Whitehouse Weekly Bulletin 199

Friday 8th July 2022

Message from Mrs Hall

It has been an incredibly busy few weeks in school, as can be seen by today’s eight-page newsletter! Thank you to all our families who attended this year’s sports day, the children really enjoyed taking part in all the events and we look forward to learning which House won overall. Thank you to Mr Jordan and Ms Salmon for organising such a super event. With 9 school days left we still have lots of exciting learning to fit in, please check the calendar to avoid disappointment. On Monday I will confirm the class arrangements so that all children and families are aware of their new class teacher and support assistant. The children will then have an opportunity to work in their classes for two mornings on Wednesday and Thursday. Finally, I do hope that everyone will be able to join us at our Summer Fair next Friday. Thank you for your continued support.

Attendance for the previous week

Class with the best attendance: Toucans (98.6%)

Assemblies

The theme of our assemblies for next week will be: How do I keep safe and healthy when I am on holiday?  UNRC Link: Article 19: I have the right to be protected from being hurt or badly treated and Article 39: I have the right to help if I have been hurt, neglected or badly treated.  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.

Return of Library Books

Please note ALL books need to be returned to the school libraries by Thursday 14^th July.  If your child has a long book, please could you encourage them to read it, as it would be a shame not to complete it before the cut-off date.  Also, can we ask that you please check at home (bookshelves, cupboards, under beds etc), for any books which belong to school.  Thank you for your help!

Purple Man Reading Competition

Well done to the winners of the Purple Man competition last week:  Chameleons (Year 6), Lizards (Year 5), Hedgehogs (Year 4) and Badgers (Year 3).  Not long now and we will know who are the overall winners of the competition and who will win the treat of a McFlurrie!

Word Millionaire

We have a new Work Millionaire this week.  Well done to Alysha!  This is a wonderful achievement!

Awards

EYFS:

Key Stage 1:

Lower Key Stage 2:

Upper Key Stage 2:

Ipswich Community Playbus

Did you know the Ipswich Community Bus “Maggie” is at Ulster Avenue every Friday morning from 9.45am to 12.45pm?  If you have small children you might like to give it a try!  Our Nursery children visited recently and had a wonderful time.  Spaces must be booked by emailing playbus@btinternet.com or by calling 01473 221521. Please quote your name, telephone number, postcode and which session you want to attend.

Year 2 Duxford Visit

Last Friday Year 2 had an incredible time on their school trip to Duxford.  The children were able to see lots of different planes and learn more about the history of flight.  Whilst they were eating lunch outside, they were lucky enough to watch some planes taking off and land which the children found very exciting!  Everyone had a lovely day and really enjoyed themselves.  Well done Year 2 for demonstrating the Whitehouse Way throughout the day.

Nursery: Playbus Visit

On Friday the Nursery children went on their first school trip to “Maggie”, the Ipswich Community Playbus.  The children had a lot of fun exploring and playing with a variety of toys and activities. These included a slide, a large sandpit, where the children created some fantastic sand castles and lots of lovely role play and small world areas where they could explore their imaginative play – all on board the bus!  The Ice Cream Parlour was very popular and the parents enjoyed their delicious ice creams that were served to them by their children!  The Nursery staff were very proud of the outstanding behaviour shown by all the children and we hope it will not be too long before we can go back and visit again.  Well done everyone, and thank you to the parents/carers and grandparents who joined us.

Ipswich Borough Council: iCards 2022

We are pleased to let you know that Ipswich Borough Council have announced that they will be offering all children at Whitehouse (aged 5 plus) the opportunity to have a free iCard which will allow them to take part in a range of fun activities over the Summer Holiday, free of charge!  Details of the card were emailed to all parents on Tuesday, but you can also find out more about the scheme and how to apply for a free card by going to the following  link: https://www.ipswichfit.co.uk/summerholidayicard/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=mailchimp&utm_campaign=general

Online Safety

Did you know that children aged between 7 and 16 spend an average of 4 hours online per day?

The summer holidays are fast approaching and INEQE have put together a parent guide to help encourage and support you to establish healthy screen time habits.  It will identify popular platforms and games your child or young person may be using, and enable and utilise parental controls and safety settings.  Click the link below for more information:

https://ineqe.com/2022/06/29/summertime-screentime/?utm_campaign=Ineqe%20Safeguarding%20Roundup&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=218352579&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8B9PSEP_i3W-GrlXXrFzLUYy4DOJuK2bEvI0LEppZUZWihQ0HCsIiQxzlXu8LsM5hzCm_jyA6ae2_urlt-4qBQIVq6gg&utm_content=218352579&utm_source=hs_email

A Message from Miss Calver, Attendance Officer

As we reach the end of the Summer Term you might be thinking a ‘few extra days off won’t hurt’ but please remember your responsibilities to ensure your child attends school regularly and on time.  There are still some exciting events and trips before the end of term that the children will not want to miss!  It’s as important now as it is throughout the whole school year to keep up with the curriculum, build on friendships and experience new things.  There is plenty of time coming up in the school holidays for days out and visits to family. The Government have made it clear they will be prioritising regular school attendance with an expectation for all children to be at school every day.  The school will be following guidance and issuing the relevant fixed penalty notices for periods of unauthorised absence.  Every day at school really does count!

