Hottest Ever End To The Year!

Well that has most definitely got to be the hottest end to any year I've ever experienced at FPJS! Despite the scorching temperatures and disruption in the final days, it has been such a brilliant term with lots of exciting opportunities for the children. Read all about the Y4 Longridge trip below, the Y5 trip to Cadbury World and of course the amazing Y6 production- which I unfortunately missed due to having covid once again!

As with the end of any academic year, it is always tinged with sadness with saying goodbye to our leavers. Our Current Year 6 have been through such a lot of change. They entered the school in times before Covid hit us, where they had a “normal” Year 3. From then on, there has been much disruption to their schooling years- they had anything but a “normal” Year 4 and Year 5, and even though we have returned to some kind of normality in their final year at the school, there has been much pressure on this year group to “catch up”, complete the SATs tests and be secondary ready all the while battling further covid absences, wind disruption and the hottest days we have experienced ever!

We are also saying goodbye this year to many established members of staff who have all helped to play a part in making FPJS the great school that is has become over the years. Mrs Fraser has simply been the font of all knowledge in the office and we shall miss her calm, smiling demeanor. Mrs Lawrence-Davis , Miss Kent and Mrs Hooper have been brilliant teachers who we will miss very much and will no doubt will take away many experiences from FPJS which will help them to develop their new primary schools. Saying goodbye to Miss Johnson has also been incredibly hard today after many years of giving our Y6 children have the best final year they could in such a fun way. No doubt Miss Johnson will be a fantastic addition to her new school where she embarks on a differerent challenge- teaching design and technology to secondary school pupils.

Thank you to every parent for all the support you have given us this year- it has not been an easy year as we adjust to live after the pandemic for many reasons, and as I found out this week, Covid hasn't gone away either! Goodbye to all the Y6 families who have reached the end of their FPJS journey, we hope you look back and remember us fondly! We look forward to seeing the Y3-5 children on the first day back in September (Friday 2nd).

We wish everyone a super summer holiday!

Anna Clark- Head of School

Message from our Chair of Governors

At the end of every school year governors, we take time to reflect on what the

schools have achieved and what we could have done to make things even better,

both collectively and through our individual efforts. We look at our goals from the

previous year and reflect on what we have achieved.

It has been great to have been in school for a whole year after the previous two

years of lockdowns and remote learning. During our school visits it has been really

inspiring to see a real hunger and enthusiasm to learn. It is infectious and in no small

part down to our great team of teachers. Seeing them in action, witnessing the skill

and dedication they bring into the classroom on ‘just another day at the office’ is

truly inspiring for the future generation of learners.

FPPF is a family, and the work of the support staff is equally important in making the

school what it is. We are, as governors consistently impressed by how well the

schools are run. At the time of writing, I’m looking forward to attending all the events

which the end of the academic year brings, performances, assemblies and so on.

Our continued thanks must also go to FPSA who provide that extra amount of

funding to provide the pupils with the best environment possible within the school.

Can I also on behalf of you all thank Mr. Wallace and the whole staff for another

amazing year, we hope that everyone enjoys their summer break and we look

forward to the new academic year with great hopes and plans to continue the great

work of our schools.

Derek Moss, Chair of Governors

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FPJS News

Commonwealth Baton Run

To celebrate a Home Commonwealth Games this year, schools around Maidenhead replicated the Queen's Baton Relay that is currently travelling around the Commonwealth countries carrying the Queen's message to be read at the Opening Ceremony in Birmingham in July. On Tuesday 12th July, the Baton arrived at FPJS, to our cheering crowd, and was officially handed over to our Baton Bearers, Jude and Archie (Y6 pupils). An inspirational message, written by the head students, was then read out, and put inside the the baton to take on to the next school- Cookham Dean. Jude, Archie, accompanied by Mrs Tisshaw, Mrs Charles and Mrs Francis made the 2.4 mile journey across the fields to Cookham Dean to pass over the baton and eat cake! In addtion to this, the lucky Baton bearers also went to a closing ceremony at Braywick and listened to inspirational talks from athletes who have won Olympic medals. They also made a guard of honour the previous week to welcome the Queen's baton to Maidenhead.

Y4 Trip to Longridge

Wow, what a way to end a year! Year 4 have spent 2 scorching half days at Longridge this week participating in some fabulous activities including kayaking, paddle boarding, and laser tag to name a few! We have seen the children have so much fun, solve problems and work together brilliantly to overcome fears and achieve some tricky challenges. We hope you enjoyed it!

