut yourself, what saliva is for and why we burp as well as other bodily functions!

We hope you have a lovely half term break!

WrensClass Team:• Nicola Smith• Chris Sadler• Lisa Garside• Jacqueline Attwater• Helen Thomas• Vicky Montgomery• Deborah Buckley

The Wrens have had a fantastic half term learning about MONSTERS! We have used monster puppets and lots of monster related stories as a way of exploring our ‘Underground/Overground’ topic and we have found it fantastic fun.

In our Art sessions we read the story of ‘Monsters Love Underpants’. Linked to this we grew monster grass heads; made marks on real underpants like the ones in the story and threw koosh balls covered in paint and rolled water balloons filled with paint down chutes to make ‘splat’ monsters.

In our Humanities sessions we have been outside in the Sensory Garden on ‘A Monster Hunt’. We adapted the story of ‘We’re going on a ‘Bear Hunt’ and have explored the long, wavy grass and thick, oozy mud, etc. outside in the garden. We finished the story by entering the ‘cave’ to find the monster!

We have enjoyed the sensory story of ‘The Gruffalo’ and have responded really well to the rhythmic language in the story. We have explored the props using all our senses and over the sessions, have begun to anticipate the feel of the snake, the sound of the owl hooting, etc. We especially enjoyed using our hands or feet to hit the chimes so we could hear the sound of the mouse moving through the deep dark wood. We have played in Gruffalo crumble with blackberries, oranges and sponge cake; explored clay; used smelly materials such as coffee and spices to decorate Gruffalo masks; made marks with prickly textures and soft textures, etc.

We have listened to the story of ‘Monster Max’s Shark Spaghetti’ and explored different textures of foods such as jelly, cereals, crisps and searched for hidden creepy crawlies. This has helped us to make choices and express preferences and show our likes and dislikes as well as develop our fine motor skills.

In Maths we have been exploring time – day time and night time, morning and afternoon activities, home time and bed time routines. We all enjoyed the ‘Bedtime Story’. We have also been outside to play Jack’s Game.

In Science we have been investigating magnets and electricity, holding on to spoons and forks whilst magnets pulled them away. Good fun and lots of enthusiasm in this topic!

It’s hard to believe we only have half a term left now! The year has gone so fast! We are looking forward to a fun-filled last half term based on our ‘Count on Us’ topic.

StarlingsClass Team:• Lisa Byram• Kirsty Kelly• Kerry Conwell• Sarah Styles• Liam Hodkinson• Mandy Fullen The good work has continued this half term in the Starlings! The

children have continued to impress us with their teamwork and sharing skills but also their understanding of the feelings happy, sad and angry.

During our English sessions, we have been listening to the story ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’. We have matched key objects from the story, completed some Art work and practised our writing and spelling. In addition to this we have read ‘Farmer Duck’ and enjoyed learning about the different animals and the lazy farmer!

In Maths lessons we have been looking at tall and short/big and small. The children have enjoyed using the large chalks outside, measuring their height and finding out who is the tallest in the class. We have categorised different objects into big and small and looked at adult and baby animals. We have looked at different toys and how we can put them back together once they are dismantled. The class have continued to count beautifully and have managed some really big numbers!

In Science, we have continued our plant work. We have looked at the different parts of a plant and the children have assembled and labelled their own plant. We have produced lots of Art work where the children have looked closely at the different parts of the plant. The children even managed to grow a class beanstalk!

P.E. lessons have been fantastic; all the Starlings are getting changed with minimal support and trying very hard with their independence skills. The children have been split into two groups this half term with one group focusing on their listening skills, following instructions on how to travel around the room. The second group have completed an obstacle course with hidden objects; building on skills developed last half term.

We have enjoyed making dishes using potatoes such as potato salad and have practised using equipment to peel, cut and chop vegetables. During the hot weather we made a worm scene using chocolate ice-cream and Oreos!

The children have loved our Art work this half term and have done some confident colour mixing using colour guides before completing some independent mixing - even using pipettes! They have explored different textures through feeling inside our texture boxes and the food painting was a huge hit!

Well done Starlings, you have been as amazing as ever and we have witnessed so many new skills - a fantastic half term!