Children’s Achievements

We love to hear all about what our children are achieving when they are not in school and this week we would like to celebrate two of our children from Year 4. Charlie enjoys football and won the Managers Player and Under 9s 2021/22 Player in his team.  Well done Charlie, what a wonderful achievement.  Also, a big well done to Tilleah who won a hip-hop dance competition last weekend.  Tilleah has now won 6 trophies!  What a talented pair!

Panathlon Event

 Following our success in the Panathlon event at the start of the year, we were delighted to be invited to attend the Suffolk Primary Panathlon County Finals this week. As with the previous event, the finals involved pupils working together to complete a carousel of fun and inclusive fundamental skills that include sending and receiving activities and striking skills. During each activity the pupils tried to score as many team points as possible. The scores from each of the different activities were then added together to give each team an overall score. Mr Joscelyne, Mrs Arnold and Mrs Peck were extremely proud of the teamwork and efforts shown by each of the pupils throughout the event. As a result, the team finished an impressive 4th place. Well done everyone!

News from the RRSA Committee

Hello, as part of our RRSA Gold journey, the Ambassadors need to make people around them aware of children’s rights and encourage other schools to apply for the award.  This is why we decided to do a presentation to other schools in the Children’s Endeavour Trust.

At the end of May, Laniyha and Ava sent a letter to all the CET Headteachers, inviting them to come and take part in a question and answer session followed by a tour of the school.  Seven guests attended on the day.  A big THANK YOU to Mrs Trott (Chilton Primary), Mrs Tanner (Combs Ford Primary), Mrs Everitt and Mrs Cook (Springfield Juniors), Mrs Mason (Abbots Hall), Mr Pettit (Freeman School) and Mr Jones (CEO of the Trust) who sent us a lovely letter afterwards.

“I am writing to thank you for the excellent presentation you gave today and also for the informative school tour you led.  What you are doing is very important, especially as your focus on rights runs throughout the entire school.  Today you spoke to leaders from five other schools who will learn from you and what you do at Whitehouse.  This means your influence has now spread beyond your school alone, as it will help other schools on their journeys to become Rights Respecting Schools too.  I look forward to my next visit and wish you well on your mission to achieve your Gold Award.”

We are all very proud to have been Rights Ambassadors this year.

The RRSA Committee.

Year 6: Mersea Residential Trip

On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, 43 children and 5 adults from Year 6 visited Essex Outdoors Activity Centre on Mersea Island. Throughout the three days, they completed a variety of activities including rock climbing, kit karting and zip lining.  In each of the activities the children worked as a team in order to be successful and they all showed incredible courage and the Whitehouse Way to complete some of the difficult tasks.  The children all thoroughly enjoyed the three days and we were thrilled that we were able to take them on such an enjoyable trip where they all made us super proud to be their teachers!

Aim High Career Day

Thank you to the 35 guests who attended our recent “Aim High Career Day”.  Many of these were parents/carers of our children here at Whitehouse.  A full report of the day can be found on https://www.whcps.org/update-for-parents-aim-high-career-day-24th-june-2/.

GB Athlete Visit

This week has been an extremely busy one at Whitehouse, full of Commonwealth inspired sporting events, fixtures and visits.  The week kicked off with a truly inspirational visit by GB Gymnast Steve Frew. Steve won Scotland's first-ever Gymnastics Commonwealth Games Gold medal! In a sporting career which spans over 23 years, he has represented Great Britain at two World Championships and Scotland at five Commonwealth Games.  As with previous visits, throughout the day each class from EYFS to Year 6 took part in a short high energy fitness session with the athlete. Before putting pupils through their fitness paces, Steve began the day with a truly inspiration assembly. During the assembly Steve told pupils about his life and sporting journey to becoming a GB Gymnast. Steve also explained that despite coming away from his first four Commonwealth Games empty handed, that he never gave up on his dreams. And with hard work and lots of perseverance he was rewarded with a Commonwealth Games Gold medal during his fifth attempt!

Throughout Steve’s assembly he provided pupils with the motivational and inspirational message to “always keep trying and never giving up on their dreams” and to “always be the best you can be.”  Steve finished his assembly by demonstrating some very impressive gymnastic skills!  Another truly memorable and inspiring day which linked perfectly to the Commonwealth Games theme that were added to this year’s Sports Days.

