Welcome to West Meadows Weekly!
This week it has been great to see lots of practical learning opportunities across school! Our youngest children have been planting seeds and looking after their new caterpillars (eagerly awaiting for them to change into butterflies) and at the end of last week, we even had a visit from some baby ducklings into school! Some of our classes have also been doing their latest food technology project for DT. In Year 2 they have been learning about ‘Dips and Dippers’, learning all about food nutrition and hygiene. We have some budding chefs of the future!
Our Little Westies playgroup is on every Wednesday morning at 9am in our community room for babies and pre-schoolers. It is a great way to meet other families and children. We would love to see some of you there and please spread the word in the community - it is open to everyone!
A full programme of events and acts can be found at barnsley.gov.uk/events
On the week of Year 6 SATs, Monday 13th to Thursday 16th May, children in Year 6 are invited into school each day for breakfast from 8:30am in the Year 6 classroom to allow them to settle before the start of the tests and have some time with their friends. It is important that children who do not want to come in early for breakfast are on time for school as each paper is in the morning. We are very proud of how hard our Year 6 children have worked this year - well done to them all and keep going in these last couple of weeks!
Year 2 SATs are no longer Statutory National Assessments. Children in Year 2 will still sit assessment papers towards the end of the year in June as do all other year groups. These are used to assess the attainment and progress of the children and identify their next steps in learning for their next teacher. This is a chance for children to show off everything they have learnt. We try to keep these informal and children work in small groups with the teacher. If you do have any questions, please see Mrs Copley in the first instance.
Children take home a reading book each week and should read regularly at home as part of their homework (ideally a little bit every night). Please can we ensure that all books (including the cardboard Read, Write Inc phonics books) are returned each week as replacing them costs a significant amount of money. Can we ask all of our families to take a look at home and return any old books that they find. Many thanks for your support with this.
We have a number of coats, water bottles and a pair of black trainers in lost property. Please come and check if you think you have lost anything before next Friday when remaining items will be donated to charity.
Please be aware that a letter was sent out before the Easter holiday increasing the cost of school meals to £2.65 per day. School dinners should be paid for in advance for all children in F1 (nursery 30 hours children) and Key Stage 2 (Years 3 to 6) who are not entitled to a free school meal and no parent pay account is allowed to go over £20. You can check if you are entitled to Free School Meals using the link: https://www.barnsley.gov.uk/services/children-families-and-education/schools-and-learning/free-school-meals/
I want to take this opportunity to thank our wonderful catering team who always work incredibly hard, but due to an unforeseen staff absence have really gone the extra mile this week! A massive thank you for all of your hard work!
Every Friday we will celebrate our children’s achievements, both in school and at home, including their attendance in school. Good attendance is vital for your child’s education and means they can make the most of all aspects of school life. We really need your support this year to raise our attendance. If you need any help or support please come and see Mrs Maree. You can see your own child’s attendance for the year and the last 4 weeks on the Arbor App. An attendance of 97% or above is considered to be good attendance.
Last Week's Attendance:
F1 AM (incl 30 hours): 87.3%
F2: 91.7%
Year 1: 90.7%
Year 2: 92.7%
Year 3: 95.5%
Year 4: 89.6%
Year 5: 89.7%
Year 6: 93.1%
Congratulations to this week's winners, Year 3 !
29th April - Dogs Trust workshops
2nd May - F2 Eye Tests in school
6th May - Bank Holiday Monday
13th May - Year 6 SATS week
13th May - Mental Health Awareness Week. Including Virtual Assembly
20th May - Endangered Species Theme Day
22nd May - Year 4 Drama Workshop (Road Safety)
24th May - Break up for Spring Bank
20th June - Drama Festival Performance – The Academy Theatre