Welcome to your newsletter for week ending June 13th 

The week has ended with lovely sunny and warm weather, which was perfect timing as today children were outside having their class photographs taken and then this afternoon the whole school assembled on the grass area on the Linden Road side of school for a photograph taken from the top of the Bell Tower!

As mentioned in last weeks' newsletter, the weeks are pretty full in the run-up to the end of term so please do keep an eye on the dates below and on the website calendar using the link here. Something has not yet made it to the 'what's coming up' dates below is our third and final 'Celebrating our Cultures Day' on July 11th. Our Rights Respecting School Ambassadors have met to plan the event including activities for classes to take part in during the day. The RRS Ambassadors have also requested that we invite families, one last time, to bring and share food and drinks that are important to their heritage, culture and family. So please pop the date on your calendar or on your phone- we'd love to see as many families getting together at the end of the school day on the 11th.

What's Coming Up

Values Of The Week

The following children were awarded the Values Certificate for demonstrating Collaboration.

Congratulations to this week's Attendance Armadillo winners!

To all those celebrating Eid al-Adhar last week, we apologise for the lateness of the message; we hope you had a wonderful time with family and friends and that the occasion brought you peace, happiness, and countless blessings.

Key Stage 2 Tennis Tournament

We were delighted to take part in the recent Key Stage 2 tennis tournament, which aimed to promote teamwork, resilience, and a love of sport among pupils across the local area. The tournament provided a fantastic opportunity for our children to develop their tennis skills in a competitive but supportive environment. We are incredibly proud of all our players for their effort and enthusiasm throughout the event.

A huge congratulations to our Year 4 team, who achieved an impressive second place, and to our Year 5/6 teams, who went one step further by securing both first and second place in their age group – a brilliant result that reflects their dedication and sportsmanship.

It is great to see so many children and parents using bikes and scooters to get to and from school. And thankyou for reminding children to wear helmets too. Please can we ensure that children and adults dismount before entering the playground, so we avoid any accidents. Thankyou.

Drop-in Sessions for pupils (Wednesdays 12:00-12:30)

As we are now reaching the end of the year more focused work is underway throughout school supporting your child’s transition to their new class and for our Year 6’s to their new schools.

To provide additional support for Year 6, The Cottage is now offering a ‘Drop-in’ session on Wednesday lunchtimes 12.00pm-13.00pm. This is to give the Year 6 children the opportunity to chat through any worries with a member of the pastoral team.  We will also have more structured activities available each week based on supporting Transition if the children wish to do them. This week children shared their worries about moving on, looked at their strengths and talents and spent time looking at their new schools’ websites.

ELSA Support

Many of you may have heard the term ELSA or ELSA support in relation to pastoral interventions happening in school. Please see below information detailing the role of an ELSA and the support they can offer. Our ELSA Co-ordinator in school is Daniel Purcell.

What is an ELSA?

• An ELSA is an Emotional Literacy Support Assistant.
• An ELSA is a school-based support role, designed to support pupils with emotional and social needs.
• ELSAs are usually experienced Teaching assistants who have had additional training by Educational Psychologists.
• ELSAs work with individual pupils or small groups, using activities and strategies to help pupils build resilience, emotional literacy and coping mechanisms.

Areas of Support

• Loss and bereavement
• Emotional Literacy
• Self-esteem
• Social Skills
• Friendship issues
• Relationships
• Managing strong feelings
• Anxiety and worries
• Bullying
• Conflict
• Emotional Regulation
• Growth Mindset
• Social and therapeutic stories
• Problem solving

Typical ELSA session

• There would be a welcome for the pupil along with an emotional check in. How do they feel today?
• A warmup or icebreaker game or activity would be played. This part is important because it helps the pupil to feel relaxed and feel safe.
• The main activity would follow where the ELSA would be teaching something to help the pupil with their target. The ELSA would also review what was learnt last time to see if the pupil has remembered and if they used the skill taught.
• There would be a relaxation exercise to help the pupil be ready for class and a quick review on what the pupil has learnt that session. At this point the ELSA may ask the pupil to do something for next time. eg. practise star breathing when feeling angry

Website for more information - Resources for Emotional Literacy Support Assistants - ELSA Support

Please contact the team should you require any advice or support [email protected].

