Castle Hill Primary School

Mr Martin's Message

Dear Parents and Friends of Castle Hill Primary School 

It has been another action-packed half-term, and we are thrilled to be enjoying the fruits of your incredible fundraising efforts across both campuses. Thanks to your support, we now have two identical outdoor classrooms at both schools, which provide fantastic learning spaces for our pupils.

We would also like to thank you for your continued understanding and support of our uniform policy. With your encouragement and commitment, we are building a strong, united team where our school mottos “Manners Matter” and “Aiming for Excellence” shine through every day.

Stop press! Following a fully supportive meeting with the Board of Governors there has been a change to the policy regarding earrings. From after half term, children will be permitted to wear plastic retainers or studs. Hoops and dangly earrings are still not permitted. The children will need to remove their earrings during PE lessons and activities.  In due course there will be a disclaimer form available on the website which must be completed. By filling in the form the parents are accepting full responsibility for any accidents or lost of items that may occur.

As the children's first teachers, you have done a marvellous job! Thank you as always for your continued support and partnership. 

If anyone has a little time to spare, we would love your help with our community garden project at the Greenbank Campus. We are hoping to complete it soon and would be so grateful for any extra hands. If this sounds like something you would enjoy, please do get in touch.

Lastly, the Student Senators at both schools have now been selected. They are off to a cracking start and full of lots of wonderful ideas.

Wishing you a well-earned break with family and friends. Thank you, as always, for your continued partnership; it truly makes a huge difference.

From Mr Martin and the CHPS team

• The new Autumn 2 Menu can be found here - School Meal Menus. The jacket potato and pasta menu will replace the picnic option. Please remember to order your child's lunch by midnight the day before; if not, you will need to provide a packed lunch from home.

• The PE timetable has changed for next term. Please visit https://www.castlehillprimary.net/attendance/pe-and-sports to check your child's PE and Outdoor Explorer days.

• Go Nuts for Doughnuts @ Greenbank - After school every Thursday (after half term), we will be selling doughnuts for £1! Come into the Greenbank school hall via the rear doors and help us raise money for the Summertime Club.

What has Been happening in School?

Bulb Planting

A huge thank you to all the parents who came to help with our bulb planting! The children had a fantastic time digging, planting and making our school look beautiful! Thank you to everyone who donated bulbs. We truly appreciate your help and look forward to seeing the bulbs bloom in Spring!

Castle Hill's Junior Road Safety Officers

Our Junior Road Safety Officers (JRSOs) at both sites have been busy becoming road safety experts! Last week, they completed an online training course all about staying safe on the roads. They explored real-life scenarios, discussed what causes accidents and thought about how they could be prevented.

The JRSOs also learnt about safe places to cross and why it’s important to be seen when it’s dark. They even designed their own t-shirts with road safety messages such as “Shine bright in the night” to remind everyone at Castle Hill to wear bright clothing after dark.

Now, with the help of Miss Jones and Mrs Henderson, they’re planning to deliver something special for Road Safety Week in November. We can’t wait to see what they come up with!

Year 5 Swimming lessons

Finally, Year 5 pupils at Rooksdown were able to take part in our swimming lessons at QMC after the sessions had to be rearranged earlier in the year due to a faulty roof. The children were very excited to get started, and all came well prepared for their lessons.

We were really impressed with their excellent behaviour and how they changed themselves so quickly and sensibly each week. They showed a fantastic attitude towards their swimming and made the most of the opportunity.

A big thank you also goes to our parent helpers, who kindly gave up their Monday mornings to support us. We really appreciate your help.

Name the Outdoor Classrooms Competition

Thank you to all the children who entered the competition to name the new outdoor classrooms. There were so many great entries to choose from, and we loved everyone's creativity. 

The lucky winners are :

Rooksdown Campus - 'Eco Lodge' by Annabelle L (Year 6) 

Greenbank Campus - 'The Discovery Den' by Eva T (Year 4) & Hishika B (Year 6)

The winners were announced and celebrated during the Charter of Excellence assemblies across both sites. The children have won a special outdoor learning session for them and three friends, which will take place during Autumn 2 term.  From Mrs Ayling, Outdoor Learning Lead.

Harvest Festival Foodbank Donations

Young Writers Success!

Apple Picking @ Greenbank

A few of our Year 5s have been helping Mrs Toobe collect apples from around the school grounds. The children were excited and couldn't resist trying them out for themselves before approving them for the rest of the school. Each class received a tray of apples, which were handpicked by the fabulous Year 5 team of volunteers! 

As you can also see, Tillie even made a terrific apple crumble at home using the produce picked for the whole family to enjoy! Well done, Tillie!

