A new term!

This term our topic is

What is a Classic?

The children will explore classic English Literature, as well as Ancient Greece. As always, our learning will weave through all subjects and the children will explore every element of ‘The Classics’ in an interactive way. We will be learning about skeletons, habitats, Greek Mythology and Greece to name but a few things! We will also step into the lands of Oz and Narnia, visit a Secret Garden, and meet some new friends who go by the names of Ratty, Mole and Toad of Toad Hall!.

You can see more detail in our topic tree here.

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.

Water bottles will stay in school for the week. These will be washed at the end of each day by your class teacher. During the weekends, water bottles can be taken home for a ‘deeper’ clean if needed. It is very important that the children 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.

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 Year 1 at the end of the year. Our PSHE work will lead to discussions on the importance of sleep, keeping teeth healthy, growing older and safety in different environments.

Our Year 2 children will be visiting Chertsey Museum, where the children will see and learn about lots of ancient Roman and Greek artefacts, on Tuesday 4th June.

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 to the date.

Children may be brought to the Year 2 classrooms via the rear classroom doors between 8:20am – 8:30am for registration, which takes place at 8:30am so please make sure your child is in school ready to start by this time. Children arriving earlier should be booked in for breakfast from 7:30am or join our Early Birds in the Pre-Prep Hall from 8:00am. When the children enter their classroom in the morning, we will ask them to take responsibility for putting their own belongings away. Independence is a key life skill, and will be important when moving on into the Prep school.

Collection at the end of the day remains at 3.30pm. Please wait to meet your child outside the Year 2 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 3:30pm for hobbies or after school supervision/supper club, please contact extendedday@pennthorpe.com to arrange this.

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 the Prep School. This term, there will be many opportunities for the children to visit their new classroom, meet their new teachers and get a taste of life in Year 3. This will be incorporated into our timetable and it has been designed to allow the children to feel comfortable with the changes occurring.

During the Summer Term we will be encouraging the children to become more and more independent in preparation for moving up into Year 3. With this in mind, we would like all children to be coming into school by themselves, either to the Pre-Prep Hall from 8:00am onwards or to the classroom for 8:20am.  Please ensure all children are in the classroom ready to start their learning from 8:30am.

Tuesday 25th June will be our Moving Up Day, where all the children will spend the day in the Year 3 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 3, and get to know the Year 3 team.

More information, along with Year 3 class lists, will follow towards the middle of the term.

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 Year 2 parents include:

• Year 2 Class Teacher Parents’ Evening is scheduled for Monday 29th April with appointments starting from 4:15pm.
• The Year 2 children will experience life as an ancient Greek on Monday 13th May. For ‘Greek Day’, we would love the children to come to school dressed as Greek citizens, Gods or Goddesses.
• 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.
• Our Year 2 children will be visiting Chertsey Museum on Tuesday 4th June.
• Parents are invited to a Read, Write Inc Come & See What We Do session on Monday 10th June at 9:00am.
• 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.
• Storyland Extravaganza for Year 2 Parents is on Friday 5th July.
• Prizegiving for pupils in Years 1 – 8 will take place on Saturday 6th July.
• Wednesday 10th July is the end of term with school finishing for Year 2 at 11:50pm.

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 (you may want to pack an extra pair of socks on these days just in case!). If things get particularly muddy, these will be sent home to be washed, but please can they be returned to school as soon as possible.

As per last term, on a Monday and Wednesday, the children have their Games and PE lessons, so please make sure kits are in school for these lessons. In the Summer Term, the children should come in to school in their full uniform each day, rather than kit, to give them plenty of opportunities to practice changing independently ready for life in the prep school. We encourage boys to wear a tie as soon as they are able to independently tie it, but elastic ties are fine if they are not yet ready for this. For PE, please have a pair of shorts and tracksuit bottoms in your child’s PE bag, as we will be going up on to the fields and MUGA, and it can still be quite cold.

Swimming is on a Friday afternoon, and the children will be taken to Billingshurst Leisure Centre by minibus and will return in time for school pick up time. A reminder that ALL children need a swimming hat as part of their kit. All children will swim unless there is a medical reason that has been discussed with your Class Teacher or Matron.

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.