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Newton Burgoland Primary School

Newton Burgoland Primary School

Together We Can Achieve Excellence

Diary Dates/ Updates and Information

Please see below our current list of dates for your diary and local/general information.

Update 28/11/24

Dear Parents,

As we edge ever closed to Christmas, I would like to share some information about a growing movement to reduce children’s access to smart phones:

https://smartphonefreechildhood.co.uk/

I have included this information in the update as the issue is very much in the news and you may be interested.

The decisions we make as parents can have far reaching effects, but we are all vulnerable to pester-power and a desire to make sure our children are not left out. Perhaps something like this can help.

Christmas Photographs and the PFA Christmas Fayre

All pupils may come to school in Christmas jumpers tomorrow, donations to the PFA for their hampers please.

Our traditional Christmas photographs will be taken tomorrow – Class 1 and 2 will wear their Christmas costumes. Class 3 and 4 their Christmas jumpers.

Orchestra Unwrapped

A reminder that Class 2, 3 and 4 are going to Orchestra Unwrapped at De Montfort Hall on Monday and will need a packed lunch to take with them.

Don’t forget the changes to PE on Monday next week - Class 1 – Extra PE lesson on Monday

Sports News

A huge ‘Well done!’ to members of Class 4 who took part in the football tournament on Monday and a big thank you to all the staff who supported them. They proved themselves, once again, to be Noticeably Newton in terms of resilience, respect and fair play. We are proud of you all.

Best wishes for the beginning of advent.

Kind Regards,

Sue Ward

Headteacher

 

 

update 21/11/24

Dear Parents,

It was great to see so many of you at our celebration assembly today. Medals were presented to our girls football team; certificates to residential survivors, achievers and to our dodgeball players. Congratulations to all.

Thank you for the highly positive feedback regarding the residential. You asked us to look for an alternative to Beaumanor and we did. I am in the process of trying to book an alternative venue run by the same company, at the same sort of time, for next year. Thank you for supporting this, the children were amazing and gained so much from pushing themselves and working in a team.

Some reminders for next week and the week after:

On Friday 29th November, the children can dress for Christmas and bring a donation to the PFA hampers. There will not be a forest school session and photographs will be taken.

On Monday 2nd December Classes 2, 3 and 4 are attending orchestra unwrapped. Please note that PE has changed for this week:

 

Class 1: Monday and Thursday

Class 2: Thursday

Class 3 and 4: Tuesday and Wednesday

 

On Friday 6th December Classes 1 and 2 will perform their Christmas play and the PFA are hosting a movie night.

update 18/10/24

Dear Parents,

 

As we approach the half term break here’s a taste of what our children have been learning so far this term:

 

Class 1

Wow! What a great start to the new year Class 1 have made. From making new friends to exploring the new areas, it has been a busy first term. We kickstarted our Geography topic ‘Hot and Cold Places’ and learnt all about the 7 Continents. We also have been busy learning all about the polar regions and created our own penguins and polar bear masks to use in continuous provision. We look forward to continuing this topic after half term where we will learn more about the equator and hot countries. In Science we have been learning all about the different types of animals and their key features. We were very lucky to visit Twycross Zoo where we were able to see these animals in real life. We had lots of discussions when we returned to school about the types of animals we saw and drew some lovely pictures of them. I am very proud of Class 1 on our trip to the zoo as they were amazing and were most definitely ‘Noticeably Newton’! We have lots more exciting things to come after half term, we can't wait!

 

Class 2

What a busy term we've had in Year 2! In Maths we have recapped a lot of knowledge of number and additional and subtraction within 20. We're now working on place value to 100! In English we have learned all about narrative and written our own version of Little Red Riding Hood using the 4 types of sentence: statement, command, question and exclamation. We have also learned how to use commas in a list and write description using noun phrases.

In Science this term we've learned all about habitats and ended the unit by making our own 3D habitat! We have learned all about drawing in interesting ways in our Explore and Draw art unit and explored the artists Renee Regan and Dale Chihuly. In Geography we have started to learn all about the local area.

We also had a special zoom meeting with a beekeeper where we learned all about honey bees and why they are very important. We have had a fab start to the year and have worked really hard! Keep it up class 2!

 

Class 3

We have been working hard in Class 3! In English, we have written our stories based on the plot of 'Escape from Pompeii' by Christina Balit. It has been so much fun exploring ways to make our writing more exciting using different sentence types and word types. We now know a lot about the Romans thanks to visitors' knowledge and exploring in history lessons. In Art we have been exploring storytelling through drawing, and in Music we have been preparing for Young Voices! Science has been an exciting dive into animals including humans, which involves looking at our skeletons and muscles and how they work. Hinduism was explored in RE, and we found it really interesting to explore the religion and how it works in Britain today. Next half term we will be looking at Leicester and its culture, which is going to be super fun. I hope you have a restful half term, and I am excited to see everyone next half term.

 

Class 4

Class 4 have had a busy half term! We are delighted to have written our stories based on the plot of 'How to Train Your Dragon' by Cressida Cowell. We have found out so much about effective narrative writing and these are a great way to show off all we have learnt. We are all Viking experts - having done lots of research into the exit of the Romans, the coming of the Anglo Saxons and then the Viking raids. We have used first hand evidence as well as the expertise of visitors to enhance our understanding of this time in our history. In art, we have investigated food packaging and over half term we will all be thinking about what our own food packaging designs will look like. We impressed our adults with our behaviour and engagement during our trip to Twycross Zoo; next half term we will be focusing on conservation and sending some of our work to the staff there to show them how inspired we were by the learning workshop there. We investigated the question 'What would Jesus do?' by thinking hard about the things written about him in the Bible. We also thought hard about how this is still relevant to how we want to live today. Which feeds nicely into our half term homework - a week of doing kind deeds! Hopefully some of you reading this will be on the receiving end of one of Class 4's random acts of kindness!

