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’.
 
WELCOME BACK
It has been lovely to welcome the children back and hear all their Christmas holiday news!  We do hope that all our families had a wonderful break.  It is hard to get back into the routine, especially on these cold, dark January mornings!  But the children’s enthusiasm and good cheer have carried us through…along with some of the leftover Christmas goodies in the staffroom (many thanks once again for those!)

Spotlights from Learning…
 
In Rocket Class this week, EYFS children have enjoyed our new construction site role play with lots of hammering and building.  I wonder if you have anything at home that you could send in to enhance this area?
The Year One children have been creating a narrative map of 'Space Tortoise' and using this to write their own version of the story.  I wonder if your child can remember their story to tell you?
 
In Comet Class, we have started our new class text ‘Little Red Reading Hood’ which fits very nicely with this half-term’s golden thread:  Becoming a Lifelong Reader.  The children have been busy thinking about their preferred places to curl up with a good book.  So far, bed seems to be the favourite spot!  Many thanks to those parents who have sent in photos to support this work – there is still room on our display for more!
In Maths, Y2 have been busy finding the difference to answer ‘how many more/fewer?’ questions, including comparing the number of each colour of Smarties in a tube and presenting their findings in a bar chart.  Can you remember which colour was the most common?  Y3 have been busy measuring length using cms and will be moving on to converting cms to mms next week.  Interestingly, we discovered that the length of our shoes is not necessarily linked to our age or height.
 
This week in Asteroid Class, we have started our new English writing unit called Varmints by Helen Ward and Marc Craste.  We have been introduced to Marty, the main character, and witnessed his love of nature.  We have just seen his home be destroyed by towering buildings and are wondering what that means for him.  We have also been sheep tracking Science and History this week - Miss Marlow has been quizzed on the Digestive System and Monks in the Middle Ages.  Can you tell your adult about Grange farms or food chains?

Remember to look out for more details of our learning for the term ahead on our class pages on the school website.

Also, this week…
Many thanks to Ripon Blue Watch who popped in to help us to ‘sheeptrack’ our PSHE learning on Fire Safety.
Asteroids are very excited about their theatre visit to see ‘A Christmas Carol’ today.  They should be back by 5.35pm but we shall keep you posted if there are any significant changes to this.  Don’t forget your packed lunch if you haven’t already ordered one from Sharon!

  -Collective Worship Take Home.pdf-  

Coming up…
LOVE SCIENCE
There will be another Love Science workshop Monday afternoon, focusing on forces and magnets.  KS2 will be discussing different materials that are attracted to magnets, using a ruler and different objects measure the distance it take for the magnet to attach (this looks at different magnetic forces). We can also do this with different items attached to a string. We shall be looking at magnetic levitation trains and having a go at moving cars with just the use of magnets. We will also build cars powered by balloons.
 
SWIMMING
Swimming lessons for Y4 children will begin on Tuesday – please see separate email for further information
 
Reminders…
 
Mrs Taylor has sent out the following information in case of extreme weather leading to school closure:
Arrangements for school closure due to snowy or icy conditions
Updated January 2026
 
Please find some information below to clarify the arrangements should we need to close the school at short notice due to snow/ice:

Full closure or late start
An email will be sent to all parents to advise them that the school will be closed or that a later start is needed. We shall aim to do this by 8.15am but please be aware that it is difficult to let parents know any earlier than this as often staff are still trying to make their way to school in difficult conditions.

Breakfast Club
Please contact school via phone before setting off to breakfast club. If there is no answer, please assume there are no staff on site and breakfast club is unavailable on this day.

Continued closure
The weather will be monitored on a daily basis and the above process repeated each morning if necessary.

We will not contact you if the school is open as normal.
 
PAYMENTS FOR CLUBS
Please could we ask that all ParentPay accounts are settled in relation to clubs for the coming term by Monday 12^th January in order for your child to attend.  Many thanks
 
 
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.
 

News from the wider community

SONGS OF PRAISE
There will be a Songs of Praise service at St Nicholas Church, West Tanfield on Sunday 11th January, at 4.00pm, where we can all look forward to singing the favourite hymns we have voted for. They are a super collection so come and see if your chosen favourites are in the service.

VILLAGE PANTOMIME   
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