Whitehouse Weekly Bulletin 355

Friday 3rd July 2026

A Message from Miss Siddall:   Thank you to everyone in the community for your patience during last week's heat wave.  Well done to the children for demonstrating the Whitehouse Way of 'perseverance' and thanks to the staff for changing plans to try to keep everyone cool. Please note that the annual reports for Year N to Year 5 will be sent out next Friday (10^th 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 17^th of July so please do ensure your child attends school for the remaining 10 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 today. Thank you for your continued support.

Attendance: Top 3 classes with the best attendance for week ending 26^th June 2026

                                  Foxes (97%)  Seahorses (96%)  Cobras & Starfish (95%)  

               Whole School Attendance: 91%

A Message from our Attendance Officer

📞 A quick reminder: If your child is going to be absent from school, please call or email the school office before 8:55am, providing as much detail as possible about the reason for their absence. Thank you for helping us keep our attendance records up to date.

⭐ The Kiosk is back! Over the final few weeks of the school year, our Kiosk will be returning for the last time, ready to start afresh in September. Children will have the opportunity to spend all the stamps they have earned through their fantastic attendance and punctuality. We can't wait to celebrate their hard work and positive choices before the summer holidays!

A huge thank you to all our families for your continued support with attendance this year.

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. Well done to you all.

Key Stage 1:

Lower Key Stage 2:

Upper Key Stage 2:

Year 3: River Deben Visit

Over the past few weeks, each of our Year 3 classes has been on a trip to study the River Deben. They were studying how the river changes in four places. At the source in Debenham, there was merely a collection of puddles, then along to Brandeston, the river was getting a little wider and deeper. At the middle course at the estuary of Woodbridge, the salt water mixes with the fresh water and finally we reached the mouth of the river in Bawdsey. Along the route, the children observed, discussed and measured how the river was changing. They finished with the children showing their learning by building their own river using the sand on the beach, complete with meanders and banks. They labelled the features then tested out their construction with a flow of water. The children showed wonderful enthusiasm throughout each trip and it was fabulous to see how their classroom learning came to life along the river's journey. Hopefully their wellies have dried out by now!

Year 1: Felixstowe Trip

Year 1 had a lovely trip to Felixstowe this week as part of their enquiry unit, ‘Why do we love the seaside?’ The children began by looking at a variety of photographs of Felixstowe from the past and comparing them with how the town looks today.  They then enjoyed a walk along the promenade to the pier, where they sat together and admired the beautiful view across the beach and out to sea.  Next, they explored the Victorian Gardens, carefully observing the different patterns in the flowerbeds before heading onto the beach and creating their own patterns in the sand using pebbles, linking their learning to what they had seen in the gardens.

The whole year group had a fantastic, fun-filled day.  Even though they experienced a short rain shower during lunchtime, there were no complaints and the children continued to enjoy every moment of our seaside adventure!

Dinner and Breakfast Club Debt

A reminder that we have a number of children who have debt for dinner money or breakfast club.  Please be aware that all debt MUST be cleared by the end of the summer term.  Please make prompt payment to the office or via Arbor.  If you are not sure what you owe, please speak to a member of the Office Team.

Celebrating Our Children

This week we are thrilled to celebrate Fayth in Year 4, who has been attending a dance class.  Recently she was awarded a trophy for winning Dancer of the Week!  What a wonderful achievement Fayth, keep up the good work!

Free School Meals (FSM)

An important reminder! If your child is currently eligible for Free School Meals (due to benefits), this will not continue into September unless you complete a FSM form and this is re-approved by Suffolk County Council.  Also, if you are in receipt of Universal Credit, please complete a form as your child will be eligible for FSM from September – but only if the form is completed and returned.

Changes to Staffing

As we are coming to the end of the school year, we will be having a number of changes to staffing at Whitehouse.  Teachers who are moving on are Miss Adams, Mrs Padbury, Miss Soames and Miss Smart. We will also see several support staff leaving us including teaching assistants, Miss Last and Mrs Chipumha as well as Mrs Jousiffe from our office team.   Every one of you will be very missed and we appreciate all the wonderful input you have had whilst at Whitehouse.

We would also like to take the opportunity to welcome our incoming staff.  Mr Donowa will be returning after a secondment at another Trust school and we have a new teacher, Miss Sutton, who will be joining to teach our River Otters class.  We will also welcome Miss Lovegrove to the teaching staff team from September. In addition, we will have several new TAs: Miss Anderson, Miss Benmore, Miss Davies and Mrs Lotani and a TA Apprentice, Miss Sawyer, as well as a new addition to our cleaning team, Miss Anderson.  We are excited to have you all on board and know you will all enjoy the working with our wonderful children.

2026/27 Classes:

Please see below the list of classes and teachers for September:

WHCPS ‘Wake Up & 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.

The event will take place before school (during drop off time) during the beginning of the final week of term. As with last year’s event, this is an informal and optional event, which will

 invite parents/carers the opportunity to take part in a 2 lap walk around the KS2 field before school with their child. Yr5/6 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: Tuesday 7th July 2026 (EYFS & KS1 Pupils & Parents/Carers)

Wednesday 8th July 2026 (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.

Dates for the Diary

Monday 6^th July 2026 - Family Breakfast 8.00am

Monday 6^th July 2026 – Year 5 Ipswich Tudor Walk

Tuesday 7^th July 2026 – Wake Up & Walk – EYFS & KS1

Tuesday 7^th July 2026 – Year 2 Parent/Carer Session (Year 2 into 3 Readiness) – 9.00am / 2.45pm

Tuesday 7^th July 2026 – Year 5 Parent/Carer Session (Year 5 into 6 Readiness) – 3.20pm

Wednesday 8^th July 2026 – Wake Up & Walk – KS2

Wednesday 8^th July 2026 – Nursery Trip – Westbourne Park – from 9.00am

Thursday 9^th July 2026 – Year 4 Victorian School – Foxes Class

Friday 10^th July 2026 – Reports home to parents/carers (Year N to Year 5)

Monday 13^th July 2026 - Family Breakfast 8.00am

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

Thursday 16^th July 2026 - Helping Hands (pm)

Thursday 16^th July 2026 – Year 6 Leavers BBQ – 4.00pm to 5.15pm

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

Friday 17^th July 2026 – Reports home to parents/carers (Year 6)

Friday 17^th July 2026 – Last day of the Summer Term for the children

Monday 20^th July 2006 – PD Day (School closed to the children)

Tuesday 1^st September 2026 – PD Day (School closed to the children)

Wednesday 2^nd September 2026 – PD Day (School closed to the children)

Thursday 3^rd September 2026 – First day of Autumn Term for the children