Dear Parents and Carers,
It appears to have been an especially busy week with a Friends of Stower Provost meeting at the start of the week, and a Y6 trip to London, as well as a Y3 & 4 football tournament mid-week. Read on to find out more.
Our School in Focus this week is English.
NOTICES
Sponsored Read
A very well done to the 14 children, from 11 families, who involved themselves in the sponsored reading challenge over half term. We are so proud of you, with 1,531 minutes of reading being logged and an incredible £330 being raised. Just think how much we could have raised if a few more got involved!
Online safety
You may have read or heard on the news, information regarding concerns linked to children’s safety with online games and platforms, with parents advised that children need to be monitored during their recreational use and not have open access to sites. I.e. parental controls need to be in place. Even with these controls, there is still a danger to children, with a variety of sites (including Minecraft, Roblox) being used effectively by groups to access wide audiences linked to extremism.
Please be mindful! Parent guides are attached to this newsletter.
Curriculum in Focus – English
Children usually receive a daily Read Write Inc session per day if they are in Hazel and Chestnut classes. This session focuses on phonics and reading. Having learnt all the possible letter combinations and their corresponding sounds, children move on to the Read Write Inc spelling programme.
Children in Chestnut class and Oak class are generally on the spelling programme. Read Write spelling sessions occur generally on a daily basis.
Writing lessons, including grammar, punctuation and vocabulary occur daily, with a key text forming the basis of written experiences for approximately a three week period.
THIS WEEK
10th March – Friends of Stower Provost meeting – please see below for key notes from the meeting.
12th March – Y3 & 4 Football Tournament
Mrs Sanda very kindly escorted a group of selected children to the Gillingham Family Sports Year 3 & 4 football tournament on Wednesday. She was very pleased with the effort of all the children from Chestnut class. It was a real pleasure for her to see the enthusiasm and their sportsmanship. My thanks to parents who transported and to the children who represented our school so well.
12th March – Year 6 London Trip
Our Year 6 pupils had a great day, albeit long, travelling up to London. The children enjoyed seeing main sites including, Buckingham Palace, Horse Guards Parade, The Thames, Victoria Tower and hearing Big Ben toll 4 o’clock, the London Eye, Downing Street, The Cenotaph and Trafalgar Square with Nelson’s Column.
McDonald’s was of course thoroughly enjoyed, and the piece de resistance was seeing Matilda the Musical – wow what a show!
My extreme thanks to Mrs Clasby and Mr K-P who escorted the children, along with parents for turning out at 1am. It was certainly worth the effort of all, as it was an experience certainly to remember by all!
12th March – Year 3 & 4 Football Tournament
Mrs Sanda kindly took a group of 8 children to Gillingham Secondary School. The children represented the school in the Gillingham Family Sports Football Tournament, playing matches against other schools. The children played remarkably well and most importantly enjoyed themselves!
My thanks to parents who transported and offered support through spectating.
Lego Club
This week’s challenge was to build a wizard. Monday’s winner was Edie with her grey wizard and wand with a blue sparkly tip. Thursday’s winner was Lily-Mae with her blue wizard. (Miss Buxton)
Clubs
Gardening Club
Gardening Club will resume at the start of the summer term. Please let Mrs Pike know if your child is interested in attending. The cost of the club will be £10 per child per 4 week block.
NEXT WEEK and BEYOND
18th – 25th March – Scholastic book fair
FRIENDS OF STOWER PROVOST
Friends of Stower Provost Meeting 10th March 2025
- Finance overview – An electricity bill for £1000 has been paid by the Friends for the pool heating. The pool now has two new air source heat pumps which should be more efficient. A meter has also been fixed into position.
Deposited – £108 sum up, £145 summer payments, raffle, bazaar, £875 cash, £148.90 Asda cash pot. Easy fund raising has generated £235 since Sept – the Friends are keen to encourage all parents and extended family and friends to use the Easy fund raising app when making purchases on line as this is ‘free money’ for the school.
Paid for parent kind £115 – so we have advice, insurance etc. Phillippa to check what else we can make from this.
Action: AB to put Easy Fund Raising details in the newsletters
Coaches – £250 is given to support transport costs for trips for each class. This amount is to be continued, as it supports pupils’ access to cultural capital experiences.
Action: £250 per class each year to continue
- A visual aid to outline finances raised by the Friends and what money is being generated to fund was suggested and agreed as a good idea.
Action: Targeted projects to be outlined, shared with parents and visual fundraising aid created.
- Disco Update – £67 raised however this income did not reflect the amount of children attending the disco, at £2 per child. Sparkle and Shine disco made £116 (pre school were also invited to attend). Discos in future will be ticketed and distributed prior to the event and when money is paid. Support for families is available through a quiet discussion with Mrs B.
By knowing who is attending the discos in advance will also help with fire lists and snack organisation.
Speaker needs to be fixed. Harriet to take to the Marnhull fix it.
Parental support and help at discos is needed, as staff are currently looking after children in the classrooms and disaggregated time needs to be given for this.
Action: Discos to be ticketed events with £2 paid per child upfront. Parents to speak to Mrs B if required.
More parental support and help at the discos is required.
Harriet to take speaker for fixing.
- Easter activities – Easter holiday
Take a photo and send it in.
Winner per year group plus an adult prize. Sam to purchase prizes.
Action: Info to be added to newsletter. SW to purchase prizes.
