Latest News | Bishops Waltham Infant School

Weekly Update-Friday 1st May

Fri 01 May 2026

🌟 What a fantastic week of learning we have had at school this week! 😊

🔬 Year 2 Super Scientists
Year 2 have been busy being super scientists, learning how to sort and classify animals. They have shown excellent organisational skills in their thinking, using a range of diagrams to help them explain and organise their ideas.

Year 2 are also making great strides in their reading and comprehension, which is helping them to develop greater independence and confidence in their learning – we are very proud of them!

🍎 Year 1 Fruit Fiesta Fun
Year 1 children were very excited to work independently to create delicious treats for our Year R children at the end of their Fruit Fiesta. After researching which fruits children enjoy eating, they designed and made fruit pizzas, kebabs and smoothies.

The children had a fantastic time welcoming guests to the Year 1 Café to enjoy their healthy treats – a wonderful experience for everyone involved!

🎟️ Bottle Tombola – Thank You!
A big thank you to everyone who donated a bottle for this week’s bottle tombola. If you forgot or have any extra bottles at home that you’d like to donate, please do bring them into the office – they are very much appreciated.

🍫 Summer Fayre Donations & Help Needed
📅 Next Friday (8th) – Chocolate donations
📅 Friday 15th – Summer Fayre Day & Cake donations

We hope to see as many of you as possible at the Summer Fayre! We would also love a few more parents to sign up to help with the half‑hour slots Claire has organised.

🎨🍔 We are particularly short of helpers for face painting and the BBQ, both of which need several volunteers. Please do consider stepping forward if you can – without enough helpers, these much‑loved stalls sadly won’t be able to run.

🌱 Courtyard Development Project
All proceeds from the Fayre will go towards our exciting courtyard development area, where we are creating a space to help children regulate through sensory and active activities.

If you or your company would like to make a single charitable donation towards this project, please let the office know. Our PTA is a registered charity and can receive donations directly.

🌼 Gentle Morning Reminder
Just a gentle and friendly reminder to please help children stay close to you in the mornings, avoiding climbing on walls or going into the flowerbeds. Your support with this really helps us keep everyone safe and our grounds looking lovely – thank you so much.

⚽ Wembley
I didn’t spot any of our children at Wembley, but it was lovely to bump into a few past parents! While it wasn’t the score we hoped for, it was still a fantastic day with a brilliant atmosphere – here’s to the play‑offs next! 🙌

🌞 At lunchtime this week, I enjoyed some lovely chats with our children while we soaked up the glorious sunshine. They were gently reminded to make use of the plenty of shady areas we are very lucky to have in our grounds, and were having a wonderful time together. Fingers crossed the sunshine continues into our Bank Holiday weekend!

💛 Thank you, as always, for your continued support and positivity. Have a wonderful Bank Holiday weekend! 💛

With warm wishes

Mrs Riches

Headteacher

Weekly Update-Friday 24th April

Fri 24 Apr 2026

🌍 World Earth Day 2026

What an amazing World Earth Day we had at BWIS this week! We were incredibly proud to launch our new vision for sustainability with the children, exploring how we can all do our part as guardians of the Earth. 🌱🌏

We also introduced our brilliant Sustainability Badgers, who the children enjoyed getting to know! Miss Martin and Miss Daniels-King launched the day with an assembly that created excitement in all of our learners. The children had a fantastic day learning about the world and how to look after it – they are especially keen to avoid wasting electricity and have been enthusiastically turning off lights all around the school. 💡👏

We were joined on the day by Steph, one of our school governors. She saw how excited the children were in their learning and how curious they were to find out more. She thoroughly enjoyed her visit and talks with the children.

🐝 A big thank you to Hilliers Garden Centre in Hedge End for their very kind donation of bamboo for our bee houses. We are so grateful for their support in helping us care for our environment and local wildlife.

If you would like to know more about sustainability at our school, please click onto our sustainability page:

https://www.bwis.org.uk/sustainability-1/

School Pond

💧 We are still looking for pond volunteers to form a small committee to help us keep our pond in its current lovely condition. Please get in touch if you think you might be able to help. This week, Year 2 enjoyed pond dipping and were absolutely amazed by the range of creatures and larvae they discovered!

🎉 Summer Fayre Donation Days 🎉
We will be holding three donation days over the next few weeks to help support our Summer Fayre stalls. In return for a donation, children may wear non-school uniform on the day:

🍾 Friday 1st May – Bottle Donation Day
Many donations may contain alcohol – please bring these directly to the school office on the morning, carried by parents.
🍫 Friday 8th May – Chocolate Donation Day
🍰 Friday 15th May – Cake Donation Day (and Summer Fayre Day!)

