Weekly News – Friday 10th January

No longer a Christmas tree, now a haven for wildlife and a food source for the birds in our Forest School area! Find out more about this week's Forest School below.

Dear Parents,

Well the weather this week has certainly reminded us that we are still in the depths of winter! Thank you for ensuring your children have their winter coats, layers and accessories to stay warm outside. We would really appreciate it if you could help the children to practise doing up their own coats - not only does it give them a sense of achievement but it also really helps the adults in the classroom!  You are welcome to send in extra warm layers (joggers/hoodies) for PE and any winter accessories. We are not worried about them being in school colours as long as the children are warm! Please remember to label everything that is sent to school, including all those lovely new water bottles they got for Christmas!

It has been a pleasure to see the children back in school, meeting up with their friends and settling into familiar routines. We have been lucky to welcome 2 new families to the school this week and the children have settled in very well.

Primary School Application Deadline

As we have reminded you today, it's vital that school applications are submitted by next Wednesday. Late applications are dealt with after all other places have been allocated, so please do not put yourself in this unfortunate position, as you may not be offered your preferred school. Please ask us if you need help with your application.

PE Days / Year 1 & 2 Clubs

A timetable of clubs, PE days and piano lessons is available at writtleinfantschool.com/clubs.  Please ensure you have signed up for this term's clubs and paid the professional coach concerned, or paid on ParentMail for staff clubs. There are still spaces for Mini Tennis club, so please follow the link to book with Jane Gowers. Please email the school office if you have any queries.

If you have made new arrangements for childcare after school, such as YMCA or Ducklings please let us know, so that we are aware at pick up times.

Writtle Library Visits / Winter Reading Challenge

Turtles had a great time at Writtle Library this week! Remember the Winter Reading Challenge has now begun, so pop into the library to sign up! Parrots, Foxes and Squirrels will have their turn in the coming weeks, Year 2 visited last term.

Parent Lunches

A reminder that our school lunches for parents begin next Wednesday with Sharks class, so please book your meal via ParentMail, if you haven't already done so. A calendar of events this term is available at writtleinfantschool.com/events.

Community Links

Please ensure that you keep an eye on our Community Links page for lots of useful resources and activities to support your child. This week we have uploaded details of this month's Messy Church event, free online sessions to support your child with Zones of Regulation, anxiety and effective communication issues, and a blog regarding the effects of screen use in young children. Remember you can now book appointments online with the School Nurses who come to our library weekly on a Tuesday afternoon.

Enjoy your weekend, stay warm!!

Best wishes,

Tracey Wilson

Home learning

Thank you for completing last term's home learning passports, the next set will be published next week! Please email any work or photos to parents@writtleinfantschool.com.

We have also published our topic maps for the this half term, so you can see what the children will cover in all areas of the Key Stage 1 Curriculum.

 

Click to access Year-1-Half-Term-Plan-Spring-1-2025.pdf

Click to access Year-2-Half-Term-Plan-Spring-1-2025.pdf

There is also some spelling practice for Year 1 and Year 2 below.

Year 1 Spelling Practice

Year 2 Spelling Practice

Forest School Update

This week we participated in the schools Big Birdwatch but after not seeing any birds realised that they are probably cold and hungry from the freezing weather, so we decided to turn the beautiful Xmas tree into a wildlife retreat for bugs  to hibernate in and birds to feed from, using frozen cranberries and apple slices. More food will be added weekly!
We had to have hot chocolates today to keep us warm!
We talked about the moon and what phase the moon is in right now (leading up to the full moon) tying in with Year 2's topic book ‘Moon Dragons‘. We will continue with this next week!
Thank you for providing warm clothes, please ensure the children are very wrapped up next week with either thick socks (ski socks are excellent) or double socks!

Keeping Children Safe

  • Thanks to those parents who have supported us in protecting the children’s privacy by waiting on the path by the main entrance until 3pm.
  • Emergency contact details must be up to date. Please email us at parents@writtleinfantschool.com if your details have changed.
  • Any food brought to school must not contain nuts or egg-based foods (e.g. egg mayo, scotch egg, omelette etc.).
  • We all have a duty to safeguard the children in our care. If you have any concerns about a child, please contact the school, the Chairs of Governors (if your concern is about a member of teaching staff), or the Essex Child and Families Hub on 0345 603 7627.