News from Mrs Brocklesby

On Wednesday, Years 2 to 6 gathered together to celebrate Ash Wednesday at Saint Wulstan's Church with parishioners. The day was marked by the distribution of ashes made from the burning of palms from the previous year’s Palm Sunday. 

For children, Lent is a time when we encourage them to think of others before themselves by showing acts of kindness.

During this season of Lent, Father Richard has encouraged us to think about the well being of others and find ways to help, support and show compassion.

Congratulations to Rose, who was enrolled into the Guild of St Stephen during Mass at St Wulstan's church last Saturday.  Here she is with her bronze medal.  We are very proud of you Rose.

Preparation will begin for our Year 3 pupils who will receive the Sacraments of Reconciliation and Holy Communion this year. On Wednesday 12th March at 6 o'clock we will be holding a zoom meeting for the parents of children who will be receiving the Sacrament of First Holy Communion in June. It is important at least one parent attends this meeting. If you have any queries please contact Mrs Freitas, Mrs Brocklesby or Mrs Warnett who are leading the First Holy Communion preparation. Thank you

Yesterday it was wonderful to see at Saint Wulstan's school Stick Man, Cinderella, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Peter Pan, Harry Potter, Zebra (from That’s Not my Zebra) and a whole range of other favourite characters. 

This was followed by a whole school assembly  that celebrated our love of reading. 

After assembly, all the children took part in a range of reading activities, all chosen to promote reading for pleasure. The children designed book tokens, read with reading buddies in other classes, acted out stories in drama sessions, had character photo shoots, wrote book reviews, used IT to share their reading experiences and much more!

Every class took part in a costume competition and showed great team spirit as they cheered on the winners. A big, 'THANK YOU!' to our families for all the support you provided your children with to design and create a costume. We really appreciate the effort, as always. 

World Book Day is always a lovely day in school and our children had a wonderful day of exploring books, authors and illustrators.  

Thank you to Mrs Tasker, our Reading Lead who co-ordinated the day.  Yesterday, every child came home with the World Book Day voucher which can be exchanged for a book in major superstores. The vouchers may also be used at the school book fair that arrives next week. 

Marie Anne and Stefan recently met Julia Donaldson at a book signing event.  During the whole school assembly on World Book Day, on Thursday,  they talked about their meeting with her at The Little Bookshop in Malvern.  They got their book signed by her whilst she chatted with them.  Her husband played his guitar to those children and families waiting outside the bookshop, in the queue to meet her!

Message from Mrs Warnett

Reception and Year 1

As part of our learning of Lent and the Year of the Jubilee, Reception and Year 1 were looking at way that they could fundraise and as a class they decided that on n Tuesday they would sell pancakes to the whole school. They raised £29.80 which will be sent to Father Hudsons’ Caritas.  In music lessons the children were creating music to accompany the story of the three little pigs, they looked at how changing pitch and volume could alter their voices.  In Geography they began their topic on farms which incudes a local area study on Haye farm which we they will visit later this term. 

Year 2 and 3

Year 2 and 3 have worked very hard this week on their multiplication and division skills. It has been great to see more green appearing on children's Times Table Rock Stars 'heatmaps'. Some of the Year 3 children are even getting some greens on their 8x table now. Well done! The children behaved beautifully during their walk to church on Wednesday and were so mature in church. On World Book Day, the children enjoyed some paired reading time with Year 4 reading buddies, created 'role on the wall' character descriptions by annotating chalk outlines on the playground, designed a book token and took part in the Big Book Swap. What a lovely day! Thank you to our families for their help with costumes. We had a wonderful day. In swimming, the children were assessed and impressed us with their enthusiasm and confidence, whatever their level of skill. The children were also very supportive of each other and reassured anyone who was nervous. This was so lovely to see!

