Weekly Blog Friday 24th November 2023

Date: 24th Nov 2023 @ 7:07am

Attendance

Every week in our Celebration Assembly, we celebrate the class who has achieved the highest attendance for that week. This week, Mrs Singh's class had the highest attendance with 98.07%! Well done Year 1!

Please see below for the attendance figures for this week. The target attendance for all children is currently set at 97%.

Attendance for this week

Nursery - 89.74%

Reception - 92.98%

Year 1 Miss Singh - 98.07%

Year 2 Mrs Davies - 96.06%

Year 3 Miss Scott - 97.31%

Year 4 Mrs Wood - 94.02%

Year 5 Mrs Pickersgill - 94.59%

Year 6 Miss Dunn - 89.95%

 

Stars of the week

Each week in our Friday Celebration Assembly, we celebrate our stars of the week. Each class teacher chooses 2 children from their class each week who have really impressed them. Please see below for who has been chosen this week, together with the reason for them being chosen. 

 

Nursery & Reception

Stars of the Week are:

Jessica in Nursery for working hard in all areas of her learning including Read, Write, Inc and the Nativity play. She listens well and tries her best to do what is asked of her.

Gracie for always doing good listening, following instructions and being helpful and caring towards her friends. She is a valued member of the class.

 

Year 1

This week Year 1’s Stars of the Week are;

Emilia – This week our focus was on how we can keep safe and it has been wonderful to see Emilia following our school rules and looking after those around her. Emilia was extremely helpful to her friends in the dinner hall this week. During our class discussions Emilia has provided some great input and answers. It’s been lovely to see your confidence grow.

Matthew – Well done Matthew – it has been lovely to see how hard you have been working in Year 1 and through our Nativity practice. Matthew has been making sure he helps with the register and making sure his friends are in class after break and lunchtimes. Keep up the hard work Matthew.

 

Year 2

Jagoda - For always ensuring that we have a safe environment to work in by tucking chairs in, picking coats up and moving bags off the floor. She follows all of the school rules and lets adults know if there is someone or something that might prevent everyone being safe. 

Leo T - For always following the school rules and being a shining example of how we care and look after ourselves and our environment. By keeping our classroom tidy and organised, he ensures that we are less likely to trip or slip and hurt ourselves.

 

Year 3

Olivia C - Olivia has shown great pride in her work this week and has gone above and beyond to be the best she can be. Olivia wrote a thank you letter to staff for organising the recent school trip, the letter was presented beautifully and included lots of information we learnt on the trip. Olivia has been very supportive of her peers in tasks this week and has helped anyone who needed it. 

Fletcher - Fletcher has blown me away this week with his sensible and positive approach to learning and day to day school life. Fletcher has demonstrated some brilliant listening, teamwork, and independence this week which has helped him produce some great work. 

 

Year 4

Jamie - for working hard in class all week. Jamie has been determined to complete his work and has been the first person to answer questions. He has really thrived this week thanks to the effort he has put in and by having an excellent attitude to his learning! Well done! 

Sophia A - Sophia has had a fantastic week! She has impressed many teachers in school with her manners, her attitude and her determination to try everything. She has been focussed on her learning and has been very proud of the work she has produced. Fantastic!

 

Year 5

Vinnie B - Vinnie had a new beginning at our school back in September, since then his confidence and independence has grown and grown.  He uses the resources he has been given to complete tasks with independence and confidence showing great perseverance. Well done Vinnie, keep up the hard work!

Aaron - Aaron is trying much harder to complete his work independently, which is great to see. He is working hard and has made good progress with his reading this week. He is much more focused on tasks and he is developing his confidence in unfamiliar situations. Well done Aaron, keep up the hard work!

 

Year 6

This week in school, we have been learning about equality and equity and thinking about all the things that happen in school to ensure that these are evident. We have also been looking out for those children across school who put others first and this week's Stars of the Week in Year  6 have been chosen with this in mind.

Annabelle - Annabelle is a kind and considerate member of the class who always helps others. She puts other before herself and often helps in the classroom, doing jobs in her own time to ensure that everything is ready and prepared for her peers for the next lesson. Thank you for all of your help Annabelle.