PelicansClass Team:• Gemma Godden• Chris Sadler• Ann Armstrong-Marshall• Samantha Bacon• Beth Brook• Lynne Howard• Joseline Ndayisenga• Aimee Nutt• Sue Parkin

This half term the Pelicans have been exploring ‘Underground/Overground’. We enjoyed exploring all the sensory resources for our big books ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ and ‘This is the Bear’, making some lovely marks by printing, using leaves, pencils and chunky crayons.

In Science we have planted potatoes, sunflowers and beans. We have helped them to grow although they are not as tall as Jack’s Beanstalk! We dug for vegetables which grow underground including carrots, onions and potatoes. We enjoyed exploring how the Woods have changed since we last visited. We found our favourite trees and we enjoyed exploring flowers and leaves, feeling and smelling them.

In Cookery we have been helped to use tools to make and explore foods made from potatoes like hash browns, mash, baked potatoes, gnocchi, aloo and crisps. We showed which textures and smells we preferred and enjoyed getting very messy!

In Music the Pelicans have ‘Travelled the World’ listening to and joining in with travels overground and underground too. We have all been in a Yellow Submarine...... been off in a motor car.......flown high in the sky as rocket men and even had rides on an elephant and a donkey! Such well -travelled Pelicans!

In Maths we have explored the idea of full and empty, heaving big sacks of potatoes around and filling flat teddies to make them plump and fluffy again. Fascinating stuff! We also explored size such as tall and small, long and short by hanging items on a clothes line, finding out who is the tallest Pelican, exploring big and small teddies and building tall towers.

In Art we have created fantasy flowers, foliage collages and baskets of delicious fruits and vegetables. What wonderful imaginations the Pelicans have!

In Humanities we have explored ‘beaches’ using sand, ‘rivers’ using water and pebbles, ‘mountains’ by making a papier machémountain; we have travelled over different surfaces to feel the texture and hear the noise – all the Pelicans liked travelling over bubble wrap the best!

In P.E. we have enjoyed travelling ‘over’ and ‘under’ different equipment. We have been working hard to practise rolling and moving across the floor in new ways.

We have worked very hard this half term and have made lovely progress. Well done Pelicans!

GoldfinchesClass Team:• Ann Whitehead• Kim Meyers• Jill Lomax• Fateha Begum• Jo Winterburn• Lisa Bolger During ‘We’re Going on a Bear Hunt’ we explored many different

materials, textures and musical instruments to help us to experience the environments and sounds in the story. We made pictures of the green ‘swishy swashy’ grass and the ‘splishy sploshy’ river. We all enjoyed moving our hands in green paint and tearing green tissue paper into strips to make the wavy grass.

During Science we read ‘Jasper’s Beanstalk’ and planted our own beans. We grew some cress and planted carrot and beetroot seeds and began to learn what seeds and beans need to grow. We used watering cans.

In Geography we went to the Woods and looked at changes taking place in the plants and trees. We also looked for hidden bears linked to our ‘Bear Hunt’ story and found 10 hiding in the trees and bushes!

In Maths we matched numerals and made sets of flowers by planting plastic flowers in numbered pots. We sorted vegetables by putting all the carrots, potatoes, parsnips into separate baskets and made sets of 3 carrots, 2 potatoes etc. We explored capacity by filling and emptying containers with coloured water.

In our ‘Texture Kitchen’ we did lots of mark making with different vegetables e.g. painting with carrots, printing with broccoli, rolling potatoes in paint and then on paper. We enjoyed going to the Art Studio and learned different techniques to build up a final picture showing the sky, the ground and things that grow underground. We used paint, chose our own materials to make a collage carrot,painted fabric to make a beetroot and did some felt making.

In P.E. we explored obstacle courses and learnt to climb, walk along, move under and over equipment.

We did some simple cooking and chose our own ingredients to make a pizza face. We also made some naan bread and did well mixing the ingredients together – the dough was very sticky! We also made our own cookery mats by printing with paint and vegetables – broccoli, carrots, parsnip and potatoes.

In Music we worked on identifying and naming different instruments and using them appropriately to keep a steady beat and to play them slowly, quickly, quietly and loudly. We all did really well.

On Languages Day we learned about Bangladesh. We listened to music and played instruments in the Studio and dressed up in beautiful sari materials, clothing and bangles. We coloured the Bangladesh flag, made a tiger mask, a headdress of flowers and used rollers and bright paint to decorate a piece of material.

