Dear Parents and Carers

Welcome back to a new term - I cannot believe we are halfway through the academic year already! It has been lovely to welcome children and the community back.

Over the past term and week, we have had different year groups attend different trips. Whilst they have been great for our children to experience, we appreciate feedback where things could have been improved. We want to ensure that our children and our community have enjoyable experiences whilst ensuring that they are planned well. To this point, I (Mr Atwal) will begin overseeing the organisation of trips, working with teachers to ensure they are well-planned and executed.

Just before half term, we had a local authority visit from the Education Safeguarding Lead and a Senior School Improvement Advisor, working on behalf of Croydon and Ofsted. Throughout the visit, they spoke to leaders, spent time scrutinising our records, specific incidents, logging of first aid and liaised with staff around school safeguarding practices and procedures where they explored the wider school ethos and behaviour. Following the visit, they concluded we have a “thorough approach” to our safeguarding systems and procedures and were assured with our assessments and actions. We will continue to work to further develop our school practices and enhance our provisions for our children and community.

I hope everyone has a restful weekend and I look forward to seeing you all next week.

Iman Atwal

Headteacher

We expect pupils to maintain a high standard of attendance here at Woodside. We want all our pupils to be able to achieve their very best and in order to do this, they need to be in school as much as possible so they don't miss out on any learning. Everyday is a new learning opportunity!

We want all children to come to school each day, but we know that there are some days children are just too ill to attend, or will spread illness to others.

The NHS website Is My Child Too Ill For School is a useful place to look for guidance.

If your child has vomiting or diarrhoea they should stay away from school until they have not been sick or had diarrhoea for at least 2 days (48 hours).

Children can attend school with cold sores, conjunctivitis, hand, foot & mouth disease, slapped cheek (fifth) disease, sore throat, thread-worms or ear infections as long as they don't have a temperature as well.

Please encourage your children to wash their hands regularly and use and throw away tissues properly.

Here at Woodside, we understand that the children and parents/carers are at the heart of our school community. With this in mind, we would like to re-establish our Parents & Teachers Association (PTA). Historically, Woodside PTA formerly known as PAWS (Parents At Woodside School) have helped to raise thousands of pounds for the school. 

The PTA is a small group of parents and teachers that meet on a regular basis to organise events and fund-raising activities for the school throughout the year.

Through the PTA, our aim is; 

• To bring parents and staff together through informal social activities, to support development of the school and help introduce new families.

• To raise money for the school to provide equipment, facilities and other educational items or services that would not be available from other funding.

• To decide on the most appropriate use of the funds raised.

The PTA relies on the goodwill and effort of pupils, school staff, parents and others to give their time to organise both social and fundraising events (not all events are held to raise money).

To achieve this, we would like to gauge interest from our parents/carers in becoming  volunteers for events and of course committee members to help with the organisation and running of the PTA. If you would like to join the committee or just join our pool of volunteers, please sign the PTA sign-up sheet in the school office. Alternatively, speak to Mrs Georgiades for further information.

Nest

Children have settled well after the half term break and are following the Nest routine and expectations. First week back our role play has been very popular. Children have been dressing up in different costumes, they have supported each other to dress up and choose the costumes for each other, this has been really supporting the Nest children’s personal social development, sharing and caring for each other and being independent.

This half term our core text is 'The Three Little Pigs'. Children have been listening to the story with interest, answering simple questions, they also have been making puppets of the characters from the story. This activity has supported the children's fine motor skills, as they used scissors to cut around their chosen picture. Whilst engaged with their activity, they spoke about what they were doing and what story their characters are from which supported the children's communication and language skills and many other areas of learning.

Nursery

This week in Nursery, children came back to find a big beanstalk in their classroom. This was a hook to their Fairy Tale topic and they had to guess which story the beanstalk was from. Children were so excited to see the beanstalk and started to count the leaves. They have also been talking about the characters and the settings in the 'Three Little Pigs story'. Children chose which houses they liked and explained why. In Maths, children have been learning about positional language. They have used rhymes and role play to support their understanding of what position means.

Reception

The children have settled in well after half term and continued to extend their learning beyond carpet sessions. They had fun using different material (plastic, paper, cardboard) to make a pirate ship.

In Literacy: This week, children have been introduced to our new core text ‘Michael Recycle’. They have enjoyed learning new vocabulary: recycle and reuse. Reception children listened to the story carefully and then recapped key parts of the story using actions. 

Home Learning: Talk to your adults about how they recycle on a daily basis and try helping your adult by sorting out rubbish by placing your rubbish in the correct bins – plastic, paper and food. 

Phonics: This week, the focus has been on the following sounds:  ai ee igh oa oo or ur ow ear oi. They used their knowledge of sounds learnt this term to read words the following words: with, pocket, lemon, think, ribbon, carpet, load ,soap ,food, boot, hard and bar.

Home Learning: Continue to practice reading the above words. How many sounds can you hear?  

In Maths: This week, Reception children have looked at numbers nine and ten. They have used pictures, numicon and animal legs to make nine and ten. The children had fun matching numbers to quantity by picking a number from a crisp packet and counting out the corresponding number of cubes. 

Home Learning: Try matching numbers to quantity by picking a number from 1-10 and count out the corresponding number of objects (pencils, fruit, containers and anything else you can find) 

REMINDERS: Please remember to return the Little Wandle books on a Monday.  Thank you. 

