Please see the link above - Easy Fundraising can work for Birkwood! Welcome to this week’s news, Advent is upon us and as you may expect, excitement is certainly building! We attended the Cudworth Christmas Lights Switch On at the Methodist Church last week. It was fantastic to see our choir perform with Churchfield and Cherry Dale Primary schools in the centre of our village. I hope you enjoy the beautiful tree and lights throughout the festive period. Thank you also to everyone who has supported our non-uniform day today to support our Christmas Fayre. This support really helps us to deliver a brilliant event. Next Friday, the non-uniform theme is 'Buns & Cakes Donations' as it's Christmas Fayre Day! You are more than welcome to collect children at 2pm to then visit the Fayre; please ensure the teacher knows you've taken them so we can tick them off the collection list.
On the theme of beautiful trees, I thank Mr. Preece & Mrs. Preece for their work on the school hall and our own Christmas Tree. School looks really lovely and the children are suitably excited!
Our Christmas Fair raffle tickets are still on sale. Lots of wonderful prizes to be won. £1 per book. Please send money in a sealed envelope and give to your class teacher! 🌲 🎅 Thank you!
To mark the Advent Season, Father Darren visited us to explain the meaning of Advent in Key Stage 2 Assembly. Father Darren included some wonderful messages around charity work for the homeless.
Thank you to Mr. Froggatt and our Inclusion Team for organising our Christmas Event for SEND families – a wonderful afternoon which was loved by all who attended. Brilliant!
Well done to everyone involved in the Elf Run—what a wonderful way to support Barnsley Hospice. The children’s effort and enthusiasm really shone through. Thanks to Mr. Walton for his timetabling of the event – good luck with the sponsorship!
A big shoutout to Miss Taylor, Mrs. Whitfield, and the team — the disco was a hit! The funds raised will make a real difference, supporting trips and visits. Thank you for your terrific support as always.
This week, the children enjoyed their first Christmas Lunch with our new caterer, Doncaster Council. Thanks to Sarah and the team of cooks for preparing a magnificent feast — the children loved it! The meal was delicious and really added to the festive spirit. We hope everyone had a wonderful time celebrating together.
Well done to our Rock Stars! An enormous thank you to Aaron for his amazing work with the bands. The children were simply sensational. Great fun and an afternoon to savour.
A superb BINGO evening was held this week. Many thanks for everyone’s support and to the fundraising team as always. BINGO always attracts former pupils and it’s just brilliant to see them! Come and enjoy the next one!
EYFS2/ Reception hosted a stay and play too this week. Thank you to everyone who was able to attend. A wonderful morning and a pleasure to see lots of famiklies in school.
Tickets for The KS1 Nativity (Years 1 & 2) will be on sale through Arbor from TONIGHT (Fri 5th Dec) 🎄🎅⭐️🐑👼👑
The cold weather doesn’t disrupt outdoor PE at Birkwood. Our staff have asked me to politely request that families encourage all children to remember suitably warm PE kit please.
Clubs for next term will be on Arbor from tonight!
Key Stage 1 Tag Rugby has been rearranged for this afternoon – I wish our players the best of luck.
Another familiar plea, please take the greatest of care when parking around school. Parking fully on the pavement & on verges is a hazard. We are attempting to work with Barnsley Council to install bollards to prevent this. In the meantime, please remember to park safely, thoughtfully & legally.
Breakfast Club is now open at 7:30 each morning. The cost will be unchanged in the build up to Christmas. This is a trial run, but it seems to be helping many families.
Have a lovely weekend. Enjoy the family time and the build up to Christmas.
Reminders
School attendance Target for the Year - 97.0%
School attendance this week - 95.9%
School attendance this year so far - 95.7%
- FS2 Berry - 89%
- FS2 Costa -88.6%
- Y1 Earps - 95.2%
- Y1 Piper - 90.7%
- Y2 Cox - 96%
- Y2 Nightingale - 98.1%
- Y3 Jemison - 98.8%
- Y3 Obama - 97.5%
- Y4 Lovelace - 93.8%
- Y4 Wonder - 98.8%
- Y5 Biles - 93.1%
- Y 5/6 Angelou - 97.7%
- Y6 Simpson - 96.5%
Well done to classes Wonder & Jemison who have an awesome 98.8% attendance.
Our suite of X (formerly Twitter) Handles is here for you. Below is a link for 'all things Birkwood.'
PE & Sport
Appropriate trainers must be worn. No crop tops – Sports t-shirts please and shorts. A tracksuit may be worn – please make a judgment on temperature. NO JEWELLERY.
Term Dates Below
For current Year 6 children, SATs tests will be Monday 11th to Thursday 14th May 2026.
For current Year 5 children, SATs tests will be Monday 10th to Thursday 13th May 2027.
For current Year 4 children, SATs tests will be Monday 8th to Thursday 11th May 2028.