SwansClass Team:• Helen Godfrey• Nicola Hicklin• Madeleine Sargent• Pam Seers• Michelle Scanlon• Frances Hamnett

In English we have been reading ‘Growing Vegetable Soup’. During each session we have explored sensory props related to gardening and we have been doing lots of mark making with vegetables!

We have also travelled all the way across school to the Studio each week for Jabadao; during this session we have been working on our communication and interaction skills, leading an adult to imitate and copy our movements and showing enjoyment of being around others.

In PSHE we have continued our weekly PALS sessions with the Toucans’ class, working on the SEAL target together. Then each week we have come together as a class to share our progress towards the target and to choose somebody for the SEAL certificate! We all love using music and dance to celebrate our own and our friends’ achievements.

We planted our own sunflowers in Design & Technology! We started by exploring soil and seeds then cleaned and decorated our pots ready to plant. We can’t wait to see whose plant will grow the tallest.

In Science we have been exploring plants through a different herb each week! We have smelt, felt and investigated lavender, mint, chives, basil, rosemary and thyme! We have also been outside to the Woods to explore the trees that we can find and investigate how they have changed.

We have continued our Yoga sessions in the Mile Room in P.E. to help with flexibility and relaxing our muscles. We have also taken part in weekly Music and Movement sessions, practising some movements both independently and with some support.

In R.E. we have been in the MILE Room using music and lights to cue us in to the atmosphere for reflecting and wondering. We have listened to the Parable of the Mustard Seed and explored some sensory props.

In Computing, we continued to work on our switch skills and awareness of cause and effect using switch toys, the gas arm computer and the iPad. We also combined Computing with Science for a cross curricular session exploring light and sound through a variety of switch based equipment.

Have a great holiday!

OspreysClass Team:• Terri Unsworth• Nicola Cooke• Katie Harris• Maymunah Inam• Carole Gordon

The topic this half term has been ‘Underground/Overground’, and the Ospreys have loved investigating all it has offered to our learning experiences.

In Cookery, we learned all about potatoes – where they come from, how they are farmed, how we prepare them to be eaten, and the ways in which they can be cooked. Lots of valuable learning happened during these lessons, and the children really developed their understanding of food preparation, such as using different utensils, including a masher, and keeping safe in the kitchen, focusing on using serrated knives and peelers, as well as showing caution when food is hot.

In Science, we used great investigative skills when learning about flowers, plants and leaves. We compared and contrasted the appearance of leaves in the woods, including their size, colour, shape and texture. We used all of our senses to compare different herbs, such as tarragon and chives. We even helped the fairies in our woods to make some magic potion, made from flowers (which we described and compared as we found them). We also worked on recording our findings by drawing a picture of a flower which we had found, and dictating sentences to an adult which they wrote down for us. All of these activities, and more, helped us to develop lots of scientific skills.

Our Drama lessons centred on the theme of den building. In the drama room the children helped to make dens, as well as playing in ones which had been made by adults. They used fantastic imaginative play skills, by pretending to be camping out in the woods for example. Following our fairy-themed Science lesson in the woods, we then incorporated the theme of fairies into these sessions too!

The Ospreys have had a fantastic half term. The class team hope that you all have a restful break, with hopefully lots of sunny days to enjoy!

PenguinsClass Team:• Emma Hamnett• Georgina Quinn• Sam Parker• Michelle Seers• Thomas Winterburn• Shauntelle Dawkins

Wow! What a wonderful half term we have shared together, as the sun has begun to shine, each day has been filled with fun and challenges and some big steps of progress along our learning journey.

In our Literacy sessions we have been listening to and exploring the story ‘We’re Going on a Bear Hunt.’ We have been going on a sensory journey together to hunt for the bear; using small world figures from the story we travelled through the ‘swishy, swoshy’ grass, we splashed in water to create the river, and our favourite was using icing sugar to make our very own snowstorm – can you imagine the mess that we made? Then at the end of our story sessions we went on a bear hunt in the Woods, and there he was, ‘the bear’, hiding behind a tree – it was very exciting.

The Penguins have also been making weekly visits to the library to ‘read’ a book and we are beginning to recognise the characters Biff, Chip, Kipper and Floppy and enjoy the different stories and adventures.