Thank you for supporting us with the new start of day routines.  This has allowed the children to access their learning without delay.

Year 1

This week in Year 1, we have delved into exploring our new core text 'Grandad's Island' by Benji Davies. We have looked at the story and the journey our two main characters have been on and used this to help inform our ideas in English. We also explored the atmosphere of Antarctica by having an experience day where we looked at the weather and some animals that live in this climate. In Maths, we have been looking at counting in 10's between the numbers 20 and 50. We have recognised numbers and use these skills to explore one more and one less in sequences.

Year 2

This week in English the children have applied their knowledge of nouns, adjectives, adverbs and verbs to describe different settings in a range of books. We have looked at ‘The Secret Sky Garden’ and ‘Tin Forest’ which have similar settings within their stories. The children have learnt what prepositions are and how they can be used to make their writing more engaging to the reader. They have generated beautiful descriptions which we will be able to use when we begin to focus on our new core text for this term, ‘The frog belly rat bone’. 

In Maths this week, we have begun our new topic, ‘Fractions’ where we have explored what a fraction is, why it is important that it is to have equal parts. We used examples of slices of cake and pizza, how we would feel if we got a smaller piece than someone else. We looked at different fractions, understanding the bottom number is how many parts my whole is split into whereas the top number is how many parts we are interested in. For example a half is split into two pieces therefore would look like ½. 

This term in History, children have enjoyed learning about the Victorian era, finding similarities and differences between the past and present. In the pictures below, you will be able to see the children exploring different Victorian artifacts on their tables.

Year 3

In English, we have started a new core text called ‘The Hunter’. Children have been using descriptive language to describe their chosen animal from the Stone age which links with our new History learning. As we will be learning about the Stone Age, year 3’s visited Addington Hills to examine and collect the natural resources that were available during the Neolithic Age. 

In Maths, the children have learnt that perimeter is the distance around the outside of a closed 2-D shape. The children explored what perimeter is and what it is not, by deciding whether they can find the perimeter of a group of open and closed 2-D shapes. The children also measured the sides of different shapes in centimetres to find the perimeter. This builds on the previous step, where children found the perimeter by counting the number of squares of each length.

Year 4

As we eagerly welcome the children back to the spring 2 term, our focus shifts towards the exciting realm of science, particularly exploring the intriguing topic of sound and its creation. Our aim is to captivate young minds by delving into the mechanisms behind sound production through a series of engaging experiments.

In our foundation areas of science, we will embark on a journey to unravel the mysteries of sound, exploring how vibrations manifest into the diverse array of sounds we encounter in our daily lives. Through hands-on experiments and interactive demonstrations, we aim to ignite curiosity and foster a deeper understanding of this fundamental concept.

Moreover, we recognize the importance of making connections across subjects, enriching learning experiences and enhancing comprehension.

Building upon our previous exploration of ancient Greece in English, we will draw parallels between historical narratives and our personal lives, fostering a holistic understanding of the world around us.

By intertwining core subjects such as English with our scientific inquiry into sound, we aim to create a cohesive learning experience that encourages critical thinking and fosters a sense of wonder and discovery among our students. Through this interdisciplinary approach, we hope to inspire a lifelong passion for learning and exploration.

Year 5

In English, the children have been exploring our new core text - 'A kind of Spark' by Elle McNicoll. We have been looking at the relationship between the main character and her teacher, discussing thoughts, feelings and empathising with the character’s needs.

In Maths, we have been calculating fractions of amounts using bar model and groups methods, it has highlighted how important their knowledge of their times tables are - Please keep practising these at home. The children have been coaching each other with reasoning questions, which was a great success.

The children have also started their new Science topic of forces. We have been exploring the different types of forces and the difference between a push and a pull force.

Year 6

In Science, our Year 6 students delved into the electrifying world of circuits! They began by understanding the fundamental concept of what a circuit is and how it functions. Through hands-on activities and engaging discussions, they illustrated their understanding by drawing circuit diagrams, identifying key components, and learning about the flow of electricity. One of the highlights of our electricity unit was the investigative project. Students worked collaboratively in groups, bringing together their unique perspectives and ideas to conduct experiments. From exploring different materials' conductivity to investigating how circuit components affect brightness or sound, their curiosity knew no bounds! This collaborative spirit fostered a rich learning environment where students not only learned from their teachers but also from each other.

In mathematics, our focus is on measurement. Students applied their knowledge of both imperial and metric systems to support their learning in various ways. Students will participate in a math challenge where they will apply their measurement skills to solve real-world problems.This interdisciplinary approach not only reinforced their understanding of measurement but also highlighted its relevance in real-world applications.

A number of policies have been updated on the school website

Please follow this link for more information: Woodside Primary School Policies Page

Updated policies:

Data Subject Access Request (DSAR) Policy 

Privacy Notice for Pupils 

Privacy Notice for Staff 

Staff Pupil AUPs

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.

Please note that this year, we are asking children to change in school. They should bring in their PE bags and keep them in school for the term and take them home at the end of the term. Thank you for supporting us with this.

All children need elastic fronted plimsolls for indoor/outdoor PE which are best kept in a drawstring bag on their cloak peg. Children will need black/blue shorts and a white t-shirt in their PE bag to wear for PE lessons. 

Collaboration matters   Excellence in everything   Community first   Equity for everyone   Continuous growth