The children at Garden Village Primary Academy have shown great determination in every aspect of their learning over the past two weeks. "Not giving up, keep trying, we learn from our mistakes" are phrases that have been used throughout school.

The children are super excited about the whole school trip before the end of the academic year to visit the animals they have adopted from being rewarded with tokens for exemplary positive behaviour. 

The GVPA family is growing! In Reception, the caterpillars are in the chrysalis phase and in the nursery, the chicks and ducklings have hatched!

Attendance to date is 94.7%. Thank you for recognising the importance of your child attending school on time – learning every day.

Miss Matthews and Mrs Guild are so proud of Reception Maples' determination when learning. Here are some of the highlights:

Drawing Club and Literacy

Last week in Drawing Club we read ‘The Ugly Duckling’. Using the vocabulary ‘glee’, the children drew the ugly duckling, the pond and a different animal that was going to pop out of an egg!

This week, the children  watched ‘Willo the Wisp’. The children were amazed by this 1980’s cartoon! Using the vocabulary ‘dawdle’, the children have drawn Evil Edna, Moog in his think cloud and Doyley Wood. 

Mathematics

Last week in maths, we applied our amazing mathematical skills to real life ‘how many now?’ problems. We did this for addition and subtraction and answered questions such as ‘how many were added?’, ‘how many were taken away?’, and ‘how many are there now?’. We applied our learning to ‘first, then, now’ sentences.

We have also been working hard with our knowledge of doubles! Every child in reception can recall these all the way to 12! 

This week in maths, we have started to learn more about shape and positional language. We have manipulated shapes, selected them for a purpose, rotated shapes, and described shape arrangements using positional language.

Phonics

Our Reception children have been working hard on learning and writing tricky words, building their confidence and early spelling skills through fun activities, games, and regular practice. It has been wonderful to see their progress as they begin to recognise and use these words independently in their writing.

We have also been continuing to develop our early reading and writing skills by learning Phase 4 words. Reception have been practising blending and segmenting longer words, building confidence as they read and write with increasing independence. It has been fantastic to see their confidence in applying their skills in their work. 

Understanding the World

Reception children have been exploring the fascinating life cycle of a butterfly, learning how it transforms from an egg into a caterpillar, then a chrysalis, and finally into a beautiful butterfly. We were very excited to see that our own caterpillars have now formed a chrysalis around their bodies.

Reception Maple had a wonderful time meeting the Nursery’s chicks and ducks. They were fascinated by observing the animals up close and learnt about how to care for them, helping to build their understanding of the natural world. They can’t wait to watch them grow!

Today, we have also celebrated a very special 100th birthday! Our Reception children have been learning about the amazing work of Sir David Attenborough and how he helps us understand and protect our planet. They have enjoyed exploring different animals and habitats, developing a growing appreciation for the natural world and how to care for it. We made him thank you cards, birthday cards, and pictures of our favourite animals. 

Expressive Art & Design

This week in Art and Design, we have brought some of our clay designs to life! We first made these with dough, and we are now starting to make them with clay. After we have made them, we worked with a partner to evaluate our models and decide on two stars, and a wish for next time. Great work everyone! 

Literacy Tree

We have been absolutely blown away by the children’s wonderful versions of Lost and Found. Their imaginations have truly shone through, with stories about lost cocker spaniels, gorillas and even Indian cobras! They have been a joy to teach and have shown fantastic confidence and creativity in their writing. This week, the children were very excited to discover some mysterious ‘CCTV footage’ of a little alien called Beegu spotted near our school tokens. They loved writing their own lost posters, using rich adjectives to describe what she looked like, and thinking carefully about how Beegu might be feeling throughout the story.

Maths

In Maths, the children have been exploring the early stages of multiplication and division through practical and hands-on activities. They have really enjoyed working together to make arrays using cones and spots, and have been practising sharing and grouping to create equal sets. It has been lovely to see their confidence grow as they collaborate, discuss their ideas and support one another—they are becoming fantastic little mathematicians!

Reading

In Reading, we have been revisiting phonics in preparation for the phonics screening check. The children are working incredibly hard and their reading fluency is improving week by week. It has been so pleasing to see their confidence grow as they read aloud and begin to answer questions about what they have read with greater independence.

The children are also progressing well in their phonic knowledge application into words and spelling. Daily, dictated sentences support this.

Art

In Art, the children have continued developing their skills in manipulating paper to create different textures and effects. They used everything they have learnt to create their own beautiful ‘Tree of Life’ sculptures. Each piece was unique and full of creativity—it was fantastic to see their ideas come to life!

Science

In Science, the children have been building on their knowledge of the different parts of plants and trees by learning about the difference between wild plants and garden plants. They have loved getting outdoors to explore our school grounds, spotting a variety of wild plants growing naturally, including buttercups, daisies and dandelions. The children were very enthusiastic as they searched, observed and discussed what they found, and it has been lovely to see them making connections with their learning in such a hands-on way.

Geography

Our geography learning has taken us on an exciting journey around the world! The children have been learning the seven continents and have thoroughly enjoyed singing a song to help them remember them. We have also been exploring China, looking at both its human and physical features. The children have shown great curiosity, asking thoughtful questions and making wonderful observations about the world around them.

Today, the children were fascinated learning about Sir David Attenbourough. Happy 100th Birthday Sir David!

Computing

The children are now experts logging onto the Chromebooks with their own username and password. This term, the learning is called 'digital writing.' Using the Word, we can type words and sentences using capital letters, gaps and even full stops!

The Ducklings and Chicks!

The children are fascinated with the new arrivals. 

Personal Development Opportunities

Tamworth Fun Run

It is wonderful to see so many children walking, biking and scootering to school.

If you need to drive to school, if possible, please park on Eagle Drive and avoid parking directly outside of school. 

Thank you for your co-operation.

This week, the GVPA teachers had a joint staff meeting with another Trust School to share and moderate our children's writing. It was a great collaborative opportunity to celebrate our children's successes.

We are very proud of every child!

For further information about the Trust, please use this link: Fierté Multi-Academy Trust - Home

13.5.26 - Whole Class Photograph (am)

22.5.26 - Teacher Training Day, School Closed

Telephone: 01827 214630

Office Email: office@gardenvillage.fierte.org

Headteacher / SENCO: headteacher@gardenvillage.fierte.org