Weekly Blog Friday 28th March 2025

Date: 27th Mar 2025 @ 7:51am

Message from Mrs Powell

Dear Mayflower families,

As we come to the end of what seems a short (as it’s not even Easter yet!) but extremely busy Spring Term, I would like to take this opportunity to reflect on all of the amazing achievements we have experienced together since Christmas. You may be aware that Ofsted came to visit us just after the half-term holiday, and even though we have not received the report to share with you yet, we ARE able to share how amazing the children were during their visit. In their words, not many schools have such confident, polite, respectful children who have such a zest and energy for their learning.

In light of this, I am sure you will agree with me in formally thanking all of Team Mayflower who ensure this is brought to life every day in school. The curriculum planning, the research behind the best learning approaches and the experiences prepared and resourced each term don’t just happen. Their dedication and commitment for providing the ‘zest and energy’ is tangible as you walk round school. This term we have: enjoyed our annual Breakfast with a Book and STEMathon, met a Doncaster author, attended Young Voices at Sheffield Arena, had a sell-out ‘Rocksteady concert’, enjoyed some new outdoor resources for play and learning, learnt about amazing rocks and elements at Magna, entered the Maths through Stories, Spelling Bee and DANUM Read aloud competitions and it’s not even Easter yet! Our first week back after the holiday, we have our Easter service at church, baby lambs visiting and a celebration afternoon for the children to enjoy too! Thank you to all our families that have joined or supported our school community for any of these and we look forward to more of these community events in the summer term.

After Easter, there will be a slight change to the staffing structure in our Year 3 and Year 4 classes as shown. Please contact or speak to a member of the team in that class if you have anything you wish to discuss regarding your child/children next term.

 

Year 3	Mrs Ronan - Monday/Tuesday	Mrs Wood - Wednesday/Thursday/Friday
Year 4	Mrs Parkes - Monday/Wednesday/Thursday/Friday	Mrs Walker - Tuesday

 

In terms of attendance, we have finished slightly above national data for the term. This is still below our target for the year of 97% and we will be sending our attendance monitoring letters out for meetings after Easter. This will give families the opportunity to discuss any worries or concerns you have with senior leaders and the Attendance and Inclusion Team.

Last but not least – thank you to the children! Our ‘always’ awards today were a true highlight and celebrated the many children who have demonstrated kindness to one another in every one of their actions in and out of school which I know does not go unnoticed. Again, staff have chosen children to receive our achievement letters this term – so well done if you receive a special surprise in the post! We also awarded our attendance certificates and HERO week winner in assembly too.

On behalf of myself and all the staff at Mayflower, I wish you and all your family a happy and blessed Easter break.

I look forward to welcoming the children back to school on Monday 14^th April.

Mrs Powell

 

Attendance

Every week in our Celebration Assembly, we celebrate the class who has achieved the highest attendance for that week. This week Mrs Wood & Mrs Walker's class had the highest attendance with 98.10% - well done Year 4! 

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

Nursery - 88.75%

Reception - 96.77%

Year 1 Mrs Birkinshaw & Mrs Ward - 88.89%

Year 2 Mrs Davies - 97.01%

Year 3 Mrs Parkes & Mrs Ronan - 94.98%

Year 4 Mrs Wood & Mrs Walker - 98.10%

Year 5 Mrs Pickersgill - 95.83%

Year 6 Miss Dunn - 93.79%

 

Celebrating fantastic attendance!

Each week, each class with 100% attendance on a particular day will receive one letter from the word MAYFLOWER to put on their classroom door. Once a class has spelt out the word MAYFLOWER, a member of the class will bring all their letters down to the office to claim their prize from our box of Awesome Attendance Activities! 

Please see below where each class stands at the end of today: 

Nursery - M A Y F L O W E R     M A Y F L O W E R     M A Y F L O W E R     M A

Reception - M A Y F L O W E R     M A Y F L O W E R     M A Y F L O W E R     M

Year 1 - M A Y F L O W E R     M A Y F L O W E R     M A Y F L O W E R     M A Y F L O W E R     M A Y F L O W E R     M A Y F L O W E R     M

Year 2 - M A Y F L O W E R     M A  Y F L O W E R     M A Y F L O W E R     M A Y F L O W E R     M A Y F L O W E R     M A Y F L O W E R     M

Year 3 - M A Y F L O W E R     M A Y F L O W E R     M A Y F L O W E R     M A Y F L O W E R     M A Y F

Year 4 - M A Y F L O W E R     M A Y F L O W E R     M A Y F L O W E R     M  A Y F L 

Year 5 - M A Y F L O W E R     M A Y F L O W E R     M A Y F L O W E R     M A Y F L O W E R     M A Y F

Year 6 - M A Y F L O W E R     M A Y F L O W E R     M A Y F L O W E R     M A Y F L O W E R     M A Y F L O W E R     M A Y F L O

This week, Reception completed MAYFLOWER for the third time and enjoyed their treat of a movie and popcorn this afternoon.