The Penguins have been shopping in Numeracy – using our market stall we followed our shopping lists to count the matching number of objects into our baskets. In the Texture Kitchen we created a fruit and vegetable stall; we counted fruit and vegetables into our basket and then hid them in the soil for a friend to dig and hunt for and count onto our Numicon number line.

The Penguins have used the skills that they developed during the last half term and built upon them through our P.E. sessions; we have added new cheerleading moves and songs to our sequence and learnt new actions with our dance ribbons – we are becoming a fantastic cheerleading team.

Our Science topic ‘Plants’ continued this half term with a ‘herb of the week’ theme – we enjoyed exploring a herb each session using all of our senses to smell, feel and sometimes taste the herb. Our activities included having a relaxing lavender foot spa and making some scented mint play dough.

Well done Penguins – a super start to the Summer term!

Blue JaysClass Team:• Carrie Ball• Joanne Tierney• Sally Ann Hall• Adele Berry• Cate Helm• Rachel Williamson

This half term has been a winner! We have been reading the story of Jack and the Beanstalk and we have loved it! We acted out the story in the role of the giant and pretended to be Jack climbing the beanstalk. We made pictures of Jack climbing a beanstalk by twisting paper and putting lots of glue on to make it very hard and shiny! We were able to retell the story by making actions for different parts of the story! One of our favourite parts is when the giant shouts, ‘Fee, Fi, Fo, Fum’! This made us all giggle.

Art has been so much fun, we made our very own castle for the classroom display. We first used sponges to print cardboard to make it look like a wall. We then used leaves we collected from the Woods, painted them and took prints; we then added these to the Castle to make it look like a beanstalk.

In Maths, we used ‘Jack’s magic beans’ to practise our sorting skills; this was really good fun and some of us were really quick at it!

In Science we added to the seeds we planted last half term and learned about how to look after them to make them grow into plants. We did this using symbols and taking photographs of the plants and trees to watch how they changed over the half term. The flowers we planted have also grown and look very beautiful and colourful in our outdoor area.

We went to visit Smithills Farm this half term and that was a very busy day! We were lucky enough to be able to feed some of the baby chicks, lambs and goats. We got really excited when we went on a fast tractor ride as it was very bumpy and made us all giggle; some of us also went on a donkey ride too!

ParrotsClass Team:• Emma Dixon• Cath Hunter• Jack Hobson• Ayesha Hussain• Asma Begum This has been a fun packed half term for the Parrots!

In Geography we have been using our sense of touch to learn about the different surfaces in our school. We enjoyed feeling the cold lino and listening to the noise it made when we tapped against it and many of us enjoyed rubbing our hands and cheeks against the carpet which was an unusual sensation and something new! We then explored an outdoor sensory trail with our feet and we stepped on the artificial grass, the sand, rocks, water and mud; it was so messy but we all tried something new which was a great achievement. After exploring the sensory trail around school we enjoyed making our own which has been displayed in our classroom so we can look at it every day.

In Science we have been learning about vegetables and all the different things we can do with them. We created some lovely art work by using the vegetables to print with. In one lesson we looked at how tomatoes can be presented in many different ways- purée, sauce, on the vine etc. and enjoyed activities such as making mini cheese and tomato pizzas. When we learnt about broccoli we were also learning to role play; we used a ladle to scoop the soup from the pan to the little bowls then imitated feeding the baby doll. We were all so good at the activity and worked really hard to join in as much as we could until the broccoli soup accidentally spilt down Emma’s trousers! Thankfully she didn’t mind too much because we had worked so hard!

In R.E. we learnt about books which are special to us; the Bible and the Quran. After learning about people who are special in the holy books, Jesus and Muhammed we focussed on people and items who are important to us. We learnt how to take care of our special items, such as our toys. We learnt how to be a good friend by sharing, using kind hands and making the people who are special to us feel happy. Someone who is very special to us is our Teaching Assistant Jack who had his 21st birthday this half term so, as a special treat, we chose photographs of ourselves with Jack and used them to make a card which made him happy on his birthday.

We have just come back from our visit to Blackpool Zoo which was so much fun! We saw all the animals which we have been learning about and painting in our Art lessons; some of us learnt new name signs for the animals too. We were very excited to look at the lemurs which are not in an enclosure so they jumped up onto the fence to look at us! When we saw the tigers, some of us made “RAAAAAAR” noises. While we were there we even saw some parrots! We were very well behaved at the zoo -the adults were so proud of us and we all earned a certificate when we got back to school. More importantly, as a special treat; we were allowed to have an ice cream before we got back on the bus!

