A new term!

This half-term our topic is:

What Happened to the Dinosaurs?

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.

Our Reception children will be visiting Abinger Hammer on Friday 14th 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. 

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 this day out!

More information will follow nearer the date.

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.

Please can we remind you that water bottles will be sent home on Friday each week to be washed and returned on Monday. It is very important that the children drink water throughout the day and bottles help prevent spillages! If you do forget a bottle, just let us know and we can ensure that children have a cup to drink from.

This term we will continue with the Pre-Prep’s bespoke Wellbeing Scheme, which will focus on self-belief and achieving a ‘good goodbye’ as they move on from Reception at the end of the year.

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 25th June 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.

A reminder that children should be dropped off to the back of the Reception classrooms from 8:20am. Registration is at 8:30am, so please make sure all children are in school by then. 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.

Collection at the end of the day is at 3.30pm. 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.

Children in Reception, and Years 1 & 2 may remain supervised in class until 4:00pm in ‘Free Fun Club’. If they are going to Supper Club, 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:

• The Reception Showcase & Celebration Huddle will be held on Friday 17th May
• On Monday 20th May the Pre-Prep children will celebrate ‘Dinosaur Day’.
• Sports Day followed by our Pennthorpe Family Summer Social will be taking place on Friday 24th May.
• Reception Class Teacher Parents’ Evening is scheduled for Wednesday 5th June with appointments starting from 4:15pm.
• Parents are invited to a Read, Write Inc Come & See What We Do session on Monday 10th June at 9:00am.
• The Reception children will visit Abinger Hammer on Friday 14th June.
• Tuesday 25th June is our ‘Meet the Teacher’ evening, an opportunity to meet key staff for the next academic year.
• Music for a Summer’s Evening on Thursday 27th June.
• The children are invited to dress up for our Whole School ‘Be You’ Dress Up Day on Friday 28th June to celebrate PSHEE & Diversity Spotlight Week.
• Save the date for our Pennthorpe Golf Day on Sunday 30th June.
• Monday 8th July is Prizegiving for children in Honey Pot, Beehive and Reception.
• Wednesday 10th 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:

• Bags of Support collections on Friday 26th April and Friday 14th June.
• The Summer Term Friends of Pennthorpe meeting is scheduled for Thursday 2nd May at 8:30am. Everyone is welcome to attend to help develop upcoming FoP plans.
• After school Ice Cream Sale on Friday 17th May.
• The Friends of Pennthorpe Father’s Day Shop will open its doors on Wednesday 12th June.
• The Friends of Pennthorpe AGM will be held on Tuesday 18th June.
• Friends of Pennthorpe Second Hand Uniform Shop & Blueblood Sports Pop Up Shop on Tuesday 25th June.

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 also 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 a Wednesday. 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 Wednesday and Friday, 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.

As per last term, swimming is on a Monday afternoon, 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.

If you have any uniform requirements, please place an order via our website here. You can also book an appointment at the Uniform Shop by contacting uniform@pennthorpe.com or drop in during the times below:

• Monday 8:30am – 9:30am
• Tuesday 3:30pm – 4:30pm
• Wednesday 3:30pm – 4:30pm
• Thursday CLOSED
• Friday 8:30am – 9:30am

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).

Mrs Jackson is available at the start of the day to help children to walk from the front of school down to the Pre-Prep independently of parents. Mrs Jackson always has some ‘Independent Iggy’ stickers to reward children for being grown up and independent 🙂

Our Wellbeing Ambassadors, who are children in Year 8, are also 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 these options if you are in a rush and need to drop your child and leave.