Whitehouse Weekly Bulletin 125

Friday 7th February 2020

Message from Mrs Hall

It has been another super busy week in school! A highlight of the week was when Ipswich Town footballer Kayden Jackson visited Pandas class to raise awareness about children’s mental health. There was lots of media interest in this visit and the children appeared on BBC Look East at 6.45 pm on Wednesday 5^th February. As well as this, there is a wonderful article and film on the ITFC website and the EADT: https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/kayden-jackson-mental-health-talk-whitehouse-primary-school-ipswich-suffolk-1-6500241 Well done Pandas class - we are extremely proud of you all for representing Whitehouse so brilliantly.

Attendance for the previous week

Classes with the Best Punctuality – Elephants, Lions, Owls, Jaguars, Lemurs, Pandas and Chameleons

Class that needs to improve their Attendance – Tigers (87.8%)

Classes that need to improve their Punctuality – Dragons, Robins, Rabbits and Tigers

Assemblies

The theme of our assemblies for next week will be: Online Safety: How can we work together to make the internet better?  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.

Cookery Club

A big well done to the members of the after-school Cookery Club who all brought a parent along for our first ever family cooking session last Tuesday.  The children really enjoyed showing off their cooking skills and getting their hands dirty. We are not sure all the parents enjoyed the messy part of the event quite so much!  A lot of fun was had by all, with each family member going home with a pizza to enjoy and share.  Keep an eye out for our next family cooking session!

EYFS:

Key Stage 1:

Lower Key Stage 2:

Upper Key Stage 2:

Year 5 Fairtrade Fun Afternoon – Parents/Carers Invited

The Year 5 children would like to invite their parents/carers into the classrooms on Tuesday 31^st March at 2.15pm for a Fairtrade event.  The children will have a chance to share what they have been learning about Fairtrade and everyone will be able to have a taste of some delicious treats, including chocolate and hot-cross buns.  There will be a number of activities that parents/carers will be able to join in along with the children.  We look forward to seeing you there!

Dinner Debt

Despite numerous reminders we still have a number of children who have a dinner money debt. It is school policy that all school dinners are paid for in advance therefore can we please ask that all debts are paid as a matter of urgency.  If you are unable to pay the entire amount in one go, please speak to a member of the office team who can arrange for the debt to be cleared in instalments. 

TOAST Squad

Congratulations to our newly appointed TOAST squad, Bavya, Hailey, Jana, Amicha-Anne, Harvey, Chloe and Nina.  They have got a lot of exciting ideas on how to support Online Safety at Whitehouse and are looking forward to sharing them over the next few months.  Please remember if you do have any Online Safety concerns or questions, please do speak to your child’s class teacher or to Mrs Cox our Online Safety Lead.

Upcoming Parents/Carers Sessions

As you may have noticed in recent newsletters we have a number of sessions at school coming up to which parents/carers are invited to come in and work with their children in class.  We hope to see lots of you there:

EYFS – Special Visitors!

On Tuesday EYFS had some very special visitors!  Fifteen fluffy little ducklings had been born that morning and the children (and staff) all loved having a chance to meet them and give them a cuddle.  The children have been learning about the story ‘Chicken Licken’ so this was a wonderful opportunity for them to experience live, little ducklings.

Year 3 Flavours of Europe - Parent/Carer Session

Do you want your taste buds tickled by some amazing European flavours?  Are you ready to explore some food that might not appear on your usual shopping list?  Our Year 3 classes would like to invite parents/carers to come into classes on Thursday 26^th March at 2.15pm to share some culinary delights.  The children will be preparing the dishes during the morning, so if any parents/carers are able to come along and support the children in the morning, you would be very welcome.  Please let your child’s class teacher know if you can come along and help.

Helping in Schools: Courses for Parents/Carers

Are you interested in volunteering or working in a school?  Would you like to become an effective parent/carer helper and be able to help your children’s learning at home?  Would you like access to tools to help with maths and literacy?  We will be running a 6-week course at Whitehouse starting on 25^th February. It will run each Tuesday from 9.15 am to 12.15 pm.  If you are on benefits or a low income this course is free, if not, the cost will be £11.55 to take part in the first week and an additional £57.75 to continue to attend the following five weeks. If you are interested, please speak to Mrs Kate Gotts in the Pastoral Team or go online to book a space at enrolonline.wea.org.uk

Dates for the Diary

Tuesday 11^th February – EYFS Shared Parent/Carer Reading Sessions Begin – 2.30pm

Wednesday 12^th February – Nursery Art Café Parent/Carers Session – 9.00am/12.30pm

Thursday 13^th February – French for the Family afternoon workshop - (Badgers) – 1.10pm

Friday 14^th February – Times Tables Rockstar Session – Year 4 – 8.45am

Monday 17^th February to Friday 21^st February – Half Term Holiday

Wednesday 26^th February – Year 6 Pancake and SATs Parents/Carers Information Session – 2.15pm

Wednesday 26^th February – Year 6 SATs Parents/Carers Information Session – 5.00pm

Thursday 27^th February – Year 2 Love of Reading Parents/Carers Session – 2.00pm

Friday 28^th February – Grandparents Lunch – Year 1

Wednesday 4^th March – Coffee Morning for Reception Parents/Carers – 9.00am

Thursday 5^th March – World Book Day (Dress up as your favourite book character)

Thursday 5^th March - Parents/Carers’ Evening

Friday 6^th March – Grandparents Lunch – Year R

Wednesday 11^th March- Parents/Carers’ Evening

Thursday 19^th March – Whole School Science Day

Thursday 26^th March – Flavours of Europe – Year 3 Parent/Carer Session – 2.15pm

Tuesday 31^st March – Fairtrade – Year 5 Parent/Carer Session – 2.15pm

Friday 3^rd April to Friday 17^th April – Easter Holidays

Friday 8^th May – May Bank Holiday

Friday 22^nd May – PD Day – School Closed to children

Monday 25^th May to Friday 29^th May – Half Term Holiday

Friday 26^th June Sports Day (Morning) - Reception, Year 1 and Year 2

 Friday 26^th June Sports Day (Afternoon) - Year 3 and Year 4

Friday 3^rd July Sports Day (Afternoon) - Year 5 and Year 6

Wednesday 8th July – High School Transition Day

Thursday 9^th July – High School Transition Day

Wednesday 22^nd July – PD Day – School Closed to Children

Thursday 23^rd July – First Day of the Summer Holiday