Newsletter - 15th December 2023

Furze Platt Infant School

Christmas Celebrations at FPIS!

Our last few weeks this term have been filled with Christmas events and celebrations, which you can read all about below. This time of year is so magical for our young children and it is so lovely to be part of all their excitement and wonder. During the lead up to the festive period our children have participated in some very exciting and memorable experiences in school. They have worked together to master new songs, actions and words for performances, been busy learning and have had lots of fun too.

A big thank you to Mr Thompson for welcoming everyone into school this morning with a selection of Christmas songs played on his cornet. We were also lucky enough to have an encore at the end of our special assembly this morning.

Thank you for your help and support in making this term such a successful and happy one for our children. We are very proud of how hard they have worked and how much they have achieved so far. We are all excited to see what 2024 brings!

On behalf of the staff team, a huge thank you also to you all for your kind words, Christmas cards and gifts. They have been much appreicated by us all.

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and we look forward to welcoming our children and families back to school in the New Year!

With very best wishes

Jane Indge

Head of School

Staffing Update

We said goodbye to Miss Parsons, Caterpillar Class Teacher earlier this week as she leaves us to focus upon her family commitments. Miss Parsons joined us as Caterpillar Class teacher in 2019 and has also more recently been actively involved with our Eco Team. We wish her all the very best for the future.

We are absolutely delighted that Mrs Ratcliffe will be taking on the role of teaching Caterpillar Class in January. As you may know, Mrs Ratcliffe is a very experienced and familiar member of the staff team here at FPIS, who knows our school and the children very well indeed. We are looking forward to welcoming Mrs Ratcliffe to her new role next term and I'm sure she will be an asset to the Early Years team.

Mrs Ashok, Teaching Assistant and Lunchtime Controller in Year 2 will also be leaving us at the end of term to take up an exciting full-time new opportunity. Mrs Ashok has been part of the team here for more than 4 years and I am sure she will be missed by us all. We would like to wish her every success with her new role.

Quick Links

Website

Curriculum

Lunch menu

Term Dates

Well-being

Calendar

Diary dates - coming up soon!

Here is a look at what's going to be happening in school during the next few weeks...

Friday 15th December - Term ends

Wednesday 3rd January - INSET day (school closed)

Thursday 4th January - Spring Term starts - school opens at 8:50 am

Monday 8th January - Balanceability sessions - Early Years children

Tuesday 16th January - Asthma Coffee Morning: 9:00 - 10:00 am

Wednesday 31st January - Year 2 Busy Learning Afternoon: 2:00 - 3:00 pm

Thursday 1st February - Year 1 Busy Learning Afternoon: 2:00 - 3:00 pm

Friday 2nd February - NSPCC Number Day

Friday 2nd February - Early Years Busy Learning Afternoon: 2:00 - 3:00 pm

Thursday 8th February - Primary dance Festival (Beech Class): 9:00 am - 2:30 pm

Friday 9th February - Term ends

Monday 12th - Friday 16th February - Half term holiday (school closed)

Monday 19th February - Term starts

Tuesday 22nd February - Early Years Mastering Number Parent Workshop: 2:00 - 3:00 pm

Thursday 24th February - Early Years Mastering Number Parent Workshop: 2:00 - 3:00 pm

School Attendance

SAM - our School Attendance Mascot, is our FPIS teddy bear who helps our children think about why it is so important to attend school every day.

Our children are busy learning right from the start of the day, so being in class on time each morning matters just as much too. Registration begins at 8:50am and we expect all children to be in class by 9:00am.

Each week, during our Celebration Assembly, the attendance figures are shared. The class with the best attendance overall gets to look after SAM until the following week.

SAM will be spending his Christmas holiday in Hazel Class who had 97.7% attendance overall. Well done!

Our latest school attendance figures for each class are shown in the table. Our school attendance target is: 97%

You can read our full Attendance Policy here.

Hazel 97.7%

Holly 97.3%

Dragonfly 96.5%

Bumblebee 95.3%

Caterpillar 95.0%

Oak 93.0%

Willow 93.0%

Silver Birch 90.0%

Beech 88.7%

FPIS SEND Signpost

FPPF Well-Being Warriors

Our two schools have combined together to create a team of Well-Being Warriors with the aim to focus on well-being for the children, staff and our families.

