On Thursday 24th May 2019, Year 6 children travelled to Ypres, in Belgium to lay a wreath at the Menin Gate for all the unknown soldiers that sacrificed their lives for our freedom.
Ruqqayah, Jobelle and Kelvin showed incredible respect and reverence as they were chosen to lay the wreath. They were the youngest there and showed amazing maturity.
This incredible and moving event ended a day’s long travel to the trenches and the Tyne Cot Cemetery where there lay dead the bones of thousands of soldiers.
This enriched the children’s understanding of the sacrifice people made in order to give all people the opportunities that they have today.
Children in Year 5 donned cagoules, wading boots and long walking sticks to clamber through a river. Deptford Creek or ‘Deep Ford’ was named after its tidal Creek. As the tide falls each day it exposes almost a kilometre of riverbed. As you can see, the children loved wading across it.
As part of developing the children’s skills of geographical enquiry, Year 5 found out about the many stories the river bed can tell. The Creek has a long history of fishing, ship building and dockyards. Trades and industries from chemical works to tidal mills and slaughterhouses have all used its banks. There is still evidence on these river beds and Year 5 were keen to discover.
“It was amazing, “said Nasim “We were able to see many live animals such as leeches, shrimps , flounders and we even found a crab’s exoskeleton .”
“The water level was high but we were able to see things beneath the water. There was even a pair of old trousers.” Brian stated “But it was able to teach us about how we need to keep our rivers clean. We have come a long way since the Victorians used to throw horseshoes and old meat carcasses in to the river. I will definitely be recycling all my waste.”
Matt Brown is the award-winning children's author of the Compton Valance books. His new series includes Aliens Invaded My Talent Show, Mutant Zombies and The Killer Vending machine .Last week, Year 5 pupils had the amazing opportunity to meet up with him and ask a few questions.
Matt Brown talked about how he became an author and shared his ideas about how to write comic adventure stories. Yusuf, a pupil from 5T9, explained Matt Brown’s inspirational way he goes about writing a book. Wherever he goes, he finds something peculiar that catches his eye to put it together at a later time to make a thrilling story. The way he names characters in his book is pretty nifty. You think of a name of your pet and the road that you live on and put them together, for example Yusuf's character would be Roger Holbrook.
Yusuf went on to explain how he was chosen by the author himself to assist him with a maths' trick- which flummoxed the audience. Another incredible trick he did was with cards that left the audience breathless. Not only did the children run home to try out his tricks, they were also inspired to write stories. Matt has a new book coming out in 6 weeks called Killer Vending Machines wrecked my Lunch.
Yusuf will be the first in the queue when the book comes out.
This week we enjoyed a visit from our sister-school, Ciep Las Salinas. Arriving on Tuesday, they were greeted by a festoon of British and Spanish flags in our whole school assembly demonstrating our long-term friendship. Spanish, as chosen by the Ranelagh parents, is the Foreign Language we study form Nursery to Year 6. Year 1 children sang Spanish songs and our visitors were amazed. The Spanish children teamed up with buddies from Ranelagh and they took them on a visit to the Olympic Park and for a cruise down the River Thames. The visitors ventured to our local street with the finest restaurants- Green Street, organised by Mrs Aisha Sheikh.
“It is such an important time in our calendar,” said Jose, Head of the Bi-lingual department, “it is extremely important that we continue this wonderful partnership.”
School Council organised their annual Easter Egg Hunt this week. 15 eggs were hidden around the school and Ranelagh children with their parents hunted them down. Each of the eggs had a secret code and these had to be written down and then handed into the School Council post box.
Nine super cyclists braved the wind and rain on Monday to cycle to East Ham along the famous Greenway. Ranelagh's after-school bike club has been running over the last term. Initially, they practised their cycling skills in our playground and then ventured onto the Greenway. The Greenway ,which is on our doorstep, is built above the famous London sewage system designed by Joseph Bazalgette in the 19th Century. Cycling is an amazing way to explore our local area and its amazing historical past.
Once again, Ranelagh has retained its flagship status due to its 'extraordinarily high level of inclusivity'. This accolade was awarded by IQM, a body which recognises schools who demonstrate outstanding inclusion , promoting equal opportunities for all pupils, whatever their age, gender, ethnicity, attainment and background.
The assessor mentioned Ranelagh's enriched curriculum which ' not only includes the minimum expectations laid down in government documents but also a broad range of additional interventions, resources and opportunities designed to ensure that every child has what they need in order to reach their full potential.' Encompassing Ranelagh's vision, "To be the best that they can be."
