Dear Parents,

This has been a most memorable week as we welcomed the children back to school. They have settled so very well and we have spent a lot of time this week focusing on well-being and “getting to know you again” activities. The school is buzzing with all of our children back and they are an absolute credit to you, you have all worked so hard with them during the lockdown. Their smiles and enthusiasm this week are something to capture and treasure. We hear so much about “lost generations” and suchlike but we need to give children and families credit for their resilience. We also appreciate that children are adjusting after perhaps only being with siblings during lockdown and coming back to buzzing classes of 30! We had a fire drill today - well done to the children for all being very quick to exit the building and remaining calm and sensible throughout.

Thank you for cooperating with our arrangements, please keep your children with you on the playground particularly when another bubble is coming in or leaving. If you have children in EYFS and do not have to bring in siblings, please do not arrive much before 9.15, to give time for the Year One bubble to come in safely.

It must be strange for you all to have a less busy home this week - the noise here has increased considerably and we love to hear it! Please remember that we still want to keep up the contact with families, so if you need a call from us please let us know if there is anything you wish to discuss. If you are sending messages during the school day, for example about pick up arrangements, please email parents@ as teachers cannot always check class emails while they are teaching.

Many thanks to WISPA who have sent home a lovely surprise for all the children this week. They have got together to plan some wonderful virtual fundraising ideas for us, including an Easter egg hunt around the village and some lovely bath bombs to purchase! They are also funding hatching ducks and chicks from Incredible Eggs for EYFS and Year One, who did not have that experience last year. The current Year Two children had the joy of the chicks when they were in EYFS.

Next Friday 19th March is Comic Relief day - we are encouraging the children to wear spots and stripes with their school uniform. Although this is similar to our Children in Need day, we wanted to keep things simple for families particularly as shops are closed!

As we are now back as a full school we are resuming HIPIP awards for showing our school values, as nominated by the children in our Friday assembly, and also our Shooting Stars awards, linked to positive behaviour. I always like to hear of the children’s achievements out of school, an email or a picture which I can then share remotely with the children would be fantastic.

We are delighted to have received an application for the parent governor vacancy. Nominations remain open until next Friday 19th March, so please let me know before then if you would like to be considered.

Wishing you all a wonderful Mother's Day weekend.

Helen Castell

Well done to the following children who have been awarded Shooting Stars for setting a great example to others this week.

Sharks: Bobbie for super hard work on practising her reading! Charlie for working hard on some amazing running!

Dolphins: Theo for improved confidence and super effort with his work! Tia for super shape work and contributing to class discussions!

Turtles: Lola for making all adults super proud as she has completed some fantastic comprehension work on a marvellous moon map picture! Luca for completing some fantastic phonics work this week, you should be so proud!

Parrots: Isaac for being a maths superstar, measuring weight! Charlie M for taking pride in his handwriting in all lessons!

Foxes: Eric for settling back into school so well and being a kind friend! Thomas for confidently coming back into school and being super brave!

Squirrels: Eva for great perseverance, practising riding a 2 wheeler bike in the garden! Parker for lovely independent play and hanging up his coat!

We have lots of beautiful spring bulbs alongside the path towards the playground gate - please don't allow your children to run around in this area, as we would like everyone to enjoy the flowers while they are in bloom. Thank you.
Please ensure that you are aware of the symptoms of headlice and threadworms and treat your child promptly if necessary. You can follow the links to NHS advice. Both conditions are very common and easily spread, so it pays to be vigilant! Thank you for your support.
To contact the School Office or Mrs. Castell, please email us at parents@writtleinfantschool.com. Class email addresses are listed in the year group sections below.

We are so delighted to see the children again, they have been wonderful all week and it is a mark of their resilience to see how quickly normal service has resumed! Most children who had nerves or butterflies have found that they disappeared very quickly. We have done some work this week, but the focus has been on settling everyone back into school routines and spending time with their friends.

Dolphins all completed a "bounce back" booklet which talked about how they felt about their return to school. Sharks class made a rainbow of kindness this week with stories from the children of when people had been kind to them. Parrots and Turtles have been talking about the importance of being kind and listening to others. Miss Charlick has brought in some plants for the garden, so Parrots have really enjoyed using their green thumbs to help plant them and make our garden look wonderful! Turtles have had lots of fun with new brain breaks and dancing!

We expect the children will be tired this weekend, so we won't set any home learning for this week, but we do expect them to be very helpful and kind to their mummies and special grown-ups this weekend! You should find a surprise in their book bags this afternoon - no peeking until Sunday!

What a fabulous week it’s been. The children are so happy to be back and as we said on Tapestry, we have loved watching them chatter and play together! This week was have been learning about squirrels and enjoyed reciting our Poem ‘Furry, Furry Squirrel’.

It’s been British Science Week this week and we have been doing some fun experiments and exploring magnets, electrical circuits and our senses. Click this link to see the photo gallery

We have been making a secret surprise for Mother's Day! We hope you all have a brilliant day and get looked after. Next week we will begin observing the children within their play and checking where they are in terms of their development. Have a wonderful weekend.

Our email addresses are foxes@writtleinfantschool.com and squirrels@writtleinfantschool.com.