Newsletters

We believe that our children should have the aspiration and opportunity to ‘Live life in all its fullness’ and ‘Shine like stars in the sky’.
 
A WARM WELCOME BACK
Welcome back to a brand-new school year! I hope you all enjoyed a restful and happy summer break with your families.
It has been wonderful to see the school open again, filled with the energy, smiles, and enthusiasm of our returning pupils. A very warm, special welcome goes to our new families joining us this term. We are delighted to welcome you into our school community and look forward to watching your children settle in and make new friends.

We firmly believe that education is a partnership between school and home. Thank you in advance for your continued support and collaboration as we embark on this exciting new chapter together.

We look forward to welcoming parents into school over the coming year to share the learning, join our community and see the exciting opportunities available for our pupils.

With this in mind we would welcome your input on some opportunities we would like to offer parents over the coming academic year. Please look out for a parent survey next week about this.

Please also take a look at our class pages where the learning letters and newsletter have now been uploaded. The children have been so proud of their new classrooms they have also recorded a virtual tour for you too!

Wishing everyone a fantastic, successful, and happy year ahead and a great weekend.

Mrs Taylor
 
 
Spotlights for learning…
 
In Rockets, we have had a fantastic first week! It has been so lovely spending time getting to know each other this week as we begin an exciting year of adventures together. We have spent lots of time exploring the classroom, learning through play and reminding ourselves how to be safe, be ready and be respectful. We have particularly enjoyed sharing lots of stories this week and have loved talking about our favourite books. I wonder if anyone has a favourite story they enjoy reading at home that they could recommend to us? We are feeling very proud of how well all of our Rockets have settled in and can't wait for all the exciting learning and exploring that the year ahead will bring!
 
In Comets, we have been busy swapping anecdotes and escapades from all our adventures during the summer holidays (including incidents involving cheese strings landing in drinks, tractor-pulling and car breakdowns among other things!) The children have settled back well, with the older ones supporting the younger ones to follow new routines and find what they need.  Thank you Y3s!  Miss Mandelson received some lovely comments from Dave about Comets’ attitude and effort during their Skip2Bfit session and was super-proud of everyone.  We have started to update our class reading recommendation board – many thanks to those children who have already shared books that they have enjoyed recently...and we are looking forward to more next week.  Just a reminder that the Y2 children are no longer eligible for the government-funded fruit and vegetable scheme.  Children in Y2 or above are invited to bring a healthy snack from home, eg fruit or veg sticks, to eat at morning break.
 
It has been fabulous getting to know Asteroid Class this week.  We have had done lots of work discussing British Values and our School Values and considered how we can live life in all its fullness, comparing this to cups of water.  I wonder how your children will life in all its fullness this weekend, perhaps by trying a new hobby, attending a club or spending time crafting or reading a new book.  We have also been sheep-tracking and recalling knowledge from subjects learnt last year, also extending our learning in these subjects. We learnt new vocabulary 'monotheisist' and 'polytheisist' - the belief in one or many gods - in relation to the ancient Mayans.  Next week we will be starting our curriculum and in maths our focus will be: Year 4 Review of column addition and Year 5/6 will be looking at representing tenths as a decimal fraction.  Homework will not be sent home this week but please encourage your child to read for pleasure at home.  All children have chosen a reading for pleasure book this week.
 
Don’t forget that you can also check out the class pages on the school website for information about learning coming up later in the term.
 
Reminders…
LUNCH BOOKINGS
Just a reminder, all lunch bookings must now be made via Arbor.  Lunches can now be booked up until 8am on the day the lunch will be taken.  If you wish for your child to have a school lunch tomorrow this can only be booked via Arbor and up until 8am tomorrow.  This also applies to children in receipt of free school meals.
Nursery children are automatically booked for a lunch on the day they attend. Nursery parents can choose their lunch option online up via Arbor until 8am or let the class teacher know on arrival at school.
Thank you for your support in introducing our new systems.

FOREST SCHOOL
This term’s Forest School sessions will take place on Wednesday afternoons, alternating between Asteroid and Rocket classes.  This will begin with a session for Asteroids next Wednesday (16^th).  Children should bring their Forest School kit in a bag ready to get changed after lunch.  Please see below for a suggested kit list, helpfully provided by Madeleine and Helen:

  -Forest School kit list letter- Autumn- Winter 2026.pdf-  

MUSIC LESSONS IN SCHOOL
Is your child interested in learning an instrument?
Mrs Harris has a few spaces available for instrumental lessons starting. Piano lessons are offered from Year 2, and ukulele, recorder or singing from Reception. Lessons can be individual 20 minutes (£11/week paid half termly) or group (£8/week) where a suitable group is available. 
Please email Mrs Harris directly on bryonyharris1@gmail.com if you are interested. 
 
