For those of us who watched the funeral ceremony of the late Queen Elizabeth II, we were reminded of the remarkable impact that an individual can have on others in the way values are shared and energy expended. Her Majesty Elizabeth II, noted for her historically long reign, humility and great faith, is amongst other leaders who have left the world a remarkable legacy. New books have been added to the library collections of those individuals from across the globe, from other countries and of other cultures who, like Her Majesty Elizabeth II, have changed lives and inspired those they have lived amongst.
All children in Years 3 to 8 have now taken a lexile test which measures their comprehension of text. During the test children are given short paragraphs to read and then have to answer multiple choice questions where the correct answer is dependent upon comprehension of the text and the vocabulary used in the questions. Two example questions from tests in Year 6 are shown below:
The lexile score reflects a child’s understanding of increasingly complex ideas and vocabulary. As a school we constantly strive to have word-rich classrooms where teachers introduce children to new vocabulary on a daily basis. However, regular reading is the most beneficial way of growing a child's vocabulary. For the learning of a new word to become embedded, a child needs to encounter it more than once. Experts generally agree that typically a child needs to encounter a new word between four and twelve times before it's committed to their long-term memory and so truly added to their vocabulary.
You can calculate your reading child’s ability by using this table that shows the benchmarks for each year.
Experience tells us that regular reading of suitably challenging texts leads to vocabulary acquisition, deeper understanding and improved comprehension. The support of a parent or carer who can read with a child and help a child to understand trickier vocabulary is key. As much as we would love to read individually with all children on a regular basis, the breadth and busyness of the school curriculum cannot give children the frequency of one-to-one reading that can be given at home. Last weekend, Professor Michael Rosen, better known as a very popular children’s poet, published an excellent article called Reading for Pleasure: how and why does it enable children to do better at school? where he explains how reading affects children’s development and understanding; it’s a good read!
http://michaelrosenblog.blogspot.com/2022/09/reading-for-pleasure-how-and-why-does.html
For recommendations of new books that children will enjoy, do listen to the Reader Teacher’s Coming Soon video for September: September 2022 Children’s Books I’m Most Excited About | Coming Soon: Season 2: Episode 9
Some children will always find reading challenging, particularly those with a specific learning difficulty such as dyslexia. At Edge Grove, we have invested in a range of books for 7 years+ by Barrington Stoke, a publishing company whose books are written for dyslexic readers with a font and tinted paper that reduce visual stress, and content that is more accessible for children who experience difficulties in phonological awareness, verbal memory and verbal processing speed. These books, written by a range of popular children’s authors are in my room and are available for borrowing. They can also be bought on-line and ordered in all good bookshops. The range can be seen here.
In their reading lessons, years 5 and 6 are listening to a range of books that explore relationships and support the themes being covered in PSHE lessons. In reading lessons the book is read aloud. We are aware that some children prefer to engage with a story by looking at the text and therefore children are invited to buy their own copy of the book to follow.
5MS/5MT - Danny Chung Does does not do Maths by Maisie Chan
5LL - The Last Firefox by Lee Newberry 6DDW/6HN - The Language of Seabirds by Will Taylor 6MP - Me My Dad and the End of the Rainbow by Benjamin Dean
We are still waiting for our new phonics resources from Oxford University Press. In the meantime, in order to support your child’s reading in Years 1 and 2, we have arranged access to on-line reading resources. A parent letter will be published this week detailing how you can access these reading e-books which correspond to your child’s phase of phonics. Children will also continue to borrow books from the library to be shared at home.
Thank you for your ongoing support. If there are topics which you would like to see featured in Reading Matters this year, please email jbroadis@edgegrove.com
In the first meeting of the new School Journalist Club, founded by Mrs Broadis, and under the guidance and leadership of Club President Luke M in Year 8, young writers were given the opportunity to interview three new Edge Grove teachers on Friday 16th September.
A selection of articles are published below:
Miss Ni’Man has been a teacher at Edge Grove for two weeks but is fitting in as a gifted Design Technology teacher. Read this article to find out unknown facts and her interests.
Firstly, she found this job on an excellent website called “TES” but had already heard about Edge Grove for its excellent reputation.
Previously, Miss Ni’Man taught in two secondary schools as an educator of Design Technology. Having a couple of years in the second school, Miss Ni’Man thought she could broaden her horizons by teaching at a Prep school rather than a secondary one.