While we are all looking forward to a week doing the things we all do during half term, we are also a little sad today. Today we say our goodbyes to Mrs Grimshaw. She has played a huge role in the life of our school and will be missed by many: children, staff, parents and the myriad of others that she deals with on a daily basis behind the scenes. I know that you will all join us in wishing her all the happiness and good fortune possible in her new role. We thank her for everything she has done for us -from sorting out poorly tummies and bleeding elbows to stationery orders; missing dinners and salaries!

Keep in touch and keep smiling!

Best wishes for a lovely, restful break.

Kind regards,

Mrs Ward

Headteacher

update 11/10/24

Dear Parents,

It has been an amazing week in school!

Football

Our Year 5 and 6 girls’ team played hard and played well. They displayed all the characteristics we value as a school and won through to the level 3 competition, against other county schools. We are so proud of them.

Open morning

Thank you for your feedback:

School are doing well with everything

Learning journals for Reception are great!

I like the school 😊

A weeks’ notice for certificate assembly please! (we can do this for the merit certificates but the class certificates are based on that week’s work)

Very open, accessible and friendly school – thanks

Love the Class 1 and 3 classrooms, every child looks very happy!

A warm welcoming school as always. Happy kids just beaming with excitement to show us their work. Thank you NB school.

Both children seem happy, thank you.

I really enjoy the open mornings and think they are a great idea.

Very impressed, kids happy very engaged.

Thank you for inviting us in to school. It’s always good to have insight into what the kids are learning.

Lovely to see all of Class 1’s work. Classrooms looking great with the change around, thank you.

Nice to see lots of variety in learning areas in Class 1 Not much interaction from teachers (open mornings are an opportunity for parents to talk informally with teachers and work with their children in the classroom. If you did not get a chance to talk to your child’s teacher I hope that you will be able to share any worries at parents’ evening)

Lovely to see everyone’s work, lovely atmosphere

Harvest

Thank you for joining us at our harvest celebration. Your kindness and generosity were very much appreciated by our guests from the foodbank. And the children loved seeing you all there, supporting and being part of the school family.

Kind Regards,

Sue Ward

Headteacher

update 27/9/24

Another busy week in school.
• Class 3 and 4 enjoyed a visit from Library services
• Our rugby team have been practising for a tournament next week
• Preparation for Young Voices is underway

We now have the timetable for our residential which includes a trip to a copper mine and the final payment is on SchoolMoney.

Many thanks to the PFA who are funding a whole school pantomime trip in December.

Update

Dear Parents,

The week started off with six of the school team - four pupils, a governor and myself - attending the Stephen Lawrence Youth Ambassador Symposium at De Montfort University. The day was inspiring and we are looking forward to working with our young people to support all of our pupils as they stand up against hate.

We are still looking at options for residentials. I am visiting a venue in Staffordshire on 9th July and will keep you updated.

I look forward to seeing everyone at our Sports Day on Monday (weather permitting). We will be setting up before lunch so please do not disturb the racing area if you are joining the lunchtime picnic. Please note: all children will need to return to their classrooms at 1pm for registration and to get into their teams. We will sit in teams, and all children must remain with their group, until they are handed over at the end of the day. Don’t forget hats, water bottles and sun cream.

Save the date: Young voices 25 will take place on Friday 31st January.

Update 21/7/24

Dear Parents,

Another busy week in Newton Burgoland.

On Tuesday, some of Class 4 attended the Leicester Tigers’ summer series at Welford Road.

On Thursday, we enjoyed listening to our talented musicians perform together in assembly. In the evening, Jacob represented our school at the small schools celebration event. Medals were presented for cross-country. Thank you, once more, to Mrs Hollingsworth for leading our team.

Wishing you a dry and sunny weekend.

Mrs Ward

Headteacher

Update 14/6/24

Happy Friday everyone!

Thank you so much first of all to the PFA for organising and delivering the samosas - what a tasty end to the week! Mr Ikin is hoping this will be a regular occurrence!

We would also like to thank Reverend Rick for coming into school and delivering an assembly on Pentecost. The children had a follow-up assembly on this yesterday; Isla, Toby and Isabelle presented to Classes 1 and 2 and so thanks go to them too.

As usual, all the classes have been really busy!

Class 4 have been learning about the Jewish community and how they see God. They have started to plan a piece of artwork for a competition based on this learning and I can't wait to see the results. Watch this space! They have also wowed us with their descriptive writing: creating atmosphere and tension by using a range of effective vocabulary and personification.

Class 3 have been learning all about Stonehenge: the prehistoric megalithic structure on Salisbury Plain. Miss Eley made this learning sticky by planning for the children to recreate the structure... using custard creams and bourbon biscuits! This is history they will remember.

Classes 1 and 2 were treated to a visit by the Creative Learning Services this morning and enjoyed a hands-on experience to learn all about the seaside... a very old trunk had been discovered in the left luggage department at the local railway station. Who could it belong to? Where were they going? How old is the trunk? The children handled genuine museum artefacts as the trunk was unpacked and they found out about seaside holidays 100 years ago.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend and I look forward to seeing you all next week.

Mrs Underwood

Update 7/6/24

We hope you all had a lovely half term - the children have enjoyed sharing their news - some of you were very busy getting out and about!

