A new term!

A Subject Topic & Skills Grid giving an overview of what the children will be covering this term, will be published on Friday.

The pupils will be given a Prep diary where Prep will be recorded. Pluses will also be noted in here each week.

All pupils are expected to have their laptops, school exercise books and a reading book in school every day. As the pupils continue to work towards their CE examinations please remind them that the staff are here to help, guide and support in any way they can. Preps will be supporting their learning and revision so it is important that they are completed and handed in on time, in order that they can receive valuable feedback to further guide their learning.

The leadership system, which gives every Year 8 pupil the opportunity to shine as a leader, started with a bang and we are pleased to say that we currently have many wonderful Prefects and Student Wellbeing Ambassadors who are all undertaking their responsibilities with commitment.

If your child wants to be considered for a Prefect, they should email Mrs Partridge or speak to her directly for further information on how to apply.

At morning briefing Form Tutors will complete a wellbeing check with the children, as well as ensuring that they are set up and organised for the term ahead. Your child has been assigned to a member of the Year 8 Pastoral Team who will continue to hold champion sessions where informal discussions can take place regarding any matters relating to school and general wellbeing.

In PSHEE Year 8 will be covering the following topics:

• RSE – Students will cover gender identity, relationship values, consent, sexual harassment, contraception and FGM.We understand that some of these topics may raise questions so please do not hesitate to contact a member of the Year 8 team or Mrs Partridge to discuss in further detail.
• Mental Health and Wellbeing – Attitudes to mental health and emotional wellbeing; digital resilience; body image; healthy and unhealthy coping strategies and seeking support for themselves and others.

Year 8 will enjoy a Geography Field Trip to Juniper Hall on Monday 3 March to undertake a fieldwork study into the flow of rivers.

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.

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.

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.

Children are to bring their water bottles to school and take them home daily. 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.

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 you 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.

Drop off is from 8:00am, students should line up on the netball court at the bell and be taken to Form Rooms (now Darwin and Curie Labs) at 8:20am. Pupils arriving earlier than 8:00am should be booked in for breakfast from 7:30am. Formal lessons commence at 8:40am.

Pick up is at 5:00pm at the front of school, unless your child is staying for Prep when pick up will be 6:00pm at the front of school. Please note that pick up is at the earlier time of 4:00pm on Wednesdays, unless there is a match scheduled.

All children must ‘blob out’ before they leave the school site.

If you’d like your child to join us for breakfast, or stay beyond 5:00pm for Hobbies or After School Supervision / Supper Club, please book this via the Portal, or contact extendedday@pennthorpe.com for assistance.

As well as your pocket-sized diary, parents can also 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 8 parents can also be found in Mr Murray’s Start of Spring Term Letter here.

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 Spring Term Friends of Pennthorpe meeting is scheduled for Tuesday 14 January at 8:30am. Everyone is welcome to attend to help develop upcoming FoP plans.
• Bags of Support Collections on Thursday 30 January and Friday 28 March.
• Pop Up Treat Shop on Friday 14 February from 3:00pm
• Friends of Pennthorpe Second Hand Uniform Shop & Blueblood Sports Pop Up Shop on Tuesday 11 March.
• ‘A Night in Bloom’ Ball on Saturday 22 March 2025. For further information and to book your tickets click here.
• The Friends of Pennthorpe Mother’s Day Shop will open its doors on Tuesday 25 March.

With the continuing cold weather, please can you ensure your child has a named Pennthorpe hat, scarf and gloves in school each day.

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.
• 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.
• Plain wristwatch, no smartwatches to be worn.
• All shoulder length hair tied up with a plain hairband or small school coloured scrunchie or headband.
• Students must wear their lanyard at all times.

The Year 8 Team will be conducting a complete kit check at the beginning of term. It is important that the children 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 charged laptops!).

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

All PE and Games kit should be brought in to 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 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 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 school if you are coming past the gates to drop your child into 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 parking near to junctions or driveways).