Updates from Mrs Norden

A huge well done to the Year 3/4s for their fabulous 'Egyptian Adventure' production.  It was a lesson in Egyptian history, as well as, more modern pop culture - I'm sure 'Walk like an Egyptian' has been earworms for many over the last few weeks.  Thank you to all the staff for their hard work in putting the production together, and to our families for supporting the children with costumes and word learning. Thank you to our audiences for their contributions to their charity collection which raised £150 for the National Children and Young People’s Diabetes Network.

Thank you to the PTA committee, staff and volunteers who supported the school discos, as well as, Mr Ambrose for his 'tunes'.  It was a great event enjoyed by all the children, which raised a fabulous £591.93. 

The deadline for signing up for the ELSA diabetes study is next Wednesday. Please see details below for this.  We have families who are affected by diabetes and know that early identification can really support next steps and coping with it.  Additionally, contributing to the study could help support ongoing medical advancements for all.

The rest of today's newsletter contains lots of updates and news, including information about local events and half term activities, so please keep reading.

                                                                                                                               _{Anna-Claire Norden}

_Headteacher

Jewellery and Finger Nails

To support safety, all children should not wear jewellery to school except small stud earrings, which must be removed for PE sessions to ensure subject-specific safety rules are followed.  This term we ave seen an increase of jewellery being worn.

Additionally, children should attend school with trimmed 'natural nails'.  This week we have had medical issues due to gel nails and accidents where nails have been (natural and fake) have been sharp and caught others.

Spring Term Updates and Reminders

ELSA study - If you haven't had a chance to look at this study information, it isn't too late to support the research for diabetes screening.  You can find more details by clicking here.  Please sign your children up if you feel you can. Deadline for registration is Wednesday 5th February.

Lost Property - We have acquired lots of lost property since last term and would love to reunite the items with their owners, but it is all unnamed. If you recognise any of the items in these photos - click here, then please get in contact with, or pop into, the office and take a look.

If it is not claimed by February half term we will be donating to charity.  We also have lots of books so please pop in and help yourself.

If you need any uniform the PTA have lots of second hand uniform of good quality - please see PTA section below. 

NSPCC's 2025 Number Day on Friday 7th of February is the NSPCC's 2025 Number Day. As part of taking part we will be having a 'Dress up for Digits' day, where the children are invited to bring in a donation for the NSPCC and dress up as a Digit or number. This could be as simple as just having a number on a piece of clothing or it can be as creative and as imaginative as you like.

RRS Committee request for help - please click here for their blog to see if you can help them with their RIGHT's Bags.

Pancake Day Tuesday 4^th March pudding change  - pancakes will be available as pudding on Shrove Tuesday.

Special World Book Day Lunch 6th March - please find the menu by clicking here.  This can be booked through Scopay and the deadline for booking is 25th February.

Community News

Junior Parkrun

🌟 Exciting News! 🌟 We’re exploring the idea of launching a Sunday junior parkrun. This will be a fun 2K event for young children (age 4-14) to run or walk around in Northstowe each Sunday from 9am. However, this can only go ahead if we establish a core team of volunteers to support the event. If you’d like to be part of something special and help inspire the next generation of parkrunners, we’d love to hear from you! Contact us at bughunterwaters@parkrun.com to get involved. Please share this with anyone else who might be interested—we’d love to spread the word and make this happen! 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️

Half Term Activities and Club Information can be found by clicking here and accessing the various posters.

SEND, Safeguarding, Health and Wellbeing Links

SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) information can be accessed through our SEND website pages here

Safeguarding Information - please click here for our Safeguarding page especially should you have concerns relating to the safeguarding of our children and families.  Please click here to go directly to our Safeguarding policy.

Attendance Policy - please click here for the school's attendance policy. It is vitally important parents and carers are aware of their responsibilities and the formal processes for attendance matters.  The NHS have created a useful webpage to support decision-making when children are unwell - you can click here for the link.

SEMH (Social Emotional Mental Health) resources for parents - Please click here to access an overview sheet with signposted resources for you to use at home to support your children.  The overview sheet can also be found at the bottom of the SEND page on our website here.  

H.A.Y Cambridgeshire Community Wellbeing support -  How Are You South Cambs? | Home (haysouthcambs.co.uk)

NHS Mental Health Services - www.keep-your-head.com and SHOUT - a new Text service on 85258 which provides real-time support to people of all ages who are struggling with their mental health (text the word HEAR to 85258).

Chat Health is a NHS confidential NHS service for help and advice. It’s safe and easy for you to speak to a qualified health professional. Just send a message, you don’t have to give your name. Discreet and quick. It only takes one message to start making a difference. You’ll get confidential advice from trained health staff in your area. Click here to access the site to start a web chat today.

NHS Pharmacy First Service - the NHS Pharmacy First Service enables children and adults to get convenient access to healthcare advice and treatment where appropriate, for seven common conditions without the potential delay of having to wait for a GP appointment. There is no need to make an appointment; parents or carers can pop into their local Boots pharmacy with their child and ask for help under the service.

Support for the following conditions can be accessed under the service, free of charge (unless NHS prescription charges apply):

To find out about Pupil premium and Free school meals, please visit our Pupil Premium page by clicking here. 

Links to each Phase page under the Curriculum tab on our website.

                                Reception    Yr1/2    Yr3/4    Yr5/6

Access SCOPay Parent Information here and EYandP Fees and Funding Page here