Newsletter 5.6.26

News

June 2026

5th June 2026

Dear Families
 
I can't believe it is already the last half term. We have so much to fit in over the next six weeks - learning, events and trips - lots of fun to be had!
 
Over the coming weeks we will be putting up all the wonderful work for ArtsWeek so keep your eyes peeled. I'd like to say a big thank you to Mrs McFeely for organising such a fantastic week for our children. A full run down of the week is below.
 
I would like to thank you for the emails and messages of support in response to my email on Wednesday. The kindness and warmth demonstrated shows what an incredible community Alveston really is. On behalf of the whole staff - thank you. 
 
I hope you were all able to have a brilliant half term break in the glorious sunshine. Have a great weekend!
 
Jess Newitt
Headteacher
Stars of the Week 
 
Reception ~ Olivia
Year 1 ~ Harvey
Year 2 ~ Roxy
Year 3 ~ Jett
Year 4 ~ Cordelia
Year 5 ~ Sofia
Year 6 ~ Harley
 
Well done, everyone, for shining so brightly!
Team Cup Winners
 
Congratulations to this week's team cup winners, Tudor Reds! And a big "WELL DONE" to anyone who earned team points this week.
Percentage Attendance Levels by Year Group (to date)
 
Reception - 94.9%
Year 1 - 95.3%
Year 2 - 97.1%
Year 3 - 96.1%
Year 4 -  95.6%
Year 5 -  97.8%
Year 6 -  95.6%
 
Overall School Total - 96.1%
 
While the UK government sets an expectation of 100% attendance, good attendance is generally considered 95% or higher, with 97% or above regarded as very good/excellent.
 
Attendance Percentages Explained:
  • 97-100%: Very Good/Excellent attendance
  • 95-97%: Average/Good attendance
  • 90-95%: Cause for concern
  • Below 90%: Serious concern / Persistent absence (PA)


Arts Week Continued...
 

During Arts Week, Year 4 enjoyed becoming biscuit designers and bakers while celebrating the 100th birthday of Sir David Attenborough. Inspired by nature and wildlife, the children explored a range of biscuits and used exciting vocabulary to describe their taste, texture and appearance. They also discussed how biscuits can be designed for different audiences, such as children, adults or special celebrations. As part of the project, pupils learned the importance of food hygiene and kitchen safety, including washing hands, cleaning surfaces and using equipment carefully. They followed recipes with support, practised measuring and mixing ingredients accurately, and worked together to create their own biscuit designs. The children also used budgeting skills to plan their recipes and adapted ingredients and decorations to suit their chosen design brief. At the end of the project, they evaluated their biscuits by discussing taste, texture, appearance and value for money, sharing thoughtful ideas about what worked well and what could be improved. A special thank you to Miss Hollis, Mrs Newitt and Miss Griffiths, who helped with biscuit-tasting as part of the children’s market research activities! We were very impressed with the children’s creativity, teamwork and enthusiasm throughout the week, and it was a wonderful way to celebrate such an important milestone for Sir David Attenborough.


 

OPAL Play!
 
The latest OPAL newsletter is now live here. Please do have a read!
Learning Together Time - Sustainability
 
Thank you for visiting us for our final Learning Together Time of the year this week. It was lovely to have a theme of 'Sustainability' as we are working hard to reuse, reduce and recycle in school. Every class had wonderful activities going on where they were learning about keeping the planet healthier, reusing materials, etc. There was a great buzz throughout school:
 
Reception were planting seeds and learning about what seeds need to grow
Year 1 were creating items for the house using household waste
Year 2 were making wormeries using recycled bottles
Year 3 were learning about how to make their homes more sustainable
Year 4 were creating objects using household waste and scraps of materials
Year 5 were learning about oil spills in the ocean
Year 6 were finding out about pollution in Tiddington
Year 2 Learning Together: Wonderful Worms!
 
Year 2's Learning Together session focused on sustainability and the important role worms play in our ecosystems. We learned how worms help prevent flooding by creating tunnels in the soil and how their nutrient-rich castings (worm poo!) help plants grow. With lots of helping hands from parents, we made our own wormeries to observe the worms in action over the next few weeks. We are excited to watch them tunnel through the soil before releasing them back into their natural habitat. Thank you for your enthusiasm!
See Life at the Sea Life Centre!

