Newsletter: Friday 9th February 2024
Dear Parents,
We have ended the term with some real highlights!
On Tuesday, we were treated to a concert by our school choir, led by Mrs Bateup, ably assisted by Mrs Entwistle and Mrs Lindley. It was a truly uplifting event showcasing the talents of so many of our children. A special moment for me was when the children also included sign language alongside their voices – I may have shed a tear… Bonnie reports:
On Tuesday, we had our end of term choir show. Lots of people came and we sang to our family and friends. This was an amazing experience that I would love to do again. Mrs Bateup is such an inspiration and she encouraged us throughout the concert. Choir is so much fun, we sang ‘Sing’ in which Freya, Lyla, Austin and I had solos. Next we sang ‘You raise me up’ , ‘The climb’, ‘Power in me’ and last, ‘Roar’. All of these were songs about believing in yourself. Choir is so much fun and amazing – thank you for giving me this opportunity.
On Tuesday the whole school also took part in ‘Safer Internet Day 2024.’ This year, the theme was: “Together for a better internet.” In the words of the organisers, the theme was chosen to ‘encourage everyone to join the movement, to participate, and to make the most of the internet’s potential to bring people together.’ Please see attached some more information about what the children learned this week and some useful information to support you in keeping your children safe on-line.
A reminder that mobile devices, including smart watches, are not permitted in school. If you feel your child is safer walking to or from school with a phone, in year 5 or 6, they are permitted to drop them at the office for safe keeping during the day, ensuring they are completely switched off. Smart watches (to be clear, any watch with any connectivity) are not to be worn in school. Apart from anything else, they are a distraction from learning and far too valuable to be worn in the classroom!
On Thursday, we thought about Children’s Mental Health week. The theme of the week was, ‘Your voice matters’. We shared the Charlie Mackesy quote:
“What’s your best discovery?” asked the mole.
“I’m enough as I am,” said the boy.
The children reflected on this in their classes. Francesca said, “You may feel like you’re not enough, but you are”. Inayah said, “Let them use their own voice, don’t speak for someone, give them time.” For more information, please visit: https://www.childrensmentalhealthweek.org.uk/
Today, we said goodbye to Kathy Bullen, our student teacher who has joined us for a term in Year 4. We wish her all the best as she continues her teacher training. We also wish farewell to Mrs Howard who is moving on to new adventures. Thank you to both of them for all they have brought to the school in their time here.
Receiving certificates this week were all of Reception class (for dealing so well with their temporary learning environment), Jasmine, Lyra, Eliza, Thomas, Caleb, Marsie, Francesca, Hannah, Toby, Freya, Stanley and all of Year 4. The uniform owl was awarded to Class R and Year 4 received the Tidy Trophy. Congratulations to you all.
It was lovely to see that so many of you were able to attend our Art Exhibition today. It was wonderful to see the progression of children’s art skills as they interpreted our theme, “Our Frozen World”, led by Mrs Syms and the class teachers.
As a school, we have studied artists such as Chagall, Van Gogh and Matisse, practically explored mediums including watercolour and acrylic paint, different grades of pencils, clay, relief and expression printing. We have learned about incredible art movements such as cubism, fauvism, pointillism and abstract art.
Also available were the children’s sketchbooks. A sketchbook is an essential tool for any artist or designer, and it can be especially valuable in helping children explore their creativity and develop their skills. A sketchbook can help children express themselves visually, experiment with different techniques and styles, and build their confidence in their artistic abilities.
Don’t worry if you didn’t make it this time, some of the sculptural work will be coming home shortly and you will have another opportunity soon to visit the classrooms and see the children’s sketchbooks.
An update on The Great Bidborough Bake Off from Miss Birkett and School Parliament:
The competition itself will be on the first Friday back after half term (the 23rd February). We have been overwhelmed with entries! Those who have given Miss Birkett a consent form are in the competition and will need to bring their baked goods, photos of their baking process and their recipe in on this date. If all these could be taken to normal classes in the morning, then Miss Birkett will ask the bakers to bring their entries to the right location on the day.
Please can we ask that ALL entries are brought in pre-sliced with a photo of what the cakes looked like as a whole included with your entry.
To avoid any confusion, there will be 4 winners; two from Key Stage 1 and two from Key Stage 2. Each of the winners will receive a special Bidborough Bake Off trophy. All entries will also receive a certificate.
The winners along with all of the other entries will be celebrated in an assembly the following week. The winners will not officially be announced until then.
The competition will be followed by a bake sale. A Just Giving link will be going out this week to support this. Due to the cashless nature of the sale, only those who make a donation via this link will be allowed to purchase from the cake sale. £1 is the minimum donation, allowing 1 cake/slice of cake to be purchased. As a maximum, we are asking that no more than 2 slices are purchased per child. If of course, you would like to purchase a whole cake then a £10 donation will need to be made.
I hope it can be appreciated that if there wasn’t a limit then we may run out of cake!
For every donation, please can the child’s full name and year group be added in the comments. This will make it easier for tickets to arrive with the right child on the day!
The cake sale will be taking place during the school day, so please expect your child to be leaving school either with cake, or having eaten it already!
All money raised will go to one of The School Parliament’s chosen charities for this year; Breast Cancer UK.
You may wish to add gift aid to your donation which will boost the amount the charity receives!
On behalf of The School Parliament, thank you in advance for all of your donations. We cannot wait to see everyone’s entries!
A notice from the Parish Council:
It has been brought to the attention of the Parish Council that some parents are not parking with consideration during school drop off and pick up times.
We understand that this is a busy and often stressful time, but please be aware that your behaviour impacts the local residents, and it is not acceptable to impede anyone’s use of their own property.
As per Highway Code rule 243, you must not block the entrance to a property, park on a bend, or park across a dropped kerb.
The Council appreciates that the majority of parents park considerately and we thank you for this.
We’ve had some mixed attendance this week. Year 6 have the highest attendance this week at 97.24%. I won’t tell you the figure for Year 4, as it is considerably lower – hopefully a good rest, some fresh air and lots of handwashing will mean everyone is fit and ready to return after half term! Please do check the dates below as it is a busy term!
I hope you all have a lovely week – enjoy the pancakes on Tuesday. Please take a moment to check your child’s hair as we have some reports of unwelcome visitors on some heads. For further advice on what to look for, or how to treat any head lice, please visit: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/head-lice-and-nits/
Kind regards,
Julie Burton and the Bidborough Team
February
10th – Chinese New Year
13th – Shrove Tuesday
22nd - Year 3 begin swimming
23rd - The Great Bidborough Bake Off
March
1st – St David’s Day (Team can wear yellow clothes)
6th - Individual photographs
7th - Year 5 to Bore Place
8th – Class 4 assembly
13th - 15th - Tunbridge Wells Junior Enterprise Challenge
15th - Year 4 to Bore Place
18th – St Patrick’s dress up (Team can wear green clothes)
20th - Children's University
22nd – Data home to parents
26th & 27th – Learning reviews
28th - Year R hearing & vision checks
28th - End of Term 4
