A new term!

Weekly prep will continue, and Year 7 children should ensure that their presentation and effort are maintained, as in all class work expectations. Each prep should take no more than 25-30 minutes; therefore, if it is taking longer than this, please contact the relevant subject teacher to discuss. 

Please encourage your child to work independently, and touch base with us if you have any concerns. 

In addition, we expect the children to maintain focus on their weekly spellings and times tables by completing any activities and strategies set. Your children should continue to read aloud at home with an adult and bring a current reading book into school daily. 

A Subject Topic & Skills Grid giving an overview of what the children will be circulated on Friday. 

To support greater transparency and parental engagement in your child’s learning, Pennthorpe has recently introduced Satchel One – a dedicated platform for tracking homework and assignments. 

It is a secure, user-friendly platform that allows parents to:
● View all homework tasks set for their child
● See deadlines and due dates
● Monitor whether tasks have been completed or submitted 

The children should now be used to using Satchel One; however, should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact your child’s tutor. 

At morning briefing, Form Tutors will complete a quick ‘wellbeing’ check with the children using our familiar emoji structure.  

The Pennthorpe PSHEE/RSE curriculum will continue to be delivered in an age-appropriate manner during all pastoral slots on your child’s timetable. Please do contact in the first instance Form Tutors should you have any specific questions regarding curriculum content and/or feedback. 

During the Spring Term in Year 7, the PSHEE and RSE curriculum builds on pupils’ growing independence through the themes of Dreams and Goals, Healthy Me, and Developing Enterprise Skills. In Dreams and Goals, pupils identify their personal aspirations, explore what it takes to achieve them, and learn effective coping strategies to manage challenges and setbacks. The Healthy Me unit supports pupils’ wellbeing by developing mindfulness skills and increasing understanding of the importance of nutrition, exercise, sleep, and managing stress, empowering them to make positive, informed choices. Through the Tenner Challenge in Developing Enterprise Skills, pupils learn how responsible and risky choices can impact their ambitions, helping them understand the consequences of unsafe decisions and how thoughtful decision-making supports long-term success and personal goals.

For all absences, please complete the absence request form via the Parent Portal. Please see the guide here on how to request an absence for your child. 

Following the successful implementation of our updated absence protocols last year, we are pleased to share that the system has brought notable improvements in clarity, communication, and safeguarding oversight across the school. Full details can be found here.

If your child needs any prescribed or over-the-counter medication administered during the school day, please complete the following form here. No medication can be administered without this form. 

Children are to bring their water bottles to school and take them home daily. The children must drink water throughout the day, and using bottles in the classrooms helps to prevent spillages! If you do forget a bottle, just let us know, and we can ensure that children have a cup to drink out of. 

In Years 5 – 8, pupils must have their own fully stocked pencil case, including the following items: 

• Pencils 

• Rubber 

• Pencil Sharpener 

• Blue Fountain or Handwriting Pen (not biro) 

• Purple pen (a purple biro is fine – children will use this to refine and perfect their work) 

• 30cm ruler 

• Coloured pencils 

• Glue stick 

Children should also have their charged laptop with them in school each day. 

A reminder that mobile phones are not allowed in school. If your child needs to bring one for their journey to and from school (which must be pre-agreed if travel is on the school minibus), mobiles must be left at the Front Office for the duration of the school day. 

Start of the Day 

Drop off is at 8:00 am on the Terrace or in the drop-off zone for morning registration. Children arriving earlier should be booked for breakfast from 7:30 am. Children should not enter the McConnell Building earlier than 8:15 am.  Arriving at school on time each morning helps children settle happily into the day and be ready to learn from the very start of the day.

Collection

The school gates will be closed from 8.30am to 4.30pm, and children should enter via the Front Office during these hours.

Pick up is at 4:15 pm at the front of the school, unless your child is staying for Prep, when pick up will be 5:30 pm at the front of the school. All children must ‘blob out’ with the member of staff on duty before they leave the school site. As the evenings are darker, please take extra care around the site.

After School Care 

The School Day will now end at 4:15 pm for children in Years 7 & 8, which allows children more time for rest, clubs & sports teams in or out of school, as well as more time with their friends and families. 

Hobbies, Prep, and activities after school will then begin at 4:30 pm after children have been able to change (if necessary), have a snack and pause before the next part of their day. Hobbies will run between 4:30– 5:30 pm before Supper Club (5:30-6:00 pm) and After School (6:00-7:00 pm). 