We have had a busy start to the last half term of this academic year! Class 3 had a visit from a partner school from the City of Leicester: Slater Primary School. As usual, the children were Noticeably Newton: welcoming the children and displaying excellent behaviour. They enjoyed the challenge of making towers and playing parachute games. All good preparation for getting to know people from different localities and working with others.

The Open the Book assembly team came to deliver an assembly all about the story of when the two travellers met Jesus on their long walk. They were openly impressed with the children's behaviour and engagement.

Class 3 were treated to an assembly on the 80th anniversary of D-Day that was planned and delivered by Bobby, Liam and Parker. They have been invited to take part in a poster competition to show what they learnt about this important period in out history.

And finally, we need to mention the children who have been on the Class 4 residential! I have enjoyed being kept up-to-date on how much fun they have been having - and - how much teamwork, resilience and leadership they have shown. More examples of how our children are Noticeably Newton wherever they go! A huge 'THANK YOU' needs to go out to Mr Ikin, Mrs Ward and the parent helpers who have made this visit both possible and successful. We really appreciate you!

Have a lovely weekend everyone. I look forward to seeing you all next week.

Kate Underwood

Update 3/5/24

Accordion content

Dear Parents,

Maypole dancing is well underway, and we look forward to welcoming you to our Spring celebration on Monday 20th May.

Further to our survey about residentials we are looking at venue options and costs. I will update you once we have some options available to consider. The advantage of Beaumanor is that there is very little travel time and if pupils become ill you can collect them easily. However, costs have risen and we are open to looking at alternatives.

Class 4 are now preparing to showcase their learning in the SATS, Year 1 in the phonics screening and Year 4 in the multiplication check. These will take place across May and June. All of our children have worked very hard all year so it is important to remember that tests are a snapshot, they are not the whole.

Wishing you a sunny bank holiday.

Kind Regards,

Sue Ward

update 19/4/24

Dear Parents,

We have had a visit from Ofsted this week and as soon as the report is released it will be sent out to you. I would just like to say how amazing our children were. Having a visitor can sometimes unsettle children, but this week our children proudly spoke about their school and their learning. They were all Noticeably Newton! Thank you for all your support and kind words.

I want to update you on the results from the residential trip survey. There was an even spread between all options, so at this time we will keep the current option in place and reconsider the position in twelve months’ time.

Have a super weekend.

Mrs Ward

Headteacher

Update 15/3/24

Dear Parents,

Our week started with a lot of excitement and some fantastic poems. More about this from our classes:

Class 1

Class 1 had a fantastic time during our Slam Poetry day. We worked together to come up with a poem to describe 'The Funniest Teacher'. We decided that the funniest teacher would have snail shells for ears, stones for eyes and worms for lips! 

Class 2

Class 2 wrote some fantastic poems about all sorts of animals! A favourite line of mine was "Maybe Polar Bears are white because they dive in the snow and do not scrub it off in the bathtub!" (Nicholas) All of the children did an excellent job and we are very proud of them all.

Class 3

What a busy week we have had, from poetry writing to felt making we have been non-stop.  On Monday we enjoyed the poetry workshop and wowed everyone with our brilliant poems.  On Tuesday we took part in a felt workshop where we made our own pieces of felt using the wet felting technique.  Then to end the busy week we carried out two investigations, one where we explored magnetic and non-magnetic materials and the other where we tested the strength of different magnets.  There was a lot of concentration on the faces in Class 3 that afternoon!

Class 4

Class 4's Slam Poetry involved personification: where the writer gives objects human or animal qualities. The children were so creative and inventive! We had jealous pianos, angry paintbrushes, lonely teddy bears, fed up lasagne, beaten up 'keeper gloves and many more original ideas! We are looking forward to the children using this technique in their independent writing in the future.

Extreme show and tell will take place on Monday, and orienteering on Tuesday. This means that PE next week will be on Tuesday and Thursday for Class 1 and 2 and on Wednesday and Friday for Class 3 and 4, for next week only. Forest School will be on Wednesday next week for Class 1 and 2.

As Easter approaches we are planning events for next term. It will be a sporty one, with sports day and rugby competitions. Class 4 will be taking part in The Tigers summer series again and Class 3 have a tag rugby event.

Don’t forget to have your say on our residential survey, in the interests of fairness only named votes will be counted.

 

Kind Regards,

 

Sue Ward

Headteacher

 

Update 8/3/24

Dear Parents,

We’ve had a very busy week in school with STEM workshops, Swimming Gala and World Book Day, it was fantastic that so many of the children dressed up in costumes inspired by the books they have been reading.

It was lovely to see so many parents at our Mother’s Day assembly. A big thank you to Class 1 and 2.

Today we presented the cross-country shield to our Year 5 team who have been amazing all season and celebrated those who were chosen to compete last Sunday in the NWL race at Prestwold Hall, congratulations to: Emily, Harriet, Jesamine and Isabelle.

 

We also presented certificates to the pupils who took part in the Swimming Gala, all of our children taking part swam really well.

Mrs Underwood and Miss Eley presented certificates to their whole classes following feedback from the rangers at Bradgate park for:

Outstanding behaviour

Outstanding curiosity – some great questions

Outstanding ability to make connections and draw upon previous learning.

They were all Noticeably Newton!

We look forward to seeing you on Monday afternoon at 2.45pm if you are able to join our celebration of a day of ‘Slam poetry’ which has been funded by the PFA.

Our next sporting event is orienteering for Class 4 on 19th March.

Have a lovely weekend.

Kind Regards,

 

Sue Ward

Headteacher

Update 1/3/24

Dear Parents,

It was lovely to see so many of you at our open morning after which we officially opened our new rainbow room.

A big thank you to Mrs Storer, Mrs Thompson, Mrs Rickard, Mrs Clasper and Mrs Dawson who have helped with our trips this week.

