Dear Parents and Carers,

It's been another great week here at Woodside, with lots of parental engagement!

On Tuesday, we held our second 'Parents in to Read' session, this time with our Year 2 children. It was wonderful to see so many of you come along and share in the joy of reading with the children. Thank you for your continued support in this initiative.

We also want to extend our thanks to everyone who attended the RHE Parent Consultation session on Wednesday. We hope you found it informative and that it provided a clear overview of our Relationships and Health Education curriculum. For those who were unable to attend, please remember that more information is available on the school website.

Looking ahead to next week, we have more great events planned for you. On Tuesday at 9am, it will be the turn of our Year 3 parents to join us for their 'Parents in to Read' session. We also have two important phonics workshops scheduled: one for Reception parents on Monday and another for Year 1 parents on Thursday. These workshops are designed to help you support your child's early reading skills at home, so we strongly encourage you to attend.

We hope you all have a lovely weekend.

Iman Atwal

Headteacher

A reminder that we have started the year with a focus on the value of Excellence. This week, in our assembly, we focused on motivation - how we can use motivation to better ourselves and showcase excellence. As we told children: “Excellence isn’t about being perfect—it’s about being motivated to keep going towards our dreams.”

So ask your child:

• What do you want to achieve?

• What motivates you to do your best?

• Why do you want to do well?

Transfer to Secondary School September 2026

If your child’s date of birth is between 1st September 2014 - 31st August 2015, they will be due to start

Secondary School in September 2026.

Reminder!!! The deadline for applications is 31st October 2025.

It is recommended that you submit your application no later than 17th October 2025 (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;

Secondary-admissions-prospectus-2026-2027 

Follow this link for the Transfer to Secondary Schools open days / evenings; Open-Days-Evenings-Timetable-for-Secondary-Schools-2025-2026   

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.

Nest

In the Nest, children have settled in well and most of them are beginning to access different areas of learning independently. This week we introduced the story 'I Like Myself' by Karen Beaumont. This book sparked some fantastic conversations about all the things that make us unique and special. We spoke about what we like about ourselves, for example hair, nose, ears and eyes. It was heartwarming to hear all their sweet and thoughtful responses. Also this week children showed great interest in painting, so we decided to follow their lead. We used balloon templates as canvases and explored different patterns using a variety of pattern rollers. We talked about different colours, naming the colours and patterns we were creating. It really has been a fantastic week.

Saplings

This week in Saplings, we have been exploring the theme ‘All About Me’, whilst still looking at the book ‘Your World, My World.’ We have been creating paper plate portraits using cotton wool and googly eyes, and using our playdough area to create their favourite foods and snacks. In circle time we have been encouraging the children to become more familiar with the other children’s names by getting them to introduce themselves and name one favourite thing, such as animal, food or colour.

In Maths, we have been encouraging the children to count on their fingers at circle time through song, such as 5 little speckled frogs and 5 currant buns. The children have also enjoyed exploring numicon, showing quantities up to 5.

In Literacy, we have introduced name cards when the children arrive, where they stay with a parent and use a whiteboard marker to trace their laminated name, to become more familiar with recognising the letters in their name.

Reception

We are in week 3 and the children are very well settled and have their morning routines established. Most are already settled and some it is taking a bit longer but all children will be fine. Building relationships has been a strong strength for the Reception classes. There has been good sharing during pay. As a way of learning about the ‘Woodside Way’, children have been looking at three ways to belong to Woodside as part of a community. They have talked about being kind, being ready and being safe. 

This week as the children are settled, they have started learning their phonics Phase 2 to support them to read independently. They have learnt the s, a, t, p sounds. Images to support phonics have been used. Children in Reception have enjoyed mark making the sounds.Please support your child with these sounds at home by playing game such as "I spy something beginning with s, a, t, or p", such as sock, ant, tap and pan.

To support their mark making skills, children in Reception have been having a dough disco and finishing the activity by creating something to show their peers. They enjoyed the different skills they had to follow

In Maths, children have been learning about how to use the dice and subitising. They have been able to match quantities to numerals using natural material such as conkers. They were able to match with the conkers with the numerals independently.

Reminders: Remember to attend a phonics workshop on Monday 23rd September the children will start getting a story book every Monday.

Phonics books will be given out on Fridays.

Year 2

In Art, the children have been busy creating and designing their own clay pieces, inspired by the relief artwork of Hilke McIntyre. They showed wonderful creativity and care in learning how to slip, score and blend using clay.

This week we also enjoyed a fantastic Drop Everything and Read session with parents. Thank you to everyone who came along — the turnout was wonderful, and the children loved sharing their reading time with you.

In Maths, we have been working with number lines and practising estimating numbers. The children have really been getting to grips with this and building their confidence.

In English, we have started planning our Big Write. Using the traditional tale 'The Three Billy Goats Gruff' as our focus text, the children are preparing to rewrite the ending of the story in their own imaginative way. We are very excited to see their finished pieces next week!

Year 3

In Maths, we have been exploring place value up to 1000. The children practised partitioning numbers into hundreds, tens and ones, and comparing them with confidence. A highlight was our giant number line on the playground, where children placed themselves according to their numbers. This active approach made maths fun and memorable.

In English, our focus has been biographies. We studied examples of biographies on Katherine Johnson from ‘Hidden Figures’, to spot key features, then the children became interviewers, asking members of staff  questions. They used their notes to begin drafting biographies, practising how to present facts clearly and in order.

In History, we have been learning about Ancient Egypt, from pyramids to daily life on the Nile. The children particularly enjoyed making models of papyrus paper, carefully layering strips to recreate this ancient invention.

In Art, we explored sketching techniques inspired by Corey Barksdale. The children experimented with bold lines, expressive shapes and bright colours, developing confidence in abstract styles and filling sketchbooks with vibrant work.

The children have shown great enthusiasm, creativity and teamwork in all areas of learning. We are very proud of their efforts and look forward to sharing more of their fantastic work with you soon.

In Art, we are continuing our paintings inspired by Jill Pelto’s work and look forward to sharing some finished pieces with you soon.

We hope you all have a lovely weekend. Don’t forget to keep practising your times tables and reading daily! 😊

In English, we delved deeper into our exciting core text. The children focused on writing detailed setting descriptions of the infamous Devil’s Tavern, using expanded noun phrases and prepositional phrases to describe both the setting and its eerie patrons—particularly the rather frightening bartender. They practised using ‘show not tell’ techniques to convey the atmosphere and bring each corner of the tavern vividly to life.

In History, we explored the reign of Henry VIII and his six wives, discussing the reasons behind his multiple marriages. The children investigated the creation of the Church of England and how it was closely linked to Henry’s desire to divorce his first wife, Catherine of Aragon.

Year 6

In Science this week, Year 6 undertook an exciting and challenging learning opportunity by dissecting a pig’s heart! This practical investigation enabled them to explore the structure of the heart in detail, identifying key features such as the pulmonary artery, the valves, and understanding their vital functions within the circulatory system. To enhance their knowledge further, they engaged with a range of videos that demonstrated how the heart responds in different situations, helping them to connect their practical work with real-life biological processes. The activity also required the children to work collaboratively, strengthening their ability to share ideas, support each other, and reflect together on their observations.

In Art, they  have been developing the technical skills needed to sketch the heart. By focusing on a variety of sketching techniques, shadows and tone. They are building a strong foundation to produce accurate and detailed drawings in the coming week. These combined experiences are enriching both their scientific and artistic understanding.

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.