Whitehouse Weekly Bulletin 159

Friday 2nd July 2021

Message from Mrs Hall

THANK YOU

It was fantastic to welcome parents/carers back into school this week to watch the children take part in their annual Sports Day.  Although, we had to organise sports day slightly differently to previous years, we still believe it was a huge success and appreciate the positive support we received from our families. A big thank you also to Mr Jordan and the team for all the hard work they put into making the day so special.  

Attendance for the Previous Week

Class with the Best Attendance – Owls (100%)

Assemblies

The theme of our assembly next week will be: What kind of guidance do parents provide? (UNRC Link: Article 5 – I have the right to be guided by guided by my parents/carers). Resources related to this assembly will soon be available on our website.  To access them, simply go to Learning and click on our Enquiry Based Assemblies.

Purple Man Reading Award

Well done to Lemurs and Robins who won the Purple Man Reading Award last week.

House Captain Election Results

We are very pleased to announce the results of our House Captain Elections which took place this week.  Each candidate produced a video to share with the school where they were able to explain their vision of how they would lead their respective house.  Then each child at Whitehouse was given a ballot paper so they could vote and the captains were chosen in a democratic manner. 

         Well done to the following successful candidates:

Diamond House Captains: Tayla and Lily E

Emerald House Captains: Ceylin and Ala

Ruby House Captains: Sofija and Derin

Sapphire House Captains: Mason and Jayden

Awards

EYFS:

Key Stage 1:

Lower Key Stage 2:

Upper Key Stage 2:

Art Day

Last week the children across the whole school celebrated art by contributing towards a collaborative art piece in each year group which will be used to decorate each corridor.  The year groups each focused on a famous Suffolk landmark to recreate in the style of a famous artist.  The children learnt about artists such as Vincent Van Gogh and Maggie Hambling and the techniques they use to create their artwork.  Each group worked with a specific artistic material to create different effects and textures.  The children all worked very hard towards their projects and their art skills clearly shone through as we now have lots of wonderful and colourful displays for the school. 

Below you can see some examples of their artwork. 

Year 5 used water colours to create a piece of artwork using the Waterfront as inspiration.   Year 4 used acrylic paints and learnt about an artist called Michael Coulter, to inspire their work.  Year 3 learnt about Vincent Van Gogh and painted Framlingham Castle using his unique style.  The finished Year 3 piece is also shown below.

In the afternoon, every child was given a stone.  They all used acrylic paints to design and paint something on their stone that was special to them.  All of the stones are going to be placed together to create a Whitehouse sculpture that can be admired for years to come.  Watch this space for more information!  Thank you to the PFA (Parents and Friends Association) who kindly donated towards the cost of the day. 

Year 6 Mersea Trip

On Thursday and Friday last week, our Year 6 classes were able to visit the Essex Outdoors Activity Centre on Mersea Island.  Throughout the day they completed a variety of activities including rock climbing, kit karting, and an obstacle course. In each of the activities, the children worked as a team in order to be successful and they all showed incredible perseverance to complete some of the difficult tasks. 

The children all thoroughly enjoyed the day and we are thrilled that we were able to take them on such an enjoyable, celebratory trip for all their hard work this year.

Library Books

As usual at the end of the school year, we are hoping to get all books back into school.  Please could you check at home to make sure there are no books which your child has forgotten to return during the year.  It is surprising how many books do come back, having been missing for some time!  They are often found on bookshelves, in cars and even behind fridges!  Thank you for your assistance.

Visitors to EYFS

Our Nursery and Reception children welcomed some very special visitors in to school this week!  The children were thrilled to have the chance to meet some little ducklings, who were just 5 hours old.  It is always a highlight of the year for the children (and the staff!).

House Competition on Children’s Rights

As part of our Rights Respecting School journey towards Silver, Whitehouse is organising a House Competition for the week commencing Monday 5^th July.  The aim of the competition is for pupils to show their understanding of the following rights, which have been covered in assemblies this term, by designing a poster which demonstrates how we promote these rights in our school.  Each house will focus on a particular right which is linked to the Heads of House roles within the school:

Diamonds: Mrs Shalka – Article 12: The right to have a voice and be listened to

Emerald: Mr Jordan – Article 21: The right to play and relax

Ruby: Mr Johnson – Article 28: The right to education

Sapphire: Mr Christopher – Article 24: The right to best health

Please take this opportunity to discuss these rights with your children and encourage them to take part.  Winners will not only receive a certificate and earn points for their house but their posters will also be enlarged and used to promote the rights around the school.  We know that we have wonderful artists in our midst and the Heads of House cannot wait to judge all the wonderful entries.

Community Pantry

Have you heard about the Community Pantry yet?  We know many of our families have experienced financial hardships due to the Pandemic and a food bank, called the Community Pantry was set up to help families from the Whitton, Whitehouse and Castle Hill areas who may need a little extra help.  They have now begun a ‘Walk in Service’.  All you need to do is go along to the Castle Hill Community Centre on Highfield Road on a Tuesday morning between 10.00am and 11.30am and you will be able to fill a bag full of food, free of charge.  Please note you will just need to bring along something that shows your postcode so they know which area you live in.

Baby & Me Taster Sessions

Do you have a baby aged between 3-12 months?  Would you be interested in learning more about supporting your baby’s learning and development?  Would you enjoy taking part in musical activities and interacting with your baby?  If the answer is yes, Realise Futures are offering a free Baby & Me Taster Session which is suitable for parents, grandparents or carers of babies. The sessions will be held at Castle Hill Community Centre on Tuesday 6^th July or Tuesday 20^th July at 10.00am – 12.00pm or 1.00pm to 3.00pm.  You can book a space by calling 0300 456 2050.

Class Information

A text message will be sent on Monday 5^th July informing parents/carers which class their child will be in from September 2021. The children will have the opportunity to meet their class teacher on Tuesday 20^th July.  There will be a few staff changes for September. Mr Moore will be leaving teaching for a year to complete his MA; Miss Hunt has secured an Assistant Headteacher post at The Sir Bobby Robson School, Ipswich; Mr Hobhouse will be setting up a new forest school in mid Suffolk and Miss Knights is relocating. We wish them all well in their new ventures. In addition, from September, we will be welcoming Mrs McCart (Maths Leader), Miss Payne and Mr Blomfied (Music Instructor) to our wonderful school.

Dates for the Diary

Wednesday 7^th July – Y6 Transition Morning (Westbourne)

Wednesday 7^th July and Thursday 8^th July – New Reception Intake to meet Teachers

Friday 9^th July – Reports Sent Home

Thursday 15^th July – Nursery Sports Event – 9.15am to 10.15am

Thursday 15^th July – Reception Sports Day – 10.30am to 11.30am

Thursday 15^th July – Year 6 BBQ – 4.00pm to 5.15pm

Monday 19^th July – Year 6 Production (Chameleons / Ocelots) 9.00am / 4.30pm

Monday 19^th July – Year 6 Production (Tigers / Toucans) 11.00am / 6.30pm

Tuesday 20^th July – YR-Y5 Transition Morning

Tuesday 20^th July – Year 6 Picnic and Celebration – 1.30pm

           Wednesday 21^st July – Start of the Summer Holiday