Latest News
Keep up to date with all the news happening in school
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Weekly Update Friday 14th February
Thu 13 Feb 2025Happy Valentine's Day!
This half term has bee very busy. Year 1 went on a trip to Manor Farm and had an experience of what life was like in Victorian times. They practised using their time openers to start their recount sentences later in the week. Year 2 have been exploring the theme of 'Belonging' in their RE week with some thoughtful observations and discussions.. They also had a fantastic folk dancing and board stomping afternoon with Folk Active. The fiddle was playing and the children had a whale of a time! The most delicious smell of gingerbread wafted up the corridor from Year R and one little gingerbread man escaped to my office! (Thank you! Year R).
We had a very productive PTA meeting, discussing all forthcoming events. We are hoping to hold a Quiz Night for staff and Parents on Friday 21st March. There will also be our annual Easter Egg Hunt on Thursday 3rd April. We will be getting a volunteer list out to all parents to sign up and help at future events, and support is always gratefully received.
We had our annual Learning Leadership Partner (LLP) meeting this week with Hampshire County Council. This involved looking at our school in detail, meeting with myself, staff, children and governors to discuss the school's strengths, and what our priorities are for the future. We were highly praised during the day, and we had robust conversations about all aspects of our school. Our curriculum is very strong, and the children showed that their learning was of high quality, with their retrieval of facts and knowledge. We were very pleased that we could celebrate our happy school, where children love their learning.
Our Year 2 Lunchtime Clubs have been running all half term. The new painters in Painting Club have painted some beautiful spring flowers and these are on display before you walk into the hall. They have all enjoyed mixing colour and layering the paint. You can have a look here:https://www.bwis.org.uk/painting-club/
Hopefully, everyone has seen the latest flyer from 'Southampton Rocks' letting you know things to do this half term. Take a look on our leaflets page here, if you missed it:https://www.bwis.org.uk/information-letterspamphlets/
We played ‘pass the baby’ with baby Emilia in our staffroom this week, when Mrs Labram popped in to see us. She slept through the whole thing, but we all had a lovely snuggle time. She then went to visit Fox Class and had the children were all delighted to meet her.
Love has definitely been the theme for our last week of term, starting with our St Valentine assembly on Monday, which you can find out about on our learning links page. We talked about what we loved about ourself and our school. Today, we made our 'I Love BWIS' display, and the children's thoughts and ideas have been amazing. Take a peek at some of the comments, and check out the display in our corridor, the next time you come in. This afternoon, to finish our day, our PTA have a Valentine Sweet Sale in the turning circle, so remember to bring some pennies for some sweets.
That is all from us. We hope you have a lovely half term break and will see you back in school on Tuesday 25th February.
Best wishes
Mrs Riches
Headteacher
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Weekly Update Friday 7th February
Fri 07 Feb 2025The Year 2 children have all been enjoying their clubs this week, run by the teachers at lunchtime. Sewing club have made the most beautiful embroidered mats with their bead letters in the middle. Mrs Campone is so proud of them. Please check out the club pages for updates of the next few weeks.
We had a full Governor Body meeting this week, where we discussed our vision for the school, and how we are going to get there. The governors asked challenging questions whilst offering support to the school. They particularly wanted to thank the PTA and their fundraising for the corridor area learning revamp. Some governors are very new, but have already received training and getting to grips with the complexity of school organisation and strategies. It had robust dialogue throughout, enabling a clear snapshot of school was understood. Thank you to all who attended.
Year R have proudly been showing me their writing thee past few weeks and they are now amazing themselves when they read their writing back. We think the mums and dads are going to be amazed in our parents' evenings in a few weeks. Year 1 cannot wait to go on their trip next week to see Victorian living first hand. They are particularly enjoying the roleplay areas, and we can hear some strict teachers in there! Year 2's Wacky Wheels testing was lots of fun and everyone in Year 2 had a fantastic time. There are some fantastic displays around our school at the moment, which really showcases our children's learning at school and at home. The children love seeing their learning on display, and it is lovely to hear them talk about the ideas they like on the display.