If you would like your child to join us for breakfast, or stay beyond 4:30 pm for hobbies or after-school supervision/supper club, please book on the Parent Portal or contact extendedday@pennthorpe.com to arrange this. 

Parents can view the Spring Term calendar via the website and Parent Portal. 

Please do have a look through and pop important dates in your diary.  Of course, sometimes plans need to be updated, and so any changes will be updated on our electronic calendar and communicated to you as soon as possible. 

The key events for our Year 7 parents include: 

Wednesday 28th January (8.30am to 9.30am) – Wellbeing Tea & Talk for Parents 

Wednesday 11th February (6.30pm to 8.00pm) – Performance of Frozen 

Thursday 12th February (6.30pm to 8.00pm) – Performance of Frozen 

Friday 13th February (End of School Day) – Half Term Begins 

Monday 23rd February (08.00am) Spring Term Resumes 

Thursday 5th March – Whole School Open Morning 

Friday 20th March (All Day) – Baynards Charity Day 

Thursday 26th March (10.00am to 11.30am) – Easter Service and Easter Egg Hunt 

Friday 27th March (12 noon) – Term Ends 

Our brilliant Friends of Pennthorpe, as always, will be doing lots to support our school and community this term. Key things for you to watch out for include: 

• Friday 9th January – Bags of Support 
• Friday 13th March – Bags of Support 
• Tuesday 10th March – Friends of Pennthorpe Mothers’ Day Shop (Not for Parents!) 
• Tuesday 17th March – Second Hand Uniform Pop-Up Shop (8am to 9am) 

Children should wear the winter uniform throughout the Spring Term. 

Please make sure your child’s uniform is labelled with their name, as it does make it a lot easier to reunite lost items with their owners. 

Children are expected to wear smart uniform each day: 

• All children should wear their blazers coming to and from school. 
• Clean black school shoes (if a child needs to wear trainers, for example, where their school shoes have been misplaced, please make the form teacher aware) 
• Shirts need to be long enough to tuck in. 
• The length of skirts and summer dresses must be on or below the knee.
• Earrings – one plain stud only. No hoops. The child needs to be able to take the earrings out independently for PE and Games lessons. 
• No necklaces or bracelets. 
• Plain wristwatch, no smartwatches to be worn. 
• All shoulder-length hair tied up with a plain hairband or small school coloured scrunchie or headband. 

Full Pennthorpe Appearance Guidelines can be found here.

All PE and Games kits should be brought into school on a Monday morning and should be taken home for washing at the end of each week. All children require a mouthguard and shin pads for lessons, as well as competitive matches. They will not be allowed to participate in lessons or matches without these items, as this poses a significant risk to the children. In Year 6 and beyond, children should also have a towel in school. 

The Year 5 Team will be conducting a complete kit check at the beginning of the term.  This will include wellies, waterproof trousers, school play coat, water bottle and sports kit. 

The children must understand the importance of looking after and organising their own property. Please support this at home by ensuring your child uses their independence and organisational skills to ensure they have what they need in school each day and take care of their belongings (especially their laptops!). 

Uniform is available to order online. For further information, please click here. 

All PE and Games kits should be brought into school on a Monday morning and should be taken home for washing at the end of each week. All children require a mouthguard and shin pads for lessons, as well as competitive matches. They will not be allowed to participate in lessons or matches without these items, as this poses a significant risk to the children. Children should also have a towel in school. 

For the first half of the Spring Term, boys will be continuing with rugby and the girls with netball. A full kit list is available here, and all branded items can be ordered through Blueblood 

Girls (netball): 

• Games kit 

• All jewellery must be removed 

• Base layers (recommended) 

Boys (rugby): 

• Games kit 

• Shin pads 

• Mouthguard 

• Base layers (recommended) 

• Separate bag (such as a bin bag) in games kit bag so muddy sports kit can be kept away from clean PE kit/uniform 

• Named towel to wipe excess mud off after rugby sessions. 

After half-term, the boys will be switching to hockey and the girls to football. 

Girls (football): 

• Games kit 

• Shin Pads 

• Football Boots (optional) 

Boys (hockey): 

• Games kit 

• Shin pads 

• Mouthguard 

Please do not park in the drop-off lanes at the front of the school if you are coming past the gates to drop your child off at school, or collect them from one of the school buildings. These lanes are intended for dropping off only! 

Instead, please park up in the car park, or find a safe place to park on the neighbouring roads (being considerate of our neighbours, especially with regards to parking near junctions or driveways).