Headteacher Update

This week's update starts with a very important invitation! We have an extremely fun day planned for National Poetry Day on Thursday 1st October, where we'll be delving into the world of rap! Throughout the day, Year 1-6 will be exploring the connections between rap, songwriting and poetry, rapping traditional storybooks and playing poetry games with our buddy classes—with Year 6, for example, teaching Year 2 how to play some of the games! It really is going to be an unforgettable, fun and slightly silly day, so please make sure you are in school and on time on Thursday 1st October so that you don't miss out on the fun. We can't wait to see what our budding poets and rappers come up with!

Our new Year 5 and 6 Play Leaders have also started supporting playtimes this week, and it has been fantastic to see them taking on their new responsibilities with such enthusiasm. These children are helping to create fun, friendly and welcoming play opportunities for our younger pupils, joining in games and encouraging others to get involved. They are becoming approachable older role models who children can turn to when they want someone to play with or need a little help getting a game started. It is wonderful to see our older children using their leadership skills to make a positive difference to the experience of our younger pupils. This is a brilliant example of our CAW Qualities of Respect, Aspiration and Effort in action.

Thank you to everyone who supported our Jeans for Genes Day last week. The children had opportunities to learn more about genetic conditions and the different experiences that people and families can have, helping to develop understanding, empathy and respect for others. We were also incredibly grateful for the generosity shown by our families, who helped us raise money for this important cause. It was lovely to see the children enjoying the opportunity to dress differently whilst understanding that the day had a much bigger purpose. Thank you for your continued support of these opportunities to help our children become thoughtful, caring and informed members of our community.

We were also delighted to welcome our Year 1 families into school for a coffee morning this week. It was lovely to spend time together and continue building those important relationships between home and school. Year 1 families came to chat with each other as well as Jackie Storey (Attendance), Niki Perrera (School Nurse) and Stacey Newall (Family Liaison Officer ) about how children are setting in to their new classes. There was lots of sharing of tips around morning routines, sleep, worries and general parenting advice, and Niki shared information about how the school nursing service can support children and families. If any families would like a further chat about anything that came up don’t hesitate to contact us via the office. Do look out for information shared via email and the weekly bulletin about other family events like this we'll be hosting throughout the year. 

Finally, children across the school have continued to demonstrate wonderful resilience in their attendance, learning and play. We are looking forward to celebrating this in our assembly on Monday, when we will be awarding certificates to recognise children who have shown this quality particularly strongly. Our next CAW Quality is Effort, and next week we'll be looking out for our “have-a-go horses”—children who give things a go, keep trying when learning is tricky and put their very best effort into everything they do. We can't wait to see this quality shining across the school!