Another great week here at SP. The weather has been a bit blustery and we’ve had a few wet breaktimes but the children have done well with their learning and made the most of our wet play provision. It’s been a happy week. Lots to tell you about …
Home Learning – After much discussion, we have decided to make a change to the way we approach spellings and maths home learning. Thank you to the parents who gave us their thoughts on this; they were shared and discussed and we have tried to incorporate them into our decision. Many children find the spelling and tables tests on a Friday to be anxiety-inducing. They feel a great deal of pressure to get everything right and are disappointed in themselves if they don’t. At Southill Primary, we put children’s mental health and happiness at the forefront of our decision-making. We know that spelling tests are essentially short-term memory tests that help pupils memorise words, but they don’t necessarily help them retain them long-term and so we have decided to change our approach to teaching and testing spelling. Structured, sequenced spelling lessons that teach and practise new spellings and are linked to writing projects will now feature in our curriculum. Teachers will be able to assess children’s progress and attainment much more accurately as part of the lesson. So we will no longer set spellings each week or test them on Fridays but we will provide spelling lists for each year group so that you can practise at home if you wish. You can find out more about home learning on the website.
Student teachers – We are very pleased to be supporting two student teachers this year. Laura Howe and Dan Bell (who both worked at Southill Primary before starting this course) are training at Winchester University and working with children in Year 3 and Year 4. Matt and I are mentoring and supporting them and we know they are both going to be excellent teachers. They’ve got off to a great start!
FOSS (Friends of Southill School) is so important to our community, bringing us fantastic events like discos, egg hunts, and fayres, while raising crucial funds that directly benefit the children. From school trips and play equipment to book bags and Lexia licenses, FOSS enhances children’s learning in countless ways. But now, we need you. The current committee is stepping down at the AGM on Tuesday, 1st October, and without new volunteers, FOSS can’t continue. No committee means no events, no extra funding, and fewer opportunities for our children.
Please get in touch with me or come along to the AGM meeting on Tuesday 1st October at 3:15pm in the school library if you would like to be involved in any way. Our first event will be a spooky disco if we can get enough volunteers.
Cash for our school – Parentkind – the charity that supports school PTAs – have teamed up with Asda, who is making millions of pounds available to donate to primary schools across the UK through their ‘Cashpot for Schools’ initiative – all you have to do is opt in through the Asda Rewards app, choose Southill Primary and shop and scan in store or shop online at Asda.com, between 2nd September and 30th November 2024. Asda will donate 0.5% of the value of your shop to us. Also, every time somebody opts in, Asda will give an additional £1 to the school Cashpot. Plus, it doesn’t stop there – Asda are also giving £50 to every school to get them started. Please support us if you can.
Scholastic Book Fair – Wednesday 15 October – Monday 21st October
We are super excited to host a pop-up book fair here at Southill Primary because we all love books! Scholastic offer an incredible range of the latest titles and there are some really good deals to be had. The fair will be open in the hall straight after school for you to visit with your child. Books are available to buy on the day or to order. All purchases will support our school.
Fitness Thursday Next week I’ll be leading a walk to school for Fitness Thursday. We’ll start at the shops at 8.30am. Parents will need to walk up with their children. Come along and join in the fun.
Bike Bus We had a great turnout this morning and it was so much fun! Why not join in next week? Children can join on their own but parents are welcome too.
Whatever you get up to this weekend, I hope you have a great one.
Caroline