Mental Health Week - ‘Come As Yourself’ - Form 4
Dear Parents,
This week, our whole school Maldon Court community has placed a strong emphasis on mental health and wellbeing as we have marked and celebrated Mental Health Week. Throughout the week, children took taking part in a fantastic range of age-appropriate activities designed to encourage conversations about emotions and the importance of looking after our mental health, just as we do for our physical health and wellbeing in PE.
A highlight of the week was our “Come as Yourself Day” on Monday which aimed to celebrate individuality and reminds children that it is good to be themselves. On Monday, in assembly, children had the opportunity to say why they chose to wear what they did and then got to pick the next person to talk to the whole school about their outfit. Following on from this, the children completed a school Belonging Tree which will be displayed in our library, an Expressive Art Exhibition and a “Whole School Meet Up” where children had the chance to chat to other children in various year groups that they may not normally talk to. It has been a very successful week. More information further on in the newsletter.
As always, we welcomed Open the Book into school today which is linked to Maldon Churches Together. Their assembly each week gives the children a calm and reflective start to the day and provides them with time to listen and think whilst engaging in drama and storytelling. This linked beautifully today with our mental health focus.
Looking ahead to next week, we will be participating in Safer Internet Day and reinforcing important messages about staying safe online and using technology responsibly. This is something that is so important in this day and age and we will do all we can to emphasise being safe on the internet to our children. We also wish our children competing in the ISA Cross Country event at Littlegarth every success as they represent the school next Friday.
Congratulations to Arlo who won the Headteacher’s award this week for his excellent perseverance in problem solving.
Mrs Mason
Headteacher
Happy Birthday to Remy, Luna and Finn
~~~
Happy Birthday to Remy, Luna and Finn ~~~
Stars of the Week
mental health week
This week, we have all come together to celebrate Mental Health Week, focusing on wellbeing, self-expression and the importance of belonging and our place in the world. Through a range of activities decided by the children in our School Council committee, we have spent the week reflecting on who we are, where we belong and how we can support one another.
The week started off with ‘Come As Yourself Day’, a celebration of individuality and self-expression. Another highlight of the week was our whole-school meet-up, where everybody gathered together in the school hall. We split ourselves into our houses and were then tasked with finding somebody within our house that we do not know or see much around the school. We spent our time sharing information about each other, asking how they are feeling and learnt the importance of laughter for our bodies. Everybody left the meet up with a big smile on their face and a great start to their day.
The week concluded with an art exhibition, held by the children themselves, showcasing their artwork which was inspired by emotions and their safe place. The creativity on display was fantastic and we are very proud of all the children.
Mental Health Week reminded us that wellbeing isn’t just one week, it’s something we can do every day through kindness and looking after each other. Thank you to everyone who helped make the week meaningful and memorable for our children at Maldon Court.
Miss Vaughan
Nursery
This week, Nursery have been enjoying our topic Transport Around the World. The children were very interested in exploring different modes of transport used in different countries. We talked about travelling by camel in Egypt, boats in Venice, Italy, buses and trains in England, and even rickshaws and tuk-tuks in other parts of the world.
In our tuff trays, the children enjoyed learning about the Eurotunnel and discussing how trains travel through a tunnel underneath the water. This sparked lots of curiosity and great conversations!
In the role-play area, the children visited Italy, where they ran their own Italian restaurant serving pizza, spaghetti and ice cream. They also practised their pencil control by following lines from different modes of transport to the correct country, supporting both their learning and fine motor skills.
Mrs Callaghan
NURSERY - Welcome
We are delighted to welcome Mrs Emily Todd-Nield to Maldon Court, who will be joining our Nursery team after the February half term. Mrs Todd-Nield brings a wealth of experience working with young children, is Level 3 qualified and will bring lots of creativity, enthusiasm and warmth to our team.
We are very much looking forward to working alongside her and know that she will be a wonderful addition to the Nursery, supporting the children’s learning, development and enjoyment each day.
Mrs Callaghan
Nursery - mental health week
This week, Nursery took part in Mental Health Week with lots of positive and thoughtful activities. On Monday, the children came dressed in their favourite clothes for “Come As Yourself Day” and enjoyed talking about their feelings and creating pictures showing what makes them happy.
Throughout the week, we worked together on a large display where each child shared something special that brings them joy, helping to celebrate their individuality. Alongside this, we revisited our achievement leaves and reflected on all the wonderful things the children have accomplished this year, leading to many uplifting and encouraging conversations.
Mrs Callaghan
PRE-Reception
Over the last two weeks Pre-Reception have been learning about ‘Our Bodies’. We have engaged in many fun filled activities such as body part labelling, life size body tracing and learning about what makes up our skeleton- bones and organs.
We have also been learning about some of the organs that keep our body working, we looked at the heart, what it does and why it is important. The children completed an activity on this - sticking a heart in the correct place in the body and drawing red lines to ‘pump’ blood around the body.
Mrs Kennedy and Miss Hansell
Form 1
This week in Form 1 we have all become authors! The children are so proud of their books so far, as am I! Following from our Jack and the Beanstalk writing unit, the children in Form 1 have all been tasked to change the story to their own events. When they climb the beanstalk you would never guess what is at the top! The children all come up with such creative ideas such as disco land, safari land, arcade land to name but a few. I am looking forward to the children sharing their stories with you once they are finished. Well done Form 1.
Miss Vaughan
Form 3
As part of our rainforest topic, Form 3 will be creating a rainforest shoebox habitat. The children were very excited to get started on Wednesday afternoon, using various colours to create the rainforest background inside their boxes. They used sponges, rather than paintbrushes, to create a textured effect and blended together green, white, black and blue to add depth. The next stage will be creating trees, animals, plants and vines to add into our habitats.
Miss Oxford
Form 5
Form 5 have had a very reflective week during Mental Health Week and thoroughly enjoyed creating their own unique ‘Personality Islands’. They celebrated their individuality while also recognising and applauding one another’s strengths. It was wonderful to see the children use their creativity so thoughtfully, alongside the kind and encouraging way they supported each other throughout the week. They look forward to showcasing their work to the school on Friday.
Mrs Dickinson
PE
This week we have been using the terrible weather to our advantage by concentrating on gymnastics, dance and swimming during our curriculum and after school PE sessions. The sun did make a brief appearance on Wednesday so Forms 5/6 spent some time polishing up their hockey skills, please take a look at one of our drills.
Mr Coyle
MONDAY
Penne pasta carbonara with ham, a garlic slice and crispy salad
Flapjack or fruit
TUESDAY
Roast chicken breast served with Yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes,
broccoli and sweetcorn medley
Fruit jelly pots or fruit
WEDNESDAY
Crispy fish bites served with herbed potato squares, carrots and peas
Apricot crumble with custard or fruit
THURSDAY- chinese new year
Sweet and sour chicken served with braised rice, sweetcorn and prawn crackers
Pineapple upside down sponge with cream or fruit
FRIDAY
End of term treat - All day breakfast, Wicks Manor bacon, chipolata sausages,
hash brown and baked beans
Miss Crockett’s special rocky road or fruit
Sports Timetable
dates for your diary
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Safer Internet Day
Form 3 Cake Sale
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KS2 ISA Cross Country - Littlegarth
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Half Term
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Form 5 - 11+ Mock Examination
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Forms 3 Class Assembly
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Form 6 National Offer Day
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Form 2 school trip to Danbury Country Park
Fellowship Afloat Parent Meeting
Form 2 Cake Sale