Dear Parents

Well today has been positively pumpkin-tastic! What wonderful creations you have all produced, we are so impressed with your pumpkin decorating and carving, there are some true artists among you. Take a look at our photo gallery to see the incredible offerings. As always, it was incredibly hard to choose a winner for each year group, but we felt that Harry (Foxes), Emma-Rose (Parrots) and Laura (Sharks) were worthy of a prize. We have also seen some brilliant spooky outfits today, so our thanks go to everyone for their donations to the PTA and their participation in a truly spellbinding day!

Thank you to the staff for once again going the extra mile to decorate the school today, devise themed activities and generally ensure the children had a magical day. We are so lucky to have their expertise and dedication, they make our school special. Thank you too to the unsung heroes - our teaching assistants, midday team and catering staff, who go above and beyond for your children every day. Our chef Kumar, is sadly leaving us this half term to take up a new post, we will miss his excellent cooking and friendly approach to us all. We wish him every success in his new role. 

This week

It has been a pleasure to welcome you all to our Parents’ Evenings this week. If you have any feedback following your appointment, please remember you can email us at parents@writtleinfantschool.com. We hope you enjoyed the Book Fair too - lots of children were seen clutching a new book to read over the half term break! If you missed your chance this week, the books will still be on sale after half term.

Mr Taylor and I accompanied class representatives from Years 1 to 6 to the Writtle Parish Council offices yesterday morning, to meet with the Parish Councillors. They learned about the history of the schools in the village and the work of the Parish Council and shared some great ideas for improved resources for children in Writtle. The Parish Council is running a competition over the next month which asks the children to produce a short poem or picture (or both) telling them what they think of their school.  It can be about anything they want to share about school – perhaps their favourite lessons, school dinners, their friends or even about their teachers! Please bring your entries to the school office by Friday 29th November. 

Over half term

A reminder that our Community Links page is full of ideas for the coming week. From Messy Church this Sunday to the Witches and Wizards event at Writtle Library on Thursday 31st October, there is something for everyone, so please take a look! 

Remember that one of the best ways to enjoy the half term break is to go outside. A Prescription for Nature is an initiative from WWF UK which reminds us that just 20 minutes in nature each day can improve your mental wellbeing. Taking a walk, making some nature art, planting spring bulbs, or looking after our native birds and small mammals are all great ways to enjoy the natural world with your children. Please follow the link for more ideas. 

However, as the clocks go back this weekend and the weather starts to turn colder, we will inevitably spend more of our evenings indoors over the next few months. Using the opportunity to play board/card games as a family will be hugely beneficial to your children, as they will learn life skills that are so important outside the home: sharing, turn-taking, patience and sportsmanship. We also recommend giving your children simple tasks which help them to listen carefully and follow verbal instructions. Fun activities at home make a real difference to children’s development, which is why we include them in our home learning passports for Year 1 and 2. If you haven’t completed yours yet, please try to do this over half term, certificates will be awarded for completed passports! 

Reminders

• We return from the half term break on Monday 4th November at 8.40am. 
• The next half term is always a busy one, so please keep an eye on our key dates and events. 
• Year 2 have now hung up their wellies for this term, so Year 1 will be having Forest School lessons until Christmas, with Turtles on Tuesdays and Parrots on Thursdays. 
• PE Days change next half term. Please check this timetable for your new days. EYFS do not need a PE kit yet, as long as they are wearing clothes that allow them to be active.
• Tuesday 5th November is school photo day. Remember, Kittle Photographic will only be taking individual photos during the school day, so if you want to purchase a family group photo, please arrive at 8am to either school, where the photographers will be ready for you. Turtles will need to arrive in school uniform, bringing their Forest School clothes to change into.
  

After nearly 8 weeks in school, your children are now well established in their new year group and we can see how hard they’ve been working from the excellent progress they have made. Well done to them all and thank you so much for your support - your input from home is invaluable and the staff can see that it really pays dividends in school.

Please enjoy the family time and recuperation over the next week, stay safe for all your autumnal activities and we will see you all on 4th November. 

Best wishes,

Tracey Wilson

PTA Update

It was wonderful to welcome in the children in their Halloween costumes today, and to see so many beautifully decorated pumpkins. Congratulations to the competition winners, we hope you enjoy your prizes!

It was also lovely to meet so many of you at the parents evenings this week. We hope you all have a restful half term break.

Dates for your diary

10th November- closing date for Christmas card orders

You will have received your child’s personalised design order for this week, scan the QR code and follow instructions to order. To ensure delivery in plenty of time for Christmas, all orders must be placed by Sunday 10th November. This year we are pleased to also be able to offer personalised Santa sacks - shop the links on your order form.

FREE fundraising

easyfundraising – WIN a £50 meal at the Rose & Crown

easyfundraising are offering a £2 bonus for all new supporters registered during October. To support this, we are offering all new sign ups before the end of October the chance to win a £50 voucher for a meal at the Rose & Crown on the Green. Sign up and get raising here;

https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk

Half term fun

All tickets for Barleylands and Adventure Island purchased before Thursday have been delivered to schools. If you’d like to purchase over half term, please email us at wispacharity@gmail.com to arrange collection.

Barleylands: https://square.link/u/GoOZH0e5

Adventure Island: https://square.link/u/ZNuQtufZ