“Life is like riding a bicycle!"
Head Teacher Newsletter 29th April 2022
Calendar Dates
Monday 2nd May
- Bank Holiday - School Closed
Friday 27th May
- Last day of term
Monday 30th May - Friday 3rd June
- May Half Term
Monday 6th June
- School returns
Welcome back!
Welcome back one and all,
I can't believe we've now entered the 5th term of the year. Summer is on the horizon and although it's another short 5-week term, we've got lots in store for the school and community of Crawford's.
Before we look too far ahead, it's always valuable to look back on the journey we've taken together alongside celebrating the progress made...
In March, we had pages and pages of fun immersing ourselves in World Book Day; once again, our focus was on the power and value of words. Children dressed as a challenging word found in the English dictionary. We witnessed some incredibly impressive, well-thought-out, and creative designs. Our winners were:
Class 1 - Samson won with Achievement
Class 2 - Ellie won as 'vortex'
Class 3 - Lola won with lethargic
Class 4 - Bryony won with Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia (fear of long words!).
We celebrated Science Week with an array of experiences and challenges both in and outside the classroom. Children were also challenged with a sunflower growing competition. Please do send us the progress of how your sunflower is going?!
Mothers Day Lunch saw us, welcome mums, aunties, and grandmothers to experience lunchtime with their child(ren). We've received some lovely feedback so thank you to those for dedicating the time to share your feedback, show your appreciation, and to say thanks. Please see some of the comments we received:
- Was really lovely to be able to do this. Throughly enjoyed it;
- Fantastic! The children were so excited for us to share lunch with them, I felt so welcomed by everyone at the school;
- It's great to be able to attend such an important event;
- I thought the whole thing was brilliant! It was so lovely to be invited into school for the event, my children loved having me in for lunch. It seemed well run and organised and their was a great atmosphere. It was lovely seeing all the children playing in the playground after their lunch. Big thank you to the cooks for catering for us!;
- This was the first time other family members have been able to be involved with the children at school for a very long time. The children love having someone there and it's nice to feel welcomed into the school and wanting us there, my mother-in-law hasn't stopped talking about how lovely the school is!
Curriculum experiences were on order in late April as Class 1 presented their term's Essential Question: ‘What's the Story, Morning Glory?’ World of Stories by recounting their story of the Gingerbread Man & Runaway Pancake through music. Please scan the QR code below to see a clip of their story. Class 2 presented their Essential Question: ‘Do we suit where we live?’ to Class 2 and 3 by holding a gallery of their shoe-box habitat designs. And, finally, the children of Crawford's contributed to the Haughley Wildlife Photography Exhibition by producing their own work and critiquing the many wonderful examples of wildlife.
We mustn't forget our charity-focused Ukraine Appeal where our donations were taken to the Folk Cafe in Bury St Edmunds.
And, not to forget, we received a brand new stock of phonics books, with a streamlined E-book resource for parents/carers to access the same texts as at school.
WOW, just writing and reading this is exhausting! But, what an impressive achievement in just 5 weeks. Now, I hope the half-term break allowed us all to re-learn the art of resting and relaxing because it's onwards and upwards for Crawford's Primary School.
“Life is like riding a bicycle, to keep your balance, you must keep moving.”
Here's to an exciting term ahead.
Very best wishes,
Mr. Francksen
Subject Focus - Maths
This week, our subject update is Maths! Children have been doing incredible number work this term including lots of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Children in Class 1 have been identifying a range of 3D shapes and made beautiful artwork using these different shapes. Class 2 have been practising using number lines to help add 10s and 1s. Class 3 have been working on challenging subtraction and Class 4 have been tackling algebra!
It has been amazing to see the children’s confidence growing with their mental fluency as well as developing their problem solving skills. We are going to be having a relaunch of our Times Table Rock Stars leaderboard throughout the school next term so keep an eye out for this - inflatable guitars and headbands at the ready!
Ms Mitchell is back!
She will be returning with us in a gradual fashion and to support with small groups of children in the first instance.
Ipswich Town
Easter Egg Hunt
- Bloor homes for sponsoring our Easter Egg Hunt
- The Regal Cinema Stowmarket for gifting us 2 vouchers
- Everyone active at Mid Suffolk Leisure Centre for the family swim /playworld vouchers
- Tesco Stowmarket for gifting us some Eggs
Flu Immunisation Survey
Dear Parents/Carers,
We wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for all your support to us last year with helping us deliver the School Flu Programme.
We are looking for any feedback you can give us which will help us improve for this year.
Any feedback you can give will be extremely helpful and appreciated
Please see the link below:
https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/family-feedback
Thank you again for all your support and we look forward to working with you again later this year
Healthy Snacks
Please ensure your child has a healthy snack in school to have at break time - e.g., a piece of fruit, carrot sticks, muesli bar, yogurt tube. No chocolate bars or crisps please, and nothing containing peanuts.
Younger children (YR to Y2) have fruit or vegetables provided by the School Fruit & Veg Scheme.