Next week is promising to be very exciting with STEM workshops, the Swimming Gala, World Book Day and our Mothers Day Assembly all taking place.

Have a great weekend.

Mrs Ward

Headteacher

update 16/2/24

Dear Parents,

Congratulations to our Year 5 girls’ cross country team who won the NWL Cross Country League Year 5 Girls Team Trophy.

Many thanks to Mrs Hollingsworth for her support.

Wishing you a super half term holiday.

Mrs Ward

Headteacher

Update 9/2/24

Dear Parents,

Rainbow Day News

Thank you for supporting our rainbow day on Monday. We had a brilliant day and shared our learning with each other at the end of the day. You will be able to see our work on our open morning.

Class 1

We had a fabulous time on our rainbow day! We thought about how we are all special and original and that our differences should be celebrated. We did a lovely piece of writing about what makes us special. 

In the afternoon we read the book 'Hello, Hello', which is about how animals are all different, with different patterns. We used viewfinders to select a pattern that we liked and then created an abstract piece of artwork using pastels. We then cut our work into strips and put them together to create a class piece of artwork. 

Class 2

We had a fantastic Rainbow day! We started the day by learning about families and talked about how they come in all shapes and sizes. We realised there is no such thing as a "normal" family and that families are all special no matter what they look like. Next we shared the book "Odd dog out" which is all about being yourself and not being afraid to stand out from the crowd. The children did some writing about what makes them special and also created some fantastic odd dogs! The children all really enjoyed their rainbow day.

Class 3

Class 3 really enjoyed our Rainbow Day. It was all based on the book, 'Perfectly Norman'. We spoke about how being different is good and how everyone should feel accepted and comfortable. We all designed our own wings and these will soon be displayed in school. We wrote and illustrated acrostic poems for various words from the day and in the afternoon we covered the playground in positive, affirming graffiti. 

Class 4

Class 4 had a super Rainbow Day! We started off by reading a selection of books all with the theme of Diversity. We wrote and illustrated book reviews outlining what the books had taught us and shared this with the school. Our diversity champions delivered a whole school assembly to talk about our rainbow values (respectful, accepting, individual, nurturing, brave, original and welcoming) and shared a book. We also used the Pause, Think, Rewind, Be Kind materials to learn about being an Upstander against bullying in a range of different circumstances. At the end of the day, we all painted beautiful rainbows and decorated these with pictures, vocabulary and slogans to show all the important learning that had taken place. We are all Diversity Champions!

Forest School

Unfortunately, we had to cancel Forest School for KS1 today due to a lack of staff. There will be no Forest School for KS1 next Friday but we will look forward to getting back outdoors after February half term.

Congratulations to our cross country runners who have been chosen to represent North West Leicestershire in the County race on the 3rd of March. Well done! We are very proud of all those who have represented Newton Burgoland throughout this cross country season.

Have a super weekend!

Mrs Ward

Update 2/2/24

Dear Parents,

At the start of this year we joined a group of local schools to form a collaborative committed to supporting each other, our staff and pupils. As part of our work together we are undertaking peer-to -peer reviews of each other’s schools to support school improvement. I am very pleased to be able to share some of the highlights of our peer review:

Key strengths

  • There is a wonderful welcome from the headteacher and all staff at Newton Burgoland. There is a calm and friendly atmosphere and the pupils are cheerful, polite and happy in school. It is evident straight away that the culture and ethos ensures that everyone is welcome, everyone is special and everyone is a winner.
  • Pupil behave respectfully towards each other and conduct themselves well in and around school. Pupils are engaged in their learning and from the outset know the routines and are immersed in the qualities ‘to be Noticeably Newton’.
  • The curriculum drivers have evolved over time to meet the needs of this learning community. Equality and Diversity has been identified by leaders as a key element to the curriculum and is explicitly woven through all subjects. Each subject identifies leading global figures who have contributed to the development of their discipline across the centuries.
  • Reading is a strength of the school. Pupils enjoy reading and there is a wide range of diverse texts visible throughout the school. Pupils across the school read with accuracy and fluency and this is reflected in their high levels of oracy.
  • Phonics and early reading is highly structured and all staff have been trained. There is clear fidelity to the programme where books are matched to the correct phonic phase.
  • Staff CPD in the phonics programme is consistent. All staff use the same language to describe letter sounds and know the importance of prosody which is shared with the children.
  • Leaders have identified writing across the curriculum as a priority for improvement. In the last few years a range of approaches to writing have been explored some with more success than others. Leaders have invested into the Devon Writing Resources and Teachers Pals comprehensive Toolkit to ensure planning for writing is covering all year group objectives. This systematic and cyclical format should support staff in adapting the high quality resources to the needs and abilities to significantly improve the quality of writing across the curriculum.
  • The school follows the White Rose Scheme from EYFS up to Year 6 to facilitate a consistent approach to maths teaching across the school. Other schemes and resources are also used to supplement resources.
  • The vision from leaders is ambitious and they want all pupils to achieve well.
  • The Number Sense programme is effective in developing automaticity and fluency with number.
  • Pupils enjoy maths and have positive attitude towards the subject. The older pupils, in particular, use technical vocabulary accurately to explain their reasoning.
  • There are good strong positive relationships between adults and pupils in EYFS. Provision is well thought out, attractively presented and children can access most areas. Books are readily promoted throughout the provision.
  • The art curriculum appears to be well sequenced with a range of artistic influences from around the globe. Leaders are skilled, knowledgeable and enthusiastic about their subject.
  • Dedicated and knowledgeable SENDCo and staff who identify children quickly if they have a specific need.
  • Effective provision to support pupils with additional needs to read.

