William Barcroft Junior School

'Success and happiness for all'

Message from the Principal:

Good afternoon everyone and welcome to our final newsletter of the term. I want to start with a huge thank you for your fantastic support at our learning showcases over the last week; as always you have packed the hall and it has been lovely to see the children proudly showing off their work. Thank you also to year 4 parents for attending the violin workshops, with a special mention to those who had a go at playing themselves!

It has been a busy fortnight; football matches, science trips to the park, lots of practical DT woodwork across school, and of course the delight and joy of the chicks who hatched last week and have been well cuddled this week! It has been a lovely end to the term with the talent showcase and Easter bonnet parade today. Again, thank you for the effort which has gone on behind the scenes to make these possible.

Please enjoy looking through the newsletter and I would like to wish you all a very Happy Easter! I look forward to welcoming everyone back on Tuesday 22nd April.

S Sargent

Principal

Congratulations to 3L in lower school and 6F in upper school who have won this term's attendance race! Both classes received their treat today and were praised for their team effort.

If you child is absent, please contact the school office via telephone rather than the enquires email so that we can log your child's absence before the registers close.

Year 6 Attendance

At KS2, pupils who attended school nearly every day in Year 6 (with an attendance rate of 95-100%) were 1.3 times more likely to achieve the expected standard in reading, writing and maths compared to pupils who only attended 90-95% of the time.

This means missing just 10 days of year 6 reduced the likelihood of reaching the expected standard by around 25%. Pupils who attended nearly every day were 1.8 times more likely to achieve the standard than persistently absent pupils who only attend 85-90% of the time (relating to 4 -6 weeks more time in school).

DFE Research Report - March 2025

Spring Term

Wednesday 2nd April - Year 5 Learning Showcase, Easter Bonnet Contest entry closing date.

Thursday 3rd April - Year 6 Learning Showcase

Friday 4th April - Talent Showcase - just for pupils

Friday 4th April - Last day of term - 2pm finish

Summer Term

Tuesday 22nd April - School reopens for children

Monday 5th May - Bank holiday - school closed

Tuesday 6th May - Year 3 and Year 4 IntoUniversity day

Monday 12th May - Thursday 15th May - Y6 SATS Week

Tuesday 13th May - Thursday 15th May - Year 5 IntoUniversity days

Friday 23rd May - Last day of term

Monday 2nd June - School reopens for children

Monday 2nd June - School photographs

Thursday 12th June - Empathy Day

Friday 13th June - School closed - training day

Monday 16th June - Y5/Y6 Sports Day

Tuesday 17th June - Y3/Y4 Sports Day

Wednesday 25th June - Junior Singing Festival

Monday 1st July - Year 6 transition workshop

Friday 18th July - Last day of term - 2pm finish

General Information

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 and Year 5 will have PE Tuesday and Thursday

Year 4 and Year 6 will have PE Monday and Wednesday

WBJS Newsround from the Pupil Governors

YEAR 3

On Monday we completed a DT day where we made our own kites and flew them on the school field. Unfortunately, mine did rip a little but it was fixable!

On Tuesday we completed an Art day where we learned about two different artists, one being called Henri Matisse. We created a replica piece of art and then we created our own collage.

Later on in the week, we played the glockenspiel in Music and we learned a song called friendship. In history, we learned more about the Indus Valley and found out how it ended.

Ethan , Year 3.

YEAR 4

In English we have been writing emotion poems based on different feelings. Here is a snippet of mine:

Happiness is sunshine.

It smells like fresh lemonade.

It sounds like birds chirping.

In DT we have made our very own steady hand game. If you touch the wire, the buzzer will go off and you must start again.

On Friday, as I am a pupil governor, we completed a bake sale to help raise money for our chosen charities.

I have also made a Easter bonnet and entered the competition on Friday.

Poppy, Year 4.

YEAR 5

In maths we have been learning how to draw and read line graphs. Following this, we have been revising our spring learning.

In reading we have been reading a text called volcanoes and we have learned all about which is the most deadly.

In English we have been writing character descriptions about a witch from 'The Lost Happy Endings'.

In computing we are using crumble kits to program lights and motors. This week we are making our own fairground ride.

Reagan, Year 5.

YEAR 6

In English we have been writing a formal letter about Camp Green Lake (Holes) and how it needs to be shut down.

My favourite lesson of the week so far has been maths. We have been practising long division ready for our SATS tests.

In history we have been learning about the blitz and world war 2.

In PE we have been playing rounds and learning how to throw the ball accurately to get someone out.

Joseph, Year 6.

Eid Mubarak!

Wishing our celebrating families a very happy Eid! May this joyous occasion bring you and your loved ones peace, happiness, and prosperity. Eid Mubarak!

Learning Showcases

WOW! What a fabulous fortnight we have had at William Barcroft. Every term we invite our parents into school to watch our year group learning showcases and our Spring term did not disappoint. It was lovely to see the children sharing their amazing learning in front of their parents and their singing was truely breathtaking. We even spotted some of our parents singing along to our Easter songs! Thank you to everyone who attended and we hope that you enjoyed viewing your children's work during these sessions. Our next learning showcases will be at the end of the Summer term and we will be sure to end the Summer with a bang!

happy chicks!

