Whitehouse Weekly Bulletin 248

Friday 3rd November 2023

A message from Miss Siddall

It has been great to welcome the children back to school after the half-term break.

Trips and visits are an integral part of our curriculum at Whitehouse Community Primary School and all year groups will have either a trip or special guests visiting school each term.  I hope you found the information leaflet 'School Trips at Whitehouse Community Primary School' sent home this week useful to support you in budgeting for trips and in understanding how trips help your child's learning.   For any visit, it is important the office receives permission slips and notification of lunches in advance.  

I hope you have a lovely weekend and if you do visit any firework displays, please enjoy them carefully.

Attendance for the week before half term:

Class with the best attendance: Macaws (98.7%)

Assemblies

The theme of our assemblies for next week will be: Remembrance Day: What does it mean to remember and why is it important? (UNRC Link: Article 19: I have to be protected from being hurt 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.

Gymnastics After School Club

Last half-term some of the Year 3 children very much enjoyed taking part in a gymnastics after school club.  They learnt how to safely use a range of gymnastic equipment and had lots of fun each week using the equipment to make different pathways and shapes. 

Awards

As you may be aware the children are encouraged to follow ‘The Whitehouse Way’ in school to help them in their learning and in becoming good citizens. Our ‘Wonderful Week’ awards this year will be given as a recognition that the children have worked very hard in one of these areas:  Courage, Perseverance, Reflection or Responsibility.  This will be shown in the colour coded lists below.  We are so proud of our children at Whitehouse and their wonderful achievements.  Well done to you all.

Key Stage 1:

Lower Key Stage 2:

Upper Key Stage 2:

Reception September 2024: Opening Mornings

We are pleased to let you know that we will be holding Open Mornings for any parents/carers whose children are due to start school in September 2024.  If you have a child starting school in September 2024, please feel free to attend.  The open mornings are on:

Monday 6^th November 2023 – 9.15am and 11.15am 

Tuesday 7^th November 2023 – 9.15am and 11.15am

Readers’ Cup

Well done to the following classes who won the Readers’ Cup the week before half term:

Collection from School

As you will be aware we are a large school and drop-off and collection times in school become very busy with a lot of people on site.  Where possible could we ask you to help us by reducing the number of people who need to come on site, in order to keep the paths clear and so parents and children can move safely around. For example, if you are meeting older siblings from Westbourne etc, could we please ask that they wait outside the school site and join you when you leave.  Thank you for your assistance in this matter.

A Message from our Attendance Officer

Play-dough squishing through your fingers.  What a relaxing way to start the day!  For some children who find it difficult to come into school, we can employ various strategies to make it a little easier for them, play-dough being just one of them.  As the Attendance Officer, my role is varied and helping your children feel more settled as soon as they arrive is one of the best parts for me. Attendance is not just about your child being in school and on time, it is about us doing our very best to ensure your child is happy and thriving emotionally, along with meeting their educational needs.

Remembrance Day Poppies

The 11^th day of November is Remembrance Day, where we pay tribute to the fallen of all wars both past and present. Each year at Whitehouse we support the poppy appeal by selling various items for a suggested £1.00 donation per item.  Next week the School Parliament will again be selling a range of items on the playgrounds as detailed below:

Key Stage 1 (Years 1 and 2): On the KS1 Playground under the sheltered area on Monday and Wednesday mornings and Tuesday after school.

All Key Stage 2 (Years 3-6):  On the KS2 Astro Turf on Monday and Wednesday after school and Tuesday before school

Upper Key Stage 2 (Years 5 and 6 only): On the KS2 Astro Turf on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday breaktimes

Any remaining items will then be available on both playgrounds after school on Thursday. Due to limited number of items being available to sell, we would ask that the children only buy one or two items to ensure everyone is given the opportunity.  Please note to avoid any problems, we would ask that children only buy items for themselves rather than purchase them for or swap them with friends.  Thank you for your assistance.

