Diary Dates

Term Dates

Dear Parents and Carers,

Over the course of this half term the children have been spending some time each week in the key stage that they will transition to in September. This process has been really successful over the last few years at helping to alleviate any anxieties and familiarising children with the learning environment and routines. I am so pleased with the way that the children have embraced these taster sessions over the last few weeks and am looking forward to our whole school transition day on Wednesday 2nd July. We will also be thinking about children who are leaving us on this day as they too spend some time in their new schools.

It was lovely to welcome lots of Dads and Grandads into school recently where the children in Reception greeted the special men in their lives with various arts and crafts! Thank you so much if you were able to be involved in this event; the children absolutely love to share their environment with you and enjoy some child initiated play.

Key Stage 1 enjoyed a fabulous day at Walton-on-the Naze this week where the sun was well and truly shining and they had the chance to dip a little more than their toes in the sea! I felt so privileged to have been able to spend this time with the children making memories - it was such a fantastic trip! Thank you to Mrs Bilenkyj for organising and all of our parents and carers for accompanying them, making it possible. The fun didn't stop in school on the same day when Lower Key Stage 2 entered in their finest Egyptian attire for a day of immersive learning all about their Egyptian history topic; thank you for ensuring your child looked the part.

This week we were blessed with some more scorching weather for our annual Sports Day - at least it wasn't rained off! It was lovely to see so many of you at this event to support your child and witness all of the children confidently getting involved in sport. It wasn't just the children who were showing off their athletic skills; thank you if you got involved in one of the parents and carers' races; the children absolutely love to watch you get involved and year you on.

Finally, we finished the week on a high with our yearly Lark Rise party; this year Lark Fest was another big hit! What an afternoon it was; I was delighted that once again we'd been able to book the weather for the occasion! It was wonderful to see so many children and parents and carers also dressed up in their festival gear which made for a lovely atmosphere. Thank you so much for coming and spending the afternoon with us; the community spirit could really be felt; it's definitely turning into one of the highlights of year! A huge thank you to Mrs Hunt, AKA Lark Rise's chief party planner who once again did a superb job of organising the event for everyone. A big thank you also to Mrs Hunt's daughter Ruby who kindly volunteers her own time every year to help (once a Lark Riser always a Lark Riser) We hope you had as much fun as we did. Please check our social media channels for photos of the event; there are more to come which we will continue to update.

The countdown until the end of the year is well and truly on but we still have so much to look forward to. Please continue to check your emails and social media for updates and news. Enjoy another beautiful weekend in the sunshine!

Mrs Romina Lang

Headteacher

Attendopoly

Each week in our whole school assembly we celebrate children's attendance by playing a game of Attendopoly (based on Monopoly). The class with the highest attendance figure is rewarded with a class prize.

The winning class for the last couple of weeks was:

Week of 2nd June : Eagles class with 99.3% attendance

Whole school attendance : 96.5%

Week of 9th June: Hawks, Peacocks & Red Kites classes with 100% attendance

Whole school attendance : 98.3%

Our whole school target attendance for this academic year across all classes is 97%.

FALLS Team

We urgently need to revitalise and expand our FALLS Team (parent staff association). If you would be interested in becoming part of the team to organise fundraising events for school, please complete THIS FORM if you have not already done so.

After School Clubs

There will be no after school clubs running in the last week of the Summer term (week of 14thJuly) so all children will need to be collected at the end of the school day (3.30pm).

If you have absolutely no alternative childcare until 4.30pm on that week, please contact the school office and we will try and assist. There will be NO childcare available on Thursday 17th & Friday 18th July.

Music Hero of the half term

Coldplay

This half term the children were exited to have a 'Battle of the Bands' as their first music assembly of the half term. The children were allowed to vote with their feet and choose which band they would like to celebrate this term between Coldplay and the Spice girls! After Coldplay won the vote the children sang 'A sky full of stars' altogether and the adults were very moved by the children's beautiful singing. I'm sure you will agree that Coldplay is a fabulous choice so please enjoy singing and dancing together at home. We will look forward to hearing the children's favourite songs in their music lessons where they will be starting to put together a very special Coldplay performance in their key stages ready for their final end of year music assembly.

DT Hero of the half term

Nadiya Hussain

For our DT hero this half term we are thrilled to shine a spotlight on an incredible role model in the world of food and beyond: Nadiya Hussain! Many of you might know her as the winner of The Great British Bake Off, but Nadiya is so much more than a talented baker. She's a brilliant author of cookbooks and children's stories, a popular TV presenter, and a passionate advocate for mental health. Nadiya inspires us with her creativity, showing how she transforms simple ingredients into amazing dishes and always comes up with fresh ideas. Her journey also teaches us about resilience – she bravely overcame challenges and anxieties to achieve her dreams, proving that with determination and hard work, anything is possible. Nadiya is a true hero of Design and Technology, especially in the realm of food, and a wonderful example of how we can all use our talents to inspire others.

DT Competition

After finding out all about Stephen WIlshire who was our artist of the half term, the children were set the challenge of creating their own architectural drawing using just lines and pen. They were clearly very inspired as I was lucky enough to receive between 60 and 70 entries for the competition! The standard was very high and this made it so tricky for the Art Ambassadors and I to choose the winners.

Everyone who entered the competition was given two coloured coins and our five overall winners received some Art supplies. Well done Jasmin, Maria, Isla, Teddie and Celeste.

Mrs Shilvock

Art Subject Leader

School Uniform

Any online orders with Price & Buckland (uniform supplier) will need to be placed by Saturday 5th July to ensure delivery to school week commencing 14th July.

Into-school delivery will be paused after this date over the summer holidays. After this, the deadline for the next available into-school delivery will be orders placed by Saturday 23rd August for delivery week commencing 8th September.

FALLS Leavers Disco

The FALLS team will be organising an end of year Leavers Disco which will take place on Monday 14th July at the following times :

5.00 - 6.00pm : Reception (Owls & Robins) & KS1 (Hummingbirds, Parrots & Penguins)

6.15 - 7.15pm : KS2 (Macaws, Peacocks, Red Kites, Eagles, Falcons & Hawks).

Tickets (£4 per child) are available to purchase on Parentmail. Any children leaving Lark Rise at the end of term can attend free of charge.

L Factor

It is time once again for our very special Lark Rise music event 'The L Factor.' This really is one of the highlights of our school year for the children and I would encourage all children to enter an act if they would like to as it is lots of fun. The children will be coming home with a slip to fill in if they have requested one from their teacher and will need to hand it back in as soon as they have decided on what they would like to perform. We usually have a range of singing solos, groups, dance acts and children playing musical instruments etc. We are looking forward to seeing what the children have prepared for this event; I'm sure it will be another great musical success.

Transition Meetings

You should by now have received the transition booklets for your child's new key stage together with links for the virtual meetings which will take place as follows:

Monday 23rd June 7.00pm: KS1 (current Year R & Year 1 children)
Tuesday 24th June 7.00pm : LKS2 (current Year 2 & 3 children)
Wednesday 25th June 7.00pm : UKS2 (current Year 4 & Year 5 children)

The meeting for parents/carers of children starting in the Reception class (current Ducks class) will take place in school on Friday 27th June at 9am.

All children will spend the morning in their new classes on Wednesday 2nd July when most of the Year 6 children will be visiting their new secondary schools. Annual reports will be sent home on Friday 11th July and there will be an opportunity for parents/carers to visit their child(ren)'s new classroom on Wednesday 16th July between 3.30pm and 3.45pm.

Writing to be proud of (Year 4)