Parkside Primary News Week ending: Friday 28th March 2025

Treetops Spring Walk

This week the children of Treetops went on a walk to our wilderness area. They spotted many early signs of spring including leaf and flower buds and nesting birds.

Role Model Award

We are so proud of Marie in Year 6 who was celebrated at a recent Very Inspirational People (VIP) ceremony. Marie received a Role Model award in recognition of her playing a vital role at home helping her mum who has rheumatoid arthritis, and also volunteering with the Guides. It was said that she "embodies the spirit of kindness, dedication and support." Huge congratulations Marie, so well deserved!

My Personal Best

We are delighted to share that the first 'My Personal Best' certificates have been awarded.

Preloved event reminder

Come and see us in the West Studio on Friday 4th April to find free uniform, other clothing, books and toys. Please note that we are continuing to take donations and we would welcome any donations of dress up costumes for all ages as well.

Red Nose Day - Fri 21st March

The children had fun last week dressing up for Red Nose Day. Thank you to everyone who has donated so far. You can still make a voluntary donation to Comic Relief via ParentPay at this link https://app.parentpay.com/ParentPayShop/Foc/Default.aspx?shopid=17520

Superstar Awards

Congratulations to the children who have received awards in the last two weeks for displaying our superstar qualities.

• Year 1 - Emily, Nancy, Forest & Charlotte
• Year 2 - Liliana, Noah, Heorhii, Annie, Chester & Peggy
• Year 3 - Jack, Rocco, Jackson & Isla
• Year 4 - Evan, Charlie, Isaac & Freddie
• Year 5 - Noah, Joey, Pola, Iylise, Phoebe & Frankie
• Year 6 - Erin, Riley, Keegan, Tommy, Maycie & Cain

Well done everyone, you are all superstars!

New menu starts after Easter

Please click the button below to view the new school menu starting after Easter. Please scroll down the page to find it, as the current menu will remain in place until the end of next week. When checking the menus each week, please make sure you look on the school website, not the East Riding one as they can differ.

World Sports

Over the past 5 weeks children in KS2 have been taking part in an Active World Sports programme, provided by the East Riding. They have enjoyed learning about different sports played around the world and trying them out in their P.E lessons.

Year 5 get inspired!

As part of their English lessons, Year 5 have been studying a book called 'The Little Person Inside', written by Talan Skeels-Piggins. Talan is a European para skier and motorcycle racer, who lost use of his legs after a serious accident.

Mrs Harris emailed him with some questions from the children to help them with their biography writing next week. He emailed back an offered a Zoom call instead, which the children absolutely loved. He was so inspirational and the pupils were all so respectful with their questioning and listening. It was amazing! They are now writing letters to Talan, thanking him for his time and his responses.

Dodgeball

Well done to the Year 4 children who took part in the dodgeball final at Snaith School. They came joint third with Hook School out of 6 schools, the others being Snaith, Cowick, Howden and Newport. It was a lovely event with a higher standard after playing the cluster schools.

Do you have a job in STEM?

We are looking for someone who has a job in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering or Maths) to help school by being a visitor on a Wednesday afternoon to give a short talk about their role from 3.00 to 3.20pm. We would like assemblies on Wednesdays to focus on aspirations for the future. If you would like to help inspire the next generation, please contact the office by email on parkside.primary@eastriding.gov.uk.

Spotlight on Attendance 🔦

See below for attendance data for the last two weeks. Well done to 5GC for their 100% attendance in the first week! The overall school attendance has slipped again so let's try and get that back up.

Please remember that absence from school not only equates to lost learning but also missing out on other benefits to a child's wellbeing and wider development.

The Department for Education (DfE) has recently published a report which examines the link between attendance and attainment of pupils taking SATs and GCSEs. You can read more at Schools Week here but a key conclusion for primary school children can be seen below.

The research also found the odds of year 6 pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths were 1.3 times higher among those whose attendance was 95 per cent or higher than those with 90 to 95 per cent attendance. Missing just 10 days of year six reduced the odds of reaching the expected standard by around 25 per cent.

Please also be aware that a period of five unauthorised days out of school will incur a penalty notice. Please take note of the changes to penalty notices and our updated attendance policy. This information is also available on the Absence & Attendance page on our website.

The Department of Education has advice on improving attendance - click here to view.

School Attendance is ‘everyone’s business’.

What an absence means for your child?

At primary school level, where pupils missing up to 14 days of school in key stage two are a quarter less likely to achieve level five or above in reading, writing or maths tests than those with no absence.

If you have any concerns regarding attendance please do not hesitate to contact Mrs Greenley, our Safeguarding and Attendance officer here at Parkside Primary School.

Reading Ideas

Please see below the shortlist of books nominated for the Jhalak Children’s & Young Adult Prize, an extension of the prestigious Jhalak Prize. Established in 2020, this award celebrates books written by British or British-resident authors of colour for children and young adults.

You can view the long list here in more detail.

Debt Awareness Week

Taking place 24-30 March, StepChange's annual Debt Awareness Week aims to help people understand debt and offer support to those dealing with money worries.

This year’s campaign focuses on shame and stigma - challenging how people think about debt and encouraging them to access the help available.

Free and impartial debt advice is available and easy to access at StepChange by tapping here.

We also have a range of resources that you might find useful, including:

• A free budgeting tool
• Courses to help take the stress out of money
• Our employee assistance programme partner, Vivup.

Safeguarding and Wellbeing - Help available from school

If you have any concerns about the safety and wellbeing of a child who attends Parkside Primary or require any additional support or advice with regards to attendance please do not hesitate to contact Mrs Greenley, our Safeguarding & Attendance Officer. If you have any question or worries about your child’s behaviour or require any additional family support then please do not hesitate to contact Mrs Daine, our Behaviour & Family Support Worker. Both members of staff are also available for children to talk to should they have any worries.

If you have any Safeguarding concerns outside of school hours, or are concerned a child has suffered or is likely to suffer significant harm and is at immediate risk call the Children’s Safeguarding Hub on (01482) 395500 or ring 999 (asking for the Police).

Parent Guides

This free guide discusses the growing popularity of Bluesky, a public-first microblogging social media platform, and explores what parents and educators can do to ensure children's safety when using the app.  Click here to view as a pdf.

You can also listen to this advice as a podcast by tapping here.

Easter HAF Programme

As part of the Holiday Activities and Food programme (HAF), East Riding of Yorkshire Council is offering children and young people the opportunity to enjoy a range of fun activities as part of a national scheme during the Easter holidays.

Click the button below to view a letter with full details.