13 May 2022

Dear Parents and carers

It has been a very busy week in school with our Year 6 children sitting their SATs. The children have been preparing all year and they are very glad that they are finally over! We are still focusing on writing assessments which are teacher assessed then moderated but the formal testing is completed. I have to congratulate them all, because whatever the results of these tests are, the children can be very proud of the way they have approached them. Their maturity and positive attitudes are credit to them and they showed that they are ready to move on to the next stage of their school careers in September. Well done Year 6 ! Today they have celebrated the end of testing with a 'Pizza and ice cream' picnic, much enjoyed and very well deserved.

Year 2 are also working very hard at the moment as they work towards their KS1 statutory assessments. These are done in a very different way with Mrs Hulbert working with small groups of children to complete the tests and then assessing the results. After half term, it will be the turn of Year 1 children to take part in statutory testing as they complete their phonics screening check in the week beginning 6 June. As the children are used to their routine of daily phonics lesson they will totally unaware that this is anything different. Finally, it will be the turn of Year 4 children to take part in statutory testing as they complete their times tables check later in June. It is crucial that all children have full attendance and arrive at school promptly in order for them to achieve to their full potential in these assessments.

On Monday morning, Tempest photographers will be in school to take whole class photographs. Could the children please come in full winter uniform of white shirt and tie and grey pinafore/skirt/trousers. These are always a lovely record of your child’s school time and we are grateful for the effort you make to ensure the children look so smart.

Please note the school calendar has been updated on the school website. Further dates will be added so please check regularly.

We feel it is appropriate now to prepare our Year 1 children to be dismissed into the main playground at the end of the day. From Monday 16 May Mrs Morgan will line up Year 1 at the main playground door and dismiss the children at 3.25pm. Please wait in the playground close to the trim trail so Mrs Morgan can see each parent to hand over safely. Older siblings of Year 1 will now also be dismissed into the playground with their class at 3.30pm. Reception Class will also be dismissed at 3.25 from their usual gate and their parents and carers can then go to wait in the playground for any siblings. As we are now living 'normally' there is no need for parents and carers to follow the path all the way around to exit via the driveway to limit contact. Thank you to everyone for the support you have given with drop off and collection routines over the various  stages of the pandemic. 

A reminder that Friday 27 May 2022 is an INSET day when staff only are in school for training. Further to this the MAC INSET day originally booked for 23 June was moved to February so all children and staff are in that day. We are presently awaiting confirmation of MAC term dates and INSET days for 2022-2023 and we will notify you of these as soon as possible.

Next month Year 6 are attending their annual residential to Alton Castle. This is a fabulous opportunity for the children with a mix of outdoor/indoor activities eg climbing. abseiling, cycling and spiritual preparation for the step as they move to high school. It will be lovely for the Y6 children to spend a mini break together at the end of their Primary school years. If you have not yet paid the balance of the trip could this be done by Monday 16 May, thank you. Please contact me if you have any queries.

Year 4 and Year 5 are also preparing for their Manor Adventure Residential in September. If you wish your child to participate please ensure your £50 deposit is made via ParentPay by 27 May. Thank you.

A reminder that the whole school trip to Twycross Zoo is on Friday 17 June. There are spaces available for adults to join us . Please remember to send in your slip if you would like to accompany us. Payments for the trip are made via Parent Pay by 9 June If you have any queries please contact the school office. Thank you.

We will be celebrating the Queen's Platinum Jubilee on THURSDAY 26 MAY. The children will be able to come to school in red, white and blue or purple clothing. We will have a street party lunch together in the playground. Please do not order a school lunch but all children bring a packed lunch to eat. If you are in receipt of FSM an order can be completed through Mrs Brown in the office. We will enjoy a day off timetable celebrating this momentous day so we hope for good weather!

A group of Year 1 and Year 2 children have enjoyed participating in a cricket and multi skills afternoon with Stourport Sports Partnership. As well as the PE it was long walk down and back to the riverside so we are sure they will sleep well tonight. Well done children on excellent participation, teamwork and being great ambassadors for our school.

Year 4 have been developing their map reading skills this week as part of the geography lessons. The children have used four figure grid references to play games and find symbols that can be found on OS maps. Many children are now able to name various symbols and can explain certain rules that need to be followed to find an area on these maps.

Reception class have been learning all about people who help us, and in particular nurses. Over the last week they have been very lucky to have two nurses who have come into the classroom to talk about their jobs and how they help others. Thank you very much to our wonderful volunteer parents for coming in and seeing reception class. It has made such a difference to their learning to have the chance to hear from people who are doing these jobs, to have a go at using some real equipment and to be able to ask questions to further develop their knowledge.

The children in Year 2 have been planning experiments to see what conditions seeds need to germinate. They have made predictions about seeds kept in the fridge, those without water and what will happen to seeds given water and kept in the classroom. They are waiting to make observations on their growth

Over the past few weeks in school some of our Key Stage 1 children and Key Stage 2 girls have been participating in football clubs after school. It has been wonderful to see the children’s enthusiasm and confidence grow, with many children showing real progress in their ability to control, pass and dribble with a football. We hope these children continue to enjoy their football experiences and encourage their friends to join in with them in the future.

Year 1 have had such an exciting day as they welcomed the first of their chicks who hatched this morning. We will update you over next week with their names and their progress.

Year 5 have been very busy this week and have produced some wonderful descriptive writing linked to our new class text, 'The Princess' Blankets'. We also started developing our tennis skills today and practiced ball control with a game of Battleships!

Year 3 started to read ‘This Morning, I Met A Whale’ by Michael Morpurgo and have enjoyed the English work linked to this beautiful book. Today, they explored the character of the whale and had some amazing ideas of their own about the importance of his visit. Well done Year 3.

Please remember if you ever have any concerns regarding your child, academic, social or emotional please speak to me or any member of the teaching staff so we can work together to solve them.

We hope you have a lovely weekend.

KE Savage

Principal