Excitement buzzed through the school as the "Happy Chicks" program arrived. Tiny eggs, nestled in an incubator, became the center of attention. Days turned into eager anticipation, culminating in the magical moment of hatching. Wide-eyed children watched in awe as fluffy chicks emerged. The experience went beyond observation; gentle hands cupped the delicate creatures, fostering a unique connection with nature. The joy and wonder of witnessing new life, and the opportunity to hold the chicks, created an unforgettable learning experience for everyone.

Year 4 violin performance

The Year 4 classes invited their parents along to a stunning display of violin playing. The children have been learning violin since September, with Jo and Olivia Townell.

They performed four of the pieces and showed great musicality, beginning and ending each phrase together. To finish of the short performance( accompanied by Jo on piano) the children taught their parents how to hold and bow the violin, producing a rousing, warm hearted finale.

Football Friendlies vs Elliston

Girls Match

William Barcroft 0 v 2 Elliston

A defeat for William Barcroft as a strong Elliston side were dominant throughout. However, it was not all doom and gloom for William Barcroft because we understood beforehand that this was a brand-new Year 4/5 team and that it will take some time to get to where our current Year 5/6 team are. For most of our girls, it was the first game of football they have played and they did very well at defending. A lot for Mr Dawes to work on with the girls and no doubt we will come back stronger and better! That being said, massive well done to Elliston girls, who played brilliantly. A special mention to Ria for her non-stop work rate and determination to get us up the pitch. Esmai and Harriet also did very well at defending and were kept busy throughout. Finally, Nancy made some fabulous saves to keep the score at 2-0 and considering this was her first game, she displayed a lot of bravery.

Boys Match

William Barcroft 2 v 0 Elliston

The boys put in a fantastic shift and worked extremely hard at pressing Elliston to make sure they didn’t have any time on the ball. Elliston were solid at the back and their defenders did really well in the first half as William Barcroft were consistently attacking. Alfie passed the ball down to Jaxen to run down the wing and crossed the ball to Theo. Theo swung a foot at it but only just missed it. At half time, it remained goalless. With Frankie, Maliki and Larenzo coming on, William Barcroft still pressed high and it was only a matter of time before we went 1-0 up. Jaxen worked tirelessly and his quality strike found the top bins. He left the keeper no chance. From this the boys kept attacking and managed to force a second goal with a brilliant ball pulled back by Bentley for Jaxen to score a second goal.

It was fantastic, sun-kissed afternoon at William Barcroft and both teams can be proud of their performance. Again, huge thank you goes to the parents that came to visit and support the teams, it is massively appreciated!

Easter bonnet contest

This year's Easter bonnet parade was a cracking success! We were egg-static to see the amazing creations your children brought. From egg-stravagant designs to egg-cellent craftsmanship, the parade was truly an egg-stravaganza. Congratulations to all the little chicks who participated, and a special round of applause for the prize winners, whose bonnets were truly egg-ceptional. Thank you for making it such a memorable event.

Talent show

This week we have had the pleasure of watching an array of spectacular talent from our students. Every term we give our students the opportunity to share their amazing performances to the whole school and the children love supporting each other and seeing another side to their friends that they may not have seen before! For our Spring talent show we had the pleasure of seeing balloon artists, gymnastics and even karate! The courage and determination each entry has is inspiring to watch. Well done to everyone who performed and congratulations to this term's winners!

Pupil voice groups - Community

Anti-bullying Ambassadors

The Anti-bullying Ambassadors took great pride in preparing and delivering a whole school assembly. Their main message was to make the children in WBA aware of their job around school, remind them who they are and that they are there to help others . Then, they also did a piece of drama and acted out what bullying can look like and how to prevent it.

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/

Mrs Bowden recently attended the Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing in Schools Conference.

Following this, local mental health services in North East Lincolnshire have issed 'What to Expect videos' – This series of videos aims to help children, young people and their families better understand what to expect when they have been referred to local mental health services in our area.

There are 4 videos, covering Compass GO…, Young Minds Matter, Transition from CYP to adult services, and NHS Talking Therapies.

www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLyniLAHDXNhs9yr_F0QDQsZGW0qkMKCHc

Wednesday 4th June - Parent drop in coffee morning with Compass Go

Fostering bright futures

Change the life of a local child, be a foster carer. Enquire today Fostering in North East Lincolnshire | NELC

As a foster friendly school, we want to raise awareness of the need for local foster carers to come forward in the area. If you think you can make a positive difference to a child’s life, enquire today. Fostering in North East Lincolnshire | NELC https://youtu.be/sNXx6dycp3Y

Online Safety

For Parents - What is Financially Motivated Extortion?

FMSE is where someone threatens to release explicit images of a child victim unless they pay money or other financial demand (such as Bitcoin, pre-paid gift card etc.). It is a form of child abuse which is sadly getting worse.

The National Crime Agency has a great article explaining all about FMSE, how to talk to your child and what you can do if your child becomes a victim. The guide can be found at https://www.ceopeducation.co.uk/parents/articles/FMSE

For Parents - How to Talk About Misogyny

The Netflix short series 'Adolescence' has got a lot of people concerned and talking about misogyny, the manosphere, incels and much more. For parents this can be a difficult conversation to have especially when you don't know where to start.

Thankfully, Internet Matters have a fantastic guide all about this subject, things you need to know, understand the pressures and more. You can find all the information at www.internetmatters.org/issues/online-hate/what-is-misogyny/