SkylarksClass Team:• Charlotte Williams• Catherine Hayes• Samantha Plant• Ann Stuart• Marie Sanderson• Emma Hobin

The Skylarks have enjoyed lots of different learning experiences this half term. As our topic was ‘Underground/Overground’, in Geography, we found out about lots of different types of insects and creatures that live over and under the ground. Our favourite insect was a spider. We all enjoyed searching for spiders outside and exploring some pretend ones in class! We created our own spiders in Art and used string dipped in paint to make spider webs for our display.

In Science, we have been learning to order the stages of planting a seed and have been trying to plant seeds independently, caring for them in the classroom by watering them regularly. We have been developing our planter in the Sensory Garden to try and grow colourful flowers and tasty herbs that we can explore and taste.

We have also been developing our gross and fine motor skills this half term through a range of different topics. We have been making changes to potatoes in Cooking and Nutrition through chopping and peeling, using tools outside to make marks with paint and water and also developing our movement in P.E. sessions by travelling over and under different pieces of apparatus.

What a busy and exciting half term we have had!

FlamingosClass Team:• Kimberley Pattillo• Nic Hamnett• Angella Mullington• Rayann Ball• Soraya Ali Habidi

We have had a great half term here in the Flamingos. The ‘Underground/Overground’ topic lent itself perfectly to learning all about ‘fruits and vegetables’ which we have done in abundance.

In English we have been reading ‘Growing Vegetable Soup’ and ‘Oliver’s Vegetables’. The children really enjoyed both of these stories, especially our Friday sessions where they got the chance to act out ‘Growing Vegetable Soup’. We had vegetables ‘growing’ in the sand tray that the children had to dig up, then chopping boards, knives (pretend) and a water tray for the class to make their soup. We also used a variety of vegetables during our mark making sessions, printing and making patterns as well as writing about our favourite fruits.

During our Cookery sessions the children got the opportunity to cook for real. We made lots of different ‘mash’; potato mash, sweet potato mash and even carrot mash. The children were able to practise their chopping skills and became very proficient at using a potato ricer. After extensive studies we can announce that ‘The Flamingos’ preferred good old potato mash with lots of butter!

As we looked very carefully at the uses of vegetables we thought it would be a fantastic idea to see how and where they grew. As the topic comes to an end we will be visiting ‘Claremont Farm’ on the Wirral to visit Farmer Andrew who will take us on a Welly Walk around the fields. We can’t wait.

In P.E. we have been looking at how we move ‘Overground’, using obstacle courses and our bikes. The boys have come on leaps and bounds in both areas and are gaining in confidence and skill in both areas.

Well done Flamingos!

PuffinsClass Team: • Sarah O’Brien• Diane Molden• Tracy Jackson• Karen Mason• Liam Hodkinson• Phil Seers

The Puffins have had a fantastic half term with lots of learning going on.

In English, we have been learning all about the story of ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’; we were able to retell the story and predict what was going to happen and we even demonstrated our fantastic acting skills when we acted it out!

We have been learning about measuring height in our Maths lessons and we have been ordering lots of different pictures by size; we have also really enjoyed using our number skills to complete colour by number pictures of mini beasts.

In Science, we have been learning all about mini beasts, and we have been able to name them and sort them. Our favourite lesson was when Sarah brought in some snails from her garden; we were fascinated as we watched them move all over the table.

In Art and DT, we have been looking at the work of Andy Goldsworthy, and using outdoor materials to create mini beast pictures, adding something new to our pictures to build them up each week, creating a beautifully finished product at the end.

We have been looking at maps in Geography and finding our roads on Google Maps. Through our R.E. work, we have been looking at the story of the ‘Good Samaritan’ and exploring who was kind or unkind in the story, and how we can be kind to our friends.

In our Cookery sessions we have created lots of delicious foods using potatoes; we followed the recipe carefully and used a range of equipment carefully and safely to create the foods.

We hope you have a lovely holiday.

DucksClass Team:• Emma Hamnett• Deborah Riley• Alison Mottershead• Nicola Meyers

The Ducks have had yet another busy half term with lots of creative and fun learning for our topic ‘Underground/Overground’.