Year 2 had a wonderful day at the National SEA LIFE Centre Birmingham, exploring a variety of fascinating sea creatures and learning about their habitats. One of the highlights was meeting Mo the turtle and celebrating his 50th birthday! The children were amazed to learn that he came to England as an egg in someone's handbag.

The children were a real credit to the school throughout the trip. Their enthusiasm, curiosity and excellent behaviour made the day a great success and we were incredibly proud of how well they represented our school. Thank you to all our parent volunteers who were an amazing help!


 

World Bee Day!
 
Year 1 and Year 2 joined together during Arts Week for a true “whopper” of a Forest School session, as we celebrated World Bee Day in the sunshine! Our activities were all themed around the wonderful world of bees. Inspired by Sir David Attenborough’s award-winning documentary My Garden of a Thousand Bees, some children enthusiastically re-enacted their own “waggle dances”. The waggle dance is a figure-eight movement used by honey bees to communicate the location, distance and quality of food and water sources to other bees in the hive. Other children enjoyed painting outdoors amongst nature, using watercolours to create beautiful bee artwork. We also discovered some fascinating bee facts along the way — did you know there are around 270 species of bee in the UK?  Creativity continued as children made their own pinecone bees by carefully wrapping them in colourful wool. Others designed and created bee watering stations around the site using tree cookies, milk bottle tops and bright felt decorations, helping to support our important pollinators by giving them somewhere safe to stop for a drink. To finish the session, the children enjoyed a delicious campfire treat. They toasted apple slices over the fire before dipping them into a cinnamon sugar mixture to create tasty “toffee apple” slices — the perfect end to a fantastic morning of outdoor learning!
 
Forest School
 
Year 2 got to enjoy a second visit to our Forest School site last week (their scheduled week), in the glorious sunshine. The children explored the fascinating process of Cyanotype printing, using the power of the sun to create beautiful prints. They carefully placed natural treasures onto specialist paper and watched as the sunlight worked its magic. The results were absolutely stunning! Other children gathered natural materials growing in abundance around the site to create their own nature bracelets. We are always amazed by the incredible variety of plants and natural treasures we discover at our Forest School site, and feel so lucky to have such a wonderful outdoor learning environment to explore.
Football Plaudits
 
We are delighted to announce that Cora, in Year 6, is the proud recipient of a Playmaker award for the 2025/26 football season, from the Mickleton Rangers Youth Football Club. Cora was awarded this honour for her "amazing vision and creativity within the game". Very well done, Cora - what a fantastic achievement - and congratulations on a brilliant season with the U12s!
Friends Reminders!
 
This is a reminder that it is Bag2School on Thursday 11th June. We can't wait to take your unwanted clothes off your hands! Bags must be dropped off in the morning, please, as collection is anytime from 9am onwards.
 
Also, please ensure that if you are attending the colour run your tickets are booked! Ticket sales strictly close on the 10th June. This is to allow us time to order the correct amount of paint for the event and medals for the children. We will not be able to accept late entries. We have tried to set up a Friends of Alveston Just Giving page but it takes time to verify the account and unfortunately it is unlikely to be ready in time for the event - please continue to use your traditional paper sponsorship forms and hopefully we can raise lots of money for the school!
 
Thank you for your ongoing support and please do not hesitate to contact a member of the committee or a class representative if you have any questions.
 
Have a lovely weekend.
 
Friends of Alveston
THANK YOU from our Friends!

A massive THANK YOU to everyone who came to the Glo-Kids disco! We raised an amazing £563 and that's all down to you! Every penny of this will go straight back into supporting our children and school community which is wonderful. Thank you to all the families, staff and volunteers who made our Glo‑Kids disco shine. We couldn’t run these great events without you.


 

School Health Newsletter
 

Please follow this link to the June edition of your School Health Newsletter. 

