BPS Newsletter

Please report absences using the absences@byfleet.surrey.sch.uk email by no later than 9am.

This Week

Welcome back, and happy New Year to all our families. It has been a real pleasure to see the children return to school so settled, calm, and ready to learn. Classrooms have quickly come back to life, with busy, focused children engaging enthusiastically in their new topics and challenges. Across the school, learning is already well underway, and it has been wonderful to see such a positive start to the term. We have been particularly impressed by the amazing writing taking place, from the confident early mark-making and storytelling in Reception to the thoughtful, ambitious pieces being produced by our Year 6 pupils. Most exciting of all, however, was the very small flurry of snow we had last week! Understanding that trying to teach children whilst it is snowing is nigh on impossible, our amazing adults scrambled to get the children equipped appropriately in hats and gloves and get them out into the snow before it disappeared. For some of our younger children, this was the first snow they had experienced and the delight on their faces was a joy to see.

Thank you for all of the welly donations, we still need more! So if you have any pairs that you don't need anymore, please send in to the school office and we can reuse them. Donations such as these help us enhance the provision we can put in place for the children and allows us to provide extra opportunities to enhance our children's learning.  

Please keep an eye on the calendar dates as this half term is a short and busy one!

As always, thank you for your continued support and have a lovely weekend.

Mr Bowman

Over the past two weeks, Reception have been busy exploring our exciting new topic all about Space! The children have shown fantastic curiosity and enthusiasm as they discovered how astronauts live and work in space. We talked about what astronauts need to survive, including special suits, food and sleeping arrangements.

We also learned about day and night and how the Earth spins to give us light and dark. Using a globe and a torch, the children were able to see how one side of the Earth is in daylight while the other is in darkness. 

In English, we shared the story Whatever Next! by Jill Murphy. The children enjoyed imagining their own adventures to the moon and wrote about what they would take with them and what they might see when they arrived. 

In Maths, we introduced the number zero and talked about what it means. The children used this new number alongside their knowledge to continue to subitise and represent numbers to 5. We also explored the language of part-part-whole, helping the children to understand how numbers can be made in different ways.

In Phonics, we have been learning new digraphs including ai, ee, igh, oa, oo and 00. The children are becoming more confident at recognising these sounds in words and using them in their reading and writing.

Well done, Reception, for a fantastic start to our space topic!

To help resource Reception's learning over the next few weeks we are asking to see if anyone has any of the following they would be happy to donate to the school:

• Dressing up clothes

• Scooters

• A microphone stand

• A Birdhouse

• A bird feeder

• Compost 

• Sand

If you are able to donate any of the items above, we would be very grateful.

Year 6 have begun the Spring term with great determination and an overall desire to do their best. This has been especially clear in their writing. 

To begin this term, we have written a third person narrative, based on our text 'War of the Worlds', which has showcased the children's brilliant imagination. It's been great to see their different skills come together in this piece of writing and we're really proud of their hard work. 

The Allotment Team had their first meeting of the year last week and put in place plans for the layout and arrangement of the first phase of the allotment. We have a strict deadline to get the first seed sewn and Mr Hagen has his work cut out to meet the deadline but we have every confidence in him. Year 4 were busy trying to remove some of the concrete foundations which have been buried from a previous structure which was on the site, carefully supervised by Mrs Wyatt the children were working together as a team to dig around the block and continue the ground preparation work. We are very excited about the progress being made with this project and will be asking for parent volunteers in due course to work alongside the children.

A reminder to everyone to please complete and return the Data Collection forms. This is a vital document we need updated for our records and ensures we are able to contact you if we need to please.

Byfleet Primary School is looking for two parent governors to join our Local Advisory Committee. If you’d like to get involved and help make a positive difference to our school, we’d love to hear from you. Please get in touch with Joy Considine at lacchair@byfleet.surrey.sch.uk. 

Just to remind parents/carers that if they take their children out of school without authority for 5 or more days (which do not have to be consecutive), they will be liable to receive a penalty notice. The issue of a Penalty Notice will also be actioned where a pupil has incurred 10 or more unauthorised sessions during the preceding 10 school weeks. These also included 'lates' after the register has closed. 

**Changes to the National framework for Penalty Notices came into force for Penalty Notice Fines on 19th August 2024**

• First offence within a 3 year rolling period will incur a charge of £80 per parent, per child if paid within 21 days, Increasing to £160 per parent, per child if paid within 28 days.

• Second offence within a 3 year rolling period will incur a flat rate of £160 per parent, per child if paid within 28 days. 

• The third time an offence is committed within a 3 year rolling period for term time leave or irregular attendance the case will be presented straight to the Magistrates Court. 

Please view the letter from Surrey Inclusion Services and our Attendance Policy for further information. 

• London TDK School Clubs are an exciting children's martial arts programme which provide a breakfast club from 8:00am -8:45am on a Monday morning.  A great way to start the week!!

• Mia's School of Dance: Are you looking for something creative for your child to start this year to build their creativity, confidence, keep fit, have fun and dance...

     Join Mia’s School of Dance for fun dance club at Byfleet Primary School - All abilities welcome

      Monday's - 3:15pm - 4:15pm (all years)

• Ultimate Coaching provide an after school football club on Thursdays for Years 1-3 and Years 4-6.  Please see the poster below of how to book.