As the first half-term draws to a close, I want to take a moment to say how incredibly proud I am of everything we’ve already achieved together. From exciting learning opportunities and creative projects to acts of kindness and teamwork, our pupils have made a fantastic start to the school year.
Next week, we are very much looking forward to welcoming parents and carers into school for our consultation meetings. These are a valuable chance to celebrate progress, share successes and work together to support each child’s journey.
We’ll end the week on a high with our Halloween Disco, which promises to be a spooktacular way to kick off the half-term break. After all the hard work and energy of the past few weeks, we will all be ready to enjoy a well-deserved rest before returning for the countdown to the festive season!
Thank you, as always, for your continued support.
Miss Watson
Pupils across the school wore red today to show their support for the Show Racism the Red Card campaign - a powerful initiative that promotes anti-racism education and awareness. This important event was thoughtfully planned by our Junior School Council, who wanted to encourage meaningful conversations and learning around the topic of racism.
Throughout the day, children took part in class-based activities and discussions, helping them to understand the impact of racism and the importance of standing up for equality and respect. We are incredibly proud of our pupils for their compassion, curiosity, and commitment to making our school a welcoming and inclusive place for everyone.
On Monday, our school was awash with pink as children proudly wore the colour to help raise awareness for breast cancer. It was wonderful to see so many pupils showing their support for such an important cause. Through small acts of kindness and solidarity like this, our children continue to show how thoughtful and compassionate they are.
This term, pupils across the school have explored the stunning painting A Regatta on the Grand Canal by the Italian artist Canaletto, as part of the National Gallery’s Take One Picture initiative. The artwork, which captures the excitement and elegance of a Venetian boat race, has inspired a wide range of creative responses from our children.
Each class approached the painting in their own unique way, creating some high-quality results. We’re especially proud of Nightingale Class, who have submitted their artwork to the National Gallery in the hope that it may be selected for their exhibition next year. What an exciting opportunity!
Well done to all our pupils for their imagination, enthusiasm and thoughtful reflections on this beautiful piece of art.
We’re pleased to announce an improvement to our school dinner ordering system, which will begin after the half-term break. Each morning during registration, pupils will be asked to choose their lunch option for the day - either the main meal, a jacket potato or pasta. This new approach will help ensure that enough of each option is prepared, making lunchtimes more efficient and enjoyable for everyone.
To support this change, we kindly ask parents and carers to discuss the menu choices with their child each morning so they feel confident about what they’d like to order. This will help us make sure every child receives the meal they’re expecting.
The menus for next half-term are included below. We’re excited to share that the pupils themselves chose the theme for these menus - a World Menu, celebrating flavours from around the globe. Just a reminder that the menus run on a three-week cycle, so please refer to the correct week when discussing options with your child.
Thank you for your continued support in helping us improve our lunchtime experience!
We’re thrilled to share that our playground has some exciting new additions! Thanks to the fantastic fundraising efforts at our Summer Fayre, we’ve been able to purchase new play equipment for the children to enjoy during break and lunchtime. The new resources are already proving popular, encouraging active play, teamwork and lots of smiles!
A huge thank you to everyone who supported the Summer Fayre - your generosity has made a real difference to our pupils’ playtime experience.
We’re delighted to introduce the newest recruits. Joining us are dedicated Personal Assistants, enthusiastic Play Leaders, and our wonderful Kindness Crew, who will be supporting pupils and staff across the school in a variety of ways. Their presence is already making a positive impact and we’re excited to see the difference they’ll make in helping our children feel supported, engaged and cared for every day.
We’ve had the pleasure of recognising these outstanding pupils in our recent celebration assemblies, who have truly embodied our school ethos of working hard and being kind. Their dedication to learning and their thoughtful, caring attitudes have made a real difference in our school community.
Whether it was lending a helping hand to a classmate, showing resilience in their studies, or simply spreading positivity through kind words and actions, these pupils have set a shining example for us all.
We are incredibly proud of them: thank you for showing us what it means to live our values every day!
Let’s keep celebrating kindness and hard work across our school.
Siskin and Kingfisher classes reigned supreme last week, both achieving the maximum score of 100%. What an amazing achievement! Well done to all the children (and families!) for making every day count.
This week the winning class is Jay with a score of 99.6%.
Just a reminder: the winning class gets to enjoy a non-uniform day on a date chosen by their teacher, and if a class hits 100% attendance, they also earn an extra playtime as a special reward. Keep up the brilliant effort, everyone!
Our pupils have been working hard to earn recognition points for their houses and the competition is heating up! Just a reminder that every pupil contributes to their house total by earning recognition points for positive behaviour, effort and achievements. However, any negative behaviour points are deducted, so it’s important that everyone continues to make positive choices.
