Weekly Newsletter
Friday 14th July 2023
This week in school
Summer Fair Final total for the school-led stalls was £992.60, with around £300 raised through the PTA raffle and the bouncy castle. Thank you so much to everyone who supported in every way to make it so successful!
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.
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.
School reports These will arrive with you by email on Friday 21 July. 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.
Dojo posts Class Dojo is intended to be a tool for sharing and celebrating things that are happening in school, and for families to message teachers easily. Unlike Facebook or Twitter, it is not a place for negativity or for venting and where we see these types of comments, they will be removed. If you have a genuine concern or worry, please contact your child's class teacher.
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 remained steady, in contrast 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
Monday 17 - Wednesday 19 July - Y6 residential visit
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.....
Esme Carter
Jemma Richmond
Leo Richmond
Rosie Durnin
Scarlett Southern
This week in classrooms
Nursery - Stars
Despite the rain this week, the children have launched themselves into Summer by discussing the characteristics of the season including sunshine. They have read the books ‘And then Comes Summer’ and ‘Summer’ as well as ‘George the Sunsafe Superstar’. In the latter book, the children learnt how to keep safe in the sun by slipping on a t-shirt, slapping on a hat, slopping on some sunscreen and slipping on some sunglasses. They have also sung lots of songs to help them remember this. In the creative area, they have made sunshines in lots of different ways as well as decorating their own sunglasses. They have also used the theme of sunshine to practise their fine motor skills in the finger gym and literacy area.
In Maths this week, the children have continued learning about capacity by comparing different containers. We have used the maths stories, ‘Mr Archimedes bath’ and ‘Capacity’. In Phonics we have focused on oral blending and segmenting. We clapped the sounds in words and played I-spy using the sounds in words such as ‘I spy a c-a-t’.
Star of the week- Sofia Kitson
Reception - Moon and Mercury
During phonics we have introduced the split digraphs i-e, o-e and u-e. We have also introduced c making the s sound.
In maths we have continued to look at maps and we had a look at Google earth to find our school. We then drew our own maps of our journeys to school.
We have really enjoyed some art this week, looking carefully at our faces and then sketching self-portraits. These will go up to the new teacher.
This week, we were delighted to welcome our new Reception children and their families. We enjoyed getting to know each other and made lots of new friends.
Star of the Week
Mercury - Harris Lonsdale
Moon - Leo Willis
Year 1 - Galaxy and Venus
Wow, what a busy time we have had this week. We have had lots of fun looking at this week’s text ‘The Knight who wouldn’t Fight’ by Helen Docherty. We have written our own diary entries in English focussing on our feelings and thoughts, as Leo the Knight being told to go and tame a Dragon. In Maths, we have been recapping areas we have previously studied this year, just to really reinforce our knowledge of these and to improve our problem solving abilities. In Music, we have continued looking at instruments featuring in different genres and we have been identifying these in a variety of music and been writing them down. In Art, we have continued looking at sculptures and have created our own group pieces using paper straws. The sculptures were based on our topic of ‘A Knight’s Tale’, so we saw lots of castles, dragons, knights and monsters sculpted out of these materials.
On Thursday, we had transition day and we were able to meet our teachers for next year. We had a really fun day getting to know them and we are really looking forward to September!
Keep up the good work Year 1, not long to go now!
Stars of the Week:
Galaxy: Tilly Tonks
Venus: Isla SheldonYear 2 - Earth and Mars
We’ve had another super busy week in year 2. We completed our persuasive letters to Purple Pen to tell him why he should return to the classroom. The children did a fantastic job with these and really enjoyed using capital letters for emphasis. In maths we have been consolidating our learning recapping how to partition numbers and estimating numbers on a number line. In RE we shared the Creation Story and thought about what this tells us about Christians beliefs. In preparation for our trip next week we learnt about different islands around the UK. This week we have also been speaking lots about transition to prepare for our journey into Y3. The children really enjoyed meeting their new teachers on Thursday and had lots of fun. They were really excited to share what they had been doing when they returned to their normal classrooms. Well done Year 2 another super week!