Please can we send a gentle reminder to all parents to log on and contribute to their child's school trips. School budgets cannot sustain covering the cost of parents who do not contribute if they are able to. We also urge parents to log on to the portal if they have a low income, so that some extra costs for trips etc can be funded. The money that comes into school does not just cover lunch, and will help towards the funding to support children's learning and wellbeing. To find out if you are eligible, please click below:
https://www.gov.uk/apply-free-school-meals
Our January Newsletter is now live, with contributions from our school community. Please click on and have a look here:
Newsletters | Bishops Waltham Infant School
Wishing you all a lovely weekend.
Best wishes
Mrs Riches
Headteacher
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Weekly Update Friday 31st January
Wed 29 Jan 2025This week has seen Year R children continuing to explore Traditional Tales, reading stories where language is familiar, and often repetitive. Who doesn't love a story that starts with 'Once Upon a time'? They often transport children into a land of make believe-of wizards, wolves with characters who behave in not such a nice way. If you read these stories at home with your children, they are great to stop and ask questions, such as 'what do you think the character will do?', 'How will the character act/respond when this happens', or 'what will happen next'. A traditional tale is a magical door into enjoyment of reading with lovely stores to share at all infant levels. I have loved seeing the pigs appear in Year R, and some clever house-making and ideas from our children too.
Year 1 have started their next project all about Victorian Childhoods. Our children are shocked about what life was like in Victorian times. They will be journeying back in time on our Manor Farm Visit in two weeks time, where they will have first hand experiences of being a Victorian. How to compare and describe are two key skills teachers will be teaching over the next few weeks, as they explore artefacts from the era.
Year 2 have had the best time learning and working collaboratively to design their Wacky Wheels vehicles. Their learning walls are full of their fantastic ideas, and they are nearly ready to test their vehicles. Watch out on our media section for the clips when they test them.
With February just around the corner, we are all hoping for some less stormy weather, and looking forward to the longer days. I have found a great thing to do with your children, that some of you may already know about. There is a Sir Quentin Blake Blue Peter Book Badge, that all children aged 5-15 can apply for, by following the children's instructions below:
Blue Peter Book badge application
To earn this badge, you must:
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Be aged between 5-15 years old.
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Apply for your Book badge online using My Blue Peter or click the 'Book badge postal application form' button above, to apply by post.
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Ask your parent or guardian for permission to apply and ask them to read the Privacy Notice.
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Get your parent or guardian to help you fill out your form and personal details.
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Tell us about a book you have read and what you think about it. Maybe you liked the characters, or perhaps you enjoyed going on exciting adventures in faraway places.
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Upload your illustration of a character or a scene from the story. This could be a drawing, painting or even digital artwork.
- Let us know what other books and authors you have enjoyed reading and why.
To find out more about this badge and other Blue Peter Badges, please visit the link below:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/findoutmore/blue-peter-apply-for-a-book-badge
All children who have a Blue Peter Badge can visit over 200 attractions free in the UK. Please find the link to where they can get in free here:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/attractions
Happy Badge Applying All!!!
I hope you all have a lovely weekend, and get better soon if still poorly.
Mrs Riches
Headteacher
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Weekly Update Friday 24th January
Fri 24 Jan 2025Year 1 performed their amazing dragon dances as the culmination of their Dragon project this week. There was much excitement in all of the classes when devising their dance to perform. Well done to the Year 1 teachers and children. What a memorable learning experience it has been!
Year 2 are continuing with their Wacky Wheel designs. The children have been thinking really carefully about what design will work best. They have also been writing about the experiments they have been doing in class. They have really enjoyed writing for a different reason.
Year R have been busy story telling and discussing the Three Little Pigs. So many of the children have brought their learning to me to show this week- they have been AMAZING!
Luckily Storm Eowyn seems to be further north than us, and we have had much drier weather than the rest of the country. Please take care if the wind does pick up again, especially looking out for flying debris.
Some of the Year 1 and 2 children are missing warmer weather PE clothes in their PE bags. We go outside for PE every week in Year 1 and 2, so please make sure your child has warm named joggers and tops for thee colder months.