U11 Quadkids

Continuing with the Commonwealth Games theme, on Tuesday, Mr Jordan and Miss Salmon took ten Year 5 pupils to take part in the U11 Quadkids athletics event at Northgate Sports Centre. With the event being cancelled for the past two years due to the pandemic, this year’s event was always going to be an exciting one, and it didn’t disappoint! 44 teams from different schools across Ipswich and Suffolk came together to take part in the event. Each pupil took their turn to compete in the 4 separate events made up of a 75m sprint, 600m race, Vortex Howler throwing event and the standing long jump. To celebrate and promote the upcoming Commonwealth Games, each school was allocated a Commonwealth country. Our pupils represented Ghana and took part in an exciting opening and closing ceremony.  Mr Jordan and Ms Salmon were extremely proud with the efforts and performances of the team during each of the events. Well done everyone!

Sports Day 2022

To finish off an extremely busy sporting week, pupils, staff and spectators came together to take part in for our annual Sports Day. Following the positive feedback back from last year’s carefully planned sports days, this year saw the continuation of each individual year taking part in their own sports day events. As a result, Mr Jordan planned 8 individual sports day events for reception to Year 6 across three days. As with previous years, the pupils represented and competed against their peers as part of the 'Houses' within the classes across six different athletics-based events.

To continue with the Commonwealth Games theme, in addition each class was allocated a Commonwealth country to represent. It was amazing to see the amount of effort each class went to produce flags and banners to celebrate their allocated country as they arrived and left their sports day event. It was also fantastic to see so many parents/carers and family members making an effort to also get involved the Commonwealth Games spirit!   

The pupils’ effort, behaviour and enthusiasm throughout the day was amazing. It was great to see so many pupils enjoying themselves, competing with massive smiles on their faces and demonstrating ‘The Whitehouse Way’. It was also great to be able to see so many parent/carers and family members enjoying the events and cheering the children on. The final results from each of the individual events, as well as the overall combined results will be shared in next week’s newsletter!

Mr Jordan would like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to Ms Salmon for helping to set up and run the events. Also, to all of our pupils, staff, Sports Leaders and particularly parents/carers and family members for helping to making this year’s sports day a huge success.

Year 1, 3 & 5 Active Lives Survey

Throughout this year we have worked closely with Active Suffolk on a number of different initiatives e.g. Multi-skills programmes and Walk to School Week. As a result of our close connection with Active Suffolk, we have been asked if we would take part in short survey involving Year 1, 3 and 5 pupils and their parents/carers as a cross section of our school. By completing the survey our school can receive the following benefits:

• Receive a confidential, bespoke report which provides valuable insight that can be used for supporting evidence for Ofsted, identifying gaps in provision, tracking student activity, and to support planning.
• Choose sports or well-being equipment worth at least £100 to support more students in your school to be physically active. (Once 30 responses achieved for each year group).
• Achieve a healthy schools rating which can contribute to gaining healthy schools’ local status.

As a result, we would really appreciate your time and support to complete both the short 10-minute parent survey and your child’s year group survey. Simply follow the link below to access the online surveys. You may find it helpful to complete both of these surveys with your child.

School’s sampled year groups are: Year 1, 3 & 5.

Our school’s unique Active Lives Survey link 

https://www.activesuffolk.org/whitehouseprimary

Please note that the surveys are hosted by Ipsos MORI, research organisation. Ipsos MORI will store all information securely and keep it confidential. Further information and Q/As can be found on the Sport England website at Active Lives | Sport England.

The deadline to complete both the parents/carers and pupil surveys is Thursday 21st July 2022. Thank in advance for support and cooperation.

Summer Fair

We are very excited for our upcoming Summer Fair which takes place next Friday at 3.15pm to 5.15pm.  The PFA have been very busy planning all kinds of lovely stalls including: Wax Melts, Candy Floss & Popcorn, Coconut Shy, Beat the Goalie, Hook a Duck, Sand Art and Body Shop. In addition, we will be holding a raffle and have been donated some wonderful prizes, including the following:

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This is just a taster as there are many more prizes on the list to be won, including our top prize of a £75.00 voucher from Morrisons.

We look forward to seeing you there

Dates for the Diary

Tuesday 12^th July – Year 1 Felixstowe Trip

Tuesday 12^th July – Parent/Carer Online Safety Workshop

Wednesday 13^th July – Thursday 14^th July – Transition Mornings at Whitehouse

Friday 15^th July – Reports home to Parents

Friday 15^th July – Whitehouse Summer Fair – 3.15pm to 5.15pm

Monday 18^th July – Year 6 Production (Cast 1)

Monday 18^th July – Year 5 Bikeability

Tuesday 19^th July – Year 6 Production (Cast 2)

Tuesday 19^th July – Year 5 Bikeability

Thursday 21^st July – Leavers Assembly

Friday 22^nd July 2022 – First day of the Summer Holiday