We hope you have a lovely weekend!

next week we will be on Week 3.

Don't forget to pre-book your child's meal option on Arbor! (even if your child is having a Packed Lunch) 

Top Tip: When selecting your meal choice, tick "Pick for all future available dates" to confirm your selection until the end of term!

We are currently in the process of sorting one of our ovens. Due to this, the following desserts will be substituted on the following dates:

Tues 17th replace lemon drizzle cake with ICED DONUTS

Thurs 19th replace fruit shortbread with CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM ROLL

Fri 20th replace chocolate cookies with ICE POPS

Dinosaur Theme Day- Dessert bar 

On Wednesday 18th June, we have 3 Dinosaur related puddings for the pupils to enjoy. The main meal that day will still be the Roast Turkey/ Veggie sausage toad in the hole as shown above. 

Each week, we will be recommending a book for you and your child to read at home...

Reception

A book designed to comfort and guide about how to explore the world. An inspiring picture book for children and parents alike.

Year 1

A book that is warm- hearted and celebrates the importance of diversity and friendship. Perfect for those struggling to make friends.

Year 2

If there is one food you would take into space, surely it would be cake! A delicious adventure to get your teeth into.

Year 3

A book from our visitor this week, and perfect for those that like to read Michael Morpurgo, Dick King Smith and Jacqueline Wilson.

Year 4

The second book in the series by our visiting author. Highly recommended by the bookseller!

Year 5

The third and most recent book, as promoted by Nicola Baker here at BVP this week.

Year 6

One of the most popular books currently and recommended highly by other children who have read it. An amazing adventure tale about a dog and his human.

PTA Quiz Night

Teams locked in. Food order sorted. See everyone next Friday.

Doors open 19:00, dinner at 19:30, quiz starts at 20:00 and hard stop at 23:00.

Year 6 Leavers

Thanks to all that have added an optional PTA donation to the Hoodie order. It is very much appreciated!

You should have received a letter outlining all the leavers celebrations, please do check you inbox. The link you need is https://forms.office.com/e/9p0vBvBXbC to tell us what you are getting involved in. We have received over 30 responses already which really helps us in the planning stages.

Summer Discos for all Years

Summer Disco tickets are now on Arbor for all year groups. If you would like to volunteer at the discos please do text 07974331102 and we will add you to the whatsapp group. The teams for all the discos are forming now. Thanks to those that have responded to the poll, we need as many hands as possible to make them run smoothly.

Parent Drinks and Dancing

We are heading out to Griedys Street on 11^th July from 1900, and then for those that want to dance go onto Actress and Bishop. Resident DJ until 02:00. Just turn up and enjoy! No tickets no pressure.

Other PTA Dates for this term

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20th June - Quiz Night, 19:00 doors, 19:30 food, 20:00 quiz starts

24th June (Tuesday) - Reception and Year 1 Disco, George Hall 15:20 - 16:30

24th/25th/26th June - Induction Sessions for Sept 2025 new starters (Elizabeth Hall)

1st July (Tuesday) - Year 2/3 Disco, George Hall 15:20 - 17:00

1st July (Tuesday) - Year 4/5/6 Disco, George Hall 18:00 - 19:30

11th July (Friday) - Parents Drinks and Dancing (Greidy's Street, and then Actress and Bishop) (07974331102 to join the party)

17th July (Thursday) - Year 6 Leavers Assembly George Hall 14:00 - 15:30

17th July - Year 6 Family BBQ Top Playground 15:30 - 17:00

17th July - Leavers Party, George Hall 18:00 - 22:00

18th July (Friday) - Last day of Term

And finally...

Thank you to all the parents and family members who have been in school recently for the Stay and Learn sessions. There has been lots of positive feedback and whilst we know that there are families who are not able to make it to events such as this, we know that children really enjoy them.

We hope can make the most of the sunshine whilst it lasts and we look forward to seeing you all bright and early on Monday.

Take care all.

Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is the responsibility of everyone in our school and at all times we consider what is in our children’s best interests. We work to ensure our children are safe and cared for and by doing this we are protecting their health and development and preventing them from harm. If we are worried, we will raise concerns, share information, and take prompt action with the aim of ensuring families receive the right help at the right time.

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