We have reached the end of the first half of the Autumn term today and what a lovely way to end with two fantastic Grandparent Tea Party celebrations. It was lovely to dedicate the shows to those Grandparents who were able to make it. With limited space in our hall not everyone can attend every show and the Grandparents I spoke to were very grateful to be thought of and really enjoyed the entertainment provided and of course the tea and cake! A huge thank you to the Friends of Poverest for organising the event and of course to our wonderful staff for preparing the children for their act.

The Friends of Poverest continue to do such a wonderful job for our school and I'm delighted that they are able to continue with smaller bits of support, such as providing Matheletics for every child, as well as focusing on bigger projects the school would not be able to provide itself. The new project of an Outdoor Classroom, for the children to use in all aspects of the curriculum, will be a wonderful addition to the school. As well as being used across the curriculum, it will provide shelter for the Forest School as well as some much-needed shade on the field in the summertime. We plan to make sure it is a fully sustainable building with solar panels for heat and rainwater harvesting to use in the Forest School and the new vegetable beds which will also be created. Exciting times ahead so please support as many FOP events as possible so we can realise our dream as soon as possible.

Mrs Masters and Mr McManus were up very early on Saturday morning helping to set up the cross-country course at Crystal Palace Park. (I was sent a picture at 7am!) A huge thank you to them for giving up part of their weekend for our children. The Y5 boys team came 22nd, the Y6 Boys team came 10th and the Y6 Girls came a fantastic 8th place out of all the primary schools in Bromley! A fantastic achievement and hopefully we can achieve just as well in the Y3 and Y4 races in March.

Thank you for attending this term's parents' evening this week. It is great for the children to have such support and also a brilliant opportunity to share your children's strengths and how you can support your children at home. Many children have key writing targets this term, it is a skill slowly being lost with the increasing use of technology in our world, so it is key that we provide opportunities to inspire and support our children with the writing process.

Y6 had a great trip to The Globe on Wednesday, if you haven't been it is a wonderful venue to visit and the trip also supported the children in their Shakespeare learning which they will continue in whichever secondary school they go to. The secondary selection test results have come back to the year 6 children who took the examinations. I'm delighted that a huge number of children were deemed selective for a Grammar School secondary education, with a few more narrowly missing out. Local secondary schools have setting and grammar streams so I know those children will continue to excel in whichever secondary school they attend next year.

Have a wonderful two weeks if you are going away. I wish our hardworking staff a fully deserved rest over the two weeks and hope they spend some quality time with their own families and children. School for everyone returns on Monday 4th November at the usual start times. We shall be having a week celebrating the 70th anniversary of Poverest Primary School which starts with unearthing the time capsules buried 10 years ago on the school field - what will we find I wonder!