A new term!

This term our topics are:

‘What Happened to the Dinosaurs?’ & ‘What Can I See In Summer?’

Everyone knows that dinosaurs are big and scary; but how do we know this… During our new topic the children will discover how to recognise a dinosaur by its feet, experience an archaeological dig, create fossils and design their own dinosaur!

You can see more detail in our topic tree here.

Arc Pathway is our online system for sharing observations, making assessments of children’s progress and sharing reports. You can also use this to share key moments from home.

If you have not yet signed up to use Arc, please use the link here to do so. Please let James Davis know if you have any questions.

Our Reception children will be visiting Abinger Hammer on Monday 16 June. Abinger Hammer is a pretty little village and the Tillingbourne Stream runs through the centre. It is perfect for welly paddling and fishing with nets. 

Reception will also team up with Beehive on Friday 27 June for a trip to the beach!

We’re so excited to be able to offer the children some real-world experience of what they are learning in school. Trips are a brilliant way of making learning more tangible and memorable, as they enable the children to engage with the material in a more active and immersive way than can often be possible in the classroom. They are a powerful tool for broadening the children’s horizons, and also a lot of fun; we cannot wait to enjoy these days out!

More information will follow nearer the dates.

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.

Please ensure your child is well enough to attend school each day. If they’ve required Calpol in the morning, they aren’t well enough for school, so please don’t send them in. If in any doubt, please contact Matron to discuss your concerns.

If your child will need 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.

Your child may well have already shared with you that we have been doing some transition activities, to prepare them for the move in to Year 1. It is really beneficial for the children to get to know the Year 1 staff team better, and therefore, we will be doing more and more of this over the coming weeks, to make the transition, when it comes, as smooth as possible.

Tuesday 1 July will be our Moving Up Day, where all the children will spend the day in the Year 1 class rooms. That evening we will also be hosting a ‘Meet the Teacher’ evening, where parents are invited to come in to school to find out more about day-to-day life in Year 1, and get to know the Year 1 team.

More information, along with Year 1 class lists, will follow towards the middle of the term.

Children may be brought to the Reception classrooms via the rear classroom doors between 8:15am – 8:25am for registration, so please make sure your child is in school ready to start by this time. Children arriving earlier should please be booked in for breakfast from 7:30am or join our Early Birds in the Pre-Prep Hall from 8:00am.

The afternoon session finishes at 3:00pm. From 3:00-4:00pm, Reception children will be invited to join classroom club, with quiet games, drawing and an opportunity to rest before going home or joining an extended day club. The cost of after school care will remain as it is currently structured with care provided free of charge from the end of the school day at 3:00pm until 4:00pm.

Please wait to meet your child outside the Reception classrooms at the rear of the Pre-Prep building, and make sure your child has ‘blobbed out’ with their teacher. If they are going to after school supervision, or a hobby, the children will be taken to that directly from the classroom. 

If you’d like your child to join us for breakfast, or stay beyond 4:00pm, please contact extendedday@pennthorpe.com to arrange this.

As well as your pocket-sized diary, parents can also view the Summer 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 Reception parents include:

• All parents are invited to a Supporting Reading at Home Tea & Talk on Tuesday 6 May
• EYFS & Year 1 Class Teacher Parents’ Evening is on Thursday 8 May with appointments starting at 4:00pm
• Our Whole School Come & See What We Do Afternoon is on Monday 12 May from 2:00pm
• Pre-Prep Celebration Huddles (by invitation) on Friday 16 May and Friday 27 June at 10:10am
• Thursday 22 May is Whole School Pyjamarama Day 
• Sports Day followed by our Pennthorpe Family Summer Social will be taking place on Friday 23 May
• Our Reception children will be visiting Abinger Hammer on Monday 16 June
• Music for a Summer’s Evening on Tuesday 17 June
• Beehive will team up with Reception on Friday 27 June for a trip to the beach!
• Tuesday 1 July is our ‘Meet the Teacher’ evening, an opportunity to meet key staff for the next academic year
• Monday 7 July is Prizegiving for children in Honey Pot, Beehive and Reception
• There will be a Teddy Bear Picnic Day and a Pre Prep Summer Send Off on Thursday 10 July
• Friday 11 July is the end of term with school finishing for Reception at 11:40am

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:

• The Summer Term Friends of Pennthorpe meeting is scheduled for Tuesday 29 April at 8:30am. Everyone is welcome to attend to help develop upcoming FoP plans
• Bags of Support collections on Friday 2 May and Friday 4 July
• After school Pop Up Treat Shop on Friday 9 May
• The Friends of Pennthorpe Father’s Day Shop will open its doors on Wednesday 11 June
• The Friends of Pennthorpe AGM will be held on Tuesday 24 June
• After school Ice Lolly Sale on Friday 27 June
• Friends of Pennthorpe Second Hand Uniform Shop on Tuesday 1 July

As it is the Summer Term, all children should now be in summer uniform. 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.

Please make sure your child has a sun hat and sun cream in school during the Summer Term, as the weather gets warmer. Please also apply sun cream before the children come to school as we will be outside as much as possible. We cannot provide sun cream in school so it is essential that children bring this in themselves.

The children should have their play coat, waterproof clothing and wellies in school at all times, as we will get outside in all weathers at break times, as well as for our Forest School session on Thursdays. If things get particularly muddy, these will be sent home to be washed, but please can they be returned to school on the following Monday.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, the children have their Games and PE lessons. On these days, we ask that the children come to school wearing their Games Kit to reduce the amount of time spent changing. Normal uniform is not required on these days.

Swimming is on a Monday morning, and the children will be taken to Billingshurst Leisure Centre by Minibus, and return in time for school pick up time. Billingshurst Leisure Centre ask that ALL children wear a swimming hat as part of their kit.

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

Please do not park in the drop-off lanes at the front of school if you are coming past the gates to drop your child into school, or collect them from the Pre-Prep. 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 parking near to junctions or driveways).

Our Wellbeing Ambassadors, who are children in Year 8, are available to support families at the busy drop off time by walking children from Reception to Year 2 down to the Pre-Prep. Please do use this option if you are in a rush and need to drop your child and leave.