Whitehouse Weekly Bulletin 179

Friday 21st January 2022

Message from Mrs Hall

There were further Covid updates this week as the self-isolation rules are being reduced from seven days to five full days. There is an explanation below for how this will work for children returning to school, but please ring or email the office for advice if you are unsure. Whilst we are aware and sympathetic to the impact this is having on attendance, we will be alerting parents/carers where attendance is falling significantly below the average rates and offering support where we can. We are anxious that the children’s learning is not further impacted through poor attendance. Thank you for your support.

Attendance for the previous week

Class with the Best Attendance – Lizards (97.9%)

Assemblies

The theme of our assemblies for next week will be: Can children go to prison?  UNRC Link: Article 37: I have the right not to be punished in a cruel of hurtful way and Article 40: I have the right to help in defending myself if I am accused of breaking the law.  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.

Covid-19 Update

The self-isolation period for people who have tested positive for Covid-19 has been reduced further, from seven days to five. Under new guidance, those who test positive will be able to leave isolation after five full days - if they test negative on a lateral flow test (LFT) on days five and six. The new rules come into force on Monday 17th January and will allow children to leave self-isolation after day five only if they don't have a temperature. Therefore, any child who receives a negative lateral flow test before school on the sixth day, after also testing negative on the fifth day may return to school. Please remember that the first positive test is day zero. Thank you for your support in following this guidance for the benefit of the whole school community.

Purple Man Reading Competition

Our Purple Man winners last week were Chameleons (UKS2) and Hedgehogs (LKS2).  Well done to both classes. In addition, a special award was made to Jaguars, one of our Year 5 classes who have beaten some of our Year 6 classes several times.  Well done for your great example of hard work and determination.

British Science Week Poster Competition

The theme for the British Science Week poster competition this year is ‘Growth’.  This can include plants, population or personal growth.  We would love Whitehouse to enter the competition (and win!). Why not have a go and design a poster and bring these into school for Miss White by Friday 28^th January 2022.   For more information about the competition and the rules, please see the following link: www.britishscienceweek.org/plan-your-activities/poster-competition/

Awards

EYFS:

Key Stage 1:

Lower Key Stage 2:

Upper Key Stage 2:

Gardening

Would you and your children like to learn how to grow your own fruit and vegetables? Groundwork East in conjunction with the Tesco Community Grant Scheme are offering families in the Ipswich area a chance to learn, free of charge.  The project is aimed at families who have children aged 11 and under. The ‘Online Family Growing Course’ starts on 22^nd February 2022 and each family who register will receive a free Grow Pack.  The pack will contain everything you need to get started, including gloves, tools, seeds, trays and labels.  You will then be sent newsletters every other week for 3 months, packed full of videos, activities and useful information.  To sign up please visit the following website: https://info.groundwork.org.uk/online-growing-2022.

Science Ambassadors

Miss White and Mr Taylor have appointed ten new Science Ambassadors from across Year 5 this week.  These children will be responsible for maintaining science equipment, running lunchtime activities for Key Stage 1 and assisting teachers in lessons.  Huge congratulations to all of our successful candidates. 

Year 5/6 Boys Football: Cup Match

This week our Boys’ Football Team played their first-round cup match against Sprites Primary Academy. The first 10 minutes of the match was a very evenly contested affair, with both teams having good spells of possession and coming close to scoring. Despite this it was Sprites that opened the scoring with three quick goals just before half time. Despite the score line, the boys were not deterred and made a positive start to the second half. The boys’ fantastic team work and perseverance was rewarded by two fantastic goals from Theo and Derin. The pace and physicality of the match remained extremely high throughout, with some of their opponents starting to tire the boys pushed forwards, coming extremely close to scoring on several occasions. However, it wasn’t to be as Sprites scored late on to win the game 4-2. Mr Jordan & Ms Salmon were very proud of the boys’ efforts and teamwork throughout the match. Mr Jordan would also like to thank parents/carers for their support during the match.

February Half Term Holiday Clubs

Premier Education are again offering their Holiday Activity clubs across Ipswich in the February Half Term holiday.  They run from 8.30am to 3.30pm and offer the children a variety of activities to join in with.  The cost is £18.00 per children per day. Please note they do offer the opportunity to book for individual days rather than just the whole week. If you are interested please see the following link:  https://www.premier-education.com/parents/camps/.

Sports Leaders

Big congratulations to the following Year 5 and Year 6 pupils who have been appointed as Whitehouse’s very first Sports Leaders:

As part of their role, the Sports Leaders will be working closely with Mr Jordan as part of a team to carry out a number of PE specific responsibilities, such as:

• Organise and maintain the schools’ sports equipment
• Support and deliver positive play activities to peers during lunch times
• Organise, run and officiate intra-school (class v class) sports competitions throughout the year
• Help Mr Jordan during Sports Day

Mr Jordan would like to thank everyone who took the time to apply for the Sport Leader positions.  The quality of the applications was extremely high, which made selecting the Sports Leaders a very difficult decision.

Dental Information

Please note if you are struggling to find a dentist to deal with an issue with your children’s teeth, The Tooth Club in Ipswich (situated in The Buttermarket, next to The Works) are running a drop-in clinic each Sunday morning for children only.  You do not have to be registered with a dentist but can just drop-in and ask for some assistance.

Staffing

Please note we are experiencing higher levels of staff absence than usual. If you request a call back from a member of staff, please be aware this may take longer than expected. We are sorry for any inconvenience caused.

Dates for the Diary

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

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

Wednesday 16^th March – Parents Evening

Thursday 24^th March – Parents Evening

Thursday 31^st March – Rights Respecting School Silver Award Verification Day

Friday 8^th April – PD Day (School Closed to Children)

Monday 11^th April to Friday 22^nd April – Easter Holiday