Whitehouse Weekly Bulletin 296

Friday 24th January 2025

A Message from Miss Siddall

The children have been working hard and I’ve seen lots of excellent writing on my visits to classrooms this week.  I’ve also seen lots of children enjoying using the school libraries.  Thank you for supporting your children to read at home. 

We have lots of parent/carer sessions coming up this term so please do check the dates of these so that you don’t miss out.  Thank you to all of the year six parents who were able to support the active learning session in a history lesson – learning about the process of Ancient Egyptian mummification by mummifying a tomato.  I hope you enjoyed the session.

Attendance for last week:

Class with the best attendance: Tigers (99.52%)

Assemblies

The theme of our assemblies for next week will be based on attendance at school. (UNRC: Article 28 – I have the right to education).  Attendance is very important in gaining a good education, why not speak to your child about the various things they love about being in school?  You could also share what your favourite memories where about school.

Educational Health and Care Plan Focus Group

The Suffolk Parent Carer Forum have extended an invitation to parents/carers to attend their EHCP Quality Assurance Focus Group.  This is an opportunity for families who have SEND children to meet the EHCP QA Team and to share their views and experiences. The meeting will take place virtually on Teams on Friday 7^th February 2025, from 11.00am to 12.30pm.  You will need to register for the event which you can do by emailing on info@suffolkpcf.co.uk. 

Parent/Carer Sessions

A reminder that we have several Parent/Carer sessions coming up as detailed below.  We hope to see as many of you there as possible:

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:

Online Safety

Does your child have a smartphone?  The NSPCC have published an article helping parents/carers to see the impact these can have on children and is worth a read: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/about-us/news-opinion/2024/impact-phones-social-media-young-people2/?ac=172400

Attendance: Duck Race Winners

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

Volunteering Opportunities

We have been made aware of a couple of places who are looking for volunteers and wonder if any parent/carer may be interested.

British Heart Foundation are looking for help in their store on St Matthews Street where parents can go in and volunteer during school hours and in return receive retail training, new skills, a chance to make new friends and be in a warm space.  Meanwhile, Whitton United Football Club are searching for volunteers to help with match day support, general maintenance and a groundsman.  If you would be interested in any of this please contact: 

British Heart Foundation: The local store in St Matthews Street or look at bhf.org.uk/volunteer

Whitton United Football Club:  Lucky on 07917 165126 or Paul on 07799 592270.

Ipswich Symphony Orchestra: Family Concert

The Ipswich Symphony Orchestra are holding their ever-popular Family Concert on Sunday 2^nd March 2025 at 2.30pm at the Ipswich Corn Exchange.  This is designed especially for primary school aged children and provides a fun and informal introduction to classical music.  Dancing along is encouraged!  If you are interested please see ticket information on the poster shown.

Spare Uniform

On occasion we are in need of spare uniform in school and are running very short of trousers for both boys and girls aged 4-8 years old.  If you have any spare items that you would be willing to donate, we would gratefully receive these.  Please hand these into the school office.  Thank you for your assistance. 

Parent/Carer Consultation: RSE Policy

As you will be aware the Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) Policy was recently reviewed within school and sent to parents/carers to read.  This review was completed by staff members in conjunction with relevant local and national guidance.  The next stage of the review process is to hold a Parent/Carer Consultation which will take place on Tuesday 4^th February 2025 at 3.30pm.  Any parent/carer who would like to come along would be very welcome.  Please come to the school office to sign in.

Year 6: Mummification Parent/Carer Session

On Wednesday, Year 6 welcomed their parents/carers in for a fascinating history lesson.  During the session the children and adults learnt how and why the Egyptians mummified their pharaohs. Unfortunately, no Year 6 children volunteered to have their brains removed, so we decided to use a tomato instead!  After the Year 6 children role played the mummification process, they cleaned the tomatoes with special oils, also known as hand sanitizer!  Using sharp hooks, they started carefully dislodging and removing the brain and then pouring it into the bin. Next, they made a small (or very large!) cut into the side of the tomato to start removing the organs.  Slowly and delicately, the organs were removed and placed into canopic jars whilst also covering the tables in chunks of tomato!  Lastly, the children covered the tomatoes, and themselves, with salt and left them to dry.  Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the morning and were able to learn a lot about the process of mummification.  Stay tuned for another update as we see if the children’s mummification skills were up to scratch!

Dates for the Diary

Monday 27^th January 2025 – Family Breakfast – 8.00am

Monday 27^th January 2025 – Year 3 Parent/Carer Session – Badgers – 2.30pm

Tuesday 28^th January 2025 – Year 3 Parent/Carer Session – Rabbits – 2.30pm

Thursday 30^th January 2025 – Year 3 Parent/Carer Session – Owls – 2.30pm

Monday 3^rd February 2025 – Family Breakfast – 8.00am

Monday 3^rd February 2025 – Year 2 Parent/Carer Session – 2.15pm

Tuesday 4^th February 2025 – Parent/Carer RSE Policy Consultation - 3.30pm

Thursday 6^th February 2025 – Year 4 Parent/Carer Session – 2.00pm

Monday 10^th February 2025 – Family Breakfast – 8.00am

Tuesday 11^th February 2025 – Project Showcase (Years N, 1, 3 and 5)

Thursday 13^th February 2025 – Project Showcase (Years R, 2, 4 and 6)

Monday 17^th February 2025 to Friday 21^st February 2025 – Half Term Holiday

Tuesday 25^th February 2025 – Class Photos

Friday 21^st March 2025 – Comic Relief – Non-Uniform Day (for small donation)

Wednesday 2^nd April 2025 – Whole School SMSC Day

Monday 7^th April 2025 to Monday 21^st April 2025 – Easter Holiday

Tuesday 22^nd April 2025 – PD Day (School closed to children)

Monday 5^th May 2025 – Bank Holiday (School Closed)

Friday 23^rd May 2025 – PD Day (School closed to children)

Monday 26^th May to Friday 30^th May – Half Term Holiday

Monday 23^rd Tuesday 24^th June 2025 – Year 6 Residential (Danbury)