Earlier this week we sent out the term and holiday dates for 2022-23; these are also now on the school website. Please be aware that there may sometimes be changes made to these due to circumstances beyond our control (such as additional Bank Holidays etc) but we will always try to let you know in plenty of time.

This week it has been Children's Mental Health Week and across the classes children have been exploring different parts of this. Additional advice and resources for families can also be seen at this link:

Children's Mental health Week- Parent/ Carer's resources

Please help us by making sure that your child does not bring things from home, such as fidgets, poppits and small toys, as these can cause issues at breaktimes. The only children who should have fidget resources with them are those who have them as part of their individual provision. Thankyou.

Staffing update At the end of this term we will be saying our goodbyes to Mrs Bennie (Asteroid) who is retiring. We wish her all the very best as she enjoys being able to sleep in and choose how she spends her days! After Easter Miss Lily Goddard will join our staff team as the Asteroid teacher, and after half term she will start to work with Mrs Bennie and Mrs Leppington around handover for the class to make sure there is a smooth transition.

Please pick up after your dog We have had a complaint from a member of the community about dog dirt on the green. If you do bring a dog along please make sure you have poop bags with you. We do know that lots of people walk their dogs on the green throughout the day, and this may be nothing to do with our families with dogs, but please be aware.

Reminder from last week With so much in the news about the cost of living and now energy prices going up, you can check whether your child could be eligible for a free school meal, whatever school year they are in. All the information is on the NYCC website at https://www.northyorks.gov.uk/free-school-meals

If you would like any advice or support with this, please contact the school office. We treat these matters with complete confidentiality and are always happy to help if needed.

Whole school attendance bounced back last week last week to above national levels, and the highest so far this term. Thank you for your support in this: it makes a huge difference.

The graph below shows our school attendance since the start of the school year up to the end of last week (we are the pink line).

An amazing 315 children have had 100% attendance this week: very well done!

Wednesday 16th February: Y6 SATs meeting for parents 6pm

Thursday 17th February: school closes for half term

Friday 18th February: staff training day

Monday 28th February: school opens after half term

Friday 4th March 2022: World Book Day with a Where's Wally theme (details sent on Monday 7th Feb)

Friday 18th March 2022: Red Nose Day, with a Superhero theme for this year

Friday 1st April 2022: non-uniform day, please bring an Easter chocolate prize

Friday 8th April 2022: PTA Easter chocolate tombola, £1 per child

Saturday 25th June 2011: PTA Summer Fair (TBC)

Hello all,

Please join us for this Sunday’s livestreamed Family Communion Service at St Wilf’s at 10.30am.

Really hope you can join us either in person or online; all the info has been sent out by email from school.

Blessings

Pete

Sophie Howell

Abraham O'Flynn

Rio Helstrip

These are Compassion, Thankfulness, Fellowship, Hope, Humility, Justice and Service. We don't just believe in these values, we live by them every day in school. This week's class work is positively brimming with examples of all our school values - well done everyone!

We have come to the end of another busy week in Nursery. This week we have been looking at Winter. The children have enjoyed ice in the water tray, a frozen small world, snowflake art and lots of wintery creative activities. We have also learnt about keeping safe online as part of Internet Safety Day. We learnt a song to help us remember to ask a grown up before we use anything new on the internet or before we use a game belonging to an older sibling. In Phonics, we have been practising our listening skills. We have focussed on rhyme by listening to lots of rhyming stories and identifying the rhyming words in nursery rhymes. In maths we have concentrated on the number 5 and have practised counting to 5.

Star of the week: Mason Corbally

This week we read 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar’ which we all thoroughly enjoyed. We have sequenced the pictures and then re-told the story to help us consolidate our understanding of the life cycle of a caterpillar. We used our phonic knowledge to write shopping lists for Mr Osborne and Mrs Clayton so they could go to the shops and bring back some fruit to make Hungry Caterpillars.

In Maths we have been counting how many objects there are in 2 groups and then counting how many objects there are altogether. We are beginning to explore adding more and counting along a number line.

