Whitehouse Weekly Bulletin 215

Friday 16th December 2022

Message from Mrs Hall

It has been a very busy week in school with lots of performances and share events. Thank you to all parents and carers for joining us and sharing in your children’s learning. We have been delighted with the progress the children have made during this term. They have shown such dedication and determination of which they should all feel incredibly proud. If you do get the chance, over the festive break, please read with your child as this makes a huge difference to their learning overall.  Finally, we would like to wish all our families a wonderful, safe Christmas and a Happy New Year. School starts back for the children on the 4^th January 2023!

Attendance for the previous week:

Class with the best attendance: Jaguars (95%)

Year 6 Christmas Reading Session

Year 6 invited parents/carers into school on Monday morning to complete some reading on Christmas time during WW2 whilst enjoying some mince pies and gingerbread men.  It was an excellent opportunity for the children to show the depth of their knowledge on the Guided Reading dogs and all the skills they have been practising.  Parents/Carers had a chance to watch how reading is taught to the children as well as joining in to answer questions.  The children should feel very proud of their excellent behaviour and their reading skills. Well done to everyone in Year 6!

Key Stage 1 Reading Session

A huge thank you to all the parents/carers who attended last week’s Year 1 and Year 2 reading share.  It was lovely to see so many of you.  More of these events will be planned as the school year progresses.

Awards

Key Stage 1:

Lower Key Stage 2:

Upper Key Stage 2:

Purple Man Reading Competition

Well done to the winners of the Purple Man competition from last week:    

Book Fair

A big thank you to everyone who came to the Book Fair and bought books.  We sold over £500 worth which means we achieved the threshold to earn the highest amount of commission.  So, we have £250 to buy some new books for the school.  It was wonderful to see so many adults buying books for their children when things are so tough for many at the moment.  Thank you for your support.

Reading Minutes

The Library Assistants and Mrs West held a party in the KS2 library this week to celebrate the six children with the highest amount of reading minutes this term.  Congratulations to Susan, Deena, Aurora, Zara, Malen and Kezia.  Susan has managed an incredible 259 minutes per week!  Well done all.

Staff News

We would like to take this opportunity to wish Mrs West, our School Librarian, the very best of wishes as she takes the jump into retirement.  Mrs West has been a wonderful asset to the school over the last 8 years and will be missed by us all.  We know she has lots of exciting plans, one of which will be to keep up with her love of reading!

RRSA: Chicken Bingo Winners

The recent fundraising event, organised by the RRSA committee, successfully raised enough money to buy a much-needed toilet in another country.  In addition to this, Imogen (Year 4 - Foxes), raised enough money herself to purchase a second toilet.  Over a few weeks, she carried out various jobs for family members until she hit her target. What a remarkable and kind-hearted achievement!  The lucky bingo square winners were: Mylie, Holly, Kaycee and Cllr Trenchard.  Thank you for your support and helping to make a difference.

Recommended Reads

A huge well done from Mrs Hall and the teaching staff, to all of the children below, who have read and passed quizzes on the recommended reads for this half term.  This is a wonderful achievement.

Assemblies

The theme of our assemblies for the week after Christmas will be: How is Epiphany celebrated by Christians around the world? (UNRC Link: Article 30: If I come from a minority group, because of my race, religion or language, I have the right to enjoy my own culture, practise my own religion and use my own language). 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.  

Key Stage 1 Christmas Crafts

A huge thank you to everyone who supported our craft afternoon on Wednesday 14^th December.  Every class was buzzing with Christmas craft excitement.  Here are some examples of the lovely crafts the children and their adults created.  Have a very Merry Christmas from Key Stage 1.

Times Table Rock Stars

Results are in for the last two rounds of TTRS battles for this term.  In LKS2 last week, Squirrels beat Hedgehogs, Foxes beat Owls and Rabbits defeated Badgers.  This week, Squirrels beat Foxes, Hedgehogs beat Badgers and Rabbit beat Owls.  In UKS2 last week, Toucans beat Pandas, Lizards beat Tigers whilst Ocelots and Chameleons beat Macaws and Jaguars.  This week, Chameleons beat Pandas, Lizards beat Toucans and Macaws and Ocelots beat Tigers and Jaguars.  There will be no battles over Christmas but do not let that stop you logging on and playing.  If you want to see how many battles your class has won, check out the TTRS display next to the KS2 library.

Dates for the Diary

Friday 16^th December 2022 – Last day of the Autumn Term

Tuesday 3^rd January 2023 – PD Day (School Closed to Children)

Wednesday 4^th January 2023 – First day back at school for the children

Tuesday 10^th January 2023 – Y4 Visit to Colchester Synagogue – Squirrels

Wednesday 11^th January 2023 – Y4 Visit to Colchester Synagogue – Foxes

Thursday 12^th January 2023 – Y4 Visit to Colchester Synagogue - Hedgehogs

Monday 13^th February 2023 to Friday 17^th February 2023 – Half Term Holiday

Wednesday 15^th March 2023 – Parent/Carers Evening

Thursday 23^rd March 2023 – Parent/Carers Evening

Friday 24^th March 2023 – Whole School SMSC Day

Monday 3^rd April 2023 to Friday 14^th April 2023 – Easter Holiday