A Message From Miss Quarmby
Hello! After it raining every day for the whole of 2026 so far, I think we’re all more than ready for a week without soggy drop‑offs and pick‑ups! It’s been a fantastic week in school. Year 4 had their trip to Nell Bank on Tuesday, which they absolutely loved. Then on Wednesday, Mr Sadler, Miss Hickman, Miss Bellwood and Miss Tree took a group of our KS2 children to Young Voices in Sheffield. For some of them, it was their first ever experience of being in an arena, and they all had the most wonderful time. I was beaming from ear to ear this morning in Celebration Assembly. It makes me so proud every week to hear teachers explain why children in their class have been selected for Star of the Week. I can see the children beaming with pride - and you in the audience too. Thank you so much for always coming to share this special moment. It reminds me every week of what I love about Whitkirk: the special relationships we have between staff, pupils and our families. We’ve also been celebrating lots of success this week. Turtles were our winning house team for Dojo points, and our Diamond and Platinum superstars enjoyed their afternoon tea and pizza parties — very well deserved! I’m also delighted to share that Mrs Downes will be stepping into the role of Acting Deputy Head after half term. She is already such an asset to Whitkirk, and I know she will be fantastic in the role - even if she hasn’t yet realised just how often Mr Sadler used to stand out in the rain (shhhh!!!). I hope all our children and families have a lovely half‑term break, and we look forward to seeing everyone back in school on Monday 23rd February.
Attendance
This week, finishing in first place with 99.43% are 6NT. In second place are 1LR, with 99.11% and in third place are 4AR with 98.05%. A shout out also goes RLE, 1VM, 2KD, 2CH, 5AS and 6OS who have also finished the week above our school target of 96.5%. The whole school attendance this week is 96.62%: can we beat this next week? The only way to do that is if we all come to school as often as we can. 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
Pre-school have been very creative this week, using the skills they have practised throughout this half term, inspired by Joan Miró and his dream-like, collage-style artwork! The children have used scissors to carefully snip shapes, practised their pencil grip whilen mark-making and collaborated on a whole-class large collage. We are so proud of our budding artists and their imaginations!
This week in Reception, the children enjoyed a very special Teddy Bears’ Hospital, which helped to bring our learning about people who help us in our community to a lovely close. Throughout the term, the children have learned about the important roles of firefighters, the ambulance service, and the police, as well as dentists, and we were also lucky to have a visit from our wonderful lollipop lady who helps keep us safe every day at the bottom of Templegate Walk. During the Teddy Bears’ Hospital, the children cared for their teddies while exploring healthy food choices, how germs can spread and how we can help prevent this, and discussing any worries about visiting the doctors or hospital. They also explored different medical tools and learned about X-rays, helping to make these experiences feel more familiar and reassuring. What a super end to the half term!
LOWER school
This week, the children in Year 1 completed their brilliant portraits inspired by Giuseppe Arcimboldo, using fruits, vegetables and other objects to create expressive faces. They showed great creativity in how they arranged each element to reflect personality and detail. In music, we continued our work on African drumming, focusing on keeping a steady beat and copying a range of rhythms. The children are growing in confidence and worked well together.
This week we began our new maths unit on money and had great fun playing shops to practise our skills. In English, the children wrote some fantastic animal poems full of creativity and imagination. We also shared our knowledge of Kenya with the other Year 2 class, presenting everything we’ve learned with confidence and enthusiasm.
We have rounded off a lovely half term of learning in Year 3. In Geography, we have become experts in volcanoes and earthquakes and this week we had a treasure hunt using an 8 point compass! We have even written non-chronological reports to showcase the amazing facts we know. In DT, we have enjoyed using the running stitch to sew a textile decoration - we showed perseverance, resilience and determination and they look fantastic!
UPPER school
It’s been a busy and exciting week in Year 4. We enjoyed a fantastic trip to Nell Bank, exploring rivers and taking part in orienteering, and back at school we brought our decorations to life through sewing in DT. We also completed our interactive quizzes using the Book Creator app and continued developing our understanding of mixed numbers in maths. To top it all off, a number of us attended Young Voices in Sheffield, performing as part of the largest children’s choir!
Year 5 have been superstar writers this week! They’ve now completed their arguments for and against moving to the Amazon Rainforest, and we were incredibly impressed with their persuasive writing and wonderful presentation. Well done, Year 5!
Year 6 had a visit from the fire service on Wednesday. They came into talk to the children about fire safety at home. The children made us so proud with their engagement, respect and really insightful questions.