Cobham Montessori School

Newsletter Week Commencing 5th May 2025

Dear Parents and Carers,

NOTICES

School Trip Next Friday - 16th May

A quick reminder that we will need parental consent for everyone coming on the school trip. Please can you ensure you fill the form here- we have heard from many of you anyway but it's just to ensure we have up to date contact details for the day.

Weather is currently set to be warm but overcast next Friday, we invite the children to wear comfortable clothing which will withstand washing - there will likely be pond dipping and lots of sitting on the ground looking for invertebrates! The children will need to bring a backpack for their packed lunch/water bottle and any additional clothing/ raincoat if needed - waterproofs and wellies will be provided if they are needed. Do apply suncream on the morning and we will help the children top up throughout the day. Hats would be a good addition too. We shall provide a snack for all children.

School Photos

On Tuesday 13th May Concept Photography are coming to do individual, sibling and group photos of the children. We hope to have completed all photos by no later than 10am. If your child doesn't usually attend on Tuesdays and you would like to have their photo taken, please drop them off at 9.00am and collect at 10.00am. There is no obligation to purchase any photos - you can decide once you see the proofs.

Coffee Morning - Now a Zoom Evening!

With short notice we didn't get quite the availability for parents to attend our topic - The Third Plane of Development (12-18 year olds). But there was a lot of interest. With that in mind we have decided to run the topic one evening on Zoom so (with luck) more parents are able to attend.

THIS WEEK IN SCHOOL

Children's House

Last week in the Children’s House it’s been a bustling week in the garden! The children have been busy watering plants, weeding, repotting, digging holes, scrubbing picnic tables, and even uncovering treasures in the sandpit—some lovely shells and coconuts sparked their excitement.

In yoga, , the children explored a new breathing technique with Miss Hayley called Satali Cooling Breath. Using their tongues as a “straw,” they practised breathing in deeply and releasing cool air, with focus and control.

On Wednesday, we had a delightful visit from an Elementary child who read to the children just before home time. The room was still and attentive—never have we seen such quiet fascination! It was a wonderful opportunity for the children to see an older friend caring for books and sharing a love of reading.

This week, we read It’s Great to Keep Calm by Jordan Collins. This book sparked thoughtful discussions as we explored what it means to stay calm, even in challenging situations. The children reflected on ways they manage big feelings and practised some of the calming strategies mentioned in the story. “You can breathe and give yourself a big hug, like this!’

We spoke about VE Day and the bravery of the soldiers who helped keep us safe. The children shared heartfelt and thoughtful comments:
“My dad’s grandpa was in the army.”

“In my grandpa’s group, only five survived and 2,000 died."

“Lots of soldiers survived and lots died.”

“My nana told me where a bomb was in the woods.”

“There were tanks in the war.”

Before lunch, we marked three minutes of silence together, using a sand timer to help the children visualize the time and stay still.

In cooking this week we made our own version of flapjacks.

Using bananas, blueberries, oats, and cornflakes, the children collaborated beautifully—peeling, mashing, measuring, and mixing. One child asked thoughtfully, “Shall we go clock-way or not clock-way?” as they took turns. As the flapjacks baked, two children stood in front of the oven, reassuring: “Don’t worry, Miss B, we are making sure they don’t burn!”

During sports, the children started with a lively game of Bib Attack before focusing on basketball skills—practising dribbling and bouncing the ball with one hand.

Snippets of Conversation
In the book corner, one child was overheard saying to himself:

“My daddy is a chef and a builder. He is a worker. And my mummy is a beader.”

Another lively exchange during group time:

Ch1: “On cooking days, after dinner, I go to cricket at the rec.”

Ch2: “I don’t know cricket.”

Ch3: “Yes, you have something on your hands and you hit the ball.”

Ch1: “It’s a bat!”

Elementary

Last week in Elementary we have had a number of children comment on how they are feeling tired and how that is affecting them in school. "I'm finding it harder to concentrate", "I get upset more easily", "I find reading more difficult". Whilst we are delighted that the children are so self-aware and capable of expressing how their tiredness is affecting them (and others around them) we are encouraging them to consider ways of getting enough sleep so they can arrive refreshed and ready for discovery each day. Sleep is so important for everyone, but especially children, who are growing rapidly and processing so much information from their day. With the lighter evenings, it can be tricky to maintain the bedtime routine. In addition, sometimes after-school activities require a lot of focus and energy which can impact on the following school day. If your child is particularly feeling the strain then we urge you to speak to them about how to manage their energy levels, ensuring their week has enough down time built in.

We shared a beautiful afternoon at the local Tiltwood Care home where we played games in the garden to celebrate VE day. The staff were dressed as land girls and the garden was decorated with red, white and blue bunting and Union flags. The children and residents played with the parachute, skittles, darts and giant dominoes, with everyone helping ensure that all were well involved. We extend a huge thank you to Lorraine at Tiltwood for her hard work in organising the afternoon; we think YOU deserve a medal (not us!).

Prior to our Tiltwood visit, we discussed the idea of celebrating VE day - the children offered thoughtful comments on war not being a cause for celebration but were grateful for the efforts of all those who helped restore peace. We reflected on how a peaceful world is created by peaceful people, drawing our awareness to our own daily interactions with those around us and how we resolve our own conflicts.

After many months of waiting, finally some of the loofah seeds germinated and we were very excited to see a few shoots appear.

We continue our efforts to memorise our number bonds and times tables - without the absorbent mind of the first plane, we have to apply our will and make an effort to learn the maths facts so that our journey of discovery through the wonderful maths materials is not hindered by having to stop and count on our fingers each time we need to do a calculation. The younger children rather gleefully welcomed the idea of 'homework' to help them build up their bank of memorised facts and many of the children took home some addition facts to practise this weekend.

Some of the older children had to brush up on their work on volume, so that they could work out how much wood chippings need to be ordered for the climbing frame!

In sports we continued athletics, with throwing and jumping this week, as there won't be sports next week Anthony is planning a mini Olympics on the final Friday before half term - feel free to come and watch.

We will need scooters for Wednesday only next week, pickup will be from Painshill. Don't forget that the school trip is next Friday.

Kind regards,

Yvonne