Please note, that any snacks brought in to school will be collected by the Class Teacher and handed out at break time. Therefore, please can you ensure that any tubs, bags, etc are named.
Allergy Awareness
We are an allergy-aware school and would like to remind all families that there may be pupils in school with a peanut allergy. If a child with a peanut allergy comes into contact with peanuts, or with a pupil who has eaten peanuts, then this could lead to an anaphylactic reaction. Anaphylaxis is a severe and potentially life-threatening reaction to a trigger such as an allergy.
Because of this, the school cannot accept products containing peanuts to be provided in lunch boxes or for eating at other times.
Swimming lessons (Y3-Y6) - advance notice
We are pleased to let you know that we have had confirmation of a weekly swimming lesson for ALL pupils in Y3, Y4, Y5, and Y6. These will take place at Stowmarket Leisure Centre in the Summer Term.
By the time they leave primary school, each pupil is required to be able to do the following:
- Perform safe self-rescue in different water-based situations
- Swim competently, confidently, and proficiently over a distance of at least 25 metres
- Use a range of strokes effectively, for example, front crawl, backstroke, and breaststroke.
We will contact the families of Y3-Y6 pupils with further information in due course.
Early-help - Breakfast and After School Clubs
Our Early-help Clubs can be seen below.
After School:
Monday - Cricket with GVTSSP
Tuesday - Ball Games with GVTSSP
Thursday - Racket Sports with Mr. Hurkett
Friday - Dodgeball with Mr. Hurkett
Clubs will are bookable in Arbor. Please ensure you pack a healthy snack for your child to have during After School Club and - as ever - let the office staff know if you don't need your place so they can free it up for someone else.
Supporting young people's mental health - Parent/carer workshops April - July 2022
From Mrs Watson, our SENDCo:
- How to talk to your children about the war in Ukraine 25 April – 18:00.
- Supporting young people with anxiety 26 April - 18:00, 24 May – 19:15, 21 June – 19:15.
- Supporting our young people to manage uncertainty 24 May – 18:00.
- Supporting our children / adolescents with sleep (11+ years of age) 21 June – 18:00.
- Supporting young people with low mood 26 April – 19:15.
- Building understanding and supporting your child with Tourette's / Tics 20 June – 13:00, 20 June – 18:00.
- Supporting your child to attend or get back to school 23 May – 13:00, 23 May – 18:00.
- Building resilience: Managing the next steps 4 July - 18:00.
Free School Meals - could you be eligible?
Your child may be eligible for free school meals throughout primary school. This could save you approximately £437 per year.
To check or apply online, visit: https://www.suffolk.gov.uk/children-families-and-learning/schools/school-meals-uniforms-and-trips/apply-for-free-school-meals/
Check if you're eligible
Your child will get free school meals if you receive any of the following:
Income Support
Income-based Job Seeker’s Allowance
Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
Guarantee element of State Pension Credit
Child Tax Credit but no element of Working Tax Credit and have an annual income (as assessed by HM Revenues & Customs) that does not exceed £16,190
If you are supported under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
Working Tax Credit during the four-week period immediately after your employment finishes or after you start to work fewer hours per week
Universal Credit (provided you have an annual net earned income of no more than £7,400 (£616.67 per month), as assessed by earnings from up to three of your most recent assessment periods).
To check if your child is eligible, apply online for an immediate response or call 01473 260989.
We encourage you to apply because the school receives additional funding (Pupil Premium) for all children on income-related Free School Meals.
Further information for families seeking financial help
Will Wright at West Suffolk Council has advised that, for families that are not in receipt of free school meals, but that are in financial hardship:
A) Have you also spoken to the Citizen Advice service in West Suffolk about any financial hardship funds available?
Citizens Advice West Suffolk | Free, confidential, independent advice (suffolkwestcab.org.uk)
Or
B) Suffolk Advice and Support Service
Suffolk Advice and Support Service Helpline (SASS) 0800 068 3131 | Community Directory
May Half Term - GVTSSP sport camp
Sports Camp: 30 May-1 June 2022
Mon 30 May: AM Ipswich Town Football OR Target Games / PM Ipswich Town Football or Summer sports or Parkour
Tue 31 May: AM Gymnastics / Pm -Dance OR Parkour
Wed 1 June: Am Nerf and Laser Tag OR BMX / PM Nerf and Laser Tag OR BMX
AGES: 5 – 12
Venue: Beyton, Thurston Sixth (IP30 9AA)
£10 per workshop
Go to www.gvtssp.org for more information or see this flyer.
All Stars Cricket
Triple P Parents Group
Film Making Workshop
Safeguarding, Online Safety & Well being
Please use the links below to learn more about the safeguarding themes relevant to the co-education of our children.
Safeguarding children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)
World's first online safety bill
About Us
Email: admin@crawfordsprimary.suffolk.sch.uk
Website: https://www.crawfordsprimaryschool.com/
Location: Haughley, Stowmarket IP14 3QZ, UK
Phone: 01449673253
Twitter: @CrawPSchl