Whitehouse Weekly Bulletin

Friday 5th July 2024

A Message from Miss Siddall

I am proud to report that twenty-nine children in Key Stage 2 completed this year’s recommended read challenge (five more than last year).  The children had a wonderful day out yesterday, visiting Christchurch Park and Waterstones bookshop.  Well done everyone. Please note that the annual reports will be sent out on Friday 12^th July which will provide you with the opportunity to see how well your children have progressed throughout this year. Lessons continue in school right until the end of term on the 19^th July, so please do ensure your child attends school for the remaining 10 days. We look forward to seeing many of you today at the Summer Fair after school - thank you for your continued support.

Attendance for the last week was:

Class with the best attendance: Chameleons (97.50%)

Attendance: Duck Race Winners

Well done to the winners of our Duck Races the week before half term:

Assemblies

The theme of our assemblies for next week will be: Dharma Day – What is it and who celebrates it? (UNRC: Article 14: I have the right to think what I like and to be whatever religion I want to be, with my parents’ guidance).  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

Scooters / Bikes

We continue to have children coming on site using their bikes and scooters.  Can we please remind parents/carers that all parties must dismount and push bikes and scooters once they reach the school gates.  This will enable us to keep everyone on site safe.  Thank you.

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  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:

Readers’ Cup

Well done to the following classes who won the Readers’ Cup last week:

Year 5: Kentwell Hall Visit

On Friday 28th June, Year 5 went on a school trip to Kentwell Hall to further explore their history topic on the Tudors in a fun and interactive setting. From their very first steps towards the gate, the children were transported back in time to Tudor England where they were greeted and welcomed in Tudor fashion. The children experienced a wide range of activities. All  the resident adults acted in character as if they themselves were from the Tudors, speaking in role, dressing the part and giving the children the interactive opportunity to be a Tudor. The children watched a Tudor meal being prepared, learnt about the medicine that Tudors used – including a real-life leech! – heard music and songs from the time as well as seeing archery, a sword fight, basket-weaving and a whole host of other activities. It was a wonderful day which gave the children the chance to ask questions and watch the day-to-day life of people back in Tudor England. Well done to all the children for getting involved!

Healthy Eating: Recipe

Hopefully the hot weather will return very soon. When it does, here’s another healthy lolly recipe for you to try.  

Strawberry, Kiwi and Granola Lollies

100g Kiwi

60g Strawberries

100g Vanilla Yoghurt

30g Plain Granola

Chop the strawberries and kiwi into small chunks and mix the fruit into the vanilla.  

Place a little of the fruit and yoghurt mix into each of the four ice lolly moulds, followed by a thin layer of granola.

Repeat until the moulds are full.  Place a lolly stick into each mould and freeze for at least 8 hours.

Enjoy!

Dinner Money and Breakfast Club Debt

A reminder to all parents/carers that ALL debt must be cleared by the end of the Summer Term.  If you are unsure how much is owed, this can be viewed on Arbor or by checking with the school office.

School Dinners: Price Increase

Unfortunately, we need to advice you that due to the increasing food costs, we will need to increase the cost of a school dinner from September 2024.  There will be an increase of 9p per meal, taking the cost from £2.43 to £2.52 per day.  Please note this will only affect children who pay for a dinner.  There will be no change for children in EYFS, Year 1 and Year 2 or any child who is entitled to free school meals.

Despite this small price increase, hot lunches still represent excellent value for money. Healthy and nourishing school meals, cooked on the premises, are available each day. There is a varied three-weekly rolling menu detailing each day’s main course and dessert along with a vegetarian option, jacket potato or sandwich option.   The menu is available on our website for parents/carers to view:  https://www.whcps.org/school-dinners/

National Book Token Competition: Please help!

Once again National Book Tokens are offering five schools the chance to win £1,000 worth of books for their school library and up to £500 worth of books for yourself!  All you have to do is visit the link below and nominate our school.  Winners will be drawn on Wednesday 31^st July 2024 and announced in September 2024.

https://www.nationalbooktokens.com/schools-prize?utm_medium=email&utm_source=nbt&utm_campaign=20240625-schools&utm_content=schools-prize

School Library Books

 Yesterday was the last day children were able to borrow books from the school library, so the library computers have now been switched to 'Returns Only' mode. Please could you encourage your child to return their library books as soon as possible and no later than Tuesday 9th July. It is vitally important that all school library books are returned by that deadline so that the end of academic year procedures can be completed before the end of term. We still want your child to continue reading as much as possible in the last two weeks of term, but there is no requirement for KS2 pupils to continue to quiz on their completed books during this time.  Books will still be available in your child's classroom to read in school and they are also encouraged to read books from home as well as those borrowed from the public library.  