The staff team has representatives from different roles across the schools - Mrs Barker, Mrs Singh, Mr Wallace, Mrs B and Mr Lutteman (FPJS) and they are joined by five year 6 pupils who have recently completed Royal borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Well-Being Champions training.

We will be sharing our plans in newsletters but we wanted to let you know a few of our upcoming events and ideas aimed at supporting our children’s’ Mental Health and Well-Being.

Firstly, we will be organising a special day during National Children’s Mental Week (5th-11th February) for the children to take part in sessions such as Mindfulness and Yoga. The theme this year is ‘My Voice Matters’ and assemblies and sessions will be focused on this theme. More information to follow.

We will also be launching our new FPPF Well-Being Challenges, based around the main six pillars of well-being; Take Notice, Give, Learn, Active, Care and Connect. More information will follow on how you and your child can take part in challenges through the year to not only gain rewards in school but also help support each and everyone’s well-being.

For families, we want to draw your attention to our websites where we have some information that may be of use to you. We will be adding to this as the year progresses so please do send in any links or information that you feel may be useful to other families.

Finally, please do remember that there is always someone here if you need to talk to someone or need someone’s help. Mrs B, our Family Support worker, is always happy to meet with families to help them through challenges in their lives, especially at this time of year. The festive season can be difficult for some families so please do seek support if you need it.

Our KS1 Log Park - NOW OPEN!

As you may well have seen, we have re-opened our Log Park area on the main playground following the recent installation of new equipment.

The trim trail has three new pieces of equipment: a wobbly log traverse, a platform to platform tightrope crossing and a horizontal climbing wall. There is also a cosy den for the children to use. We also now have a set of 'Get, Set, Go!' blocks for the children to balance on and climb over.

On the main playground itself, we have a new creative area with giant-sized chalkboard, weaving panel and whiteboard.

The children also now have some beautiful outdoor musical instruments: a group batonka, a musical triad, freestanding chimes and giant xylophone - as well as five drum seats. Perfect for impromptu performances!

After months of planning and raising funds to pay for this project, our year 1 and 2 children were so excited to see the equipment being installed - and to finally be able to use it!

We would like to thank local charity Spore, Merry and Rixman as well as our fantastic FPSA for helping to fund this project. We are so grateful that our children have such an amazing space and equipment to use.

Thank you also to our parents who helped cut fabric strips for the children to use for weaving :)

Children in Need 2023 Update -

We are delighted to let you know that our CIN 2023 fundraising total is an impressive £586!

Thank you to everyone for your support :)

Christmas Jumper Day 2023

We had a very colourful, sparkly array of festive jumpers all around our school to show our support for Christmas Jumper Day on Friday 8th December.

As a Federation, we raised an staggering

£812

for Save the Children. Your generosity will help children in the UK and around the world facing serious issues like war, hunger and poverty get the best future ever.

Thank you for your support!

Jack and the Beanstalk pantomime

To launch our festive celebrations, the whole school were able to enjoy 'Jack and the Beanstalk' pantomime. There were lots of laughs, singing and "it's behind you!'.

What a great way to get everyone into the festive spirit!

KS1 Christmas Performance

We were so proud of all the Key Stage 1 children for doing such a brilliant job in our Christmas performance: A King is Born.

The year 1 children performed their songs beautifully, the year 2 children remembered their lines, songs and actions. The stage hands and musicians were amazing too!

Thank you to everyone who came to watch us and supported us!

KS1 Christmas Assembly

We were delighted to welcome back Wayne Dixon, from Christian Connections in Schools (CCIS) for a very special Christmas Assembly for our Year 1 and 2 children. Wayne delighted the children by performing a Rap which retells the Christmas Story. The children had the opportunity to join in with the chorus, which was great fun!

FPJS Christmas Guitar Concert

Mr Hastings and the young guitarists from FPJS joined us for a very special festive concert on Thursday morning this week. The children, from Years 3, 4, 5 and 6, played a selection of Christmassy songs for us to enjoy. Our children really loved listening to the performance - and all sang along very enthusiastically when Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer was played!

A surprise message from the National Elf Service!

The children were surprised to receive a personalised video message from Santa's Elves yesterday. Mary Twinkletoes, Head Elf at the North Pole, shared a story all about her fellow elves Nutmeg, Ginger and Sprinkles. The children were very surprised to learn that one of the elves had even been to visit our school (in secret, of course!) The elf certainly seemed to know lots about FPIS and what our children have been doing this term!

