Halloween is behind us and the count down to Christmas has begun! This is a very busy term where we both get stuck in to the curriculum and the festive activities begin with gusto.
We are looking forward to seeing parents of pupils in year 1 to 6 at parents evening tonight.
Late drop off
If you are late in the morning, please bring your child to reception so they can be signed as present and we can ensure they safely make it to class. Registers are at 8.50am so after this time, pupils need to be logged in on the tablet as teaching will begin promptly.
Arts Award
This year, pupils are working towards Arts Awards Discover and Explore.
Year 1-4 are working towards their Discover Award. As well as developing their knowledge and understanding of the arts, Arts Award Discover boosts children's creativity, curiosity, confidence and communication skills.
Year 5-6 are working towards the Explore Award, An Entry Level qualification in the arts.
Spooky fun At the ptfa halloween disco
Willoughby Memorial Library and Art Gallery
Well done to our talented year 2s! Edison was awarded FIRST PRIZE in CLASS 1 and Jacob was awarded Highly Commended for two separate pieces in CLASS 1.
SAFEguarding spotlight
A parent has shared this communication regarding new parental controls and insights coming soon for Roblox
Roblox accounts with parent privileges:
'Next month, we’re changing the way parents manage their child’s experience on Roblox by introducing Roblox accounts with parent privileges. After linking your account to your child’s, parents can view and update parental controls for their child all from their own device. Parents also get access to insights about their child’s Roblox usage, such as their daily screen time and on-platform friends.'
'Given these changes, starting next month, parents will no longer be able to set a parent PIN, use Account Restrictions, or receive account-related notifications to their parental email. Instead, you will need to use an account with parent privileges. Existing verified parental emails on child accounts will continue to be used for account recovery. Any settings previously set using a parent PIN will not change, but you will need an account with parent privileges to make updates going forward.'
'As always, if users are interested in an added layer of security on their account, you can set up 2-factor authentication.'
Updated content maturity settings:
'As we shared with the community in July, to help provide parents and users more clarity into the types of content available on Roblox, we’ll soon begin labelling experiences based on the type of content users can expect in an experience, rather than by age. Experience Guidelines will be renamed Content Labels, and you’ll be able to set limits on the type of content accessible to your child through the content maturity setting in parental controls.'
New default settings for users under the age of 13:
'As part of Roblox’s commitment to safety, we are also updating certain default settings for our youngest users. Starting next month, users under the age of 13 will need parent permission to access certain chat features. Users under the age of 9 will also need parent permission to access experiences with content maturity “Moderate,” which may contain things like moderate violence or moderate crude humour.'
'Your child’s settings will be updated when they reach certain ages, if you and your child haven’t previously made changes to them. You and your child will be notified of these updates in advance.'
Contributions for Swimming- Kestrels and Buzzards
We are very grateful for every contribution that can be made towards the swimming transport in KS2. The cost is extremely high and may impact our ability to offer activities and clubs later in the year if contributions are low.
Food Focus
Parent recipes:
Banana, Avocado and Apple Muffins (makes 12)
- 150g plain flour
- 100g rolled oats
- ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1tsp baking powder
- 1 banana
- 1 medium avocado
- 200g apple sauce
- 1 egg (can use flax egg by mixing 1tbsp milled flaxseed + 3tbsp water and leaving to thicken for at least 5 minutes)
- 60ml milk (can use dairy free)
- Set fan oven to 180c and make up flax egg if using.
- Peel and chop fruit and put in blender with egg and milk, blend until smooth.
- Put dry ingredients into a bowl and whisk together.
- Add wet ingredients to dry and mix until combined.
- Spoon mixture into a greased muffin tin and bake for 25 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
Berry doughnuts
- 180ml milk (can use dairy free)
- 1 mashed banana
- 1 cup self raising flour
- 2 weetabix (crushed to dust)
- Handful of berries of your choice
- Set fan oven to 190c
- Mix all ingredients together and spoon into a greased doughnut mould.
- Bake for around 20 mins, cool in pan!
Pitta bread with houmous and cucumber, with carrot salad
- Wholemeal pitta bread
- 50g houmous
- 30g cucumber, washed and sliced
- 1 small carrot peeled and grated15g raisins
- Teaspoon of olive or avocado oil
- Toast the pitta bread, and then cut off one end of each pitta to let out the steam and make a pocket.
- Fill with houmous and cucumber.
- Mix the grated carrot, raisins and oil to make a salad.
Many of you have approached me about sleep and struggles with sleep routines, especially where there are signs of neurodiversity.
Quality sleep is essential for children’s growth and development. A decent night’s sleep will help them to do better at school, allow them to react more quickly to situations, have a more developed memory, learn more effectively and solve problems, plus it will make them less susceptible to colds and other minor ailments, less irritable and better behaved!
