Great Waltham C of E (VC) Primary School Parent Portal - Newsletter - Friday 18th March 2022

Friday 18th March 2022 - Spring Term Issue 5

Headteacher Message

Between last Friday and Tuesday, I managed to inform staff, governors and children about my departure at the end of the school year. I am still getting used to the idea myself and there is a good chance I will re live the scene from Only Fools and Horses where Rodney marries Casandra and forgets he has moved out from his flat!

We have enjoyed a very busy week, with Cross Country on Monday, Science Week and Red Nose Day today. We wanted to support the DEC (disasters emergency committee) and the fundraising for the victims of the Ukraine / Russia war on Wednesday but the notification from the DfE was only given last week and we already had a non-uniform day planned for this week. We will plan an event soon to support the refugees fleeing conflict.

People will probably have different opinions on what to say (if anything) to primary aged children. The difference between EYFS children and Y6 when it comes to their knowledge and understanding of the world is huge. If they are old enough to ask a question then they are probably old enough to know the answer. Here is link to some advice about talking to children:

Gov.uk - Talking to children about Russia & Ukraine

Thanks to the parent helpers for supporting our runners at the cross county on Monday. We took 52 children from 166 in the school! More details in the School Games section.

Science week has been great fun. Billie Bond captivated the pupils' interest in rocks on Monday with workshops for the KS2 classes. Children were treated to some amazing science demonstrations on Wednesday with the 'Science Guy' - real 'wow' factor. They enjoyed lessons about famous scientists today and then got to share the projects they have been working so hard at preparing. We will share photos from the Science Fair in the next newsletter.

Well done to Class Antarctica for their assembly today and it was great to be able to welcome parents back into school to share their performance.

Only two weeks until the Easter break. Remember to book your parent consultation session with class teachers, the appointments will be available to book via the ParentMail app from 7.00pm tonight - Friday 18th March. Reports will be given on 25 March.

Have a good weekend all.

Mr Burden

Governor Message

I expect, like most of you, the news that Mr Burden, our Headteacher is leaving was a bit of a surprise. Mr Burden has been with the school since 2008, first as deputy and then as Headteacher. Since I have been a Governor at the school, I have worked with three Headteachers. Each new appointment was approached with trepidation, but all the Headteachers have further developed the school and moved it along to the excellent school it is now. Whilst it might be easy to expect Mr Burden to stay here forever, it is important for both the school and Mr Burden to look to the future for new challenges.

With Mr Burden starting his new school in September, it is the Governors’ plan to have a new Headteacher in position by then. The recruitment process has already started, and I have been in touch with the Diocese and the Local Education Authority. As you can imagine the recruitment process is rigorous and detailed, but there is enough time for a new appointment to be made and the candidate in place for September.

Steve Huggins - Chair of Governors

Curriculum

Science week has been brilliant - Billie Bond, a local sculptor visited to work with KS2. She said: "What a brilliant day with the pupils at Great Waltham school. They made some amazing sculptures using flint and plasticine, did observational paintings of Hertfordshire Puddingstone, did a story board inspired by a real Neolithic hand axe and drew Essex rock deep time chart. My favourite were the sculptures of course".

Thanks to FOGWS for organising the special assembly showcasing some very 'cool' science - the children loved it.

We ended the week with the Science Fair with some fantastic projects on show - thanks for supporting the children with this. Photos to follow in the next newsletter.

Class Antarctica's assembly was great to watch - showcasing their learning across many subjects.

The children are nearing the end of their topics, KS1 – ‘Fire, Fire’ and KS2 – ‘Extreme Earth’. They all deserve credit for the way they have really immersed themselves in these great experiences, learning has been very positive.

Class Antarctica have been busy making fire engines in DT as part of our topic The Great Fire of London.

We used cardboard and wood to make wheels and axels to make the fire engines move. We painted the boxes, made ladders, blue flashing lights, windows and hoses.

Miss Clydesdale

School Games

Netball - we have two fixtures coming up before Easter - spectators are welcome.

Cross Country - we are so proud to have taken 52 of our 166 pupils to the cross county races at Melbourne Athletics Stadium. All the children gave a good account of themselves. Some of the races had close to 100 competitors!

Notable finishes (top 30) were:

Name	Place
Isabella F	4th in EYFS girls
Albert H	5th in EYFS boys
Stanley G	11th in Y1 boys
Lucy H	20th in Y2 girls
Sadie D	1st in Y3 girls - Gold medal!
Mollie PT	22nd in Y3 girls
Hatty B	30th in Y3 girls
Alice H	11th in Y4 girls
Billy M	26th in Y4 boys
Cherri M	22nd in Y6 girls

The Y3 girls team came third overall in the team event and Sadie will race at the county championships.

Quick Sticks Hockey - well done to the 6 Y5/6 children - Teddy C, Jamie H, Iris J, Maddy M, Blake M and Seth LT. They played brilliantly to finish 7^th out of 20 teams and in reality unlucky to not be the final four as we finished joint top of our pool of 5 teams.

Results were (scorers in brackets):

Hockey Results
GWPS 1-2 Moulsham (Seth)
GWPS 3-1 Cathedral (Blake, Jamie, Teddy)
GWPS 7-0 Chancellor Park (Iris 2, Jamie 2, Blake, Teddy, Maddy)
GWPS 1-0 St Peters (Blake)
GWPS 0-1 New Hall
GWPS 2-2 Broomfield (Teddy 2)

Notices

Message from Great Waltham Church

On Mothering Sunday the 27th March at 9.30am there will be a joint service for Great Waltham and Ford End families in Ford End Church at 9.30am.

This leaves plenty of time then to have your Mothering Sunday Lunch.

Rev Caroline Brown will be taking this family communion service. There will be flowers for the children to prepare and give out at the service and refreshments after the service.

All are welcome.

School Lottery - Thank you to all of our lottery supporters! We sold 78 lottery tickets again last week which is fantastic! Can you help us reach our target of 100 tickets?

You could win a local prize or even the main £25,000 pot! Also, currently up for grabs is a £500 bike voucher.

Tickets can be purchased here - School Lottery - Please do let family members and friends know that they too can purchase Lottery tickets and help support the school. Each ticket costs £1 and 40p of this comes directly to the school.

National Online Safety

We have chosen to share two mental health guides this week.

In support of this year’s Red Nose Day, we've shared 'Brighten Someone's Day Online' guide with some suggestions on how we can all bring a smile to someone’s face by being more positive online - including video calling, posting a kind comment and sharing a feel good playlist.

Guide to - Brighten Someone's Day Online

We're also sharing 'Supporting children to deal with upsetting content'. Raising children in the digital age seems to be getting tougher, with the world currently experiencing so many uncertainties. From the continuing impact of COVID-19 to the war in Ukraine, right now children across the globe can scarcely go online without being exposed to unsettling stories, images and ideas. Reassuring a concerned child can be difficult, especially when bad news feels omnipresent. We’ve put together some advice to help you in discussing upsetting events with young ones.

In the guide, you'll find tips on a number of tips such as encouraging your child to ask questions, setting limits and to emphasis hope.

Guide to - Supporting children to deal with upsetting content