We are working hard to support all of our children to be able to communicate well in writing this year building on the strengths of our reading curriculum. We are looking forward to sharing our work with you at our next open morning on Friday 1st March.

Don't forget to tell us what you think is working well and how we can be even better by filling out our parent survey  Parent Survey 24

News from our classes:

Class 1: 

This week we have been continuing our English lessons based on the book 'The Disgusting Sandwich'. We have really enjoyed learning the story and this week have been using simple noun phrases to describe their own version of a disgusting sandwich! 

In maths we have just finished looking at places value and numbers to 20 and have begun learning all about 2D and 3D shape. 

We've also learned all about the British Bird Watch. We learned about why it is important, listened to some common bird calls and have done lots of observational drawings, paintings and even sculptures of birds in our active learning time. 

Class 2:

The children in Class 2 have been working hard on writing their own versions of the story "The Boy who cried Ninja". We are looking forward to reading their final pieces this week! We have also been learning about money in maths; learning about how much altogether and how much change needs to be given. We had a wonderful visit last week from the Library Services to launch the "Our best picture book" competition. The children will be taking one of the 6 books home each week and will then vote for their favourite. We can't wait to see which book will be the winner! 

Class 3:

A huge well done to Class 3 for being super stars at Young Voices showing that you are all 'Noticeably Newton'! Since YV, we have had a very busy week. From exploring the water cycle process using cress seeds and a plastic cup to having our first online video call with our linking school. It was so nice to finally meet them and to play a few games, getting to know their likes and interests. We have lots to look forward to over the next two weeks before half term as well. We will be exploring using magnets, having a workshop about the River Nile and getting stuck into our new Art unit 'Exploring Pattern'. It is all very exciting in Class 3 currently! 

Class 4:

Class 4 are nearly ready to share their 'Lady of Shalott' stories with you: they are now in the process of editing and proofreading and are really keen to present these over the next few days. Fractions continue to be the maths focus and we are proud that we are now able to order, compare, convert, simplify, add, subtract, multiply and divide these mathematical wonders! Our class reader, 'Impossible Creatures' is getting really exciting and we have been making some predictions about what we think might happen to the characters. We have started a new unit of work in art called 'Exploring Identity' and are looking forward to creating layered portraits of their classmates using collage. We are busy learning about rivers in Geography and the great Steve Backshall has opened our studies on 'Living Things and Their Habitats' with a live lesson all about deadly sharks! 

Finally, a reminder that it is Rainbow Day in school on Monday, the children are invited to dress in all the colours of the rainbow.

Have a peaceful weekend.

parent survey 24

We had a fantastic evening on Friday. Your children sang their hearts out and we left the arena with huge smiles. We were Noticeably Newton!

Thanks to Miss Eley  and Mr Murray for leading us, Mr Ikin, Ms Hill, Mrs Oakley, Mrs Pakula and Mrs Thompson for their support. I hope that those attending enjoyed it as much as we did. Young voices is now an annual fixture and an important part of our music curriculum.

 

Parent Survey 24

 

Please help us on our journey of continuous improvement by completing our parent survey: Parent Survey 24

 

Your feedback matters and makes a difference. In the past you have asked us to:

  • Develop wrap around care onsite – we  have done this
  • Provide a meal option for wrap around care – we have done this
  • Tell you more about what your child is learning – this information is on the website and we are sending termly class letters
  • Increase the number of open mornings so you can see your child’s work and meet with school adults informally – we have done this

 

Your opinion matters. Please complete the survey by 5th February.

 

26/1/24

Dear Parents,

 

Our children taking part in Young Voices today were so excited this morning, it promises to be a fantastic event for all involved!  For those of you picking up tonight school will not be open, the children will be escorted into the front playground when we return and handed over to you there.

 

I have attached details of our Rainbow Day which is taking place in school on 5th February.

 

Have a peaceful weekend.

 

Update 19/1/24

It has been an exciting term so far.

Mrs Mirner is expecting a baby in July, which is great news for her and her family.

After applying for funding before Christmas, we heard on Monday that our bid was successful and that the scrap pod and wooden gazebo will be replaced with the equivalent of a garden office, to enable us to better work with small groups. Currently, we use the hall, staffroom and any corner we can find, so this is really positive.

Finally, just one more week until Young Voices! The enthusiasm in school is tangible.

Due to Young Voices, for next week only, Class 3 & 4 will have PE on Thursday and Class 1 & 2 will have PE on Friday.

Thank you for your continued support.

Update 12/1/24

Dear Parents,

Happy New Year!

It was wonderful to see so many happy faces returning to school on Tuesday. I do hope that you had a restful break. Many thanks for your kind gifts, words and cards from all of us.

In response to your feedback on Parent View we are reintroducing termly newsletters from each class to let you know what your children will be learning. The information is on the website but lives are so busy it will be easier to have the information direct to your inbox, we will be sending individual class newsletters out to you on Monday.

The other area flagged on Parent View was that a few parents were not sure how well their child was doing. I hope that the increased number of open days have addressed this, but if not, please do make an appointment to talk to your child's class teacher.

On another note we have been working together with our pupils to revise our anti-bullying policy – a copy is attached. This was developed with the children through assemblies, anti-bullying week and curriculum work over the last 2 terms.  The policy will be adopted by governors at our meeting on 22nd  January. If you have any feedback please contact the office by Friday 19th January.

Best wishes for the term ahead.