We have an INSET day on Friday the 31st January, the same as the junior school, and will not be open at all. Please mark this day on your calendar as a little reminder!
Wishing everyone a peaceful weekend.
Best wishes
Mrs Riches
Headteacher
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Weekly Update Friday 17th January
Fri 17 Jan 2025Dear Parents and Carers,
We have been hit particularly hard with a series of 'flu'-like/Upper respiratory/high temperature/cough bugs this week, in both the classroom and the staffroom. 13% of our children have been away daily and 10% of our staff. In children, it is presenting as a temperature spike and often accompanied by sickness due to this. Please be extra vigilant at home, and reinforce the importance of washing hands, especially if the children are coughing and sneezing. We would like to stress the importance of not sending children in when they have a temperature with a dose of calpol, as this is one of the contributory factors to the spread of bugs/virus like symptoms in class, and appreciate parents' cooperation with this.
We have three class outcomes next week in Year 1. Each outcome is at 9.15am in the hall on the following days:
Wednesday 22nd Robins
Thursday 23rd Squirrels
Friday 25th Otters
This week on our school data collection day, children who had packed lunches were offered to try a hot lunch. Many of the children enjoyed the lunch offered, and with a vast choice of lunches, we would like to encourage more parents to try the hot school lunches every day, even if this means bringing a pack up lunch as a back up. If you would like your child to order a lunch with their back up, please tell the classteacher in the morning. Often, if children see their friends eating something, they will want to try it too. Our Year R children currently have the highest amount of school lunches each day, and tuck in enthusiastically in the lunch hall. A warm, nutritious lunch is particularly welcomed on a cold January day, so please encourage your child to give them a try!
We are now two weeks in to our Spring term, and the amount of children arriving late is still quite high since Christmas. If you have found it difficult to get back into the routine on these cold January mornings, please see below for some ideas to help:
Having a timer to finish getting dressed/breakfast etc
Having a picture chart on what to do in each order
Putting school clothes out ready in the morning
Leaving home with enough time to get to school (especially if frosty/rainy in morning)
Setting the alarm a bit earlier, if things are taking a bit longer
Reward charts for leaving the house on time such as stickers/marbles in jar etc
Coming up with the order which the children are going to do things with the child (giving ownership)
Not having screen time/tv on in the morning
This list is not exhaustive, and we are sure that many parents already tried some of these things in the past. Starting school with their friends after a little chat outside or on their way to school, and not arriving late in the middle of phonics, helps children to settle in to the school, ready to learn.
Lastly, if anyone is having a clear out of items after Christmas, we would receive the following donations, gratefully, for playtimes and our wet play boxes:
Lego
Pretend fruit/food for cafe/shops
Dressing up clothes
Dolls and doll clothes
Toy cars
Balls (soft type, not leather)
Skipping ropes
Hula hoops
Role Play items (tea sets etc)
Building toys (duplo etc)
Complete top trumps and uno games
Please can all donations be playable/working order.
Wishing everyone a lovely weekend
Best wishes
Mrs Riches
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Weekly Update Friday 10th January
Fri 10 Jan 2025Our school has been a hive of activity this week, with the start of new projects in each year group. Please look in your children’s book bags for their project leaflets and bookmarks to help support learning at home.
With the weather turning a lot colder, we were really pleased to see so many children in their warm coats. Please remember to check that all clothing is labelled, to make sure clothing gets back to its correct owner.
Year 2’s lunchtime clubs will start back next week. These are free clubs that our staff run to enhance children’s experiences at school. We all look forward to meeting our new club members. All our after school clubs started back this week, with good attendance at them all.
Lastly we would like to congratulate Mrs Labram and her husband, Jamie, on the birth of their new daughter, Emilia. She arrived at the start of the holidays, and they had a lovely first Christmas together. We cannot wait to meet her!
Best wishes
Mrs Riches
Headteacher
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Welcome Back and Happy New Year!
