Whitehouse Weekly Bulletin 287

Friday 8th November 2024

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 this term year four have already had a fantastic day out at West Stow.  Next week, year two visit Framlingham Castle and we also have upcoming trips for year 6 (Bletchley Park), year one (Ipswich Transport Museum), years one and four (St Thomas’s Church) and year three (The Stone Age).   For any visit, it is important the office receives permission slips and notification of lunches in advance so please help us by returning permissions promptly.  Thank you for your support.

Attendance for the week before half term:

Class with the best attendance: Lions (100%)

Assemblies

The theme of our assemblies for next week will be: Remembrance Day: Poppy Appeal (UNRC: Article 19 – I have the right to be protected from being hurt or badly treated). We will be looking at why this day is so important and who we will be remembering.  Why not ask your child what they learnt?

Celebrating our Attendance

We are thrilled to announce that Tigers were our highest attending class in Autumn 1 and for a reward on the last Friday of the half term, Mrs Zantboer, our Attendance Officer, visited the class with a little treat for the children.  As you can imagine the children were thrilled with both their achievement and the popcorn!  Who will win at the end of Autumn 2?

We also did our Parent/Carer draw; this is a little thank you to parents/carers whose children have been in school every day for the half term.   One name is drawn to receive a small treat also.  Well done to the parents of Erik, Diana and Nikita B.  We hope you will able to treat yourself with the vouchers!   There will be another parent/carer draw at the end of Autumn 2.

Children in Need

We are pleased to let you know that we will be supporting Children in Need next week, on Friday 15^th November 2024.  Children are invited to come into school in non-uniform, and we would ask that they give a small donation, which we will collect on behalf of the charity. 

 Attendance: Duck Race Winners

Well done to the winners of our Duck Races last week:

Online Parent/Carer Courses – Family Lives

Being a parent or carer is never easy and we may find ourselves looking around and searching for help and advice on a variety of issues.  To assist, the charity, Family Lives, have created a number of parent/carers courses which run online and can provide the support you may be seeking.  All courses are free and can be accessed at the following link:  https://www.familylives.org.uk/how-we-can-help/online-parenting-courses.  In addition, they also have a confidential and free helpline (previously known as Parentline) where you can access emotional support, information, advice and guidance on any aspect of parenting and family life.  The number to call is 0808 800 2222.

In addition, Suffolk County Council also have some useful links for parents/carers:

The Parent Hub: https://www.suffolk.gov.uk/children-families-and-learning/childcare-information-and-support-for-parents-and-providers/parent-hub

Relationship Support for Parents/Carers: https://www.suffolk.gov.uk/children-families-and-learning/suffolk-family-hubs/support-for-parents-and-carers/relationship-support-for-parents

CET Christmas Concert 2024

We are thrilled to let you know that this year we will be holding a Trust-wide Christmas Concert in which the Whitehouse school choir will be taking part.  The event will be held on Thursday 12^th December 2024 at the Corn Exchange in Ipswich.  Tickets will go on sale shortly at a cost of £5.00.  Once available, we will let you know how these can be purchased.  Our choir have been practising very hard and we cannot wait to see and hear them!

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:

Christmas Fair

As you will be aware, we have our popular Christmas fair booked for Friday 13^th December 2024.  For this event, we would love to gather some wonderful prizes for the raffle.  If you or someone you know has a local business and feel you would be able to donate a little something, we would very happily receive it.  Please either speak to a member of the office team or to Ms Salmon, head of our PFA.

Please do put the date in your diary: the fair will take place directly after school and to make it even more festive we will also be holding our Christmas Jumper day the same day! 

House Captains Challenge

This half-term, the House Captains are challenging each class to keep their classrooms and peg areas tidy.  Each week the House Captains will inspect the school at lunchtime to see which classes are excellent at respecting our school environment.  At the end of the half-term, one class in each year group will be chosen for their outstanding efforts and will be awarded with a non-uniform day!

