We had some very lovely events this week at school. We had our Lunar New Year celebrations on Wednesday with the children all wearing red to mark the celebration. On Thursday we had two fascinating assemblies on The River Cray hosted by Jess from the South East Rivers Trust. She explained to the children the route of the river from its source to the mouth which eventually flows into The Thames. The children explored the wildlife they might see along the route and also looked into how the children can support the looking after of our rivers and the work currently happening to ensure the river remains a great habitat for the local wildlife. On Friday we had two great events with The Perform Drama Workshop working with EYFS and KS1 and Year Two also had the start of their Holi Dance Workshop in preparation for Holi celebrations in a few weeks.
It is great to see so many people using the local roads sensibly and ensuring they are safe for pedestrians on their way to and from school. Unfortunately, we are still getting reports of selfish and dangerous driving. Please ensure we are considerate of pedestrians, and the new highway code means we always give way to pedestrians.
We have started to use our school Instagram page more this term and intend to do so moving forward. There are so many wonderful things shared via our Class Dojo and we want to share some of those with people outside so that they may consider Poverest as a school for their children in the future if they have them. If you wish to follow us you can by searching for poverestprimaryschool on the Instagram platform. We will be following all the permissions set by parents but will go beyond that as we will never post names with any images. If you do not allow your child's photo to be used to promote the school and they are in an image this will be blurred out so they are not identifiable.
I met with Friends Of Poverest this week and they have many wonderful ideas to keep raising money for the school and currently, that is for our Outdoor Classroom. They are already so close to raising the funds needed and good support from you at events will help us to get there quicker. The latest new event is the FOP Race Night, Mr McManus is very excited and has put in a lot of thought and effort so please do come along for a fun evening and support the school in our dream for an outdoor classroom.
We have purchased a new freezer for the kitchen which now allows us to offer a baguette option to all the children rather than just years 5 and 6. This will be available on Tuesdays and Thursdays as we still want to encourage our children to try new foods and expand their pallets as part of a balanced and healthy diet - plus the freezer is only so big to store the baguettes needed! This will start on Tuesday 4th February. A reminder that those who do provide packed lunches in KS2 that these must be healthy options. We do not allow crisps, chocolate or sweets of any kind as this will affect our Healthy School Status.
Next week we are focusing on Children's Mental Health as part of Mental Health Week. The tagline is Know Yourself, Grow Yourself and will focus on how children can take control of their own mental well-being. Hobblingwell Parkrun will be hosting an assembly about the benefits of fresh air and exercise to both your physical and mental well-being. As a keen runner myself I can vouch for how much better I feel after a run but also that Parkrun is not just for runners - you can walk the whole way if you wish.
Next Friday we have our Spring Concert. The children will perform in the hall and then move to the canteen and perform exactly the same thing again. This way we can have all the parents who wish to attend. A couple of polite reminders, please do not move between the two halls and also please do not leave once you have seen your child perform. The children love performing to an audience and last year the year 6 group performed to very empty halls. There will be limited chairs so please bring your own unless you don't mind standing. At the end of the concert, all children will be dismissed from their usual locations at the usual time.
