Weekly Newsletter
Friday 21st July 2023
This week in school
End of term dates Just a reminder that this term finishes on Tuesday 25 July (not Friday 21 July) and school opens again for children on Tuesday 5 September ready for the new school year. It is also non-uniform for those 2 days (but no football kits).
This will be the last newsletter of this school year so we hope everyone enjoys a lovely break, whatever you are up to, and we will see (most) of you again in September!
Y6 Liverpool visit Massive thanks to the staff who joined the Y6 children on their 3 day/2 nights visit to Liverpool this week. It was a very busy few days, with museum visits, time on the beach, bowling and LOTS of walking and eating: we saw those Premier Inn breakfasts! As a school we are very lucky that we have staff who are willing to go this extra mile in the current climate of strikes and disputes, and who give up time with their own families to look after your children instead of their own. Thank you again Mr Close, Miss Rushworth, Mr Pooley, Miss Bishop, Mrs Edwards & Mrs Walmsley for your time, energy, commitment and care.
Staffing update As lots of you will have seen on Dojo this week, Mrs Jacqui Butler will be leaving her desk behind as she moves to a new role closer to home. Jacqui has been the face of the school for many years and will be very much missed!
AED device We now hold an AED (defibrillator device) in school in case of any extreme medical emergencies. From the start of the new school year all staff will be familiar with how to use this if needed.
STAR MAT Student Leadership Conference Last Friday 2 of our Year 5 children, Willow Wood and Rhys Knight, represented our school at the first STAR MAT Student Leadership Conference, held at the Old Girls' School in Sherburn in Elmet. They enjoyed a buffet lunch, followed by guest speakers and some group workshops all focussed on student wellbeing, following on from the student questionnaire carried out in the spring. At the end they had the chance to speak in front of the whole group, including the adults and the secondary pupils: through the whole afternoon Willow and Rhys did the school proud!
Scooter and bikes There was an incident at the start of today where a child on a scooter knocked into an elderly person on the path across the Green. If your child is using their scooter or bike, please can you make sure they are close enough to be supervised; if they are coming on their own, please remind them about looking out for other people.
School reports These will arrive with you by email today at around 5pm. Where the children have been in a year group with stautory assessment such as the Multiplication Tables Check (Y4) or Phonics Screening (Y1) there will also be information about this. If you don't receive yours, please contact the office on Monday: it may be that you have changed your email address and we only have the old one.
Ear piercing If you are thinking of letting your child have their ears pierced, please make sure this happens at the start of the summer holiday so they have time to heal before coming back to school. Children cannot wear earrings or have tape/plasters over them for PE and sport so please also make sure they are removed on PE days, or that your child can take them in and out themselves.
Preloved/worn uniform If you are looking to replace uniform or get hold of new sizes ready for September, please take a look at the preloved uniform Facebook group: Brayton C of E Primary uniform sale/giveaway page.
Children's health Reminder that we have had a small number of confirmed and/or suspected cases of scarlet fever in school. If your child is unwell, please make sure you get medical advice if they show any of the scarlet fever symptoms https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/scarlet-fever/
Updated RSE Policy You should have recieved the school's updated RSE policy, which was approved by the governors at their last meeting. If you would like to give any feedback, please use our Google form https://forms.gle/kTuLhnzBTLVp3uH1A
OMG Healthy Start Scheme for families This is a scheme to support families who are expecting a baby or have a child aged under 4. It includes financial support to help with buying healthy foods and milk. You can find out more at https://www.healthystart.nhs.uk/what-youll-get-and-how-to-shop/
Term dates 2023-24 The term dates for the next school year are now on the school website at https://brayton-cofe-primary-school.secure-primarysite.net/term-dates/
Jewellery No necklaces, bracelets, rings or other jewellery should be worn to school. If your child has earrings, these must be removed for PE sessions, or earrings can be left at home on PE days. Earrings for school should be small stud types so they don't get caught and cause any injuries.
Free School Meals
Free school meals: save up to £450 a year With so much in the news about the cost of living and now energy prices going up, you can check whether your child could be eligible for a free school meal, whatever school year they are in. All the information is on the NYCC website at https://www.northyorks.gov.uk/free-school-meals Some of this information may be out of date, especially around eligibility, so please get in touch if you are unsure.
If you would like any advice or support with this, please contact the school office. We treat these matters with complete confidentiality and are always happy to help if needed.
Thank you for your continued support.
