Message from Mr Wallace

January has definitely not been a 'blue' month at FPJS with exciting events including TT Rockstars day, Viking day, Greek day, Egyptian day and Safer Internet day all in the space of a week! What a fabulous end to this term! Thank you to all the staff that have planned these curricular events and ensured that the children had such wonderful experiences linked to their learning. 

As you may be aware, we are sad to say that Mrs Winter, one of our PE coaches and a Higher Level Teaching Assistant in year 6, has left FPJS to start a new job elsewhere. Mrs Winter has been a fabulous member of this team; from supporting in class, to covering lessons, to her role as PE coach and for all the support with extra curricular sports.  We made sure that we thanked her for all that she has done and wished her well in the next step of her career. 

From after half term, PE lessons will change a little. To fill the gap left by Mrs Winter and to keep PE being such an important subject to inspire and engage the children in, the lessons previously taught by Mrs Winter will now be taught by some of the teachers alongside Miss Gill still teaching her lessons. This will help build the PE team, ensure the continuation of high-quality lessons and also ensure that the children have a familiar person delivering their lessons. Very exciting times for PE at FPJS!

Department For Education Attendance Campaign

The Department For Education has launched a toolkit to help schools and families improve the attendance of our children.  The attendance tag line is

“From the first day of term to the last, the small moments in a school day make a real difference to your child. #AttendanceCounts” 

Alongside this, the Department For Education have also asked us to signpost families to the following document from the NHS:

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

We all know how important it is to have the children in school as often as possible and there is a clear link between attendance and attainment. The Department For Education have released these headline figures:

• In 2018/19, just 40% of persistently absent (PA) children in KS2 achieved expected KS2 standards, compared with 84% of pupils who were regular attenders. 

But attendance is important for more than just attainment: 

• Regular school attendance can facilitate positive peer relationships, which is a protective factor for mental health and wellbeing.

As a Federation, we want all our children to be in school so that they can be part of the wonderful opportunities that we provide. We do understand that children can get ill and that there are other times when children cannot be in school. To support children attending school, we will continue to alert families if their child's attendance is a concern and we will work with families to help their child to attend school. Being in school is more than about just academic progress; it is also the social interactions, the wow moments that create memories and the feeling of belonging in a large group of peers. Thank you for supporting your child attending school.

It leaves me to wish you all a relaxing and enjoyable half term. 

Stars of the week - Class Stars & PE Stars

Sports Update

Year Group Updates

Year 3- What are we learning?

Ask your child the following questions to see what they have learnt over the last few weeks!:

1. Who discovered the tomb of Tutankhamen? 

2. What stitches have your learned in DT?

3. What would you see, smell, touch, taste or hear at a theme park?

Year 4- What are we learning?

Ask your child the following questions to see what they have learnt over the last few weeks:

1. Can you name one piece of stereotypical Viking clothing that they didn't actually wear?

2. What is a balanced argument?

3. How do you figure out the perimeter of a rectilinear shape? 

Year 5  - What are we learning?

Ask your child the following questions to see what they have learnt over the last few weeks:

• How are Sikh stories important today? 

• What are the different ways to group materials?

• What effect does the Ancient Greek civilisation have on us today? 

Year 6- What are we learning?

Ask your child the following questions to see what they have learnt over the last few weeks!:

• What is natural selection?

• What are your subheadings for your encyclopaedia? 

FPSA Updates

SEND Updates

Other Useful Information For Parents