🙏 Our PTA are desperately short of helpers, particularly for running stalls, face painting, cooking and barbecuing. If you can spare even a little time, your help would make a huge difference. Please do let us know if you can support us.

St George's Day

We celebrated St George's Day this week in our assembly. We have celebrated all of our Saints days this year and used some of the resources from our learning links page. If you would like to explore these at home too, please click here:

https://www.bwis.org.uk/st-georges-day-1/

☀️ We have enjoyed some glorious weather over the past few days and the children have loved playing in the grounds, listening to the birds singing, learning outside and making the most of the sunshine. Long may it continue!

⚽ And finally… I might see a few of you at Wembley tomorrow – fingers crossed for a Saints win! 🤞🔴⚪

Thank you, as always, for your continued support.

With warm wishes

Mrs Riches

Headteacher

Happy St George's Day

Thu 23 Apr 2026

Happy St George's Day from Bishops Waltham Infant School

Secret Reader

Wed 22 Apr 2026

Weekly Update Friday 17th April

Fri 17 Apr 2026

🌼 A Lovely Start Back to the Summer Term 🌼

We have had such a lovely start back to school this week. The blossom is out on the trees 🌸, the school is feeling bright and welcoming, and we are pleased to say that the drain at the front of the school has finally been fixed – thank you for your patience while this was completed.

The children have returned full of enthusiasm and have been keen to share their stories from the Easter break 🐣. It has been wonderful to hear about family time, adventures, and restful moments at home.

🌦️ Weather Watch

The weather has been quite changeable recently, so please ensure your child has a coat in school each day, just in case of showers.

Many children came home telling you about what was the loudest hailstorm I have experienced in my 17 years here, which happened during Assembly on Monday! ⛈️ It was truly deafening, and we all agreed that weather changes can be quite exciting.

🐸 Pond Area Volunteering

A big thank you to Matt Howell and his family, who have been volunteering their time in our pond area to get it ready for pond‑dipping season 🐞💦. They are doing a super job.

We would love to form a small, regular volunteer working group to help maintain this amazing resource. The children absolutely love learning in this space, and we are very lucky to have it.

👉 If you can spare some time and would like to get involved, we would be very grateful – please let the office know.

👕 Bags for Schools – Clothing & Fabric Collection

We have organised a Bags for Schools clothing and fabric collection on Tuesday 12th May 👜.

Bags can be dropped off either the morning of the collection or the day before. A wide range of items can be included, so if you’re having a clear‑out, please take this opportunity to fill a bag. Every contribution helps support the school.

👟 School Uniform Reminder

We have noticed that some children are starting to come to school wearing cartoon or multi‑coloured socks and incorrect footwear.

Please can we ask that children attend school in the correct uniform.
✅ Black trainers are allowed, as long as they are waterproof.

We also have a number of school uniform items available from the office for a small donation, so please do have a look before buying new.

🌍 Sustainability Day – World Earth Day

On Wednesday 22nd April, to coincide with World Earth Day, we will be holding our Sustainability Day 🌱.

This is a key strand of our school strategic plan, and we are excited to be launching our learning programe with the children. Our Sustainability Leads, Miss Martin and Miss Daniels‑King, will introduce the day with a whole‑school assembly.

All activities and future plans will be shared on our website afterwards. We cannot wait to share this work with you and enhance our curriculum even further.

📚 Secret Reader Success!

We were delighted to launch our ‘Secret Reader’ initiative this week 📖✨. Most classes had a parent volunteer, and the children absolutely loved the surprise of seeing their grown‑ups come in to read.

Unfortunately, Hedgehog and Frog Class did not have a volunteer this week and were a little disappointed. We were also grateful to have a library helper stand‑in for one parent who was unable to attend on the day.

Please do sign up and get involved in this brilliant initiative, led by our English Leads, Miss Turner and Mrs Labram. The next Secret Reader session is on Monday 20th April at 2.55pm. We are hoping this will continue to gain momentum each week.

🎪 Summer Fayre – Help Needed

Our Summer Fayre will soon be with us ☀️🎉, and we will be asking for donations for the stalls. Collection days will be happening in May and will be advertised next week.

The PTA are also struggling for volunteers to man the stalls, particularly the barbecue. All staff and our small PTA team (including family members) are already helping, and there is only so much we can do.

👉 If you are able to help, please let the office know and we will pass your details on to Claire, our PTA Chair.

⚽ A Final Note for Saints Supporters

Lastly, for any Saints supporters, what a game the quarter final on Easter Saturday was! One more week until Wembley 🏟️. Lots of children have been chatting excitedly about it in school.

🌞 Wishing everyone a very lovely weekend and hoping for some sunshine. 🌞

Best Wishes

Mrs Riches

Headteacher

Bag2school collection

Mon 13 Apr 2026

We are pleased to announce that we have organised a clothes & shoe collection with Bag2School.

