Weekly Blog Thursday 17th April 2025
Date: 16th Apr 2025 @ 7:35am
School closed 18th and 21st April
As advised in our previous email and in the diary dates, school will be closed tomorrow (Friday 18th April) as it is Good Friday. School will also be closed this coming Monday 21st April as it is Easter Monday.
We hope everyone has a lovely Easter weekend and we will see everyone back in school next Tuesday, 22nd April.
Attendance
Every week in our Celebration Assembly, we celebrate the class who has achieved the highest attendance for that week. This week Miss Dunn's class had the highest attendance with 98.32% - well done Year 6!
Please see below for the attendance figures for this week. The target attendance for all children is currently set at 97%.
Nursery - 84.72%
Reception - 91.24%
Year 1 Mrs Birkinshaw & Mrs Ward - 95%
Year 2 Mrs Davies - 96.15%
Year 3 Mrs Ronan & Mrs Wood - 94.47%
Year 4 Mrs Parkes & Mrs Walker - 94.69%
Year 5 Mrs Pickersgill - 93.79%
Year 6 Miss Dunn - 98.32%
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 A Y
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 L
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 W
Arriving on time for school
Following on from our previous reminders, there are still several children arriving late to school on a regular basis. If there is a particular reason why your child is arriving late, please speak to their class teacher or come to the office to arrange to speak to Mrs Powell. As a reminder, the doors open at 8.35am for a prompt 8.40am start. When children arrive late, they are missing out on learning and also then disrupt the learning of the other children when they go into class.
We will be monitoring lateness very closely over the coming weeks and will contact parents/carers directly should we need to discuss this further.
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
This week's stars of the week for Nursery go to Dominic and Franklin for having a fab first week at school. They have settled really well and had lots of fun. It has been a pleasure to welcome them both into the class this week. The other Nursery children are loving having some new friends to play with.
Our first star of the week in Reception has worked so hard this week in Maths. She has noticed patterns in numbers and used this to work out number problems as well as some fab counting in 10's. She has tried her best to create ABB, AAB and ABBA patterns using resources in the classroom and persevered when facing a challenge in this. She has taken pride in her writing creating some fab instructions on planting a sunflower. Well done Emily 🙂
Our next Reception star this week always works hard and tries her best throughout the day. This week she has been working on writing independently and using our writing tools to help her with this. She has been able to support her friends in using these in their writing as well. Whilst learning about Easter this person has thought about what other people might do to celebrate and compared this with how her own family celebrate Easter. Well done Jessica 🙂
Year 1
Louis T - Louis has been trying extremely hard with his work and is taking a great deal of pride in his writing. Louis has loved creating his clay block figures in art this week and persevered even when it was hard. Louis has been making lots of good choices and we are very proud of him.
Cole - Cole has been a superstar this week! He has been thinking very carefully about how to be the best learner he can be. He has been sitting smartly, listening carefully and working hard. Cole has joined in really well in our maths lessons and was a great team member in the Easter egg hunt too! Keep up the hard work, Cole!
Year 2
This week, our Stars of the Week have been awarded to two children who have worked hard and demonstrated resilience.
Owen always tries his best and works hard. He has demonstrated resilience in bucketloads! When he comes across things he finds tricky, he applies all the strategies he knows until he finds answer. Keep up the great work, Owen!
Mia is a fantastic role model when it comes to working hard and demonstrating resilience. Every day, in every lesson, she tries her very best. If at first she doesn't get something right, she simply tries again with a smile on her face and keeps on trying until she's happy with what she's done. Well done, Mia!
Year 3
Leo - Leo has worked incredibly hard this week and has supported other children. He has one of the fastest stop signs in Year 3 which shows he is always ready to listen quickly. Leo has worked hard in every lesson this week. He makes sure his work is the best it can be and he joins in class discussions. Leo makes such a fantastic contribution to our class every day!
