We are very proud of our school, the children, staff and environment and of course the great support we receive from our parents.
For more information, please visit our full website by clicking here.
In a recent parent questionnaire, parents said the following:
99% of parents say their child is happy at William Barcroft Junior School
98% parents say the school have high expectations
99% of parents said their child does well at school
100% of parents say their child felt safe in our school.
Message from the Principal:
Good afternoon everyone and welcome to this week’s newsletter. It has been a busy fortnight in all year groups, with year 3 enjoying their trips to Farr Ings, year 4 mastering their money topic, year 5 enjoying their DT project on food for astronauts and year 6 giving it their all in their final preparation for SATs next week. We also enjoyed showcasing our garment at the trust Trashion show last week, which despite the weather was a great event to show just what we can do with recycled materials. We’ve also had visitors in school this week to deliver an important road safety
assembly to all pupils.
Just a reminder that next week for those children in years 3,4 and 5, breakfast club will be in the music room. They will need to go in through the music room door please. The hall will be used for Year 6 SATs breakfast club which starts at 8am for all year 6 pupils. No booking or payment is needed for this one. My only other message for our year 6s is to rest and chill out this weekend; no worrying! I am super proud of their efforts and can’t wait to see them all shine next week.
It’s been lovely this week to finally enjoy some sunshine and allow the children to play on the field. Can I ask that as the weather gets warmer, children are sent with sun cream and hats each day please.
Thank you everyone, enjoy reading through the newsletter and have a lovely weekend.
S Sargent
Principal
This year in school, we aim to improve attendance and punctuality as a key priority. Our attendance figures are increasing which means that our children are getting the best opportunities possible whilst they are with us. Thank you to parents for continuing to support school with raising attendance in 2023/2024
Week beginning 29/04/2024
Well done to 3S and 3C for getting 98% this week!
Well done lower school, keep up the good work!
Week beginning 6/05/2024
Well done 6B and 5HS.this week for their fantastic attendance!
Well done everyone! Upper school attendance has greatly improved this week.
3C were, for the second week in a row, lower school attendance winners this week.
Reminder - we can administer medication in school which has been prescribed by the GP. We just need you to complete a permissions form at the office. If you need any more information, please don't hesitate to contact the office.
Parent information regarding attendance:
Here's an example of how your child's attendance is calculated:
5 absent days = 97%
10 absent days = 95%
It is important that you try to get your children into school as much as possible so that they receive the best education and school experiences possible. If your child's attendance drops below 97% the school will monitor this and offer support to parents to help improve this.
If you would like to discuss this more, please contact the school office.
Summer Term 1
WB 13th May - SATS Week for Year 6
Friday 24th May - Last day of Summer term 1
Summer Term 2
Monday 3rd June - Return to school for Summer term 2
Wednesday 5th June - Friday 7th June - Back to Bear Year 6 Residential
Monday 3rd June - School Photographs
Monday 17th June - Year 5/ Year 6 Sports Day
Tuesday 18th June - Year 3/ Year 4 Sports Day
Friday 28th June - Summer Talent Show Case
Tuesday 2nd July - Year 5 Graduation
Friday 5th July - Training Day
WB 8th July - Learning Showcases - Dates TBC
Tuesday 9th July - Year 6 SATS Results Day
Friday 12th July - School reports out
Monday 15th July - Year 6 Beach Trip
Tuesday 16th July - Matilda Production for Parents 2pm and 4pm
Wednesday 17th July AM - Year 3/ Year 4 Behaviour Rewards
Wednesday 17th July PM - Year 5/ Year 6 Behaviour Rewards
Thursday 18th July AM - Attendance treat for 100%
Thursday 18th July PM - Year 6 End of School Disco
Friday 19th July AM - Year 6 Leavers' Assembly
Friday 19th July - Last day of the school year - 2pm finish
General Information
At William Barcroft Junior School we pride ourselves on having high expectations about the school uniform. Recently we have noticed that a number of children have not been wearing appropriate school shoes. If your child arrives at school without the correct footwear they will be provided with a pair of plimsolls to wear for the day. Thank you in advance for your support
Please do not ride bikes and scooters on the school grounds, this is for children and adults. This is for the safety of our children, thank you.
Please note, electric scooters are not allowed on the school site due to health and safety regulations and not having the facilities to store them in school.
Please do not bring pets onto the school site due to health and safety regulations.