The month’s edition includes:

  • Advice for supporting children’s health and safety.
  • SEND strategies and tips for recognising danger or unsafe situations.
  • School Readiness information and preparing your child to start school.
  • Year 9 Health Needs Assessments.
  • Information about Loudmouth’s fully funded education sessions for Warwickshire.
  • Updates from the Warwickshire Health Visitors and the Healthy Futures team.
  • Upcoming Public Health campaigns and local information.
New website supporting separated families

The Supporting Separated Families Alliance website brings together trusted information, advice and signposting for parents who are going through separation. The site includes guidance on co-parenting, communication, legal options, and where to find local and national support services. It’s designed to help families navigate changes positively, with a focus on the wellbeing of children. You can learn more here.


 

Autism Central webinars for families of autistic people

Autism Central is holding a series of ‘In conversation’ webinars in June and July for families and support networks of autistic people of all ages. All are held between 12-1pm.

Click here to learn more...
Community Interest 
 
We post community events and projects on our website under 'Our Community'. For more information about activities open to you, your family and your local community, please do check the pages regularly:
 
 
 
 
You can also find a list of the FoodBank's "MOST WANTED" items right here. Please do take a look and help to support those in need in our local community.
General Reminders
 
Parking at Drop-Off and Pick-Up
We are so lucky at Alveston that the Football Club allow all our parents who drive to school to use their car park for drop-off and pick-up. This makes it safer for all our children. Please continue to use the Football Club car park. Please note: Parking is only available if there are spaces free and we can only park in the allocated bays. Once all the marked bays are full each day, parents will need to find alternative parking when dropping off and collecting their children. Please do not park in any other areas of the car park going forward. Please do not park on any double-yellow lines for pick-up or drop-offs. Please also ensure that you do not stop or park within the zig-zag "Keep Clear" markings at the main entrance to school. This area is marked to keep the flow of traffic moving and to ensure the safety of all pedestrians. 
 
Sickness and Absence
Please let the school office know each day your child is absent from school by calling 01789 293412, option 1, and leaving a message. You may also email parents3002@welearn365.com. You do not need to contact us daily if your child is sick/vomits. Absences for sickness/vomiting will be recorded 48 hours from the end of the day your child was last sick (i.e. if sick on Sunday, come back on Wednesday; if Tuesday come back on Friday). 
 
Medicines in School
We cannot accept medicines in school without a prescription label and a medical form completed by a parent or carer.  Please ask the school office for more information and/or a form via:
parents3002@welearn365.com

Leave of Absence during Term Time
For updated guidance and legislation regarding a leave of absence during term time, please click here. For an application form to request a leave of absence, click here.


 

Forest School Dates* 

Below are Forest School dates for your diary. The children will need to wear PE kit to school with tracksuit bottoms or leggings and have a long sleeve top, such as a hoodie. Wellies and a rain coat will also be required: 

*Forest school dates are Fridays, unless otherwise stated 

 

Date

 

Year Group

12/6

 

Reception

19/6

 

Year 6

26/6

 

Year 5

3/7

 

Year 4

10/7

 

Years 1&2

17/7

 

Year 3


Important Dates* to Remember  

Key dates for Summer Term (2) are HERE!  

*
Please note that all dates published are subject to change/cancellation - please check this page and/or the website calendar regularly: 
 

 

 

HALF TERM 25th to 29th May

 

 

 

Summer Term (2)

 

Celebration / Star of the Week Assemblies

 

 

 5/6, 12/6, 19/6, 26/6, 3/7, 10/7, *13/7 (Half Term Cup)

 

 

Teacher-Led Clubs – 4 weeks

 

 

w/c 8th June – w/e 3rd July 2026

 

 

 

Y2 Swimming

 

8/6, 15/6, 22/6, 29/6

 

 

 

10/6

 

Reception Class Trip to Lapworth Museum

18/6

 

Year 4 Trip to Coombe Abbey (Coventry)

30/6

 

Year 6 Leavers’ Play (4:30pm)

30/6

 

Stratford in Bloom judging day!

1-3/7

 

Year 6 Residential Trip to Frontier Centre (N’hampton)  

8/7

 

Transition Day

14/7

 

Sports Day & Picnic

15/7

 

(Reserve Sports Day & Picnic)

15/7

 

Well-being Wednesday

17/7

 

Year 6 Leavers’ Assembly (9:05am)

17/7

 

LAST DAY OF TERM

Healthy Schools 2020
360 ES Mark
Artsmark Gold Award
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