Another week down and yet again the number of children who are accessing school has increased! This is fantastic although we would still like to encourage any nursery, fs2, year 1 and year 6 who aren’t yet back in school to come in before the summer, it would be great to see you!

We have been informed of some false social media statements which state that our school has had confirmed cases of COVID-19 in staff and pupils. It is incredibly frustrating that this has happened as there is no truth in it what so ever. Please be reassured that if we had any confirmed cases in school we would follow protocol in informing parents. The safety measures put in place in school would ensure that if we had a case, impact on school would be kept to a minimum. Thank you to those of you who have contacted school rather than fuelling further social media hype.

We have had lots of questions about September. Unfortunately we only know what you know but we are planning with the current understanding that we will have everyone back in September. In return to school expectations will be back to normal, uniform as normal, attendance as normal. We worked so hard as a community to get positive attendance last year and we need to continue to do the same in September and onwards. Remember our school target for attendance is

97%

let’s see if we can get there next year!

Thank you to those of you who have sent in videos of why you feel wcps is the best school in the world! We’ve loved watching them! One parents has sent in this;

From a parents perspective I think it’s the best because everything the school does is best for the children in their care. The children are at the centre of the all decisions made about the school. All throughout lockdown there were teachers in school to look after key workers children, there were community walks to make sure each and every child felt special and to keep in touch. Gifts for the children. There have been smarty pants assemblies, live streamed videos, baking with school, choir videos, art club videos, quizzes, story times, and newsletters. Miss Paddock has gone above and beyond to accomodate my family during these tough times, everything from letting us use the ICT suite to ensure my son got the chance to do his work, through to changing my daughters school times so we weren't coming to and from school so many times a day. All of our teachers deserve a medal, for the support they have offered. I will never be able to express the thanks and gratitude I feel for everyone who works at the school, and I am truly thankful my kids get chance to be included in this fantastic school community.

Feedback and gratitude like this is fantastic to read so thank you. Don’t forget we also take ideas on board so please keep in touch!

Over the last few weeks I’ve had the honour of reading and commenting on all your school reports and I am incredibly proud. It was a delight to read these reports and I can see how invested your teachers are in you! These are going to be sent out today so keep an eye on your postbox! In the next few weeks you will also be finding out who your new class teacher is! These will be sent via email. You will also be invited to a transition event for your new class which will take place over the summer.

Keep Safe

Mrs Paddock

It's nothing new to find out that kids need exercise in their lives. In fact, we're all probably pretty aware of the fact that increased physical activity helps children build healthy bodies and prevent illness. We also know that helping our kids to love movement sets them up to be stronger and healthier teens and adults.

How exercise helps children's psychological well-being

Enhances self-esteem

As children exercise, their strength increases and so does their self-esteem. They gain confidence and become more comfortable in their own skin.

Reduces symptoms of depression and anxiety

Physical activity can change your brain chemistry and improve your frame of mind. For instance, exercise has been shown to increase levels of serotonin, which can contribute to reduced feelings of depression.

Increases concentration and alertness

Exercise releases endorphins, which are the feel-good chemicals that act on the brain as natural tranquilizers. Studies have shown that endorphin-rich movement improves mental focus and cognitive skills.

Boosts energy levels

Movement stimulates attention and energy levels due to improved circulation and blood flow. This helps your body deliver more oxygen and essential nutrients to your tissues, which, in turn, allows you to do more — and feel better — throughout the day.

Controls mood swings

Exercise can help calm kids down and stabilize mood swings, thus making good behavior more likely.

Fosters feelings of happiness

Fun, physical activities and mental stimulation with family and friends in a supportive environment give children the sense that they've achieved something new and challenging. They feel better. They feel happy.

French themed days

This week we have had French days in two of the bubbles. Madame Bruff was really happy to be back in school! We revised some counting up to 5 and days of the week, then we learned the names of some foods. We read the story of The Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle - in French it’s called “La Chenille qui fait des trous” which actually means The Caterpillar Who Makes Some Holes !

In the story, the caterpillar eats lots of different kinds of foods, and in the French version some of the things it eats are a bit different from the English version, so we had a tasting session. We tried lots of different foods, including Camembert, brioche , croissants, saucisson, cornichons ... and decided whether to say “j’adore” or “Je deteste” for each one. After the food tasting we made a mini book retelling the story in French - some of us made e-books, and some of us chose to make a paper book. Madame Bruff was really thrilled with how hard everyone worked, and how well you had all remembered your French.

Year 1 maths

You know how hard we try to make learning real for our children and this week is no exception. This week year 1 have been exploring money in maths and then had a treat to prove their learning! They used their coins to pay for their own ice cream treat!

Improving our school grounds

While the weather has been nice staff and pupils have been working hard during lunch and playtimes to improve our school grounds. If anyone has any spare time on their hands there is quite a lot of work to do around our huge playing field. Please let us know if you’d like to help! Email admin@wcpsedu.org

Don’t forget top of the rocks party!

Mrs Chambers has her alarm set for early doors on Monday morning! Watch out for a 7am live stream to launch the day! We will also have live streams throughout the day with events from bubbles!

Choir session 3, thank you Mrs Wright our bubbles are loving taking part!