Year 4

Year 4 have had another excellent week. In geography, the children looked at climate change and the impact it has on growing food around the world. They had lots of thoughts and questions on the topic and were keen to make a difference and to try and combat it. The children concentrated on 'chronology' in history this week and were asked to order events from the Saxon period along a timeline. Many children were then able to make connections between different events and compare the timeline to ones completed on other periods. On Wednesday, the children celebrated Mass at church and started their Lenten journey with ashes. The children behaved beautifully and responded with confidence. On World Book Day, the children enjoyed some paired reading with Year 2 and 3 and took part in several activities that promoted a love for reading. The children also loved sharing their costumes and guessing the different characters. Next week, the children are really excited about going bell boating and we look forward to sharing their experience with you!

Year 5 

Year 5 have had another super busy week! This week the children attended Mass at Church and were super role models to our younger children. There were also some incredible costumes for World Book Day and it was lovely to see the children spend some time reading for pleasure and taking part in the BBC live lesson. In PE, the children have started to develop their hockey skills, focusing on dribbling and keeping control of the ball. The children have also started to think about leadership skills in PE, considering what it means to be a good leader and team player and how they can help make sure that what they are doing is organised and safe. DT was aslo very exciting this week, as the children used Lego to make a housing for a Micro:Bit that could be used in their animal enclosures. Next week, the children will have a go at using Tinkercad to create 3d drawings of their Micro:Bit casings and will be going bell boating! What a week to look forward too!

Year 6

It’s been another exciting and busy week for Year 6. The highlight was definitely World Book Day, where the children looked fantastic in their costumes, each representing some of their favourite characters. The day began with a lively costume showcase during assembly, followed by a variety of World Book Day activities throughout the rest of the day. In P.E., the children have been participating in a range of leadership activities, focusing on teamwork and effective communication. They’ve had the opportunity to interact with their peers in a respectful and supportive manner, learning valuable skills such as collaboration, decision-making and problem-solving. In Art, the children have successfully finalised their artwork using the chiaroscuro technique, which focuses on the contrast between light and dark to create depth and dimension. They’ve worked hard to master shading and highlighting techniques, paying close attention to how light interacts with objects in their compositions. Next week the Year 6 children will start their next Design & Technology unit and on Wednesday there will be bellboating for KS2. It's going to be a very exciting week!

Bell Boating Event - Wednesday 12 March 2025 for years 4,5, & 6.  If you would like to come along as a parent helper, this would be very much appreciated.  Please contact Mrs Brown if you can help.  The children and staff will be walking to and from the event at the Stourport canal basin.  Parent helpers won't be required to go in the boats but accompanying the classes walking to the event would be very helpful.

At St Wulstan's, we are committed to minimising missed educational opportunities. We firmly believe that a strong community is one where all our children are present in school, on time, every day unless they are too unwell to do so. By adhering to this principle, we not only impart valuable life skills and help to foster enduring friendships, but we also prepare your child for future success. We will be launching a new reward in school called 'Attendance Achievers' - a scheme where at the end of each month, we will celebrate pupils who are showing an achievement within attendance such as improved attendance, improved punctuality, sustained excellent attendance etc. The children who receive an 'Attendance Achiever' reward will receive a certificate and will be able to choose a prize from the prize box!

If your child is due to start school in September 2025 (and was born between 1 September 2020-31 August 2021) the closing date for applying for a place was 15 January.  However, you can still apply for a late application by visiting www.worcestershire.gov.uk/schooladmissions.

If you require assistance, please contact Mrs Brown in the school office.

St Wulstan's has signed up to the Asda Cashpot - a scheme where Asda will donate a percentage of your shop to your chosen school. If you would like to choose St Wulstan's as your school to donate to, click on the link below to find out more.

Cashpot for schools (asda.com)

All children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 receive universal free school meals.  However, based on your income, you may be eligible to a different free school meal type. This can be applied for even when your child is still in Reception, Years 1 & 2.  This entitles you to a free school meal voucher during the holidays and also continued free school meals until the end of Year 6. If you think you may qualify for these, please contact Mrs Brown in the school office for a form or visit www.worcestershire.gov.uk or contact the team on 01905 845280.  They will require your date of birth and national insurance number to check whether you are eligible.

Dates for your Diary