Whitehouse Weekly Bulletin

Friday 14th February 2025

A Message from Miss Siddall

We’ve had another busy half term at Whitehouse, but we’ve achieved a lot and we’re very proud of the hard work the children have put into all their learning, both in the classroom and at home. I hope you enjoyed the opportunity to see some of the children's learning at their project showcases this week.  Thank you for your support with the homework projects - there have been some truly amazing examples of creativity and effort with the projects that the children have brought in.  Keep an eye out in the newsletter for a photo of the winning projects.  Please remember that school starts back on Monday 24th February. We look forward to seeing you then.

Attendance for last week:

Class with the best attendance:  Chameleons (100%)

Assemblies

The theme of our assemblies for next week will be based on St David’s Day.  What is this and who celebrates it?  (UNRC: Article 7 – I have the right to have a name and a nationality.)   Why not ask your child to share what they have learnt and then do something together to celebrate the Welsh culture?  Maybe you could go for a walk and look at daffodils or make and taste some Welsh cakes.

Online Safety Competition

Thank you to everyone who entered the online safety poster competition.  We have had lots of entries with some great information about how to stay safe online.  We are pleased to announce the winners:

Upper Phase: Kyla-Marie in Ocelots (Runner-up was Riley and Lona in Pandas)

Lower Phase: Laura in Owls (Runners-up were Ruby, Mirabel and Mailey in Owls)

Breakfast Clubs

Can we please remind parents and carers that if you wish your child to attend Breakfast Club you must book a space prior to the day.  We are now at the point where some days we are almost full and if you have not booked, we may not be able to guarantee your child has a space.  Booking can be done on Arbor, or you can contact the school office who will be able to book this for you.  Please be aware there are some days where there are no spaces available on the Active breakfast club so we may only be able to offer the quiet club.   Any problems please speak to the school office.

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 is 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:

Family Breakfast

Please note there will be no Family Breakfast on Monday 24^th February 2025.  These will resume again the following Monday morning.

Attendance: Duck Race Winners

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

Accelerated Reader

Many congratulations to the following children who all recently received certificates for their reading.   A big well done to you all.

Home Matches

As you will be aware a number of our older KS2 children play in the football and netball leagues and some of these games we host at Whitehouse after school.  A number of our Year 5 and 6 children like to stay and watch their classmates in these games.  However please note that in order to do this, the children will need to be supervised by their parent/carer or another suitable adult.  If there is no adult, please note the children will be asked to leave and go home.

No Smoking Site

As you will be aware we do not allow smoking or vaping on the school site.  We have also had reports that some parents/carers are smoking at the school gates whilst children are either leaving site or waiting to come in.  Although this is not on site, we would ask that adults move away from the gates if smoking so that our children do not have to walk through cigarette smoke.  Thank you for your co-operation in this matter.

Choir Singing

This is for all our children in Year 3-6 who love to sing!  Why not go along to the Ipswich Minster for an evening of singing in the choir.  The children even have the chance to wear a cassock, and there will be pancakes served afterwards.  Details if your child is interested are on the poster below.

Neuro Developmental Pathway Focus Group

Suffolk Parent Carer Forum are holding a focus group for parents and carers of children who may be on the Autism spectrum or who have ADHD.   The virtual meeting will be an opportunity for parents/carers to provide feedback and ask questions on applying for Autism and ADHA assessments for those under 18.  The meeting will take place on Thursday 6^th March 2025, from 10.30am to 12.30pm.  Any interested parties must register to be able to attend.  This can be done by sending an email to: info@suffolkpcf.co.uk.

Year 2: Design and Technology Day

This week Year 2 had a DT day where they designed and created their own castle banners.  The children had to use a variety of skills including sewing, cutting and printing to make their final products.  They all thought very carefully about the colours and shapes they were including on their banners too.  Here are just a few of the final products!  We think they are fabulous!

House Charities

The children have all been voting to choose their House Charities of the Year and we are pleased to announce the final results as follows:

Diamond House: Battersea Dogs and Cats Home.  This is an animal rescue centre for cats and dogs until they are able to find their owner, or find them a new home.  It is one of the UK’s oldest and best-known rescue centres.

Emerald House:  Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) UK.  This condition is a rare, neuromuscular condition and the charity work with the SMA community to ensure that everyone affected has access to the best care, support and treatment.

Ruby House: Save the Children.  This charity support children across the world to learn, grow and become who they want to be.  When disaster strikes, they are there -saving lives.

Sapphire House:  RSPCA.  They change lives by investigating reports of cruelty and neglect of animals.  They also work hard to change the law, advocating for animal rights, they fight for animals to be happier and healthier!

House Points: Spring 1

The House Captains are excited to announce the winners of the House Point competition for Spring 1. 

In fourth place with 603 points are Emerald

In third place with 610 points with Diamond

In second place with 636 points is Ruby

And in first place was 638 is Sapphire – Well done!

There will be a non-uniform day for Sapphire on Friday 28^th February. 

Online Safety: Manipulative Marketing in Mobile Games

Were you aware that many of the game’s children are tempted to play have hidden costs?  Marketing suggests that these games are free, and the download usually is, but then the child will find much of the game cannot be accessed without money being paid.  Using the advert of a ‘free’ game allows the companies to draw in players, especially when they use lots of bright colours, distracting music and other persuasive techniques.  ‘Better Internet for Kids’ has created a learning module where you can explore these digital marketing tactics.  It explains how they draw children in, and how it can then impact your child and their rights.  You can also learn how to support your child to spot and avoid these problems.  To learn more, click on this link:

https://better-internet-for-kids.europa.eu/en/learning-corner/parents-and-caregivers/marketing-games

Online Safety / Wellbeing Courses

We have been made aware of two courses which may be of interest to some of our parents/carers looking at two issues which are prevalent in today’s world, Body Image and the use of Smartphones.  Please see details on the following page, including links on how to register and participate.   Parents/Carers are welcome to attend in person or online.