Miss Ni’Man enjoys working in a fun, engaging and passionate environment because, “If you are feeling positive you will produce a positive outcome.” Miss Ni’Man claims she loves to be a teacher because, “It really helps her understand how the younger generation learns.” Also, she likes to develop her students' curriculum as she studied architecture combining all the STEM subjects. One highlight was when she entered the VEX Robotics competition in Kentucky by building a robot with a group of school students and successfully made it to the finals in America but sadly just missed out on winning. Previously, Miss Ni’Man worked in an architectural firm in London before teaching, so with this experience, she knows how to manage challenges at work, by putting on a smile.
Furthermore, she plays hockey outside of her teaching life for Harrow as a right-wing. In a twist in life’s journey, she was going to play in the Nationals for Great Britain but her studies got in the way, making her have to decline the offer. Lacrosse, tennis, netball, swimming, squash and athletics were all sports which she has enjoyed.
If Miss Ni’Man was not a teacher she proclaims that she would be a doctor for the NHS because they do an astonishing job helping people. She also adds that she has two younger brothers, and loves chocolate brownies with ice cream for dessert, but an excellent tender steak and chips with a salad for mains.
Ultimately, Miss Ni’Man wanted to be a teacher because in teaching younger people she can give them distinct opportunities.
Why did you want to become a teacher? “I wanted to become a teacher because of the lovely experiences I can have with the students and also because of the rewards of seeing how well the children are doing.” Could you tell me about yourself and describe your teaching experience in brief? “I’ve taught GCSE and A levels in Design Technology, however, I thought I should broaden my horizons and so far it has been a lovely experience working here.” How did you hear about this position? “I heard about it through a website called ‘TES’, however I had a slight bit of knowledge of this school prior to interviewing for the job.” What type of work environment do you prefer? “I prefer a fun, engaging and passionate environment because you really have to love the subject to create a very fantastic environment like this one.” What did you do in university? “I studied engineering in university and I worked in an architecture firm in London before teaching. It was a very wonderful experience there, but I have to say I prefer teaching.” How do you find your career in teaching? “I find it to be very rewarding and one of the most gratifying experiences. I have had some of the best escapades in my life through teaching which just makes this career even better.” What is your greatest professional accomplishment? “I would have to say becoming a professional teacher in my eyes is my greatest professional accomplishment. It took a lot of hard work to get where I am now but I do not regret a single decision I made.” If you had to choose a job to do other than teaching what would it be and why? “It would be a doctor because it's just as rewarding plus I find medicine very fascinating.” Have you entered any competitions before? “I entered the Vex Robotics competition with my capable team and we were able to compete in the national competition which was very challenging, however, we won the finals.”
In which schools has she taught? She taught at Shrewsbury school 2019-2021 Then she taught at Cranleigh Secondary School 2021-2022 Finally. in 2022. she moved to Edge Grove and got the job for lead teacher for Spanish and Charity Coordinator.
What does she do in her free time? Miss Dellarosa Ratti likes to read and relax in her free time and sometimes she even plays video games. She also plays tennis and hockey because, “Tennis is a sport when you can stay active and move around and hockey is a sport when you can work as a team and communicate with everyone.”
What is her most favourite colour? Miss Dellarosa Ratti likes the colour red because it's an attractive, warm colour and it gives you a nice feeling whenever you look at it; plus it stands out when you're highlighting something important.
What languages does Miss Dellarosa Ratti speak and what other ones would she like to learn? She speaks Portuguese, English and last but not least Spanish which is her native language. She would like to learn German and French.
Where has she been and what is her favourite place and why? Miss Dellarosa Ratti has been to many places but a few of them are Brazil, Uruguay, Germany, Scotland (Edinburgh). Her most favourite place is Edinburgh because there are many fun touristy places and also because there are many historical places.
What is her most favourite thing/item was it gifted? Miss Dellarosa Ratti’s favourite thing is her mom's engagement ring because her mom gifted it to her when graduated high school.
What are her hobbies? Miss Dellarosa Ratti likes to cook with a different amount of spices because it really brings out the taste. Secondly, she likes to travel around the world. Thirdly, she loves to play with her dogs called Lincoln and Jumble. Lastly, she likes to make and design cards.