Allyson Buckton (Headteacher) & Mel Walmsley (Deputy Headteacher)
Whole School Attendance
Attendance last week had a real boost, in contrast again to the national figure: thank you for your help with this. Whole school attendance to date is still hovering below 95%, around a combination of holidays being taken and some illness in the younger years of school.
The DfE's attendance target for schools is 96%, and as a school we need to be working towards this. With your help there have been massive improvements in attendance over this year and this is now better across school than it has been in a very long time!
As we get into the summer term there has also been an increase in requests for leave due to holidays: we will be putting a much higher number of these forward for Fixed Penalty Notices in May and June than any months so far. We would also remind you that, according to the new guidance for schools, ANY leave for holidays should be unauthorised: there is no longer the 'up to 5 days/10 sessions' which can be authorised at the Headteacher's discretion.
DIARY DATES
Tuesday 25 July - School closes for summer holiday
Monday 4 September - Training day (closed to children)
Tuesday 5 September - School opens for children
Happy Birthdays!
Many many many many happy returns next week to.....
Ruby Cooper
Teddy Byrom
Noah Smethurst
Evie-Mae Hanson
This week in classrooms
Nursery - Stars
We have enjoyed talking and learning about the seaside this week. We started the week with the story ‘Lucy and Tom at the Seaside’ by Shirley Hughes. On Tuesday we made seaside mosaics and learnt about the artist Antoni Gaudi. We had a fantastic time on Wednesday bouncing on the bouncy castle, singing seaside songs, playing seaside games with the parachute and of course eating ice creams with sprinkles and sauce. It really did feel like a special ‘seasidy’ day. The children helped to create a small world seaside in the water tray, made patterns in the sand, created their own ice creams with shaving foam as well as lots of other seaside related activities too.
In phonics we have practised rhyme and in maths we have practised subitising amounts to 5.
Wishing you all a lovely summer holiday. Thank you so much for all your support this year. We wish our N2 children all the best for their Reception year and we look forward to welcoming back the N1 children, who will have lots of new friends to play with in September.
Star of the Week: Riley Smith
Reception - Moon and Mercury
This week we have had a wonderful time thinking about our year in reception. We looked through old photographs on Class Dojo and talked about our memories. We then produced a piece of writing all about our favourite memories. It was so nice to see what the children have enjoyed and amazing to see their progress.
We said our goodbyes to Oma, our fantastic music specialist. The children have really enjoyed learning many songs and dances with her and we are so grateful for the time she spent with us.
It is unbelievable to think that we have completed our ELS phonics scheme for the year. As always we are immensely proud of all the children, they have shown such determination to succeed.
In maths we have continued to think about maps, this week having made treasure maps and also designing mazes. The children used positional language to follow the directions.
As a team, we have thoroughly enjoyed teaching your children and getting to know them. We would also like to thank you for your continued support over the past year. We hope that they all continue to shine as the stars that they are. Have a lovely summer. EYFS Team
Star of the Week
Mercury - Blake Shaw
Moon - Rahatullah Mirzakhel
Year 1 - Galaxy and Venus
Wow, we have had such an amazing final full week! It has been a fairly relaxing week but we have still managed to fit lots of fantastic activities in. In Writing, we have completed lots of summer related activities varying from shape poems, to creating our own stories. In Maths, we have been consolidating our previous learning and have recapped time, money and sequencing numbers. We have completed a number of fun activities to practice these specific skills and have loved getting hands on with these different activities. On Monday afternoon we had an entire afternoon dedicated to Art, where we specifically focussed on the work of Antoni Gaudi. We created our very own mosaics using salt dough and absolutely loved combining different colours to give the impression of different images. On Friday afternoon, we had a lovely, fun afternoon with the children. This was to celebrate and say a goodbye to Mrs Berzins, who has finished her last day at the school today! Year 1 will be a very different place without her next year and we cannot thank her for all she has done for Brayton Primary School. We will miss you a lot Mrs Berzins!
Let’s finish the school year on a high with our last couple of days. However, thank you all for another fantastic year and we hope you all have a fantastic summer holiday.
