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Important Note:
This is a text and image only webpage that can be used to easily translate important updates for those whose first language is not English.
Weekly Newsletter - 6th March 2026
“Excellent attendance is vital for children to flourish and achieve”
Something Mrs Wainwright has enjoyed this week was seeing the children enjoy World Book Day. Reading is a vital skill we want to promote and the joy of reading is so important.
Worship – Our current theme is Justice and this week we reflected on how if something is fair it does not mean everyone is treated or gets exactly the same thing. We also reflected on our Big Question, ‘Is what you want, what you need?’ We have also discussed our attribute, ‘willpower’ where we should not give up on something, we should keep going.
British Values – If you are being ‘just’ and ‘fair’ you are being respectful and you are making choices, which reflects out liberty, our freedom to choose.
REMINDERS/INFORMATION
- Jewellery – children should not wear jewellery for school. There are serious health and safety issues, especially around earrings. They can cause serious injury if accidentally pulled. In school we expect children to wear small studs only. On PE days ideally children should not wear them especially if they cannot remove them themselves. If they do have them in, we will tape them over to protect your child. Leeds schools also now have a very strict policy and any child playing in any competitions or events cannot wear any jewellery including earrings. This is due to incidents where children have had their ears ripped and permanently damaged. All jewellery is best left at home as it can be lost or damaged. We appreciate your co-operation with this.
- PAYMENTS – You must pay for dinner money and after school club on a Monday. We do not have the time to chase late payments every week and expect parents to pay on time. Make sure you pay on a Monday; Parent Pay makes it so much easier. Thank you.
- Free School Meals – all children in Reception, Year 1 & 2 are entitled to a free school meal, if your child has a pack lunch why not let them try school dinners for a week to see if they like it. Ask Mrs Busby if you would like to arrange this. If you think you may be entitled to benefit related school meals, whatever year your child is in please see Mrs Busby, not only does this help you but helps the school access all the funding available to support our children’s education.
- RSE Consultation – Will be on Thursday 26th March at 2.45pm and 5pm, open to all families. Further details to follow in next week’s newsletter.
- Headlice - Head Lice are a common problem in school aged children. They can’t be prevented, but regular checking ensures early detection and treatment if necessary. Parents and carers should check their children’s head once a week during hair washing. You need your usual shampoo, conditioner, and a detection comb – ask your local pharmacist to recommend a suitable one. Remember that you are looking for living moving lice, which is the only evidence that your child is infected. If you find a living louse, sellotape it to a piece of light coloured paper and take it to your local pharmacy (Leeds only) who will advise you and can provide free Hedrin lotion under the Pharmacy First Minor Ailments Scheme. Combs are available from the office.
Attendance
We expect all children to be in school every day and on time. 8.30am for Nursery, 12.30pm in the afternoon and by 8.50am for the rest of school. Thank you
AUTHORISED ABSENCES – We have seen a massive increase in the request for authorised absences for what parents call exceptional circumstances. We understand that things happen and you want to travel to see family but we will not continue to authorise such long amounts of time. We have been advised by Leeds to be stricter around this.
Any absence must be discussed with Mrs Wainwright in advance, if not it will not be authorised under any circumstances if it is not. If an emergency and you travel immediately you must at least email or call the school and discuss it on your return.
We will be as per Leeds policy and National guidelines allowing less time for exceptional circumstances and will require evidence and will need proof of the day booked not just tickets that show the date you travelled.
Only under very exceptional circumstances will any absences be authorised and any other will be submitted for a fine.
You may find this harsh but we need to reduce our absences, children need to be in school, children find it difficult to catch-up for lost time.
Last week’s attendance (23rd February – 27th February)
- Nursery: 93%
- Reception: 97.4%
- Years 1 to 6: 96.6%
Attendance Winners for last week:
- KS1 – Class 2 – 98.6%
- Years 3 & 4 – Class 8 & 11 – 99.6%
- Years 5 & 6 – Class 14 – 100%
Well done to the best classes:
- EYFS & Years 1 & 2 – Class 6
- Years 3 & 4 – Class 10
- Years 5 & 6 – Class 16
Weekly Round Up
Nursery – This week our focused text has still been 'Goldilocks and the Three Bears'. We have drawn story maps and retold the story using masks and puppets. We practised rhyme and theme songs: 'When Goldilocks Went to the House of Bears' and 'Stir Up the Porridge'. We have tasted porridge and had a conversation about healthy and unhealthy food. We have opened the bears' cottage where children can re-enact the story. In Art we have made bears' houses and used collage to make bears. We practised our cutting skills by cutting Goldilocks' hair made out of pasta and sorted items into big, medium, and small baskets.