On Thursday we went on a minibeast hunt and made habitats for the worms, millipedes and centipedes which we found. The children are excited to bring them home this weekend!

This week was Children’s Mental Health week and we have discussed who is important in our lives and how we can help others to grow.

On Tuesday it was Safer Internet Day and we shared the story of Digiduck's BIG Decision which highlighted friendship and how to be responsible online.

Star of the Week –

Mercury – Phoebe Smith

Moon – Zoe Spaans

We have enjoyed a whistlestop tour of Wales this week, sharing the story of ‘Dilwyn the Little Welsh Dragon’ and writing a set of instructions on how to care/train a dragon. The children have impressed us by using a range of time connectives to sequence and imperative (bossy) verbs. We baked and ate Welshcakes and painted daffodils. We even tried to say some very long welsh words! In maths, we have continued to measure using a ruler correctly to measure in centimetres and comparing lengths by finding the difference. We have celebrated Children’s Mental Health week with a range of activities related to looking after our mental health, thinking positively, discussing who supports us and writing ‘kind thoughts’ about each other. It has also been Internet Safety Day this week and this led to us discussing how to use apps and games we access on phones, tablets and computers safely.

Star of the week:

Galaxy - Braxton Walton

Venus - Khloe Lane

This week has been another busy one where we have completed our Roman helmets for our celebration next week. On Tuesday, it was Safer Internet Day so we looked at how we can stay safe online. Children’s mental health week gave us extra time to focus on how important it is to look after our mental as well as our physical health and how we can do this day to day.

In English we have been using expanded noun phrases to describe the things that ‘Romans did for us.’ We also did our reading and maths assessments to see what we need to learn and recap next half term. In French, we have consolidated our knowledge of numbers through singing and maths challenges. A great week and we are all ready for a rest at the weekend!

Jupiter - Edward Possnett

Saturn - Emily Richardson

Neptune - Aoife Browne

This week we have been able to explore lots of different areas of learning. In Science, we built on previous learning about how instruments make sounds to designing and making our very own instruments. This week, Topic has allowed us to explore how Anglo-Saxons named many of the towns and cities around the country and nearby. It was interesting to learn what the name of the town originally meant. In maths, we have been able to count on and convert improper fractions into mixed numbers helping us deepen our understanding of fractions even more.

Mars- Ella Larner

Earth - Alex Auker

This week Year 5 have started to write their report about their failed mission to Mars. We have written about the sand storm that stranded us alone on the alien planet and our anguished attempts to contact Earth and our plan to survive. The Year 5 staff have been absolutely amazed at the language choices and depth of feeling that the children have included in their pieces of work. In Maths, we have been adding and subtracting fractions. It has been a tricky concept to master but we have made it look like a piece of cake (pun absolutely intended!)

We also discussed how to stay safe online and what to do if you do feel unsafe. The children were very open and honest during our discussion. Also as this week has been Children’s Mental Health week, we have talked about emotions that may lay under the surface and strategies that may help us deal with them as they bubble to the top.

Stars of the week:

Asteroid: Lucas Richardson

Pluto: Sadie Scott

A wide and varied range of activities completed throughout the week in year 6. We have been learning about angles this week. Measuring them, drawing them and calculating the missing angles using the knowledge we have gained from previous sessions. In English, we have created story boards for our new narrative, with the children describing the journey that a single drop of rain takes throughout the water cycle. We have incorporated knowledge of rivers and the different sights that they would see along their journey. In RE, we have been using ‘miracles’ that have occurred in the world, to establish whether these are acts of God, or just fortunate incidents. As part of our Internet Safety work, the children looked at how they can keep themselves safe online, especially when online gaming. They then used this to create their very own video game poster with enhanced safety features described. Have a restful weekend everyone.

Stars:

Nebular: Oliver Jakowyszyn

Constellation: Rio Smith

Best attendance this week: Blue Hive with 94.24%

Blue Hive: well done!

Blue Hive: keep it up!

Millie Rowan from Constellation and Green Hive is still the child with the most hive points so far this year.

Ava O'Brien from Pluto and Blue Hive is the top Bee Points scorer this week.