What was her favourite subject in high school and why? Miss Dellarosa Ratti’s favourite subject in high school was English because in creative writing you were allowed to be imaginative and fall into a whole new world that you made up.
How old is Miss Dellarosa Ratti? She is 29 years old and you may be thinking that, “It's rude to ask a woman their age, right?” Well, Miss Dellarosa Ratti is not is not that kind of person. She personally told me herself that she loves to do public speaking and express herself.
What is her favourite food? Miss Dellarosa Ratti absolutely loves her mom's vegetable pie; it's all handmade.
What is her favourite animal and why? Miss Dellarosa Ratti likes foxes because they are intelligent and always find their way through struggles.
What is her least favourite subject? Her least favourite subject is maths because when she starts to take in info all of the previous learning comes out the other ear.
Who is her favourite author? Miss Dellarosa Ratti really enjoys reading the books from the one and only author STEPHEN KING. The reason she likes his books so much is because when you start reading it's suddenly like you're in the book. But she also likes HARRY POTTER by J.K ROWLING (I am a huge fan too!).
What book Miss Dellarosa Ratti recommend for the edge grove pupils? She recommends that the EDGE GROVE pupils read, “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time’ by Mark Haddon because it's a really mysterious book that can really grasp your interest.
I first met Miss Dellarosa Ratti in Jubilee 5 at Edge Grove School. The first question I asked was quite a simple question…. “What is your name?”. Miss Dellarosa Ratti answered in a bright and happy voice and seemed keen to do the interview. She disclosed that she is 29 years old and she said that asking a woman her age is not rude! She is a tall, young, beautiful woman with straight brown hair tied up in a ponytail.
We grilled her on her previous teaching jobs and she told us that she worked from 2019 - 2021 at Shrewsbury School and 2021 - 2022 at Cranleigh School. She is now lead Spanish teacher and charity coordinator at Edge Grove School. She told us she speaks a number of languages including English, Spanish and Portuguese. She would like to learn French and German. She told us she likes to travel and visited many countries including Brazil, Uruguay, Germany and Scotland. She stated that her favourite place to go was Edinburgh in Scotland because it is very historical.
She was inspired to become a teacher because she used to be a translator and interpreter and she found the love of teaching people languages.
She said that in her free time she likes to make cards for her friends, play video games, she enjoys tennis, hockey, reading (her favourite author is Stephen King) and cooking. She has two dogs, Jumble and Lincoln, who she loves playing with. She eagerly told us that her favourite colour is red because it is a warm colour. She also likes emerald green.
Now moving back to school, her favourite subjects to teach are English and Spanish. Her least favourite subject to teach is maths.
Her favourite object is her mum’s ring and her favourite food is her mum’s vegetable pie. Clearly she loves her mum!
She stated that she is a very social person and is not afraid to talk to people (including us!).
Mr Bissix worked for a charity. He used to want to be a photographer. His favourite colleague is Mr Leutfeld because he is very interested in what he says. Mr Bissix’s favourite meal is fish pie. He is 28 years old and he is English. His favourite book is called The Body. He doesn’t have children but he does have hay fever! His office is in Stable 2.
Mr Bissix has been teaching for four years,but Edge Grove is the first school that he has been a qualified teacher for. Mr Bissix used to work for a charity before he was a teacher. His favourite sport is swimming but when he watches a sport, he prefers to watch rugby because, “Swimming is boring to watch.”
Mr Bissix has been at the school for only a short time but has already found his favourite colleague: “I would say Mr Leutfeld because everything he says is always interesting and has a purpose.” Mr Bissix’s favourite book is The body by Stephen King, but it is murder so is mainly for adults. Did you know that his favourite school dinner is fish pie? Along with all of those facts, Mr Bissix has been working in Italy teaching English for a year before he came here!
Mr Bissix said in order to make the Edge Grove lion roar, he would like to make swimming a bigger academic goal, as his favourite sport is swimming. Mr Bissix wanted to be a photographer before he was a teacher but sadly couldn't accomplish that goal because he didn't have enough talent, but he has lots of skills in teaching.
“Ketchup or mayo?” Luke Mckim asked to Mr Bissix who chose mayonnaise. Mr Bissix has suggested that his favourite TV Show is ‘How I Met your Mother’. He has a pet tortoise and has hayfever, but not severely - and loves pink russet potatoes. If you would like to meet Mr Bissix, he is in Stable Block 2.
