Newsletters

Weekly Updates – 12/05/2023
 
  -Weekly Update 12.05.23 UKRAINE.pdf-  

In school next week…

Clubs
Monday – Library Club with Mrs Court
Tuesday – There is no club on this day.
Wednesday – Sports Cool – booked directly with Chris as normal.
Thursday – Dance Club with Mrs Staveley – this is now fully booked. Please note the ast session before half term with be 18^th May 2023.


Forest School
Due to personal circumstances, Madeleine is taking a short break from running our Nursery Forest School sessions. She will return on 28^th June, Nursery children will spend Wednesday mornings in school in the mean time.
 
Asteroids (year 3,4,5,6) will be spending Friday 19^th May morning in Forest School focusing on our Golden Tread of Embracing the Wider World.  Children should bring in old, comfortable clothes and wellies/trainers for doing this activity as well as waterproof trousers and a coat. 
Rockets (Year R,1,2) will be having their session on Friday 26^th May.

 'I want to ride my bike' 
Wednesday 17^th May
Dave will be returning to school next week to complete his work with some Year 3 and 4 children. He will then be working with the Year 5 and 6 children for the rest of the day.
Therefore, Year 3,4,5 and 6 children should bring a helmet to school if they have one, we do have spare for those who need it. Year 6 children are asked to bring their bikes to school on Wednesday if they have them. If not, please contact school so we can try to arrange to borrow these.
 
A generic permission form is needed for all children, in addition to another form for year 6 who must complete both of these permissions. These have been sent home as paper copies with your child and must be returned to school by Wednesday 17^th May at the latest.
 
Year 6 SATs
We are extremely proud of our school community this week, they have supported our Year 6 pupils and helped to keep our school day calm and happy. We have seen everyone ‘shine like stars’ and this has made us all feel inspired and proud. Year 6 all deserve a restful and fun weekend- they have worked very hard!
 
Dynamo Cricket Festival
A small group of KS2 children will be attending the Dynamo Cricket Festival on Tuesday 16^th May at North Stainley Cricket Ground, we will be in touch with families directly with arrangements for this.
 
North Yorkshire Music Service
Earlier this term school was visited by the Instrumental Lead team from North Yorkshire Music Service and pupils kick-started their musical journey by participating in an instrumental demonstration and workshop. Following on from this demonstration, school has been offered a term of Wider Opportunities brass tuition which will begin on Friday 5^th May and run until Friday 7^th July. Within the sessions, students learn the basics of playing a brass instrument and will perform a variety of pieces in a whole class setting. Through these sessions pupils will develop their listening, rhythm, and music theory skills, as well as getting the opportunity to learn an instrument that they perhaps never thought of trying out. The whole class sessions are designed to offer a musically rich experience and provide an ideal gateway into pupils learning a musical instrument. Sessions will be led by Annie Wilkins, a fantastic brass player and teacher who currently performs with Rothwell Temperance Band – a highly regarded and successful Brass Band based in Leeds, conducts Otley Brass Band, and performs as a freelance musician in orchestras for theatre productions.
 

Other information:

Nursery
If you have, or know somebody who has, a child that turns three before 31^st August and they might be interested in coming to our Nursery please email helen.clegg@west-tanfield.n-yorks.sch.uk so they can be added to our list for September as we are almost full!  Thank you to those who have already expressed their interest.  Mrs Clegg will be in touch in June to arrange some taster visits.
 
Coming up...
On Monday 22^nd May the KS2 children (Y3 - 6) will be joining their friends from other local schools to take part in the usual annual Cross Country event at Newby Hall.  More details to follow next week.

JAM Messy Church
Our next after-school JAM session will take place on Tuesday 23^rd May from 3.30 - 5.00pm.  Please see the attached letter for further details.  All welcome.
  -JAM 23.05.23.pdf-  


Bus Register
Please note we only need to know if there are any changes to the bus – we do not require a new form. For adhoc requests – please email admin@west-tanfield.n-yorks.sch.uk
 
Safeguarding, Health and Wellbeing Updates
 
Social Media Safety
This recently published video by financial times films, gives an important insight to the impact of social media on our children and our family life. The video is well worth a watch. It has been used with parent groups, and they were shocked. The video led them to reconsider how they talk to their children about their social media use. You can find the video on YouTube by following the link below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UY2HOpuTlk
 
For further tips, advice, guides and resources to help keep your child safe online please follow the link below:
 
https://www.safeguardingchildren.co.uk/parents-carers/online-safety/
 
Healthy pack ups
Whether squeezing it in before the school run in the morning, or before bed on busy midweek evenings, preparing your child’s lunchbox can seem like just another thing on the list.
Below is a link to some healthy lunch box ideas to try!
https://www.nhs.uk/healthier-families/recipes/healthier-lunchboxes/