Whitehouse Weekly Bulletin 314

Friday 4th July 2025

A Message from Miss Siddall: 

Well done to all of the children for keeping their cool during the heat wave and carrying on with their learning.  Please note that the annual reports will be sent out on Friday 11th 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 22nd of July, so please do ensure your child attends school for the remaining 12 days.  Next week sees the final project showcase of the year and we look forward to seeing many of you at these events after school. We also look forward to seeing many of you today at the Summer Fair after school - thank you for your continued support.  

Attendance for the previous week:

Class with the best attendance: Tigers (99.00%)

Free School Meal Vouchers

Suffolk County Council have confirmed that vouchers will once again be provided to parents/carers whose children are eligible for free school meals (due to benefit eligibility) to assist with costs of food over the summer holiday.  A £90.00 supermarket voucher will be provided for each child. As usual these will be sent out by email and should reach you on Thursday 17^th July.  If you have changed your email address since you last received a voucher please inform the school office.  If you feel your child may be eligible for free school meals, you can apply online at this link: https://www.suffolk.gov.uk/children-families-and-learning/schools/school-meals-uniforms-and-trips/apply-for-free-school-meals

Assemblies

The theme of our assemblies for next week will be Safeguarding: ‘The Pants Rule’ (UNRC: Article 34 – I have the right to be protected from sexual abuse. You may want to talk to your child about keeping themselves safe.  Further information about ‘The Pants Rule’ can be viewed on the NSPCC website: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/support-for-parents/pants-underwear-rule/

Win £1,000 for the School Library

National Book Tokens are offering the chance for five schools to win £1,000 to spend in their school libraries.  Anyone can make a nomination so please think about supporting us by clicking on the link below.  If you are successful you will also win a £100 National Book Token to treat yourself.

https://www.nationalbooktokens.com/schools-prize?utm_medium=email&utm_source=nbt&utm_campaign=20250625-schools&utm_content=schools-prize

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:

Lunchtime Provision: Can you help?

With the introduction of our new lunchtime provision, we are need of a couple of items and wonder if you may be able to help. Two areas which are very popular, are board games and dressing up.  Do you have any old board games (complete only please) or any fancy-dress outfits which you no longer require?  If so, we would love to receive your donations.  Please hand any items in at the school office.   Thank you in advance for your help!

Hot Weather

Can we please remind parents/carers that, despite the very hot weather we have been experiencing, it is very important that anyone who comes on site shows consideration for others by wearing respectful clothing. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.

Parking

As we shared recently on our newsletter, new parking banners have been put up around the school and we would like to thank those parents/carers who have been parking in a considerate manner when dropping off/picking up their children.  However, we are still receiving complaints from local residents whose driveways are being blocked.  Please can we ask all of our school community to please show respect and consideration for our neighbours when parking outside of the school and ensure driveways remain accessible to the residents at all times.  Thank you.

WHCPS ‘Wake Up and Walk’ Event

Following the continued 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.  It will take place before school (during drop off time) in the beginning of the final week of term. As with last year’s event, this is an informal and optional event, which will offer parents/carers the opportunity to take part in a 2 lap walk around the KS2 field before school with their child. Year 5 and 6 pupils that 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.

Event details:

Dates: Monday 14th July 2025 (EYFS & KS1 Pupils & Parents/Carers)

Tuesday 15th July 2025 (KS2 Pupils & Parents/Carers) 

Time:   8:30am – 8:45am 

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.

After School Club: Year 5-6 Gymnastics

On Monday, we were very excited to welcome some special guests to our Year 5-6 gymnastics after school club – two real British gymnasts, Emily and Abigail Roper!  The children were very eager to learn from these inspiring athletes, who shared their experiences, demonstrated amazing skills and even led some training activities.  The children asked some excellent questions and got stuck in with the new skills they were learning!  Well done to you all.

Project Showcase: 

The final events for this academic year are next week. The timings are:

o        Nursery:  11:20 – 11:30 -Thursday 10^th July

o        Reception:  3:10 – 3:25 – Tuesday 8^th July

o        KS1: 3:05 – 3:20 - Year 1 Thursday 10^th July / Year 2 Tuesday 8^th July

o        LKS2:  3:00 – 3:15 – Year 3 Thursday 10^th July / Year 4 Tuesday 8^th July

o        UKS2:  3:10 – 3:25 – Year 5 Thursday 10^th July / Year 6 Tuesday 8^th July

Sea Otters Trip: Yaya’s House

This week the Sea Otters have an exciting visit to Yaya’s House at Birch Farm.  Yaya’s House is a role play town and has been lovingly designed to create a play space which allows children the freedom to explore and develop play skills.  The children were very busy exploring the different areas such as the Fire Station, Supermarket and the Theatre.  A great day was had by all the children and the staff who accompanied them.

Healthy Living Service

Please see details below of a Healthy Living Service available to offer support for children and families to help remove barriers to achieving a healthy weight. 

Dates for the Diary

Monday 7^th July 2025 - Family Breakfast 8.00am

Tuesday 8^th July 2025 – Year R Parent/Carer Session – 2.00pm (rescheduled)

Tuesday 8^th July 2025 – Project Showcase (Years R, 2, 4 and 6)

Wednesday 9^th July 2025 – Ipswich Star Supplement with Year 6 Leavers Photos

Thursday 10^th July 2025 - Helping Hands Hub

Thursday 10^th July 2025 – Project Showcase (Years N, 1, 3 and 5)

Friday 11^th July 2025 – Reports Home to Parents/Carers

Monday 14^th July 2025 - Family Breakfast 8.00am

Monday 14^th July 2025 – Wake Up and Walk – 8.30am to 8.45am

Tuesday 15^th July 2025 – Wake Up and Walk – 8.30am to 8.45am

Wednesday 16^th July 2025 – Year 6 Production

Monday 21^st July 2025 – Year 6 Leavers BBQ

Tuesday 22^nd July 2025 – Year 6 Leavers Assembly

Tuesday 22^nd July 2025 – Last day of the Summer Term

Wednesday 23^rd July 2025 – First day of the Summer Holiday

Monday 1^st September 2025 – PD Day (School closed to children)

Tuesday 2^nd September 2025 – PD Day (School closed to children)

Wednesday 3^rd September 2025 – First day of term for the children