Jack - Jack has tried so hard this week to be kind and considerate and to put others before himself. He has given up his own time to help me and to help the other children in the class and this has not gone unnoticed. Thank you Jack and keep it up!

 

Headteacher Award

Each week in our Celebration Assembly, Mrs Powell chooses someone who has really impressed her during the week and presents them with her Headteacher Award trophy. This week, Leo T in Year 2 received the trophy for all his hard work in class and his caring attitude to ensure that everybody in school is treated fairly and equally; this all done with a huge infectious smile!

Leo also scored his first ever football goal recently and couldn't wait to share this fantastic news with everyone. He was so proud! Well done Leo!

 

Attendance at Bawtry Mayflower

It was fantastic to share with the children today in assembly that school this week had an attendance of over our expected level of attendance which is 97%! This is well above the national figure of 94.5% from across the country. Why is this great? Because it means the children are here in school and they are all accessing all of their learning!

Attendance is something we monitor here at Bawtry Mayflower for that very reason and next week, our attendance and late letters will be sent home with the children addressed to a parent/carer at home. These letters form part of the local authority’s and school’s attendance policy and are a way of ensuring that you are kept informed of your child’s attendance when this drops below the expected level as mentioned earlier. Leadership and staff here at the school are very aware that at times absences cannot be helped for example if there has been a medical appointment or short illness taken place and that the short space of time since the start of the school year means that only a ‘day or two’ can bring around a drop below the expected level. This is the part of the policy that we need to follow to continue to have an open and honest dialogue as to why a child's attendance has fallen below the expected level. Holidays, as you are aware, cannot be authorised in any circumstances other than those stated on the back of the local authority’s holiday form. I stress this as in recent monitoring school has then received negative feedback directed at staff and in particular the office staff. I request that if you have any questions or concerns next week as to why these letters have been received please contact school so I can reiterate the points above.

In regards to illness and absence from school, please click on the link below to view the most up to date guidance from NHS England.

NHS guidance on absence from school

 

Nut Free School - reminder

We have noticed this week that some children are bringing food containing nuts into school in their packed lunches. Please re-familiarise yourselves with the following information, as we are a nut free school here at Bawtry Mayflower.

We currently have children throughout school with a range of allergies and are a nut free school. People who suffer from nut allergies can develop a severe, potentially life-threatening allergic reaction.

If someone has a nut allergy, it is not just eating nuts that can cause a severe reaction, just being touched on the skin or smelling the breath of someone who has had nuts or a product containing nuts can trigger anaphylactic shock (which can cause breathing and swallowing difficulties).

Most staff members in the school are trained to use Epi-pens (an injection of adrenalin) which are required immediately if this happens. School also has emergency Epi-pens in the event that a child’s Epi-pen fails.

We cannot have nuts in school in any form so please can we ask that you do not put nut products in your child’s lunch box or that no nut products are brought into school as a snack.

For example:

• Peanut butter sandwiches
• Chocolate spreads
• Cereal bars
• Some granola bars
• Cakes that contain nuts
• Biscuits / Cookies that contain nuts
• Peanut butter cakes

This list is not exhaustive, so please check the packaging of products closely. We appreciate that this is an additional thing to check but we know that you will recognise the importance of it.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to speak to a member of staff.

 

Makaton Sign Of The Week

The children have recently started learning Makaton's 'Sign of the week' each week. Each Monday, the children learn the new sign for that week. We thought it would be useful to share the following week's sign with parents/carers on our Friday blog so you can get involved too if you wish. Please click on the link below to see the sign that the children will be learning next week.

Next week's sign - BLACK

 

Key Stage 1 nativity tickets

Just a quick reminder that the deadline for the reply slips for ticket requests for the Key Stage 1 nativity need to be returned to class teachers by next Tuesday, 28th November at the very latest please.

 

Year 3&4 PTA Social Thursday 30th November

Letters were sent home with our Year 3 & Year 4 children last week regarding the PTA Social which is taking place next Thursday 30th November from 3pm to 3.45pm. If you would like your child to attend this PTA event, please make sure they bring their reply slip together with £3 to hand in to their class teacher on Monday if they haven't done so already. 

