Dear Parents and Carers,
Ofsted Report
I hope you enjoyed reading the very positive report about the school that we forwarded on to you earlier in the week. The report will be put up on our website or you will also be able to view it on the Ofsted site. As I said in the covering letter, the report was a confirmation of where we feel we are as a school and of what we need to improve further. It was not the end of the journey - rather a glance at the map along the way to check that we are on the right path. So far, that journey (to continue the metaphor) has involved a lot of hard work from pupils, school staff, our Governors and TEAM. It has also involved the support of the families of the children we teach: as I have said before, educating children only works well when the partnership between home and school is strong. I sincerely thank you all for that continuing support.
SATs
Talking of hard work (plus excellence and great knowledge), the Year Sixes have been simply magnificent this week. If you could have been a fly on the wall to watch the amazing focus and concentration they all exhibited whilst completing SATs, you would have been as proud of them as I have been. What a great effort, Emiila, Freddie R, Daniel, Evelyn, Kaitlyn, Francesca, Jack, Freddie M, Freddie W, Isaac, Esmay and Elsie (who had her birthday during the week too!). I know you have all put everything in to the tests and hope you do really well.
Bude Residential
What a different week most of the Y6s will have next week, away at Bude. Have an amazing time and enjoy mixing and meeting with peers from other TEAM schools. I am certain you will begin some new friendships that will develop in secondary school and beyond. Look after one another ... and Miss Trofa!
Class Three Egyptian Event
Poor Miss Trofa and Class Three - they haven't had much luck so far with their Egyptian day! Sadly, the person running the event today went to the wrong place and was unable to find Witheridge! It did prove to be an opportunity for our Y3s and Y4s to meet with their peers from WPA and spend some time getting to know them. We have rescheduled the day for next Wednesday in HB, so we will keep fingers crossed that all goes to plan then.
Taster sessions in Class Four
Next week - while most of the Y6s are away - we will take the opportunity to give the Y4s a little taste of life in Class Four. The Bude residential always provides this chance for the children to come in for part of the week and hopefully see that it is not so different from Class Three. Children should just come to school as normal. There is a timetable for the week in KS2 included in this letter.
Amazing Homework
I was lucky to be shown a lovely piece of work that Mason had completed off his own bat at home this week. Picking up on the theme of the current project, Mason wrote his own Egyptian mystery - complete with illustrations. The story, which comes in booklet form, is written in two parts. Part One begins, 'As I arrived at the Ancient Pyramid, my mouth opened in amazement. I had been studying the place for over four years ...' If you want to find out what happens, I am sure Mason will let you read on. Tremendous work, Mason!
Online Safety
With this letter is a poster with 10 tips to support online safety at home and in school - including information around AI. In school, we have a firewall to prevent harmful information from the internet reaching the children, but education around how to stay safe is still a priority and children have lessons on this at least three times a year at a level appropriate for age and stage. If you would like more information on helping your child to stay safe online, there is plenty out there. Here is a link to the NSPCC site: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/online-safety/
Have a wonderful weekend, and Y6s have a great week in Bude!
Rob Norton
Head of School