GIVEAWAY: Ex Library Books - TODAY

There will be a large supply of ex-library books available to pick up for free from tonight's Summer Fair. The books have been removed from our school library catalogue for a variety of reasons. Many of them are in poor condition, but all are still readable. When your child has finished reading these books, you are welcome to pass them on to a friend or relative or use them for holiday craft activities. If you have no further use for these books, please do not return them to school, but instead recycle them (after removing the front cover). Also, please make sure that your child does not mix the ex-library books up with their current library books - the barcodes of the ex-library books have all been crossed out so that they are easily identifiable. 

Please note there will be no charge for these books, although any voluntary contributions received on the stall will be used to purchase new books from the children's wish list. Finally, I would ask that you bring a carrier sized bag to fill with your chosen books and to ensure fairness, that once you have filled your bag, you allow others in the queue to do likewise. You are more than welcome to visit the stall as many times as you like during the fair.

North West Ipswich Big Local Trust

On Tuesday we welcomed Julie into school, from the NW Ipswich Big Local Trust.  They have kindly provided £1,000 to the school to help us support our families through these difficult times.  Please keep an eye out on our future newsletters for more ‘Helping Hands’ events where we can offer support with food, essentials and clothing.  

4YP Girls Group

Do you have a daughter in Year 5 or Year 6 who would like to attend a safe space where they can meet new friends?  4YP have a new Girls Group starting which will run each Tuesday evening from 4.15pm to 6.15pm.  If you are interested please see the poster for more details.   Please contact them on YouthTeam@4yp.org.uk to book a space.

Parents/Carers Daily Mile Inspired WHCPS ‘Wake Up and Walk’ Event

Following the popularity and success of last year’s event, we are happy to announce the return of our Daily Mile inspired ‘Wake Up & Walk’ event. We would therefore like to invite all of our parents/carers to join us to take part in this year’s event. The event will take place before school (during drop off time) during the final week of term. As with last year’s event, this is an informal and optional event, which will give parents/carers the opportunity to take part in a 2 lap walk around the KS2 field before school with their child. Yr5/6 pupils who walk to school by themselves may also take part in the event.   As an incentive for those that take part in the event, there will be certificates for both parents/carers and pupils and also a non-school uniform voucher for pupils to use during the final week of term.

This year’s ‘Wake Up & Walk’ event will be conducted as one of our school’s ‘House’ events. Therefore, during the event we will also be collecting for our four chosen ‘House’ charities. A donation bucket will be available for those wishing to make an optional donation during the event. All proceeds made from this event will be shared out between each of our chosen charities. 

Event details:

Dates: Monday 15th July 2024 (EYFS & KS1 Pupils & Parents/Carers)

Tuesday 16th July 2024 (KS2 Pupils & Parents/Carers) 

Time:   8:30am – 8:40am 

Additional Information: No sign up is required. Simply meet Mr Jordan on the KS2 field, entering school via the Marlow Rd or Waterford Rd gate. We very much look forward to seeing many of our parents/carers and pupils enjoying the event.

Healthy Eating Advice

Last week, we welcomed the School Nursing Team in for an informal chat around healthy eating and to discuss how the team can support our families with a healthy lifestyle.  Looking at those early ‘good practices’ is key so children can make informed choices as they go into teenage years and into their adult life.  One hot topic was portion sizes!  The picture below was a real help in understanding this.

Dates for the Diary

Monday 8^th July 2024 – Family Breakfast at 8.00am

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

Monday 15^th July 2024 – Wake Up and Walk (EYFS/KS1 Children and Parents/Carers) – 8.30am

Tuesday 16^th July 2024 – Wake Up and Walk (KS2 Children and Parents/Carers) – 8.30am

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

Friday 15^th November 2024 – Flu Vaccinations (more details will follow)

Friday 13^th December 2024 – Flu Vaccinations Catch-up Session (more details will follow)