Stars of the Week:
Galaxy: Ruby Corbally
Venus: Lily Smith
Year 2 - Earth and Mars
The highlight of this week was our fantastic trip to Filey. We were so proud of how the children behaved and responded to all we did. The weather was really kind to us and we had a great time, picnicing on the beach, rock pooling, drawing on the sand and enjoying an ice cream. We also found some crabs and a jelly fish and collected lots of shells which we then used in our art afternoon to create mosaics in the style of Antonio Gaudi. In English, we wrote fantastic recounts of our trip and created some super shape poems. In maths, we have been consolidating all of our learning from across the year and using our problem solving skills. In Guided Reading, we are nearly at the end of our class novel, George’s Marvellous Medicine. We have been predicting, explaining and giggling over the antics of those marvellous medicines!
Another fantastic week, Year 2! We are so proud of you.
Star of the week;
Earth: Sam Coltman
Mars: Khloe Lane
Year 3 - Jupiter and Saturn
Wow we can’t believe we are now at the end of the school year. It’s been amazing to see the progress made from all children this year academically and the maturity they are showing both inside the classroom and around school. They are definitely ready for year 4 in September.
This week in English the children have been planning, writing and designing posters to explain how Earthquakes happen and the after effects. In maths we have been continuing to work on consolidating in a range of different mathematical areas.
The best news of the week is that the children have finally finished their binca bookmarks! The children have spent what has felt like months designing and creating their bookmarks and they are very proud of their final products.
Finally, in art we had an interesting afternoon creating mosaics in the style of Antoni Gaudi.
Enjoy the holidays
Star of the Week
Jupiter: Edward Possnett
Saturn: Finnley Swift-Lampitt
Year 4 - Neptune and Meteor
And just like that, we have finished our last full week in Year 4! The children have really pushed themselves this week to complete final units in maths and English. We are so impressed with all of them! In maths, we have looked at plotting and translating coordinates onto a grid. In English, the children have written their guided tours of the schools use of water. On Tuesday morning, we had a visit from the school caretaker, who told the children all about the school's water system which gave them lots of information to aid their writing. On Tuesday afternoon, we had an arts and crafts afternoon creating mosaics in the style of Antoni Gaudi. We looked at his colourful works in Barcelona to inspire us. On Wednesday afternoon, we tackled the paper bag challenge as part of our young leaders award. It proved to be very difficult! We look forward to celebrating the end of the year on our final 2 days next week! We've also been able to do a final piece of science and explore how heat can influence states of matter, the children were very restrained while using heat packs to melt various food sources (chocolates, marshmallows and the like). Learning at its most delicious.
A huge well done everyone! And hope you all have a love holiday! It's been such a delight to watch everyone grow and develop.
Stars
Meteor: Lacey Booth
Neptune: Joseph Wilford
Year 5 - Asteroid and Pluto
We have finished our last full week as Year 5, and still, Miss Goddard and Mr Fash-Hill have been working us hard. In English, we completed our final assessed piece of writing, trying to persuade women to marry the Sultan. It was a fun, creative piece to finish the year on and the children really got into describing the benefits of marrying the Sultan. Plus, there was a range of year 5 writing skills included! In Maths, children have been using practical resources to develop their understanding of volume and capacity. In one class, we had children trying to find the volume of the bin and in the other class, the book basket in the reading corner. Our Gaudi inspired mosaic Islamic tiles are complete and look incredibly striking, with positive comments from adults around the school, who have seen them. A final couple of days to go, where we will celebrate the year together. Last push!
Stars
Asteroid - Frankie Phillips
Pluto- Ella-Rose Howard and Zachary Foulger
Year 6 - Nebular and Constellation
Well, that’s it - the end of your primary school journey. This last week has been a celebration of you and all that you are. There has been a wonderful residential to Liverpool, (enjoy some photos on class dojo), we sailed the ‘Ferry cross the Mersey' and then onto the ‘dangerous waters’ at the Maritime Museum. We looked very British, playing football on the beach around Gormley’s statues in the rain and enjoyed the British Music Experience. Accompanied by some fantastic food and comfy Premier Inn beds for a sound night's sleep, we had a great time, worthy of lots of memories. Children in school also had a fantastic week, with a virtual tour of the Titanic Museum and some amazing artwork. We concluded our final piece of writing too and have written the missing chapter of our book. The finale of the week has to be our leaver’s production - WOW! What superstars we all are, and there were a few tears looking at the photographs and reminiscing about our first days at school and then looking at us now.
It has been a pleasure for all of us, and our final message to our year 6 cohort is simply this:
The future may feel uncertain at times, but all who celebrate what they have done, the effort they put in and have a positive outlook, will always win through. You have the potential - Go for it! Have a wonderful summer - God bless you!
Stars:
Constellation: Ava O’Brien
Nebular: Archie Hill