Dear Parents and Carers

This morning we celebrated our annual Harvest Mass in school . It was as ever a really lovely occasion with extremely generous donations of fruit, vegetables, packet and tinned foods. Thank you very much. As usual our harvest gifts were sold and the proceeds donated to the Father Sunny Trust – a charity supported by both school and parish. I am very pleased to say we raised over £175 .Fr Sunny is well known in the parish and works with the poor and disadvantaged in the Garo Hills region of North East India. If you would like to find out more about Fr Sunny log onto www.thesunnytrust.org.uk Due to your generosity we also have several bags of tinned goods left which we will take to Kidderminster Foodbank. Thank you again

The annual Three Kings Parade will take place in Stourport on Friday 25 November. We are delighted to say that St Wulstan's will once again be taking part. Please make a note in your diary to join us at this lovely festive event as we join in the parade with our decorated trolley! Further details will be sent nearer the time,

A reminder to Year 6 parents that the closing date for applications to high school is 31 October. Applications for Reception Class 2023 are open until 15 January 2023. If you know of anyone considering a school place please encourage them to contact me to arrange a tour of our lovey school.

School Lunches for Reception Class: If you would like your child to continue to receive school lunches after half term, please place an order on your Parentpay account. As your child is in Reception, you won't be charged but you still need to order them on Parentpay. Just select the days you wish your child to receive school lunches. Meals need to be ordered a week in advance so please order before this Sunday for the first week of term. Please see Mrs Brown in the school office if you require assistance.

Winter Uniform: After half term all children will all need to wear full winter uniform. This consists of white shirt or blouse and tie and grey skirts, pinafores or trousers. All shoes must be black school shoes and trainers are not permitted. Again we remind you that extreme haircuts and dyed hair are not acceptable. We have a generous stock of pre loved uniform in excellent condition. Please contact Mrs Brown if you are interested.

Can I also remind parents and carers to label every item of their children's clothing. We have a significant collection of clothing in lost property that cannot be returned to its rightful owner due to no names sewn or written in.

This week Reception Class have been learning about Diwali through the story of ‘Rama and Sita’. They have enjoyed making their own Diya lamps and exploring Rangoli patterns.

Year 1 have been testing out their art skills this week! First, they selected autumnal colours by looking at inspiration from nature. Then they started to add paint to their tree trunks using their fingers to create leaves. Finally, the children decided to paint leaves towards the bottom of the tree after they spotted leaves falling off the trees outside. Well done Year 1 you have had a brilliant first half term!

This week Year 5 have been developing their art skills. They have been finding out about Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai and looking at a range of his pieces. They had to decide which was their favourite and use their art vocabulary to begin to explain why. They then looked at pencil shading techniques in preparation for creating their own Hokusai inspired masterpieces.

As you are all aware as a school we have a Local Governing Body, a team of people who, on a voluntary basis, support the key strategic decision making in school. Along with the Principal, it is their role to set the school's aims and objectives around how the school will develop and improve. Their support is invaluable but not always highlighted. Our Chair of Governors, Mrs Angela Randle, has worked tirelessly over many years and has also been a wonderful support to myself and Mrs Warnett in our responsibilities. Angela has now stepped down from her post as she is awaiting a new role as Grandmother for the first time and she and her husband are relocating to live nearer their daughter. I would like to thank Angela for all she has done for the children (and staff) of St Wulstan's and wish her and her family much happiness. 

We are very pleased to share that Mrs Jennifer Hill has agreed to take on the role of Chair in the interim and has already started her work in earnest with Mr Damon Gariff taking on the role of Vice Chair. Our retiring Vice Chair is Mr Andy Haynes, who again has been a source of great support and I am delighted that he is continuing as a Link Governor for all aspects of the Catholic life of St Wulstan's. On behalf of the school community I would like to thank them all for their time and dedication to constantly driving improvement for our children.

We break up today for our half term break. The children have worked hard this term and are ready for some free time and rest.

We return on Monday 31 October and look forward to seeing the children back ready for the Christmas term.

KE Savage

Principal