It has been another busy week at Cypress and everyone has been working hard and making good progress in their learning.
At the Lower School this week, we have been focusing on being respectful. In assembly, we learnt that showing respect is like having a piggy bank full of gold coins. When you show respect to others, you add coins to your bank. If you are disrespectful, it is like spending your coins and you have less in your bank. This week, we have been focusing on filling and keeping our piggy banks full by consistently showing respect.
At the Upper School, we’ve been exploring in assembly just how important good manners truly are. We know they go far beyond simply saying “please” and “thank you”—it’s about showing respect, thoughtfulness, and genuine care for those around us. We’ve come to understand that the way we behave affects how others perceive us and, more importantly, how they respond to us. Good manners help to build a warm, respectful atmosphere where everyone feels valued. We agreed that when we treat one another with kindness and consideration, we help our school community remain not only well-mannered but also happy and united.
Phonics Screening Check
Well done to all the children in Year 1 and Year 2 who have completed their Phonics Screening Check this week. You have worked so hard and shown real resilience even if it got a bit tricky. We are all so proud of you!
Reception Zoolab Visit
To support their learning this half term, Reception had a very exciting visit from Zoolab on Wednesday. The children really enjoyed having the chance to learn about new animals and had the opportunity to see animals including snakes, cockroaches, millipedes and tarantulas. Reception have produced some fantastic writing showcasing their learning this week.
Cypress Superstars
This week has been very busy with lots of visitors coming to the Lower School Office share their brilliant work. Well done to Austin in Orange Class who completed some excellent caterpillar maths work. He noticed that the caterpillars got longer each time a new dot was added. Zaniyah in Ruby Class came to share her super research she had done as part of home learning. During a science lesson on habitats she had heard about zooplankton and decided she wanted to know more about them. She went home and did her own research which was very interesting to read. Great work Zaniyah! Maddie in Blue Class completed a fantastic maths investigation on money. She had then challenged herself further by working with a higher amount independently. What a brilliant mathematician you are Maddie! Congratulations to Alvin-Jace in Orange Class who completed some amazing independent ladybird maths. We are really proud of you! Well done to Sophia in Orange Class who cam to share her brilliant writing about ladybirds that she had written independently. Congratulations to Oliver and Josephine in Blue Class who came to share their poster about respect. This showed how much they had learnt in their PHSE session about Nelson Mandela. Lastly, a huge well done to Freddie in Orange Class who had produced some brilliant writing based on the Zoolab visit. He has learnt so much about millipedes!
Harrison in Birch Class has been hard at work designing a brilliant banner for the morning protest against council cuts and the possible loss of our much-loved lollipop man, Robert. A big well done to Harrison for channelling creativity and community spirit into such an important cause. A big well done to Ellie, Aiyla, Josiah and Lenka in Holly Class and Antonio and Phoebe in Cedar, who have been busy creating a fantastic presentation in their thematic books all about their caveman experience at Whitehorse Manor Junior School. When they visited my office, they spoke with such enthusiasm and energy, it was a pleasure to listen and I was sad to have missed it! It was clear they learned a great deal while having plenty of fun too.Well done to Bea in Willow, who created a thoughtful and eye-catching poster all about taking responsibility for one’s actions. Her message was clear – a brilliant reminder of the importance of owning our choices.
We wish all our children and families a restful weekend.
Ms Binks, Mrs Carpenter and the Cypress Team