Today in our celebration assembly, we presented certificates to those children who have achieved 97% attendance or above so far this school year. This included our children with 100% attendance. Well done everyone!

 

Meet our latest HERO!

This week we had a real push on encouraging all children to be Here, Every day, Ready and On time. Every child who arrived on time for school every day this week was entered into a prize draw, with a chance to win an Easter hamper for the whole family to enjoy.

We are really pleased to announce that the winner of the hamper was Ellie in Year 4 - well done Ellie, we hope you and your family enjoy the Easter treats!

 

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. Here are the children who have been chosen this week.

 

Nursery & Reception

My star of the week in Nursery goes to Ada. Ada always listens and tries her absolute best with everything she does. She always works to be better at what she does and loves to challenge herself with something new. Ada always demonstrates a mature attitude towards school and her learning and is an excellent role-model for all of the other children. 

This person in Reception is our little ray of sunshine every day. When we look around the classroom she is always on task engaged in a learning activity in provision or participating collaboratively with group work. She is a friend to everyone in reception giving them a helping hand, kind hug and just being a wonderful friend making sure they have someone to learn and play with. She is a role model to other children showing them the Mayflower way and helping them to be ready to learn. We love being welcomed every day with her lovely smile and cheery nature, well done Luna! 🙂

Our second star in Reception shares his inquisitive nature and love of learning with his class mates every day. He is always ready to learn, being a role model during lessons for his fantastic listening and sharing his knowledge during class and group discussions. He is the politest boy always remembering to use his manners and offering to hold open doors or picking things up off the floor so they don't get broken. This person is a fantastic role model making sure he is always being kind, respectful and doing the right thing. Isaac you are such a hardworking member of our classroom and you always try your best in everything you do, well done! 🙂

 

Year 1

This week we have picked our "always" children - always kind, always respectful and working hard at all times. Georgia and Nova both always follow our school rules wonderfully! They are incredibly kind and are often seen helping other children, sharing and playing lovely games. They are both always showing a great deal of respect- from showing they are listening, to thanking the staff at lunchtime - they can always be relied on to follow this rule. And it is clear from the wonderful work that they have produced all term, that they definitely work very hard! 

They are wonderful role models and show everyone The Mayflower Way!

 

Year 2

This week we have been thinking about our "always" children. Miss Wild has chosen Mia and Thomas M. They are both incredibly kind, taking care of others when they are feeling lonely or sad. They are both valued members of the class and demonstrate the upmost respect to children and adults. They both endeavor to try their very best in all aspects of their work. In short, they are ALWAYS wonderful!

 

Year 3

Jagoda - for always following the school rules, being a perfect role model to everyone around her and for always trying her very best in everything she does. Jagoda is a super star in our class and always puts a smile on our faces with her positive attitude and caring comments. Keep it up Jagoda Mrs Ronan and Mrs Parkes are very proud of you.

Noah D - for listening carefully to advice on how to improve his learning and making sure he always trying his best in everything he does. His attitude towards his work is fantastic to see and his hard work is evident in what he is producing. Noah keep up the good work, you're a super star.

 

Year 4

Lilly-Rose - Lilly is a pleasure to teach. This half term, she has consistently pushed herself in all lessons to achieve to the best of her ability. Her hard work and dedication is being noticed by all staff and she is shining like a star. Lilly is always ready to learn and is able to use lots of strategies to support her with her learning. I am so impressed with her work ethic. Keep it up!

Evie - Evie is the definition of an ALWAYS child - she is always ready to learn, aways listening and always prepared to challenge herself. She is a pleasure to teach and due to her hard work and determination, she is making fantastic progress. Keep up the hard work Evie. 

 

Year 5

We have had a fabulous term in Year 5 and all the children deserve recognition for their hard work. I would like to mention, in particular, our Stars of the Half Term:

Sophia B - Sophia has been an absolute delight this term; she is always kind, always respectful and she always tries her best. She is a fantastic role model to others. Sophia has made fantastic progress in writing this term and she should be extremely proud of herself! Well done Sophia, keep up the hard work!

Harry - Harry works hard in every lesson and shows real determination to improve his learning. He is able to listen to and act on advice in order to ensure that he is being the best that he can be. Harry is polite and well-mannered and is an excellent role model for other children. Well done Harry, keep up the hard work!