Here are the current house point totals:
Thoresby – 326
Rufford – 322
Sherwood – 310
Clumber – 254
Well done to Thoresby, who are currently in the lead, but with plenty of time left in the term, it’s still all to play for! Keep up the great work, everyone.
On Monday evening, a group of our talented Year 5 and 6 girls took part in a football tournament against Eastlands Junior School and King Edwin Primary School. They played brilliantly throughout, showing fantastic teamwork, determination, and strong defensive skills. Their effort and enthusiasm never wavered, and they represented Birklands with pride both on and off the pitch. We couldn’t be prouder of their performance and sportsmanship - a huge well done and congratulations to the whole team!
This week, EYFS have been learning how to use glue sticks to join materials. We discussed different ways of joining materials, such as using PVA glue and sellotape. Together, we explored what materials glue sticks work best with, how to use them correctly, and the skills we need to use them effectively. The children then applied their scissor and gluing skills to create their own pictures. They were very creative, thinking independently and designing their own ideas.
Monday 20th October at 2:30pm: Years 5 and 6 music showcase for parents
Tuesday 21st/Wednesday 22nd October: Parents’ Evenings
Thursday 23rd October: Halloween Disco
Monday 27th October - Friday 31st October: Half-Term
Tuesday 18th November: Years 5 and 6 at the Odeon Cinema for the Intofilm Festival
Wednesday 26th November (3:15 - 4:30pm) - Christmas Fayre
Monday 8th December: Years 5 and 6 at Newstead Abbey
Monday 8th (10:00am) and Tuesday 9th (1:30pm) December: KS1 Nativity
Monday 8th (2:00pm) and Tuesday 9th (9:45am) December: EYFS Nativity
Wednesday 10th December: Christmas Service at St. Peter and St. Paul's Church
*Further details relating to the events listed will be shared over the coming weeks.
We’re already looking forward to our Christmas dinner on Wednesday 10th December! This special lunchtime is always a highlight of the festive season, with pupils and staff coming together to enjoy a traditional Christmas meal in a joyful atmosphere.
The menu for Christmas Dinner Day is displayed below. We encourage parents and carers to take a look and discuss the options with their child ahead of time, especially as part of our new dinner ordering system starting after half-term.
We’ll also be holding our annual Carol Concert at St. Peter and St. Paul’s Church on Wednesday 10th December. This is always a special event in our school calendar, bringing together families, staff and pupils to celebrate the season. More details will follow soon, including timings and arrangements.
And the festive fun continues: on Thursday 11th December, we’ll be taking part in Christmas Jumper Day. Pupils are invited to wear their favourite Christmas jumper (or something festive!) to school. Normal school uniform should be worn with the jumper.
We’ve already shared our Nativity dates with you - please see the Diary Dates section of this newsletter for a reminder. In addition, individual year groups will be in touch after half-term with details about their class Christmas party dates.
Photo Permissions
As a school, we are proud to celebrate our students’ learning and achievements. From classroom activities and assemblies to sports events and performances, photos and videos help us capture and share these moments with families, our school community, and sometimes the wider public (such as in newsletters, on our website, or in local media). To do this responsibly and in line with data protection and safeguarding guidelines, we must ask for your permission before taking or using any photos or videos of your child. This ensures that we respect your family’s preferences and keep student safety and privacy at the forefront. By providing photo permissions, you help us highlight the wonderful things happening at our school while making sure your child’s rights are fully protected.
If you haven't yet done so, please could you click on the link below and complete the permission form (it only takes a few minutes). This needs to be done for each of your children within school.
Parents' Consultation Meetings
Just a reminder to book your parent-teacher consultation meeting, which are taking place next week (Tuesday 21st and Wednesday 22nd October). These meetings are a valuable opportunity to discuss your child’s progress, celebrate achievements and explore ways we can work together to support their learning journey.
Bonfire Night Menu
A huge congratulations to Carter Rodgers from Puffin Class, who was recently awarded the Best Performance Trophy at Judo. This is a fantastic achievement and a testament to Carter’s hard work, determination and skill. Well done, Carter - we’re all incredibly proud of you!
We were thrilled to hear about the recent adventure of 21 Cubs from the 2nd Warsop Scouts, who enjoyed a fantastic visit to Welbeck Sailing Club. The young explorers had a brilliant time learning about the different parts of a boat and even got the chance to experience sailing firsthand aboard the club’s safety boat.
It was a wonderful opportunity for the Cubs to build confidence, teamwork and a love for outdoor learning. A big thank you to Welbeck Sailing Club for their warm welcome and for inspiring our young sailors!
Birklands Primary School
Train to teach with the Nottinghamshire Torch SCITT