Weekly Newsletter

Upcoming Dates

Tuesday 24th March

• Dance Umbrella (Years 3 & 5): Bath Forum

Wednesday 25th March

• Reception Easter Parent Workshop 9am

Thursday 26th March

• KS2 Netball Tournament

Wednesday 1st April & Thursday 2nd April

• Parent and teacher pupil progress meetings

Wednesday 1st April

• Mini Police visit American Museum

• Year 1 visit Holborne Museum

• Nursery Easter Parent Workshop 9am

Thursday 2nd April

• Last day of Term 4

Friday 3rd - Friday 17th April

• Easter break

Monday 20th April

• First day of Term 5

Monday 20th - Friday 24th April

• Turing trip to Barcelona

Message from Mrs Noall

What a fantastic couple of weeks we have enjoyed here at PSJ; a trip to Bordeaux, an awards ceremony in London, our Careers Faye, first aid lessons across the school, forest school trips to the woods, cooking and card making and Dance Umbrealla tomorrow night. Please check our website regularly to hear all about these fantastic events.

News and Events

Mid-year Progress Reports

Next week you will receive a mid-year progress report for your child. This will be emailed to you and should also appear in 'reports' on Arbor. You will then be able to discuss this report with your child's teacher at parents' evenings next Wednesday or Thursday.

Parents' Evenings

These are on Wednesday 1st and Thursday 2nd April. Appointments for both in-person and on-line appointments will need to be made via the online booking system.

Reminders

Shoes & Trainers

A reminder that children should wear school shoes on a day that is not a PE day and that they should only wear trainers on PE days.

Children wishing to play sport on the Hive court at lunchtime should change into trainers for this at the start of lunchtime.

Children will NOT be allowed to play sports without the correct footwear.

Class News

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

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. 

Attendance Matters

SEND Updates

Fidget Toys

A reminder that if your child needs a fidget toy to help them in class, then this must be one supplied by Mrs Tombs and not one brought in from home. Here is a reminder of our fidget toy expectations:

PFSA Updates

Mrs Steadman will be available at parent's evening to talk to and for uniform giveaway. Find her in the library!

EYFS Updates

PSJ BITESIZE LITERACY

A LIFE-LONG LOVE of reading is crucial for language comprehension, word reading and writing 

Why reading comprehension is important

Oral language development is key to children’s development. Language development can be enhanced by the amount of spoken language a child hears and joins in with. Language comprehension is an important prerequisite to children being able to understand what they read for themselves, when the teaching of phonics begins in reception. It’s also important to later success with writing composition.

Through reading with children you talk about the meanings of words. This starts with you providing and talking about the children’s interests and gradually extending their knowledge about the world around them. Listening to stories introduces children to words they would not often hear in everyday speech. It also gives them an awareness of sentence structure. (Department for Education)

The Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum

Language comprehension (necessary for both reading and writing) starts from birth. It only develops when adults talk with children about the world around them and the books (stories and non-fiction) they read with them, and enjoy rhymes, poems and songs together. 

Babies

In nurseries adults share books with babies. They may just look at a favourite page or picture and when reading to young children, help them ‘read the picture back’ by letting them grab the book or point to the picture.

Preschool

By providing children with a wide selection of reading material, children can be supported to choose books for themselves. Adults can talk about why they like a book and share what the child likes too. Let children explore how books open, while talking about what they see or feel. Be patient, letting them ask or answer questions.

Through the regular sharing of books, the children will become more interested in books, and be able to explain what they are about. You should help them guess what happens next. Make the text come alive by using voices, exaggerated facial expressions and body movements to tell the story.

Providing lots of opportunities for children to make their own books, such as family books, helps children to begin to understand that written words have meanings. This helps them to start to understand print has meaning and that it works from left to right, and top to bottom.

Reception

Ask children about some of the main points, for example ‘have you seen one of these animals before?’ Provide related toys or equipment, such as musical instruments, a magnifying glass or toy animal.

Think of similar, new words you could use. For example, when hunting a bear ‘what else does walking through mud sound like?’ Develop children’s conversation and vocabulary by talking with them as they read.

Explore the book’s front and back, noticing any pictures or words that might help guess what happens inside.

Talk to children while turning the pages, asking what they think might happen next. Get them to ‘read to you’, or say what they think is happening. It does not matter if they don’t get it exactly, or if parts are missed.

Sensitively point out words or pictures, asking and waiting for feedback. ‘Do you like this story, picture, character?’ ‘Why? Why not?’. Talk about their responses.

PSJ BITESIZE Challenge - Reading

What logos have you seen when you are walking to school, at home or when you go shopping?

FUN FACT FOR PARENTS

If you read 20 minutes a day, you would have read 1.8 million words in a year.

Evo Sports at PSJ

This week we learnt more about Ramadan, we made a 3D ‘Good Deed Tree’ which we filled with all our good deeds that the children had done throughout the week. We also made some marble effect moons and stars pictures and mobiles as well as some other amazing crafts. 

Community News and Events

Please see below a flyer for a family Easter egg hunt raising money for The Nest Project. Please click the link below to book tickets. 

The Nest Project Easter Egg Hunt (28-Mar-2026) · CharitySuite Events