Tue 07 Jan 2025Happy New Year to all our lovely children and families! We have had a super start back to school this week and the children have come back full of excitement to see their friends and teachers. We had the fantastic M and M Theatre Company come to our school with their production of 'Snow White.' The pantomime was full of singing, dancing and laughter and the children had a brilliant time joining in (Oh yes they did!).Below are some pictures from the show, if you would like to talk about it with your children when they come home. Thank you again to our PTA for raising the funds to enable us to have this annual special treat for our children. We are very lucky to have you!
Best Wishes
Mrs Riches
Headteacher
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Weekly Update Friday 20th December
Fri 13 Dec 2024We started our Christmas Countdown this week with our Grandparents Christmas Service at St Peter's Church. We were welcomed in by the beautiful bell playing and Reverend Hunt. The children read and sang beautifully, with some of the children building up the nativity scene. We had grandparents from as far as Wales and even Amsterdam at the service. Thank you to the PTA who did teas and coffees, and to all the walking helpers who helped us get to the church. In the afternoon. we had our second Key Stage 1 performance, which was just as magical as Friday's show. Thank you again to everyone who made this show so special.
On Tuesday it was Year R's turn to perform to their parents; they had learned all the songs and spoke their parts beautifully. The parents had a lovely time watching their first nativity at BWIS. After the performance, our PTA called out all the prizes, and there were some very lucky winners. Thank you to the PTA for organising all the Christmas treats. You have been amazing all term! The child who sold the most raffle tickets this year was Aalayah in Robin class and she is going home with her prize today! Congratulations!
It was party Christmas lunch and party time on Wednesday. The children had a fantastic time, and were like bottles of pop all day, bubbling with excitement. When Father Christmas and his special helper came to visit and deliver their presents, they were amazed!
Friday has seen us having our last Christmas events with our Starlight Charity total at £382.27. Thank you all for donating throughout the week. We are very grateful to you all. We also finished off our day with our special Wishing Assembly. The children were extremely reflective in their wishes for the world for 2025. Their wishes are by my office, please take a look next time you pop by.
As we take our trimmings and decorations down, it is time for you to start your celebrations and family traditions at home. We wish everybody a very merry Christmas and look forward to seeing you on the 6th January 2025!
We Wish You a Merry Christmas from everyone at BWIS
Merry Christmas Everyone!
Best wishes
Mrs Riches
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Weekly Update Friday 13th December
Fri 13 Dec 2024We started our week with an assembly from Bishops Waltham Dynamos Soccer School. They came to our assembly to tell us all about their exciting Saturday morning football/ball skills sessions at Priory Park. Finlay Taylor leads the soccer school, and he brought along Aiden Clohessy, a Personal Best Sports Coaching Coordinator and Tom Withers, Number 6 - Centre Back for BW Dynamo's First Team. The children were very excited to see them. All children are welcome at Soccer School, and whenever I see them on a Saturday, the boys and girls look like they are having lots of fun! The children learn through playing different activities, and they often tell me how they did when I see them on Monday morning. If you would like your child to attend/have a go, please go along and talk to Finlay Taylor and his team. Some grants are available with the club, so please enquire with Finlay if this is something you may need to access.
On Tuesday, our brilliant PTA, parents and staff pulled together in a flurry of wrapping paper, Christmas music and stalls to make a special Christmas Bazaar and shopping event for our children. The children's faces lit up as they came in to shop, and they chose their gifts thoughtfully and carefully. They had a great time and I would like to thank everyone for their contribution to making the event so special. It run like a well oiled machine! THANK YOU SO MUCH!
Our PTA had another Christmas jumper sale this week. This is a fantastic initiative to recycle Christmas clothes that get so little wear. They will be having another Christmas jumper/dress/costume donation day in the new year, where you can donate any Christmas clothes you do not need any more. Please bring any raffle tickets back as soon as possible, and also bring back any unused books, as some parents have asked for more books to sell. We will be calling the raffle after the performance on Tuesday. We are still accepting raffle prizes, if anyone has a new gift at home that isn't needed. Please look at the PTA social media page for a full list of prizes.
