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Finally, a full week back in school and it feels like we are back into the swing of things. 
We have been very busy in school, the Year 6 SATS are over and now we are working towards our Year 6 writing assessments, Year 2 statutory SATS, phonics check- year 1 and times tables check in Year 4. The children are working hard and we will do our best to prepare them for these assessments..... BUT at Abbeys we do a lot more than just prepare pupils for tests! And this is why Abbeys is such a great school. 

It's that time of year when it starts to get a little bit warmer in school. You may have seen that on the playground and field we are having some new shade sails installed- an excellent investment after the heat we experienced last Summer. 

During the Summer term we ask pupils to come to school with sun-cream already applied, with a sun hat and plenty of water to drink. 

On very hot days we will adjust our activities accordingly. 

Trips and visits

We want to enrich our curriculum with lots of trips and visits. Many opportunities we have taken up this year have been free or at a cost to the school. Some trips are more expensive than others and we work hard to negotiate the best possible value for these visits. 

When we confirm a trip/ event we have to book and pay in advance and therefore if the trip/ visit cannot go ahead the school loses money. 

Where possible we will arrange payment in instalments and will always give plenty of notification before a trip.

If you are having difficulty paying for a trip please get in touch. It is important to us that we have open and honest conversations with our pupils and their families. It is difficult when offering enrichment opportunities in a cost of living crisis and if this is impacting you, we may be able to help. 

READ, WRITE, INC

From Early Years to Year 2, we use RWI to teach reading. This scheme is proven to be very effective at supporting early reading. 

WE ARE CHANGING READING AT HOME

From after half-term, your child will have a different type of home reading book. We are moving to only using RWI texts and ensuring that all books that go home are fully decodable for your child. 

It is not a parent/ carers job to teach their child to read. It is your job to hear your child read and practise with them. This develops their fluency. 

Therefore, after half-term, the books that come home will be books that your child can read independently. They will keep the book for at least three days and practise reading it. The more fluent they become at reading the book the better.  For more information visit- https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/reading/reading-schemes-oxford-levels/read-write-inc-phonics-guide

As I have mentioned before attendance continues to be an issue nationally and at Abbeys. 

It is really important that your child attends school when they are well enough to do so. We have far too many children having long weekends and going on holiday in term time. We also have children that are refusing to attend school- this has significantly increased since the pandemic and we have some children that are frequently late for school, or who are coming to school having had no breakfast. 

If you are having difficulty with morning routines, providing breakfast or motivating your child to attend school- you are not alone. Please make contact and we will support you however we can. If your child is not in school we cannot help them. 

Mrs Jamieson is our attendance officer, you can contact her via the school office or myself- jfellowes@abbeysprimary.org

Congratulations to Whitby Class who have the highest attendance this week with 93%. 

Sometimes when things happen to us it can really test how much resilience we have. How we cope in traumatic situations is a true reflection of ourselves and our personality. If life is smooth we may never experience a moment like this and we may be the lucky ones- but then we may never get to show the world just how brave and determined we are! 

Oscar Rumsey deserves a huge shout-out. Sadly, Oscar was attacked by a dog and he ended up in hospital and had surgery! He took it all in his stride and came into school a few days later with a smile on his face! After a few days rest, it was good to have Oscar back in school. 

Oscar, your family and all the staff at Abbeys are proud of you and how you have coped with all this. You have shown nothing but resilience. 

Charlie [Missenden] has won his 2nd medal playing football!

He took part in a tournament with his football training group,'Let’s Kick It'. His team got to the final and won!

Charlie has been enjoying playing with a new team!

Well done Charlie!

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Ameera Hakim-Ali - year 5- has won 2nd and 3rd place medals in her 1st gymnastics competition! Well done Ameera. Your first competition and you are already winning!

Zidaan- Year 1- Has  also been busy! He has completed stage 2 swimming. Good Job Zidaan. 

And lastly, Paige won 1st place in the floor competition- gymnastics. [Pictured right]. Amazing achievement Paige!

We love knowing what our pupils are doing outside of school- please send in your SHOUT OUTS!

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STAFF MUGGING!

This week is Mrs Jamieson's turn. She works so hard, she is always on the go. Mrs Jamieson also helps at Whitespire, is a Governor and also fosters 4 children! Shanie  shows nothing but kindness and patience.

We do not know where she finds the energy! We are lucky to have you in the Abbeys team. 

 

Sadly, the building work had to be redesigned due to an underground sewer. But they have started again now and it is great to see the walls going up!

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And they thought it was all over!!!

Congratulations to all of our Year 6 pupils who displayed nothing but resilience through SATS week last week. There was huge discussion in the media regarding the reading test and I have to say it was probably the most challenging I have seen in a while. Whilst, I think our pupils found the week challenging, they still had smiles on their faces. This clearly displayed the Abbeys values of aspiration, resilience, independence, perseverance and pride!

Now the focus has shifted to writing. The writing assessment for year 6 is a collection of writing over time, from each child. This week the pupils have been writing persuasive texts. See what you think!

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HOME LEARNING

At Abbeys, we really enjoy seeing some of the home learning creations that the children bring in to school. This week, I was amazed by Ioshua's fractions poster. I think you will agree that is it pretty fascinating. 

I myself am a visual learner and know that as a child, I benefitted from making things like this to secure the learning. I know Miss Dean will want to keep this in her classroom. 

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Keep up to date with all School events via the calendar on our school website!

KS1 SATs week
All Day
22
May
Last After School Clubs
3:15pm – 4:00pm
25
May
Break Up for Half Term at 3.15pm
All Day
26
May
Inset Day
All Day
05
June
School Re-opens
All Day
06
June
After School Clubs Start
3:15pm – 4:00pm
08
June
Phonics Checks Week
All Day
12
June
Class and Year 6 Photos
All Day
13
June
Father's Day Afternoon Event
1:30pm – 3:15pm
16
June
Non-Uniform Day
All Day
23
June

Over the last few weeks, I have noticed a few more dogs coming on to the playground. Unfortunately, dogs are not permitted on school grounds unless they are assistance dogs, or Frenchie the school well-being dog. 

Frenchie has very specific training, a risk assessment and very comprehensive insurance that Mr Fellowes and I pay for ourselves. This is because I see value in 'pets as therapy' and I see the happiness she brings to our school pupils and staff. 

Should you wish to see any documentation regarding Frenchie in school it is on the website, or I can email it to you. 

If you bring a dog onto school grounds you will be asked to wait outside the gate. Unless your dog is an assistance dog and the school are aware of this in advance. 

Thanks for your understanding. 

Summer Fair- Friday 30th June- 3pm-5pm

Please make sure you pop along to our Summer Fair.

We are starting to collect raffle prizes and tombola items.

We are having a WEAR WHAT YOU WANT DAY on Friday 23rd June!

Instead of donating £1 we are asking pupils to bring along an item for Fair. 

Foundation/ Year 1/2- We'd like donations of sweets or packaged treats/ cakes. 

Year 3/4- We'd like donations of toiletries or books. 

Year 5/6 - We'd like donations of wine/ water/ fizzy drink. 

If you are able to bake a cake for the cake stall, please send it in on Friday 30th June. If you label it with my name on it, that would be great!

You all know how much I love cake!

HAVE A LOVELY WEEKEND EVERYONE!