Whitehouse Weekly Bulletin 336

Friday 23rd January 2026

A Message from Miss Siddall:

This week, I had the pleasure of welcoming a visitor to see the excellent work the children have been doing in grammar and writing. They spent time talking with pupils about their learning, and the children confidently and clearly explained what they had been working on - well done to everyone.

Thank you to the Year 3 and Year 6 parents who recently joined their children for shared learning sessions. We hope you enjoyed seeing first-hand how learning takes place in school. There will be more opportunities like this over the coming term, so please keep an eye on upcoming dates to ensure you don’t miss out. Thank you, as always, for your continued support.

Attendance for the previous week:

Classes with the best attendance: Ocelots (97.14%)

Sharing Assembly: Skills and Achievements

Message from Miss Payne and Mrs Anderson:  On the week beginning 2^nd February, our mid-week assembly will be used to celebrate the many skills and achievements of our children.  Does your child take part in clubs outside of school?  Do they play any kind of competitive sports?  Has your child recently celebrated a milestone in your religious community?  If you would like us to share a photograph or short video on the big screen in the assembly, please send them to us to parents@whcps.org with the subject Assembly Photo and include your child’s first name and class.  We will need to receive these before Friday 27^th January.  Thank you. 

EYFS / Key Stage 1 Library Sessions

Each week there is a Library Session which takes place after school on a Thursday, open to parents/carers of children in Nursery, EYFS and KS1. Parents/Carers can come along with their child to change their library book, but they are also welcome to stay a little longer and share a story or two in the library. Please enter and exit the building via the Blue Meeting Room (the small gate next to the main office). Please be aware there will not be a session on Thursday 29th January 2026.

Free School Meal Vouchers

We are pleased to confirm that Suffolk County Council will again be providing vouchers for those families whose are eligible for free school meals.  A £45 voucher per child will be allocated which will cover both the February Half Term and Easter holidays.  If you think your child may be eligible you can apply online: https://www.suffolk.gov.uk/children-families-and-learning/schools/school-meals-uniforms-and-trips/apply-for-free-school-meals.  We will give further details on when the vouchers will be sent out once we have this information. 

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:

Sendiass

For those families who have a child with a SEN need please be aware of Sendiass as they are a wonderful resource who can offer a great deal of information and support on all aspects of SEN needs.  Their website is:  https://suffolksendiass.co.uk/

Autumn 2 Project Showcase

Sorry for the delay, but we are now very pleased to announce the winners of the Autumn 2 Project Showcase below.  As you can see from the photos below, we had some wonderful work completed by the children in every class. 

Well done everyone, we love seeing your homework projects and are excited to see what you are working on this half term!

ITFC Matchday Reporters!

Our lucky competition winners had a brilliant time on Saturday 17^th January watching Ipswich Town defeat Blackburn Rovers 3-0 at Portman Road.  Watching from the press area, they made lots of notes so look out for their match reports which will be published next week.  We would like to give a huge thank you to the Ipswich Town Foundation for making this spectacular day out possible!

Attendance: Duck Race Winners

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

Accelerated Reader

A big well done to all the children below who have recently received certificates for their reading.

***Important Update: Packed Lunch Safety and Chocolate Spreads***

At Whitehouse, the safety and wellbeing of all pupils is our highest priority.  As part of our commitment to being a nut-free school and to managing food allergies safely, we regularly review our lunchtime procedures.  We would like to inform parents/carers of an important update regarding packed lunches.

Chocolate Spread in Packed Lunches

We have noticed an increase in chocolate spreads being included in packed lunches, sometimes accompanied by notes stating that the product does not contain nuts.  Unfortunately, for safety reasons, we are unable to accept or act upon individual notes about ingredients in packed lunches.  Chocolate spreads are commonly associated with nut products and cross-contamination and the school cannot verify ingredient lists or manufacturing processes. 

Our Midday Supervisors (MDSAs) are responsible for supervising many children at lunchtime and cannot safely check lunchboxes or ingredient notes in detail.  Relying on this information creates an unacceptable risk, particularly for pupils with severe allergies.

Please note that from now on, chocolate spread will not be permitted in packed lunches, even if labelled or believed to be nut-free.  This decision supports or nut-free policy, safeguarding responsibilities and national school food standards.  If a packed lunch contains any items that cannot be safely managed, staff will provide an alternative where possible and will always act in the best interests of the child’s safety.  Thank you for your continued cooperation.

