Whitehouse Weekly Bulletin 263

Friday 15th March 2024

A Message from Miss Siddall

I hope that you found the short report sent home last week useful to help you to understand your child's effort and progress.  Thank you to everyone who attended the first of our two parents’/carers' evenings this week.  You may also have had the chance to enjoy the book fair so a huge thanks for your support with that.  There is another face to face parents' evening next week (Weds 20th, 3:30pm-5:30pm) where the teachers will be able to discuss the report and share examples of their current work. If you have been unable to make an appointment, please contact the office.

Attendance for the previous week:

Class with the best attendance: Seahorses (98.04%)

Staffing Changes

As you will be aware Mrs Thorpe has been on a secondment for the last few months.  We would like to send her our congratulations on her new job as Deputy Head at Chilton Primary School.  We will miss her at Whitehouse but we know she will do a great job at her new school and send her our best wishes.

Assemblies

The theme of our assemblies for next week will be: British Sign Language, what is this and how does it help?  (UNRC: Article 23: If I am disabled mentally or physically, I have the right to special care and education to help me develop and lead a full life).  Resources related to this assembly will soon be available on our website.  To access them, go to Learning and click on our Enquiry Based Assemblies.

Readers’ Cup

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

Parents/Carers Evening

Thank you to all those who attended the Parents/Carers Evenings this week, it was lovely to see you all supporting your children.  There will be another session on Wednesday 20^th March 2024.  If you have not yet made an appointment, there is still time to do so.  If you experience any problems please speak to the School Office.

Please note if your first appointment is for KS2 children (Years 3-6), please come in via the Waterford Road Car Park.  If you are meeting the KS1 or EYFS teachers (Years R-2), please come in via the Main Office on Marlow Road. 

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.

EYFS:

Key Stage 1:

Lower Key Stage 2:

Upper Key Stage 2:

Dog Free Site

Can we please just remind parents/carers that we do not allow any dogs on to the school site. This is to ensure the safety of everyone.  Thank you for your co-operation.

Beat the Street

Wow, it is lovely to see everyone has been working so hard on collecting points for Beat the Street.  On Saturday morning, we were in 4^th place and by Saturday lunchtime we were very much in 3^rd place and have stayed there all week increasing the gap between us and the next school down!  We have a bit of work to do to get to 2^nd place, but if we all get those walking shoes on and our scooters and bikes out this weekend, maybe we can get a bit closer. 

There is still time to join in if you have not started yet, the office has a few spare cards, so just pop in and grab one.  The final week from Wednesday 20^th March to Wednesday 27^th March is ‘Go Celebrate Week’. All boxes will be giving double points all week, so pop this in your diaries!  Hopefully the weather will be a bit nicer and we can do our best week ever!

Healthy Eating Ideas: Snack and Pudding Swaps

Whether it is fighting the after-school tummy rumbles or rounding off dinner with a tasty pud, sugar is the main watch-out here.  Even if they do not taste of it, some of these snack foods can contain a lot more salt (and fat) than you might realise.  Why not give some of these swaps a try?  The link below also has lots more ideas, suggestions and tips.

Healthier snacks - Food facts - Healthier Families - NHS (www.nhs.uk)

Watch out next week for some healthier drink options!

Absence Line

It is so important to call the school when you know your child is going to be absent.  If we do not know the reason, we will have to unauthorise the absence and if this occurs for more than 3.5 days (not necessarily consecutively), our policy states we can issue a fixed penalty notice.  Naturally, we would rather this did not happen but it is a course of action we sometimes have to take. If there is anything we can do to support your child in their attendance, then please do not hesitate to contact us.  Mrs Zantboer, our Attendance Officer is always willing to meet with or speak to parents/carers to assist wherever she can.  For persistent absence, where your child is sick often, we will require proof of any medical appointments.  We know many come via text now, so that is fine. These can be emailed in or shown to a member of the school office team.  Viewing these will then allow us to note this on your child’s absence record.

Dental Appointments

We know that many families are finding it difficult to find an NHS dentist for their children.  We have been advised this week that Gooseberry Dental, based at 62 Berners Street are opening their books to register children who do not currently have an NHS dentist. Places are limited so we would suggest that you get in touch with them as soon as possible.  From this weekend, they will also be able to offer appointments for children on intermittent Saturdays.  The number to contact them on is 01473 254513.

World Book Day

On Thursday 7^th March 2024, we celebrated World Book Day.  It was lovely to see so many amazing costumes and hear about the books that they were based on. 