After the children had watched the message, there was one final surprise for them all as a special delivery arrived - with a Christmas gift for every child in our school!

Our thanks to the FPSA for helping to provide this very special experience for our children :)

Early Years Busy Learning- Christmas Workshop

On the 30th of November we were excited to welcome our Early Years parents and carers to our Christmas Workshop and Busy Learning afternoon. Following an 'Early Reading, Writing and Phonics' presentation in the hall our parents joined their children in their classrooms to make Christmas decorations. Our Bumblebees, Caterpillars and Dragonflies threaded beads onto pipe cleaners to make candy cane decorations for the school Christmas tree. Many of the children also made stars and springy Christmas trees with the help of their grown-ups. Thank you to all that attended, it was a great start to our Christmas celebrations.

Early Years Tooth Brushing Challenge

Following a week learning about oral hygiene our Bumblebees, Caterpillars and Dragonflies were excited to take home toothpaste, a new toothbrush and their own toothbrushing timer. We set them a toothbrushing challenge to use their timer to brush their teeth for two minutes, twice a day. They have been posting their photos, showing sparkly teeth on Seesaw and receiving a sticker as a reward! Well done Early Years, you have been Toothbrushing Experts and a big thanks to parents for your support with this.

Early Years Christmas Performance

Last Friday our Bumblebees, Caterpillars an Dragonflies performed their Christmas concert to their parents, carers and lots of grandparents too! They looked adorable dressed in Christmas tree, stars and reindeer hats that they had created for the show. They entertained us all with their Christmas songs and dances. Thank you to the Early Years team for their support and a very big thank you to Mrs Odeniyi and Miss Turner who accompanied them brilliantly on the keyboard and guitar.

Well done Early Years, you put on a fabulous show and we were all incredibly proud of you!

Year 1 Excellent Ending: Windsor Castle Trip

To end our Autumn term project 'Super-Duper Heroes!' the year 1 children visited Windsor Castle.

We had such a fun day and were so excited to see that the King was in Windsor Castle when we first arrived, we made sure that we waved and said hello as we were walking around the castle!

We had a jam-packed day of activities which included: visiting St. George's Chapel, looking at the Guards and watching them change, marching like soldiers around Windsor Castle and visiting the State Apartments.

Each class also took part in an 'All about Castles' workshop where we learnt about the history of Windsor Castle starting all the way back to when it was first built! We got to learn about how and why castles were built and the important defence systems around the castle too.

A great day was had by all, and it was a wonderful way to finish our project and consolidate everything we had learnt about Windsor Castle and the Royal Family.

Nurture Group

We have been very busy in nurture doing lots of art-based activities. In connection with the current super-heroes topic, we made our very own Scots Guard using plenty of tissue paper, paint and gold card having first drawn round one of our children.

We now have a new winter board in the room and we have added some snowmen, robins and holly to it. In addition, we have made some new paper chains and the morning nurture group added some new displays to our side door window.

Continuing with the art theme, we have been making lovely artwork for the walls creating impressive initials using watercolours and masking tape.

The nurture team would like to wish all families a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

School Council

School Council have been busy over the past few weeks helping to make bright, colourful posters to advertise our Christmas Fair!

We put a poster in every classroom to help encourage more people to attend and we had an amazing turnout!

We hope our posters caught your attention!

Eco Team

We have been collecting our batteries for the Great Big Battery Hunt next year. Thank you for those that have been collecting them and we are really pleased to let you know that we have collected 197 to date. Please keep collecting all types of batteries and hand to your class teachers as each battery is worth money for our school and we are also helping to look after our environment by recycling them.

We have audited our workshop area and have decided to recycle as much as we can so Eco club have taken on the responsibility of cutting down waste and recycling scrap paper to help stock our classrooms. This will be an ongoing project of ours. We have been learning how to use the guillotine safely!

We would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Don't forget to recycle over the Christmas period!

Awesome achievements!

We love finding out about and celebrating our children's achievements outside of school!

If your child has an achievement that they are very proud of and would like to share with us all, they will get the opportunity to do so during our Celebration Assembly on a Friday.