Sleep - a guide for school aged children from the nhs:
How many hours does your child need? Age Hours of sleep
Pre-school (3 - 5years) 11 - 13
Age 5 - 9 10 - 11 hours
Age 10 - 14 9 - 9.75 hours
Age 15 – 17 8.5 - 8.75 hours
Adults 7 – 9 hours (Information from National Sleep Foundation and NHS Choices)
Promoting sleep
Exercise and activity:
Exercise during the day is important to help us sleep but discourage lots of activity right before bedtime.
Exercise affects our body temperature and the best time to exercise to promote sleep is 4 - 6 hours before sleep.
Diet:
A healthy balanced diet promotes good sleep. A large meal too close to bedtime will interfere with sleep.
If your child has a snack before bed, carbohydrates such as bread or cereal are good options.
Monitor your child’s sleep to consider how different foods may be affecting their sleep.
Environment:
Create a good sleeping environment for your child. Their bedroom should be calm dark, quiet and cool. A night-light may help children feel safer.
Do not allow your child to watch TV or play computer games whilst falling asleep.
These activities stimulate children and therefore do not promote sleep.
Reward:
Give your child lots of praise for accomplishing even small things as they develop better sleep habits.
Bedtime routine
Establishing a bedtime routine is crucial in supporting your child to sleep well. Here are some hints on creating a good bedtime routine.
Decide on a bed time and stick to it. Weekends and holidays may have more flexibility.
Don’t extend the routine or make exceptions. Make sure that this routine is the same every night and praise your child for completing the tasks.
It may be helpful to have the routine written down or in picture format to help guide your child.
A bath 30 minutes before bed can help to promote sleep.
Avoid activities that make your child excited (playing active games, watching TV, computer games etc.)
Begin bedtime routine at least half an hour before bed time. Some children take longer to wind down than others so give plenty time. Bedtime routine may take longer for children who have ADHD.
✓ Give a “heads up” that the routine is about to begin 30 minutes before the start of the routine.
✓ Give countdown reminders as required. This will make it easier for your child to begin the routine rather than if they are abruptly interrupted in the middle of an activity.
✓ Build a bedtime routine of 4 to 5 activities. Activities should be things that prepare your child for bed e.g. brush teeth, put pyjamas on.
✓ As a reward for completing the routine, whatever time is left before the set bedtime is time for the two of you to have 1:1 time. This may be reading a story together or talking.
✓ Tell your child it's time for sleep and say goodnight.
✓ It can be helpful to have the same phrase used every night to act as a cue for the expected behaviour.
But what if ……….
My child frequently wakens during the night?
Night time waking is normal as a temporary stage. If this problem persists talk to your doctor.
• Don’t go into the child’s room unless you must, for example if they are really upset.
• Assume that the child has to go to the bathroom and steer them that way. Be gentle and quiet. Try not to put any lights on as they wake us up.
• Do not talk to them as engaging tor show emotion as engaging them in conversation will waken them more.
• If your child wakes from a nightmare then provide reassurance to help settle them back to sleep but do not engage in conversation
My child keeps getting out of bed?
Children will create reasons for having to get out of bed. Usually this is because they are either scared, bored or both.
If a child gets out of bed, the longer they stay up and the further away they get from their bedroom, the more reinforcement they will get from this behaviour therefore it is important to stop them as soon as possible and do not talk or show any emotion.
• Ensure that bedtime routine covers reasons for getting up like being hungry or thirsty.
• If your child has difficulty falling asleep without you, sit in a chair in the room and gradually move further away until you are outside of the room.
• Consider the use of reward charts for staying in bed but remember that there is a long delay in this reward as it would be used the next morning and therefore is likely to be more effective with older children.
03303 530 541
Speak to trained sleep advisors
Available Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays 7pm-9pm, Mondays, Wednesdays 9 -11am
Check out some familiar faces in this year's MJH production of The Wizard of Oz
From the producers of ‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat’ – 2022 and ‘Oliver!’ -2023, MJH Productions Proudly presents 'The Wizard of Oz'.
Follow the yellow brick road in this delightful stage adaptation of L. Frank Baum's beloved tale, featuring the iconic musical score from the MGM film. The timeless tale, in which young Dorothy Gale travels from Kansas over the rainbow to the magical Land of Oz, continues to thrill audiences worldwide.
This exciting, new production of The Wizard of Oz will feature a large company of incredibly talented, local performers, and a stunning, live orchestra.
Tickets on sale now!
Credits:
Created with images by • shaiith - Closeup of sweet marshmallows on stick over the bonfire • AdriaVidal - Stock photo of a gamer man playing a video game • Pixel-Shot - Heart made of various fresh vegetables on white background • Quality Stock Arts - The full moon with water wave ripple reflection effect.Elements of this image furnished by NASA. • Ratana21 - white calendar page , alarm clock and thumbtacks on grunge orange paper background