Y6 Production: Star Warts

Surely the lights of the West End beckon for many of our year sixes after amazing performances in this years musical production "Star Warts". Despite coping with some of the most challenging temperatures this year, they donned their costumes determined that the show must go on. Not only did they act ,and sing but the pupils also ran the sound effects , the microphones and the lights as well as moving the scenery and checking props.

A great time was had by all who saw it and it was all "stars " and no "warts". Well done to everyone involved and the year 6 team and other teachers who supported the production helping with props, costumes and staging.

A great way to send year 6 off in style !

Y5 Trip to Cadbury world

Year 5 had a very early start on Wednesday 6th July for our visit to Cadbury World. During the day, the children toured the factory learning about the history of chocolate and how it goes from a cocoa bean to a chocolate bar. Everyone had a go at writing their names in liquid chocolate before tasting some fresh from the production line. We also took part in a very informative workshop all about the Maya people and how they lived. The children impressed the staff at Cadbury World with their excellent understanding of the Maya number system and learnt much more about Maya texts and their religious beliefs. We were very impressed with the children's excellent behaviour throughout the visit and how sensibly and politely they conducted themselves, especially in the shop. I sincerely hope that some of the chocolate purchased made it back to the children's families so they got to enjoy part of the day too!

Guitar concert

Well done to all our FPJS guitarists who have been practising hard all year with and put on a great end of year concert last week. Mr Hastings, guitar teacher for many years, was thrilled with the quality of the children's performance. They played a range of tunes, finishing with the popular "Banana Splits". Special mention to Lucas and Eduardo both in Eagle class who played a duet and a solo in the concert. Brilliant work guitarists and a huge thank you to Mr Hastings!

Staff Update

Meet our classes and staff team for next year! We have a few further additions to the team:

Mrs Cosser (pictured below in Kingfisher class): Mrs Cosser is a highly experienced teacher who has worked in a number of schools in RBWM and we are delighted that she has chosen to join our team. She will work on a part-time basis, sharing Kingfisher class with Miss Scott.

We also welcome a few additions to our TA team: Miss Foudi, Miss Jordan and Mrs Ayton (who the children will already be familiar with as she is part of our lunchtime team) will also be joining us in September.

We have had a number of parents who have enquired how our classes are organised for September. Ultimately, we want to ensure all the classes are balanced in as many ways as possible: by attainment, by gender and by learning attitude. However, we also do take into account friendships and try to ensure all children are with at least one friend. It is not possible to accommodate every request made to us- for example, requesting a particular teacher or asking for a child to NOT be with another child. It is simply not possible to organise 3 classes across a year group to meet every request. We also try to mix the children each year to enable them to form new friendships over the course of their time at the school. If you are worried about your child's class next year, please do give them time to settle in September. We only move children from one class to another in exceptional circumstances and this is only possible if there is a space in that class. Thank you for your support in this.

Stars of the week & Progress Prizes for the Year

Star of the week newsletter 17 2022

TT Rockstars - who are the top ten of the year?

As you are aware, Times Tables rock stars are very important at FPJS. We regularly celebrate those who have the fastest scores, who have made the progress or have won the weekly "battle of the bands" competition. This week's update shows the children who have made it to the hall of fame of the 10 fastest children in the school, with their lightning speed times, the top ten in each year group, and the top ten children across the school who have made the most progress since September. Well done to the whole school for their involvement this year- all of the children's efforts have ensured we are in the top 10 of nearby schools- finishing in 7th place!

Year Group Updates

Year 3- final farewell!

Wow! What an amazing year! We're so incredibly proud of everything that you have achieved. Your independence and resilience have really developed and you are definitely different children than those who joined us in September.

This week we've been sewing, sewing, sewing to get our lovely book marks finished. These lessons have really shown us just how independent you have become and fantastically you work as a team - we have seen some brilliant team work in these technology lessons.

In science, we completed our final investigation into shadows and learnt about sun safety - very fitting for the beautiful weather we've been enjoyed.

Our English lessons have seen us finish the story Night Sky Dragons and discover Yazul's plot to save the Han.

As well as all this, we have seen you visit your new year group and teachers. We will certainly be sad to see you leave year 3 but we can see how ready you are to continue your growth and are so proud of each and every child.

Well done year 3 and best of luck in year 4!

Mrs Lawrence-Davis Y3 Team Leader

Year 4- final farewell!