Reception: Author Visit

The Seahorses and Starfish classes were lucky to receive a visit from a real-life author this week! Her name was Elena Arevalo Melville and she read the book ‘Umbrella’ which she had written and illustrated to the children.  The book was about a magic umbrella and it really was magic as it cascaded magical bubbles over the children at the end!  The children were fantastic listeners and great at answering questions about the story. Many thanks to Elena for coming in and Mrs Balaam for organising this for the children.

KS2 Inclusive Clip ‘n’ Climb Event

Last Wednesday Mr Jordan, Mr Dunnett and Mrs Arnold took fourteen of our KS2 pupils to Climb ‘n Climb to take part in an inclusive indoor climbing session. For the vast majority of the pupils this was the first time they had been to Clip ‘n Climb or taken part in any kind of indoor climbing. Once the pupils had received their safety briefing and had been fitted with their harnesses, any initial nervous were quickly replaced with excitement as the pupils got to explore the vast array of fun climbing walls. Mr Jordan was incredibly proud of the effort and courage shown by all of the pupils throughout the session. It was amazing to see them all push themselves outside of their comfort zone to tackle some of the more difficult climbing walls and to climb higher and higher as the session went on. The session finished with lots of happy and smiling faces….a true sign that the pupils had a fantastic time!

Y5/6 Mixed Netball

On Thursday last week, the mixed Netball team were back in action as they played their second cup match at home against Britannia. The team knew this was going to be a tough match but they were not deterred and took to the court with increased confidence after their last cup match.  As expected, Britannia took the lead scoring a last-minute goal in the first quarter.  Whitehouse kept persevering and it was not long before they also scored their first goal.  The team continued to keep most of the possession the second quarter which paid off as we scored our second goal, 2-1 to Whitehouse at half time.  The team showed some great defensive work in the third quarter, however Britannia scored again.  Moving into the last quarter, the game remained tense with both teams showing outstanding attacking and defensive play.  Seconds before the final whistle Britannia managed to snatch a final goal, ending the match 3-2 to Britannia. Ms Salmon was extremely proud of every child’s efforts and teamwork shown throughout the match.  A special mention goes to Ivy who received Britannia’s player of the match.  Ms Salmon chose Tommie for player of the match also whose determination to try and outwit his opponent was amazing!  Thank you to everyone who came and supported the team, it is always appreciated.

Y5/6 Boys Football

Last week was a busy week for the year 5/6 boys’ football team as the team played two matches in as many days. The first match of the week (Tuesday 4th February) saw the boys’ host last year’s Country Cup winners Cedarwood Primary school for their first-round cup match. As expected, Cedarwood played with high tempo, pressing football which made for a difficult match. However, in spite of this and in true ‘Whitehouse

Way’, the boys showed real courage, hard work and perseverance throughout the match.

On Thursday 6th February, the boys hosted top of league Sidegate Primary School in their IPSSA league match. Determined to build upon their cup match performance, the boys went into the match with increased confidence. Sidegate started the match the quicker of the two teams and went into half time a goal ahead. Despite this, during the second half the boys stuck to their task and continued to work hard to press the ball. In attack of the ball the boys also linked up really well to enjoy good spells of possession and created more chances at the Sidegate goal. The boys hard work and determination paid off with a well taken equalising from Otto. The game remained in the balance until the very end of the match when unfortunately, Sidegate scored a late winner to win the match 2-1. Despite the final score, the boys were pleased with their performance and very much looking forward to their next league matches.

Year 5/6 Mixed Basketball

On Tuesday, Mr Jordan took twelve of our Year 5/6 pupils to represent our school at the Ipswich & South Suffolk School Games Mixed Basketball event at Inspire Suffolk. The team was made up of both a girls’ and boys’ team. During the event each match was divided up into two halves with the girls’ teams from each school playing against each other during the first half, and the boys’ teams playing the second half. Due to the number of schools competing in the event, the event was separated into a

 morning and afternoon session with each event having two groups of teams competing against each other. Our team was placed in group B and played four matches against Dale Hall, St Matthew’s, Copdock and St Johns Primary Schools. All four matches were played at a very fast and competitive tempo, with each team having to continually run up and down the court to attack and defend the basket. Mr Jordan was extremely proud of the teams’ teamwork and impressive basketball skills throughout the event. As a result of their hard work and effort, a number of the team received an invite to the upcoming Suffolk basketball trails and half term basketball camp! A special well done also goes to Lucas for receiving the School Games ‘player of the team’ award, voted for collectively by Mr Jordan and rest of the team. Well done everyone!

Dates for the Diary

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

Tuesday 25^th February 2025 – Class Photos

Thursday 27^th February 2025 – Helping Hands Hub

Thursday 27^th February 2025 – Year 4 Multiplication Tables Parent/Carer Workshop – 9.00am

Friday 28^th February 2025 – Non-uniform day for Sapphire House

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

Wednesday 5^th March 2025 – Y6 Walton Trip (Tigers and Toucans)

Thursday 6^th March 2025 – World Book Day

Thursday 6^th March 2025 – Y6 Walton Trip (Chameleons and Ocelots)

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

Monday 13^th March 2025 – Helping Hands Hub

Tuesday 18^th March 2025 – Year 3 Colchester Castle Trip

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)