27 January 2023

Dear Parents and Carers

As you are no doubt aware there will be much disruption to schools across the country on Wednesday 1st February 2023, due to industrial action by members of the National Education Union. The industrial action is happening because of a national dispute between the unions and the government, and not because of any issues at our school. I can now confirm  the arrangements at St Wulstan's on Wednesday 1st February 2023.We aim to open as normal, however,  it may not be your child’s class teacher who is taking that class on Wednesday. School has worked extremely hard to remain open for all pupils, using the information we have from any members of the NEU we have in school. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Thank you to everyone who joined us for 'Coffee, cake and chat' as we relaunched our PTA yesterday morning. It was a lovely, very positive and energised meeting. The decision was made to create a new school group named ' Community of St Wulstan's'. Its focus is to plan social events for all members of our community and to raise funds for specific projects for the children. We will meet half termly for coffee and planning and even if you were unable to join us this morning please do come along to our next meeting on Thursday 9 March at 9.10am after drop off  We decided to have a shared cooperative rather than a committee so there is no onerous role for individuals. Events for the rest of this academic year include half termly 'Cake sale', post SATs disco, Summer Fayre, Pancakes to name a few. There are also a few new initiatives which we will sharing over the next few weeks. Thank you again to everyone for the enthusiasm (and laughter) we shared this morning.

Although we will be on half term break on Pancake day we know how much the children love this day. Our Community of St Wulstan's will be selling pancakes with a choice of toppings at breaktime on Friday 17 January at a cost of £1 per child. Another date for the diary is Friday 30 June when we will be holding our Summer Fayre, 3.45 -6.00pm, more information to follow!

Thank you to the parents who attended the First Holy Communion meeting this week, If you were unable to attend please contact Mrs Warnett to confirm that you wish your child to be prepared to receive the Sacrament in June. Thank you.

On Sunday 5 February the children will be leading the singing at 10.00 am Mass. All our families are welcome to attend and we would be grateful if you could return the slip confirming your child/children can join us either in the choir at the front or sitting with you as part of the congregation. 

Following the success of ‘Book and a Biscuit’ morning last term, we will be inviting family members into school on the morning of Thursday 16th March for ‘Poetry and a Pastry’ reading time. Please see Mrs Tasker’s letter in your child’s book bag for further details and a slip to return to indicate the adults we can expect in school that day. We look forward to sharing an enjoyment of  reading in school with as many of you as possible. 

At STEM Club this week, the KS1 children used their scientific and mathematical skills to create a cloud in a cup. They used red food colouring to observe precipitation. The children noted that thicker clouds had a greater capacity for the food colouring and so they took longer for precipitation to be observed whereas the smaller clouds showed precipitation much quicker.

‘This week the children in Reception Class have been busy with arts and crafts connected with space, even making their own rocket. Although it’s been cold they have also been braving the outdoors and have been excited to investigate and paint the ice in the outdoor area’.

As Mathematicians, Year 1 have been looking at number bonds to 20. The children used their knowledge of number bonds to 10 to support them with this.

This week Year 5 have had another visit from Mr Mallinson in preparation for the Pyramid Concert. With only a few weeks to go, Mr Mallinson was very impressed with how hard we have been working and we cannot wait to perform at Birmingham Symphony Hall. In our PE sessions, we have been working on strength and balance as part of our gymnastics topic. To help us develop these skills, we took part in a yoga session that not only tested our balance, but also taught us a little bit about Chinese New Year!

A reminder to all Year 5 families that tickets for the Emmaus Pyramid Concert in February are now on sale. The concert, this year held at Birmingham Symphony Hall, is a fabulous very memorable event. The Year 5 children are working so hard with Mr Mallinson from Hagley High School to ensure they perform to the very best of their ability. Tickets can be purchased via ParentPay at £5.00 per ticket. There will also be a DVD of the evening , again to order on ParentPay at £5.00. Any queries please do not hesitate to contact either Miss Mc Gowan or the school office.

We are extending the offer to parents of Year 4 also. If you would like to see what awaits your child next year tickets can be purchased for adults with Year 4 children going free, Contact Mrs Brown if you are interested.

It was lovely to welcome so many family and friends to class Mass this morning. Well done Year 5 on reading so beautifully and behaving so reverently. Next week , Year 4 will be celebrating Mass in their classroom. Please join us for Mass and also to stay for refreshments afterwards.

This week in History,  Year 2 have been learning all about the roles of a Monarch. They began with the coronation of a King before looking at what a King does and how they can improve life for all. The children then looked at some of Britain's previous Monarchs and their difference approaches to their reign. 

This week, Year 3 have enjoyed investigating the strengths of different types of magnets and making predictions about which one they thought was the strongest. The children tested 5 different magnets in total and used paperclips to measure their strength. We had some very varied and interesting results which led to some great discussion too. Well done, Year 3!

This afternoon, Year 4 explored simple electrical components after building up knowledge to move onto this area of their learning. The children had to describe the functions of each component and learn the scientific symbol linked to each component. Next week, the children will investigate complete and incomplete circuits. We look forward to sharing our investigations next week.

This week our Wellbeing Champions in Year 6 have introduced themselves to the school and are hoping to support their friends with wellbeing activities throughout the school year. Congratulations to all our wellbeing champions.

We have recently been contacted by Sam Bower, Community Health Connector, Starting Well 0-19 Wyre Forest - Community Team , to highlight some upcoming events. 

We are running 6 Early Help in your Community events across Worcestershire during February and March 2023. These events are taking place in venues in the following districts – Bromsgrove, Malvern, Redditch, Worcester, Wychavon and Wyre Forest.

We all know that Early Help and support is of key importance in working and supporting children, young people and their families, helping them to achieve their best now and into their future.

These events are an exciting opportunity to bring together a wide range of organisations and groups who work in your community and county wide who offer support, advice or services to children, young people and their families locally.

There will be a number of organisations represented such as Mental Health Support, Finance Support, (etc) with lots of information available and an opportunity to ask questions and find out more. This is a fantastic opportunity to network and build relationships and knowledge within the local community.

Please see below for the date and time of each event. These events are FREE but you must book a place on the event you would like to attend – this can be done by emailing earlyhelppartnership@worcschildrenfirst.org.uk and we will then send you the booking link with details of the venue each event will be held at.

Worcester – Tuesday 7^th February 2023, 4:00 – 5:30pm

Wychavon – Thursday 9^th February 2023, 4:00 – 5:30pm

Bromsgrove – Wednesday 15^th February 2023, 4:00 – 5:30pm

Wyre Forest – Tuesday 28^th February 2023, 4:00 – 5:00pm (please note earlier finishing time than the other events)

Malvern – Thursday 2^nd March 2023, 4:00 – 5:30pm

Redditch – Wednesday 8^th March 2023, 4:00 – 5:30pm

We hope everyone has a lovely weekend and we look forward to seeing you on Monday

KE Savage

Principal