How is it possible that another year has come to an end?! What a wonderful year it has been. The changes and growth that we have seen in you all since September has been incredible and it has been a pleasure to watch you all mature and learn so much - we are so very proud of each and every one of you.

Hopefully you have had a chance to watch some of our 'Welcome to Year 4' videos on Seesaw. This has been an incredible project for the children - they have written scripts, filmed themselves, created their own music and used iPads to edit their movies. They really are amazing.

We have been completing some maths challenges this week involving lots of team work and using some shady spots around the school! It has been lovely to see such great collaborative working and thinking outside the box.

We finished off our term with our great team building activity days at Longridge, which I know the children absolutely loved.

Well done year 4, it has been such a joy teaching you this year and we wish you every success in year 5. Have a great summer!

Mrs Barbosa, Y4 Team Leader

Year 5- final farewell!

I can't believe we have reached the end of the year already! It seems like only yesterday when the Year 5s joined us. However, since then they have worked so hard and increased their levels of independence immeasurably. Well done Year 5, you have done all of the staff and yourselves proud!

To finish off the year in maths, the children have been creating their own mathematically themed board games. This has included thinking carefully about how they would like their game to be structured and the types of mathematical challenge they would like to incorporate. The children have thoroughly enjoyed completing these followed by playing them all and testing their knowledge!

In English, the children have finalised their excellent nonsense poems which have been set to the music they have composed themselves. They sound fantastically eerie and sinister. We hope you have enjoyed listening to them on Seesaw.

As part of our history work, the children have been reflecting on their visit to Cadbury World and focusing on all the learning they have acquired about the Maya people. Following this and all of the work we have been doing this term, the children have been answering the question - Were the Maya people the most advanced ancient civilisation? Ask your child to find out their opinion!

It's been a fantastic year of learning and opportunities in Year 5. The children tell me their highlights have been performing A Midsummer Night's Dream, Ancient Greece day, making bread at Furze Platt Senior School, all of the science experiments the children have carried out and of course our recent, delicious visit to Cadbury World.

The Year 5 team would like to wish everyone a lovely summer break and we look forward to seeing the children when they return to start their final year at FPJS!

Mrs Pierron, Y5 Team Leader

Year 6- final farewell!

What a year - it is hard to think back to September but goodness the year has gone quickly and thrown many challenges along the way but our fantastic year 6's have worked hard and done us proud.

The year has been jam packed with Rhos, Bentley Priory, Silverstone, the production, the SATs, the business projects, dance festivals, sports events and the Oscars plus a few lessons that we managed to squeeze in.

From their achievements in the SATs to the year 6 production they have shown us that they are more than ready to move on to new challenges with confidence , independence and resilience and we are so proud of them.

And so this really is my final farewell. If you will allow be a small moment of indulgence : I came here over 20 years ago when the then headteacher let me come for a quick visit for a day to see if I liked the idea of teaching and (apart from a quick stint training as a teacher) I never left. It is really hard to say goodbye but the time has come to return home to Dorset and I have to say thank you to all the pupils, parents and staff who have made my time here so great. It is a brilliant school and the children are very lucky to go here. I wish you all the best and if you are down at beach in Poole or Bournemouth look out for me and say hello.

Miss Johnson- Y6 Team Leader

Books for the summer- GET AHEAD FOR NEXT YEAR

We absolutely love books at Furze Platt Junior School! We love reading for pleasure and we encourage all our children to love books as much as we do. Our teachers are constantly on the lookout for new and exciting reads and we regularly update our library with current reads.

If you are struggling for ideas for your children, here are a brilliant list of possible reads. Remember, you can often get these books from the library. Children love to browse and look through books too - so it is a great summer activity to get into! Try the library challenge too for an added incentive:

This year's theme is gadgeteers- you can find out more at your local library.

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Year 3 suggested reads

Year 4 suggested reads

Year 5 suggested reads

Year 6 suggested reads

Sports Update

PE News

Wow! Another great sporting year at FPJS!

It has been so amazing to finally get back to taking part in numerous competitions this year. We have really packed them in!

To add to these achievements, we have represented the Borough in many events too! As a school, we are committed to attending as many competitions as we can throughout the year. This is a team effort, with help and support from many members of staff and the continued support from our parents. Without this, we wouldn’t be able to do what we do. So Thank You All!

We are really looking forward to September and all that holds for PE sessions in school and all the competitions we will attend.

