Embedded Files
Message from Miss Holmes
This week, the children have been developing their understanding of their rights, exploring what it means to be respected, valued and cared for. Through our work with Nick the Rights Respecting Ninja, discussions have focused particularly on every child’s right to relax and play, as well as their right to follow their family’s way of life. The children have shared thoughtful ideas about how we can respect and celebrate the differences that make our school community so special.
Our collective reflections have linked closely to our learning value of Thinking, encouraging the children to consider their own experiences and perspectives while also listening carefully to those of others. It has been wonderful to see the maturity, empathy and curiosity they have shown as they explore these important themes together.
I am also delighted to share that our Learning Values Brick Wall is almost complete. Every brick represents a child demonstrating one of our school values, and it has been wonderful to see just how many examples there are across the school. The wall is a powerful reminder of the way our children live out these values each day, and we are looking forward to holding a whole-school celebration soon to recognise their achievements and the positive contribution they make to our school community.
Learning This Week
Early Years
Early Years
This week has been another very busy week! The children have started to learn the letter sounds in Phonics to help them to read, as well as starting to form letters to help in their writing. They have been looking at the story of the Enormous Turnip, learning about characters, settings and the adventures in the story.
Next week the children will be starting to think about how they have changed since they were babies. We would love to see your child's baby pictures. Please send in a baby picture for us to use in our discussions.
The Daily Echo will be coming in on Monday 5th October to take photos of Blue class and Red class, for their annual "First Class" supplement. Your child must have the appropriate "Press Photos" consent from a parent / guardian to be included; this was taken back when you completed your child's online data collection form when you were offered a place.
You can check your child's consents through Arbor by looking at your child's profile page and scrolling to the bottom. If you wish to change your consent, please do this in writing by sending an email to adminoffice@freegrounds-inf.hants.sch.uk
Key Stage One
Key Stage One
This week in KS1 the children have been excited to continue their learning about The Gunpowder Plot in History. The children this week have explored an image of the plotters making their plan. The children were set a challenge to create a still image of the picture in groups and to discuss what they think the plotters might be saying around the table. They have performed their still image to the class as the teacher asks each child what their character may be saying. After the session the children have concluded the plotters were angry at King James I and understand why they wanted to kill the King at the time.
Key Stage One will be walking to St John's Church in December. If you are available to help walk with the children on the 1st or 4th, please let us know via the sign up form here. You can consent for your child to participate via the Arbor website or app (there is nothing to pay for the trip, and the children will be back at school by lunchtime).
Perform Drama Workshop
All children have attended a workshop today by Perform. Your child will come home with some details of how to book a FREE workshop.
FREG211126.pdfSite Etiquette
As a school we support to the Smartphone Free Childhood campaign that has also been adopted by other local schools. Parents and carers are requested to avoid device use during drop-off and collection times and are forbidden from recording or taking photos of other children to protect privacy and safeguarding. For further information please read the Smart Phone and Device Policy on our website .
Reading Cafes
Following the success of the Reading Café with Year R in the summer term, we are really pleased to continue these special sessions this year. We are excited to welcome parents and carers into school to share our love of reading and enjoy some quality reading time with your child. Reading together is a wonderful way to develop a lifelong love of books, build confidence and create special moments together.
If you are able to attend, please make sure you sign up using the links below. It is important that you complete the correct form for your child's year group to help us plan the sessions.
We look forward to welcoming you and sharing the joy of reading together!
Year 2: Year 2 Reading Café – Fill in form
Parent's Evening
Booking for Parent's Evenings is now open.
You can book a meeting through Arbor for Tuesday 3rd & Thursday 5th November. Please see the office if you are having difficulties making an appointment. Bookings must be made by 9am on Monday 19th October.
Please note there is one slot per child. Separated parents are strongly encouraged to share an appointment, but where this is not possible it will be down to the availability and discretion of the class teacher as to if a second booking may be made.
Red class will see availability for Miss Emery on Tuesday, and Mrs Rigby on Thursday - Please only book one slot, to see one teacher, as any duplicates will be cancelled.
We would like to reiterate the following:
Your parent's evening booking is a 10 minute appointment to discuss how your child has settled in the first term, their current progress in class, and what can be done at home to support them.
If you need to discuss anything else, this should be arranged at another time with your child's class teacher.
Appointments cannot overrun, as this throws out not only the next family due to see your child's teacher, but also has a knock on effect for siblings who are due to see other teachers, and so on.
