Whitehouse Weekly Bulletin 265

Thursday 28th March 2024

A Message from Miss Siddall

It has been a great term and I am delighted with the progress the children have made with their learning – well done.   The children have enjoyed a range of trips (Year 3 Colchester Castle, Year 5 Co-op and Year 6 Walton-on-the-Naze), Year 1, Year 5 and Year 6 have experienced a learning visit from a Police Officer and we have had lots of Parent/Carer open sessions as well.  Thank you.

On behalf of all the staff, I would like to wish all our families a wonderful Easter break and we look forward to seeing the children again on Monday 15th April (KS2:  8:40am, KS1:  8:45am, EYFS:  8:50am).

Attendance for the previous week:

Class with the best attendance: Tigers (98.80%)

Assemblies

The theme of our assemblies for the week after Easter will be: Whitehouse Values: What are they and how can we achieve them? (UNRC: Article 29: I have the right to education which tries to develop my personality and abilities as much as possible and encourages me to respect other people’s rights and values and to respect the environment).  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:

Beat the Street

WOW!  We have been so impressed with everyone’s efforts with Beat the Street over the last few weeks.  We hope you have really enjoyed getting out and around the streets of Ipswich and even feel a little fitter because of it!  We have done so well over the last week especially.  Last Friday, we reported that we were in third place, with the school above us having been about 12,000 points ahead.  However, everyone heeded our call to action and we went from 12,000 below to 27,000 points ahead of that school, taking us to a very clear 2^nd place!  We are very proud of every one of you that joined in.  What a wonderful team we are at Whitehouse.  We truly did show the Whitehouse Way of perseverance and courage! 

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:

New Menu

A reminder that we have a new menu for the remainder of the school year.  This is now available to view on our website: https://www.whcps.org/school-dinners/

Healthy Lifestyle

Having trouble thinking of new things to cook for dinner?  Do your children always want to be on the go and have something to do?  Have a look at the fun link below for some recipe ideas, activities, and a great video to watch with your family.  https://www.henry.org.uk/about.

Healthy Eating Ideas: Portion Sizes

See below for some helpful guidelines.

Adult Portion Size:  An adult portion of fresh, frozen or tinned fruit or vegetables is 80g.  For dried fruit, a portion is 30g.

Children’s Portion Size: Children should also eat 5 different types of fruit and veg every day, but a portion depends on their size and age.  A rough guide is that 1 portion can fit in the size of their hand.

Juice and Smoothies:  For unsweetened 100% fruit juice, vegetable juice and smoothies, 150ml is a maximum of 1 portion of your 5 a day.  This means juice and smoothies only count once towards your 5 a day, no matter how much you have or how many different types of fruit or vegetables go into them. It is best to stick to one small glass a day and keep juice or smoothies to mealtimes, as blending makes them higher in sugar which can cause tooth decay.

Hi 5: A total of 5 portions of fruit and veg combined is the minimum number of servings to aim for.  You do not need to eat 5 portions of fruit plus 5 portions of vegetables to get your 5 a day, although the more the better!

Mix and Match: You can also combine smaller amounts of fruit and veg to make up 1 portion.  For example, a large handful of salad in a sandwich, plus 4 cherry tomatoes and 4 slices of cucumber would count as 1 of your 5 a day.

Word Millionaires

In last week’s Wonderful Week Assembly, we were excited to announce not one but seven Word Millionaire Awards!  To gain this prestigious award, the children each had to achieve ‘AR Classic Reader’ status and read at least 1,000,000 words this academic year.  Two of the award winners – Amelia and Kezia- were receiving the award for the second year running, a magnificent achievement!  Many congratulations to Carter, Vina and Amelia in Year 5 and Ozzie, Kezia, Jack and Varo from Year 6.  We hope you wear your badges with pride!

Suffolk Libraries

Are you looking for something fun and free to do with your child over the Easter holidays?  Why not visit your local public library and enjoy browsing some of the fantastic new children’s fiction they have to offer.  Don’t worry if your child is not currently a member, as it is really quick and easy to join. Children can join Suffolk Libraries for free and gain access to thousands of books, audiobooks, clubs, classes as well as the Summer Reading Challenge.  To join, all you need to do is go along to the nearest library with your child and ask at the desk.  The Librarians are all very friendly and will provide all the help and support needed so that your child can start borrowing books straightaway.  Once you have signed to confirm all the details for your child are correct, their card will be activated and ready to use! 

For further details see this link:  https://www.suffolklibraries.co.uk/borrow/help/joining-the-library

Year 5 Flapjack Tasting

Last week, Year 5 took part in a flapjack tasting session with their parents/carers.  We tried four different flapjacks: chocolate chip, ginger, lemon and plain.  The chocolate chip was definitely the favourite with both the children and the adults!  Thank you to all those parents/carers who were able to come in and enjoy the DT lesson with us.  We look forward to the next parental session.

