Weekly Newsletter

24.11.2025

Achieving excellence for ourselves and others.

Upcoming Dates

Wednesday 26th November

Rainbow Group meeting at The Hive, 9am - 10am

Friday 28th November

Cake donations can be brought to school for the fayre
Theatre group performance in school
OPAL Stay and Play (Rearranged)

Saturday 29th November

PSA Christmas Fayre, 11am - 2pm

Tuesday 2nd December

Reception Christmas Crafts in the hall, 9am

Wednesday 3rd December

Year 6 Christmas Performance in Bath
PSA Christmas Wreath Workshop, 7pm - 9pm

Friday 5th December

Dress as an Animal - Pupil Voice fundraising day

Thursday 11th December

Nursery Christmas singing and crafts, 2pm

Sunday 14th December

PSJ Churches Together Christmas Carol Service, held at PSJ School

Tuesday 16th December

Reception Nativity, 9:15am
Year 1 & 2 Christmas Performance, 10:30am
Year 4 Christmas Coffee and Carols, 2:15pm

Wednesday 17th December

Reception Nativity, 9:15am
Year 5 Christmas Coffee and Carols, 2:15pm

Thursday 18th December

Year 1 & 2 Christmas Performance, 9:15am
Year 3 Christmas Coffee and Carols, 2:15pm

Friday 19th December

Last Day of Term 2

Monday 5th January

INSET Day

Tuesday 6th January

Term 3 starts for children

Calendar

Term Dates

Message from Mrs Noall

Thank you to our Eco Team who led an assembly this morning explaining ways in which we can all make small changes which will have a big impact. Look out for your children turning off the lights and closing the doors when you're not in a room!

And on the subject of preserving heat, please ensure your children come to school with a coat during these winter months.

News and Events

Fun Friday events coming up!

This Friday we have two events planned for the day. In the morning we will be watching a performance from the Bristol Old Vic and in the afternoon we have our rearranged OPAL Stay and Play.

Next Friday is our Pupil Voice charity fundraiser:

Dress as an Animal Day

Friday 5th December
Baths Cats and Dogs Home
You can wear anything animal related such as a full costume, an animal print t-shirt or a pair of ears!
There will be a small prize for one lucky person in each class, chosen by the pupil voice candidates.
Please bring in a £1 donation if you dress up!

Thank you 😀

PSA Christmas Fayre

Please send any cake donations to school on Friday ready for the fayre on Saturday.

Reminders

Christmas Dinner

We now have details of PSJ's Christmas Dinner menu which will take place on Wednesday 17th December. We hope every child possible will want to join in with our seasonal celebration that day. For this, you will need to pre-book via School Grid by 10.00 pm on Thursday 11th December. If you haven't yet activated your child's School Grid meal account because they usually have a packed lunch, we have arranged for log in details to be re-sent to you by the end of this week.

Polite reminder - School Grid not Arbor is used for our PSJ's school meals. The weekly booking deadline is 10.00 pm every Thursday for the following school week.

Road Safety

We have taken a call recently from a member of the public concerned about the speed of cars driving on Frederick Avenue in the mornings. Please remind your children to walk on pavements and to cross the road safely, especially if they walk on their own to school.

Class News

Find out what we have been up to on our class pages and on Face Book.

Class Pages

School News

Previous Newsletters

Home Learning

The button below will take you to this week's home learning for every year group. Home learning is designed to enable children to practice skills they will need in school and so it is really important that they spend some time over the week on this home learning.

Home Learning Week 4

SEND Updates

New ADHD and Autism referrals- Right to Choose.

As you may already know, the process for referring children for an Autism and/or ADHD assessment changed earlier this year. It now involves a long process of setting and reviewing a series of action plans both for home and school, before the referral panel will consider a referral.

As a school, we are meeting on a regular basis with parents/carers to carry out this paperwork and there is now a waiting list, due to the high demand for referrals and the length of time it takes to complete each one.

We wanted to draw your attention to another referral route that some parents/carers have already chosen to take. This is called 'Right to Choose' and as part of the NHS Choice Framework, as long as you’re registered with a GP in England you have the legal right to choose the service you want to receive your NHS treatment from. This is true for a range of health conditions or worries, including specific services – such as an assessment for autism and/or ADHD.

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Psicon supports several NHS Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) and provides both autism and ADHD assessments. If you or your child needs an autism or ADHD assessment, and their GP is registered in England, Psicon can assess them via the NHS – you just need to ask your GP to make a referral to Psicon under your ‘Right to Choose’. Your GP will need to complete an online referral form. The average waiting time for an assessment is currently 9-12 months. To find out more, visit the Psicon Right to Choose website via the link.

PFSA Updates

CAMHS Parent Workshops

https://www.sussexcamhs.nhs.uk/resources/resources-for-families-carers-and-professionals/parent-and-carer-workshops?open=15829#single-accordion-15829

Rainbow Group this Wednesday will be in the small hall straight from drop off. We have Michelle from the Children's Centre and Angela and Jane from SENDIAS coming to give expert advice.

EYFS Updates

PSJ BITESIZE Forth Challenge - Fine MOTOR SKILLS ACTIVITY

Development of a Tripod Grasp

Even when a child has good fine motor skills and well-developed grasp patterns, holding a pencil is a new and complex task. You may need to check your child’s grip on the pencil while they are colouring or drawing. The pictures below show the developmental stages that a child may go through when learning to hold a pen.

A child should be able to use a static or dynamic tripod grasp for writing. This means that:

The pencil is held between the tips of the thumb, index and middle fingers.
The pencil is held in a relaxed way without too much pressure on the shaft of the pencil.

The pencil rests on the hand between the thumb and index finger (webspace).
The webspace gap should be open (i.e. the thumb and index fingers form a circle).
The ring and little fingers are held away from the pencil bent slightly into the palm.

It is important to encourage your child to hold the pencil using a dynamic tripod grip. However, all children develop at different rates so please do not worry if they are not using a Static or Dynamic Grip. Their muscles may not be quite ready.

Challenge

Have a go at the following pen disco. You will need a piece of paper and a variety of colours of pens, pencils or crayons. See if you can hold the pencil correctly.

Horizontal and Vertical Lines

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBTZrfh9euI

FUN FACT FOR PARENTS

An Italian couple named Simonio and Lyndiana Bernacotti invented the first wooden pencil in 1560. It was created with a hollowed-out stick of juniper.
The Graphite Pencil was created in1565, when a deposit of graphite was found near Grey Knotts of Seathwaite in Cumbria, England. The locals being traditional farmers found that it was very useful for marking sheep.
The eraser was then added in 1858 by Hymen Lipman who patented the idea.

UPDATES

RECEPTION PARENT CHRISTMAS CRAFT WORKSHOP - Tuesday 2nd December @ 9.00am. Come and join us in the main hall for Christmas creative activities with your child. Please speak to a member of the team to sign up for a space.

OPAL and Forest School Updates

OPAL Stay and Play – You're Invited!

We are excited to invite you to our OPAL Stay and Play event THIS Friday – a wonderful opportunity to come and experience the joy and creativity of outdoor play with your children!

Event Times:

KS2: 1:00 – 2:00pm
KS1: 2:00 – 3:00pm

To support our OPAL play provision, we kindly ask for a donation from the list below or a £1 contribution via Arbor. Card payments will also be accepted by Mrs Stenner, who will be located by the boat in the playground.