Please do not be offended if your child's teacher has to end the meeting promptly due to this - each teacher will have up to 15 families to see on each evening!
If you are bringing your child/ren with you, please ensure they do not disturb school resources.
Thank you in advance for your support.
Flu Immunisations
Remember to sign your child up for the Flu vaccine by the 12th October via the website using the details on the attached poster!
FLU Primary school -26 full weblink - Freegrounds Infant School.pdfFISHES News
Class Fundraising
Last week your child came home with their Christmas artwork. This is an opportunity for your to purchase items and gifts with your children's artwork on. Please follow the instructions on the back of the card to place your orders. Items will be delivered to the school and distributed once they arrive. THE DEADLINE TO PLACE ORDERS IS 16TH OCTOBER.
AGM
A huge thank you to everyone who attended our recent F.I.S.H.E.S PTA AGM. It was wonderful to have the opportunity to reflect on another successful year of fundraising and community events.
During the meeting, we looked back at the events held over the past year, shared how the money raised has been spent, and discussed exciting plans for the year ahead. Thanks to the incredible support of our school community, we have been able to fund projects that would not otherwise have been possible through the school's budget, including the sensory room, pond area, outdoor classroom and play trail. This year, we hope to help further develop our library, create a cosy intervention space within the corridor, and provide an outdoor stage and seating areas for the children to enjoy.
Unfortunately, despite discussing succession planning for the end of this academic year, no one came forward to express an interest in taking over any of the committee roles. Organising school events often requires planning many months, and sometimes even a year, in advance. This is why we wanted to give plenty of notice to allow interested parents and carers time to shadow current committee members, learn about the roles and start thinking about taking the PTA forward.
Without new volunteers to take on these positions, there is a real possibility that events such as school fayres, discos, ice cream sales and other fundraising activities may no longer be able to take place after this academic year. This would have a significant impact not only on the social opportunities these events provide for our children and families, but also on the valuable additional funding they generate for the school.
If you have ever considered getting involved, now is the perfect time to find out more. Taking on a role doesn't mean doing everything alone; support, guidance and plenty of shadowing opportunities will be available.
If you would like more information about any of the committee roles or what they involve, please pop into the school office or email freegroundsfishes@gmail.com. We'd be delighted to have a chat and answer any questions.
Together, we can ensure that F.I.S.H.E.S continues to make a positive difference for our children for many years to come.
Laser Show - Saturday 17th October
🌟 The Countdown Is On – Just 2 Weeks Until Our Laser Show! 🌟
🌟 The Countdown Is On – Just 2 Weeks Until Our Laser Show! 🌟
We are incredibly excited that the F.I.S.H.E.S Laser Show is now just two weeks away!
This year, we are delighted to be welcoming Fusion Events, who will be putting on a spectacular laser show to music, complete with a quiet fireworks finale. We can't wait to see it light up the night sky!
There's plenty happening before the main show starts too, with fun for all ages including:
Axe throwing
Shooting stall
Laser tag
Bouncy castle
Surf simulator
Assault course
And lots more!
We'll also have a DJ helping to get the party atmosphere started throughout the evening.
Feeling hungry or thirsty? We've got you covered with a fantastic range of refreshments, including:
🍔 Burger van
🍕 Pizza
🥔 Jacket potatoes
🍪 Cookies and cakes
🍦 Ice cream van
☕ Coffee van
🍻 Bar
Gates open at 4.30pm, giving everyone plenty of time to enjoy the activities, food and entertainment before the laser show begins at 7.00pm.
🎟️ Tickets are available now from: Buy Laser Show Tickets
Please help us spread the word by sharing this event with your friends, family and the wider community. Everyone is welcome, and every ticket purchased helps raise valuable funds for our school.
We can't wait to see you there for what promises to be a fantastic evening of fun, food and entertainment! ✨🎆
Book Fair
primary-fairs-poster-a3-autumn-sch-2453058.pdfOur popular book fair is back from the 14th - 19th October.
Each class will be given the opportunity to visit the book fair during the school day, but it will also be open after school until 4pm so that family members can come along to browse and purchase books. Cash, card and contactless payments are all available.
If you would like your child to be able to purchase books during the school day (due to afterschool commitments, for example), you can send cash in a named envelope and hand it directly to the class teacher at the start of the fair.
A percentage of the total sales are given back to us to spend on new books for the school, so your support really does matter! Last year the book fair sold over £1200 worth of books, which meant we were able to spend almost £700 on new books!
