Weekly Newsletter

Upcoming Dates

Tuesday 14th October

• PFSA Coffee Morning

Monday 20th October

• PSA Disco for Reception, 5pm - 6pm

• PSA Disco for Years 3 & 4, 6:30pm - 7:30pm

Wednesday 22nd October

• Year 3 Book in a Box and art exhibition for parents, 2:45pm

• PSA Disco for Years 1 & 2, 5pm - 6pm

• PSA Disco for Years 5 & 6, 6:30pm - 7:30pm

Thursday 23rd October

• Year 3 trip to Bristol Museum

Friday 24th October

• INSET Day - no school for pupils

Tuesday 4th November

• Parent-Teacher Pupil Progress Meetings

Wednesday 5th November

• Flu vaccinations

• Parent-Teacher Pupil Progress Meetings

Tuesday 11th November

• 9am Reception Parent Drop In

Friday 14th November

• OPAL Stay and Play

Friday 21st November

• Non-Uniform Day in exchange for tombola prizes

Wednesday 26th November

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

Saturday 29th November

• PSA Christmas Fayre, 11am - 2pm

Wednesday 3rd December

• PSA Christmas Wreath Workshop, 7pm - 9pm

Message from Mrs Noall

It was wonderful to see our children shine in the Harvest services last week - singing with enthusiasm and reciting poems with clarity. Thank you for joining us. Thank you so much for your generosity with your donations for The Nest Project. These items were collected this afternoon and will make a big difference to local families in need.

News and Events

Parent - Teacher Pupil Progress Meetings: Next term

On Tuesday 4th and Wednesday 5th November you will have the opportunity to meet with your child's class teacher to discuss their progress so far this year. Appointments are face-to-face and last up to 10 minutes. You will be able to book your appointment through Arbor soon.

Reminders

Secondary School Applications

A reminder to our Year 6 parents that the closing date for secondary school applications 2026 is 31st October 2025.

Class News

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

Home Learning

PFSA Updates

Looking forward to seeing some of you this week at my coffee morning! There is also a drop-in session for our new Reception parents after half term - save the date!

EYFS Updates

PSJ BITESIZE Forth Challenge - learn Hey Diddle, Diddle off by heart

Communication and Language Development

Nursery rhymes provide bite-sized learning opportunities for young children to develop key developmental skills and can often be the trigger for hours of creative and open-ended play. They are a powerful learning source in early literacy and enable children to become interested in the rhythm and patterns of language. Many nursery rhymes are also repetitive which can support the development of memory and kickstart the practice of listening and speaking.

Early Phonics

In order to develop their phonological awareness, children need to be repeatedly exposed to spoken language and nursery rhymes provide the perfect way to do this. Young children are capable of learning new words rapidly especially when engaging in singing. They enjoy experimenting with new vocabulary and interesting sounding words such ‘diddle’.

Hey Diddle Diddle

Hey, diddle, diddle,

The cat and the fiddle,

The cow jumped over the moon;

The little dog laughed,

To see such fun,

And the dish ran away with the spoon.

FUN FACT FOR PARENTS

“The Cat and The Fiddle” was a common name for inns in the 16th Century.

World Nursery Rhyme Week 

There is an annual initiative that promotes the importance of nursery rhymes in early childhood development and education around the world. 

World Nursery Rhyme Week begins on Monday 10th November until Friday 14th November this year.

USEFUL LINK

World Nursery Rhyme Week https://www.worldnurseryrhymeweek.com/ 

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 on Friday 14th November – 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.

• Laundry baskets 

• Suitcases 

• Pushchairs (real or toy) 

• Office chairs 

• Wheelbarrows 

• Tarpaulins 

• Guttering 

• PVC Pipes 

• Barrels 

• Plastic crates 

• Flexi-tubes 

• Brushes/Mops 

• Scooters 

• Chalk 

• Paintbrushes 

• Watering cans 

• Dressing up clothes 

We can't wait to welcome as many of you as possible to celebrate and share in our play – it promises to be a fantastic afternoon!

PSA Updates

Please help!

For the PSA to continue after the Christmas fayre, we need volunteers to be Chair and Secretary to replace those whose children are moving on from the school. 

After many years, both the chair and secretary positions must be filled urgently. We would make sure that the new post holders had a good handover after their election at the AGM on the 29th November. We would also welcome at least one new trustee for the PSA committee. All parents/carers with a child at the school and school staff are eligible for nomination.

Please register nominations on the PSA email address psjprimary.psa@gmail.com  by 21st November so that candidates can be included in the election at 10.30am in the school hall on the day of the Christmas Fayre 29th November 2025.

Community News and Events

The team at Timsbury Childcare have recently created a fundraising campaign for a child that attends our school. To find out more follow this link: https://www.gofundme.com/f/paisleys-sdr-journey/cl/o?utm_campaign=fp_sharesheet&utm_content=amp13_t1&utm_medium=customer&utm_source=copy_link&lang=en_GB