Dear Parents and Carers,

It has been a wonderful week at Woodside, topped off by a very colourful Thursday!

Yesterday, it was lovely to see so many children in EYFS and KS1 dressing up for our Phonics Day. We were joined by unicorns, queens, kings, and many more imaginative characters. Our focus on early reading continues next week with our Reception Phonics Workshop—we strongly encourage all Reception parents to come along to find out how you can support your child’s progress at home. Also thank you to the Year 3 parents and carers who came to our Y3 Parents in to Read session on Tuesday.

Starting next week, Year 5 will begin their swimming lessons. Please ensure that your child brings appropriate swimwear and a towel every day for the next two weeks, as outlined in the previous letter. These daily sessions are a fantastic way for the children to build their confidence and skills in the water.

We have published three important letters in our directory this week, which we urge you to read:

• An attendance movie night competition for Years 1-6. EYFS, a separate competition will be announced at a later date!

• An update regarding the Department for Education (DfE) guidance on mobile phones in schools.

• Information and guidance regarding current illness across the school.

• A very special letter sharing communication we received from the Education Secretary, celebrating the fantastic successes we have achieved here at Woodside. We are incredibly proud of this recognition of our hard work.

• We are recruiting for a new parent Local Community Council member.

Finally, a reminder that Parents’ Evening is now only two weeks away. Please ensure you log on to Arbor to sign up for a time slot if you have not already done so.

We hope you all have a lovely weekend!

Iman Atwal

Headteacher

This term, we have started to explore a new value: Collaboration. This week, we focused on the importance of empathy to enable good collaboration. We shared that showing empathy means “putting on someone else’s shoes” so we can think about how they feel. Showing empathy means recognising when someone else may be hurt, sad or aggrieved and what we can do to support them.

Ask you child:

• How do you think they feel?

• If we know this is how they feel, what can we do?

• How can we help someone?

Dear Parents and Carers,

Following on from the success of last year’s Parents’ Forum, we are now in the process of setting this up for this academic year and next. The Parents’ Forum provides a valuable opportunity for the Trust to hear directly from our parent community and gather feedback on key aspects of school life.

Last year, our parent representatives reviewed the uniform policy and contributed to discussions on the Trust’s strategic plan. This year, we are looking to expand the forum and involve a wider group of parents.

If you are able to commit to meeting online three times a year and are willing to share your ideas and perspectives, we warmly encourage you to register your interest in joining the Parents’ Forum. This is a fantastic opportunity to connect with other parents across the Trust and help shape our ongoing development.

Please register your interest by Friday 16th February using this form.

Thank you for your continued support.

Dear Families,

I hope you are doing well. I know family life can feel busy at this time of year, especially with winter illnesses and changes to routine. I want to remind you that support is always available in school, and no concern is too small.

🤝Family Support in School

I can support families with:

Emotional wellbeing and behaviour

Attendance concerns

Changes or worries at home

Parenting advice and guidance

Signposting to local services

Early conversations really help

📞Get in Touch

If you or your child would benefit from additional support, families can speak directly to me or by clicking on the link below and emailing:

Familysupport at Woodside Primary School 

Support is offered confidentially and can include advice, guidance, or simply a listening ear.

All conversations are treated with care and confidentiality.

Warm regards,

Mrs Georgiades

Nest

We have had a fantastic week of learning in the Nest! The children have been busy little explorers, and we are so proud of how hard they are working on their sounds. As part of our Little Wandle Letters and Sounds journey, the children went on an exciting nature walk around our school playground to practice their listening skills. They did a brilliant job identifying sounds like birds chirping and cars and a bus passing by! Children were also very enthusiastic about playing "What’s in the Bag?" a game that has wonderfully supported the children's communication, language, and turn-taking. During the game, children reached into the bag to choose an item, named it, and explained its purpose; for example, one child pulled out a brush and proudly explained, "It is a brush for my hair!" To celebrate all this hard work, children dressed up on Phonics Dress-Up Day on Thursday, 29th January, where children came dressed as their favorite nursery rhyme character!