Celebrating our Children

This week we are very excited to celebrate Emerson who is coming on in leaps and bounds with his football skills. Last week he not only scored two goals but also received Man of the Match.  The team were very excited to hear that a football scout from Norwich City was watching the game and he was so impressed the team have been invited to play a match against the academy squad.  Good luck Emerson!  Well done with all you are achieving!

Suffolk Schools Area Cross Country Championships

After her very impressive top 50 finish in the Suffolk Schools Area Cross Country Championships, last Thursday morning Millie again represented the School Games team as she took part in the next round of races at the Suffolk Schools Area Cross Country Championship Finals. The finals, which took place at Woodbridge School, provided the opportunity for the top 20 runners to progress through to the Anglian champions. Millie again took part in the minor girls’ section of the race, which involved her completing a 2300m course. The recent spell of snowy and wet weather made for tricky and very muddy running conditions. Millie ran a fantastic race and finished in a very respectable 74th place! Well done Millie! 

After School Sports Clubs – PE Kit Reminder

A polite reminder to all parents/carers that pupils attending an after-school sports club, will need to attend their club in their WHCPS PE kit. As with PE days, your child should therefore come into school on club days (sports clubs) in their PE kit. Please note that this also includes no jewellery to be worn during sports clubs.

U11 Sportshall Athletics

Last Thursday, Mr Jordan and Mrs Moore took twenty-four of our Year 5 and 6 pupils to compete in the School Games Sportshall Athletics competition, which took place at Suffolk One. Just like previous years, the format for the competition saw the boys and girls teams compete in six adapted indoor athletics track and field events. Each of the events took place at the same time and in the same space, which made for an exciting atmosphere. Mr Jordan and Mrs Moore were extremely proud of the team as each and every member of the team put their best efforts into each of their individual events. As a result, there were a number of excellent individual performances during the field events and some even more impressive team performances during the races on the track! The team spirit shown by each member of the team was also very admirable, as they all ensured that they encouraged and cheered their peers during their events! Well done to everyone who took part!

What I Wish My Parents or Carers Knew

The Children’s Commissioner has put together a guide for parents and carers.  At around 26 pages it goes into a lot of depth including:

• Screen Time
• When Bad Things Happen
• Artificial Intelligence
• Conversation Starters
• Actions to Take Checklist

To view or download this guide, together with an activity pack, please visit: https://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/resource/what-i-wish-my-parents-or-carers-knew-a-guide-for-parents-and-carers-on-managing-childrens-digital-lives/

Dates for the Diary

Monday 26^th January 2026 – Family Breakfast – 8.00am

Thursday 29^th January 2026 – Year 2 Parent/Carer Session – 2.10pm

Monday 2^nd February 2026 – Family Breakfast – 8.00am

Thursday 5^th February 2026 – Year 4 Parent/Carer Music Session – 2.30pm

Monday 9^th February 2026 – Family Breakfast – 8.00am

Tuesday 10^th February 2026 – School Photographer: Class Photos

Tuesday 10^th February 2026 – Spring 1 Project Showcase – Years Nursery, 1, 3 and 5

Thursday 12^th February 2026 – Spring 1 Project Showcase – Years Reception, 2, 4 and 6

Friday 13^th February 2026 – Whole School SMSC Day: Oracy

Monday 16^th February 2026 to Friday 20^th February 2026 – Half Term Holiday

Tuesday 24^th February 2026 – Year 6 Walton Trip – Toucans and Ocelots

Wednesday 25^th February 2026 – Year 6 Walton Trip – Tigers and Chameleons

Thursday 5^th March 2026 – World Book Day

Wednesday 11^th March 2026 – Reports Home to Parents

Friday 27^th March 2026 – Last day in school before Easter

Monday 30^th March 2026 to Friday 10^th April 2026 – Easter Holiday

Monday 25^th May 2026 to Friday 29^th May 2026 – Half Term Holiday

Friday 22^nd May 2026 – PD Day (School closed to Children)

Monday 22^nd June to Tuesday 23^rd June 2026 – Year 6 Residential Trip to Mersea

Tuesday 14th July 2026 – Year 6 Production- 9.30am and 6.00pm

Friday 17th July 2026 – Year 6 Leavers Picnic and Assembly – 1.50pm