 

Year 5/6 PTA Social Thursday 7th December

Letters will be coming home with our Year 5 & Year 6 children at the beginning of next week regarding their PTA Social which is taking place on Thursday 7th December from 3pm to 3.45pm. If you would like your child to attend this PTA event, please make sure they bring their reply slip together with £3 to hand in to their class teacher by next Friday, 1st December at the latest please.

 

After School Clubs

After School Club letters should have come home this week with the children from Year 1 to Year 6. These letters are for the clubs that will start after Christmas and run until Easter. If you would like your child to be considered for any of the clubs, the deadline to return the reply slip(s) at the bottom of the letters to class teachers is next Wednesday, 29th November at 3pm. Everyone who returns their slips by this deadline will have an equal chance of being offered a place on their chosen club(s).

 

Peace Chains

As advised in yesterday's email, we would like each child in school to decorate their own individual part of a peace chain (which they should have brought home this week) however they wish and then return it to school by Wednesday 6th December. You can either cut the peace chain out and return just that or return the whole sheet and we will sort it from there. We would then like to join all the different parts of the peace chain together and display this in school for the last couple of weeks leading up to Christmas. We can’t wait to see what designs the children use!

 

Christmas Raffle

Last year's Christmas raffle proved so popular that we have decided to have another one this year. We would like to ask for donations of chocolate goodies to be brought into school on Thursday 7th December, which is our Christmas Jumper Day. Please don't worry if you are not able to contribute at this time - we appreciate that things are difficult at the moment and there is no pressure at all to donate anything. All the children can still come in their Christmas jumpers regardless of whether a donation is provided or not.

Raffle tickets will be on sale from Monday 4th December, priced at £1 per strip of 5 tickets. Tickets will be available in each class and also from the school office before and after school each day (with the exception of a Tuesday afternoon, when the school office is closed). 

Good luck everyone!

 

Scholastic Half Price Book Fair

Scholastic Book Fair will be bringing their half price fair to our school at the beginning of December. These books are really lovely quality and the half price sale is ideal for those wanting to purchase some extra gifts. The book fair will take place in the lower building straight after school on the following dates:

Tuesday 5th December

Wednesday 6th December

Thursday 7th December

Payment will be cash only each day.

Every book sold at the book fair helps to earn free books for our school.

 

Tea and Talk 6th December

We would like to invite all parents / carers to our drop-in tea/coffee morning on Wednesday, 6th December from 8.45am to 9.45am.

This will be a great chance to meet our Family Manager Mrs Westerman, our SENCo Mrs Wood, our CAMHS ‘With Me In Mind’ advisors, school nursing team, and a member of our locality Your Place team to discuss any worries you may have about your child’s or your well-being or any advice and support around family/home life.

 

Christmas Church Service Wednesday 20th December

On Wednesday 20th October, the children from Year 1 to Year 6 will be walking to St Nicholas' church for our annual Christmas Service. We will be setting off straight after morning registration (approx 9.15am). If you would like to walk there and back to church with us to enjoy the Christmas Service, please let your child's teacher know as soon as possible.

 

Year 3/4 visit to National Coal Mining Museum

Last week, the children from Year 3 and Year 4 went on a visit to the National Coal Mining Museum in Wakefield. They had a fantastic time and some of the children have shared their experience with us. 

Amelie – I thought it wouldn't be very realistic. I thought it would be pictures of mines. When we got there, I realised that we were actually going down underground to see pretend people working.

My favourite part was seeing the children working down the mine. Some of them were under 10 years old.

 

Joe – when I was on the bus going, I was really excited to go to the museum because I thought it would be really big. When I got there it was even bigger than I thought. The miners used Davy lamps so that they could see when they were down the mine.

My favourite part was looking at some of the pictures of what the coal miners used to look like.

 

Rose – I saw graphs showing pictures of the mining industry back in the day. I liked seeing the steam winder – this was something to get the men, coal and equipment out of the mine. Miners communicated by using a bell; 2 rings to signal going down the cage and 3 rings to signal going up the cage.

My favourite part was exploring the coal mine. It was really good.

