WHITKIRK NEWS

A Message From Miss Quarmby

Hip, hip, hooray! Our Year 6 pupils have finished their SATs! I must say, they really are a dream team – we couldn’t be prouder of them. From broken arms (there’s always one!), to early morning breakfasts, extra revision sessions and even a Century record for the number of nuggets completed – they have been truly extraordinary. A huge thank you to Miss Tomlinson and Mr Sadler, who have supported the children every step of the way and ensured they had the very best chance to succeed. Thank you also to the many staff who have contributed to boosters along the way, including Miss Dougan, Miss Kaur and Miss Odor – your support has made a real difference. SATs don’t just reflect Year 6 learning – they represent the whole of Key Stage 2, which is why every year group and every step along the way is so important. In other exciting news, Pre-School have had a very special delivery… chicks! So far, two have hatched and we are eagerly waiting for more. Miss Tree will be taking them home over the weekend to look after them – we can’t wait to see how many we have by Monday! I hope you all have a lovely weekend. Let’s keep our fingers crossed for some sunshine next week – it’s looking hot, hot, hot for Year 3’s visit to Saltburn on Wednesday! Please remember to apply suncream before school and ensure hats, jumpers/cardigans and water bottles are all clearly labelled. Thank you, as always and see you on Monday.

KEY DATES FOR SUMMER 1:

• 19th May - House Film Afternoon
• 20th May - Year 3 trip to Saltburn-by-the-Sea
• 22nd May - Diamond & Platinum Awards
• 22nd May - Break up for half term

pta colour run

Colour Run – Friday 26 June We’re excited to be holding a Colour Run on Friday 26 June, organised by the PTA to raise money for our wonderful school! Join us straight after school for a fun and colourful fundraising event for the whole school community.

• Starts at 3:40 PM on Whitkirk Field
• Children should come to school in non-uniform suitable for running and getting colourful
• Sponsorship forms will be sent home today (Friday 15th May); all money should be returned by Tuesday 30 June
• Please bring a tombola prize donation on the day (e.g. sweets, chocolates- no nuts, or small toys) Thank you!
• Parents and carers are responsible for their children throughout the event
• Parent volunteers are welcome — please contact the PTA at friendsofwhitkirk@hotmail.co.uk

We hope to see lots of families there for this fun fundraising event!

Attendance

This week, finishing in joint first place with 100% are 2KD and 6WS. In second place are 6NT, with 99.35% and in third place are YNAT with 99.02%. A shout out also goes to RJS, 1LR and 4AB who have also finished the week above our school target of 96.5%. The whole school attendance this week is 95.77%.   Please remember look at the NHS guide Is my child too ill for school? - NHS (www.nhs.uk) This is used to determine which reasons for absence will be authorised or unauthorised.

let's take a look at what each year group has been up to this week!

EYFS

This week Pre-school have been super scientists, carefully observing the life cycle of our baby ducklings. Our eggs arrived on Monday and the children enjoyed watching closely as tiny cracks began to appear. The following morning we were so excited to discover two hatchlings had emerged! Sunny and Shadow have quickly become a part of our pre-school family and we have loved seeing how they have transformed into fluffy little ducklings who love to peck their food, waddle around our classroom and even swim in our water tray! Miss Tree and the Pre-school team are so proud of how kind and gentle the children have been with Sunny and Shadow. Well done super stars!

This week, the Reception children enjoyed a visit to Temple Newsam Farm. During this term, the children have been learning about life cycles, and the trip gave them the opportunity to see this first-hand! They met a variety of farm animals, including sheep and lambs, kids and billy goats and enjoyed observing how animals grow and develop! The reception team were incredibly proud of how the children represented Whitkirk and incredibly grateful for our parent volunteers braving the weather!

LOWER SCHOOL

In Year 1 this week, we have been busy exploring habitats in geography, focusing on Africa and Antarctica. The children created their own animal habitats and shared some lovely, thoughtful discussions. In English, we have been learning a new rainforest poem using Talk for Writing, and the children have enjoyed bringing it to life through actions and expressive language. In maths, we have been working on doubling and sharing equally using a range of practical resources.

This week in Maths, Year 2 have been using scales to measure mass in grams and kilograms. In Writing, the children created extraordinary instructions on how to have fun in the countryside, inspired by The Railway Children. In RE, we have been learning about how different religions welcome babies into the world.

We have had a super week in Year 3. In English, we have drafted our diary entries based on Alice in Wonderland. We are so impressed how well the children are using conjunctions and subordinate clauses to join ideas, and time adverbials and expanded noun phrases to add detail.  In Computing, we have been using iMovie to make a voiceover movie based on the Mad Hatter's Tea Party!

UPPER school

This week in Year 4, the children have been exploring what it means to be a role model and how our actions can positively influence others. We looked at the life and teachings of Guru Nanak , the founder of Sikhism and discussed the values he encouraged people to live by (equality, honesty and compassion) The class discussed simple, meaningful ways they can commit to living out these teachings, such as helping others, speaking kindly, being truthful and including everyone. 

This week the Year 5 have got to grips with measuring angles with protractors. It was a bit tricky to begin with the different scales and understanding where to place them, but the children persevered and succeeded. In writing the children having been putting the finishing touches to their newspaper reports on finding a strange man in the Scrap Shed. All in all a great week in Year 5.