Newsletters

Summer 1 2024 

STAFFING NEWS

We are going to be saying goodbye to a few members of staff at the end of the Summer Term:

• Miss Dawes (teacher) is moving to Kent, so will be starting a new teaching job in this area.
• Miss Rankin (teacher) is leaving us to explore a change of career as a secondary school art teacher.
• Mrs Shore (teacher) is retiring to spend more time with her family and travelling.
• Mrs Browne (LSA) is leaving us to train to be a teacher.
• Mrs Day (LSA) is retiring.
• Mrs Leggett (Lunchtime Supervisor) is also retiring.

We have appointed 3 new teachers who will all be joining us in September:

• Miss Lawrence
• Miss Jackson-Hughes
• Miss Jenner

We are looking forward to welcoming them all to the team. They will be joining us for some of our transition events towards the end of next half term.

YEAR 4 NEWS

Year 4 has had a fantastic start to the summer term.  We have thoroughly enjoyed our recent Superhero unit in English and have been busy working on fractions and decimals in maths.  We are continuing to work hard on our timetables, ready for the MTC test after half-term. Each class will have several opportunities to practise the test, so the children are familiar with the format.  A huge thank you for supporting your children with this; we have been so impressed with the progress each and every child has made with their timestables and are continually being wowed by their test scores in class. We have reached a point where we are looking forward to the children taking the test and having the opportunity to show everyone just how brilliant they all are!  Please maintain a focus on timestables at home - practise really does make perfect... And don't forget our Times Tables Rockstars competition is still running.

Our trips to Tuppenny Barn were a huge success.  It is always a pleasure to see the children enjoying themselves outside and, if the forecast is to be trusted, we will all have been very lucky with the weather!  After half-term, we have our trips to Dell Quay which will support our continued work in science on habitats.  After getting up close and personal with some of the mini beasts living in our copse, we are looking forward to discovering some harbour inhabitants too.

A gentle reminder, please do continue reading regularly at home and to sign your child's reading diary. We do check this every Monday and would appreciate your continued support with this.

Wishing you all a lovely half-term,

The Year 4 Team

YEAR 6 NEWS

This half-term has been exceptionally busy for Year 6, starting with our residential trip to the Isle of Wight. The children participated in a variety of activities, including abseiling, rock climbing, canoeing, giant swing and many more. We were blessed with beautiful dry weather after a rocky ride over to the island and a good time was had by all. The children embraced all the new experiences and the teachers were proud of their behaviour and attitude. The children who stayed at school had a lovely week, enjoying lots of fun activities.

After returning from Little Canada, we went straight back to preparing for our SAT tests, which took place last week. We were so impressed with the resilience, effort and independence shown by all the children. Their hard work over the last year has really paid off, and we hope they are as proud of themselves as we are. They finished off the week by throwing themselves into the water fight with great gusto, soaking not only their opponents but their teachers as well!

We can’t quite believe how quickly this year has gone, but our last half-term will be just as busy as the rest with our business challenge starting soon and preparing them for their next adventure onto secondary school.

GOVERNOR NEWS

We have filled our Parent Governor vacancy. Lee Nolan, parent of a Year 3 pupil, has now joined us, and we welcome him to the team. We are in the process of interviewing a Co-opted Governor.

ECO NEWS

Eco club has had a busy few weeks. We have been enjoying our outside spaces looking for butterflies in the meadow and bug hunting in the copse. We have also been busy weeding one of our vegetable beds and planting some cucumber plants alongside the strawberry plants.

WARM WEATHER

Now the weather is getting warmer, please can we remind adults to apply sun cream to children before they come to school. It is also good for the children to have a hat/cap to wear at break times.  Please ensure your child has their water bottle with them every day. 

SPORTS DAY

An email will be coming out after half-term about Sports Day, which is on Thursday 20^th June. Parents are invited to join us for the whole day on this day (or as much of it as they would like!). The morning events (a carousel of sporting challenges in which all children take part) will start at around 9:30am. There will be a break around 12:30pm for lunch, during which we invite parents and supporters to stay and enjoy a picnic lunch with the children on the field. Rather than preparing hot meals, we have arranged with Education Catering to prepare picnic bags, which will be available to order on the day. The afternoon events will begin around 1:30pm after a 15-minute clear up and activity set up time. School will end at the usual time of 3:30pm.

WELLBEING TIP

“In theatre, the comedy and tragedy masks are used to help the actors portray their emotions, similar to how people in society wear a mask to portray emotions that are acceptable”

Have you ever heard of the term “masking”? I’m sure many people have, as it has become a “Buzzword”.

Believe it or not, we all mask! And it’s not just those people who are Neuro diverse as many people believe.

Developmental studies show masking can begin as early as preschool and develops with age. Masking is mostly used to hide a negative emotion such as sadness, frustration or anger and turns it into a positive emotion i.e. happiness or compliance, which is considered far more socially appropriate.

The causes of masking can depend on the situation. Different social situations require different “performances”. Individuals may mask in school, afterschool activities, play dates, or around people of different cultures and backgrounds. Masking can also be strongly influenced by factors such as strict parents, disapproval from others, and forms of abuse.

Have you ever wanted to say something that you knew would be classed as inappropriate, could cause offence or look bad but have decided not to? That’s masking!

I’m sure we can all think of a time we switched our behaviour to ensure we were “fitting in”.

Many of us have experienced a child coming home and taking the “mask” off and displaying mood swings or poor behaviour. This does not mean your child is neuro diverse, it just means they are relaxing and becoming themselves in a place they feel safe and secure. Are you the same at home as you are at work? Probably not. This is you removing your mask too.

Everyone experiences masking