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’.
 
WELLBEING DAY
This year we are ‘keeping it local’ for our wellbeing day with a walk in the village and local countryside.  Our wellbeing Ambassadors will be promoting the benefits of the five ways to wellbeing and explaining how we can access activities to give our wellbeing a boost right here on our doorstep for free!  They are busy preparing for this to take place on Thursday 16^th July (weather permitting).  The children do not need to wear uniform on that day but should wear clothes and footwear suitable for walking/outdoor activities.  Sun cream should be applied in advance and sun hats are advised if this sunny weather continues.  Should it be cooler/wetter, then waterproofs may be needed.  The children will require a packed lunch on the day.  This can be brought from home or provided by Sharon.  Should your child require a school packed lunch, please reply to the separate email to follow, indicating if they would prefer ham, tuna or cheese on their sandwich.
 
Spotlights on learning…
In Rocket Class this week, the Reception children have been writing rhyming sentences based on under the sea creatures.  We've had "a whale in jail", and "a shark in the dark" and all sorts of creative ideas!  Well done Reception!
The Year One children have been publishing their reports about sharks.  They produced beautifully neat handwritten versions, and then used a publishing program to type them up on an iPad.  The children worked really hard on these and Miss Mandelson has a lot to look forward to next year with these superstars!

In Comet Class, we have returned to our learning on keeping safe in hot weather, particularly around water.  The children have written leaflets designed to share with older children, teenagers and adults as well as designing posters to highlight important safety advice to younger children.
It was lovely to have the Y1 children visit Comets on Tuesday.  We had a great morning together, designing our new peg markers and doing lots of sheep-tracking around recent History work on the Great Fire of London.  The children completed some striking art work and are looking forward to using their knowledge on the subject again in September to write a diary…
 
This week in Asteroid Class, we enjoyed spending time with Mrs Clark for our transition day on Tuesday.  Everyone was impressed with the brilliant poems we created to introduce ourselves and Mrs Clark was super-proud of what the everyone produced.  She is very excited about being the Asteroid Class teacher from September!
Some of the Y6 children have also been enjoying transition visits to their new schools.  They have been busy with Mrs Johnson, preparing for their Leavers' Service next week.  The Sports Crew completed their final session with Sporting Influence and we are all looking forward to our cricket session with them on Monday.
 
WORD OF THE WEEK
Our next word to explore is: The children are encouraged to find out what the word means and perhaps use it in a sentence or explore its etymology.  Their efforts are then displayed in the hall.  Although aimed more at the KS2 children, everyone is welcome to join in.
 
Reminders…
SPORTING INFLUENCE
All children will be taking part in cricket sessions led by Sporting Influence on Monday morning.  Please ensure that sunscreen is applied and PE kits and sunhats are in school.

FOREST SCHOOL
There will be one last Wednesday afternoon session for Rocket Class (Nursery – Y2) next week.  Children should come to school in their uniform with a change of clothes and waterproofs in a bag ready for the afternoon.
 
FIDGET TOYS
You may remember that, back in May, we alerted you to a worrying new viral trend relating to ‘squishies’ (see below for this information again).  Unfortunately, we had an incident in school this week whereby a ‘squishy’ brought in from home exploded, leaking a substance over its owner and another child who was nearby. We have reminded the children that these items should not be brought into school.
Some children with sensory needs have various fidget toys, etc as part of their provision.  When such items are part of a child’s provision, we teach the child to use them discreetly and safely in a manner that does not disrupt the learning of others.
On occasions, when sensory resources brought in from home become a hazard or distract the child or their peers from their learning (eg due to their size, quantity or misuse), they are removed and replaced with something more appropriate following an explanation of why this is necessary.  Thank you for your help with this.

MESSAGE FOR PARENTS OF Y6
Many thanks to those who have already responded to Miss Mandelson’s email re the leavers’ service.  Please could any remaining responses be received by Monday so that preparations can be completed in time for Wednesday’s service.  Many thanks.
 
LOST PROPERTY
There are a number of unnamed and unclaimed items around school.  In Comets, these include quite a few jumpers aged 9-10.  If you suspect that any of these belong to you, please claim them as soon as possible otherwise they will be added to the Friends second-hand uniform stall next week (see below for details).  Please do remember to clearly name all items of clothing as this really helps us to save valuable time when trying to get lost items back to their rightful owners.
 
