Latest News
Keep up to date with all the news happening in school
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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
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Weekly Update Friday 29th November
Fri 29 Nov 2024We have had a super week of learning in school this week. Year R have been using their phonic sounds to start writing independently in lessons and through play. They have also enjoyed roleplaying in their new Hot Chocolate Stall outside. Year 1 had a magical time, full of awe and wonder thinking about angels, and exploring people's beliefs about angels in order to make their own opinions. Year 2 have been busy comparing and contrasting the United Kingdom to a country in a different hemisphere, using a bubble diagram to record their thinking. It has been lovely to walk around the school and see the children enjoying their learning.
We know Christmas is a difficult time for many parents, and there are ways our school can help. We can make referrals to the foodbank, and also make referrals to some community funding. Please come and see us or email the office if you would like us to do this for you. We would like to help in any way we can.
Our Special mentions book in our lobby has only had 10 entries since the start of term. We also have our achievements book where certificates and medal pictures can be put. Please send in any special mentions that you would like to be read out in our Friday celebration assembly by the Thursday of that week. The children beam when their names are read out!
Tommy in Year 2 won the reading raffle book this week. There weren't many entries from the classes this week. Remember all children can enter the raffle-they have to have read on three occasions (different days) for their name to be put into the draw. Reading is the key to unlocking all learning and is a crucial life skill. Please support us by practising regularly with your children-it really will make a difference!
Our monthly newsletter is coming out on Monday. Please look on there for all our Christmas dates and events. We have had one date change from September, which affected the Grandparents' service and Year 1&2 performance, so please check days and times.
Our Christmas decorations will also be going up on 1st December. If sending Christmas cards, the school postbox will be at the front of the school. Please put child's nae and class on the front, of the children you would like to send them through, before posting.
Wishing everyone a lovely weekend.
Mrs Riches
Headteacher
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Weekly Update Friday 22nd November
Fri 22 Nov 2024What a fantastic disco, Year 1 and 2 had tonight, run by the PTA and our teachers. Crazy M was as fabulous and crazy as always, and the children had a great time dancing, playing games, limbo dancing and snacking! It all ended with some snow which covered them all!. Thank you to everyone who helped to make it so special for our children.
Bishops Waltham had its own snow flurry this week that lasted for a whole morning! The children were very excited to see it, and for many of them it was the first time they had seen real snow. It was like being in a real snow-globe at one point. We even managed to make some small snow angels, and some very small snowmen.
The children have all been excited to have their parts ready for the school nativities. We will be organising tickets next week and 2 tickets will be given per family in KS1 and 2 tickets per family in Year R. Due to staffing we may need to change the time of the Monday performance and the Grandparents' service. Once this is confirmed next week, we will let you know the new times.
Our Christmas Raffle tickets have gone out this week. The PTA have been really really busy rounding up presents and experiences. This is one of our biggest fundraisers, and we would love to raise as much as we can so that we can order the new furniture and equipment for our corridor areas. The prizes are on the PTA page and will be updated as more come in. If you would like to sell more tickets, then please come to the school office to collect more. There will be a prize for the child who sells the most tickets. The PTA have asked if you have a business, that can offer a prize, or would like to donate a prize (such as wine etc), please can you bring them in. All donations will be gratefully received.
As Storm Bert is about to hit the south east this weekend, please take care when out and about. We will make a grounds check before we open on Monday, to check for broken tree limbs etc.
Take care everyone, and wrap up warm.
Mrs Riches
Headteacher
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Weekly Update Friday 16th November
Thu 14 Nov 2024Thank you to everybody who contributed to our 'Come As You Are Day' today. We raised £377.89 for Children in Need and the children had a fun end to an action packed week. I want to give a special shout out to Mrs Ely and her fantastic dinosaur outfit! She looked amazing! (Luckily I could ride away on Trigger!) All the children had great fun dressing as they wanted to, and we had a lovely day full of laughter.
Yesterday we had our termly special curriculum day, and this time it was maths' turn to be centre stage. Mrs Moth, our Key Stage 1 Maths leader kicked off our record breaking day with some amazing facts and figures-who holds the record for growing the longest hair? How tall was the tallest human? The children then had a fantastic time trying to be a record breaker of BWIS. There were gasps of amazement when Mrs Pennock and Miss Turner stood on one leg for over 8 minutes. Year 2 made the most amazing wingspan of over 3 metres! Aeroplanes were whizzing past, trying to see which plane will go the furthest! The class teachers will write a bit more to let you know who our record breakers are, and I am excited to tell you WE LOVE MATHS AT BWIS! Thank you to Mrs Moth for leading maths so brilliantly in our school!
We had a PTA meeting this week, and discussed all our events that we have lined up. There is so much behind the scenes work that happens in the PTA, and they are doing a fantastic job. They have asked again if someone could step forward as a class rep. The role of the rep is to let everyone know about events and remind everyone about events via the class chat groups. If you think you could do this role, then please give our PTA a call, or drop them an email. REMEMBER we have a GIANT sweet sale after school today. Our PTA accept cash and card as payment.
Our children were brilliant in our Remembrance Assembly on Monday, and when we observed the 2 minute silence at 11am. We have put the resources used under learning links on our children's pages if you would like to look at them again.
We also held a fire practice this week. The first of the academic year and also the first time for Year R and many of the staff. I am really pleased to report that all children were lined up on the playground in 2 minutes, and all registers were called in 3 and a half minutes. Well done to all the children and the staff. We also had a health and safety walkaround, where we looked at all aspects of health and safety in the school. We have noticed two young cats coming onto the school site more frequently. Usually, the children are very good at leaving them alone, and not touching them whilst the staff shoo them away. Please can this message of leaving the cats alone be reiterated at home, as cats can become aggressive if they are prodded and touched.
Next week, BW Junior school is having an open event for Year 2 children, moving to Year 3 in 2025. Please go along to find out all about the juniors, and remember to put your applications in! Parents can choose to attend either:
- Monday, 18th November, from 9:15–10:30 am, or
- Wednesday, 20th November, from 1:15–2:45 pm.
There’s no need to book; you can simply arrive at the school office to sign in and then head into the hall. The Year 6 Team Captains are eager to lead groups of parents on a tour of the school, answer questions, and showcase learning in action. The Headteacher and Deputy Headteacher will also be available to speak with parents.
With the weather turning colder, I am pleased to see most children remembering to bring their coats to school. Next Thursday, the country is forecast a 'snow bomb'. I think it will most likely miss us, looking at the forecast, but will let you know if anything changes!
Wishing everyone a lovely weekend.
Best wishes
Mrs Riches
Headteacher
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Children in Need fundraising - 15th Nov
Thu 14 Nov 2024To fundraise for children in need we are having a non school uniform day on Friday 15th November. Donations can be made on the day in cash or via just giving:
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Book Fair
Wed 13 Nov 2024Thank you to everyone who came to our Book Fair - we have been able to get some lovely new books for the library.