Kind Regards,

Sue Ward

Headteacher

Anti-bullying Policy

15/12/23

It was lovely to see so many of you at our key stage 1 performances this week. We are all incredibly proud of the hard work that the children put into their Christmas production this year. They practiced so hard and the show was incredible! Well done Class 1 and 2 for making us all feel like it's nearly Christmas! 

Next week

 

Monday: Live music workshop in school, kindly funded by the PFA.

Tuesday: Christmas lunch - please order via SchoolGrid.

Thursday: Extreme Show and Tell (9am).

Friday: Christmas Party Picnic Lunch - all children will require a packed lunch. Children are invited to dress in their favourite Christmas party clothes. Carols from 1pm - families are invited to join us (maximum of 2 adults per family please). School closes at 2pm.

update 1/12/23

Dear all,

A huge well done to all of our pupils who have taken part in sporting events this term. I am very proud of how hard they have worked and the respect they have shown to one another and to other teams. Thanks to our parent helpers: Mrs Thompson and Mrs Hollingsworth for their help and to Miss Eley, Mr Ikin and Mrs Davies for their support.

The Christmas fair and film night went well raising over £1900 which will be used to support all of our children. So far this year, the PFA have raised £2600 – thank you all for supporting these events. Next week starts with a pantomime funded by the PFA.

Our Christmas photos will be available to order next week.

Best wishes

Mrs Ward

update 24/11/23

Thank you for joining us this morning, it was lovely to see so many parents in school.

Sports News

Huge well done to the children who attended Sports Hall Athletics they were awarded the Spirit of the Games award for displaying honesty, respect, passion, determination, teamwork and self belief.

Our Yr 3 and 4 Dodgeball team really impressed teachers at other schools with their kindness, behaviour and team spirit.

Football Tournament at Hood Park - although we didn't win, our team played well, kept their heads up and were a credit to the school.

Cross Country - the next race is 20th January, 10am at Hugglescote County Primary.

Don't forget the Christmas Fair on Sunday from 12 to 2pm, I look forward to seeing you there.

update 17/11/23

The PFA would like the following donations for the Christmas Fair on Sunday 26th November:

  • Items for the tombola – either suitable for children or adults.
  • Any fancy dress and Christmas jumpers for our pre-loved stall
  • Cuddly toys

Please can all donations be in a condition you’d be happy to receive yourself. Either hand to the PFA at tuck shop on Friday or at any drop off/pick up before Friday 24th.

They would also be grateful if anyone could spare any time at all to help on a stall or with packing away at the end of the fair on the 26th.

The PFA is here to help enhance your child/children’s lives at school and they couldn’t do it without your help. Recently the PFA has funded the front playground markings, playground games, headphones for pupils and has contributed to school trips to reduce the cost for parents.  They are totally funding a panto performance of Aladdin in school by a visiting theatrical company before Christmas and a whole school trip to ‘Lets Make Music’ in April, events that wouldn’t be possible without their support.  They are always grateful of any help.

update 10/11/23

Dear Parents,

Thank you Class 4, the remembrance assembly today was beautiful.

Bikeability

We have had fantastic feedback from the Bikeability instructors this week, the children were polite, very eager to learn and a delight to teach.  Their eagerness to ride their bikes was wonderful.

Wishing you all a peaceful weekend.

Mrs Ward

Update 3/11/23

Dear Parents,

Thank you for joining in with our dressing up day today.

The winners of our pumpkin competition were:

Class 1 - Edie

Class 2 - Marnie

Class 3 - Wilf

Class 4 - Liam

The winner of name the pumpkin was Riley.

Clay creators

Due to low numbers this club is unlikely to be viable. Please sign up this weekend if you would like a place. We do not have the staffing to run an alternative club.

Sports Competitions KS2

Don’t forget to sign up. Without a team we cannot participate. Let us know if transport is a problem.

Bikeability

Year 6 have the opportunity to take part in the Bikeability programme next week, please return your consent form by Monday if you would like your child to be included.

Class 4 trip to Warning Zone

Thank you for your financial support for this trip. Mrs Underwood would like you to know:

The children learnt so much about staying safe online during the trip to The Warning Zone. Over the course of the day, they took part in a variety of activities and experiences covering online safety, water safety, alcohol, anti-social behaviour, road safety, fire risks, electricity and railways.

They were fully engaged and beautifully behaved; I was very proud to be their teacher.

Many of them have brought their learning home to share with their family.

Kind Regards,

Sue Ward

Headteacher

Update 12/10/23

It was lovely to see so many of you at our harvest celebration. Many thanks to Class 4 for leading this celebration and to all of you for contributing so generously to our collection for Ibstock Food bank.

News from our classes

Class 1 have enjoyed finishing our Christianity unit on The Creation Story this week.  We have used art to show  our impressions of each of the 7 days.

In Maths we have started learning about part-whole models and addition. In phonics Year 1’s have been practicing reading longer compound and EYFS are blending to read already!

Class 2 had a fantastic trip to Manor Farm Park as a part of their science unit about animals and their habitats. We found out lots about owls, where they live and what they eat and were even able to hold and fly them! We also met lots of different mammals and reptiles and learned about their similarities and differences. We can't wait to use our learning to write our non-fiction texts about owls and other nocturnal animals after the holiday.

Class 3 have been very busy this first half term. In English, we used all of our learning to write our stories inspired by the picture book 'Flotsam'. Our Science over the last half term has involved us exploring animals and their living habitats. We have explored classification keys and have spent lessons outdoors in the forest hunting for invertebrate creatures, being respectful and returning them to where they were found. After half term we will dive deeper into Ancient Egypt, learning about their beliefs about life after death and how their civilisation lasted longer than others. We will also finish our Art unit and create a large piece of artwork using charcoal.

