Bedonwell federation newsletter
Our KS2 Junior Road SafETy Officers (JRSOs)
Our Junior Road Safety Officers have been working hard this term, they have been raising awareness of road safety through their assembly to KS2 children and staff. This involved lots of useful and practical advice and tips for children to use when travelling to and from school. They have also been monitoring the traffic levels in our locality and thinking of ways they can help make the school site even safer.
They also introduced their latest competition for the children in KS2 to design a poster or item of clothing that would help you to be bright and be seen in the dark winter months!
The JRSOs will also be performing their assembly to the KS1 children. They will share the same information and deliver some of their messages to the children through drama.
Art club
Art club in KS2 have been extremly busy in their recent art sessions. They have worked hard and produced some amazing pieces of art.
This includes creating and painting their own poppy sculptures in honour of Remembrance Day. They have also made their own agamographs, these are now displayed in the year 6 corridor on the art club display board.
Year 6 boys football
It has been a busy month for the year 6 boy's football teams.
At the end of October the boys took on Northumberland Heath Primary School in the 2nd round of the Kevin McCarthy cup. After a nail biting game which went into extra time the boys secured a close 3-2 win. This means they will continue in the competition after Christmas.
Some of the boys who have not been selected for the team so far got to play a qualifying game for the Xmas cup against Jubilee School, they played excellently for their first game together but unfortunatly lost the match.
Due to a lack of light the next set of games will not be until after Christmas. However, Year 6 lunchtime football will still continue throughout the autumn term.
Girls Football
The year 5/6 girls team had their first lot of league matches in November. They play their league games over the winter period at Goals in Bexleyheath. The girls performed brilliantly and won their first game 6-0 against Mayplace School, they then played Old Bexley school achieving a 1-1 result. All the girls played extremly well and have made a great start to their league competition. We will keep you informed in our newsletters and on our X (Twitter) page of the results of future games.
Education City home learning for KS1
At Bedonwell we set home learning tasks to support our in class learning. Year 1 and Year 2 pupils all have access to Education City.
Education City is a home learning platform that allows children to practice their Maths, English and Science through lots of fun activities and games.
Phonics can also be practised on Education City, there are lots of fun phonics games and activities for children to try and complete which help children understand and learn their phonics. It is really important that children practise their phonics at home.
Pupil's participation and results in Education City can be tracked by the class teachers. Teachers will give out dojos to those children that are completing English, Maths, Science or Phonic activities.
If you want more information about Education City and what in particular will help your child with their learning this year please speak to your child's class teacher.
If you do not have your child's username and login for Education City - please speak to your child's class teacher.
SPAG.COM and Maths.co.uk for KS2
KS2 have access to SPAG.com and Maths.co.uk.
Each week the class teacher will set a new piece of home learning for the children to complete on SPAG.com and Maths.co.uk.
The work set will help the children with the learning they have already done in class and will also show you the different units of work that are being covered in each class over the term.
Every child in KS2 should already have their log in for both SPAG.com and Maths.co.uk. However, if you cannot find your child's log in please speak to the class teacher to have it reissued.
Years 1 & 2 visit to St Andrews Parish Church.
The Year 1 and 2 pupils went on a trip out of school to see our local church as part of their religious education lessons. They listened to Reverend Solomon who spoke to them about the different features and special places in the church. The children really enjoyed their visit to their local church.
Always award
Every week children who follow our Golden Values in Bedonwell are celebrated by achieving the Always Award. The children who receive the award have really impressed their class teacher by showing many of our seven Golden Values which include:
Manners, Respect, Teamwork, Stickability, Honesty, Kindness, Calmness.
They can be awarded the 'Always Award' four times throughout the year starting with the Bronze Always Award, then Silver Always Award, then Gold Aways Award and building up to the Platinum Always Award.
Check out the children who have won the always award in November.
FOBS
FOBS launched their 'Discos' in October where our Year 6s attended their last disco at Bedonwell and all the children looked like they had a great time!
Year 5 also had their disco this month and they to had a great time!
Our first fireworks night was a huge success. We have received such positive feedback and are so thankful to those that bought tickets and to the wonderful volunteers that worked so hard that evening and made the event possible.
