Whitehouse Weekly Bulletin 170

Friday 5th November 2021

Message from Mrs Hall

Welcome back to a new half-term at Whitehouse. Thank you for your continued patience, understanding and support regarding the changes we have had to implement due to covid-19.  We will be holding virtual parent’s/carer’s evenings this month and we are all looking forward to sharing the great learning that is taking place daily. You should have received this half-term’s curriculum newsletter sharing what the children are learning.  If you haven’t received a copy these can be found on our website: https://www.whcps.org/the-whitehouse-curriculum/. Thank you for your continued support.

Attendance for the week before Half Term

Class with the Best Attendance – Red Pandas (98.1%)

Assemblies

The theme of our assemblies for next week will be: Why is our Family History important to us?  UNRC Link: Article 9: I have the right to live with my parents unless it is bad for me.  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 Competition

The winners of the Purple Man Reading Competition the week before half term were Tigers (UKS2) and Hedgehogs (LKS2).   Hedgehogs have been incredible this term so far, so well done to the whole class.

Christmas Shoeboxes

Whitehouse Baptist Church are again supporting the Christmas Shoebox appeal, and they are gathering items to make up shoeboxes which are sent to boys and girls throughout the world who lack many of the items we take for granted.  If you would like to donate an item or two to help their appeal we are acting as a drop off point for them.  The kinds of items they need are: small cuddly toys, bars of soap, combs, toothbrushes, stationery items, socks, sunglasses and small toys such as yo-yos or skipping ropes.  Items need to arrive at school by Thursday 18^th November at the latest.  Please note there are some items which are not able to be accepted including sweets and chocolate, liquids and toothpaste. More details can be found on the leaflet which we will share with parents/carers by email.  It is a really lovely and easy way to help your child learn about helping those in need.

Awards

Lower Key Stage 2:

Upper Key Stage 2:

Rights Ambassadors

A big thank you to all of our KS2 children who applied to become Rights Ambassadors so that they could work towards enhancing children’s rights even further at Whitehouse.  Our new Rights Ambassadors are:

The first thing the Rights Ambassadors wanted to do was to have a look at the displays throughout the school to see which of the rights were being promoted.  This was followed by a discussion about the rights which were most important to them and why.  They were then given a copy of the rights and asked to produce a bubble which will be displayed on our RRSA board.   Both Mme Godet and Mrs Gelling were very impressed by the thoughtfulness, teamwork and maturity the children demonstrated during the meeting and are very much looking forward to working with the Rights Ambassadors to make Whitehouse an even better place to live, learn and work.

Library News

Liz Pichon, the author of the very popular Tom Gates books, has now brought out a new book called Shoe Wars.  In the Key Stage 2 library this month there is a competition to win one of 30 sampler copies of this book.  Years 3 and 4 are asked to design a new pair of Tom Gates trainers and Years 5 and 6 have to guess the characters from their descriptions. Watch out for the arrival of the actual book coming soon!

Earrings

This term we have noticed an increase in children wearing earrings to school on their PE days.  Can we please remind you of the following information:

• Earrings are not to be worn during PE lessons
• If pupils are wearing earrings to school, they must be able to remove them for themselves for PE lessons.  Staff and other children are not allowed to assist them in removing the earrings
• Children wearing earrings are not allowed to take part in the PE activities, even if they cover the earrings with plasters or tape.

Please note these restrictions are in place to ensure the safety of your children and we thank you for your co-operation in this matter.

Dinner Money

Please can we remind parents/carers to ensure they are regularly topping up their dinner money accounts on Arbor and not showing a negative balance.  Alternatively, you can put cash or cheque in an envelope with your child’s name and amount of cash enclosed and leave it at the main office.

Online Safety: Squid Games

Over the last few weeks, teachers and children at our school have raised concerns about a new Netflix series called Squid Games.  Children across the school, right down to Reception, have been overheard discussing episodes of the show and some have also raised concerns about the violent content that they have seen.  Please see the next page for further guidance and advice for parents/carers regarding this issue.  Please be aware that the TV series has an age restriction of 15+ and is not suitable for primary aged children.

Dates for the Diary

Thursday 18^th November – Parents Evening (virtual meetings)

Friday 19^th November – Children in Need (Non-uniform day)

Monday 22^nd November – Ipswich Museum – Year 6 Ocelots and Chameleons

Tuesday 23^rd November – Ipswich Museum – Year 6 Tigers and Toucans

Wednesday 24^th November – Parents Evening (virtual meetings)

Thursday 25^th November – Flu Immunisation (Year 5 and Catch up Session)

Friday 26^th November – RRSA Whole School Day

Friday 3^rd December – Bank Holiday for Jubilee (School Closed)

Friday 17^th December – Last Day of Autumn Term

Monday 20^th December to Monday 3^rd January – Christmas Holiday

Tuesday 4^th January – PD Day (School Closed to Children)

Monday 21^st February to Friday 25^th February – Half Term Holiday

Monday 28^th February – PD Day (School Closed to Children)