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’.

Spotlights on Learning…
 
In Rocket Class this week, the Nursery children have been learning new rhymes in their Foundations for Phonics lesson.  Have you shared the handout with your child at home?
The Reception and Year One children have been having a real focus on their handwriting, presentation and spelling of tricky words.  We are really trying hard to think about the size and orientation of our letters as well as sitting them on the lines. Many children are reading their tricky words confidently, but are unsure how to write them.  We would love to see any examples of beautiful writing sent in from home.  Has your child got any they would like to share?
 
In Comet Class, we have also been focusing on handwriting, particularly looking at the size of lower-case letters compared to capital letters.  Little Red has arrived at the library and is rather suspicious of the librarian who has teeth as sharp as razors and fur as bristly as a broom.  Great similes, Comet Class!  I wonder if you can think of a simile to describe one of Little Red Reading Hood’s features?
 
This week in Asteroid Class, we were lucky to have Mr V come in on Tuesday morning and we competed in our Dodgeball and Benchball competition focusing on communication and teamwork.  Miss Marlow loved to see everyone encouraging each other.  We have also been doing our Independent writing based on Varmints.  We have written our non-chronological report on these fictional creatures.  Can you tell your adult some of the lenses you have included?
 
POEM OF THE WEEK
This week’s poem is If you were a Carrot by Berlie Doherty (see below) and the focus word is: conker
Poetry By Heart | If You Were A Carrot

Remember to look out for more details of our learning for the term ahead on our class pages on the school website.

SCHOOL COUNCIL
A huge well done to all eight candidates who put themselves forward to stand in our elections for School Council last Friday.  This is always a brave and selfless act, knowing that only some candidates will be successful.  You should ALL be very proud of yourselves.  A huge thank you also to our outgoing School Councillors who have worked so hard during the last year.
We are pleased to announce that our new School Councillors for 2026 are:
Kitty, Hattie, Maisie and Ada.
Congratulations!

Coming up…
FOREST SCHOOL
…will take place for Asteroid Class (including Y3) on Friday 13th.  Your child may come to school wearing their Forest School kit with their waterproofs in a bag ready to put on top.  They can then get changed directly into their PE kit so no need for school uniform that day.  (Don’t forget to wear your scarf though!)

WEAR YOUR SCARF DAY – Friday 13^th February
Our Wellbeing Ambassadors are busy preparing to tell the children about ‘Wear Your Scarf Day’ – an event to promote wellbeing for Children’s Mental Health Week.  Evie and Joey would like the children to come to school on Friday 13^th February wearing a scarf of their choice to raise awareness of the importance of looking after your mental health and as a symbol of support for children’s wellbeing. They will be speaking to the children about this in Collective Worship on Monday 9^th February to explain some fun activities that they are preparing.  They will be inviting the children to pay a small sum of 50p to take part in a Design a SCARF competition to win a mystery prize!
After doing some research, Joey and Evie are proposing that the proceeds from this are donated to Just ‘B’, which is part of independent charity North Yorkshire Hospice Care, a family of services which includes Herriot Hospice Homecare and Saint Michael’s Hospice. Together they offer vital hospice care, emotional wellbeing and bereavement support.  They also provide emotional wellbeing support for children in schools.
 
Reminders…
LOST PROPERTY
Since January, Rocket Class have accumulated a huge tray of lost property, including PE hoodies and trousers.  We have been putting out each morning but nobody has claimed anything so far.  Please can I strongly urge all parents to have a look in the tray as some of the items look brand new!
 
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT ALLERGENS IN SCHOOL
As you know, we have a child in our school community who has been diagnosed with allergens to the following foods:

• Prawns
• Sesame (hummus, often in breads, tahini pastes etc)
• Nuts (any kind)

Many thanks for your support us in keeping our school community safe by ensuring that these ingredients are never sent into school and that your child’s packed lunch or snack does not contain these.  Staff will always double-check as part of our safeguarding procedures. Please be aware that some multi-pack items do not show ingredients and we would require the outer packaging to carry out these checks in such cases.

LONDON TRIP
The closing date for this trip was Friday 6th February.
Some parents have indicated that they have further questions about the trip therefore, we will be extending the date of close until next Thursday 12th February at 9am.
Mrs Taylor will be available at St Nicholas at 8.30am onwards on Monday to answer any questions in person.
 
BREAKING UP FOR HALF-TERM
Just a reminder that school will finish at the usual time of 3.25pm next week when we break-up for half-term.  We only finish early at the end of a full-term.
 
WORD OF THE WEEK
To help children develop their vocabulary and a love of words, a focus ‘word of the week’ is introduced each week for the children to investigate.  This week’s word is:

• Gift Bag with Garden Gift 
• Garden and Nature Based activities
• Winter Welly Walk through the Woodland
• Nature Rubbing Plaque Trail

Location:  Ripon Walled Garden, HG4 3HN

• 7 March
• 18 April
• 16 May
• 20 June

• 15 March
• 19 April
• 14 June
• 20 June

• reinforce existing online safety messages
• encourage open, age-appropriate conversations about AI and digital decision-making
• remind staff and families that online safety is an ongoing safeguarding responsibility, not a one-off lesson