However, this cannot be achieved without the hard work and determination of all staff at Ranelagh. The staff ‘really gets to know the children as individuals. They celebrate the positives and work hard to help children overcome challenges.'
The assessor went on to say that there is an overwhelming sense that children and staff have mutual respect for each other which is needed to move a school forward. The whole school speaks 'with one inclusive voice.'
Ranelagh Primary School has won the TTLT Spring Term sport competitions. Key Stage 1 pupils somersaulted us into first place with their amazing Gymnastics routines. Over the last term, Ranelagh has topped each of the competitions involving 11 schools across Newham. This is an amazing achievement and a credit to Ranelagh's coaches- Mr Mason and Mr Riches . Thanks to all of the children and staff involved in making Ranelagh victorious this Spring Term. For a full update see the @SportTapscott newsletter.
The Tapscott Learning Trust's 1st Annual Report for 2017/18
Published 15/03/19
The Tapscott Learning Trust’s 1st Annual Report for 2017/18 to Parents/Stakeholders has now been published. Please click here to view our e-version or follow this link: https://publications.e4education.co.uk/Tapscott_Learning_Tru
On 6th March 2019, Ranelagh's School Council attended WE Day UK 2019 . WE Day is a celebration of young people making a difference in their local and global communities. Due to our commitment to raising money for global charities, we were l
In an increasingly competitive world of work, gaining a broad range of life skills and experience is more vital for young people than ever.
Children, staff and the Local Community at Ranelagh Primary school celebrated the official opening of the Junior Volunteer Police Cadet Unit which has been running at Ranelagh since September 2018. The cadet unit offers boys and girls from years 5 and 6 a wide range of skills in policing. These have included learning the drill (marching), discussing police topics such as stop and search and discussing ways to self-regulate. Through weekly meetings at the school, children take part in team building exercises to develop the spirit of collaboration and good citizenship.
Distinguished Guests with Ranelagh Cadets
The official launch of Ranelagh Junior police cadets was on Wednesday 27th February 2019. It was held in front of many honourable guests -Deputy Lieutenant for Newham; the Deputy Mayor; distinguished councillors; Detective Superintendent and the Chair of the Trustees for TTLT, Mr Andi Smith. The event began with official speeches by Shella Lawrenson, the Headteacher of Ranelagh, who talked about the success of the unit and how the unit encourage the values held at the heart of Ranelagh- resilience and responsibility .
Distinguished guests Andrew Packer, Detective Superintendent Newham Police and John Barber, Deputy Lieutenant for Newham praised the programme and its aim to inspire young people to participate positively in their communities.
Chair of trustees for The Tapscott Learning Trust, Andi Smith and Paul Harris CEO of TTLT spoke of the programme promoting a practical understanding of policing that gives children life-long skills.
Local councillors, police officers, school PTA members, parents and Ranelagh staff were also present to witness an official Oath Taking Ceremony and Cadet Drill, which was inspected by the visitors.
Mrs Lawrenson and the Deputy Lieutenant of Newham inspect the troops
Community and Clubs lead, Aisha Sheikh, spoke of the successes of the Unit and how children had shown `commitment and resilience’ in their weekly sessions.
Recently, Ranelagh cadets had a team building exercise at Plaistow police station where they had a tour of the station and took part in activities linked to police powers and dealing with confrontation. They also took police officer safety training and judo training with John Harding (MBE). Children spoke of their exciting day at the station which included being locked in the cells!!
The police cadets have been on a trip to Flip Out for team-building and have many more activities planned such as camping and Cinema trips.
New entrance gates, lamp-posts knocked down and the pavement lowered - at last the new build begins.
Over the last few years, Ranelagh has been in the process of major renovations and you have been so patient whilst the rejuvenation takes place.
From these photos, you can see how Ranelagh has drastically improved.
In the last 3 years, lots has been achieved-the outside of the building had an uplift . The playgrounds have been brought back to life with new parks and relaxation areas . All of the classrooms were decorated from dull green to vibrant blue. Canopies have ensured the outdoor area over reception is inspiring. We now have canopies in KS1 and nursery playgrounds .
Starting form 12th March the new extension will be starting. By Summer 2020, Ranelagh will have a brand new nursery and brand new admin offices. As we are becoming a first choice school , the build will ensure that Ranelagh can grow into a 3-form entry.
These are the plans for our new extension
We are all very excited - we will be keeping you updated with all the latest building news.
