Dear Parents and Caregivers
The year 5 children have been incredibly lucky. They took part in a tree-planting project, led by James from Re-imagining the Levels. James had some spare native trees and hedging, knew our school as his wife used to work here, and thought that we would like them! The whole year 5 team got involved – a wonderful legacy to leave the school. I hope all the year 5 children return to the school in the future to see the outcome of their hard work!
We now have Lime, Oak, Maple and Sweet Chestnuts planted along the edge of the field and additional hedgerows too.
Thank you to James Chapman and his team for thinking of us!
Tracy and Mike
Whilst on the subject of trees, thank you to Laura and Steve Dallimore for the latest addition to our forest! We will find a good home for it in our beautiful grounds. Karen Chard is on the case!
Website posts you may have missed:
The Shark Caller – a book review by Mr Mullen
News items and updates
Attendance at Elmhurst – w/c 15th March 2021
Whole school – 96.0%
Year 3 – 96.9%
Year 4 – 96.2%
Year 5 – 97.6%
Year 6 – 93.5%
Social Media and Gaming
We are seeing an increasing number of issues in school related to social media and gaming.
One game that is causing fallouts and arguments in school is Fortnite. In the UK the Video Standards council rate Fortnite as PEGI 12 for frequent scenes of mild violence. It is not suitable for persons under 12 years of age.
In spite of this a huge number of our children play Fortnite, and although we know that children will play this, please be aware of the scope of interaction that can occur between friends and also people they do not know. A lot of this social interaction can be very positive, especially in the present climate of lockdowns etc, but there can also be a negative side to this as well.
The following articles may be of help:
https://www.net-aware.org.uk/networks/fortnite-battle-royale/
https://www.childnet.com/blog/a-parents-guide-to-fortnite-battle-royale
Year 6 behaviour
The vast majority of children in year 6 know how to behave both in school and out in the local community – this has been clearly evident this week as we have been out and about monitoring playtimes and lunchtimes. They are a real credit to the school.
Unfortunately, however, there are a small number of children who are letting the side down in the local community and outside the school gate.
Whilst we appreciate that many children are finding the return from lockdown challenging, it does not excuse some of the behaviours we are seeing: malicious texting, inappropriate language, online bullying, poor behaviour in the local parks, and, in some cases, a disregard for lockdown restrictions. Unfortunately, this behaviour is now spilling over into school.
As a result, we have been in touch with the local police who will be coming into school on Friday morning to talk to all the year 6 children about the age of criminal responsibility. The teaching staff will be present during the conversation.
Reading at Elmhurst
Well done to Oak and Elm classes in reaching the reading target for last week. This means that all children in the class read to an adult on at least four occasions. Something that we are aiming for all children to do.
Let’s all aim for 100% across all classes. Thank you for your support in this.
Virtual Author Visit: Hannah Gold
This Friday, our children will have the opportunity to meet debut author Hannah Gold in an online event with the ReadingZone Bookclub. Hannah will talk about creative writing, climate change and researching her new book, The Last Bear.
Children are able to order a discounted copy of The Last Bear, with a signed bookplate. This is an important book, talking about issues that are affecting our planet right now and beautifully illustrated throughout. The book is currently only available in hardback, which explains the higher cost than usual. We hope that the children enjoy this wonderful opportunity to engage with a real-life author and look forward to a time when we can get authors back in school in person, not just on a screen!
Bikeability
In an effort to return to some semblance of normaility in the summer term, we have booked two provisional Bikeability sessions for Year 6 children.
Group 1: Tuesday 4th/Wednesday 5th May
Group 2: Monday 17th/Tuesday 18th May
We have 12 places on each course.
If you would like your child to take part, please contact the school office before the end of day on March 31st. Places will be offered on a first-come first-served basis.
FSM vouchers and the Easter break
We will be providing individual FSM children and PP children, who are not entitled to FSM, a voucher for the Easter break. The voucher will be for Aldi, as previously, and can be used for food, uniform or school equipment.
The vouchers will be via Wonde as before. They will be sent to you directly from Wande via email to the email address we have on record for you.
Cricket activities
Website gallery
You can have a look at the gallery here: Elmhurst Lockdown Gallery 2021
