Weekly News – Friday 17th November

Dear Parents

What a colourful day we've had for Children in Need! The children looked wonderful and we are very grateful for your generous donations, we raised £190. Next Friday we have another dress down day, this time in exchange for gifts we can wrap at our Elfridges store. Please see the WISPA notice below for details.

Reading in school is in full flow and our reading practice sessions are popular with the children. We have seen a noticeable improvement in fluency and confidence and we know that with your support at home we can enhance this progress. The teachers are tracking the number of ebook accounts accessed at home and the statistics are as follows:

Sharks: 9/29 - 31%
Dolphins: 10/28 - 36%
Parrots: 19/30 - 63%
Turtles: 11/31 - 35%
Squirrels: 8/28 - 29%
Foxes: 5/28 - 18%

Obviously we would like to see these numbers improve, so please help us by listening to your child read their assigned book at home, signing their reading record and making sure their book bags are in school each day. You may be reading other books at home with your child, but their ebook has been carefully matched to their needs, so it is important to practise fluency and comprehension by reading this book repeatedly. I have now heard every Year 2 child read during reading practice groups and I look forward to hearing the rest of the children soon. Each class will also be making a trip to Writtle Library over the next few weeks, starting with Sharks next Thursday morning. This will introduce the children to the library and encourage them to improve their reading further by taking part in the Essex Libraries Winter Reading Challenge.

Mr Taylor and Miss Storer were delighted to see so many parents last night and at this morning's induction meetings for children starting Year 3 next year. As you know, the partnership between our two schools is going from strength to strength, and we are all working hard to ensure a successful transition for children moving from Year 2 to Year 3. Next Thursday sees the final Open Evening for parents whose children will start at our school in September 2024. Do please let friends and family know that they can book a place via our website.

Mr Taylor and I were delighted to see parents and grandparents when we accompanied Year 2 to the War Memorial on Monday. The children behaved impeccably as they read poems of remembrance and held a 2 minute silence. In school, EYFS and Year 1 paused their learning at 11am for 2 minutes of silence while watching this very special video: bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/watch/poppies. Thank you for supporting the Royal British Legion by buying poppies from the school, we will find out soon how much was raised.

We celebrated Super Scientists in assembly today, these children will come home with our special certificates. Please keep sending us your achievements from outside of school, we love to share them!

We're in the process of arranging clubs for next term, including a new Spanish club! Watch this space, as we will send booking information home in plenty of time before the end of term.

Finally, a few children helped me to deliver some thoughtful gifts to our neighbours in Long Brandocks this week. We are very aware of the difficulties for residents, pedestrians and other local drivers at our busiest times of day and we wanted our neighbours to know that all 3 schools (Infants, Juniors and Ducklings) are encouraging parents to park with consideration. Please help us by leaving a little extra time for your journey to school, parking without blocking pavements, crossing points or driveways and being kind and considerate towards local residents. There are lots of alternative parking places within a very short walk of the school which would avoid the most congested areas. Our main concern is of course the safety of the children, so please supervise your children closely when you walk them to school. Thank you so much for your support.

Enjoy your weekend.

Best wishes
Tracey Wilson