Attendance

Attendance Updates

Thank you for working with us to improve attendance at Castle Hill Primary this year. Our overall attendance is 95% (nationally, 94%). Our persistent absences (those pupils below 90%, equivalent to missing half a day a week) are down to 10% (versus 16% nationally). 

Our pupils with good attendance are making good progress throughout the school, and we look forward to seeing them attend every day in the new term. Thank you again for sending your pupils regularly to school so that we can teach and develop them to be better learners and citizens of the future.

Our target for this year is 96% or over; last year’s attendance was 95.23%. 

Our current percentage is 96.45%.

The classes with the best attendance this half term are:

Rooksdown

KS1 – Year 2 Maisie Bagshaw = 96.91%

KS2 – Year 3 Mrs Wheble/Mrs Barlow = 97.57%

Greenbank

Year 5 Mr Clarke = 98.26

Here is a useful link to the NHS website, which might help you decide if your child is too ill for school - 

https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/is-my-child-too-ill-for-school/

Sports Reports & Team Photos

Greenbank Boys Football

Greenbank Girls Football

Trips & Workshops

We have been planning exciting trips and workshops across all year groups this academic year. These trips are intended to complement and reinforce learning on key curriculum topics. We are aware of the financial challenges that everyone is currently facing, so to help with budgeting, we have set an annual maximum figure of £40 per child, and, where possible, lower than this. 

Trip amounts are calculated assuming every child participates and contributes to ensuring we have raised sufficient funds. Please remember that the school reserves the right to cancel or postpone the trip or workshop if there are insufficient voluntary contributions. 

We hope this is helpful to you in your financial planning. We are looking forward to some exciting experiences. Please don't hesitate to contact us if you have any questions. 

Year 6 Stubbington Residential

Year 5 Space Dome Workshop

Year 5 pupils from Rooksdown and Greenbank had a wonderful time in the Space Dome earlier this term. They were fascinated by the display of stars and planets and enjoyed spotting the different constellations in the night sky. The immersive experience really captured their attention and encouraged them to think more deeply about what they were seeing.

They asked lots of thoughtful and curious questions, such as how stars are formed, why some constellations are easier to see than others, and what it might be like to travel to different planets. It was clear that they were making links with what they already knew while also showing a genuine eagerness to learn more.

The visit gave the children an excellent introduction to their topic on Space and has sparked plenty of interest and excitement. 

Year 4 Dental Hygienist Visitor

Year 6 WW2 Dance Workshop

"The World War 2 dance workshop was amazing, it wasn't just about the dancing. It was about everyone having fun and working together. This workshop made everyone laugh, it wasn't hard at all, it was really easy. The fun steps in the dances go so well with the beat of the music." Sophia C - Greenbank

"This workshop was amazing. Everyone looked like they loved it! We did an end pose where we could pick each other up, but the learning process was really easy for all of us." Kye J - Greenbank

"On Wednesday, we had a World War 2 dance workshop and a lady taught us the Lindy Hop and the Jive . Everyone got into pairs and learnt a routine in time with WW2 style music. I found this activity very enjoyable and would recommend it to anyone who likes dancing." Sofia W – Rooksdown

Year 4 Roman Day

Year 4 had an amazing Roman Day, led by our special visitor, Titus – a Roman soldier who had unfortunately lost his army to the Iceni Tribe! Throughout the day, he put the children through their paces in five stages of Roman training, searching for strong leaders to join his ranks. The children learned to march, handle swords and shields and work as a unit to defend themselves against the ferocious teachers, who attacked with buckets of water!

Back in the classroom, pupils investigated Roman coins before designing and making their own. They also handled a fascinating range of Roman artefacts. In the afternoon, the children had the chance to wear heavy armour and cloaks, try on helmets and even hold javelins, swords and daggers. A particularly exciting moment came when they discovered a mysterious basket left behind by the Iceni Tribe – the children had to decide whether to reveal it to Titus or keep it hidden!

The day was a fantastic way to enrich our History topic on the Romans, and it was wonderful to see so many children come dressed up for the occasion.

In other News.....

Fundraising Friends NEWS!

eSafety

This term, we have joined with the London Grid for Learning and are now able to offer new resources to support your children's online safety at home.

There many different resources available that are updated all year long. 

Some highlights include:

• Gen AI: The Harms Landscape - a prerecorded webinar about new generative AI tools 

• Online Tutoring Guidance - information about finding a tutor and how to ensure they act safely

• Safe Settings for Devices - information for different types of devices and how you can keep children safe using them

• Screentime Guidance - information about how to regulate children's time online

Holiday Camps / Clubs

October Half Term Holiday Club posters - 

• ACE Kids (formly known as SCL Active) @ Rooksdown - ACE Kids October Holiday Club

• ISIS - October Camp Poster

• MAGNA - MAGNA October Holiday Club

• GOL! - October Holiday Camp

Our School