During this last week, it was 'World Mental Health Day' on Tuesday. This year's theme was 'Mental health is a universal human right.' We spent our PSHCE lesson talking about the importance of talking to someone we trust if we feel worried about the way we are feeling and spoke about different strategies for looking after our mental health or supporting others with their mental health. A huge well done to Class 3 for working hard over this half term. Have a well-deserved rest over the half term.

Class 4 are busy learning about the Tudor Monarchs. We have also learnt about Shakespeare and his plays. In our art topic - Set Design - we have started to think about what the setting for a Shakespeare play might look like. We are looking forward to building these after half term. (We will need shoe boxes or similar for this project.) Our big question in RE has been 'Creation and Science - conflicting or complimentary?' We know that different people have different beliefs and that we should respect this.

The children enjoyed presenting the Harvest Assembly, led by the School council, and are now preparing for their remembrance presentation next month. Our ECO Team presented the winners of the river creature competition with prizes and would like to thank all the children that entered for their amazing efforts. The Sports Ambassadors have enjoyed delivering playtime and lunchtime games to the younger children as well as developing their leadership skills. The Lunchtime Ambassadors have been doing a brilliant job ensuring lunchtimes go smoothly. The ESafety Champions have made sure our laptops and iPads are charged and are planning a KS1 assembly on ESafety for after the half term. The Reading Champions have been hearing the younger children read, are keeping the hall books neat and tidy and are looking forward to getting in your story writing competition entries. And last but not least: our Anti-Bullying Champions are busy preparing a KS1 assembly on making friends and dealing with bullying. The sports ambassadors are also preparing an assembly for the whole school.

Goodbye and best wishes

Today we say goodbye to Ms Barber. 

Ms Barber joined us at the start of the first lockdown. She has transformed our early years during the last 3 years, supporting our pupils to develop as unique individuals. We wish her all the very best in her new and very exciting role.

Children she has taught in Year 2 said:

  • Marnie - I remember when she taught us our first rainbow writing. She is very kind and helps people. She is one of the best teachers in the world.
  • Isla - Ms Barber helps us when we are stuck. She is a really good teacher.
  • Eliza - If we got our letters back to front she would always help us to get them the right way round. I will miss her lots.
  • Jemima - She helps me when I get something wrong. I will miss her.
  • Nicholas - In assembly Ms Barber smiles at me and I smile back.
  • Ivy - She helps us when we are hurt.
  • Jake D - I loved doing maths with Ms Barber in class one.
  • Jake F - She is really kind and helps me a lot to do everything.

Wishing you the very best for a peaceful half term.

Update 6/10/23

It was lovely to see so many of you at our open morning on Wednesday. Your feedback, as always, was very welcome.

You said:

  • 5 Star school, students very well mannered! Amazing artwork, one big happy family.  Keep it up! Staff are doing an amazing job!
  • Love the new menu.
  • Beautiful work from the children! They all seem very happy!
  • Kids both happy and settled.  Very pleased with both their progress.
  • Cannot believe how well X is reading now.  Thank you all, he is more eager to learn now.
  • Very good class work, kids very happy.
  • We enjoyed our school tour very much.  It looks like a very creative and organized environment.
  • The children have settled back into school well after the summer and are making good progress in their work.  I’m happy with the things you are doing. 

You have asked us to think about:

  • Giving more focused homework for year groups rather than just class.
  • Have reading books more often – please talk to your child’s teacher so we can make sure you have enough reading books.

Other comments were about individuals: please talk to your child’s class teacher if you have a query or need support.

Harvest

For those of you new to school, we ask that you bring a donation to our harvest assembly. Your child will carry their donation into the hall so it is great if it is in a decorated box. The donations are then taken to Ibstock Food Bank. Parents are most welcome to join us at our assembly on Thursday at 9am.

Reminder - we finish for half term on Thursday 12th October.

Kind Regards,

Sue Ward

Headteacher

 

Update 29/9/23

Change of date: Open morning will now be on Wednesday 4/10/23 – apologies for the late notice.

We look forward to seeing you all next Wednesday at our open morning (9-10am) and on Thursday 12/10/23 (9-9.45am) at our harvest assembly.

This year we are collecting for Ibstock food bank.

They would like:

  • Tinned meat (hotdogs, meatballs etc.)
  • Tinned fish
  • Tinned fruit
  • Sponge/rice puddings
  • Long-life juice
  • Pasta sauce
  • Tinned veg (potatoes, carrots, green beans, tomatoes)
  • Tinned meals (spaghetti, chicken or veg curries, chilli)
  • Tinned soup
  • Jam and preserves

Please do not send hygiene products.

Monday 2/10/23 is the closing date for Young Voices (adult tickets, t-shirts and pupil places) – don’t miss out.

Have a lovely weekend.

Kind Regards,

Sue Ward

Headteacher

update 22/9/23

You are invited to join us for an open morning with a book reading event, on Friday 6th October from 8.45 to 9.45 and on Thursday 12th October for a harvest celebration.

As the weather turns colder please make sure that you send coats and jumpers to school. Spare shoes are needed for PE and playtimes – Class 3 and 4.

Don’t forget to sign up for Young Voices – tickets are selling fast so we need to be ready to order.

Parents evenings for Years 2, 3 and 5 are on Tuesday 10th October and Thursday 12th October for EYFS. We will soon be sending you a link to enable you to sign up.

Have a good weekend.

Kind Regards,

Sue Ward

Headteacher

Update 15/9/23

Thank you for supporting Class 4's trip to the Battlefield this week. Despite the rain, Mrs Underwood and museum staff were impressed with both pupils' behaviour and engagement with learning. Class 4 are Noticeably Newton!

