Spring Newsletter 4

Dear Parents & Carers

This week I’m starting with a message from Woodlands School Council:

Dear Parents & Carers

We are the 2021-2022 elected school councillors & would like to provide information about a questionnaire that pupils in Year 1 – Year 6 have been invited to complete. This questionnaire will help us, Woodlands School Council, make decisions about how we can improve Woodlands Primary School.  The questionnaire will include multiple choice questions for your child to answer. We would like your child to answer with their honest opinion. If they answer ‘disagree’ or ‘strongly disagree’, we would like your child to explain why at the end of the questionnaire. The questionnaire will be available on your child’s Google Classroom page. The questionnaire opened on Wednesday 26th January & will close on Friday 4th February. Thanks for your help.

Kind regards

Woodlands School Council

Chinese New Year begins on 1st February: the Year of the Tiger. The main celebrations in Liverpool will take place from 11am-5.30pm on Sunday 6th February. “Returning this year after 2021’s virtual event, the in-person spectacular will celebrate Europe’s oldest Chinese community by bringing together traditional celebrations such as the dragon and unicorn parades and combining them with brand new, free commissions such as 3D projections, fire performances, new artwork, dance and live music. Culture Liverpool has commissioned all of the new pieces of work to complement the free traditional Chinese New Year celebrations which includes dragon, unicorn and Lucky Man parades, firecracker displays, family workshops, Tai Chi demonstrations, a small fairground and food stalls.” You’ll find more details on the Culture Liverpool website https://www.cultureliverpool.co.uk/cny/

On Tuesday, you should have received a ParentMail from the wonderful people of FOWSA about their latest fundraising idea: Sponsor 2022. It’s a great idea! It’s one of those things where you can keep it simple (a sponsored silence: 2 minutes / 2 hours / 2 days / 2 weeks delete as appropriate) or you can really push the boat out (sailing across the Atlantic Ocean in a raft made of baked bean cans). 

Here’s this week’s conversation starters to help you find out about your child’s learning:

Nursery

What did the ice feel like when you held it? What happened to the ice when you held it?

{‘Understanding the World’}

Reception [Red & Blue]

Where do penguins live?

{Understanding the World}

Y1&2 [Green, Yellow & Purple]

Who was Howard Carter? How has he helped us learn about life in Ancient Egypt?

{History topic: ‘Ancient Egypt’}

Y3&4 [3A, 3/4M & 4G]

Why was Guy Fawkes recruited for the Gunpowder Plot?

{History topic: ‘James I & the Gunpowder Plot’}

Y5&6 [5D, 5/6P & 6R]

Can you teach someone at home the baseline & melody of the tune Lu-llah?

{Music topic ‘Harmony’}

Last week, I reported 6R’s attendance as 6R 99.7%. I’d like to change that that. I send my newsletter out as soon as possible once the afternoon registers have been completed. There was a child in 6R who had been to the dentists at the end of the morning session.  They had 2 teeth removed. They were so desperate to help their class achieve 100% attendance that they returned to school (after the register had been taken). So, for the week beginning 24th January 2022, 6R’s attendance can officially be recorded as 100%. Wonderful!

This week, our overall attendance has fallen to 93.3%. This mainly due to illness in a couple of classes.  Well done to 5 classes who achieved attendance of 97% or above: Blue Class (97.6%), 3/4M (98.0%), 5/6P (98.7%), 4C (99.3%) & 6R (99.4%).

We had 5 classes who had no late marks this week: Green Class, Yellow Class, 3/4M, 5/6P & 6R. It’s been a poor week for punctuality: 28 late marks across the whole school. 18 late marks ‘before the register closed’ – that’s before 9.20am &10 late marks ‘after the register has closed’, that’s after 9.20am. We expect all our children from reception to Y6 to be in class & ready to begin the day’s work by 8.55am – if they arrive after this they will get a late mark.

Remember, the Google Form to book appointments for parents evenings (Tuesday 8th February & Wednesday 9th February 4pm – 7pm) closes at midday on Tuesday 1st February. Please don’t miss out on the chance to find out how your child is progressing; you’ll be able to view a range of their school books too. So far, we have had the following percentage of appointments booked for each of our classes:

Red Class 95%

Blue Class 81%

Green Class 85%

Purple Class 85%

Yellow Class 93%

3G 79%

3/4M 93%

4C 69%

5D 83%

5/6P 87%

6R 84%

I’m off to get ready for our weekly Star of the Week celebration assembly. It’s one of my favourite times during the week. I’m lucky enough to be standing at the front of the hall when the certificates are presented by the teachers – it’s wonderful to see the pride in the children’s eyes when they are given their star badges. I don’t know who’s going to receive the certificates until they are handed out. Last week, as a teacher was doing ‘the reveal’, I spotted a child who you could see was wondering whether it was them. At first, they looked unsure, then as the teacher continued to speak they looked more hopeful. Next, the child sitting next to them pointed at them, indicating they thought it was them too. When the teacher finally announced their name, a broad grin split their face in two as they bounded to the front! It was a lovely moment.

I hope you enjoy the weekend.

KD Williams

Headteacher

Last word

My neighbour banged on the wall at 4.20am. Can you believe that? Luckily, I was still up playing music.

He shouted, “Can we have a little respect please?”

So, I shouted back, “I’m not a big Aretha Franklin fan, but ok, this one’s for you!”

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