We would also like to wish all Year 6 good luck at their new schools and keep us updated of all their new sporting achievements.

Have a fantastic Summer.

By Mr Kemp / Mrs Winter

Y5/6 Girls County Cricket

On Tuesday 12th July Mr Kemp and Mr Sawle took two cricket teams over to Wokingham Cricket Club for the Berkshire County Finals. The girls team, consisting of 9 pupils, had a tough group ahead of them facing teams from different areas including the reigning county champions. After a difficult 3 group games unfortunately the team did not progress through to the semi finals but as the day went on the girls cricket was definitely becoming stronger and some outstanding batting was made by all the girls involved. Mr Sawle was pleased with the team's encouragement and support to one another. A special thank you to Sophie (Ellie's mum) who tagged along for this event and helped keep the girls motivated throughout.

Y5/6 Boys County Cricket

Carrying on from Tuesday, FPJS also took a team of 8 boys to the Berkshire County Finals. Fortunately for FP we marginally won the first 2 games, the first game was a tight win by 7 runs, then the second game a more convincing victory by 20 runs. Onto the quarter finals we went where the boys faced a very tactical fielding side in Bradfield School. With some outstanding fielding by the opponents, this meant we had to be right on it when it came to our bowling. With Harry taking 2 wickets in the last 10 balls, as well as some amazing catching by Jack, Vivaan and Max, we were sure to book our place into the semi final spot. Next up was a tough team from Slough called Iqra. With FP winning the toss, we decided to Bat first. Remy opened up the scoring with some lovely shots, as well as hitting a staggering 6 which flew over the spectators watching! It was our time to bowl and the first 20 balls were very well played from the opposition, with FP only leading by 14 runs with a further 20 balls to still be played. Unfortunately the batting was too strong to be contained by a stubborn FP fielding team, and with only 5 balls left we needed 2 wickets to go on and win the game. This however was not meant to be as Iqra went on to win narrowly by 7 runs. After a long entertaining semi final the boys had to regroup as they still had to play their last match of the day which was a 3rd vs 4th place play off decider! With some crucial batting and heavy hitting from Samay, Alex and Rishaan, FP hit over 50 runs from 40 balls delivered. This then only meant one thing: the opposition from Wokingham had to come out all guns blazing and try to score as many runs as possible! However with a dominant bowling display from all of the team, it was inevitable that there would only be one winner. FP had controlled the game from the first ball to the last and ended up winning by a staggering 38 runs. A HUGE WELL DONE AND CONGRATULATIONS to all the boys involved as they came out the 3rd best cricket team in the whole of Berkshire!!

A big thank you also to Jen (Harry's mum) who came out to help and support the team throughout this hot and entertaining event.

Kurling champions!

On Friday 1st July Joseph (Y4) , Ollie (Y6), Luke (Y4) and Richard (Y5)( attended The Berkshire School Games Kurling Festival at Bisham Abbey. The boys took part in four main games in which they quickly took the lead. Team talks and a change of tactics was a helping factor and the boys displayed great team work. So into the Semi finals!

More team talk and coaches talk (Mrs B & Mr Dearnaley)! We made the finals!

The boys were brilliant again but were narrowly beaten to second place by a worthy team. All the boys showed great sportsmanship and were very happy with their silver medals and a trophy for the school.

Thanks also goes to Mrs Talbot who came along and supported the team.

Well done Boys!

Mrs B

new age kurling competition

Last Friday, it was the 5^th FPJ annual New Age Kurling Competition held at Furze Platt Senior School sports hall. 48 pupils took part from all 12 classes across the school. Each team had a year 6 leader: Akhmud, Sophia, Lizzie C, Amaan B, Ollie L, Adam, Rayyan and Ethan HB helping to organise their play as well as take part themselves. Most of Swan class were sports leaders with Harry D as chief score keeper. All the teams played each other in 2 pools and then progressed to finals, with Ethan HB’s team winning the overall competition. It was a lot of fun and excitement as the aiming skills and amazing team work of players meant they knocked out each other’s Kurling stones, landed them on target or cleverly knocked stones into winning positions. We have been playing NAK for over 9 years at our school and it is now becoming an increasingly popular game in all age groups. Thank you to all the adults who came with us to the senior school too. It looked like they would all have loved to have a go too! A brilliant example of team spirit!

Housepoints: Final winners of the year:

Useful Information For Parents

Raring2go magazine- ideas for the summer holidays!

Newsletter 11_07_22.pdf