Our new club:' Clay Creators' went well. We were impressed with how well resources are organised and presented and with how the club provider supported pupils from 1 to Y6. All other clubs will start next week.

Young Voices tickets and t-shirts are available to order, rehearsal is underway. Please note that this is for class 3 and 4 only.

Schools Council Election Results:

Congratulations to all of our pupils who stood for leadership roles in school.

Beaumanor 24

We are finalising costs but the dates of our Yr 5/6 residential are: 5th to 7th June 2024

School Lunches

Thank you all for embracing the new system for ordering school lunches and after school club food. After some initial teething troubles, this now seems to be running smoothly. Mrs Grimshaw and Mrs Evans have been checking each day to make sure that children either have lunches ordered via SchoolGrid or have lunchboxes with them but as of next week, we will be relying on the online system alone so please make sure that you have ordered online if your child needs a school lunch or a sandwich for after school.

Have a lovely weekend.

Kind Regards,

Sue Ward

Headteacher

Update 8/9/23

Dear Parents,

A very warm welcome to our new starters: Arthur, Barney, Bethany, Charlotte, Edie, Millie, Olive, Oliver, Ottillie and Sanam.

They have all settled really well into school and have started learning phonics this week.

It has been a delight to welcome everyone back to school. The new meal service is fantastic, the children are really enjoying the new options. Please make sure that your child knows which option they have chosen, it really helps us speed up lunchtime service.

We have a busy term ahead: Class 4 have a trip planned for next week, dodgeball (Class 3 and 4) and sports hall athletics (Class 4) competitions have been booked for Class 4 and 3 following your feedback asking for more competitions for Class 3.  Please see the diary dates for more information.

Next week we are welcoming Miss Poppy Moore to our team. She is an apprentice teaching assistant.

News from our classes:

Class 1

We have started our new topic All About Me and have started to learn about different animal groups and explored making large scale spirals and circles using our bodies in art.

Class 2

We have started on our English unit all about Little Red Riding Hood. We have been listening to lots of different versions of the story and talking about our favorites. In art we have started to explore how we can use nature to inspire our own art work.

Class 3

It has been a very busy first week in Class 3. We have started Place Value in Maths recalling key facts we learnt last year. In Science, we started our new unit of Animals and their Habitats, where we grouped animals by their features using a venn diagram.  Well done Class 3! You have all been 'Noticeably Newton'.

Class 4

What a busy start to the new year! In Class 4 we have already learnt a lot in History: we know about the War of the Roses and how the Battle of Bosworth led to the First Tudor King. We are really looking forward to visiting the Battlefield at Bosworth and learning even more! We also enjoyed a History workshop where we learnt about foods and feasting in Tudor times.

Another exciting thing planned for us is the Play Leaders' Training on Monday - we will let you know all about this in next week's update.

Reminders:

On Monday Class 4 will need to be in PE kits for sports leader training.

  • Clay creators starts on Monday.
  • All other club letters will be sent out next week.
  • All children should be bringing books bags or drawstring bags to school – no rucksacks
  • Children should remove earrings for PE or bring tape.
  • The gate closes at 8.45 children arriving after this time are marked as late.

Stop Press

Watch out for the information about Young Voices. We had an amazing time last year so I am hoping that everyone in Class 3 and 4 will go this year.

Kind Regards,

Sue Ward

Update 7/7/23

Dear all,

Thank you for joining us at our opening morning this week and for taking the time to share your thoughts:

  • Good – creating a safe environment for children to learn. Could be better – Sports day – more effort and longer races for KS2
  • Helping my children gain confidence. Make homework more relevant
  • Great to see creativity being nurtured as much as the core academic subjects. Class 1 – wow! What amazing things you have achieved with the garden. My  child has loved learning about all the topics this year and tells us all about it.  Class 3 have done some beautiful art work.
  • Love coming to events at the school/joining in and attending assembly!  Really pleased school meals have been sorted!! Good work!
  • Very impressed with all their hard work.  Lots of happy kids!
  • Great morning, would like to do this more often!
  • Lots of work displayed and to see
  • Children very engaged in learning
  • Amazing work, children learning a lot
  • Nothing to add, Miss Eley is doing a wonderful job! Happy kids, lots of fun!
  • Everything is well structured and engaging
  • Children are all so friendly and polite and seem very happy
  • I feel that the school is doing everything very well and the support my child has had has been outstanding, very pleased!
  • Happy children! Great atmosphere, lovely classrooms
  • Love the separation into the different areas with so much content to learn and play
  • Great classroom
  • Very nice to see all the work
  • It was a good opportunity to see through the children’s work.  Involving the children in the day worked well.
  • More Open Mornings – its lovely seeing their progress
  • Lovely learning areas
  • Amazing work from all the children.  Happy and striving. Artwork is awesome.  Keep up with all the hard work, you’re all doing amazing! 5 stars and more
  • Good classroom
  • Great classrooms

We are also, really excited about our new food service and we love inviting you in to see all your children’s beautiful work. Our art work stood out with teachers across our local family of schools. We will be leading on art development across the group. Well done Miss Eley and Mrs Watson.

We have penciled in another open morning, with a focus on reading, for early next term.  In response to the comment above we will do our best to make this a regular event with the children leading your visit.

Looking forward to next week:

  • Please bring a named carrier bag so used books can go home on Wednesday
  • There is no PE on Thursday or Friday next week, PE kit on Monday for circus skills
  • Don’t forget to return your parent comments form from your childs report
  • Don’t forget to activate your School Grid account to be ready to order school dinners from the Autumn Term
  • School closes at 2pm on Friday

Have super weekend.