Dear Parents and Carers,

It's been a mix of festive joy and sombre reflection here at Woodside this week.

We continued with our Winter Warmer Nights, and once again, they were a fantastic success! We had a great turnout, and it was lovely to see so many families joining us after school. For our Years 4-6 event, we had a larger number of families join us than anticipated so it became less cosy and more party with crafts and songs. But we know between the hot chocolate, reading, songs and children in their comfy night wear, they had a great time. Thank you all for making these evenings so special.

Additionally, today we celebrate festive jumper day. It was lovely to see so many get festive ready today. Looking ahead, next week is filled with our festive performances. Please check the dates and times and come along to celebrate the season with the children's wonderful concerts. Furthermore, a reminder that next week we have an early finish on Friday (the last day) at 1:30 - for afternoon only children in our Nurseries (Nest and Saplings), Thursday is their last day. Don't forget so you can start your festivities a bit earlier!

Yesterday, Year 6 delivered a sharing assembly to parents and carers - they became scientists and doctors and explained all about the heart, linking to their learning of Pig Heart Boy. Thank you to all those who came along and supported their children.

Today, we have sent home a very important new letter outlining our updated attendance policy. This letter includes significant updates regarding late collections after school and details our new, staged approach to escalation. This process could ultimately result in fines for persistent late collection, so please ensure you read this letter carefully to fully understand the procedures.

Finally, we share some very sad news with our community. We learned this week that one of our previous teachers, Ms. Sriranjan, has passed away following her long-term health battles. Ms. Sriranjan was a truly positive energy and a bright light within our school. We know she impacted so many children and community members during her time here. We send our deepest well wishes and thoughts to her family and friends during this incredibly difficult time.

We hope you all have a reflective and restful weekend.

Iman Atwal

Headteacher

A reminder that our term’s value is Respect. This week, we explored how we can show respect through the festivals of Christmas and Hanukkah. We learnt the meanings behind both festivals and why they are celebrated. We explored how Christians and Jewish people show respect during these festivals and how we can respect those celebrating it.

So ask your child:

• What is the meaning of Christmas / Hanukkah?

• How do people show respect during these festivals?

• How can you show respect to those celebrating?

Reminder: On Friday 19th December - We finish at 1:30pm

SAFE SETTINGS, CONTROLS & MONITORING

Apple, Android and Microsoft have tools to help you control what younger children can use and how long for. Click on the images below for more information.

Once they are older and have your trust, the same tools can help avoid arguments and help them learn to self-regulate (how long have they really been on insta today? have they put down the phone at all in the last week?).

Follow the picture links for more information

You will have received an email or text message from  (hello@holidayactivities.com) with a link to view your voucher - please check your spam if you cannot see communication from HolidayActivities.com.

The HAF Christmas Brochure is now live! Click on the link to see clubs and activities that are available over the festive period: HAF Christmas Programmes. Spaces on the HAF programme are limited and pre-booking is essential. All bookings must be confirmed using the HolidayActivities online platform.

If you have more than one child, you will have received multiple vouchers via email/text. Please ensure you access the individual link for each of your children for their credits to show in your Holiday Activities Account. 

All holiday clubs cater for children with low-medium levels of SEN and/or disability and children will be considered by each club on a case-by-case basis.

 Reception Places for September 2026

If your child’s date of birth is between 1st September 2021 - 31st August 2022, they will be due to start school in Reception in September 2026.

The deadline for applications is 15th January 2026.

Applications are made online through eAdmissions which can be accessed through Croydon Councils website; Apply for a primary school place: step by step | Croydon Council where you will also find information on local primary schools and step-by-step guidance to help you through the application process.

For any parents and carers who need help understanding the school admissions process or require support to make an application, please make an appointment to see Mrs Georgiades (Family Support Officer) by emailing Familysupport at Woodside Primary School 

You will need your council tax reference number to make an application.

For those parents/carers whose children currently attend our Nursery, you must still complete and submit an application for entry

to Reception in September 2026.

Nest

We've had a truly joyful and exciting week here in The Nest as we fully embrace the festive season.

The children have been busy with lots of activities that combine fun, and learning. The highlight of our week has been diving into festive role play in our very own Santa's Grotto! The children have been eagerly writing letters to Santa. This activity is fantastic for developing their early writing and communication skills, as they think about what they would like, they practiced making marks and giving meaning to the marks.

We've been developing our essential mathematical skills by using a fun, engaging game, matching numbers to quantities with Number Dinosaurs and Pegs! The children have been fantastic at identifying the numbers written on the dinosaur cut-outs and then correctly sticking the corresponding amount of pegs onto them. This activity has been superb for reinforcing their understanding of matching numbers to quantities (number-to-quantity correspondence) while also strengthening those pincer grips!

Saplings

This week in Saplings, we have been doing all things Christmas!

The children have been practicing well for their concert, learning lyrics to songs and actions, all ready to perform to their families next week. We have also been creating Christmas hats, cards and decorations to display in the classroom. The children enjoyed making their handprint christmas tree which is now on display in the classroom, along with their pictures as baubles put onto it. 

In Numeracy, we have been exploring patterns, getting the children to understand how patterns work through colour, sounds, shapes ect. They have enjoyed making patterns with their friends through hair colours, gender, what they are wearing and more.

In literacy, we have been focusing on the phonic sound ‘n’, singing what's in the box with picture cards and sound repetition.