Libby - Libby has worked hard this week and has really pushed herself to make every piece of work the very best it can be. Libby kept on going when she found work challenging but this did not stop her from trying hard to complete the work and the challenge too. Libby's work ethic has impressed us all this week!
Year 4
Ellie - I have been really impressed with Ellie this week. She has come back to school with a positive attitude and drive to succeed. She has shown high levels of resilience to enable her to complete tasks that were extremely challenging. Keep it up.
Maddison M - Maddison has been a star this week. She works hard in all lessons and consistently shows high levels of resilience in all lessons. This enables her to succeed. Keep it up.
Year 5
This week Oliwia has shown great perseverance when faced with tasks that have challenged her. It is lovely to see her confidence in new and unfamiliar situations growing. Well done Oliwia! Keep it up!
This week Harry has demonstrated resilience. He has persevered when challenged with new learning in maths and has not been afraid to ask for help when needed. Well done Harry! Keep it up!
Year 6
The children in Year 6 have had a great start to the summer term; they have worked very hard this week and have shown determination and resilience in lessons across the curriculum.
Our focus in school this week has been on our school rules and values and we have been looking for those children across school who have embodied these. This week's Year 6 Stars of the Week have been chosen with this in mind.
Brandon - Brandon has an exemplary attitude towards his learning in every single lesson. He never complains when asked to do something to make his work even better and he takes all advice and feedback on board. Brandon is a resilient learner who tries his best at all times, showing real commitment to his learning and as a result, is making amazing progress. I am so proud of you, Brandon.
Lily - Lily is a dedicated learner who shows commitment to her learning across all areas of the curriculum. She is open to advice and feedback, always taking it on board and acting upon it to make her work even better. Lily is a self-aware learner with good knowledge of her strengths and areas for development and she works hard to improve, always asking for help when it is needed. Amazing, Lily!
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 award this week goes to Elliot in Year 4. Elliot has a fantastic work ethic - he works so hard all the time and with a gorgeous smile on his face. It is such a pleasure to have Elliot here at Mayflower. He is a true role model for his peers and all the other children and is a delight to staff and visitors. Well done Elliot!
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_Easter.aspx
Class messages from School Spider
As advised earlier this week, parents/carers will now be receiving a general weekly update from the class teachers via School Spider to inform them what has been happening in class that particular week. Messages will also be sent out via School Spider for any changes to PE days etc.
We will still be producing our weekly blog each week, but this will have whole school news on it rather than anything relating to an individual class.
We sent a test message on School Spider earlier this week and will be sending our first proper messages this afternoon. If you have a School Spider account, don't receive a message and haven't already been in contact with us about your School Spider account, please email admin@bawtrymayflower.doncaster.sch.uk and we will look into this for you.
Breakfast Club/Wraparound Care
Just a quick reminder that First Steps Active Care are now running a free breakfast club in the Lifeboat Room (in our lower building) from 8.10am every day which all families are welcome to access. Please remember that the free places MUST be booked through First Steps Active Care with 48 hours notice.
The free breakfast club is in addition to the wraparound care that First Steps already provide.
VE Day Celebrations
To commemorate the 80th anniversary of VE Day, we would like to invite our families to join us for a family picnic on Wednesday 7th May 2025 from 12 noon. We would like those coming along to bring a picnic lunch with them. Those children who usually have a school dinner will be having a picnic lunch that day. Those children who usually bring a packed lunch will be offered a school packed lunch that day (online form to follow shortly) - they are of course welcome to bring their packed lunch as normal should they prefer. Our Nursery children and their families are of course also invited to this event and an online form will be coming out shortly to Nursery families to order a school packed lunch for those children should families wish to.
We would like to create a memory board for the oocasion. Was a member of your family involved in the war, perhaps as a member of the armed forces or even evacuated during the war? If so, we would like to include them on our memory board. Please bring/send in a photo/letter/postcard etc - anything that you would like to enable us to celebrate your family member.