Congratulations to Iasonas who is proudly wearing his football medal. "I got it for great listening skills." Excellent work Iasonas!

Well done to Ella for receiving her certificate and badge for making her Rainbow Promise. We are very proud of you Ella!

Congratulations to Freddie who has completed his level 1 swimming where he had to swim in the deep end! He was also awarded a medal at football club for, "Helping the coaches and doing good listening!" Well done Freddie!

Congratulations to Florence who has achieved level 2 in swimming. "I had to do a roll and a handstand under the water and backstroke." Well done Florence!

Congratulations to Sarayu for being chosen as 'Star of the Week' at gymnastics. "I did a really good handstand!" Well done Sarayu!

Congratulations to Ella (again!) for receiving 3 medals in kickboxing! Well done Ella, what great determination!

Hannah got a level 1 water skills certificate for doing "good swimming". She was very excited and proud to share it during assembly. Well done Hannah!

Well done to Florence for being awarded 'Star of the Week' at gymnastics! "I did a back flip into a cartwheel." Many congratulations Florence!

Ara got her level 1 certificate for trying her hardest with her swimming! She showed her swimming teacher some brilliant skills and said "my teacher was impressed."

Barney got a purple wristband for playing at Maidenhead Rugby and scoring three tries! What an incredible athlete!

Isla has been working hard and listening carefully during swimming and has successfully swam 10 metres! Fantastic work Isla!

Deekshana has been super brave to get her Level 2 swimming certificate by jumping in the pool. Amazing athletic skills Deekshana!

Isla-Rose took part in the Santa Fun Run and had to run for a whole hour! Amazing work Isla-Rose, well done!

Olivia has been diligently attending Rainbows and recieved the Bronze Award for attending every event and engaging with passion and enthusiasm. Well done Olivia!

Daisy achieved Star of the Week at gymnastics for doing a straight handstand and landing a backflip- fabulous work Daisy!

George achieved a Level 2 certificate in swimming. He has been listening carefully and trying his hardest in every lesson! Excellent work George, keep it up!

Aarya has worked hard in Little Tanks drama class and has received her certificate for bravely saying her line during their performance. She has also been an athlete and been given a medal for her football skills. Great job Aarya!

Well done to Eva who is proudly sharing her Level 10 swimming certificate and two gymnastics medals! One for taking part and the other a second place silver medal for her bar skills! Congratulations Eva!

Joseph was proud to achieve a medal and WOW card for gymnastics. He had given 100% effort and impressed his coach with his vaulting skills.

Mia received a badge from Rainbows for visiting the cinema with her Rainbow friends. She really enjoyed the movie.

Lillie has been super busy and has also been awarded a swimming certificate. "I got this for going under water and getting things which had sunk to the bottom of the pool." Well done Lillie!

Well done to Lillie who has received a medal for completing a gymnastics competition. "I had to do a cartwheel into a lunge". Great job!

Well done to Liliana who has received two awards for gymnastics. "I got my medal for doing a back flip and I also got the Judge's award during a competition." Well done Liliana, we are really proud of you!

Madeleine has received a gymnastics medal for all her incredible work at her competition and the Judges Choice award for her routine! Well done Madeleine!

Adela made her Rainbow promise and she received her Bronze Award. She has also received lots of badges from Rainbows which shows what a Superstar she is!

Isabelle has received the Star of the Week certificate from gymnastics. She has been focussing on her gymnastics routine for a competition. Well done!

Maisie has received this award for all her hard work at Gymnastics! She was an excellent support to her sister and cheered her on with each step!

Albert has been working incredibly hard on his swimming and has been awarded his Level 1 Certificate! Well done, Albert!

Sophie has been very busy this half term and has received two awards! Firstly, for her excellent efforts in Football and also for completing her 5 Metre swimming challenge! Well done!

Sophie completed her Level 4 in swimming and was awarded a certificate for all her efforts. Well done Sophie!

Poppy received these awards for all her hard work in Gymnastics! She even won the Highest Scorer Trophy! Well done, Poppy!

Bella-Rose received a Certificate of Achievement for being Star of the Week at gymnastics! Well done!

Alexandra competed in a gymnastics competition and received a medal for good listening. She has worked hard on her forward and backwards rolls. She also received a certificate for participating in the end of term drama show. Well done, Alexandra!

