Today we acknowledged Remembrance Day with a Mass celebrated by Father Richard and led by our Key Stage Two pupils. As a school we came together to remember the sacrifice of those people who have fought to preserve our freedoms. We also remembered all those whose lives have been affected by conflict since World War I, and those who have died in particular.

Some of our children, and their families, took part in parades last weekend to commemorate Armistice Day. It is wonderful to see them dressed very smartly in their uniforms.

Grand Opening of the new Midlands Boat Station

Her Royal Highness, The Princess Royal, Admiral of the Sea Cadet Corps, recently officially opened the new Midlands Boat Station, located on the scenic banks of Edgbaston Reservoir, Birmingham.  The station, designed as a watersports training hub, will deliver a wide range of boating activities for sea cadets.  James and members of his family were excited to be involved in this ceremony and to meet her Royal Highness.

Message from Mrs Warnett

Reception and Year 1: This week the children in Reception have been focussing on Remembrance. The children have really impressed staff with how well they understood the reason for wearing poppies. The staff have heard the children talking about remembrance in their free play and children have enjoyed creating their own poppies in many different ways. The children in Year 1 have been enjoying their Design and Technology lessons this half term. They have been given the task of creating a windmill. The children are working to a design criteria and have completed the first two steps of 'creating a stable structure' and ' making a part to catch the wind' The children have worked hard to carefully make each part of their windmill; and have shown some great skills when creating their product. The children have been evaluating their work naturally as the lessons have gone on and this has been wonderful to see. Both classes have been enjoying the activities we have done as part of our Anti Bullying week. The children have impressed staff with their thoughtful responses to scenarios that have been shared with them; and have demonstrated how kind and caring they are. 

Year 2 and 3 have been fundraising this week and have raised over £130! The children have donated some beautiful toys and books to sell at play times and after school. The class loved setting up their stalls and pricing up items. They also had to try hard to resist the temptation to buy their own toys back!! Thank you to our families and friends for supporting our fundraising efforts. The children have also enjoyed learning how to 'Choose Respect' as part of the theme of this year's Anti-Bullying Week. The children took part in some drama activities, acting our respectful and disrespectful choices in difficult scenarios. We were so impressed by the children's thoughtful responses and were reminded again of how kind the children in our school always are. In English, the children have been learning about and researching fascinating red squirrels, based on our reading work on 'The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin'. The children have written some superb non-chronological reports on red squirrels, trying hard to include different sentence types and expanded noun phrases. Ask a Year 2 or 3 for an interesting fact about red squirrels as they have really enjoyed sharing some fun facts this week! The children have continued working with an outside coach on multi-skills, with a focus on netball skills. The coach was very impressed with the class this week. Their developing skills meant that they were able to quickly start to focus more on playing more mini games together. The children showed great enthusiasm and progress after just the first two sessions. Well done!

In Year 4 this week, the children enjoyed their multi-skills lesson with Sonni which focused on object control by bouncing and dribbling. Many of the children have been using the basketballs at playtimes since with their friends. In geography, the children described the features found on the middle course of a river. This will be a focus on our river study in a few weeks time and the children had lots of questions they'd like to find answers to on the study. In English, the children have been composing sentences to describe a setting. They have been able to pick different adjectives to create certain images in the readers' minds. The children have been completing different activities to support 'Anti-bullying Week' in class and were confident recognising respectful and disrespectful responses to different situations. Some of the Year 4 children took part in the WFSSP Cross Country this morning over at the Memorial Park. The children did fantastically well and they made their parents and Mr Tasker very proud with their determination and enthusiasm. Some children also read during our Remembrance Mass this morning and impressed with their confidence and reverence to when reading in front of the whole school. Well done!

Year 5

Another week has flown by and Year 5 have been working hard yet again! In English, the children are showing their maturity and understanding of difficult issues that are discussed their class text, Hidden Figures. This week the children found out about Dorothy Vaughan and considered how she might have felt when trying to achieve her dream job working for NACA and NASA. The writing the children have produced is very thoughtful and they have been using such adventurous and challenging vocabulary – well done! In PE, the children have continued to develop both gymnastics and dance routines, thinking about moving in unison with each other and ensuring their movements are controlled and poised. Well done also to the children who represented Year 5 in the cross country competition – they represented the class wonderfully and were true sports role models. In art this week, the children started to develop their ‘explosive art’ concept room inspired by Chinese artists Cai Guo-Chang. Next week, the children will be decorating their rooms using a range of exciting (and maybe a little messy) art techniques!

Year 6

This week, the Year 6 children have been focusing on newspaper reports, exploring their structure and key features. They are preparing for their 'Star Write' next week, where they will have the opportunity to craft their own newspaper article about a thrilling incident: a six-seater plane, carrying only four passengers, crashes in the heart of the Amazon rainforest. This event ties directly to the novel the class is reading this term, which adds an exciting context to their writing task. In Maths, the children have been reinforcing their understanding of equivalent fractions, learning to identify when fractions are in their simplest form and when they need to be reduced. As part of this, they have also been revisiting their times tables, a vital skill that will support their work with fractions. In Geography, the children have been collecting data on rainfall and temperature in Manaus, a city located within the Amazon rainforest, and have used this data to create detailed graphs. They also discussed the environmental factors that contribute to the unique biodiversity of this region. In History, the class delved into the fascinating world of the ancient Maya, studying the two main calendars they used: the Haab and the Tzolk'in. Most of the Year 6 students also participated in the annual Cross Country event at Stourport Memorial Park, where they showed great determination and sportsmanship. Congratulations to everyone for their perseverance and excellent representation of our school!

During the school holidays, eligible families can book FREE holiday activities, family passes and events through the programme.  Funded by the Department of Education, HAF is primarily for children in receipt of benefits related free school meals (not the universal free school meals).  The programme also supports  children with special educational needs.   

More information about the programme is available on the Worcestershire County Council website.

We will once again be participating in the Three Kings Parade, Stourport. Our School Council are busily planning the school trolley for the parade! If you would like to join in the festive fun, please meet in the car park at the rear of the Civic Centre at 5.45pm. Children must be accompanied by a parent or an adult family member.  The procession will start at 6pm.  Come dressed in your loudest festive sparkle!

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)

If your child is due to start school in September 2025 (and was born between 1 September 2020-31 August 2021), you need to apply for a school place by 15 January 2025.  For more information and to apply, please visit: www.worcestershire.gov.uk/schooladmissions.

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

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.