Coming up…
SAVE THE DATE
Reading meetings for parents and carers of children in Reception and Year 1 will be taking place after school on Monday 21^st September.  Look out for more details coming soon.
 
News from the wider community
MESSAGES FROM THE FRIENDS PTA GROUP
Please see below for details of our first get together.  All welcome – spread the word! NEWS FROM THE BENEFICE
Please see below for all the latest from the parishes in our community:

  -Email Pew News 13th Sept.pdf-  

A MESSAGE FROM RURAL ARTS
We’re excited to share the programme for Bookmarked, launching across Thirsk town centre from 11-13 September 2026.
After returning after the Summer, we would like to offer your school and families 40% off the upcoming events this weekend! Be quick as there are limited places. The Coupon code that you will need to use is: ruralartsschools 
To book for workshops go to: https://www.ruralarts.org/whats-on/workshops/ or for performances:  https://www.ruralarts.org/whats-on/performances/
The launch weekend features 24 events celebrating books, creativity and culture with activities ranging from author talks and storytelling to art and craft workshops, film, performance and family friendly events.
There’s a wide range of activities for children, young people and families, including a mix of paid and fully funded events. Families can take part in a stamp trail, visiting different events and venues across the town alongside a Roald Dahl, Golden Ticket trail on the Sunday - with the chance of winning a Roald Dahl book. Why not make a day of it? 
The Art Doctors will be out and about in Thirsk on the Saturday and we have Thirsk Royal British Legion Band on the Sunday, playing outside Rural Arts! 
Including:
Rural Arts | Thirsk Community Library | White Rose Books & Coffee Bar | Community Works | The Ritz Cinema, Thirsk | The World of James Herriot / Quaker Meeting House | Thirsk Tourist Information
Bookmarked: Thirsk is funded by the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority through the Vibrant and Sustainable High Streets Fund, led by David Skaith, Mayor of York and North Yorkshire.

  -BOOKMARKED2026POSTER.pdf-  
 

FREE DLD TRAINING COURSES FOR PARENTS Please feel free to pass this on to anyone you know who may find this useful… Do you have a child of school age who has DLD (Developmental Language Disorder)? Would you like to understand more about DLD, and what it might mean for your child and your family, and have the opportunity to meet other families of children with DLD? We are currently planning our ‘DLD Together’ courses from September onwards and have spaces available. DLD Together offers 7 weekly evening sessions of approx. 90 minutes each with 2 language professionals that run online, and they are absolutely FREE to attend.   For more information you can contact claireh@afasic.org.uk or click on the link below: Our projects & services - Afasic

 
Safeguarding, Health and Wellbeing Updates
FREE SCHOOL MEALS…
…are being expanded from this September:
How do you know if your family is eligible and how to apply?
From September 2026 the Department for Education is extending entitlement to free school meals to include all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit. Although eligibility will be granted to all Universal Credit recipients, it is important to note that families do still need to apply to receive the meals.
If your child is currently registered as being in receipt of free school meals through North Yorkshire Council, you DO NOT need to reapply, as your child’s eligibility to continue receiving this provision will be automatically reassessed before September 2026. Where your child is moving to a school located outside of North Yorkshire, then you will need to reapply for this provision through the new authority/school.
Please be aware that any previous protections which applied to children already in receipt of free school meals will no longer apply. Eligibility will be based on whether you are in receipt of any of the benefits, as shown below:
•         Universal Credit
•         Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
•         Support under Part 6 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
•         The Guarantee element of Pension Credit
From September 2026 there will be 2 categories of eligibility for free school meals:
Targeted FSM: this covers children in households in receipt of Universal Credit with annual household earnings of £7,400 or less. These children will attract pupil premium and other disadvantage funding for their schools. Other education entitlements, such as the holiday activities and food programme (HAF) and the ‘extended rights’ element of school travel assistance, will be based on targeted free school meals.
Expanded FSM: this covers children who are in households receiving Universal Credit with annual household earnings exceeding £7,400. Children will be entitled to free school meals only.
For thosewanting to apply, applications can be made through the council website www.northyorks.gov.uk/freeschoolmeals.