Woodside Weekly - 18th September 2026

Woodside Weekly Newsletter

Respect ⟡ Resilience ⟡ Aspiration ⟡ Excellence ⟡ Integrity ⟡ Collaboration

18th September 2026

Heads Welcome

A sincere thank you to everyone who came along to the Scholastic Book Fair and purchased books. Your support directly raises valuable funds for us to invest in new reading resources for the school. Reading together continued on Tuesday as we launched our first 'Parents in to Read' session of the year with Year 1. It was wonderful to see such a fantastic turnout, and we are looking forward to welcoming Year 2 parents and carers for their session this coming Thursday at 9:00 AM.

On a safety and community note, we must urgently remind all parents and carers to practice sensible and considerate parking during drop-off and pick-up times. Please do not obstruct our neighbors' driveways or move the safety cones to park on double yellow lines. Moving these cones endangers our children and creates severe traffic hazards outside the school gates. We work closely with our local community and will be reporting registration details of any offending vehicles directly to the council.

We would also like to remind families about our PE kit expectations. All children are now required to bring their kits to school and get changed inside their classrooms on their designated PE days. Please note that we have introduced a staged approach for instances where children do not bring their uniform or wear incorrect attire. Please ensure your child has their full, correct Woodside PE kit in school ready for their physical education sessions.

Finally, please take some time to review the letter directory this week, as a wide range of important communications have been published. This includes key advice on keeping safe online, details regarding an upcoming Reception parent workshop, our special Census Day school menu, and essential information regarding secondary school and Reception admissions for next year.

We hope you all have a restful and enjoyable weekend.

Mr Atwal

Values Focus

As part of the value of Excellence, this week we explored the idea of "Motivation". It is important that we find something that keeps us going. In order to achieve the best, we must be motivated.

Motivation is the inner spark or energy that pushes you to do something and reach a goal.

So ask your child:

What motivates you?
What do you want to achieve?
Why do you want to keep on going?

Our Learning this Week - LKS2

Year 3

In English, the children have been hard at work using their books to write biographies about the inspiring mathematician Katherine Johnson. Throughout the week they have discovered how her extraordinary mathematical talent played a crucial role in sending American astronauts safely into space. Day by day, the class has been carefully crafting each paragraph to focus on a different chapter of her remarkable life and achievements.

In Maths, our focus this week has been on deepening our understanding of place value. The children have done a fantastic job learning how to quickly calculate 1, 10, or 100 more or less than any given number. They then put their problem-solving skills to the test by determining interval values to accurately position numbers on a number line.

In History, we launched our exciting new topic on Ancient Egypt! The children began their journey by exploring key geographical features of the region, using Google Earth to virtually navigate around iconic landmarks and terrain. It was a great way to bring the landscape of ancient history to life right in the classroom.

Year 4

This week, Year 4 embarked on an exciting learning journey that seamlessly blended creativity, problem-solving, and scientific discovery.

In Maths, the children deepened their understanding of place value by partitioning numbers up to 10,000 into thousands, hundreds, tens, and ones. They applied this knowledge to build accurate number sentences and explored inverse operations to check their calculations and see how addition and subtraction interlock.

Over in English, literary inspiration came from 'The Girl Who Stole an Elephant'. The pupils brought Chaya's world to life by writing vivid setting descriptions of the bustling festival scene at the start of the story. Their fantastic narratives were rich with expanded noun phrases, similes, and personification, skillfully structured using fronted adverbials and coordinating conjunctions to guide the reader through the sensory sights and sounds.

Scientific curiosity flourished as the class explored living things and their habitats, examining how different natural environments act as "houses" that meet the basic needs of animals and plants while comparing their unique similarities and differences.

Finally, artistic creativity met scientific inquiry as the children began studying the artist Jill Pelto. The pupils practiced targeted sketching techniques while investigating how scientific data and environmental messages can beautifully collide with fine art, leaving everyone inspired by a truly magnificent and well-rounded week of learning.

Inclusion & Family Support

Transfer to Secondary School September 2027

If your child’s date of birth is between 1st September 2015 - 31st August 2016, they will be due to start Secondary school in September 2027.

Reminder!!! The deadline for applications is 31st October 2026.

It is recommended that you submit your application no later than 16th October 2026 (Friday before half-term)

Late applications will be processed after those received on time, which could severely reduce your child’s chances of being offered a place at your preferred school.

Applications are made online through eAdmissions which can be accessed through Croydon Councils website - click on the link below;

Apply for a secondary school place: step by step | Croydon Council.

You will also find information on local Secondary schools and step-by-step guidance to help you through the application process.

If you are familiar with the application process, you can apply straight away here; www.eadmissions.org.uk

Click here for the Link to Croydon Secondary Schools Prospectus;

Croydon-Secondary-school-admissions-prospectus-2027

Follow this link for the Transfer to Secondary Schools open days / evenings;

Find out about open days and evenings

If you missed an open day/evening for a particular school, please contact the individual school - most will be happy to accommodate you at another time.

For any parents and carers who need help understanding the school admissions process or need support making an application, please make an appointment to see Mrs Georgiades (Family Support Officer) who will be happy to help you complete the application. You will need your council tax reference number to make an application.