As we end this half term and begin our festive break, I would like to start this newsletter by thanking you all for everything you have done this year to support your children, Regent Farm and our whole community. You make such a difference to life at school and I am exceptionally grateful. I would also like to thank the staff who have worked tirelessly to deliver a fantastic curriculum. Above all however, I am so grateful to your wonderful children for their hard work, positive attitude and smiling faces: they make me so proud.
The last few weeks have been such a magical time in school with a fabulous pantomime, festive singing, glittery crafts and the special visit we had from Santa and his reindeer last week! We will be ending the week with a Christmas Rock Concert. On behalf of everyone at Regent Farm, can I wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
In this issue:
Rebuild Information
Since planning permission was granted on the 31st October, we have been working with the builders Bowmer and Kirkland to plan a schedule to start the build - you may have seen many builders walking round the site in the last few days! I am delighted to say that work will begin on the 19th January. Over the first few weeks, the team will be setting up a temporary pedestrian route into school, establishing some cycle storage and building the temporary playground. The will also be establishing their site compound and putting hording up around the site of the new school. We anticipate this will take about four weeks. After this time the current route into school will be closed and everyone will need to enter the school via the new path. At this time the older children will also enter school through a different door. I will write to you again when this change occurs with further details, and staff will be on hand to direct everyone. As the temporary path will be closer to the current car park entrance we will be closing the car park between 8:30 - 9:00am and 3:00 - 3:30pm; there will be no exceptions to this for safety reasons and vehicles will have to wait until the gates are opened again to exit or enter the site. The area of parking running along the road, adjacent to school, will also be closed once the build gets underway to allow deliveries to come onto the site safely. I will continue to update you with information as things begin to progress onsite, but in the meantime please speak to me with any questions you may have.
Decorations Day and Christmas Fayre
Tuesday was a fabulous day in school with our Christmas jumper day and parent craft sessions. The children have made a range of crafts, cards and calendars for you to enjoy at home. It was lovely to see so many adults joining in with the glittery fun too! I would also like to thank you for all the contributions to Save the Children – we have raised £167 for this worthwhile charity.
Thank you so much to everyone who was involved in setting up the school fayre, the donations and amazing cakes - and to all those families who attended. We made £2100 profit from this event; we will be working with the school council to think about how we use this money to benefit everyone in school.
Bumblebees After School Club
Please remember the latest pick up for Bumblebees After School Club is 5:45pm. Staff stay late after a long day at work to provide this service to our families and it is unfair that some parents are repeatedly late to collect their child. Staff also have their own families they need to get home to. All parents will be charged a £20 late pick up fee if they are later than 5:45pm - this is to cover the overtime costs for the two staff members who must remain in school; this charge will apply even if you are only a couple of minutes late. If this happens repeatedly, we may have to pause further bookings you can make until we have reassurance the situation will improve.
Free School Meal Vouchers
Newcastle City Council have continued to issue Free School Meal Vouchers for this Christmas holiday, these are £30 per child. They were emailed through the usual system to all those families eligible for the vouchers. Please contact the school office as soon as possible if you have any issues accessing this voucher.
Curriculum Information - Early Years
Nursery began our festive stories with Pick a Pine Tree. Planting a magic pinecone in the ground led to a pine tree growing in our forest! The children chopped it down before taking it back to nursery ready to be decorated. Nursery then looked at our whole school text Kid Christmas; they became toy makers in the role play area whilst creating their own wish lists to send to the Klaus Brothers. They are rounding off the half term with a fun filled week where they will embark on a journey to the North Pole aboard the Polar Express.
Reception are definitely ready for Christmas! They began the month practicing for their Nativity performance of 'A Miracle in Town'. They were fantastic during the school performances and most importantly were so proud of themselves for remembering all of the words to the songs and the actions. The children explored the Christmas book 'Kid Christmas' where they were required to look after The Claus Brothers' toy shop. Toys were made and delivered to children within school and they discussed the key messages in the story and importance of being kind. In our final week of school, a Christmas tree arrived, but where did it come from? The children used their prediction skills to work out that our tree travelled all the way from Oslo in Norway. But how did it get here? The children have been creating maps, designing Christmas trees, and making Christmas cards to share with their families.
