Please click here to see the newsletter in full.
Friday 24th November 2023
Meet and Greet
Last week we had one of our most popular parental engagement sessions of the year and we look forward to many more this year. Please see a message from Mrs Paterson and Mrs Baller who organised the event.
“We want to say a huge thank you to everyone that came to our meet and eat activity last week. We had 20 families attend and enough food to feed the whole of the school. What a wonderful time we had together, learning about each other’s cultures, sharing food and tasting so many delicious treats. But also, just being in each other’s company, having the time to talk together and seeing our families laugh together was an absolute joy.
We hope to run another activity in the new year so please look out for more information. Thank you for your support, because of you it was a wonderful afternoon!”
Karen Paterson and Sarah Baller
IMPORTANT DATES (November)
Time to Talk Meetings are this week—see the section with the dates for a reminder
Monday 27th November: Year 3 Music Performance 2.30pm
Monday 27th November: Northgate Fire Service Visit
Tuesday 28th November: Year 4 Music Performance 2.30pm
Tuesday 28th November: Southgate Reading Café
Thursday 30th November: Year 5 Trip to Wagamama
IMPORTANT DATES (December)
Wednesday 6th December: Eastgate Reading Café
Thursday 7th December: Eastgate Carols by Candlelight at St Paul and St Stephen’s Church for Eastgate Parents only
Wednesday 13th December: Christmas Fayre
Thursday 14th December (10.30am) & Friday 15th December (2pm): Northgate Nativity
Thursday 14th December: Christmas Church Service at St Paul and St Stephen’s Church (2pm)
Thursday 21st December: Christmas Lunch Day
Book Recommendation
How Does Santa Go Down the Chimney? Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jon Klassen
Questions about Father Christmas are often challenging. In this book, the unlikely answers are the magic. If you believe in Santa then anything is possible, so to get down the chimney why wouldn’t he shrink to the size of a mouse, stretch like a toffee or get kicked by the reindeer? As in all great picture books, the illustrations are central to the story and in this case, the humour in the pictures is key – Santa arriving bottom first down the chimney, flat Santa, sliding under the door, or running out of tap. This book is funny and creative and would appeal to children from the age of questions all the way up through primary school (and beyond).
Online Safety
Staying safe on a PlayStation
Internet Matters have teamed up with Sony Interactive Entertainment to create a quiz that you can play with your child to see who knows more about the safety options available on a PlayStation. Play the quiz here:
https://www.internetmatters.or g/press-start-for-playstationsafety/
EA Sports FC 24 EA Sports FC 24 has been rated as PEGI 3, which means it is suitable for those over the age of 3. However, you need to be aware that the game does include in-app purchases and users can interact with each other. EA Sports FC 24 was released in September and is a rebranding for the EA FIFA series. It is available to play across a series of platforms. As players can communicate with others, your child may be exposed to inappropriate language and there is also the risk of grooming when online interaction takes place. Ensure your child knows how to use the applicable reporting tools. The chat facility can be switched off.
Is your child aged between 8 -11?
Ollee - your virtual friend Parent Zone have created ‘Ollee,’ a virtual friend that asks your child how they are feeling and provides ideas and advice to help. Ollee is aimed at 8-11 year olds. You are also able to use the app to find advice around any issues that you think your child might be having. You can find out more here: https://parentzone.org.uk/Ollee
Design Technology Trip to Wagamama
Year Six visited the Japanese restaurant Wagamama as part of our Science and Design Technology learning. The children learnt about Japanese cuisine and how to prepare food and drinks in a restaurant. The children learnt how to use chopsticks and tried pickled vegetables like kimchi, bamboo shoots and ginger.
The children learnt how to make the two best-selling smoothies from the restaurant called Power and Positive using spinach, pineapple, ginger, limes, cucumber and apples. The children also got to prepare their own meal using udon noodles, peppers, sweetcorn and green beans. The chefs at Wagamama then prepared and cooked the food for the children which we then got to enjoy. The children left Wagamama with tote bags full of activities, an apron and a free children’s meal voucher to use next time they visit Wagamama. We would like to say a huge thank you to the staff at Wagamama who organised a lovely morning.
Computing at Ribston School
Six Year 4 and 5 girls had the opportunity to visit Ribston Grammar School for a Computing Session. Here is some feedback from the girls
“This Autumn, I had the privilege of taking a trip to Ribston and now want to attend when I am in Year 7.”
“We were using Virtual Reality to explore the moon! We also used little cars to draw, without using pencils—the cars drew what you thought!”
“We looked at different types of programming and how to debug programmes if it goes wrong. It has made me want to do Computing more and definitely at Secondary school!”
School Photos!
What wonderful photos we sent home with your children this week!
Proof cards with access codes have been sent home, and the deadline to order online with free delivery back to the school is: Thursday 30th November 2023. Any orders after the set deadline will be subject to postage & packaging costs with delivery direct to the home address. For any missing proof cards and access codes, we will have this information on file and will be able to help you.
Time to Talk
Friday 24th November |
Monday 27th November |
Tuesday 28th November |
Wednesday 29th November |
Thursday 30th November |
Friday 1st December |
Northgate Nursery Mrs Darley |
Eastgate Water Mrs Chambers and Mrs Corbet |
Southgate Earth Mrs Sherbourne Lock |
Eastgate Earth Mrs Pandya and Ms Price |
Southgate Water Miss Pearson |
Northgate Reception Miss Brown |
Westgate Earth Miss Southam |
|
Westgate Water Miss Taylor |
|
|
|
Sign up sheets are in the main entrance at the office—please send your child’s Key Worker a message if an alternative time is required.
A warm welcome
Hopefully many parents have been into the office and met our new Office Administrator Jackie Blay. She will be working with us on a short term basis while we recruit for a full time Office Administrator. Please give her a friendly smile and she will be on hand to support you in anyway she can.
Star of the Week
Northgate: Celine |
For always being helpful |
Eastgate Water: Brendan |
For consistently showing the school values |
Eastgate Earth: Corey |
For an amazing effort in Phonics |
Southgate Water: Beni |
For persevering in Maths |
Southgate Earth: Maureen |
For persistently helping others with acts of service |
Westgate Water: Lucas |
For undertaking acts of service |
Westgate Earth: Josh |
For being an amazing school Ambassador throughout our Open Days |
Class Dojo
Class Winners! |
Southgate Earth |
Eastgate Water: |
Sulaiman |
Eastgate Earth: |
Aseel |
Southgate Water: |
Akein |
Southgate Earth: |
Nathaniel |
Westgate Water: |
Victoria |
Westgate Earth: |
Ricardo |
Attendance
Attendance Winners! Westgate Earth with 94% Remember, our magic number is 98% |