Grange First Weekly News Spring 2 Week 1 - 27.2.26

Contents

Ramadan and Eid

We have had a wonderful time learning about Ramadan and Eid, and how important this festival is to so many members of our school community. We have a number of staff members who are fasting from sunrise to sunset, and some of our older children are fasting at the weekend or for a few hours each day too. If your child is fasting during the school day, please inform the school office so that we are aware of this and can support them appropriately. During Ramadan, Muslims pray more, fast, and may give up things such as watching TV or playing computer games. Another important part of Ramadan is giving. Many families give money or food to those in need. We all thought about what kind things we could do this week. Lots of children said they were going to help out with chores at home and someone even said they were going to make breakfast for their whole family! I hope you enjoy all our acts of kindness. We are counting the days of Ramadan on our school display, and we know that our Muslim families are looking forward to their Eid celebrations at the end of this special time. If your child will be absent from school for Eid, please inform the school office by email, in person, or by completing an absence request form.

Book Week 2nd- 6th March

There was lots of information about Reading Week in the newsletter before half term. If you missed it, it is still available on our school website. Thank you to those who have already contacted Mrs Stubbs or your child’s class teacher to volunteer as a ‘mystery reader’ next week. There is still time to take part if you are interested; we would love you to join us. World Book Day is on Thursday 5th March. We will be reading the book The Word Collector by Peter H. Reynolds. The theme of the book is words and the power that they have so our day in school will be very much focussing on vocabulary and having fun with new, interesting and powerful words. We would like the children to fully enter into the spirit of being “Word Collectors” so we are going to have a ‘Dress-Up’ Day with a difference on World Book Day. Instead of coming to school dressed as a Book Character, we would like the children to come to school dressed up as a word that is new or interesting to them. For example, this could be a word that they have found in their reading book that they didn’t know the meaning of; a word they have recently heard that they didn’t know the meaning of. If English is not your first language and your child would like to share a word from the language spoken at home, that would be wonderful too.

🎤 Taylor Swift Tribute Night – Tickets Still Available! 🎤

Last chance to buy your ticket! We still have a few tickets left for our Taylor Swift Tribute Night, and we’re excited to announce that we’re now opening booking to friends and family outside of the school community. 🎟 Tickets cost £8.50 – book now to avoid missing out! If you know any Swifties who’d love to join us, please feel free to share the booking link with them. 👨‍👩‍👧 Important information: All adults must have a ticket All children to be supervised by an adult (with a maximum ratio of 3 children to 1 adult)  No under 4s Friday 6th March 🥤 On the night: Alcoholic and soft drinks, snacks, and a selection of Taylor Swift merchandise will be available to buy. It’s set to be a fun-filled evening of music and sparkle, so don’t leave it too late to book! 💖✨

Paul the Poet

A HUGE thank you to our fabulous PTFA, who funded a visit from Paul Cookson on Tuesday. We had a fantastic day filled with poetry, fun, and laughter. The day began with a whole-school poetry performance, where the children joined in enthusiastically—ask them about the toilet seat with teeth, the grandad who forgets to put his trousers on, Tyrannosaurus Rex, or bottoms! Paul then led workshops with each year group, and every class wrote their own poem. At the end of the day, each year group performed their poem to the rest of the school. We heard wonderful poems about giants, crazy creatures, space, mummies, and blasting off in rockets to other universes. This was a fantastic way to launch our Year of Reading at Grange First School!

Mrs Tingle

She's not going yet- don't worry!

As you know, Mrs Tingle is expecting her baby in June. While we are absolutely thrilled for her, we will all miss her when she begins her maternity leave at May half term. Willow Class will especially miss her during their final few weeks in Year 3. However, I am pleased to share that Mrs Orrock will be teaching Willow Class for the final seven weeks of the summer term. Mrs Orrock knows Grange First School very well, having covered both short and long term roles with us. She is experienced, knowledgeable, kind, and understanding, and we know the children will be in excellent hands.

Parents’ Evening – Monday 16th and Thursday 19th March

Just a reminder to book your appointment with your child’s class teacher via the School Cloud Link. Booking closes on 9th March at 9am. Mrs Milne has emailed you all with information about how to book using School Cloud.

Shakespeare

Our Year 4 children are working incredibly hard with Mrs Wilkinson and Mrs Nicholson in preparation for their performance at the Northern Stage on Monday 9th March. Please note that the rehearsal on Wednesday 4th March has been cancelled, as Mrs Wilkinson will be attending an important meeting that afternoon.

Spring Fun Day – including a superb Scavenger Hunt! Saturday 28th March 11:00am–1:00pm

Our Spring Fun Day is back, and tickets are now on sale! All children attending will need a ticket, but adults attend free. Each ticket includes entry to the scavenger hunt, and every child will win a prize. There will also be hot dogs, samosas, a cake stall, hot and cold drinks, crafts, games, and a tombola. Please follow the link to purchase tickets: https://www.pta-events.co.uk/grangefirstschool/index.cfm?event=event&eventId=113875 If your child receives pupil premium funding, the school office will email you a discount code to use when purchasing tickets.

Lost Property

We have SO MUCH lost property especially gloves, hats and scarves. PLEASE check the lost property table which we have put outside the main office and outside TreeTops every day this week. Unfortunately, we will have to take anything that is left on Friday to the charity shop as we don't have room in school to store it.

Cheerleading Champion

A girl in year 2 completed her 2nd cheerleading competition during half term. Her team 'Aqua' hit zero which means they made no mistakes and scored an "excellent" rating. Well done on this fantastic achievement!

Supporting Your Child Online

Supporting Your Child Online: Apps & Games Guide for Parents and Carers Following on from our last newsletter, where we shared a guide on supporting children with managing their digital lives, we wanted to continue helping families feel confident and informed in the online world. In an ever‑evolving digital landscape, it can be challenging to navigate the huge selection of apps and games available to young people. With so many choices, it’s not always easy to know which apps are age‑appropriate, which games are safe, and what kind of content your child may be exposed to. To support you, we have put three handy guides with suggested apps and games that children might enjoy using for both learning and play on our school website under the safeguarding tab. Inside these guides, you’ll find:

  • Tips on identifying age‑appropriate content
  • Information on game and app age ratings
  • Suggestions that promote learning, creativity and safe play
  • Guidance on potential risks to be aware of and how to manage them

We hope these resources help you feel more empowered in supporting your child’s digital journey. As always, if you have any questions or would like further guidance, please feel free to get in touch.

Diary Dates

March

Week beg 2nd March Book Week Thursday 5th - World Book Day Friday 6th - GST Voices on tour Friday 6th - PTFA Swiftie night Monday 9th -Yr4 Shakespeare performance Wednesday 11th - coffee morning Monday 16th & Thursday 19th Parents' Evening Tuesday 24th Some of Yr 4 to the Yoruba Cultural workshop Friday 27th PTFA sponsored Bunny Bounce Saturday 28th PTFA Spring Fair Monday 30th- Thursday 2nd- STEM Week (more information to follow)

April

EASTER HOLIDAY- 3rd April to 17th April

Credits:

© Grange First School