As well as raising funds for our school it also helps the environment by helping to divert unwanted textiles away from landfill.

By getting involved in our Bag2School collection, you have an opportunity to sort through your cupboards and wardrobes and donate unwanted textiles – this can include adults’ and children’s clothes, shoes (tied together please), hats and belts.

Weekly Update Friday 27th March

Fri 27 Mar 2026

What a fantastic final week we’ve had in school, filled with Easter fun, sunshine and celebrations! 🌞🐣

🐰 PTA Easter Egg Hunt

Yesterday we enjoyed our brilliant PTA Easter Egg Hunt, complete with a special appearance from the Easter Bunny! The sun was shining and the children had a wonderful time racing around and collecting eggs from their teachers – did you guess the right word? 🥚🔤

A huge thank you to our PTA, teachers and office staff for making this much‑loved event such a success every single year. 🌟

🎉 PTA Quiz Night

Last Friday we held another successful PTA night, with Andy as our fantastic host. Congratulations to “Harry’s House of Trivia” who were our winners! 🏆🎉

🎨 Easter Egg Competition

Today we welcomed Tracy Conduct and Kevin Jones from the Parish Council who came to judge our Easter Egg competition. They were genuinely amazed by the creativity, care and imagination shown in every single entry. They took their time, carefully inspecting each design, and were incredibly impressed by the effort the children put in. 🌟👏

A big thank you to Tracy and Kevin for being so thoughtful and thorough in their judging.

We were delighted to award five winning eggs per year group:

Year R: Eric, Zara, Robyn, Cora, Hughie
Year 1: Jasper, Arlo, Sadie, Ella, Charlotte, Mabel
Year 2: Louis, Arlos, Jemima, Ophelia, Heidi

There were prizes for everyone who entered. Thank you to all the children (and families!) for making the day so special. 🐣💛

👋 Goodbye to Mr Churcher

Today we say goodbye to Mr Churcher, who has been covering maternity and sickness leave across Year 1 and Year 2 this past year. He has been a super teacher, a supportive colleague, and a valued member of our team. We will all miss him and wish him every success in his future teaching career. 🌟📚

🍃 Welcome Back, Mrs Moth

We are delighted that Mrs Moth is now back full‑time. She will be teaching Hedgehog Class for the remainder of the summer term and will also be our Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Coordinator (SENDCo). All the children know her from last year, and we are sure they will give her a big, warm welcome back. 🦔💐

🛍️ PTA Easter Extravaganza Sale

Don’t forget! Our PTA are holding a big Easter extravaganza sale in the turning circle today. Bring along your pennies and enjoy a little treat! 🍬🌈

🌷 Wishing You a Wonderful Easter Break

We hope you all have a lovely, restful Easter holiday, and we look forward to welcoming everyone back to school on Monday 13th April. 🐣🌼

With warm wishes

Mrs Riches

Headteacher

Easter Egg Hunt

Mon 23 Mar 2026

Weekly Update-Friday 20th March

Fri 20 Mar 2026

What a wonderful week of learning, creativity and collaboration we’ve had in school! The children have been busy, enthusiastic and full of curiosity—as always—and we are so proud of everything they’ve achieved.

🌱 Year R – Incredible Mini Gardens!

Year R have been arriving with the most beautiful gardens this week, and we have all been amazed at just how inventive and creative they are. Each garden is completely unique—full of tiny details, imaginative touches and brilliant ideas. Well done, Year R! Your hard work and creativity really shine.

🍓 Year 1 – Fabulous Fruit Fiesta!

Year 1 have been enjoying a fruit‑tastic time with their exciting Fruit Fiesta project. They have been working interdependently to design special fruit dishes for the Year R children, combining teamwork with imagination. The class have absolutely loved discovering lots of different fruits—trying new flavours, sharing favourites, and learning how fruits grow. It has been such a joyful project.

🎩 Year 2 – Wonderful Writing About Nelson’s Hat

Year 2 have been getting creative with their writing, using Nelson’s hat as their inspiration. Their progress this year has been incredible—their vocabulary, sentence choices and confidence have all grown so much. We can’t wait for mums and dads to see the project outcome… you’re in for a wonderful surprise!

🐣 Looking Ahead to Next Week – Easter Fun!

🥚 PTA Easter Egg Hunt – Thursday 26th March

Our fantastic PTA will be hosting the ever‑popular Easter Egg Hunt next Thursday. This is always such a fun and exciting event—children love racing around to find all the hidden letters before meeting the Easter Bunny!

🌟 Remember to buy your tickets, as this event usually sells out.