PE kit MUST be brought to school on your child's PE days,
Year 3 will have PE Monday and Wednesday
Year 4 will have PE Tuesday and Thursday
Year 5 will have PE Monday and Wednesday
Year 6 will have PE Tuesday and Thursday
Our pupils have been collaborating together and getting creative to produce a Trashion Show outfit which was presented on the catwalk to our judges at The Heritage Centre, Grimsby last week. We are very proud of what they have achieved and want to congratulate them on presenting their idea so well!
What's happening in each year group this week?
YEAR 3
This fortnight in English, we’ve been writing a diary entry as Bertie from the Butterfly Lion. After recapping the key features of diary writing, we practised key skills such as conjunctions, prepositions and apostrophes. We also used role play to think about Bertie’s emotions. Finally, we planned and wrote our fantastic diaries. Perhaps pupils could try and write their own diaries at home about a favourite event.
We’ve been learning all about money in maths, first recapping our Y2 learning about pounds and pence and how to count amounts of money accurately. We then moved onto adding money, subtracting money and giving change in a virtual shop. There are some great money games to enjoy at home on Topmarks. https://www.topmarks.co.uk/Search.aspx?q=money
Continuing with our Living Things Science topic we have been learning all about our skeletons, including key bones and their important functions. Ask your child to tell you all about them. Most recently we’ve learnt about muscles and how they work with our skeleton to help us move, as well as the different types of muscles we have in our bodies.
YEAR 4
Last week, year 4 were reading and researching all about the Greek gods and how influencial they were during Ancient Greek times. This week, we have taken all of our new knowledge and drafted our non-chronological report 'All About Greek Gods'. Keep a look out on the next fortnightly newsletter for our finished products!
In maths, we have started our money topic and discussed many practical and mental ways to add and subtract money. We have disucssed how this is an important skill to know and understand when you are completing daily activities so please encourage your children to count out money whilst visiting shops etc.
During the afternoons, year 4 have been enjoying their weekly skills lessons for art. We have been exploring sculpture and how we can create fantastic art work from a range of resources and mediums. We have also been investigating with sound and how it travels from the source to our ears. We have learned that vibrations play a vital role in what we can hear around us.
YEAR 5
Year 5 have mastered the use of a protractor over the last few weeks. They have also learnt to calculate angles. Ask us how many degrees there are in right angles, straight line and full turn. They have begun learning about co-ordinates and have enjoyed reading and plotting co-ordinates practically using themselves, objects, sweets and large grids.
They are continuing to enjoy their class book- The lost whale. It has been fascinating learning more about these amazing creatures and using the facts to write a non-chronological report. Ask us for a fact on the grey whale.
This week they have completed their D and T project: they have learnt about how astronauts keep food in space, the nutritional needs of an astronaut and the impact of certain foods in space. Their brief, to design and make a nutritional cereal bar, which is appropriate for an astronaut.
YEAR 6
It’s full steam ahead in year 6 at this time of year, we are all so busy working on revision for our SAT’s tests next week. The children have been fabulous throughout and we have been so pleased with their determination and resilience and we are certain that all of the hard work will most definitely pay off.
This week we have written up and published our Last Bear diary entries. The children have written from April’s point of view from the moment she sets off on her journey in search of the polar bear. In topic we have focused on the different biomes in South America, we have used Atlas’ to locate the various different physical geographical features of South America.
Please can we take this opportunity to remind you that all year 6 children will need to arrive at 8am next week for a free breakfast club before SATs. This is a fabulous opportunity to help settle any nerves or answer last minute questions before the tests begin.
Test dates: Monday 13th May - Thursday 16th May 2024.
Monday 13th May is the start of Year 6 SATS Week. We will be providing a breakfast club for ALL YEAR 6 STUDENTS TO ATTEND from Monday to Thursday this week. This will open at 8am and ALL year 6 children are expected to be in school for 8.15am. If you require any support with anything SATS week related, please contact the office.
To ensure that your children are ready for their SATS this week, it is essential that they have a good nights sleep prior to their tests. This may mean limited technology use or routine bedtimes for the week to ensure they achieve the best they can each day.
Children in year 6 will be completing their PE sessions on Thursday afternoon instead of Tuesday afternoon during SATS week.
Here are some links for parents which may support your child at home during this period.
