Weekly News – Friday 6th October

Dear Parents

We have had a real focus on our love of reading this week. Early Years have enjoyed stories in class and Year 1 and 2 have daily ERIC (Everyone Reading In Class) sessions straight after lunch. At the end of these sessions they have the chance to recommend books to each other and share new vocabulary and interesting facts that they have learned. Non-fiction books and the Marvel series have been particularly popular! We also continue to use our Take One Book approach using high quality texts from the Just Imagine scheme, which forms the basis of our half termly topic in Years 1 and 2. This means that the children become totally immersed in the text and we explore new vocabulary together. Echo reading (repeating after the teacher) and choral reading (everyone reading together) are 2 techniques we use to give the children confidence and fluency in their reading. The children also have designated library time each week where they can relax on the bean bags to enjoy books together.

We celebrated our Sporting Superstars and other achievements this Friday in assembly - some of the children will be bringing certificates home for you!

This week saw the first of our Open Days. We had a very full hall, with lots of parents and their lovely children who are interested in a place at our school. It was a pleasure to show them round and we look forward to our future meetings in November. Please signpost friends and family to our booking form if they have children due to start school in September 2024.

We also welcomed Foxes and Squirrels parents to our mini picnics this week - we hope you found the information given at the meetings useful. Remember you can contact us at any time if you have any queries or would like a chat with your child's teacher.

Next week has a real Autumnal feel, with our Harvest Festival on Wednesday morning for Years 1 and 2. The children have been rehearsing "The Little Red Hen" and can't wait to perform for you all. Please drop your children off at the usual time at school and make your way to the church if you are attending. We will register the children and then walk them down ready for the assembly to start at 9.30am. The service should be finished by around 10am. We will have a collection in the church for The Link Club, a local group which supports the elderly in the village. Year 2 traditionally sing at their annual Christmas party, which is a special occasion for everyone involved as we love to play our role in this community event.

On Friday afternoon, we welcome all parents to our Autumn Storytime session at 2.45pm. We are trialling this time of day, as we feel it might be easier for both parents and children to spend time reading together just before home time. If you are unable to attend, you are welcome to send another family member in your place - please just let us know in our sign up form via ParentMail. We hope it will be a lovely way to start the weekend.

You will also be able to sign up for your child's Parents' Evening appointment from Monday. The evenings will be held in sync with the Junior school on Tuesday 17th and Thursday 19th October. We look forward to meeting you there and discussing your child's progress.

Finally, we are looking for any volunteers who might want to help us paint our small meeting room. We have plans to turn it into a fabulous nurture space for the children and would love your help! Please email parents@writtleinfantschool.com if you can offer us your assistance. Thank you.

Have a lovely weekend. Enjoy the sunshine while it lasts!

Best wishes
Tracey Wilson

Essentials for next week!

  • Year 1 and 2 Harvest Festival is at 9.30am, Wednesday 11th October at All Saints Church.
  • Autumn Storytime for all year groups is at 2.45pm on Friday 13th October.
  • You can book your Parents' Evening appointment from Monday. Our Parents' Evenings are on Tuesday 17th and Thursday 19th October.
  • Sadly we've received another complaint regarding parking outside the school. Please take extra care in the mornings and afternoons to ensure that you're not blocking driveways or parking on pavements and grass verges. It's really important to us that we maintain positive relationships with our neighbours and that we all have consideration for pedestrians and other drivers using the pavements and roads around the school.
  • Forest School lessons are on Tuesdays for Sharks and Thursdays for Parrots. On these days those children should come to school in their Forest School clothing.
  • Children should come to school in their PE kit on PE days. This is Mondays for EYFS, Tuesdays and Wednesdays for Year 1 and Thursdays and Fridays for Year 2. As the weather becomes cooler, please ensure children have joggers or leggings to keep them warm, and a school sweatshirt or plain hoodie for exercise outside. A waterproof coat is also useful.
  • Please check the diary dates for details of upcoming events.

Word of the week

Our word of the week chosen by Turtles class is "thrash".  Please discuss the meaning of the word with your child and try to use it in conversations this week.

WISPA Update

We are thrilled to have acquired another 100 discounted tickets from Barleylands, just in time for October half-term. There is loads to do at Barleylands, from reptiles to lambs, to epic foam parties and giant bouncy inflatables, it offers a great family day out.

Tickets are for general entry and not in connection with specialist events. They are valid until August 2024. **Orders must be with us no later than 18th October and will go home in book bags on Friday 20th October.** Order online below:

£11 single tickets, normally £14.45

£40 family of 4 tickets (any combination), normally £51

We hope you have a Baaaahhhrrrrilliiant day!!

*prices are at the time of publication

Home Learning

Please follow the links below to access this week's home learning for Years 1 and 2.
Year 1 Home Learning
Year 2 Home Learning

Highlights of the week

Year 2

We have so enjoyed rehearsals for our performance of The Little Red Hen! We are looking forward to seeing you at the church on Wednesday morning.

Year 1

Year One have worked extra hard this week reading "A House in the Woods" and writing about it. They have been marvellous mathematicians, counting backwards and finding one less and they've particularly loved colour mixing in art.

EYFS

This week the children have been excited to start their phonics learning and these are the phonemes and graphemes we introduced.

Forest School

Sharks class made s’mores on Tuesday and had a foliage fashion show! The Parrots on Thursday painted an Earth and Moon craft as well as talking about deciduous & evergreen trees and autumnal changes.

Keeping Children Safe

  • Emergency contact details must be up to date. Please email us at parents@writtleinfantschool.com if your details have changed.
  • Any food brought to school must not contain nuts or egg-based foods (e.g. egg mayo, scotch egg, omelette etc.).
  • We all have a duty to safeguard the children in our care. If you have any concerns about a child, please contact the school, the Chairs of Governors (if your concern is about a member of teaching staff), or the Essex Child and Families Hub on 0345 603 7627.