Headteacher Message
Fastyr mie Parents and Carers,
I hope you’ve all had a great week! I wanted to say a huge thank you for your amazing support during our International Week. It was a fantastic celebration of diversity, and it wouldn’t have been possible without the contributions from so many families. Special thanks to our families who shared their rich cultures from all over the world. Gura mie ayd, dziękuję, 谢谢, danke, ขอบคุณ, obrigado, Дякую, děkuji, 多謝, dankie; THANK YOU!
Celebrating our differences and showing respect for each other’s cultures is so important. By learning about and appreciating the diverse traditions, languages, and customs of our peers, we enrich our own lives and broaden our perspectives. This week has been a wonderful opportunity for our students to understand the value of diversity and the importance of mutual respect.
In other news, congratulations to all the children who have been cast in roles for our upcoming production of Peter Pan. Your hard work and dedication have paid off, and we can’t wait to see your performances. Break a leg!
Yesterday, it was great to have David O’Toole, the CEO of our 3-18 Trust, visit our school. He visited most classes and was very impressed with the hard work and enthusiasm displayed by our students in all the lessons he saw. Mr O’Toole was particularly struck by the honesty and passion of the children he spoke with, which is heartening.
Looking ahead, we’re excited about our quiz night next Friday. It promises to be a fun and engaging event for all, and we hope to see many of you there!
Finally, I wish you all a lovely weekend. Thank you once again for your continued support and for making our International Week such a success. Your involvement and enthusiasm are what make our school a special place for our children to learn and grow.
Deirey-shiaghtin mie diu!
Tom Larkham
Headteacher
What’s on next week?
Wednesday 29th January–Chinese New Year Workshop for EYFS, Year 2 & Year 4
Please make payment of £3.90 on Arbor .
Special Lunch Menu
Friday 31st January– Community Quiz Night @7.30pm
Community Quiz Night
Book your babysitter! and book in a team with the School Office.
It isn’t for brain boxes but those seeking a laugh
Open to all so bring your friends, neighbours and grandparents and your favourite tipple of choice.
Half Marathon Deadline
Don’t forget to register your child by Friday 7th February if they would like to take part in this challenge.
The Final Event takes place on Saturday 12th April 2025 from 9am at the Shropshire County Showground.
The entrance fee of £12.40 can be paid via Arbor School Shop.
Please note your child has to be prepared to run twice a week during breaktime from Monday 24th February to Friday 11th April, so it is quite a commitment. This event is open to all our pupils in Year 1 to Year 6.
Half-Marathon Letter
Message from our PE Co-ordinator
We would like to get into good health & safety habits with the children regarding PE lessons and Sporting Fixtures.
So we’ve spoken to the children about the following:
- No watches or Jewellery (earrings can be taped up if they cannot be removed)
- Hair tied back with a hair bobble
Secondary schools are strict about no jewellery as part of their uniform policy so it will also help prepare our children for this transition.
Coming Soon-Year 5/6 Author Event
Another Author Event for Year 5 & 6! How lucky are they! We couldn’t pass up this invitation from Booka Bookshop.
Patrice Lawrence MBE and writer in residence for Book Trust will be joining us on Friday 7th February to talk about her brand new book being published 30th January 2025! So, its literally hot off the press!
Patrice Lawrence MBE is a British writer and journalist. Her writing has won awards including the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize for Older Children and The Bookseller YA Book Prize. Patrice was born in Brighton and brought up in an Italian and Trinidad household. She worked for 20 years for charities supporting equality and social justice. These themes (along with a serious amount of music) inform her stories.
There will be an opportunity for a book signing in the school library. If you would like to purchase a signed copy of People like Stars please purchase this via Arbor School Shop £9 by 31st January.
Coming Soon-EYFS & Yr 1 Valentines Disco
Badgers, Foxes, Squirrels and Hedgehogs can stay after school for a Valentines Disco with their favourite Teachers. They can come to school dressed for this (red/pink clothes might be an idea or anything they choose)
If your child is eligible for Free School Meals or is booked into After School Club on this evening there will be no charge on the Arbor ticket but please purchase the FREE ticket so we know your child will be attending.
This is a mini event, there will be a whole school Disco in the summer term.
Book donations
We are currently making plans for World Book Day in March.
