http://northwheatleyprimary.

net

7th November 2014

Dear parents, carers, families and friends,
Welcome back to what, I am sure, will be a very busy and fun packed term as we lead up to Christmas.
There is already a buzz of excitement in the air! Staff were inspired at the INSET last Monday, with the
Talk Less Teaching training. This furthered our belief that learning should be purposeful and interactive
with high levels of pupil discussion and engagement. Thankfully, long gone are the days of Chalk and talk.
Assessment without levels
Thank you to everyone who attended assessment without levels workshop, this is certainly a time of
change and new challenges in education! Class teachers will be giving parents a leaflet explaining the new
expectations in reading, writing and maths for each year group at parents evening next Tuesday. If you
havent signed up for a time yet please do so to enable you to discuss the progress your child is making
this year. The powerpoint form Tuesdays workshop will be left on auto-play in Class 1 on parents evening
for anyone who couldnt attend the workshop.
Website updates
The school website is being constantly updated with photos and information about your childrens learning.
We are using the site to further build the partnership between home and school enabling families to share
in their childs education as much as possible. We share comments (or replies) from families with pupils to
help consolidate their learning so please do ask them questions or celebrate their learning with them. The
use of ipads across the curriculum is also having a great impact as pupils are learning to code, publish and
create using a wide range of apps. We are holding a workshop for parents on Thursday 4th December at
3pm, this will be a hands on opportunity for families to find out how ICT is used at school to enhance
learning and ways this can be used at home. We will look at some of the apps we use, show you how these
can be downloaded to be used at home, how to get the latest information from the website and leave
comments, the impact of the EYFS learning journeys and how to help your child stay safe online. Please
could you email school to book a place on the workshop or write a note in your childs planner to say that
you will be coming. This will enable us to know how many ipads we will need to use on the day! Many
thanks in advance.
Fond farewells and warm welcomes
We are sad to be saying some fond farewells, au revoirs and some warm welcomes at the end of this
term. Mrs Darrington, has made the very difficult decision that, due to a change in personal
circumstances, she will need to leave us in December. This hasnt been an easy decision for her as she
loves being at North Wheatley school teaching your children. I am sure you will all agree that Mrs
Darrington has been an inspirational teacher during her time with us, she will be greatly missed and we her
all the very best for the future.
As always, we try to embrace any changes in staffing as a positive opportunity to provide the best
education possible for your children. After a rigorous interview process, the governors appointed Miss Amy
Bellamy, an experienced teacher from North Lincolnshire, to teach Class 1 on a full time basis from
January. There will be an opportunity for parents to meet Miss Bellamy when she has got to know the
pupils, we will let you know as soon as a date has been arranged!
We are delighted to also be welcoming Miss Beth Coupe to our team. She will be teaching Year 3 and 4
(Class 2) on a full-time basis from January. Miss Coupe, currently teaches in Langold and prior to that in
Kuwait, she brings with her lots of new skills and strengths. Parents will also have the opportunity to meet

with Miss Coupe as soon as possible. Mrs Grierson, will be teaching across school as she returns to
working part-time. Her focus for this term will be developing pupils as mighty mathematicians.
In January, we will be saying au revoir to Miss Mason who will be gaining teaching experience in another
school for six weeks before re-joining us after the February half term. Another au revoir goes to Ms
Clarke, who is looking forward to spending more time on her cats rescue work after Christmas. We have
loved having her as part of our North Wheatley team and look forward to her spending more days with us
on supply. We will miss them both!
Mrs Matthews is continuing to suffer with ill health and because of this, wont be returning to school. This is
a sad loss for our team and we all wish her all the very best for the future and hope she is soon feeling
better. We will be passing on our thanks to her for all she has done for school over the past three years and
hope to she will be well enough to visit us all soon.
Class 3 visit to London
Pupils in Years 5 and 6 had a great learning experience on Thursday when they travelled by train to London
to visit the Elgin marbles in the British Museum. They were wowed by the actual museum building and
loved finding out about the Parthenon Sculptures. A fantastic day, loved by all!
Remembrance Service in church
It is the Rembrance Service in Church this Sunday, all pupils are invited to this very special service which
starts at 10.45am in church.
Auditions for Christmas Production
Mr and Mrs Hawes will be in school on Friday 14th November to audition pupils for the Christmas Play.
Pupils in KS1 and 2 will have been given their audition scripts today and we will be teaching them the
audition song in school but do please feel free to help them to practice it at home!
Children in Need day Friday 14th November 2014
The School Council have met this week and discussed how they would like to support Children in Need this
year. The School council have decided that they would like all pupils to come dressed as Superheros for
the day and to bring with them donations to help to raise money for this very worthy cause. The Children
in Need wristbands will also be on sale at the cost of 1.00 each.
Warm coats and clothes for school
As the weather is getting colder please can you make sure that your child has suitable clothes for the
weather and that they are clearly named! Thank you.
Here to help
If there is anything that we can ever help with, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us at school. We
are always happy to do what we can and are here to work with you! Keep in touch!

Headteacher