Harvest Festival
Our annual Harvest Festival will be on Wednesday 21st October. We would be grateful for donations of the following items, which will be collected by Hedge End Food Centre at King's Community Church in Hedge End.
Tinned veg
Tinned fruit
Baked beans
Packet rice
Tinned tomatoes
Washing up liquid
Crackers
Tinned meat
Nut Free School
We would like to remind parents that we are a nut free school. We have members of both the staff and student community who are anaphylactic to nuts of all varieties. This includes obvious things like hazelnut spread in sandwiches, but also many types of cereal bars and biscuits also contain nuts. Please check the ingredients list of all food items that you send into school.
Attendance This Week
If you are struggling to get your child/ren to school on time each day, please do get in touch so we can try to help.
Blue Class - 94.3% attendance with 0 lates
Red Class - 96.6% attendance with 1 late
Orange Class - 95.2% attendance with 0 lates
Purple Class - 90% attendance with 3 lates
Emerald Class - 95.8% attendance with 2 lates
Scarlet Class - 98.3% attendance with 4 lates
Turquoise Class - 97.5% attendance with 5 lates
Attendance Guide for Parents / Carers
What YOU must do:
Try to telephone the school before 8.30am each day of your child’s absence.
Tell the school in advance, of any medical appointments and bring in appointment cards/letters.
If you are not sure whether your child is well enough to attend school, send them in anyway as they often perk up on arrival (see our "Under the Weather" form)
If you and your child are experiencing difficulties with school attendance then talk to us as a first step so we can help!
What WE will do:
Check your child’s attendance every day.
Phone home to discuss your child’s attendance with you.
Invite you into school for attendance meetings if we are concerned.
If we cannot establish a reason for absence, or your child is absent for more than two days then we may make a welfare home visit.
Dates for Your Diary
See the calendar on our website too!
School Dates to Remember
(More information will follow where necessary)
Monday 5th October - Daily Echo taking Class Photos (EYFS only)
Tuesday 6th October - Year R Reading Café - 2.30pm
Thursday 8th October - Individual & Sibling Photos
Monday 12th October - Year 2 Reading Café - 2.30pm
Wednesday 14th - Monday 19th October - Book Fair
Wednesday 14th October - Children's Flu Vaccinations
Friday 16th October - Year 1 Reading Café - 2.30pm
Wednesday 21st October - Harvest Festival
Tuesday 3rd November - KS1 Victorian Day
Tuesday 3rd & Thursday 5th November - Parent's Evenings
Monday 9th November - Toileting Workshop for Parents - 2.30pm
Wednesday 25th November - Sleep Workshop for Parents - 2.30pm
Tuesday 1st December - Purple, Scarlet & Turquoise walk to St John's Church (AM)
Thursday 4th December - Emerald & Orange walk to St John's Church (AM)
Tuesday 15th December - Whole School Christmas Performance (AM & PM)
Wednesday 16th December - Whole School Christmas Performance (AM)
Thursday 17th December - KS1 to Berry Theatre
Thursday 17th December - Christmas Dinner & Christmas Jumper Day
Friday 18th December - Last Day of Term / Christmas Parties
Class Family Collective Reflections
Friday 9th October - Emerald Class
Friday 16th October - Scarlet Class
Thursday 22nd October - Turquoise Class
Thursday 12th November - Orange Class
Friday 13th November - Purple Class
All collective reflections will be in the school hall from 9am
FISHES Events
Thursday 15th October - Bags 2 School Donations / Non Uniform Day
Saturday 17th October - Laser Show
Friday 20th November - Christmas Fayre Donations / Non Uniform Day
Saturday 28th November - Christmas Fayre
Tuesday 3rd December - Christmas Shopping Day
INSET Days 2026/2027
Friday 23rd October
Friday 27th November
Monday 4th January
Friday 28th May
Hampshire term dates are available on the County Council website here.
Head Teacher Awards
Blue Class - Flo for Thinking, Jagoda for Creativity
Red Class - Talia for Resilience, Ava for Respect
Orange Class - Charlotte for Respect, Halle M for Thinking
Purple Class - Darcey for Resilience & Thinking, Bobby for Respect
Emerald Class - Ted and Mia, both for Creativity
Scarlet Class - Hallie & Maria, both for All the Values!
Turquoise Class - Louie for Thinking & Resilience, Ella for Thinking
Fortnightly Right
fortnightly right 28.9.2026 (1).pdfPage updated
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