There will also be a lovely tea and cake area for adults to enjoy, including Krispy Kreme doughnuts on sale!

🎨 ‘Decorate an Egg’ Competition – Friday

On Friday, we’ll be holding our much‑loved Decorate an Egg competition.

Eggs must be 3D (no flat paper drawings please).
They can be real eggs, papier‑mâché, or any other creative material.
Judging will take place for each year group.

We also have:
🐣 Parent Category – for grown‑ups who want to get creative!
🐥 Pre‑School Category – if we have enough entries.

Every entry will receive an egg‑themed prize, with larger prizes for our winners. We can’t wait to see your “egg‑citing” creations!

🍬 PTA Big Easter Treats Sale – Friday After School

To finish the week, our PTA will be hosting their big Easter Treats Sale in the turning circle. Expect plenty of goodies, surprises and delicious treats to take home.

❓ PTA Quiz Night – This Evening

If you're coming along to the quiz tonight, we look forward to seeing you there!

💛 A Huge Thank You to Our PTA

There has been a lot of behind‑the‑scenes work over the past few weeks to prepare all of these wonderful events. We want to say an enormous thank you to our PTA for their incredible effort, dedication and creativity. All funds raised are going towards developing an exciting new sensory and imaginative play courtyard, and we’ll share more updates as quotes come in.

🌞 Enjoy the Sunshine This Weekend

We hope everyone enjoys the lovely sunshine over the weekend. Thank you for your continued support—you help make our school the warm, joyful and creative place it is.

Have a wonderful weekend!

With warm wishes

Mrs Riches

Headteacher

Weekly Update Friday 13th March

Fri 13 Mar 2026

🧹🕰️ Year 1 Step Back in Time

On Tuesday, Year 1 walked into a very different classroom… the Victorian era had returned!

The children threw themselves into their role play with huge enthusiasm — some even told me they had to sweep the chimneys when they got home!

It was lovely to welcome parents to their learning outcome. The children are becoming fantastic young historians:

👑 ordering monarchs on a timeline
🕵️‍♂️ examining artefacts for clues about the past

Well done to the Year 1 team for planning and teaching such an inspiring project

🌞🌿 Year R Enjoy Sunshine at the Arboretum

Year R were treated to the only sunny day of the week (their sun dance certainly worked! ☀️).
They enjoyed a whole day outdoors at the Arboretum, learning:

how plants grow
exploring nature
taking part in hands-on activities

They couldn’t wait to tell us all about their adventures, and they’re excited to use their new knowledge when they grow plants in their classrooms 🌱

A huge thank you to the parents and grandparents who joined us — our trips simply couldn’t happen without your support 💚

⚓📜 Year 2 Dive into History

Year 2 have delved deeper into their project on Horatio Nelson, and they are becoming wonderfully curious and thoughtful historians.

A special well done to Cobi and Arlo for their incredible writing about sailors this week — their effort, improvement and pride in their work gave me the biggest smile. We are all super proud of you! 🌟✍️

📚💙 Celebrating Success Beyond BWIS

Today we had a visit from one of our past parents, who is returning as a reading volunteer — wonderful news in itself, but she also shared that her son Samuel, who I remember as a blonde, fluffy haired 6 year old, has been offered a place at Cambridge University for September. A huge congratulations to Samuel — we are incredibly proud of this wonderful achievement! 🎓👏

❓🍞🧀 PTA Quiz Night — Tickets Still Available!

We still have some spare tickets for our PTA Quiz Night on Friday 20th March.

🎟 £10 per ticket (includes sharing platter of meats, cheese & bread)
🍹 Licensed bar
🤩 Hosted by Andy
🎉 Open to current and past parent/carer/grandparent teams

Come along for a fantastic night of fun — we’d love to see you there!

🐣🥚 Easter Egg Trail & Egg Decorating

Tickets are also on sale for our always-popular Easter Egg Trail.
And don’t forget to get creative for our egg-decorating competition on the last day of term! 🎨🐰

🌞Tenant Partnership Team, Winchester City Council

Please remember if you are a tenant of Winchester City Council, then there is a workshop on Saturday 14th March (tomorrow) for you to attend:

Housing Improvement Workshop, at The Jubilee Hall, Little Shore Lane, Bishops Waltham, Southampton, SO32 1ED on Saturday 14^th March at 11am – 12:30pm. The Topic we will be discussing is ‘Complaints & Learning’.

🏉 Six Nations Super Saturday

Tomorrow is the final day of the Six Nations — and after the dramatic Italy and Scotland wins, it’s going to be a Super Saturday indeed!
England and Wales are battling it out for the Wooden Spoon… though I suspect Wales may just take that title. After Rhys Carre’s joyful try last week, welsh fans are certainly rallying behind the youngsters in the team! 🏉