 

Year 6

The focus for Stars of the Week this week is on our 'Superstars of the Term'. Adults have been reflecting on those children who give their all day in and day out and this has been so difficult in Year 6 as we are fortunate enough to have many children who do exactly this. 

Vinnie - Vinnie is an absolute joy to have in class. He works hard across all areas of the curriculum, always acting upon feedback given to improve his work and make sure that it is the very best that it can be. Vinnie has a huge passion for writing and loves history and he shares his skills and knowledge in these areas of the curriculum with others. He embodies our school rules at all times: he is always kind to others, showing kindness and compassion at all times and often putting the needs and feelings of his peers before his own. He is respectful to all adults across school - regardless of whether they are familiar or less familiar - and he sets an excellent example for others to follow.

Wynter - Wynter gives absolutely everything 100%. She works hard in every single lesson, pushing herself to produce work of the highest standard in all subjects across the curriculum. She acts upon all feedback given to make suggested improvements to her work, whether this be feedback received from adults or her peers. Wynter embodies our 3 school rules at all times: she is always respectful to others, never differentiating between adults who are familiar with those who are less familiar and she is kind and polite to all children - regardless of whether they are close friends or not. 

 

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. 

My superstar ‘always’ award for the term goes to Erin-Mae in Reception and her super attitude towards all that she does in school. She always gives 100% effort and does this with humility and respect to others at all times. Not only is she a superstar worker, she also promotes everything in the Mayflower Way! Our school is definitely always a happier place with you in it!!

 

Makaton Sign Of The Week

The children are continuing to learn 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 for the coming week.

https://makaton.org/TMC/News_Stories/SOTW/SOTW_Sugar.aspx

 

Easter Church Service Tuesday 15th April

As advertised in our diary dates, our Easter Service at St Nicholas Church will take place on the morning of Tuesday 15th April. Children in Year 1 to Year 6 will be setting off once the children are registered that morning. If parents/carers would like to walk to and from the church with us, please let your child's teacher know and come to the school office on the morning of Tuesday 15th April once your child has been taken to class. 

 

Easter Chocolate Raffle

Today was the day that our Easter chocolate raffle was drawn. Wow! What a lot of eggs and chocolate goodies were donated, including 48 from Sainsburys Bawtry. Thank you to our PTA for organising this with Sainsburys and a huge thank you to our families who were able to donate prizes and buy tickets. 

The Easter raffle is always a popular event and this year was no exception. We raised an amazing £424.20! This money will be put to very good use for extra opportunities for our children. We hope our winners are very happy with their Easter treats.

 

Gifts for a loved one shop Thursday 27th March

Thank you to our wonderful PTA who held their 'Gifts for a loved one' shop yesterday. Each class was able to visit the shop and choose from a wide range of gifts. Our children love visiting the PTA shops and choosing something for their loved ones. 

Thank you to our PTA for organising this and to those parents/carers who were able to help at the shop. Without your support, these events would not be able to take place. We hope everyone enjoys their gifts.

 

Wraparound care and breakfast club after Easter

Please see the information below regarding First Steps Active Care wraparound provision after Easter.

As advertised recently, First Steps will also be running a free breakfast club which all families are welcome to access. This will run from 8.10am until the start of the school day. Please remember that the free places MUST be booked through First Steps Active Care with 48 hours notice.

 

Prostrike Top Fundraiser

Congratulations to Edward from Year 4 who was the top fundraiser during the recent Prostrike event. Edward raised a fabulous £145 - well done Edward!

Edward was also the proud recipient of one of our 100% attendance certificates and treats - well done on this too Edward!

 

Bag2School clothing collection

Thank you to everyone who donated bags of unwanted items for the PTA's recent Bag2School clothing collection. This latest collection raised £22 which will be added to PTA funds to be used for additional experiences for all the children. 

 

Danum Read Aloud

Valentina in Year 6 took part in the Danum Read Aloud final this week. Valentina had to learn a piece to perform at the event and performed this with such ease and enthusiasm, you would have thought she had performed in front of lots of people many times before! Well done Valentina - you did a fantastic job and should be really proud of yourself. 

 

'Your Place' support over Easter

Doncaster Council's 'Your Place' team want us to let parents/carers know that they are here to support families over Easter. They understand that school holidays can be a challenging period for some families and are here to assist in any way possible. Whether it’s providing support, offering guidance, or simply being a point of contact for families in need, they are ready to help.

