News

As we near the end of term, we are excited to share with you our second edition of Woodland Times for this year! Our new journalists have continued in earnest and have some fabulous articles to share with you! We hope you enjoy reading our school newspaper; written for the children...by the children.

Download the PDF edition with the link below.

A cheeky Christmas elf has been caught on camera delivering advent books to the classes in the school - see the video below. These are special books organised by our reading specialists for the children to read in their class in the run-up to Christmas. The children were very excited to see who delivered them in assembly on Monday morning!

Dear parents, please read on for updates on some of the exciting festive events coming up before Christmas, Culture Day, the Kindness of Parents, Holiday Camp Days, New Governors and Sporting Success.

On Friday, we all shared in our two values awards assemblies. These termly, assemblies help to celebrate each of our six different school values. This term's focus value was COURAGE. Mr Horsley led the proceedings and the dancing! It was great to see how all the children help to support and share in the successes of the two COURAGE value winners from each class.

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Each teacher was invited to say a few words about how they had chosen their winners. In addition, Miss Wagstaff, now famed for her poems at such assemblies, shared one that she had found to match the occasion.

Courage

Courage to speak up,

Courage to stand up.

Courage to say yes,

Courage to say no.

 

Courage to make a change,

to view something in a new light,

courage to let go,

courage to go after.

 

Courage to start, courage to end.

Courage to walk away, to sit still,

courage to grow.

Courage, also, to stop.

 

Everything begins with courage.

By Nicole Warner.

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Photos of the Courage Value Award winners

Foundation Stage awarded their winners separately this time, but will be in the main Values Assemblies in December for the KINDNESS awards.

Dear parents, please read on to find out about parent governor vacancies, this Thursday's cake sale, parent events in school, and more...

Dear parents, 

WELCOME BACK! I hope you had a fantastic summer with your family. We have loved welcoming the children back to school this week and seeing them settle in so quickly!
 

Our Curriculum

Our whole school curriculum is designed around four curriculum drivers - conflict, culture, communication and conservation. Each of these four drivers act as a focal point to help pupils acquire the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values of the National Curriculum to become more globally aware, educated citizens. Our children learn from the past to help shape a better future.
 

Our Curriculum Theme for this term is…Conflict 

Throughout this theme, we shape learning tasks to enable children to understand what conflict is, why it exists, the difference between positive and negative conflict; before linking this understanding to why conflict remains a global issue. 

We want our children to learn how to handle disagreements constructively and resolve their differences in a positive manner. Conflict can be seen as an opportunity for learning about and understanding our differences. We can all live harmoniously, despite conflicts, as long as we know how to responsibly manage these struggles.
 

Parental Engagement for the year ahead  

The results of our recent Parent Survey were fantastic, with all statements being agreed by over 91%. Two of the lower outcomes were:
The school makes me aware of what my child will learn during the year - 93% agree
The school lets me know how my child is doing - 92% agree
Although these percentages are still very high, our aim is always 100%
Therefore, below is a table of information outlining some of the ways in which we plan to let you know how your child is doing and what they are learning. You may wish to update your family calendars! 
 

Date	Event	Details
Monday 16th September 3.15-3.45pm	New Class Drop-ins	A chance to visit your child’s new classroom
Monday 7th October 6pm	FS Curriculum Meeting	Foundation Stage parents
Tuesday 5th November 3.30-6.30pm Thursday 7th November 5.30-8.30pm	Parents’ Evening Parents’ Evening	Progress Meetings  Progress Meetings
Monday 11th November 9-9.30am Tuesday 12th November 9-9.30am Wednesday 13th November 9-9.30am Thursday 14th November 9-9.30am Friday 15th November 9-9.30am	Achieve with Me Achieve with Me Achieve with Me Achieve with Me Achieve with Me	Year 1 - Phonics Focus Years 2 and 4 - Spellings Focus Foundation Stage - Phonics Focus Years 5 and 6 - Spellings Focus Year 3 - Spellings Focus
Monday 20th January 6pm	Residential Meeting	Year 6 parents
Tuesday 4th February 3.30-6.30pm Thursday 6th February 5.30-8.30pm	Year 6 Parents’ Evening Year 6 Parents’ Evening	Year 6 parents only Year 6 Parents’ Evening
Monday 10th March 2.30-3pm Tuesday 11th March 2.30-3pm Wednesday 12th March 2.30-3pm Thursday 13th March 2.30-3pm	Achieve with Me Achieve with Me Achieve with Me Achieve with Me	Year 1 and 3 - Wider Curriculum Years 2 and 4 - Wider Curriculum Foundation Stage - Wider Curriculum Years 5 and 6 - Wider Curriculum
Tuesday 25th March 3.30-6.30pm Thursday 27th March 5.30-8.30pm	Parents’ Evening  Parents’ Evening	Progress Meetings for Years FS-5 Progress Meetings for Years FS-5
Monday 28th April 6pm	Google Classroom Meeting	Year 2 parents
Monday 7th July 2.30-3pm Tuesday 8th July 2.30-3pm Wednesday 9th July 2.30-3pm Thursday 10th July 2.30-3pm	Open View Open View Open View Open View	Year 1 and 3 - Book Looks  Years 2 and 4 - Book Looks Foundation Stage - Book Looks Years 5 and 6 - Book Looks

For information on our curriculum, please see https://www.wvps.northants.sch.uk/page/?title=Curriculum&pid=9 
As always, teachers will be blogging each week to show you a range of learning experiences across all subjects. Your child’s class teacher will be posting their first blog of the year next week.
Coming soon…all year groups are preparing Year Group Guide Videos which I will share with you when they are ready.
 

Homework 

The children will be bringing home their first reading books very soon so they can continue with their reading progress at home. These will be accompanied by their new Reading Records or Logs. Make sure you read the information inside so that you know how to support your child with reading at home.

General homework information will be shared next week with homework starting from the 16th September. Homework Club will also begin from the week beginning 16th September on Mondays and Thursdays 8.15-8.45am for any Key Stage 2 children who have struggled to complete any tasks at home.

Clubs from Staff and External Providers

As always, we aim to offer a wide range of extra-curricular clubs and activities. Many of our staff run clubs before school, at lunchtimes and after school (free of charge). I am thankful to any member of staff who gives up their time to provide wonderful opportunities for the children. 
Some of the clubs led by staff last year included: Strictly Dancing (Y2-6), Dance (Y4-6), Drama (Y6), Choir (Y2-6), Sticker Club, Netball (Y6), Football (Y5&6), NfL (Y6).
Children will be informed of lunch clubs when they begin, and parents will be informed of before or after school clubs.
 

Our plan for clubs led by external providers is outlined below. Some have already started, others will be starting soon. Communication for all of these comes separately.

*Craft Barn Club is hoping to offer Y4-6 children opportunities later in the year

 

Key Dates

Monday 16th September - Parent Drop-in opportunity - 3.15-3.45pm 
Tuesday 17th September - Flu Immunisation for children in school (see previous Ping Bulletin for details)
Monday 7th October - Curriculum Evening for Foundation Stage parents - 6pm in school
Wednesday 16th and Thursday 17th October - Individual and Sibling School Photograph Days
Friday 25th October - School Term Ends

Yours sincerely,
Mark Horsley
Headteacher