A massive thank you from all of us on the FOBS Committee for your generosity and support so far this academic year. We are hoping to raise even more this year to buy some exciting resources for The Bedonwell Federation.
Tips for reading at home!
Sharing a book with a child is fun! It's a time for closeness, laughing and talking together – and it can also give children a flying start in life and help them become lifelong readers.
Top tips for EYFS and KS1 children:
Ask your child to choose what they’d like to read. They’ll feel more interested in the story if they’ve picked it out themselves. (And don’t worry if they keep returning to the same story, either!)
If you can, turn off the TV, radio and computer. It’s easier for both of you to enjoy the story without any other distractions.
Sit close together. You could encourage your child to hold the book themselves and turn the pages, too.
Take a look at the pictures. You don’t just have to read the words on the page. Maybe there’s something funny in the pictures that you can giggle about together, or perhaps your child enjoys guessing what will happen next.
Ask questions and talk about the book. Picture books can be a great way to talk through your child’s fears and worries, or to help them deal with their emotions. Give them space to talk, and ask how they feel about the situations in the story.
Have fun! There’s no right or wrong way to share a story – as long as you and your child are having fun. Don’t be afraid to act out situations or use funny voices… your little ones will love it!
Top tips for KS2 children:
Read yourself! It doesn’t matter what it is – pick up a newspaper or magazine, take a look at a cookery book, read a computer manual, enjoy some poetry or dive into a romance or detective novel. And get your children to join in – if you’re cooking, could they read the recipe? If you’re watching TV, can they read out the listings?
Give books as presents. And encourage your children and their friends to swap books with each other – it’ll give them a chance to read new stories, and get them all talking about what they’re reading.
Visit the local library together. It’s always fun choosing new books to read, and keep an eye out for special author events at the library or local bookshops – children love meeting their favourite authors. Jacqueline Wilson and Anthony Horowitz always have signing queues that are miles long!
Encourage children to carry a book at all times. That way, they’ll never be bored (this is something you can do, too!)
Have a family bookshelf. If you can, have bookshelves in your children’s bedrooms, too.
Keep reading together. Just because your children are older, it doesn’t mean you have to stop sharing stories – perhaps you could try the Harry Potter series or A Series of Unfortunate Events.
Don’t panic if your child reads the same book over and over again.
Checkout the link below that has lots of new book suggestions for children to read and enjoy: https://www.booktrust.org.uk/books-and-reading/our-recommendations/best-new-books/
Attendance across KS1 and KS2
Bedonwell Junior School current attendance for November is 96%
Bedonwell Infant School current attendance for November is 94%
Our target this year is 96% across both schools, will you help us reach our target?
Each week in our celebration assembly a class from the Juniors and a class from the Infants win the Bedonwell attendance cup, the winning class each week get the reward of an additional activity. Will your class be the next winner?
This months winners are.
November 2023 KS2
Week 1 - Danube 3 class
Week 2 - Nile 3 class
Week 3 - Thames 3 class
Week 4 - Marble 5 class
Week 5 - Marble 5 class.
November 2023 KS1
Week 1 - Mercury 2 class
Week 2 - Saturn 2 class
Week 3 - Jupiter 2 class
Week 4 - Victoria 1 class
Week 5 - Jupiter 2 class
Well done to each of the classes who have had the best attendance on the weeks above.
It is really important for all children to drink water throughout the day, which is why children need to bring a water bottle into school. However, can we please ask that children only bring in either a disposable plastic or re-usable plastic water bottle.
Some children are bringing in large metal water bottles which when knocked over can cause disruption in the class.
Please can we also ask that Airup water bottles are not brought into school, these are expensive and can sometimes be knocked over in a busy classroom and damaged or broken.
Water bottles
We are a nut free school!
As you may already be aware, we have several pupils that attend our school who have severe and in some cases life threatening nut allergies. Strict avoidance of peanut/nut products is the only way to prevent a life threatening allergic reaction. The anaphylaxis (allergic reactions) can occur as a result of allergens being airborne, through digestion, inhalation or any other contact with nut-based products.
For their safety, all nut-based products are banned from the school premises.