Reception

This week, we moved beyond just listening to the story and started looking at the "where". We’ve been exploring story mapping to help us visualize the Gingerbread Man’s daring escape. The children worked together to draw a giant map of the Gingerbread Man's route—starting from the oven, through the garden, past the cow and horse, and finally to the riverbank. We used these maps to retell the story in our own words, using "first," "next," and "finally" to keep our events in order. We also  started talking about how maps are like "birds-eye views" of a place. We used Google Earth to find areas surrounding our school and children were able to identify some shops they see on their way to school. Some children drew castles for their settings.

In Phonics, our journey has taken a big step forward as we have officially started Phase 3! This week, we introduced our first digraphs (two letters making one sound) and our first trigraph (three letters making one sound):ai (as in r-ai-n),ee (as in f-ee-t),igh (as in n-igh-t). The children have been hunting for these sounds in words and trying to spot them in sentences, We call igh a "three-letter-sound," and the children are working hard to remember that all three letters must stay together to make that one sound.

In Maths, we have been "maths detectives," looking closely at the composition of 5, 6, and 7. Instead of just counting, we are learning that these numbers are made up of smaller parts. For example, the children explored how 5 can be 3 and 2, or 4 and 1. We used "part-whole" models and five-frames to visualize these hidden numbers. We even used gingerbread men buttons to see how many different ways we could make 6 or 7! Understanding that a number like 7 can be '5 and 2' or '4 and 3' is a vital stepping stone for their future addition and subtraction skills.

Year 1

This week in Maths, Year 1 have been developing their understanding of place value by exploring tens and ones. The children have been recognising numbers, building them using practical resources, and deepening their understanding by finding one more and one less than a given number.

In English, the children have been busy publishing their very own piece of writing, focusing on a setting description for their story.

In Art, the children have been designing their own crowns. They began by planning their designs and then edited and added detailed drawings to show how they would like their final crown to look, using their creativity and imagination.

Year 2

This week in English, we started our new core text 'Hermelin'. As Hermelin is a detective, we kicked off the week by investigating a mystery of our own! On Monday, our paintbrush mysteriously disappeared, and the children became detectives, searching for clues and trying to solve the mystery. Over the next few days, we focused on building detective vocabulary, retelling the story, and using conjunctions in our writing.

In Maths, we began a new topic on making equal and not equal groups. The children explored this through hands-on activities, grouping objects and comparing amounts.

In Science, we built on our previous learning about healthy eating. We learned about different food groups, including vegetables, carbohydrates, dairy, and proteins, and talked about how much of each should be on a healthy plate. We also discussed that sweets and sugary drinks should only be a small part of a balanced diet 😉

On Thursday, we had a lovely Phonics Day! It was great to see so many phonics sounds around the classroom. Thank you for supporting the children with their costumes—it really helped make the day extra special!

Year 4

This week in Maths, the children have been exploring metric measurements, learning to convert between millimetres, centimetres, and metres. They’ve also been practising their times tables, and we’d love your support at home with the 6, 7, and 8 times tables—we’ll be testing these next week!

In Science, our budding investigators have been busy building circuits and discovering which materials are conductors and which are insulators. There were some electrifying experiments happening in the classroom! ⚡

In English, our lessons have been full of creativity and imagination. The children are writing their own Greek myths inspired by Odysseus and the Cyclops, and have been developing rich character and setting descriptions using expanded noun phrases, figurative language, and fronted adverbials. Some of the stories are already sounding truly epic! 🏺

We are so proud of the effort and enthusiasm the children are showing in all their learning.

Wishing you a fantastic weekend!

Year 5

In Maths, we have continued our multiplication journey, shifting our focus to 2-digit by 2-digit multiplication. The children have been working hard to master the formal written method, with a particular emphasis on place value. We have been discussing why it is vital to include the place holder when multiplying by the tens digit to ensure our calculations are accurate.

In English, our lessons took a poetic turn this week as we explored the vibrant work of Benjamin Zephaniah. Alongside this, the children studied the famous poem "If" by Rudyard Kipling. Using these as inspiration, the pupils will be writing their own emotive versions of the poem from the perspective of Leonard writing to his Grandma.

In Art, the classroom has turned into a sculptor’s studio! The children have been busy refining their tin foil statues. This week, they focused on covering their structures to add strength and stability, which allowed them to manipulate the figures into more dynamic, lifelike poses. To finish their masterpieces, the children will then apply a painting technique to give the surface a weathered bronze effect, making their sculptures look like professional gallery pieces.

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.