Reception

This week in Reception, children have learning and talking about ‘collaboration’ -( working together) as one of our  values. They had to listen to the story, ‘ The Squirrels who squabbled’, to find how the squirrels could have worked together to get the last  pine cone with the nut. Children were able to talk about what collaboration means to them in their classes and school as a community. These were some of their ideas: teamwork, working together, helping each other, sharing ideas but not grabbing things from each other.

Children have been using their phonics knowledge to read and write simple captions  and words with the sounds, ‘th, ng and nk’. The words that they are now able to read are; moth, thud, this-( th sound), ring, thing, wing( ng sound) and  ink, pink.wink, stink( nk sound). As the children are becoming confident with their phonics knowledge, most can now write simple captions using pictures to support themselves. Some of the captions, Reception children having been writing are: pat a dog or dig it.

In Maths, this week children have been learning about shapes, the  sides, looking at them from different angles or finding them among other shapes. As the children knew most of the 2D shapes and how to describe them, they decided to use some of the 2D shades to create snowmen using playdough, buttons for his nose and pipe cleaners for his scarf. They also talked about the colour of the playdough and linked it to snow.

Year 1

This week, we have been writing diary entries. We wrote in role as Little Red Riding Hood and told the events of our day meeting and getting eaten by the wolf. We tried to apply all that we have been learning about - capital letters, finger spaces, full stops, adjectives, past tense, feelings and time adverbials. We used the story map pictures and teacher modelling to support us and also tried to apply our phonic knowledge to spell words, including the tricky words we have learnt.

In Maths, we continued with our learning about number. We started by identifying and recognising representations of the number 20, then used a number line up to 20. We identified missing numbers on the number line and used the language of more and less to find one more and one less than a given number up to 20. We also continued to practise saying and writing the numbers correctly.

We have also been working hard on our songs and are excited to perform them to you next week. Please continue to support your child helping them learn the words.

On Tuesday, we enjoyed watching the panto “The Jungle Book.”

Year 2

What a fantastic week we’ve had in Year 2!

In Maths, we have been securing our understanding of adding and subtracting two two-digit numbers across a ten. The children have shown wonderful determination and are becoming much more confident using different strategies to solve these calculations.

In RE, we continued learning about Christianity and enjoyed creating our very own Advent wreaths, thinking carefully about the meaning behind each candle.

The children had a wonderful visit from a theatre company this week! They took part in an engaging performance of The Jungle Book, which they absolutely loved. The experience brought the story to life and gave them a fantastic opportunity to enjoy live theatre and join in with the show.

It’s been a brilliant and busy week, and we’re looking forward to an equally wonderful final week of the term!

Have a lovely weekend!

Year 3

In English lessons, we wrote a newsletter article on the character ‘Rosie Revere’. The children used past tense verbs to explain what happened. They wrote about the reactions of other children and staff when Rosie’s latest invention, a cheese-copter, successfully took off from the playground.

In Maths lessons, we consolidated our understanding of column addition and subtraction, and looked at ways to solve missing number problems by using the inverse method.

In DT, we spend time making our picture frames, first by painting them, then by putting them together and securing the back with a photograph of the children. 

In Science, we explored the properties of magnets and learnt about the different conditions for them to attract or repel. The children explored the two magnetic poles of a magnet and noticed different behaviours when presented with different objects.

Year 6

This week, the children dug deep into an important and inspiring topic in English: writing a biography about a chosen British Civil Rights figure. They first conducted thorough research on their activists, learning about their life, struggles, and achievements. They then focused on structuring their work to incorporate the key features of a biography, ensuring their writing was informative and compelling. They specifically focused on enhancing their writing toolkit by practicing the correct use of advanced punctuation and sentence structures, including, Semi-colons, Adverbials of time and manner and a range of conjunctions 

This project was not just about writing; it was also a vital lesson in understanding how laws came about that affect us today, linking the past actions of these brave activists to our modern society.

We were thrilled to see the culmination of their recent Science learning in a brilliant sharing assembly!

The focus of the assembly was the human circulatory system and its vital functions. The children showcased their deep understanding of the system, including the function of the heart, blood vessels, and blood. It was truly amazing to see the creativity they used to demonstrate this complex biological process—whether through models, dramatic re-enactments, or engaging presentations. Their ability to articulate such detailed scientific knowledge in a creative way was outstanding!

Thank you for your continued support of your child's learning. We look forward to another productive week ahead!

We are using in-app messages to communicate with parents through the app - please could parents ensure they are able to log-in and Arbor is set up to accept these messages - they should be visible in the Communications section of the portal.

Parents who have the app should enable Push Notifications - this will alert you through the app that a message has arrived.

Over 90% of our parents have logged into Arbor - if you are having difficulty, please talk to the office who can help.

Check your Child's Data

Please log in to Arbor and check your child's/children's details are correct - and let us know if not. You can also request changes directly through the app which will take place once we have seen them - if we have questions, we will get in touch. Or you can let the office know directly.

It is important we have the correct data for all our families.

Please remember to check Arbor - either the Parent Portal (at https://login.arbor.sc/) or the parent app (available from the App Store or Google Play).

Parents who log in can:

* see their child's attendance

* log consent for local trips and those further afield

* pay for trips and book and pay for clubs

* receive In-App messages - and message the school

* book parent consultations

* see their child's details and request changes to ensure they are completely up to date

If you have more than one child at the school, they should be visible via a drop-down so you only need to login once.

To set up your account, you need the email you use for school communications and the date of birth of one of your children. Follow the Forgotten Password link on either the app or the website.

If you need support with logging in, please talk to the office team who will be glad to help.