Curriculum Information - Key Stage 1
Year 1 have thoroughly enjoyed learning all about the story of Christmas and bringing it to life through their performances. They worked incredibly hard to remember their lines and put on an amazing show for everyone. We are so proud of each and every one of them. In English, they have continued exploring how the symbol of light is used in many different celebrations and how it can bring people closer together. In Maths, the children have been learning about 2D and 3D shapes and beginning to identify their different properties. The children have been fantastic at spotting shapes in their everyday environment. They have also loved thinking like scientists by carrying out simple tests; the children built an amazing Santa sleigh designed to withstand a windy Christmas Eve night. We even tested our sleighs using a hairdryer!
Our Year 2 classes have been bursting with creativity and festive cheer in the run-up to Christmas! From meeting Santa and his reindeer, to making and selling delicious marshmallow snowmen at the Christmas Fayre, the excitement has been nonstop. The children have also designed their own Jackson Pollock-inspired artwork and proudly printed it onto T-shirts, created vibrant seasonal calendars, and crafted Christmas cards using their knowledge of 2D shapes. They’ve also explored Jewish traditions by learning about Hanukkah and enjoyed reading Kid Christmas, inspiring them to make beautiful light jars to help guide Santa’s reindeer. What an amazing way to celebrate the season!
Curriculum Information - Key Stage 2
Year 3 have continued to focus on our ‘Regent Farm Respects topic’ in December and the children have been learning about Hinduism through stories, artefacts and a wonderful visit to the Hindu temple. They have learnt about the Hindu Festival of Diwali and made Rangoli patterns using rice and lentils. They also made traditional Diwali Diya lamps using clay and compared the Christian festival of Christmas with the Hindu festival of Diwali. In Art, they have been developing textures and collage techniques which they have used to create a collage bird in the style of Mark Hearld. We also had a visit from an author called Philip Kavvadias and enjoyed learning about the author’s books and his characters.
December has been bursting with festive fun and fantastic learning in Year 4! In Science, they explored melting points of different chocolates and investigated the perfect hot chocolate temperature. Linked to their music, they rocked out with Rock Steady Music School, singing their hearts out and learning all about band instruments. Their Black History workshop with Big Foot Education inspired all the children as they celebrated incredible contributions of Black Britons. In Maths, they have mastered some more times tables, multiplied three numbers using Oreos, and hunted for angles in snowflakes and Christmas trees. In English, they've written persuasive arguments for Stroodle straws, created magical toy shop descriptions from Kid Christmas, and penned heartfelt letters to the Man on the Moon.
Dates for Next Half Term
- Monday 5th January - School re-opens to all pupils
- Week commencing Monday 12th January - Spring Term Clubs Start
- Week commencing Monday 12th January - Nursery applications for September 2026 open
- Thursday 15th January - Deadline for reception applications
- Thursday 29th January - Reception trip to Great North Museum
- Week Commencing Monday 2nd February - Outnumbered Maths Week All Children in school will take part in a variety of maths challenges, puzzles and investigations. We will welcome a company called the Happy Puzzle company who will be working with the children across school on some active problem solving. We also look forward to parents joining us for our fun maths sessions (see additional letter which has gone home with timings for each year group.)
- Tuesday 10th February - Year 1 Trip to Centre for Life
- Wednesday 11th February 9am - Year 2 Great Fire of London play for the parents of Miss Bartram's class.
- Thursday 12th February 9am - Year 2 Great Fire of London play for the parents of Mr Hudson's Class
Week commencing Monday 16th February - School Closed for Half Term
If you need any further information about the detail of this newsletter, please don't hesitate to contact the school office.