 

Evie – There was a lift you could go down. A man showed us all the equipment like sandwich tins. We could go through tunnels – it was dark!

My favourite part was crawling through tunnels.

 

Upcoming PTA Events

Our wonderful PTA members and helpers have been busy behind the scenes planning some lovely Christmas events for our children. Please see the posters below for dates etc. Letters will be sent home (if applicable) a couple of weeks before each event.

We are only able to have events like these thanks to those who help to organise and run these events. If you would like to give some time to help with any of the PTA's upcoming projects, please send Kirsty (PTA Chair) a message on 07787 570844.

 

Congratulations!

Congratulations to our Super Swimmers in Year 1, who have all been awarded certificates and/or badges recently in their swimming lessons. You are all doing amazingly well! Learning to swim is an important life skill and is also lots and lots of fun! We know you all try your very hardest in your swimming lessons and all your hard work has paid off. Well done!

 

James in Year 3 recently received his green Blue Peter badge for his sterling work in helping to protect our environment 💚 Well done James, what a fantastic achievement! 

 

Community/City Events

 

Free Emotions Parenting Clinic

 

Lunch Menu for week commencing 27th November 2023

Please see the menu below for next week. There may need to be last minute changes to the menus on occasion, to take into account availability of items or delivery issues.

 

Diary Dates

Please see below our current diary dates. It may be that there are dates on here that involve your child that you haven't had any information for yet. Please don't worry, information will come out in plenty of time prior to the date concerned. Dates that have been added since the last blog are shown in bold.

2023

Tuesday 28th November - Year 5 road safety talk

Thursday 30th November - flu vaccination catch up sessions for those children who weren't in on Thursday 16th November

Thursday 30th November - Year 5/6 walk to local woods during the school day

Thursday 30th November - Year 3/4 PTA Social 3pm to 3.45pm

Saturday 2nd December - Flu Vaccination Drop In Session - Tesco Edenthorpe 9.30am to 11.30am

Saturday 2nd December - Flu Vaccination Drop In Session - Adwick Leisure Centre 1pm to 3pm

Monday 4th December - Key Stage 1 nativity dress rehearsal 10.30am

Tuesday 5th December - choir singing at Bawtry Hall for residents annual Christmas lunch

Tuesday 5th December - Key Stage 1 nativity performance 2pm

Tuesday 5th December - Scholastic Book Fair after school

Wednesday 6th December - Tea and Talk parent drop-in session 8.45am to 9.45am

Wednesday 6th December - Early Years nativity performance 10.30am

Wednesday 6th December - Key Stage 1 nativity performance 2pm

Wednesday 6th December - Scholastic Book Fair after school

Thursday 7th December - Christmas Jumper Day (non-uniform day) - donations of chocolate goodies for the Christmas raffle

Thursday 7th December - Year 5/6 PTA Social 3pm to 3.45pm 

Thursday 7th December - Scholastic Book Fair after school

Monday 11th December - KS1 Dance Club performance - lower hall 3.40pm

Tuesday 12th December - Foundation Craft morning 9am to 10am 

Wednesday 13th December - Year 1 to Year 6 at CAST Theatre Doncaster AM to see 'Beauty and the Beast'

Wednesday 13th December - Nursery and Reception 'The Littlest Christmas Elf' performance by Big Foot Arts Education

Wednesday 13th December - KS2 Dance Club performance - lower hall 3.40pm

Thursday 14th December - Active Lunchtime Leaders Training for Year 5 during the school day

Thursday 14th December - Year 1/2 Christmas Film Night - 3 to 3.45pm with parents/carers

Friday 15th December - Reception and Year 6 height and weight checks with school nurse

Friday 15th December - PTA Christmas Shop during the school day - further details to follow

Friday 15th December - some members of choir singing for Peakes Croft retirement housing residents 2pm

Friday 15th December - Guitar Christmas Concert 2.15pm

Saturday 16th December - Flu Vaccination Drop In Session - Kings Chamber Thorne 9.30am to 11.30am

Saturday 16th December - Flu Vaccination Drop In Session - Dearne Valley Leisure Centre 1pm to 3pm

Monday 18th December - Key Stage 1 Craft afternoon (with parents/carers)

Monday 18th December - PTA Christmas Disco - Year 1/2 3pm to 3.45pm, Years 3 to 6 4pm to 4.45pm - further details to follow

Tuesday 19th December - Rocksteady concert 2pm (for those parents whose children are taking part in the Rocksteady music sessions)

Tuesday 19th December - Carols round the tree straight after school in lower hall

Wednesday 20th December - Christmas Service at St Nicholas Church - leaving school straight after morning registration. Family members welcome to walk to and from church with us.

