Weekly Newsletter

Upcoming Dates

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 @2:30pm

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

• Christmas Dinner

• 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

Message from Mrs Noall

It was fantastic to see so many of you, your friends and your family at the PSA Christmas Fayre on Saturday. The fayre was a fantastic success and I want to extend a huge thank you to everyone who helped out either in the preparation, the event or the clean up. The fayre was the last PSA engagement to be led by Charlotte who has now stepped down as the Chair after 5 years with the PSA and for Andrew Morley who has stepped down as Secretary after a staggering 15 years in the PSA! Thank you both of you for your dedication to raising much needed additional funds for our school. The PSA continues to be well supported with a new team of committee members elected on Saturday. The next PSA event is the Wreath Making this Wednesday evening.

News and Events

Dress as an Animal Day - Friday 5th December 

• Raising money for 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 😀

Reminders

Christmas Dinner

Christmas Dinner menu 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.  

Up-coming payments for Year 3 and Year 4

Aqua and Teal Classes will be visiting The Bristol Hindu Temple on 13th January and Fern and Jade Classes will visit Stonehenge on 5th February  The information letters are going live today via Arbor - Activities - Trips so do please go into your Arbor app to have a look at the details and confirm your child's attendance. 

Class News

Find out what we have been up to on our school new page, 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. 

Why not join the winter badge competition; an exciting event where two winners will have their designs featured in the apps and WIN Doodle goodie packs! 

How to take part

1. Print out the template

2. Design a winter-themed badge

3. Take a photo of the design and send them to doodlecompetitions@discoveryed.com before midnight on December 31st.

EYFS Updates

PSJ BITESIZE TERM 2 Fifth Challenge - Scissor Skills

THE EARLY YEARS FOUNDATION STAGE PENCIL GRIP JOURNEY

Focussing on strengthening fine motor skills and pre-writing skills as set out in the early years curriculum also involves:

•  Uses simple tools to effect changes to materials

•  Shows a preference for a dominant hand 

    Early Years Coalition (2021)

We will be supporting children to develop their scissor skills which also supports strengthening the muscles in the hand used for pencil grip. Using scissors involves the use of small muscles in the hand, promoting their dexterity and control. These skills are essential for tasks such as writing, buttoning clothes and tying shoelaces. Using scissors correctly helps to:

• Build hand and finger strength.

• Develop skills for fingers to work together.

• Independent movements of each finger.

• Increased hand and finger dexterity.

• Promote functional grasp.

• Increase focus and attention to a task.

• Visual motor and visual perceptual skills              

Challenge

Draw straight lines on a piece of paper and stick them to a table. Child holds the paper in one hand and cuts with scissors in their other hand.

Extend the challenge by drawing wiggle lines.

FUN FACT FOR PARENTS

The ancient Egyptians used a version of scissors as long ago as 1500 B.C. They were a single piece of metal, typically bronze, fashioned into two blades that were controlled by a metal strip. The strip kept the blades apart until they were squeezed. 

The English word "scissors" derived from the Old French word cisoires which referred to shears in the late 14th century. 

USEFUL LINK

Scissor skills NHS

https://www.cambspborochildrenshealth.nhs.uk/child-development-and-growing-up/hand-skills/scissor-skills/ 

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

Thank you everyone for coming to play on Friday at the OPAL Stay and Play! We recieved a number of great items to play with and £99 in monetory donations. You can still donate via Arbor if you haven't already done so.

Thank you!

Evo Sports at PSJ

Another great week at PSJ with EVO sports

In Year 5, we took advantage of a lovely afternoon (before the downpour) to compete in a range of fitness activities. We competed in teams to see how many times we could do a certain fitness station in 1 minute and recorded it. 

In Year 2, we worked at core muscle strength in gymnastics to see how long we could hold certain poses for:  

In Year 6, we looked at a variety of different ‘rolls’ in gymnastics and worked at synchronisation with our partners: 

Well done to all the children who always give it their best and get lots of reward and enjoyment out of it. 

Mr Lucy EVO SPORTS

ASC Update

This week in After School Club the Christmas preparations started. The children started making the crackers for our Wreath Advent Calendar. They came up with some cracking jokes to put inside too

Jade EVO SPORTS

PSA Updates

Thank you!

The PSA would like to thank everyone that came and supported the Christmas fayre. What a great event, lots of festive cheer and a fantastic amount raised! 

2026 PSA Committee of Trustees

Following the AGM on Saturday, the following are duly elected:

Chair: (Jointly) Natalie Cooper and Rebecca Rogerson

Secretary: Lydia Collison

Treasurer: Katie Chun

Other Trustees: Kimberley Betts, Louise Dalton, Jessica Ideson, Michelle Stephenson-Cox and Olivia Phillips.

Many thanks to those members who are outgoing for your time in post and welcome to new committee members.

Community News and Events

Knife Crime Awareness Events

Parents and carers in B&NES are invited to learn about the devastating impact of knife crime and how they can support young people to steer away from its dangers at this event. You will hear from a guest speaker with lived experience who has been personally affected by knife crime. There will be an opportunity to hear about the support available for children and families in B&NES and view a partnership film on county lines. There will also be a panel discussion with an opportunity to ask questions.

• Radstock Youth Hub Thursday 20 November 5.30pm to 7.30pm 

• Peasedown St John Primary School and Nursery Wednesday 10 December 6.00pm to 8.00pm 

• Newbridge Primary School Wednesday 21 January 2026 6.00pm to 8.00pm 

Free tickets can be booked in advance via Eventbrite , search for B&NES VRP to find your nearest event.

The event is organised by the Bath & North East Somerset Violence Reduction Partnership which aims to prevent and reduce violence in our area