Dear Parents and Carers

Welcome back everyone to a new term. I hope everyone had a relaxing half term break. Our return to school this term has been met with lots of rain and wind. I want to take this opportunity to remind parents to send children into school with coats / jackets and warm clothing. 

As we start a new term, we introduced the children to our new value of the term: Responsibility. We explored this means holding yourself to account for your own behaviours, learning, looking after your belongings and more. We also introduced the “Woodside Learner” - these are the all the qualities that if we showcase and take responsibility for our behaviours, we become Woodside Learners. A Woodside Learner is someone who is resilient, focused, collaborative and reflective. We are actively looking out for children who showcase these qualities so we can celebrate positive learning behaviours. 

On Tuesday, we held our Autumn Celebration Pumpkin Competition. We had lots of entries which was amazing. Please read below to hear more about it and find out the winners. We also welcomed our Chair of Trustees on Thursday who toured the school, spoke to staff and children. We are pleased with the outcome of the visit with clear evidence of improvements across the school.

We are finalising our Winter Festive Celebrations and we will be communicating this with parents soon.

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!

At school we use the Zones of Regulation to talk about how we are feeling. We talk about the different zones and how it feels to be in each zone. It is ok to be in any of the zones. We do our best learning when we are in the Green Zone. We teach the children the tools they can use to get in the green zone. We are going to be talking about these a lot this half term. Teachers will be doing regular check ins during the day with children to see what zone they are in. You can talk to your child at home about what zone they are in and the tools they can use to get to the green zone.

It was extremely tough to choose the winners for each phase group. A range of adults across the school voted for their favourite pumpkins and the ones with the most votes won. There were lots of disagreements due to the brilliant selection on offer. The lucky winners have won a £10 Amazon voucher each! If your child is a lucky winner, please contact the office to arrange collection of your prize (adults must collect the voucher).

And the Winners are........

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. 

Nursery

This week in Nursery, children have been exploring and finding out more about pumpkins as it has been Halloween week. Children came in excited to talk about what they were going to dress up as to celebrate Halloween. A few were going to be dressed as witches, vampires and pumpkins. We then talked about pumpkins and children describing the outside. When we cut open the pumpkins, children described the inside. "It has lots of seeds, pulp and strings”, said the children, taking it in turns to scoop out the pulp and the seeds. In the outdoor area, children had an opportunity to share big books in the reading area. They talked about the cat wearing shoes, 'Pussy in Boots'. Children were also using blocks for construction and some created towers and one child sat down and created a town. So we have our own builders and storytellers.

Year 2

This week year 2 have had lots of fun exploring their number bonds to 10, 20 and 100 using a range of resources to help them with their learning. They used numicon and tens frames to help them picture their number sentences visually. In English this week, we have explored the various types of communication we can have, discussing what is the importance of being able to communicate. Year 2 had a go at learning the alphabet in British sign language, as another form of communication. Communication is the theme of our first core text, 'Drawn Together' where a little boy struggles to communicate with his grandpa and in the end they communicate through pictures. The children have explored why they thought the author decided not to have writing in the book until the characters drew together and the effect it has on them as the reader. We then sequenced the pictures using adjectives, verbs and time adverbials in our sentences.

Year 4

Our Year 4s have come back from half term refreshed and have settled in well with their learning. They have shown an eagerness to get back to their learning and are excited about all that the new term has to offer.

This week, our Year 4 pupils have been using Post-it notes to investigate finding area in maths. This hands-on activity has helped them to understand the concept of the area in a fun and engaging way.

The pupils began by covering a variety of shapes with Post-it notes. They then counted the number of Post-it notes that it took to cover each shape. This helped them to understand that the area of a shape is the amount of space that it takes up.

The pupils found that the Post-it notes were a great way to visualise the concept of area. They were also able to use the Post-it notes to explore different ways of calculating area.

Year 6

The year 6 children came back from the holiday ready to learn and have worked very hard during our maths lesson this week. They were able to simplify fractions, identify equivalent fractions and convert proper fractions to mixed fractions. 

In English, our core text 'Stella by Starlight' provided children with a historical insight of the civil and human right movement. This knowledge was embedded across the curriculum. In our history lessons, children were able to explore the significant figures that caused changes during this period and the changes they made in the global communities.

Primary Admissions

Is your child 4 years old before 31st August 2024?

We warmly invite you to join our school community. Mr Atwal would be delighted to show any prospective parents around the school; please make sure you sign up to join us for a school tour and to meet the team. 

Existing Nursery children will also need to apply for a Reception place.

There are a number of dates on which you can visit - use this form

or call the office to let us know when you will visit.

If your child was born between 1 September 2019 and 31 August 2020 you are now able to apply for them to join Woodside for a Reception place in September 2024. Applications for Reception next year should be made via the Local Authority. Information about the application process can be found HERE

Belongings and equipment

Please remember that children should not bring pencil cases, toys or other items to school - we cannot be held responsible if these items go missing or are damaged. Pencil cases are a distraction - we provide all necessary equipment for our students to use during lessons.

In line with our school policies, we ask that children do not wear smartwatches during school hours. This ensures a fair and uniform approach to the use of technology within the classroom setting. 

To avoid confusion and loss of personal items, please ensure your child's name is clearly written on all of their clothing. This includes uniforms, PE kit, jackets or coats, and any other items they may bring to school. This simple step greatly aids in the quick and accurate return of lost belongings. Please regularly check that your child is returning home with their own property.

Thank you for your support on these matters.

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