We would also like the children to come in non-uniform that day please.
Special visitors!
Yesterday we had some special visitors to school. Mrs Ronan, along with her parents and son Eli, brought some lambs to school! Each class had the opportunity to visit with the lambs and find out lots of facts about them. Everyone had such a wonderful time - we don't actually know who was more excited, the children or the adults!!
Thank you Mrs Ronan and your family for taking the time to bring the lambs in. We are really lucky to have had this experience again this year and are very grateful to you. We are keeping everything crossed that you will be able to visit again next year!
Easter Egg Hunt
Yesterday morning was a very busy time as, in addition to the visit from the lambs Mrs Buxton, part of our wonderful PTA, held the annual Easter Egg Hunt. The children in Years 2 to 5 took part in some orienteering for their hunt. Our younger children had to read clues to find their eggs. Year 3 were the overall winners, completing the course in 9 minutes. Well done Year 3!
Special shout out to Year 5 who helped the other year groups complete their courses.
Each child was treated to a chocolate egg donated by our PTA. Thank you Mrs Buxton for giving up your day to run the event and thank you to the PTA for donating the eggs for our children.
Congratulations!
Junie in Reception was awarded her 15 metres swimming certificate during the Easter holidays. Junie swam this distance without a float, which is amazing! Well done Junie - keep up the hard work and we're sure it won't be long before we're sharing your next achievement!
Parent Wellbeing Newsletter
Doncaster Council has asked us to share the latest parent wellbeing newsletter with our parents/carers. Please click on the link at the bottom of this page to view the newsletter.
With Me In Mind Newsletter
The With Me In Mind team has asked us to share their latest newsletter with our parents/carers. Please click on the link at the bottom of this page to view the newsletter.
Free Parenting Clinic
Football Training
Doncaster City Academy are currently looking for new players for their teams. If you think your child would be interested, please ring 07473370221 for more information.
Lunch Menu for week commencing 21st April 2025
Please see the menu below for next week. 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 18th April – Good Friday – school closed
Monday 21st April – Easter Monday – school closed
Thursday 24th April - deadline for final balance for Year 6 London residential to be paid
Thursday 24th April - Year 3/4 quiz night 3.15pm to 4.30pm (letter has been sent out for this and deadline to return was 17th April)
Friday 25th April - deadline for voluntary contributions for Reception visit to Conisbrough Castle
Wednesday 23rd April to Friday 25th April - Year 5 residential to PGL Caythorpe Court
Friday 25th April - deadline for Y6 school nursing questionnaire to be returned
Thursday 1st May - Year 5/6 quiz night 3.15pm to 4.30pm (letter has been sent out for this and deadline to return was 17th April)
Monday 5th May – Bank Holiday – school closed
Wednesday 7th May - VE Day family picnic 12 noon
Thursday 8th May to Friday 9th May - Year 3 residential to Austerfield Study Centre
Friday 9th May - deadline for orders for Y6 hoodies
Monday 12th May to Thursday 15th May - Year 6 SATs
Thursday 15th May – Y4 parents meeting for Hollowford residential in Year 4 classroom 3.10pm
Monday 19th May - Reception visit to Conisbrough Castle
Wednesday 21st May - Nursery phonics workshop 9am
Thursday 22nd May - class photos
Friday 23rd May – last day in school before May half term
Monday 26th May to Friday 30th May – May half term
Friday 30th May - deadline for balance for Year 4 Hollowford residential to be paid
Monday 2nd June – Training Day – school closed to pupils
Tuesday 3rd June – Training Day – school closed to pupils
Wednesday 4th 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 18th June – Sports Day – Foundation AM, rest of school PM – timings to follow
Thursday 19th June - PTA Summer Fair
Wednesday 25th June to Friday 27th June – Year 4 Hollowford Residential
Tuesday 1st 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 18th July – last day at school before Summer Holidays
2025-2026 School Year
Wednesday 1st October - individual/sibling photos