With this in mind if you have any children’s books that need a new home we will gladly take them off your hands.
Please leave in the Reception Foyer! Thank you!
International Food Market
We’ve been immersing ourselves in new languages and cultures throughout the day and after school it was time to try tasters from around the world at our International Food Market!
With each Year Group supporting a stall we had foods from Spain, Greece, India, Germany, USA, Italy and Poland and other countries.
Than you so much for coming along and encouraging your children to try new foods. It was wonderful to see the cultural dishes made at home with love and little notes to go alongside.
International Day
We’ve all had fun for International Day learning Spanish with Senorita Jones, singing the Fiji Rugby song with Mrs Porrett, playing an international game in PE and learning about another country in class. Thank you to the many family guests for joining us in the classroom and telling us about places you have lived or travelled-always fascinating and providing a window to our children of a life they might choose to live one day.
In Year 4 Olive’s dad, Dominic, taught us about Laternelaufen, or ‘lantern walking’, which children do on 11th November to celebrate St. Martin’s Day and his story. See the video below.
Dolphins class celebrate a jam-packed International Day! 🌍🐬
Dolphins Class had an incredible International Day, learning about eight fascinating countries! A huge thank you to our wonderful parent visitors—we truly appreciated you sharing your heritage and experiences.
We were fortunate to have Juliet’s mum tell us about Maine in America, Sophia’s dad share insights on Czechia, Josie’s mum talk about South Africa, and Anna’s mum discuss Ukraine. Additionally, two of our very own children, Louis and Lourenço, created PowerPoint presentations to share knowledge about their home countries, Hong Kong and Portugal. It was heart-warming to see them proudly present to their classmates!
Our day was packed with even more fun and learning. We enjoyed a Spanish language lesson with Madame Jones, made lassi (a traditional drink) and tasted naan bread with Miss Lewis while learning about Pakistan.
We were also treated to delicious blueberry and banana muffins from Juliet’s mum, sweets from Sophia’s dad, kulu beading and keyrings from Josie’s mum, sunflower seeds from Anna’s mum, and flags, cultural souvenirs, and currency shared by Lourenço and Louis.
What an amazing day filled with culture, learning, and generosity! We’re so proud to offer such rich opportunities to our children. Thank you to everyone who made it so special! 🌏✨
An out-of-this-world trip for year 5!
Yesterday, year 5 travelled to Leicester to visit the National Space centre where they had an astronaut experience in the planetarium and explored the rocket tower along with all the other exhibits!
Drama Invitation for Leopards
A big thank you to Mrs Griffin – Prestfelde’s head of drama – for inviting us to watch a wonderful show that highlighted the impact of cyber bullying. Seeing their year 7s perform something they had written, choreographed and created the props for was very inspiring for our very many budding actors. After the show we were able to take part in a drama workshop too which was great fun!
Sandwich Tasting in Year 3
Year 3 have been working out what makes a good sandwich in preparation for our next DT project… by eating sandwiches! Huge thanks goes to our local Asda store who were kind enough to provide us with a variety of pre-made sandwiches to taste. Lots of the children tasted flavours they had never tried before. Our next step is to design a healthy tasty sandwich that we will be making in class. We can’t wait!
Future Stars 🎭
After many, many excellent auditions, the cast for this year’s school production of Peter Pan has been announced today! The show will take place before the Easter holidays and promises to be magical. Rehearsals begin tomorrow…
Peter Pan Cast Letter
Yr 1 Class Assemblies
Well done to Hedgehogs and Squirrels for showcasing all of their learning to their families.
Tag Rugby Competition
A group of Year 6 pupils proudly represented our school at an event organised by Embrace. They arrived with a fantastic attitude, maintaining their positivity throughout the event. The team showcased incredible resilience, pushing through challenging games and improving their performance as the tournament progressed, ultimately securing 4th place. Well done to everyone involved!
Year 4 Dodgeball
A group of Year 4 children represented Coleham at a Dodgeball School Games competition, finishing third in our group. They played exceptionally well, losing the other two matches by just one point. Throughout the event, they showed great sportsmanship and resilience. Well done to all the children!
EYFS Family Lunch
Thanks for our families for coming to lunch with Badgers and Foxes, they love to show you where they eat and where to put your tray!