Stars of the Week:
Earth: Nancy Mattinson
Mars: Leo RichmondYear 3 - Jupiter and Saturn
We’ve had yet another jam-packed week of learning in Year 3. In English, the children have individualised the remaining key components of our non-chronological report about earthquakes by using their own word banks and knowledge of the earth shattering events. We have now completed the Year 3 maths curriculum enabling us to move on to important consolidation work. This week, we have recapped efficient methods for using the four operations, and angles and line types. Many of the children have almost finished embroidering their Binca bookmarks, they have challenged themselves by sewing a wide variety of stitches, monograms, and end tassels! Thursday was the whole school Transition Day; the children met their Year 4 teacher for next year and experienced a really enjoyable day getting to know them. We feel much more prepared and are excitedly looking forward to being in our new classes in September. Well done Year 3s. There’s not long to go - let’s dig deep for our last week and a bit!
Stars of the week
Saturn: Eleanor Hare
Jupiter: Iris Miller
Year 4 - Neptune and Meteor
We have had a very busy, fun-filled week this week! We are almost at the end of our sentence stacking lessons in English, ready to plan and write our independent factual tours next week. In maths we have finished one unit and started a new one. We are now onto our final unit ‘position and direction’. On Wednesday we enjoyed going back in time to Ancient Greece with our Greek workshop - the children really looked the part. They enjoyed listening to Greek myths (some even got to act bits out), playing Ancient Greek games, looking at weapons and warfare and also taking part in our very own Olympics. Thursday was transition day. The children met their new teacher and did lots of fun activities in their new classrooms. They were excited to tell us all about what they had been up to and seem ready for Year 5 in September!
Stars
Meteor: Bella Smith
Neptune: Isla Lodge
Year 5 - Asteroid and Pluto
Not long to go now Year 5! You saw your new classrooms and some of you met a new teacher. In English, we have been planning a persuasive text to advertise for The Sultan to have a new wife, which seems difficult since he killed his last one! The children have been really creative with their descriptions and have enjoyed exaggerating about the benefits of marrying The Sultan. As it is their last assessed piece of writing of the year, they are putting everything they know into this one. So far, they are amazing! In Maths, we have been converting imperial and metric measures, converting time and using timetables. While this has been tricky, the children have really shown resilience in their work. The whole school will be looking at the work of mosaic artist, Antoni Guadi, and we have started using the technique of mosaic to create an Islamic mosque tile. Having previously studied Islamic Art through our RE lesson, the technique and the final outcome have come together to create something quite beautiful… or it will be when it’s finished! We have discovered mosaic is a technique that requires patience. There’s still time ahead of us before the big break, so keep on pushing and trying your best everyone!
Stars
Asteroid - Jan Szafranski
Pluto - Alex Auker
Year 6 - Nebular and Constellation
With our lower numbers due to the Brayton Academy transition, we have had the absolute pleasure of putting both Nebular and Constellation into one class - what a pleasure this was and what a great dynamic. We’ve had a fantastic week together, with new friendships developing and a chance to do a few different things together. This week in maths we have been planning a holiday, we know all about the airport parking costs, flight times, distances travelled and the expected sunshine or rainfall in a variety of places across the globe. In art we have been looking at the Spanish architect and artist Gaudi and have created designs for mosaics in his vibrant style. We have also had the chance to work alongside Year 1 too, helping them with art, music and guided reading. We have also enjoyed learning about and creating some outdoor art in the style of Andy Goldsworthy alongside being very creative with some gardening, thankfully the sun was shining, and helping out by sorting out the sports equipment and reorganising the PE shed with Mr Pooley. We’ve also had the opportunity to see our SATs results - we are so proud of you all. I’m sure everyone has enjoyed their week whether here or at the Academy. You deserve a well earned rest over the weekend everyone.
Stars:
Constellation: Harrison Abbott
Nebular: Vivienne Foulger