Wednesday 20th December - Christmas Dinner Day 

Thursday 21st December - Pyjama and Film Afternoon - further details to follow

Friday 22nd December - Christmas Party Food at lunchtime

Friday 22nd December - last day before Christmas holidays

Monday 25th December to Friday 5th January - Christmas holidays

2024

Saturday 6th January - Flu Vaccination Drop In Session - Lakeside Shopping Centre Doncaster 9am to 3.30pm

Monday 8th January - first day back after Christmas Holidays

Monday 15th January - closing date for Reception applications for September 2024

Wednesday 17th January - Tea and Talk parent drop-in session 8.45am to 9.45am

Wednesday 7th February - Tea and Talk parent drop-in session 8.45am to 9.45am

Friday 9th February - last day before half term

Monday 12th February to Friday 16th February - half term

Monday 19th February - first day back after half term

Wednesday 21st February - Young Voices concert at Sheffield Utilita Arena this evening for our choir children

Wednesday 6th March - Tea and Talk parent drop-in session 8.45am to 9.45am

Friday 8th March - PTA Mothers Day Shop during the school day - further details to follow

Wednesday 13th March - Year 6 at STEM event at Queen Elizabeth's High School

Thursday 14th March - Year 3/4 PTA Social 3pm to 4pm - further details to follow

Thursday 21st March - Year 5/6 PTA Social 3pm to 4pm - further details to follow

Tuesday 26th March - Rocksteady concert 2pm (for those parents whose children are taking part in the Rocksteady music sessions)

Wednesday 27th March - English Touring Opera 'The Big Stink'

Thursday 28th March - last day before Easter holidays

Thursday 28th March - PTA Easter Hunt during the school day - further details to follow

Friday 29th March - bank holiday - school closed

Monday 1st April to Friday 12th April - Easter holidays

Monday 22nd April to Wednesday 24th April - Year 5 residential to Caythorpe

Monday 6th May - bank holiday - school closed

Monday 13th May to Friday 17th May - Key Stage 2 SATs tests

Wednesday 15th May - Tea and Talk parent drop-in session 8.45am to 9.45am

Thursday 16th May - Year 4 Hollowford residential parents meeting

Thursday 23rd May - class photos (change of date from 15th May due to Key Stage 2 SATs)

Friday 24th May - last day before half term

Monday 27th May to Friday 31st May - half term

Monday 3rd June to Friday 14th June - Year 4 multiplication checks to be completed during this 2 week period

Monday 3rd June - Training Day - school is closed to pupils

Tuesday 4th June - Training Day - school is closed to pupils

Wednesday 5th June to Thursday 6th June - Year 4 residential to Hollowford

Monday 10th June to Friday 14th June - Phonics screening check Key Stage 1

Wednesday 12th June - Tea and Talk parent drop-in session 8.45am to 9.45am

Thursday 13th June - PTA Fathers Day Shop during the school day - further details to follow 

Thursday 20th June - Sports Day - further details and timings to follow

Thursday 20th June - Summer Fair straight after school - further details to follow

Wednesday 3rd July - Tea and Talk parent drop-in session 8.45am to 9.45am

Thursday 4th July - PTA Summer Disco - Year 1/2 3pm to 3.45pm, Years 3 to 6 4pm to 4.45pm - further details to follow

Tuesday 16th July - Rocksteady concert 2pm (for those parents whose children are taking part in the Rocksteady music sessions)

Thursday 18th July - PTA Colour Run - further details to follow

Friday 19th July - last day before Summer holidays

Monday 22nd July - Training Day - school is closed to pupils

Tuesday 23rd July - Training Day - school is closed to pupils