Each week for our Geography lesson we have enjoyed a walk to our local park, Foxdenton Park, to explore the sensory garden, smelling the different types of herbs and grass. We also looked at the different plants and trees that grow overground.

Science has focussed on the fruits and vegetables which grow under and overground. We planted some beans and potatoes in big planters out in the Woods to take care of.

In English we read ‘The Enormous Turnip’; we used a rope to act out the characters pulling up the big turnip. This was so much fun and we all enjoyed joining in together. We created some lovely writing pieces about our big book characters for our classroom display.

Lots of outdoor learning has taken place in Maths. We have been looking at shapes and trying to match circles, squares, triangles and rectangles on the learning wall in the Moomalade Playground.

During Cookery we explored a variety of fruits and vegetables, cutting them and chopping them to taste, smell and create some lovely food such as fruit kebabs, mashed potatoes and salad sandwiches. This enabled us to use a wide variety of utensils and culinary skills.

We have enjoyed joining the Penguins’ class this half term for our P.E. sessions and our weekly Bocciacompetition. The Ducks are very competitive and triumphed with a few wins!

In Art we have worked on an outdoor collage using different materials and techniques to create our view of what grows overground such as trees and plants. We then put vegetables underground in our soil patch.

We are looking forward to the last half of the term in the Ducks and hope you have a lovely break.

Languages DayHelen Godfrey

This half term we have continued to explore the continent of Asia during our Languages day. We all took part in a very special celebration for Bengali New Year. Some of us came to school dressed in our traditional party clothes and showed off all the beautiful colours and sparkles. Some of us had the amazing opportunity to celebrate with Fateha in the Studio experiencing music and film from Bangladesh, trying on bangles and watching ourselves dance in the mirrors. Some other classes took part in a drumming workshop and we all had the opportunity to listen to the Ospreys’ class drumming during a special Assembly at the end of the day, we even heard the school prayer in Bengali. Across school there were lots of celebrations taking place in class including making art, making chapattis and exploring music and dance.

শুভ নববর্ষ

Family Support Liaison OfficerLynne Rogers

Ability Voices

This year has seen the introduction of Personalised Planning Meetings which have replaced the Annual Reviews. As they come to an end I would like to thank all the families I have had the pleasure of meeting; our meetings have been a great success, and we will continue to work holistically with all care givers.

These meetings have been a great opportunity for school to really understand what matters to you and your family and how we can continue to best meet the needs of your child.

I am eager to act on suggestions and comments made through the Personalised Planning Meetings and would like to plan some future parent workshops in areas that you feel you need some support with. I would like to hear your thoughts and any further suggestions you may have for future workshops so that we can begin to plan for these over the next school year. Please feel free to pop in and see me to discuss this further.

I look forward to seeing you.

May I take this opportunity to wish you a restful holiday.

Staff UpdateWe wish Sarah O'Brien well as she leaves us to take up a post in a special school nearer to her home. Sarah has worked as a teacher at Kingfisher for a number of years and we thank her for her commitment and hard work for the children of Kingfisher.

Play TherapySally Thornley

4 St.Chad's Street, Manchester, M88QA

The Sensurround Experience...

What is Sensurround?

A safe multi-sensory space offering a private environment where senses can be developed and explored for both adults and children with special needs. These unique rooms have a range of bespoke equipment

creating both a calming and interactive atmosphere, where colours flash through the fibre-optic strands along the floor; streams of blue and green simultaneously twinkle through the bubble tubes and the disco ball sparkles. Our users can enjoy lying on the water beds dreaming away to the sounds of classical music or playing in the mirrors creating their very own personal party space with pop music in the background.

Benefits of multi-sensory environmentsAll children and adults with disabilities can benefit from using a sensory room. These environments have

proven to be extremely valuable to those with disabilities, some evidence suggests that challenging behaviours may even reduce over a long term period.

Prices and BookingThe multi-sensory rooms can be booked in 1 hour slots. The slots can be reserved permanently if you wish

to attend on a weekly or monthly basis. Each session costs £10 per service user; support workers and parents are free of charge.