Please click on the link below for further information. 

https://www.yourlifedoncaster.co.uk/your-place-your-family-team

 

Bawtry Quiz Night

 

Bawtry Heritage Group Story Competition

Easter activities with Trans Pennine Trail

The Trans Penning Trail team have asked us to share their latest children's activity pack. Once again, the pack contains lots of exciting holiday activities that will keep young minds entertained during the February half term break.

Bursting with fun and engaging activities, they will be encouraged to embark on a Spring Scavenger Hunt and take part in a Great British Spring Clean litter pick challenge. 

They’ll be able to get creative by making Spring Lamb cupcakes and creating their own Easter Egg decorations while solving the Easter Word search and bringing vibrant colours to life with picture colouring before diving into the next instalment of Mandy Mole’s exciting adventure along the Trans Pennine Trail. 

It’s a fantastic way to celebrate Easter and the beauty of spring!

The pack is aimed at primary school children with help as necessary from their parents or carers, and older children may enjoy some of the activities too.

https://www.transpenninetrail.org.uk/welcome-to-our-childrens-page/

 

Easter Open Day

 

Lunch Menu for week commencing 14th April 2025

Please see the new menu below for the first week back after the Easter holidays. Mrs Stanfield will continue to monitor the children's likes and dislikes and there may be changes to these menus in light of these. 

There may also 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.

2024/2025 school year

Friday 28^th March – last day in school before Easter holidays

Monday 31^st March to Friday 11^th April – Easter holidays

Monday 14^th April – first day back at school after Easter holidays

Tuesday 15th April - Easter Service at St Nicholas Church. Setting off once the children are registered that morning. If parents/carers would like to walk to and from the church with us, please let your child's teacher know and come to the school office on the morning of Tuesday 15th April once your child has been taken to class. 

Wednesday 16th April - PTA Easter Egg Hunt

Wednesday 16^th April – Year 6 visit to Crucial Crew. Year 6 will do their Easter Egg Hunt on a different day this week.

Thursday 17th April - Nursery maths workshop 9am

Thursday 17th April - Year 6 parents SATs meeting 3.10pm in Year 6 classroom - please wait on the upper playground for a member of staff to let you into the top building

Friday 18^th April – Good Friday – school closed

Monday 21^st April – Easter Monday – school closed

Wednesday 23rd April to Friday 25th April - Year 5 residential to PGL Caythorpe Court

Monday 5^th May – Bank Holiday – school closed

Thursday 8th May to Friday 9th May - Year 3 residential to Austerfield Study Centre

Monday 12th May to Thursday 15th May - Year 6 SATs

Thursday 15^th May – Y4 parents meeting for Hollowford residential in Year 4 classroom 3.10pm

Wednesday 21st May - Nursery phonics workshop 9am

Thursday 22nd May - class photos

Friday 23^rd May – last day in school before May half term

Monday 26^th May to Friday 30^th May – May half term

Monday 2^nd June – Training Day – school closed to pupils

Tuesday 3^rd June – Training Day – school closed to pupils

Wednesday 4^th June – first day back in school after May half term

Thursday 5th June - PTA Discos - Nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 3.10pm to 3.50pm (Nursery and Reception parents/carers to stay with their child), Years 3 to 6 4pm to 4.45pm. Entry £1 - there will also be a tuck shop at this event. Change of date - was originally 26th June 2025. Portakabin on top playground open for refreshments if parents/carers have children in both discos.

Friday 6th June - PTA Bag2School Clothing Collection - further details to follow

Monday 9th June to Friday 13th June - Year 1 Phonics Screening Check

Thursday 12th June - PTA Gifts for a loved one shop. Gifts from 50p to £3

Monday 16th June to Sunday 22nd June - Bawtry Arts Festival

Monday 16th June - Big Talk in school - further details to follow

Wednesday 18^th June – Sports Day – Foundation AM, rest of school PM – timings to follow

Thursday 19th June - PTA Summer Fair

Wednesday 25^th June to Friday 27^th June – Year 4 Hollowford Residential

Tuesday 1^st July – Year 2 visit to Cleethorpes

Wednesday 2nd July - Nursery & Reception sewing morning 9am to 10am

Wednesday 2nd July - Music Hub (guitars, woodwind and brass) Concert 9am - for those children taking part in guitar/woodwind/brass lessons in school. Change of date - was previously 9th July

Wednesday 2nd July - Rocksteady Concert 10am - for those children taking part in the Rocksteady music sessions. Change of date - was previous 9th July

Wednesday 9th July to Thursday 10th July - Year 6 residential to London

Thursday 17th July - PTA Colour Run. Change of date - was previously 10th July

Friday 18^th July – last day at school before Summer Holidays

 

2025-2026 School Year

Wednesday 1st October - individual/sibling photos