Year 5: Greek Day

In the week before half term, Year 5 delved into the fascinating world of Ancient Greece through a variety of engaging activities.  Throughout the term, the children explored what life was like for children in Ancient Greece, learning about the gods and goddesses, the different city states, the Greek Empire and the origins of the Olympic Games.  This special day was a wonderful way to wrap up their learning.  They learnt the Greek alphabet with Miss Fathers and practised writing their names. Mr Ellis showed them how to make a laurel leaf crown to adorn their costumes.  Lastly, with Mr Christopher, the children played knucklebones, an ancient game that added to the fun.  Later in the morning, the entire year group came together for The Whitehouse Olympic Games, where the Jaguars class won the gold medal!  The children finished off the day painting their Greek pots with their own authentic Greek patterns and silhouette figures. Everyone had a fabulous day and the children showed the Whitehouse Way throughout!  Well done Year 5.

Year 4 West Stow Visit

This week, our Year 4 classes went on a visit to the Anglo-Saxon village of West Stow where the children were collecting information for their enquiry topic ‘Who were the Anglo Saxons?’  They were able to explore a reconstructed Anglo-Saxon village, going in and out of all the different buildings, discovering what was inside and the different uses. This was followed by a talk and Q&A session with an expert.  There was also time to handle some real artefacts in the museum, take a loser look at archaeological finds from the site and even dress up as Anglo-Saxons!  Everyone had a wonderful time and the children were extremely well behaved!  The staff were very proud of them all. 

Holiday Activity and Food Programme (HAF)

As in previous years, we are pleased to let you know the Holiday Activity and Food programme will again be running across the Christmas holiday and will be free for all children in receipt of free school meals.  This allows you to book your child into a number of holiday clubs and activities where they will also be provided with a lunch.  For further information, including how to book please see the following page: https://infolink.suffolk.gov.uk/kb5/suffolk/infolink/advice.page?id=Zj4vWQtEbvA

Flu Vaccinations

A reminder that the flu vaccinations are taking place next week on Friday 15^th November.  Your child will only be given the immunisation if you have provided consent.  We would ask that if you have done so, this is completed as soon as possible as the portal closes a couple of days prior to the visit.  The portal can be accessed on this link:  https://eastanglia.schoolvaccination.uk/flu/2023/suffolk

Dates for the Diary

Friday 8^th November 2024 – Non-uniform day for Ruby House

Monday 11^th November 2024 – Year 2 Framlingham Castle Visit

Thursday 14^th November 2024 - Open Morning for Reception 2025 children

Friday 15^th November 2024 – Flu Vaccinations

Friday 15^th November 2024 – Children in Need – Non-Uniform Day

Monday 18^th November 2024 – Year 1 Transport Museum Visit

Thursday 21^st November 2024 – Year 3 Stone Age Visit (at school)

Thursday 21^st November 2024 – Helping Hands 2.00pm-3.00pm

Monday 25^th November 2024 – SATS information session for parents/carers – 9.00am / 4.30pm

Wednesday 27^th November 2024 – Year 6 Bletchley Park Visit

Monday 2^nd December 2024 - Open Morning for Reception 2025 children

Wednesday 4^th December 2024 - Reports home to parents/carers

Thursday 5^th December 2024 – Helping Hands 2.00pm-3.00pm

Thursday 5^th December 2024 – Online Parents/Carers Evening

Friday 6^th December 2024 – Non-Uniform Day – Bring chocolate / sweets as a donation

Tuesday 10^th December 2024 – Online Parents/Carers Evening

Thursday 12^th December 2024 – CET Christmas Concert – 6.30pm (ticketed event)

Friday 13^th December 2024 – Nursery Christmas Songs

Friday 13^th December 2024 – Christmas Jumper Day

Friday 13^th December 2024 – Christmas Fair

Monday 16^th December 2024 – Reception Nativity

Tuesday 17^th December 2024 – Autumn 2 Project Showcase (Reception, Years 2, 4 and 6)

Thursday 19^th December 2024 – Helping Hands 2.00pm-3.00pm

Thursday 19^th December 2024 – Autumn 2 Project Showcase (Nursery, Years 1, 3 and 5)

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

Friday 20^th December 2024 – Last day of the Autumn Term

Monday 23^rd December 2024 – Friday 3^rd January 2025 – Christmas Holiday

Monday 6^th January 2025 – PD Day (Children are not in school)

Tuesday 7^th January 2025 – First day of the Spring Term

Thursday 9^th January 2025 - Open Morning for Reception 2025 children