- Jumble sale – 17th May 9.30 – 11.30
Coffee, cakes, clothes, plants. Donations to be requested prior to half term. Bags for Schools and alternatives to be explored to take clothing not sold.
Action: Poster to be designed. Event to be advertised. Info into newsletter.
- Summer BBQ – 4th July
To run similar to last year. Contributions for raffle prizes welcomed from parents.
Action: To be added to newsletter.
AOB
Date for next meeting to be confirmed
Easy Fundraiser
There is no time like the present to download the Easy Fundraising app on your phone, and raise funds for the school without having to do anything, other than going through the app to make online purchases.
Remember friends, family and businesses can all use our Easy Fundraiser page too. Larger items like insurance and travel can also be purchased through the Easy Fundraiser page.
You can raise even more money by asking others to join the community fundraising effort- use the QR code!
How it works: easyfundraising partners have over 7,000 brands who will donate part of what you spend to a cause of your choice. It won’t cost you any extra. The cost is covered by the brand.
So why not help the school raise money and make your online purchases through the Easy Fundraising app?!
https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/panel/
Save the dates:
| 3rd April | 15.30 – 17.00 | Friends Friendship Disco – bounce and spring!
15.30 – 16.15 Hazel and Beech Class disco 16.15 – 17.00 Chestnuts and Oak Class disco |
| Easter hols | Decorate an egg. £1 an entry. | |
| 17th May | 9.30 – 11.30 | Jumble Sale |
| 4th July | 15.15 – 17.00 | Summer BBQ |
COMMUNITY AND OTHER NEWS
The 6 weeks between 5th March and 17th April marks the season of Lent when Gillingham Foodbank will provide emergency food parcels for local individuals and families facing hardship.
The soaring cost of living is driving record numbers of people on the lowest incomes to the foodbank and the amount of help needed is outstripping the donations they are receiving.
The foodbank is calling on the local community to donate food, if they can, to ensure that they can continue to support everyone who needs help.
Please see the attached poster with a shopping list of the foodbank’s urgent needs and another for anyone who would like to give a donation of money.
Please help if you can, by dropping off any food donations:
Monday and Thursday 10-12am
6 Station Road
Gillingham
SP8 4PY
(With thanks from Helen Weaver, Project Manager at Gillingham Foodbank)
CLASS OVERVIEWS
Oak Class
This week we have been dividing and multiplying by 10,100 and 1000.Some parents may remember the older technique of moving the decimal point to do this, but it is preferred now for the children to move the numbers instead – the decimal point remains steadfast! In writing, we have been using colons, looking at the active voice as well as writing using inner dialogue. Our science lesson involved looking at three objectives: reflections, shadows and measuring light using lux measured by our data loggers. Thanks as ever to our helper Mrs Hillam. Year 5 looked at a time line of World War One. Next week, we are looking forward to our narrative independent write. (Mrs Clasby)
Chestnut Class
This week has been a journey of discovery across various subjects! In French, we learnt how to say “my” in its different forms, depending on the gender and number of the noun. In Science, we explored classifications further, learning about the animal kingdom and the multi-stage classification process. In Maths, we worked on understanding improper fractions and how they relate to whole numbers, or integers, strengthening our skills in this important area. Meanwhile, in Geography, we investigated some of the world’s most significant mountains, researching key information about their locations, heights, and the unique features that make them stand out.
It has been an enriching and engaging week, filled with learning opportunities! (Mrs Sanda)
Beech Class
This week in Beech Class, the children have been looking at conjunctions, past tense and sentence starters to support their writing. In Maths, the children have been looking at times tables and division – specifically the five times tables this week.
During the afternoons, Beech Class have been looking at making promises in RE, as well as who we can ask for help if we needed it and how can we ask. We have also been lucky enough to welcome volunteers from the RNLI in to talk to us about staying safe in the water. (Mrs Whelan)
Hazel Class
This week the children have been investigating fruit and vegetables. They have tried to eat a rainbow (made of fruit), they have cut the fruit to make a rainbow fruit salad, and they have investigated what happens to different types of pasta (gf) when it’s cooked. We also looked at whether we’d like different fruits and vegetables if they changed their colour, for example a blue apple or gold grapes. The children have also acted out the story of Handa’s surprise.
Hazel Class were also visited by the RNLI as part of their holiday water safety program.
We also have three new members of Hazel Class: Pompom, Bea and Micky. Our three bantam chicks hatched out between Monday evening and Tuesday evening and are yellow, yellow and black, and black. (Miss Buxton)
Diary Dates
| 19th March | 13.15 – 16.30 | Year 5 & 6 Football Tournament for selected pupils at Mere Primary School |
| 18th 25th March | All week | Scholastic book fair |
| 21st March | 11 – 12.30 | Gym Competition for selected pupils in KS2 at Gillingham Space Invaders |
| 2nd April | Morning | Tennis Roadshow experience for each class |
| 3rd April | 15.30 – 17.00 | Friends Friendship Disco – bounce and spring!
15.30 – 16.15 Hazel and Beech Class disco 16.15 – 17.00 Chestnuts and Oak Class disco |
| 1st April | 10 – 11:30am | Autism Central Coffee Morning at RiversMeet, Gillingham |
| 4th April | 15.20 | Second half of term ends – no after school club |
Best wishes,
A Boardman-Hirst