Newsletter 13th January 2023

Posted: Fri 13th Jan 2023

Dear Parents and Carers,

Thank you to Mount Fuji class for a wonderful assembly this morning - it was brilliant for us all to find out about the amazing work they have been doing in class and the yoga and dancing was fabulous!. Well done to 5F and Miss Farrell and ‘thank you’ to parents and carers for coming.

I would like to pass on my thanks to Mrs Smith, Mr Crosbie, Mr Swain and Mr Pitcher who very kindly helped move a huge amount of tyres with Mr Walpole last Friday afternoon. This was a very mucky job and your help was hugely appreciated by us all at BHPS.

Thank you to parents and carers for responding to both our consultations for school uniform and the timings of the school day - your feedback is very important to us. I am due to meet with governors on 19th January regarding both of these agenda items. I will communicate with you on both our final timings and also our confirmed school uniform policy in the coming weeks.

Our sincere apologies for having to move Careers and Aspirations day. We are now aiming to deliver this in March and are in the throes of planning an exciting day that will encompass both careers and aspirations as well as equality and diversity. The day will focus on breaking down stereotypes to ensure that children are aware that a world of opportunities is open to them all. Both Miss O’Mahony and Mrs Helps will be taking the lead on this and will be writing to parents/carers and local businesses soon.

It was great to hold our first Parent Forum and Class Representative meeting on Wednesday morning. Thank you to parents and carers for providing feedback to their class representatives - this really does help us to gain perspectives from across the entire school. We would encourage all parents and carers to sign up to the class WhatsApp group if you have not already done so. We are still looking for a parent representative for Colosseum and Sydney Opera House class. If you would like to find out more about this voluntary role, please contact Mrs Helps at s.helps@bigginhillps.com for an informal chat.

The Friends of BHPS also held their first meeting of the year on Thursday afternoon and I am delighted to advise they are planning some fantastic events for the school. An email was sent to you on Monday advising of their first event ‘Bingo and Bubbles’ for this year. This event promises to be a fun night of bingo, bubbles and dancing through the decades! More information on how to purchase tickets will be sent early next week.

On Tuesday, we forwarded our year 6 parents and carers a letter from Charles Darwin School regarding masterclasses. In the past, these masterclasses have been very well attended and thoroughly enjoyed by our year 6 children. For year 6 children who will be transitioning to Charles Darwin School in September 23, these are an excellent opportunity to visit the school, meet some of the teaching staff and find out more about life at secondary school. We are aware that places are on a first come first served basis and must be booked by 16th January. If you would like a place at any of these masterclasses, please follow the booking instructions to book your place as soon as possible. Please note, this is for Year 6 only.

I would also like to issue a final reminder that the national closing date for applications for children due to start school in September 2023 is 15 January 2023.

We are very excited to be taking our KS2 Choir to Young Voices on Tuseday next week. The choir have been rehearsing exceptionally hard and attending the Young Voices concert at the O2 is very exciting and a very special event for the children. If there any final queries or questions, please speak to us on Monday morning.

I am also delighted to formally announce that we have recently been awarded our STARS (Sustainable Travel: Active, Responsible, Safe) Gold level accreditation from Transport for London. This level of accreditation is an important award for the school and shows our commitment as a community to sustainable travel. I would like to thank Miss Wigfield and Mrs Helps for their hard work in gaining this award for the school.

Finally, can we just remind parents and carers that children who come to school on scooters must dismount at the main entrance to the pathway into school please - this is the white line at the main entrance.

Have a wonderful weekend.

My very best wishes,

Mrs Freeman
Headteacher and Designated Safeguarding Lead