SUPPORT PLANS
For those children with SEND, their support plan was included with their end-of-year report.  Please could you take the time to review this, add any comments you wish to make and sign, before returning to Miss Mandelson (SENCO).  You will then be provided with a copy to keep when they are reviewed formally in September.  As always, do not hesitate to get in touch with Miss Mandelson should you have any questions about the support your child receives.  You can email Miss Mandelson at:
senco@west-tanfield.n-yorks.sch.uk

Coming up…
 
LEAVERS’ EVENTS
Tuesday 14^th July – Day out at Xscape
Wednesday 15^th July – Leavers’ Service at 9am in the school hall.
Friday 17^th July – School breaks up for ALL children at 2pm (Proctors has been informed so that the school bus will pick up at this time.  If you do not wish your child to travel on the bus that day, please let us know.)
 
News from the wider community
MESSAGES FROM THE FRIENDS PTA GROUP
Many thanks for all the donations of second-hand uniform which have come in this week.  It is not too late to add items.  These items will be available for a donation in the coming week. Friends plan to display the items for you to browse and there will be an honesty box for donations.  
NEWS FROM THE BENEFICE
Please see below for all the latest from the parishes in our community:
VILLAGE SPORTS DAY
We know that many of our children are looking forward to the village sports day tomorrow.  Wishing all our families and the community a fun-filled day! The event takes place on Saturday 11th July, from 10:00 AM till late at Village Farm, West Tanfield. It promises to be a brilliant day packed with activities for all ages. Here is a sneak peek of what we have lined up:

• 🛶 The Crazy Raft Race – Can anybody beat the Smiths this year?!
• 🦆 The Duck Race – Lots of fun for the whole family.
• 🧁 Village Bake Off – Aprons and rolling pins at the ready!
• 🏅 Traditional Sports Day Races – Relive the classics (Egg & Spoon, three-legged, and more!).
• 🦘 Massive Inflatable & 💦🔫 Water Fight
• 🏏 Rounders & 🥚 Egg Toss
• ♨️ BBQ (Hot dogs & burgers), a live DJ, and a Raffle with great prizes!
• 🌞 Fantastic weather (sadly, not guaranteed, but the fun is!).

 
FLINTOFT FREECYCLES
SUMMER READING CHALLENGE
This year’s Summer Reading Challenge is running until Saturday 12 September 2026.
Turn up the volume on reading this summer as North Yorkshire Libraries, in partnership with The Reading Agency, invite children to discover the joy of reading through Read to the Beat! - the music themed Summer Reading Challenge for 2026.
Click below to find out about launch events in libraries tomorrow:
Summer Reading Challenge | North Yorkshire Council
Harriet will also be coming in to school next week of term to tell the children all about it.
 
SUMMER FUNFEST YORKSHIRE DALES RIVER TRUST
Rivers4Life is a family-friendly exhibition which has lots of things to engage audiences of all ages, with interactives including some beautiful costumes of river creatures for dressing up, and lots of hands-on activities for children. The exhibition is open 7 days a week from 10am to 4pm, until 27^th September, at the Dales Countryside Museum in Hawes. Entry is £5 for adults and FREE for children under 16!  Here’s the link to our website page  Rivers4Life - Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust and the Dales Countryside Museum website: Exhibitions - Dales Countryside Museum : Dales Countryside Museum
 
 
MUSIC LESSONS IN SCHOOL
Is your child interested in learning an instrument?
Mrs Harris has a few spaces available for instrumental lessons starting in September. 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. 

SUMMER ROCK CLIMBING  
 
Safeguarding, Health and Wellbeing Updates
Y7 TRANSITION RESOURCES
Compass Phoenix is an organisation that works closely with schools to support the wellbeing of children and young people.  They have sent through a pack with some useful activities to support student wellbeing as well as up to date information about apps, websites and services.
MESSAGE FROM NY SAFEGUARDING CHILDREN PARTNERSHIP
Safeguarding Advice for Parents and Carers: Viral “Squishy Toy” Trend
We are aware of a viral trend circulating online where children are encouraged to heat soft “squishy” toys (sometimes called NeeDoh or jelly cube toys) in a microwave.
This is extremely dangerous. When heated, these toys can burst and release hot contents, which may cause serious burns to the hands, face and skin.
What you can do:

• Talk to your child about the risks of copying online challenges or trends
• Remind them that not everything seen online is safe or accurate
• Ensure squishy toys or similar items are never heated or microwaved
• Encourage your child to come to you if they see something online that concerns them

If you would like more information and practical advice, please see the safeguarding alert here: SAFEGUARDING ALERT: Viral Trend Risks Causing Severe Burns to Children - Ineqe Safeguarding Group