Attendance: Duck Races!

Here at Whitehouse, we do all we can to encourage good attendance.  With this in mind, after the Easter holidays we will be starting a new attendance incentive…Duck Races!  Each Friday, during Golden Time, we will load the race with the names of the children who have been in school all week.  The winning child will receive the title of Duck Race Winner!  Who will be our first winners?

Year 5 Local Co-op Visit

Last Thursday, Year 5 visited the local Co-op to take a look at their Fairtrade range.  This formed part of their enquiry topic question of ‘How is Fairtrade fair?’.  The children enjoyed spotting products by looking out for the Fairtrade symbol.  They found a range of products including chocolate, coffee, tea and bananas.  After they had collected data about the prices of products, they returned back to school to present it in a graph as part of their maths lesson.  It was a very enjoyable and productive morning.  A big thank you to the local Co-op for having the children visit.

Clarks ShoeShare: Can you help?

Do you have a pair or two of shoes at home that are in good condition but that you no longer need or want? 

UNICEF and Clarks have been working together since 2008 on their ShoeShare project which enables them to gather unwanted shoes and either send these to those in need all around the world, or sell them, to raise money for UNICEF which they then use to support education programmes around the world.  We would love to help!  On Friday 19^th April 2024, all of the schools in The Children’s Endeavour Trust will be holding a collection day.  On this day you can bring all of your unwanted shoes into school so we can pass these on to Clarks. 

Please ensure that all shoes come in pairs (we cannot accept single shoes) and where possible please put the pair together with a rubber band, so they stay together!  Shoes can be handed into class or for those children who are in Breakfast Club these can come to the School Office.  Thank you for your support – it will be fun to see how many we can manage to collect!  Counting them will help us with our 2 times table!

Year 5/6 Netball

On Tuesday 26^th March 2024, Ms Salmon took seven of our Year 5 and 6 children to represent Whitehouse in the quarter final of the IPSSA Mixed Netball Cup.  We knew this game wasn’t going to be a walk in the park as we were up against talented Briatania Primary. This was the first time our team had played competitively, but our team persevered and kept playing hard the whole match.  There was some very defensive work throughout the match and Ms Salmon was extremely impressed by the way we followed the Whitehouse Way.  Unfortunately Britannia were the better team on the day and won the match.  Well done Ivy, Imogen, Violet, Dexter and Oliver from Year 5 and to Jess and Dunyin from Year 6.  Thank you to all our parents/carers for their support.

The Greenest County Award Ceremony

On Thursday, Whitehouse were invited to attend the award ceremony for the Greenest County which took place at The Hold in Ipswich.  Miss Siddall and Miss Jaspal were pleased to be able to go along with five of the children on our Eco-Committee. There were eighteen entries for the category which we are in and the top three were invited to attend, so we were pleased to be a part of that.   At the ceremony, they enjoyed a talk from key-note speaker Tom Heap and were awarded a ‘highly commended’ certificate for being a runner-up.  Congratulations to Heath Primary School who were the overall winners.

   Dates for the Diary

Friday 19^th April 2024 – ShoeShare collection day

Wednesday 24^th April 2024 – Year 2 Shimpling Farm Visit (Cobras)

Wednesday 24^th April 2024 – Year 6 Ipswich Hindu Samaj Visit (Chameleons and Toucans)

Thursday 25^th April 2024 – Year 1 Colchester Zoo Visit

Thursday 25^th April 2024 – Year 2 Shimpling Farm Visit (Frogs)

Thursday 25^th April 2024 – Year 6 Ipswich Hindu Samaj Visit (Tigers)

Friday 26^th April 2024 – Year 2 Shimpling Farm Visit (Dragons)

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

Tuesday 21^st May 2024 – Year 4 Parent/Carer DT Sewing Session – 1.30pm-3.00pm

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

Friday 5^th June 2024 – EYFS Afternoon Tea for new Reception children

Friday 5^th July 2024 – Summer Fair

Friday 12^th July 2024 – End of year reports home

Tuesday 16^th July 2024 – Year 6 Production

Thursday 18^th July 2024 – Y6 Leavers BBQ

Friday 19^th July 2024 – Y6 Leavers Assembly – Parents / Carers invited

Friday 19^th July 2024 – Last day of the Summer Term

Monday 22^nd July 2024 to Friday 30^th August 2024 – Summer Holiday

Monday 2^nd September 2024 – PD Day (Children are not in school)

Tuesday 3^rd September 2024 - PD Day (Children are not in school)

Wednesday 4^th September 2024 – First day of Autumn Term