Junior Newsletter
- Mr Davies
- Sep 26
- 4 min read
Friday 26th September 2025
Jeremiah 29: 11 "For I know the plans I have for you... plans to give you hope and a future"
Headteacher's Update
Thank you to all the parents who have been in school over the past couple of weeks. Our army of volunteers are back in school, supporting in the library and listening to children read. If you have a spare hour in the week to come into school you would be very welcome. Please do let Sarah know, in the office.
Many parents have attended the workshops that we have offered over the last fortnight. Thank you to those parents who attended the 'Meet the Teacher' events, as well as Miss McDonald's Phonics Workshop. It was great to receive such positive feedback about all these events. Our Ambassadors have also led tours of prospective parents around our schools for our Open Days. We have further events coming up - details below.
Our Year 4 pupils have had a wonderful few days learning and living away from home at Minstead Study Centre. If you have not had a chance to catch up with blog updates - please read them here. My thanks to the staff team who accompanied the children on this fantastic learning opportunity.
Attendance Matters
School attendance, as always, is a focus for our school this year.
I am very pleased to see that we have started the school year off well and currently above national attendance rates at 96.7%. This is a great start as strong attendance is directly linked with stronger academic achievements as well as contributing to increased sense of belonging and strong social relationships. A big congratulations to Rowan Class who has the highest attendance in September.
We have started to see some autumn colds, coughs and the like make themselves known. Your child is able to come to school with a cough or cold and is only advised to stay home if they have a temperature. More advice can be found on the NHS website
Harvest Festival
Our Harvest Festival is next Wednesday, starting for the junior school at 11am. We will be collecting donations for the Local foodbank. You can start bringing food items into school from Monday please. Sign up to attend the event here:
Food Bank Visit
Our newly elected junior School Councillors visited the West Berkshire food bank this morning. Rosie gave us a really informative tour and the children learnt loads about the essential work of the food bank. The Councillors asked great questions and listened well so they can tell their class about the visit and help educate others. They really hope families can make generous donations for the food bank at our Harvest Festival next Wednesday.
Please bring donations to school on Wednesday morning. Lists of items to donate are coming home with children today.
Letting Their Light Shine
Just before we broke up for the summer break, Henry and George both competed in the Royal Artillery Pony Club Triathlon. Henry had an awesome 1000m cross country run and timed swim, and his best ever shoot (pistol / static target), taking first place. His first ever triathlon win! George had a brilliant 500m cross country run and timed swim, winning both those phases individually, finishing in 4th place overall. Well done boys.
Car Park Reminders
To ensure that our children and families are safe in the car park we ask everyone to follow the following rules
-Please park in a car parking space 9or off-site and walk in)
-Please do not drop pupils of on the road alongside the school gate (the coned area).
-Please do not leave engines on whilst parked.
-Children should not cross the car park, instead using the walk way around the edge of the car park and/or the zebra crossing points.
Starting Infant or Junior School in September 2026?
Does your child start junior school in September 2026? Do you know someone who is looking for a school place starting in Year R at St Thomas' or in Year 3 at Woolton Hill Juniors next year? Come along to our open morning to meet staff and children and to see our brilliant Federation in action.
Thurs 23rd October @9am
Weds 26th November @9am
Thurs 8th January 2026 @9am
We Are Hiring
Safeguarding Matters
Whilst there are many benefits to pupils having access to the online world, it comes with many risks, especially if their use is unsupervised. Studies have found that excessive use of social media increases a young person's susceptibility to depression, anxiety, poor body image and self worth.
It can also impact a child's sleep routine, which in turn can affect their ability to concentrate and thrive in school.
Age restrictions of Social Media Apps Please be mindful that social media apps are not appropriate for pupils under the age of 13. Below are the age restrictions for the most popular apps:
What's App—16 years +
Instagram—13 years +
Facebook—13 years +
Snapchat—13 years +
TikTok—13 Years +
Parental Support
Star Awards
The following children received Star Awards this week! They should all be really proud, well done!
26th September: Oscar L, Oscar R, lily J, Toby P, Autumn W, Gabriella A, Mollie w, Joseph F, Jack G, James M, Sofia E, Jack D, Alex S, Jack T, Ella M
Life Learning
Respect
26th September: Tommy G, Arlo B, Seb L, Henry B
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