If you want to book a sensory session or find out about availability please ring 0161 214 5959.

http://www.redbankhouse.com/multi-sensory-rooms

Kingfisher LotteryThe Kingfisher Lottery is run by Team Kingfisher to raise funds for the school. Each member of the Kingfisher Lottery is allocated a number which is put into a draw at the end of each month. The winner will receive 50% of the total money subscribed for that month. The remaining 50% will be donated to Team Kingfisher. If you wish to join, please request a form from the school office.

Remember, you have to be in it to win it!

Oct-15 £26 62 Mr M CowsillNov-15 £26 15 Anne TomlinsonDec-15 £62 47 Sheila CromptonJan-16 £26 52 John CravenFeb-16 £35 1 Mr CowsillMar-16 £37 73 Mr CowsillApr-16 £37 18 Eleri Roberts

The school opens the Hydrotherapy Pool to our families twice a month on a Saturday morning between 9am and 12pm.

Should you wish to use the pool, it will be open on the following dates, during the next half term:

11th June 2016Please contact Tony Whipp on 07812 971451 should you need more information.

Hydrotherapy Pool

Would you like to celebrate a special event? Come and see our fantastic facilities!

We can provide a safe and secure environment to ensure that your children have a great time.

Please contact Sally Thornley, for further details and prices.

It’s Party Time!

Companion Dog SchemeCath Croke & Benji

At Kingfisher we believe that the relationships formed between animals and humans have a positive impact on our children’s social and emotional wellbeing. Our therapy dog Benji, can even help teach some children how to read his feelings and learn how to look after him.

Forever AngelsCath Croke

Further to my previous article about your kind donations to the Forever Angels charity, I wanted to share the thank you I received recently.

Hi there

I just wanted to email to thank you again for the special needs equipment which you donated for our children in Tanzania.

They were shipped on a container in January and they arrived at Forever Angels Orphanage in Tanzania last week.

Please see the attached photos and thank you so much for your kind support,

Best wishes

Amy Hathaway and all at Forever Angels Baby Home

Outdoor LearningNic Found

Why is it important to learn outdoors?

At Kingfisher we understand the importance of children learning outdoors. For everyone, it’s in the outdoors that we experience nature and weather conditions, in their natural state.

All the children explore learning outside the classroom. We dress the children appropriately for the interaction they will be experiencing for example, if we are exploring mud in the Texture Kitchen we will dress the children in waterproofs and wellies and do our best to clean them and their kit afterwards.

Sometimes children may get messy and dirty, because they are having such a wonderful time learning. Through outdoor learning children receive a range of experiences:

Creative expression and invention (mud and ‘mess’ can become anything!)

Problem solving opportunities (e.g. how to make soup thin or thick, how to make mud meatballs stick together)

Cooperative play possibilities (e.g. let’s cook dinner, let’s have a restaurant, let’s feed the baby)

Stress reduction (being outdoors in nature helps children relax)

Building stronger immune systems (research indicates that some exposure to dirt helps build resistance to bad bacteria)

Growing affection for the stuff on our earth — soil, stones, sand, and growing plants (leading to care for our planet)

Remember there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing!

the Kingfisher Community Special School, Foxdenton Lane, Chadderton, Oldham, OL9 9QR Tel: 0161 770 5910

e-mail: [email protected] Website: www.kingfisher.oldham.sch.uk

Diary Dates

Spring Term 2016Friday 27th May Break up for half termMonday 6th June School opens for second half of Summer termWednesday 29th June Governors – Educational ExcellenceWednesday 6th July Parents’ EveningWednesday 6th July Governors – Leadership & ManagementFriday 15th July Leavers’ AssemblyMonday 18th July Break up for Summer holidayTuesday 19th to Monday 25th July Summer School

Autumn Term 2016Monday 5th September Staff Inset Day (closed to children)Tuesday 6th September Staff Inset Day (closed to children)Wednesday 7th September Autumn term beginsFriday 21st October Break up for half termMonday 31st October School opens for second half of Autumn termMonday 19th December Break up for Christmas holiday

Spring Term 2017Tuesday 3rd January Spring term beginsFriday 10th February Break up for half termMonday 20th February School opens for second half of Spring termFriday 31st March Break up for Easter holiday

Summer Term 2017Tuesday 18th April Summer term beginsMonday 1st May Bank Holiday “May Day”Tuesday 2nd May Inset Day for Staff (closed to children)Friday 26th May Break up for half termMonday 5th June School opens for second half of Summer termFriday 21st July Break up for Summer holiday