We had our dress rehearsals earlier this week which were performed to children in our school, the Year 2 children at BWJS and Lilypads Pre-School. They were all amazed at the singing, dancing and acting! Our first parent performance was today, and the parents all went home with some Christmas cheer. This year, we have Mr Coker playing the piano. Mr Coker leads our choir club with Mrs Moth our music lead, and the singing and music is fantastic! The parents who are coming next week are in for a real treat! Please remember all children under 11 need to be booked into the creche in the morning performances. Unfortunately we have been unable to run a creche in the afternoon performance due to staffing, and alternate arrangements will be needed for childcare.
We have our special Grandparent only service at the church on Monday morning. as with all our performances this year, we are making a collection for the Starlight Foundation that bring play to children who are in hospital, and support their families. The Starlight Foundation is our chosen charity this year, and the link to their work is below. We will be making collections all week, including our Christmas jumper day.
Please remember, only Grandparents will be in the church, and we have no room for carers/parents. This is due to the number of adults who come along.
We also have our Christmas lunch next Wednesday and our parties. Children can come to school in their party clothes and sensible footwear for outside. The school lunch option closed last week, so please contact the office as soon as possible if you are requesting a lunch that day for your child.
We are collecting all reading books and library books in over the Christmas period. Please have a look at home for any that need to come back, and we will make sure they go back in the right place, ready for the new year.
As the whole country goes on snow watch for a white Christmas, it is looking unlikely we will have snow in the south. We will keep you updated if we do have a weather warning. Hopefully this weekend will be storm free!
Best wishes
Mrs Riches
Headteacher
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Weekly Update Friday 6th December
Fri 06 Dec 2024As I write this update, I can hear the children practising their Christmas songs and they sound brilliant! You will be in for a real treat with their performances this year. Thank you to everyone who have brought their costumes in. We do have spares in school, if you are unable to bring one in. Please let us know in good time if you need one of these.
Next week is our School Shopping Bazaar day, on Tuesday 10th December. This will be our 15th year of running the Bazaar, and we cannot wait! Each gift will cost £3.50 each and there will be tables set up for males/females/children/babies. Each child can choose up to 6 presents for their family. These will then be wrapped and can be put straight under your tree. Please remember to send in:
Your child's shopping list (these were sent home in their bookbags on yellow paper this week)
The correct money in labelled envelope/purse
A carrier bag with their name on it.
If you would like to come and help with the shopping/wrapping, please put your name down with Claire, our PTA chair. It really is a very special time, and the children love giving their families their surprise gifts on Christmas morning.
Our PTA have been super busy this week organising raffle prizes and our lovely Christmas tree at the front of the school. Thank you so much! We are very very grateful! Our amazing Learning Support Team have been sprinkling their magic everywhere too, and the school looks very Christmassy-thank you to all who trimmed up!
We are saying goodbye on Wednesday to Mrs Labram, as she is starting her maternity leave then. Today Fox class met Miss Felicty Martin, who will be Fox Class's teacher until Mrs Labram returns. We wish Mrs Labram and her husband all the best for this exciting new chapter in their lives. It will be a magical Christmas for them all. We would like to welcome Miss Martin to our Year 2 team, and also welcome Mrs Biscoe as a LSA in our Year R team.
If anyone has any raffle tickets to still sell, please bring the stubs back. Each child was given two books in their book bag. If you aren't selling them, please give the tickets back in, so that we can sell them from the school office.
Rocksteady parents are in for a treat on Monday afternoon, next week, as it is the first Rocksteady Concert of the school year. We look forward to seeing you, and finding out which tunes they are playing this year!
Please note that this year, our Creche can only run during the morning performances in the school hall. There are only 2 tickets per family and all children junior school age and younger, will need to be booked into the creche/ have care organised. Thank you for being so understanding for our children's performance on stage.
Art Club's poppies are displayed outside our staffroom and they look beautiful. All the staff have commented on how individual they are. We are now painting our last picture, which is a snowy Christmas night. Year 2 had their amazing geography outcome and some of their fantastic models are in our photos at the end. We have also had some amazing angels from Year 1 on their display on the ramp area, and some brilliant Gruffalo cave drawing are on the walls outside Year R. What talented children we have!
We look forward to you joining us for our Christmas festivities.
Best wishes
Mrs Riches
Headteacher