In addition to this, we held our first ‘pop-up’ book shop which enabled the children to come and pick the book of their choice.  We have had so much positive feedback regarding this so will definitely aim to so this again in the future.

News from the House Captains

Hello everyone.  Once again there will be a sports competition taking place the week beginning 18^th March 2024.  We hope that you have all seen our posters (which have been placed in your classrooms) e

The five in one race!  This half-term, the House Captains have decided to lead a fun sports event for all years to compete in.  The five in one race is a 50-meter track where you have to do different skills while running the track.  You need to:  run the first 5 metres, hop for 5 metres, skip for 5 meters, jump for 5 metres and run backwards for the last 5 metres and over the finish line.

You are racing against the clock, so be speedy!  All participants will receive points for taking part. 

We hope you enjoy the competition and we cannot wait to see you all running!

Fun Joke:  Why was the footballer upset on his birthday?  Because he got a red card!

From the House Captains 😊

Year 3 Roman Day: Bulla Bags

This half term Year 3 have been challenged to design and create a Roman Bulla Bag in line with their current topic. On Wednesday, they were very excited to welcome family members into the classroom, as part of their Roman Day celebrations, to join us for the sewing element of the bags.  The children worked incredibly hard and really showed the Whitehouse Way of perseverance when they found threading the needle a bit tricky.  Thank you so much to all the family members who came along to help us enjoy our special day!

Year 6 – Walton Trip

On Monday 4^th March 2024, Year 6 were given the chance to visit Walton-on-the-Naze and were excited to learn about sea defences, coastal erosion and fossils. After clarifying that they would not be going swimming in the sea, we set off for our exciting journey!  We headed down to the cliffs to look at coastal erosion and the effects that this can have.  The children were amazed to see the damage that coastal erosion can cause. During the morning, the children were tasked with measuring the beach (thankfully not with a ruler!) to see how far back the cliff has moved over the years. Next, they were asked to create some artwork to show the differing layers of a cliff. 

They moved on to discover which way the tides ran, which involved throwing pine cones into waves and following the direction they travelled.  While some tried their best to launch these as far as they could, most of them ended up about 2m away, but they were still able to successfully discover the tide movements. Once the children were all fed and happy, the group marched back to the beach to become fossil hunters – a much harder journey on full stomachs we were reliably informed – and the children set themselves the task of becoming the next Mary Anning.  Many a shout of ‘I’ve found something’ was heard, shortly followed by ‘Oh, it’s just a pebble.’  However, we had many successes and the children found everything from 50-million-year-old sand shark teeth to fossilised whelks. Everyone had an amazing time and the volunteers were very impressed by the behaviour and attitude shown by our pupils.

U8 Girls’ Football Festival

Last Wednesday, Mrs Gotts took six of our Year 3 pupils to Ipswich Town Football Club to take part in the Suffolk FA U8 Girls’ Football Festival. As with previous festivals run by the Suffolk FA, the main aim of the festival was to provide the girls the opportunity to play a number of fun and enjoyable 4v4 football matches. As a result, each match was played with minimal coaching from the side-lines and no referee! Instead both teams worked together to implement the rules of the game. Throughout the festival the girls grew in confidence, showing some fantastic team work, lots of effort and some really good football skills. As a result, despite some early loses, the team were able to go on to draw and even win some of their matches. At the end of the event the team was given a special mention as the ‘most improved’ team within the festival. Most importantly, the girls played each match with big smiles on their faces! A great effort, well done girls!

Dates for the Diary

Monday 18^th March 2024 – Family Breakfast – 8.00am

Monday 18^th March 2024 – Year 3 Colchester Castle Trip

Wednesday 20^th March 2024 – Parents Evening

Thursday 21^st March 2024 – Year 5 – Local Trip to Co-op

Monday 25^th March 2024 – Family Breakfast – 8.00am

Monday 25^th March 2024 – Last week of Spring 2 After-School Clubs

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

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

Tuesday 30^th April 2024 – Class Photos

Monday 6^th May 2024 – May Day Bank Holiday

Monday 13^th May 2024 to Thursday 16^th May 2024 – Year 6 SATs Week

Monday 27^th May 2024 to Friday 31^st May 2024 – Half Term Holiday

Monday 3^rd June 2024 – PD Day (Children not in school)

Wednesday 5^th June 2024 – Nursery and Reception Sports Day

Thursday 6^th June 2024 – Years 1, 2 and 3 Sports Day

Friday 7^th June 2024 – Years 4, 5, and 6 Sports Day

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

Wednesday 26^th June 2024 – School Transition Afternoon

Thursday 27^th June 2024 – School Transition Morning