Support links:
Revision:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/primary
https://corbettmathsprimary.com/content/
- My self care plan-
https://mentallyhealthyschools.org.uk/resources/my-self-care-plan-primary/
- Being resilient lesson plan-
- Understanding stress lesson plan-
https://mentallyhealthyschools.org.uk/resources/understanding-stress-youngminds-beano/
- Advice for coping with stress-
https://mentallyhealthyschools.org.uk/resources/advice-and-support-for-coping-with-stress/
Last week, year 3 went on a wonderful trip to Far Ings near the Humber Bridge. We had so many amazing learning experiences, such as a nature walk, map orienteering, plant identification, planting seeds, bird watching and nature framing. Please look at our photos here.
STAR OF THE WEEK CELEBRATIONS
Every Friday, we celebrate the fantastic work and attitudes of our children during our Star of the Week assembly. Each teacher presents their Star of the Week, Reader of the Week and TTRS of the Week whilst our Learning Mentors award fastasic behaviour and kindess on the playground. We also celebrate our birthdays in style with a whole school sing-song and give out spot prizes for fantastic work and home reading.
If your child is chosen for this assembly, you will receive a message no later than Thursday. If you wish to attend, the assembly times are as follows:
Year 3 and Year 4 - 8.55am
Year 5 and Year 6 - 9.55am
Have a look at what we are currently reading in school with our classes:
3A - The Butterfly Lion - Michael Morpurgo
3C - The Butterfly Lion - Michael Morpurgo
3S - The Butterfly Lion - Michael Morpurgo
4B - Varjak Paw – SF Said
4LB - Varjak Paw – SF Said
4V - Varjak Paw – SF Said
5D - Wonka- Sibeal Pounder
5HS - Escape Room by Christopher Edge / The Boy at the back of the class by Onjali Q. Raúf
5S - The Lost Whale- Hannah Gold
6B - The Last Bear - Hannah Gold
6F - Cogheart - Peter Bunzl
6S - The Titanic Detective Agency – Lindsay Littleson
Here are the percentages for home reads per class over the last two weeks. Our school expectation is 3 weekly reads per week and this is taken on a Thursday. Please ensure your child has their reading record every day to be checked.
Year 4 have reminded children of the above to ensure they are reading at home so we are asking parents to support children with reading at home to improve this. Thank you.
Please check out the following links to our X (Twitter) accounts and see what each class have been up to this week in real-time!
#wbjsinthecommunity
If you are wanting to support your child at home with home learning in maths third space have provided some brilliant resources to use free of charge. Please follow the link to have a look at what is available: https://mathshub.thirdspacelearning.com/resources?support_types=home-learning
White Rose Maths also provide some useful online videos presented by TV presenter Michael Underwood: https://whiteroseeducation.com/parent-pupil-resources/maths/maths-with-michael
Mary Anning is one of our key scientists- May 21st would have been her birthday. She was born in 1799 and lived in Dorset by the beach. Much of her time was spent collecting what she called ‘curiosities’. Later in her life she developed a better understanding of her finds and realised they were fossils.
During her life, she went on to make many amazing discoveries- this made her famous. She is remembered today as one of the greatest fossil hunters to have ever lived.
Have a look at this video to find out more about her:
Here are some interesting yet alarming facts that parents/ carers may find interesting:
Snapchat - My AI Chatbot
Parents via the Snapchat Parental Controls can now disable the my Ai chat bot from replying.
Please see the link below for more information:
BARCROFT DIGITAL LEADERS
Our Digital Leaders have been busy working around school in the classrooms promoting positive relationships online and supporting their teachers with the delivery of online safety/ ICT lessons. They've really taken to their new role incredibly and this term they will be working with Mrs Newell to help produce quality support for parents on our fortnightly newsletter. Please look out for their new section on the next newsletter.
Follow this link to visit the safeguarding section of our website, and for a copy of our Safeguarding and Child Protection policy. https://wba.harbourlearningtrust.com/our-academy/safeguarding/
East Marsh SEND Summer Festival
Together with East Marsh United we are preparing a fun filled Summer Festival for children with SEND on Sunday 14th July at Grant Thorold Park.
To ensure we get the structure, the entertainment, the food and the vibe just right we want your opinion and so we are inviting all East Marsh parents of SEND children to a meeting to help plan and formulate the whole day.
Please come along on Thursday 21st March between 1.30pm and 2.30pm and join us for a chat at The Canopy and tell us what you and your child would like to see at the event. This is your day and we want to listen to your views! (Cake and coffee included)
