This week at Letchmore Infants' & Nursery School-

• Harvest Festival

  Thu 07 Oct 2021

  The children have been learning about Harvest Festival.

   

  This year we are supporting  ‘Feed up, Warm up’ charity in Stevenage by food donations donations for their food bank.  We would like to thank all the parents and students who kindly brought in donations for this worthy cause.  It will make such a difference to the lives of local people who may be struggling to feed their families for whatever reason.

   

  If you would like to know more about Feed Up, Warm Up you can view more on their Facebook page.

  

• World Mental Health Day 2021

  Wed 06 Oct 2021

  Sunday 10th October is World Mental Health Day.  Below is some information you might find useful to help you understand what mental health is and how we can look after ourselves.

   

  What is Mental Health?

  Mental health is about how you feel, think and sometimes behave. Lots of children have mental health problems and it means they can feel sad, angry or anxious.

  Can you Think of any Mental Health Problems?

  These are some of the ways that you can feel if you have a mental
  health problem. 

  • Sad
  • Anxious
  • Angry

   

  How can we look after our mental health?

  To look after our mental health we can:

  •be physically active;

  •eat a balanced diet;

  •drink plenty of water;

  •get enough sleep;

  •talk about our feelings with someone we trust;

  •ask for help when something is troubling us; make sure we have time each day to be calm and quiet

   

  •spend time doing something we love;

  •spend time outside;

  •be creative;

  •spend time with people who make us smile;

  •help and be kind to others;

  •remember we are valuable and worthy just the way we are;

  •limit our time watching TV, on social media, the Internet and electronic devices.

   

  People Who Can Help

  • Family
  • Teacher
  • Friends
  • Doctor

   

  

• Be Bright, Be Seen

  Tue 05 Oct 2021

  Whilst we want our children to get out and about more and have active healthy lifestyles, we also want them to be seen by drivers, especially at night or in poor light conditions.

   

  Why are we encouraging children to be bright? The onus should always be on drivers to pay attention to the road. However if children understand how and when to be bright they will be able to be more easily seen by drivers when out and about.

   

  Shine bright like a diamond. Some children love to be bright and some may not be so keen.  Here are some ideas to help you encourage children to be bright.

  On the Catwalk

  • Being seen doesn’t have to mean wearing a yellow jacket; other fluorescent colours are available such as green, pink, red and orange. Bags and hats can also be ‘high vis’.

  Bling Your Bike

  • It’s great exercise for children to be out on bikes. When teaching them about helmet safety remember to teach them to be bright too.

  • Let them bling their bikes with stick on reflectors and fluorescent spoke reflectors for day and night visibility. Particularly good for side visibility at junctions.

  Think Small…Build up Big

  • Start with funky small high vis accessories such as our reflective zip clips to clothing; these clips are really appealing and collectable for children.

  • The more they add, the brighter they will be.

  • For the best visibility it’s a good idea to supplement small high vis items with larger ones such as high vis bags.

  ‘Oh no, it’s Safety’

  • If children don’t want to wear high vis ‘because it’s safety’, get them kitted out with duel purpose items, eg a practical, funky high vis bag or bright, cosy fleece beanie hat… so they have other reasons to use it.

  • Give them a choice of items and get them kitted out with something they like; if they like it they will wear it.

  

• Black History Month

  Tue 05 Oct 2021

  Black History Month is celebrated each year in October. It is a chance to celebrate the achievements of Black people in the past and present. It is celebrated in schools, museums, universities and lots of other places. People learn about important Black people and the impact they have had on society.

   

  Black people have been an important part of society for a long time. Even though many Black people have achieved important things, they weren’t often mentioned in history books, television shows about the past or even in school history lessons.

   

  This meant that lots of people didn’t know about all the amazing things that they had done. We have Black History Month so that people can learn about the important achievements of those people and help people to remember them.

   

  Racism- Black people have not always been treated fairly just because of the colour of their skin. When someone is treated badly because of their skin colour, it is called racism.

   

  Examples of racism in the past include:

  •In the USA, Black people used to have to sit at the back of buses and give up their seats if a White person wanted their seat;

  •In South Africa, Black people could only live in certain places, often without electricity or running water;

  •In the UK, some people wouldn’t rent houses or rooms to Black people.

   

  How did Black History Month start?

  In 1875, Carter G Woodson was born in the USA. Because he was Black, Carter didn’t have many opportunities to have an education or a well-paid job. However, he eventually managed to go to one of the top universities in the USA.

   

  He noticed that there was almost no mention of Black people in history books and wanted to change this. In 1926, he announced the first ever Black History Month. Carter became known as the ‘Father of Black History’.