Eco Committee News

Last term the Eco-Committee took part in a litter pick. The Year 6 children worked with Year 3 to teach them safety skills with the litter pickers. Amazingly, we collected three bags of litter on the school site!  The school provides bins in each playground for the children to place their litter in, so we just want to remind the children that everyone can use the bins.  If you would like to be involved in a local litter pick, ‘Rubbish Walks’ run local community campaigns for cleaner neighbourhoods.  If you take part, please let your class teachers know so you can get your Eco certificate.  Scan the QR code for more information on litter picks.

Year 4: West Stow Visit

This week, Year 4 enjoyed a fun-packed day out at West Stow, an Anglo-Saxon village.  The children were able to discover all sorts of facts about the Anglo-Saxons by exploring the reconstruction of buildings which have been built on the site of an original Anglo-Saxon village.  The children were able to see and handle a range of replica objects and visit the museum where they saw and studied a variety of finds from the original site.  The children were able to think like real historians, questioning why the village had been constructed as it had and making their own conclusions.  They gathered lots of facts which they will be able to use in their study of the Anglo-Saxons this half-term.

Dental Treatment

We are aware that a number of our families have struggled to find NHS dentists and are pleased to let you know that Foxhall Dental Practice are now accepting children under 12 years old.

Year 2 Framlingham Castle Visit

On Tuesday, our Year 2 children headed off to Framlingham Castle as part of their Enquiry question ‘What was life like in a castle?’  When they arrived, the children did not waste any time exploring the castle and identifying some of the things they had been learning about.  The children especially enjoyed walking around the wall at the top of the castle and taking part in some archery fantastically run by the ‘Robin Hood of Whitehouse’ himself, Mr Jordan!  Thankfully the rain held off and a lovely day was had by both children and staff alike. 

Children in Need: 2023

As a school we always love to support good causes, so we will be holding a non-uniform day on Friday 17^th November 2023 to raise money for Children in Need.

SEND Strategy Consultation

Suffolk SEND services have been under review over the last few years and they are very keen to hear the views of parents and carers on.  The survey can be accessed at the following link: https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/SEND23/.  For more information please go to the following page: https://infolink.suffolk.gov.uk/kb5/suffolk/infolink/advice.page?id=Er-jioiCxEc. 

SEND Advice Drop-in Session

Dates for the Diary

Monday 6^th November 2023 – Family Breakfast – 8.00am

Monday 6^th November 2023 – Reception 2024 Open Morning – 9.15am and 11.15am

Tuesday 7^th November 2023 - Reception 2024 Open Morning – 9.15am and 11.15am

Tuesday 7^th November 2023 – Year 6 Martlesham RAF Tower Museum Visit

Monday 13^th November 2023 – Family Breakfast – 8.00am

Monday 13^th November 2023 – Year 1 Ipswich Transport Museum Visit

Friday 17^th November 2023 – Children in Need (Non-Uniform Day)

Monday 20^th November 2023 – Family Breakfast – 8.00am

Monday 27^th November 2023 – Family Breakfast – 8.00am

Monday 27^th November 2023 – Year 3 Stone Age Extravaganza

Wednesday 29^th November 2023 – Autumn Term Reports home to parents/carers

Thursday 30^th November 2023 – Online Parents/Carers Evening

Friday 1^st December 2023 – Travelling Book Fair

Monday 4^th December 2023 – Family Breakfast – 8.00am

Wednesday 6^th December 2023 – Online Parents/Carers Evening

Friday 8^th December 2023 – Nursery Nativity Play

Monday 11^th December 2023 – Family Breakfast – 8.00am

Monday 11^th December 2023 – Reception Nativity Play

Friday 15^th December 2023 – Christmas Fair

Monday 18^th December 2023 – Family Breakfast – 8.00am

Thursday 21^st December 2023 to Wednesday 3^rd January 2024 – Christmas Holiday

Thursday 4^th January 2024 – PD Day (Children not in school)

Monday 19^th February 2024 to Friday 23^rd February 2024 – Half Term Holiday

Friday 29^th March 2024 to Thursday 11^th April 2024 – Easter Holiday

Friday 12^th April 2024 – PD Day (Children not in school)

Monday 24^th June 2024 to Tuesday 25^th June 2024 – Year 6 Residential Trip at Mersea