Reception – In Reception this week we have been listening to the story ‘Little Red and the Very Hungry Lion’. We have made comparisons to the traditional tale Little Red Riding Hood. We have thought about where the story is set and spent time looking at different animals that live in Africa. In Maths we have been ordering numerals and finding one more and one less than numbers to 10. We had a fantastic day on world book day! We had lots of fun talking about our costumes and sharing our favourite books.
Years 1 & 2 – This week in Year 1 the children have enjoyed using their oracy skills in English lessons. They have been thinking about how they can justify their ideas using the word 'because' which is part of the linguistic strand in oracy. Children were able to say which statements they agreed and disagreed with and give reasons for their choices.
In Year 2 the children have been using their oracy skills in Geography to identify human and physical features from different photographs. They worked in table groups to sort photos into these 2 categories giving reasons for their ideas and also using new vocabulary they have learnt.
Years 3 & 4 –This week, Year 3 have enjoyed writing their own non-fiction texts about earthquakes and volcanoes. In Geography, we looked at New Zealand and how earthquakes have caused destruction and why. In RE, we looked at Jesus and what good he did. We thought about what good we can do in the world to help others. We also enjoyed our World Book Day dress up day and workshop!
This week, Year 4 have been writing survival guides about how to build a fire in a rainforest. In Geography, we have been looking at world climates and how this compares to UK climates that we looked at last week. In DT, we conducted some market research to see what vegetables our class like eating. We also enjoyed our World Book Day dress up day and workshop!
Years 5 & 6 – Lessons: Click on the following links below to catch-up on the latest news in Years 5 & 6:
https://www.st-bartholomews.leeds.sch.uk/blog/category/year-5
https://www.st-bartholomews.leeds.sch.uk/blog/category/year-6
Year 6 Hoodies - Payments can now be made on Parent Pay, or by card at the school office, for ordered hoodies.
Year 5 Bikeability - Children will only be able to take part in Bikeability if we have your consent. It is now easier to sign your child up to Bikeability training.
Please visit: https://consent.bikeability.org.uk/from-route-rest
Or access the site through the QR code below, and follow the online instructions:
If you have any questions or encounter any issues, please contact school and ask to speak to Mr Needham.
Lineham Farm - A letter registering your child’s interest to go to Lineham Farm (either Monday 29th June until Wednesday 1st July and Wednesday 1st July until Friday 3rd July) was sent on Friday 13th February. The deadline for registering your interest in your child attending is Friday 6th March.
School Dates 2025 -2026:
- Tuesday 17th March 2026 Parent Consultations Nursery to Year 2 Telephone Calls Except Class 5
- Tuesday 17th March 2026 Parent Consultations Year 3 to Year 6 Meetings and Class 5
- Wednesdays 18th March 2026 Parent Consultations Class 5 & 8 Telephone Calls
- Wednesday 18th March 2026 Neurodiversity Day
- Thursday 19th March 2026 Parent Consultations Nursery to Year 2 Meetings Except Class 8
- Thursday 19th March 2026 Parent Consultations Year 3 to Year 6 Telephone Calls Except Class 5
- Friday 20th March 2026 Training Day – No Children in School
- Wednesday 25th March 2026 Class 9 Tropical World Trip
- Thursday 26th March 2026 Class 10 Tropical World Trip
- Thursday 26th March 2026 RSE Consultations 2.45pm & 5pm open to all families
- Friday 27th March 2026 Class 11 Tropical World Trip
- Wednesday 1st April 2026 Year 1 Farm Visits
- Thursday 2nd April 2026 Year 1 Farm Visits
- Thursday 2nd April 2026 School Closes at 3.30pm
- Monday 20th April 2026 School Opens at 8.30am
- W/C Monday 27th April 2026 Bikeability Week
- Monday 4th May 2026 School Closed May Bank Holiday
- Monday 11th May 2026 Year 6 SATs Grammar, Punctuation & Spelling
- Tuesday 12th May 2026 Year 6 SATs Reading
- Wednesday 13th May 2026 Year 6 SATs Arithmetic & Reasoning
- Thursday 14th May 2026 Year 6 SATs Reasoning
- Friday 22nd May 2026 School Closes at 3.30pm
- Monday 1st June 2026 School Opens at 8.30am
- Thursday 4th June 2026 Class 8 Harlow Carr Trip
- Friday 12th June 2026 Training Day – No Children in School
- Monday 15th June 2026 Seaside Visit - Class 5
- Thursday 18th June 2026 Seaside Visit - Class 6
- Friday 19th June 2026 Class 7 Harlow Carr Trip
- Wednesday 24th June 2026 Class 7 Sculpture Park Trip
- Thursday 25th June 2026 Class 8 Sculpture Park Trip
- Friday 17th July 2026 School Closes at 3.30pm