   

  Talk about It-

  Why do you think Black History Month is important?

  How could you celebrate Black History month?

   

  Over the coming weeks will be celebrating the lives and stories of significant black people......

  

• World Space Week 2021

  Mon 04 Oct 2021

  World Space Week 2021 celebrates “Women in Space”!

   

  Space week is a celebration of space science and technology that will improve conditions for humans on Earth.

   

  It always starts on the 4th October because this marks the date of the launch of Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite around Earth.

   

  On 16th June 1963,  26-year-old Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space.

   

  On the morning of 16th June 1963, Valentina dressed in a spacesuit and headed to the launchpad. Her code name was ‘Seagull’.

   

  After her successful launch, she sent a message to Earth, saying:

   

  It is I, Seagull! Everything is fine.
  I see the horizon; it's a sky blue with a dark strip.
  How beautiful the Earth is ... everything is going well.

  Valentina spent almost three days alone in space. She is, to this day,
  the only woman to have ever been on a solo space mission.
  
  She was later named a ‘Hero of the Soviet Union’ and retired from a successful Air Force career as Major General in 1997.

   

  It was almost exactly twenty years later before the USA sent a woman into space; Sally Ride launched into space on 18th June 1983 in the space shuttle, Challenger.

   

  Other Famous Women in Space

   

  Helen Sharman, born 1963

  First British person to go into space.

   

  Dr Katie Bouman, born 1989

  At 29 years old, she made history in working out how to take a photo of a black hole. This had been impossible up until 2019 because black holes have a strong pull of gravity – so strong that light can’t even escape!

   

  Katherine Coleman Goble, 1918-2020

   

  Her research on flight data and her calculations and equations controlled spacecraft from lift-off to splashdown during the 1960s.

   

  Stephanie Wilson, born 1966

  Stephanie has a degree in engineering and a Master’s in Aerospace Engineering. She is a branch chief for crew mission support, having been on three missions on a space shuttle.

   

  Shannon Walker, born 1965

  Shannon has a degree in physics and a PhD in space physics. She investigates ways of making vitamins and nutrients to make the crew’s diet in space healthier.

   

   

   

   

  

• National Poetry Day- 7 October 2021

  Mon 04 Oct 2021

  Thursday 7 October 2021 is National Poetry Day!

   

  This year, the theme of National poetry day is Choice.

   

  What do you think choice means?

  Choice means to chose between two or more possibilities.

   

  Here is an example of a poem about Choice-

  Trolley Man by Julian Stannard

  When someone asks, Could I have
  a sandwich with some cheese in it?
  I will say No sandwiches today!

  And if anyone should ask for coffee
  I will say, Hot water not working.
  Shocking, isn’t it?

  I will wheel my trolley from one end
  of the train to the other, smiling
  magnificently at everyone.

  And when a lady asks,
  I don’t suppose you’ve got
  a piece of shortbread
  some lovely, lovely shortbread?

  I will say, No my dear
  all the lovely shortbread has gone.

  Why don't you have a go at writing your own poem about the choices you make everyday and share it with us at admin@letchmore.herts.sch.uk and we can share this on the website!

• World Dyslexia Awareness Week

  Mon 04 Oct 2021

  This week is World Dyslexia Awareness Week.  This year the British Dyslexia Association are focusing on Invisible Dyslexia.  This is because dyslexia itself isn't visible, individuals with dyslexia often feel unsupported, unseen,  invisible.

   

  Do you know what dyslexia is or how to spot it?

   

  What is Dyslexia?

   

  Dyslexia  is a specific learning difficulty that alters the way the brain processes the written word and is characterised by difficulties in recognising, spelling and decoding words.  As such, children with dyslexia also have problems with reading comprehension.

   

  Dyslexia is not linked to intelligence, but it is a genetic condition that is neurological and cannot be cured. It's estimated that between 10 and 20 per cent of people in the UK have some degree of dyslexia.

   

  Dyslexia affects people from all ethnic backgrounds, although a person's first language can play an important role.  A language where there is a clear connection between how a word is written and how it sound, and consistent grammatical rules, such as Italian and Spanish, can be easier for a person with mild to moderate dyslexia.  English is undoubtedly more difficult to learn owing to the irregularities in spelling structures and pronunciation.

   

  Dyslexia isn't just delayed reading development; it can impact on academic progress more widely.  Dyslexia can cause a delay in, or lack of advancement of:

  • development of language (frequent mispronunciation of words);
  • development milestones (crawling and walking later than peers);
  • hand-eye coordination;
  • concentration span;
  • ability to sequence and order things (including sense of direction).

   

  If you require any further information you can go to the British Dyslexia Association website: www.bdadyslexia.org.uk