Whitehouse Weekly Bulletin 144

Friday 11th December 2020

 Message from Mrs Hall

As with previous years, our Christmas activities will take place in the last week of term. Unfortunately, in order to keep everyone as safe as possible, we are unable to invite parents into school but the teachers will be organising activities for the children and any photos or films taken will be added to the website and Twitter. Sadly, singing is not permitted inside the school, as detailed in our detailed Covid-19 risk assessment, so we are hoping that the weather won’t be too cold next week so the children can sing outside. Thank you for your continued support.  

Attendance for Previous Week 

Class with the Best Attendance – Owls (99%)

Assemblies

The theme of our assembly next week will be focused on Christmas: How do people around the world celebrate Christmas? (UNRC Link: Article 30. I have the right to enjoy my own culture and practise my own religion).  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.

Reception School Place

If your child was born between 1 September 2016 and 31 August 2017, please note you need to have applied for a full-time school place by 15^th January 2021.  Even if your child is already attending the Whitehouse School Nursery, you still need to ensure you apply for a place as this is not automatically given to them.  To apply, please go to www.suffolk.gov.uk/admissions or call the Admissions Team at Suffolk County Council on 0345 600 0981.

Christmas Jumper Day

We will be having our annual Christmas Jumper Day on Friday 18^th December.  Children can wear their jumper for a small donation, 50% of which will be for our PFA (Parents and Friends Association) and the other 50% will be donated to the St Elizabeth Hospice as part of their ‘Be a Star this Christmas’ campaign.  We look forward to seeing lots of brightly coloured jumpers around school! 

Key Stage 1:

Lower Key Stage 2:

Upper Key Stage 2:

Free School Meal Vouchers

As you will have heard in the media, the Government will be providing support for those families whose children are entitled to Free School Meals.  A £30 voucher will be provided for each eligible child to cover the Christmas period.  These will be sent out to parents/carers in the week commencing Monday 14^th December. We have contacted all parents/carers who are eligible, by email, and would ask if you have not responded to the email to do so as soon as possible, as we need to confirm we have the correct email address.  Thank you for your assistance. 

Christmas Card Competition

Some of our children who attend Breakfast Club recently designed a Christmas card and entered a competition being run by Greggs Bakery.  We were thrilled to learn this week that one of our children was a runner-up in the competition for her lovely design shown here.  Well done Tayla, what a wonderful picture.  Tayla will receive a small prize for her winning entry.

Special Mention

A special mention to Deanna this week who is one of our Year 5 pupils.  Deanna loves to read and particularly likes Jacqueline Wilson books.  We were excited to hear that this week she was in the Jacqueline Wilson magazine.  Well done Deanna.  What a lovely surprise!

Christmas Dinners

Please note Christmas Dinner will go ahead next week as planned.  We will arrange refunds for any children who are in self-isolation or reschedule in the new term.

Breaking the Mould Day

At Whitehouse, we are committed to ensuring that all the children’s rights contained in the UNICEF Convention on the Rights of Children, are upheld and respected in our setting.  As part of our Rights Respecting School journey, promoting equality and respecting diversity in school, as well as beyond, has been identified as one of our top priorities this year.

With this in mind, a special day was organised on Friday 27^th November to enable all our children to celebrate the achievements of people in the public eye, to become more aware of differences between people and to develop a non-judgemental attitude towards them.  The aim of the day was also to give pupils the confidence to be themselves even if that meant being different and to provide them with the courage and perseverance to overcome obstacles they might face on their way to becoming who they are.

Each year group has to provide pupils with lessons to raise awareness of 3-4 ‘Protected Characteristics’ as contained in the Equality Act 2013 which our school is bound to comply with by law.  As part of the day, all children learnt to use British Sign Language.  Please see the link to the song everyone signed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6z4U-ldoIe0

First Response

First Response is a 24/7 helpline offering immediate advice, support and signposting for people with mental health difficulties.  If you are experiencing something that makes you feel unsafe, distressed or worried about your mental health you can now call the helpline on 0808 196 3494.  The helpline is available to members of the public of any age, regardless of whether they are an existing NSFT service user.   Your call will be answered by a trained medical health professional who will be able to listen to your concerns and help you get the support you need.  Callers will hear a recorded message instructing them to press either 1 or 2, depending on whether they are a professional or a member of the public and will then be connected to a mental health practitioner.

Dates for the Diary

Tuesday 15^th December – UKS2 Christmas Dinner

Wednesday 16^th December – LKS2 Christmas Dinner

Thursday 17^th December – KS1 Christmas Dinner

Friday 18^th December – Reception Christmas Dinner

Friday 18^th December – Christmas Jumper Day

Monday 21^st December – Friday 1^st January – Christmas Holiday

Monday 4^th January – PD Day (No school for children)

Friday 12^th February – PD Day (No school for children)

Monday 15^th February – Friday 19^th February – Half Term Holiday

Thursday 4^th March – Parent/Carer Evening

Wednesday 10^th March – Parent/Carer Evening

Friday 19^th March – Whole School SMSC Event

Monday 29^th March – Friday 9^th April – Easter Holiday