Summer Term 2023
Dear Parents and Carers,
Well it looks like the sun will be shining for our Whitsun break - at last! The children have enjoyed lots of activities in school over the last two weeks and there have been visitors into school and trips out of school all of which provide opportunities to enhance our curriculum.
Next half term is also packed with events and opportunities for the children - not least all the preparations for our Year 6 pupils as they draw to the end of their Primary School Years. At the bottom of the newsletter is a list of key dates for your information and also the term dates for the following year. We are unable to authorise any leave of absence for holidays, therefore please check term dates before booking. Where holidays are taken in term time, this can result in a fine of £60 per child per parent.
We hope you all have a lovely Bank Holiday and Whitsun break and we look forward to seeing all our families again in June.
Mrs Arnold
German Oympiad Winners 2023
Some of our children in Year 5 and 6 recently had the opportunity to take part in the Oxford German Olympiad Competition along with pupils from other schools across the country. The theme was ‘Kochkunst – Backlust - Esskultur’ (The art of cooking – Joy of baking – Culture of eating) and children had to either create a menu, design a showpiece cake or draw and label a landscape in a German, Swiss or Austrian location.
I am delighted to share with you that four entries from our school have been nominated for awards:
Ameya in 5AC as Highly Commended
Safaa in 6SB as Highly Commended
Bethany in 6TO as Commended
Leah in 5DR as Commended.
This is fantastic news and we are very proud of their achievements.
Year 6 Tudor Day
The children enjoyed Tudor day last week when Timezones came to visit. They played Henry VIII's favourite game called ‘Three Men's Morris.' They learned how to make felt and created their own designs. We will be using these in a few weeks to create a purse. The children were all very well behaved and the visitors who ran the event commented that 'the children were one of the best year 6 groups' she had ever seen. Well done!
Rags2Riches
Our rags2riches collection this week raised £55.15 for funds to be used in school for the children. Thank you to all who donated and to our Eco Warriors and Miss Colman for organising.
Year 4's Production of The Wizard of Oz
What a wonderful show! Our Year 4 children put on an outstanding performance of the Wizard of Oz last week. There were solos, group singing, ensembles, dance routines and many lines to learn and they
all did a brilliant job, each and every one. Thank you to families for
their support, staff for their commitment and continued hard work and the children for trying their very, very best.
Year 2 Trip to Tamworth Castle
Our Year 2 pupils went to Twycross Zoo yesterday and this was a thoroughly enjoyable day in the sunshine. They met the Lady of the castle, who taught the children how to set the dining table for a royal banquet. They also met the squire and learned all about how to dress a knight. Finally, the children enjoyed a tour of castle, where they explored the castle dungeons and particularly enjoyed pretending to be soldiers firing arrows from the turrets at the top of the castle.
Fresh Food, Good Food
Year 4 have been completing their Design and Technology topic called 'Fresh Food, Good Food' and as part of this they have designed and made a healthy snack. The children have learned about packaging and what key information needs to be included, and made their own package for their fruit kebab.
Year 6 - Baking Bread
Year 6 have been baking bread this afternoon as part of their Food for Life project. They have enjoyed weighing the ingredients, mixing, kneading and finally...the best bit...tasting!
Year 1 Den Building
Year 1 have been building their play den this morning as part of our DT topic 'Shade and shelter'. They had to ensure that their den was strong, gave protection from the sun, was fun to play in and could fit 4 children inside!
Pricing of ties and outstanding dinner money
Please note that the cost of elastic ties will increase for Summer 2 to £3.25. Long ties remain at £3.50.
Please could you ensure that dinner money is paid in advance and that any outstanding dinner money debts are cleared as soon as possible.
Health and Safety - Before and After School
We are having increasing numbers of children arriving at school early and playing football on the KS2 playground. Staff are not on duty until 8:40am and therefore, for safety reasons, we do need to ask that children only use the playground as a place to wait until the doors open.
Some of our younger children are climbing on or playing with the Nursery and Reception equipment at the end of the day. Please can we ask parents/carers to ensure children are supervised when they come out of school to prevent any accidents. Thank you.
HAF Summer Programme
What is the HAF programme?
Walsall Council is running a Walsall Right for Children Summer Holiday Activities and Food Programme (funded through the Department for Education). This programme provides free activities including free meals for children ages 5 – 16 years old who receive income related free school meals or are on a plan across Walsall, over Easter, Summer and Christmas holidays.
What is the Summer Offer? Booking activities will go live from the 3rd of July 2023
If you have already registered, you will not need to register again. You will just need to book your activities from the 3rd of July!
Once a child is registered, they will be able to book a maximum of 4 week of activities choosing from the below offer:
Offer 1 A Holiday Club, providing a range of activities throughout the week for children/young people to attend, including a healthy meal. The children/young people will attend the same setting for four days for a minimum of four hours per day
OR
Offer 2 A Pick and Mix/Family Activity, a different activity each day, including a healthy meal. Each child will be able to choose up to four Pick and Mix sessions per week.
How to families register for our FREE Summer Holiday Activities and Food Programme?
Where eligible, each child will receive a letter in the post, or they can contact Walsall Council for their unique code via our helpline or email. Once families have a child unique code they can either register online via the HAF portal
Once we have more information on locations and activities, we will share this information with you.
For further information email the HAF team on WR4C@walsall.gov.uk or you can call the HAF helpline on 01922 653899 (Monday – Friday, between 10:00am to 4:00pm)
Community Events
Behaviour
All pupils who have completed their Achievement Books this half term by collecting House Points have had their names added to a prize draw for a £10 Voucher which can be used at a variety of shops.
Congratulations to our winners:
Reception - Freddie
Year 1 - Oliver
Year 2 - Hayden
Year 3 - Isla
Year 4 - Maddison
Year 5 - Harshiv
Year 6 - Tiana
Children will bring their vouchers home tonight if they are a winner and a text will be sent to parents/carers to let them know. Keep collecting your House Points children as there will be another prize draw next half term!
Swimming Sessions
All swimming sessions for the first three weeks after half term will be used to develop Water Safety skills and children will be experiencing different activities during this time and will require shorts/skirt and a t-shirt to wear in the water over their usual swim wear. These should not be new clothes or any garment which will suffer from immersion in pool water. A separate letter has been sent about this.
As you are aware, Year 6 swimming lessons were paused temporarily during Spring Term, but we have now reviewed our swimming timetable again and our Year 6 children will resume swimming lessons after half term. Year 6 will swim every Friday afternoon.
Please remember earrings should not be worn for swimming or PE sessions.
Class of the Week
Each week staff choose a 'Class of the Week' for KS1 and KS2. This is based on behaviour and attitudes and awarded to classes that have demonstrated our 3 R's throughout the week - Respect, Responsibility and Readiness to Learn. Well done this week to...2SM and 3SS
Our Term dates for 2023/24 can be find below:
