Newsletters

We believe that our children should have the aspiration and opportunity to ‘Live life in all its fullness’ and ‘Shine like stars in the sky’.
 
Spotlights from Learning…
 
In Rocket Class this week, Nursery children have been continuing with their Foundations in Phonics rhymes.  Has your child sung to you at home yet?  Reception children have been working hard on remembering their tricky words.  This is a big challenge as we have learnt so many!  To support with this, a copy of all the flashcards will be coming home today.  Please can you support your child with these words that we can't sound out but we just have to remember?
Year One children have been working on remembering their Nativity lines and trying to deliver them applying their fantastic prosody skills that they use in their reading sessions.  Please continue to support your child with this...remember to be clear, confident communicators Rockets!
 
In Comet Class, we have now reached Plot Point 5 in our story ‘My Christmas Star’.  Having made some great predictions about what might happen next, we are busy thinking of our own alternative endings ready for our independent writing next week.  It would be great if we could have the chance to chat through our ideas over the weekend to prepare…
BBC One Christmas 2017 | The Supporting Act - YouTube
 
This week in Asteroid Class we have continued to look at the Middle Ages in History and learn about who Monks were and the Monasteries that they lived in.  We focused on Fountains Abbey and talked about the location of its various rooms and their uses.  Can you tell your parent or carer where the dormitories were and the refectory?  We have also been really lucky in having Sporting Influence in with us on Tuesday morning - Miss Marlow saw brilliant sportsmanship, determination and respect while playing Football.  

Also, this week…
The children enjoyed a great football session with Mr V and Miss L from Sporting Influence.  It was great to get outside on such a bright (and dry!) day.  Well done to Albert, Lucy, Harry, Freya and Elsie who all earned certificates for using key social skills.
 
Reminders
ROCKET CLASS
Just a reminder that Nativity costumes need to be in school by Monday 8^th December in a named bag.  Thank you for your help with this.
 
NURSERY PARENTS
Further to Mrs Clegg's email at the start of the week, please can parents of all Nursery children let her know which sessions they would like for their children in Spring term as soon as possible.  Contracts will be sent out next week.
 
CHRISTMAS DISCO
Please respond by Monday if your child(ren) would like to attend the Christmas disco on Wednesday 17^th December so that the Friends PTA group have the correct numbers.  Many thanks
 
FESTIVE FEAST
Just a reminder that Sharon will be serving Christmas lunch on Wednesday 17^th December.  All children are welcome to have the ‘festive feast’ regardless of whether they usually have a school dinner or not.  There will be no jacket potato or sandwich options on that day.  Thank you for putting in your orders so that Sharon has the correct numbers for her orders.  
 
WORD OF THE WEEK
To help children develop their vocabulary and a love of words, a focus ‘word of the week’ is introduced each week for the children to investigate.  This week’s word is: The children are encouraged to find out what the word means and perhaps use it in a sentence or explore its etymology.  Their efforts are then displayed in the hall.  Although aimed more at the KS2 children, everyone is welcome to join in.
 
Coming Up
 
ROCKETS’ NATIVITY
Rocket Class will soon be busy putting together their Nativity which they will perform for their families on Tuesday 16^th December at 10.30am and 2pm.  This year, we realise that we will need to limit audience sizes. Due to growing numbers of children in school, we no longer have the capacity to fit all our families in the school hall!  With this in mind, we invite parents and family members of children in Rocket Class to join us for the Nativity performances. Parents and family members of children in Asteroid Class are warmly invited to join our Carols Around the Tree on Friday 19^th December at 1.30pm, when the KS2 children will lead our celebrations as we finish for the Christmas break.
 
THEATRE VISITS 
We have been lucky enough to reserve seats for a theatre trip for all children in school. We would like to take:
 
Reception, Year One and Year Two children to see ‘Stickman’ at Leeds Playhouse on Friday 12th December during the afternoon, arriving back to school at around 4pm.
The cost of the trip is £16.00 per child and we ask parents to support us by making a voluntary contribution of this amount.
 
Year Three, Four, Five and Six children to see ‘A Christmas Carol’ at Leeds Playhouse on Wednesday 7th January 2026 for an evening performance we will leave school at 3pm arriving back to school around 9.20pm.
The cost of the trip is also £16.00 per child and we ask parents to support us by making a voluntary contribution of this amount.  Payments can now be accepted via ParentPay accounts.
 
News from the wider community
A MESSAGE FROM THE FRIENDS OF ST NICHOLAS SCHOOL
 
The Friends have two Christmas events coming up:
Christmas coffee morning at the Village Hall on Sunday 14th December, 10am - 12 noon. Tea, cake and coffee will be available to purchase. There will be fair stalls, crafts and the opportunity for the children to meet Santa!  If anyone is able to donatea jar for the ‘jarbola’ for the Christmas coffee morning, please see below for more details… Christmas Disco in the school hall on Wednesday 17th December, 3:30pm until 5pm. The disco is free to attend, and a tuck shop will be available for children to purchase snacks. Nursery children must be accompanied by a parent or carer please, unless they are already signed up for after-school care that day.  PATRONAL CELEBRATIONS
Hopefully everyone has spotted their invitation to celebrate St Nicholas’ Eve at Tanfield Lodge on Saturday 6^th December 6-9pm.  All our families are welcome.  Please RSVP to Daphne Bourne-Arton on 07703 262392 or email daphneba@aol.com
 
CHRISTMAS READING CHALLENGE
The volunteers at Masham Library have planned their own Christmas Reading Challenge! A lovely seasonal activity for the children to enjoy…
Safeguarding, Health and Wellbeing Updates

NSPCC PANTS
This month we are revisiting the NSPCC PANTS rule in our PSHE lessons.  Please click on the link below to find out how you can support this work at home, including advice for parents and carers on how to start a PANTS conversation.
Talk PANTS: Conversation to help keep children safe | NSPCC

Online safety support for neurodivergent children
Online scams like trust trades and fake giveaways can cause harm and upset to all children, but neurodivergent children are at greater risk of falling victim to scams.
 
Internet Matters have worked with Ambitious about Autism and Roblox to create new resources to help families with neurodivergent children learn and stay safe from scams within games.
 
There’s a guide for parents, a video for children and young people, plus stories for families to read and discuss together to explore the risks, with practical actions for children to take to help stay protected.
 
Find all the resources here.
Protect neurodivergent kids from scams in games | Internet Matters