Congratulations to Ben who is very proudly wearing his football medal. "I got this for great sportsmanship!" Well done Ben, excellent effort!

Isabelle is also proudly sharing her certificate she has received for working hard during sewing this term. Well done!

Holden has received a medal for helping his friends during football. What a star!

Ellie participated in a gymnastics competition and received a medal for her efforts. Well done!

Matthew received a certificate for completing his first term of tennis. He also received another certificate for participating in the end of term drama performance. Well done!

Congratulations to Benjamin for receiving his football medal for fantastic listening! Well done Benjamin!

Amber has completed Stage 2 swimming level and received a certificate and a badge for her efforts. Well done, Amber!

House Points

Draco win the House Cup!

Our congratulations to Draco House Team for earning the most house points overall this half term - an fantastic 605!

A super team effort - well done everyone!

Head of School Awards

Every Friday, during our whole school Celebration Assembly, Head of School awards are given out to a child or children in each class. The certificates are presented by Mrs Indge to those children who have consistently demonstrated excellent behaviours for learning.

Head of School Awards 15th December.pdf

SuperPoWeR Awards

Miss Dexter pops on her Superhero cape each week during Celebration Assembly to present our SuperPoWeR awards. The awards are given to children who have been demonstrating excellent behaviour through our school values of Passion, Well being and Respect.

Book Bingo

Every week, during our Head of School Assembly, a bingo ball is selected from our special red bag. The bingo balls are numbered 1 - 30. Each child in Year 1 and 2 with the corresponding register number to the ball chosen will have the opportunity to bring their Maths book and Project scrapbook to share with Mrs Indge and Miss Dexter later that week. During the Book Bingo session, the children spend time looking through the books together with the adults, whilst discussing and explaining what they have been busy learning about.

FPSA update

Christmas Fair

The Christmas Fair was back on Saturday 2nd December and 100's of families joined in the fun which took place at both schools. Just before the fair opened, fair goers were treated to some singing by Furze Platt Junior School Choir in the Infants shelter and inside the hall, St Sebastian Wokingham Brass Band joined us and played some lovely carols.

Stalls at the Infants school included the popular kids tombola, hook a duck, pick a card, the secrets room, arcade basketball, name the giant teddy (his name turned out to be 'Terry' by the way!) and the nearly new stall amongst others. Over at the Juniors school, there was the adults tombola, tuck shop, pocket money stall, Lego water pong and the tea, coffee & cake stall. The FPSA ran a winter BBQ in the year 6 courtyard together with warm mulled wine. Topped off with the beauty room and Santa's grotto, there was fun for all the family.

The FPSA would like to thank all the people who contributed to the fair whether that was through donations, helping setting up or running a stall for an hour or two (or three in some cases!). The fair has raised around £7.600, money which will be split between both schools. Roll on Christmas Fair 2024!

Junior School Discos

The Junior School discos were back on the 8th December with DJs King and Sawle playing the tunes in the hall. Years 3 and 4 went first followed by the year 5 and 6 disco. Some great dancing and singing went on with a huge cheer for 'Merry Christmas Everyone' by Shakin' Stevens.

The FPSA would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who supported our events in 2023 and we look forward to another year of fundraising fun in 2024. Happy Christmas all.

Dates for your diary:

Adults' Disco - Friday 9th February (TBC)
Mr T's Quiz Night - Friday 22nd March (TBC)
FPSA AGM - w/c Monday 25th March (TBC)

Useful Information for Parents and Families

Pearson National Teaching Awards

2024 entries are now open for the Pearson National Teaching Awards. The 'Unsung Hero' Award is the only award open to nominations from parents/carers and pupils. Judged by a panel including BBC The One Show’s Alex Jones, this award shines a spotlight on unsung heroes - from stand-out teachers, friendly caretakers, lunchtime controllers to brilliant school office receptionists.

If you'd like to, you can send a nomination via the link below:

https://www.teachingawards.com/parents-page-the-unsung-hero-award/

Be Safe this Winter when Cycling- information for pupils and parents.pdf

Christmas-childrens-book-gifts-2023-Age-5-7.pdf

Sheet Street Surgery Commuity Health Initiative -Healtheir Together October 2023 .pdf

Half Term & Christmas Gymnastics & Trampolining Oct 2023.pdf

Page updated

Report abuse