Please do not send your child into school with any nut-based product for a snack or packed lunch. Potential allergens could include the following:
Spreads, e.g., chocolate spread
Cereal bars
Some types of biscuit containing nuts
Condiments, e.g., satay sauce
Cakes containing nuts
Some snack pots containing nuts
We ask that you please check the labelling of food products before sending your child in to school with them – it is not always apparent that products contain nuts.
Calender dates:
Diary dates:
January 2024
9th January Children return to school
16th January Year 4 disco
17th January Saturn class assembly, 9.15am
18th January Quartz class assembly, 9.05am
23rd January Year 6 parent consultation
24th January Jupiter class assembly, 9.15am
25th January Marble class assembly, 9.05am
30th January Year 6 parent consultation
30th January Nursery open session for new applicants
31st January Everest class assembly, 9.05am
31st January Earth class assembly, 9.15am
February 2024
1st February Granite class assembly, 9.05am
2nd February Number Day
7th February Mercury class assembly, 9.15am
8th February Sandstone class assembly, 9.05am
20th February Year 3 Disco
22nd February Victoria class assembly, 9.15am
22nd February Vesuvius class assembly, 9.05am
29th February Angel class assembly, 9.15am
29th February Kilimanjaro assembly, 9.05am
School drop-off and collection
When dropping off or collecting your children from school please may we remind you to park safely and considerately. We are receiving an increasing number of complaints from local residents on all our surrounding roads reporting that parents are parking across driveways, on the zig zag lines and, on occasion, double parking to let children out of the car.
Over the next few months the local PCSOs and Bexley’s Parking Enforcement Team will be patrolling the area to remind people about road safety and are able to issue tickets and fines to owners of vehicles parked incorrectly.
Residents can also report incorrect parking themselves online at:
We would be grateful for your co-operation in parking considerately to ensure our continuing good relationships with the local residents.
Finally a reminder to please keep your children with you at all times in the playground and milling areas particularly if they have a scooter/bike with them.
For the safety of all we ask that children do not ride scooters and bikes etc whilst on the school sites and that they do not ride unaccompanied on the pavements outside the school.
School uniform for this year:
Please ensure your child is wearing the correct school uniform, please read through the guidance below to see what our uniform expectations are and also see where this can be bought from.
Please see the guidance for school uniform below:
Grey sweatshirt (preferably with the school logo or otherwise plain)
Grey sweat cardigan (preferably with the school logo or otherwise plain)
Sky blue polo shirt (preferably with the school logo or otherwise plain)
Grey tailored trousers or grey tailored shorts
Grey skirt
Grey pinafore dress
Light blue & white checked dress (summer)
Navy blue, black or grey tights or white socks
Hair bands (small) in school colours only (grey, white or sky blue)
Where hijabs are worn they must be in the school colours of either blue, white or grey.
Pupils should at all times have suitable coats for outdoor wear, to cater for changeable weather.
Footwear must be plain black shoes or trainers.
For PE the children wear their PE kit for the whole school day on the day of their PE lesson (you will be notified which day/s these are). This has enabled pupils not only to receive maximum learning time for their PE lessons, but also a reduction in PE clothing being lost/misplaced.
PE kit expectations are:
Plain T-shirt in their ‘house colour’
Grey school jumper (plain- no branded clothing)
Grey shorts, grey tracksuit joggers or grey leggings (plain-no branded clothing).
Plain black trainers.
The children will be expected to wear their grey school jumper or grey sweatshirt with grey shorts, joggers or leggings and will therefore remain in school colours on their PE day.
It is also essential that trainers worn on PE days are plain black as this will ensure consistency across the school with our uniform expectations.
All uniform mentioned above can be found at Boffins and Caseys, Links to their websites can be found below:
Safeguarding team across the federation
Please see the poster to see who in school is on our safeguarding team.
X (Twitter)
The Bedonwell Federation has our own X (Twitter) page, this page is updated on a regular basis with a range of different events, activities and amazing work the children produce every day! If you have X (Twitter), please give us a follow and like and retweet the posts on our wall.
The link to our X page is below:
We also have a twitter page for KS2 art club and KS2 football clubs. Their links are below:
