A message from Miss Quarmby
Hello everyone, I hope you’ve all had a fantastic week. It’s been a brilliant one here at Whitkirk! On Thursday, we had the pleasure of welcoming two of Red Kite Learning Trust’s Trustees, Mr. Maddison and Mr. Walker, for a morning visit. They were guided around school by four outstanding tour guides — Mariam, Leo, Hektor, and Polly — who truly did us proud. Our visitors were full of praise for their knowledge of the school, their enthusiasm, and their impeccable manners. They were just as impressed by the children in classes, who spoke so confidently and were eager to share their learning. They described Whitkirk as having a real 'buzz' and said it was a joy to be part of our school. I couldn’t be prouder of everyone! We’re rounding off the week in the best way possible—celebrating our Platinum and Diamond winners! These children have been nothing short of exceptional this half term, and it’s always a pleasure to recognise their efforts. A huge well done to each of them! Have a wonderful weekend, and I’ll see you all next week for the final week of the half term.
Attendance
This week, finishing in first place with 99.58% are 5/6AR. In second place are 6NT, with 97.50% and in third place are 1JL, with 94.17%. A shout out also goes to 2CH, 5AK, 4JF, 4AS and 1LR, who have also finished the week above our school target of 96.5%. What a great achievement! The whole school attendance this week is 95.72%, which is higher than last week. Can we go even better and beat this next week? The only way to do that is if we all come to school as often as we can.
Let's take a look AT WHAT'S BEEN GOING ON THIS WEEK
EYFS
This week in Reception, the children had a fantastic time during our Welly Wednesday session. They were so busy exploring and engaging with nature that they worked up quite an appetite. As part of their learning, they practised independence by preparing their own snack—carefully spreading honey or jam onto crackers before enjoying their well-earned treat. We were especially proud of how they followed the Forest School code, ensuring no rubbish was left behind and leaving the site just as we found it. It’s wonderful to see their confidence and team building skills growing each week! Well done, Reception! We can't wait for our next Welly Wednesday adventure!
Key Stage 1
Wow! What a truly remarkable week Year 1 have had! We have excelled in our maths learning all about length and height measurements. The children were keen to investigate the height of their bodies and lengths of their feet to compare with one another. In Science, we thoroughly enjoyed our taste testing investigation. We tried and tasted different ingredients, such as jam and honey, then ordered them on a scale from sour to sweet.
Year 2 have had a brilliant week! We expanded our knowledge of Kenya by hunting around the classroom for exciting facts. In Science, we learnt about the inventor William Harbutt, who created plasticine, a material used in films. We worked together to design our own film characters. In English, we have been performing a poem about African and Asian animals, and we can't wait to show you our expressive performance on Wednesday at 2:45pm during our Learn Together session.
Lower Key Stage 2
What a fantastic week of learning we have had in Year 3! In English, we have been using subordinating and coordinating conjunctions and in Maths, we have been dividing. As artists, we have been creating mosaics and in Computing, we designed comic strips based on volcanoes and earthquakes. For Children's Mental Health Week, we worked as a class to create a 'Tree of Me'.
In Maths in Year 4 this week, we have begun looking at what fractions are, which fractions are equivalent and explaining what the numerator and denominator are. We had lots of hands-on activities with the Cuisenaire rods and plenty of discussions too. In Science, we mixed bicarbonate of soda and vinegar with explosive results and made raisins dance in fizzy lemonade. Finally, we used Book Creator on the iPads to make interactive quizzes.
Upper Key Stage 2
We were so lucky in Year 5 and 6 this week to be able to welcome Mr Singh into school, who came to talk to us about his religion. Last half term, we learned all about Sikhism and it was a great experience to be able to further our knowledge by hearing first hand about Mr Singh's beliefs. Mr Singh was so impressed with the children's knowledge about Sikh beliefs and the history of the religion! We learnt about how Sikhism was first founded, what it means to be a Sikh and how the Guru Granth Sahib was developed. We particularly loved Mr Singh's quote, 'Life is about learning and we learn everyday, even as an adult.' It was such an inspiring morning and we are sure that Mr Singh's engaging story telling is something that the children will remember for a long time!