Newsletters

Monday 23rd July 2018

 Dear Parents,

We are almost at the end of the school year and I would like to share with you news about the many things that have been happening over this half term.

 Staffing

We say goodbye to teaching assistant Miss Hall who has worked in nursery and wish her good luck. We will also say good bye to Mrs Marsden who is retiring after a long career in teaching, including nine years at St Peter’s. Mrs Marsden has supported pupils in years one and two, particularly for maths, and has also provided individualised support for many pupils throughout key stage two. Many of you parents will know the difference she has made to your children in helping them understand aspects of maths and the confidence this has given our pupils. She has been a wonderful, supportive and kind member of staff and will be hugely missed by us all. We hope that she enjoys the next stage of life and all the excitement it will bring. A new teacher, Mrs Tull will take over the role in September.

 Class News

Nursery Children in nursery and reception really enjoyed a visit from a mobile jungle recently. They brought a snake, rat, stick insect, giant snail and hedgehog for the pupils to handle and learn about. They had a wonderful butterfly party with homemade wings as part of their mini beast topic and enjoyed the story of The Hungry Caterpillar. It was also lovely to meet so many of the nursery parents of children who will be joining reception class and nursery in September.

Reception After their visit to Hesketh Farm last term, children shared their learning in a lovely class assembly. They have also been busy making up adventures as superheroes.  We are pleased that so many parents and pupils have attended the stay and play sessions in school ready to start in Reception.

Year One Children had a great trip to Harlow Carr Gardens where they learned about different types of trees and had to collect and identify the different leaves. The pupils also took their phonics test this term and worked very hard for it.

Year Two As part of their seaside topic, children really enjoyed visiting Filey. They paddled in the sea, made sandcastles and enjoyed an ice cream. They also learned about the seaside puppet show called Punch and Judy and watched a performance. They are busy making old fashioned bathing machines used at the seaside long ago.  Recently their trip to Thwaite Mills helped their science topic and learning about mini beasts.

Year Three Pupils have been learning about Mexico and the journey of chocolate. They carried out research on chocolate, made their own bars and filmed adverts for them. They enjoyed a day at Harlow Carr Gardens where they built dens and explored using natural materials.

Year Four Children have had a brilliant time with their swimming lessons and all achieved a certificate for their progress. Jason Beresford, the children’s author, had a brilliant day with the children creating a story and performing it with sound effects. They wrote some great stories of their own afterwards.

Year Five The children enjoyed their visit to Ripon Cathedral Primary School and spent time with their pen-pals playing games and exploring their environment. They are busy filming animations of Mr Men adventures in computing.

Year Six After SATs class 6 were busy preparing for their summer production, Over the Rainbow, which was brilliant. They had trips to a Synagogue and Leeds Minster as part of their RE topic. Many pupils have enjoyed their visit to their new high school and we will soon be saying goodbye to them at our Leaver’s assembly.                  

Clubs

Street dance the street dance after school club performed for parents last week and members gave a great performance of their dances.

Football The boys finished their league games very successfully and came first in their group within the league and made it to the quarter finals in the city. Many thanks to Mr Robertson and Mr Leigh. The girls also won a friendly match, 2:1, against the girls at St Patrick’s. It was great fun and good to see their talents being used.

Fashion Club trip Children enjoyed their annual visit to Leeds College of Art to tour the end of year exhibitions from fashion and textiles students. They gathered lots of inspiring ideas and enjoyed chatting to the tutors and students.

Netball match Our team joined a tournament with two other schools and won most of their games recently. They had never played another school before but were so confident and capable they are looking for a league to join. Well done netball club!

Girls football The girls enjoyed a friendly football game against…..

Parents cookery group Many thanks to all the parents who have been involved in the weekly cookery sessions organised by Mrs Swailes. They have been really well attended and many of you took part in the trip with your children to ……

Dodge ball Pupils in class 2 had lots of fun at a local tournament for Dodgeball which gave them a great experience of the game and a chance to meet children from other schools.

 Other News

A Musical Extravaganza Key stage two pupils performed wonderfully at the summer concert last week with their version of Over the Rainbow. There was singing, dancing, costumes and fun for all.  It was a wonderful evening and a lovely way to end the school year. Many thanks to all the staff who worked so hard to teach the songs, dances, make the costumes and paint the scenery. It was a brilliant team effort. The concert was videoed. Anyone wishing to have a copy should call in at the office.

Reading Competition This summer there is a reading competition at local libraries. Do try and take your children down to join in, it is a free and enjoyable activity. All children can go to their library to borrow books over the summer for free. The more they read the more rewards they get.

D:Side Visitors came to deliver workshops to pupils at age appropriate levels. These involved teaching the children about keeping safe, staying healthy and the dangers of smoking, drinking and drugs. The children asked some very sensible questions and will have accurate information to help them in the future.

School Nurse Classes 5 and 6 had some informative lessons with the school nurse where they were taught about how their bodies change as they grow up. They asked some excellent questions.

St Peter’s Day Service The whole school enjoyed coming together for a special assembly on St Peter’s Day recently led by Canon Sam Corley from Leeds Minster. It was a moving occasion and provided a real focus on this special day for our school.

Wednesday Worship Thank you to all the parents who have joined us for this service in school. We will continue again after the holidays and I will include dates next term.

Prizes for the parent questionnaire As usual we are asking all parents to complete a questionnaire about school which was sent with your child’s school report. Children who bring back the questionnaire will be entered into the prize draw.

Attendance

The children have worked hard to improve our attendance and it is very good at the moment. The winning classes in each key stage will receive a treat in the last week. I would also like to remind parents of the government rules that children are not allowed time off for holidays during school term time.

Transition All the children are given time to meet their new teachers and spend some time in their new classes. They heard about the topics they will cover and trips to look forward to.

Fun Day The children in each key stage enjoyed their fun day sessions with bouncy castles, slides, games and activities with ice creams, drinks and crisps. It was a lovely way to end the term.

Sports Day It was great to see so many of you on Sports Day and to be able to have more space for races at Bridge Community Church. We are really grateful to them for letting us use it.

Leaver’s Assembly  There will be  lots of memories to share and a few tears to shed at the year 6 special assembly on Tuesday 24^th July at 1.30pm. We look forward to seeing our years 6 parents there.

Year 6 Leaver’s Service Pupils from class 6 joined children from other Primary Schools for a farewell service at Leeds Minster. They had time to reflect on the theme of Today, Tomorrow and Forever and took a model of a candle to share which is now in the entrance hall. .

School Website

Please go onto our website to keep up to date with information and to look at photos of recent events in school. The address is www.stpeterscofe.org.uk

Gold Award  

All children who receive certificates each week will have their picture displayed in the entrance hall. Their achievements are also recorded in the gold book. Do feel free to come in and look at the achiever’s notice board. Below is a list of achievers for this half term.

Key Stage One

 Key Stage Two

Key dates for your diary

I hope you have a wonderful summer and look forward to seeing you on Tuesday 4^th September.

Yours sincerely,

Mrs E.J. Holliday

Headteacher