In the face of rising costs, we are having to raise the cost of a school meal from September to £2.50.  This is the first increase for many years, and will ensure that we can still provide good quality meals made with fresh produce.

We are looking forwards to welcoming parents, family and friends to watch the first performance of ‘Shakespeare Rocks’ by our KS2 children!  The doors will open at 1:40pm and we kindly ask that parents remain seated for the duration of the performance and also use all available chairs (please don’t leave empty chairs within a row).

We hope you enjoy the show!

Please note that there is a change of menu on the last day of term – as a special treat it will be hotdogs, chips and baked beans or peas, with jelly and ice cream!

Please can all children ensure they have had sun screen applied before coming to school, and also ensure they bring a sun hat and full water bottle to school.

Good Morning!  We have carried out a risk assessment and Sports Day is going ahead – we are just hoping the weather forecast is right and we manage to avoid any heavy rain showers this morning!

The gates will open for parents at 9.45am and races start at 10am.

We are hoping the picnic lunch will still be able to go ahead, but be prepared that this may have to be cancelled if the weather changes.

Please check your emails and child’s bag, as letters informing you of the procedures for our upcoming Parent Feedback Appointments are being sent out today.

The appointments are on Thursday 7th July:

2 – 5pm for year 1 Fireflies (Reception Parents receive a written report instead to summarise end of the Early Years Curriculum attainment).

1 – 7pm for all other classes.

Please note, that due to the Scorpions Residential there will be no Well Done Assembly this Friday – 24th June.

Due to a clash with secondary school Year 7 transition days, that we have only just been informed of, we are having to rearrange our Sports Day to Wednesday 29th June, 10am to Noon.

We do apologise for any inconvenience, but it is important that our year 6 pupils get the opportunity to participate in their last Sports Day – especially following the disruption of the past two years.

We will be asking secondary schools to keep us more informed of these events in the future, so that we can plan our summer events without clashing.

Can we please remind parents that sweets, chocolates and nuts are not acceptable as snacks or in packed lunches.  It is really important that we encourage healthy eating, which we do as part of our science and RSHE curriculum – and there is also a safety aspect, particularly with lollipops (choking hazard) and nuts (we have a pupil with severe nut allergy and are therefore a ‘NUT FREE’ school.

We would really appreciate your support with this…thank you.

We are looking forwards to celebrating the Platinum Jubilee tomorrow afternoon!

Don’t forget to bring your picnic blankets or chairs, and that children can wear red/white/blue clothing tomorrow instead of school uniform.

It is a very informal afternoon – simply a chance for the school community to get together, share a coffee, cake and chat.  Children will initially sit in their classes, but are welcome to join families when you arrive.  We will be playing the National Anthem at about 2.15pm, which will be the signal for children to go and play on the coned off area of the field if they wish to do so.

At 3pm, children will return to the classrooms for a normal end of day procedure.  IMPORTANT: Please let us know if you are planning on collecting your child if they are usually on the bus.

We have had an amazing response from families wishing to join us for afternoon tea on Thursday to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee!

Due to the numbers we are going to hold the event as a giant picnic…so please bring along your picnic chairs or blankets, and we will provide refreshments. This is a perfect opportunity for us all to get together informally and enjoy celebrating such a special occasion.

The tea party will be held on the junior playground and field from 2-3pm. Children will initially sit with their class but are welcome to join families when you arrive. This will be a lovely opportunity for everyone to socialise for the first time in over 2 years!

At 3pm, children will go back to their classrooms for a normal end of day collection. If your child usually goes home on the bus and you are joining us for the afternoon and would like to collect your child at 3.15 rather than they return home on the bus, please do let us know in advance!

Can we please remind parents of the importance of being considerate when parking to drop-off or collect children.  Please do not park on the narrow road behind the Station Rd houses, and please don’t park on the grassy area at the end of this row.

Please note that we have had to rearrange our planned Sports morning – it is now on Tuesday 28th June – not 5th July.

Can we kindly request that parents in the village spread the word that school kindly requests that all dogs are kept off the school grounds at all times – as we have had some recent instances of dog foulling.  This is totally unacceptable, and is also a health issue, and is unfair on the children, who love playing on the school fields.

We are looking forward to our afternoon tea party on Thursday 26^th May at 2pm, to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Year.  In order to plan for this we do need to know numbers in advance.  Therefore, if you and your family are planning on joining us can you please complete the attached reply slip and return to the School Office by Friday 20^th May at the latest please.

Letter to Confirm Attendance at Tea Party

Good Morning Brown Clee!  Welcome back to the school at the beginning of the summer term and we hope that everyone had a restful and relaxing Easter holiday.  We were so lucky with the weather!

I always enjoy this time of year – when we are truly immersed in the midst of Spring – the days are longer, lighter and hopefully warmer, the colours of nature and the countryside are vibrant and rich and there is a sense of optimism and hope, that seems to lift everyone’s spirits.  This is also reflected in school as we start the last term of the academic year; we continue to teach and learn together, well and truly settled into established routines , all knowing what is expected of us, with each class working together as strong units within the Brown Clee team.

So today I would like to focus on the importance of being a team – on why working, playing and learning together in a harmonious, happy and supporting environment is so important for everyone – and that includes adults as well as children!

A successful team is one where different people work together and aim to help one another.  It is where EVERYONE supports and encourages each other to be the best they can be, so that the team can operate successfully.

I am going to share 2 video stories of the same story – the story from the Bible of Jesus and his first disciples – have a watch and think what this story teaches us about the importance of working together as a team….

So now you know the story of Jesus and his first disciples, a story which teaches us about the importance of helping each other, supporting each other, and working together, …have a watch now of the story from a different perspective…

Can you identify the different ways that ‘help’ was given in the story……

– Peter allowing Jesus to use his boat
– Jesus encouraging and helping the fishermen to land a large catch
– James and John responding to Peter’s request for help by helping to pull in the net of fish and helping one another safely back to shore
– Jesus asking the fishermen to help and follow him
– The fishermen agreeing to join his team

Have a think now about why asking for help and being ready to help others might be important in school today.  Can you share any examples?

Let’s take a moment now to reflect ….have a think about a time when you helped someone else; how did it make you feel?  What did it achieve?  Can you think of a time when someone helped you?  How did that make you feel?  Let us appreciate that working and learning together only works successfully if everyone helps and supports each other – if we are friendly and kind, respectful and forgiving…

Prayer of the Day

Dear God,
Thank you for all the people who help us in our lives.
Thank you for the people who have already helped us today.
Please help us to help one another.
Please help us to remember that it is good to work together in a team.
Amen.

It has been brought to our attention that there is a new online horror game which some children are talking about in school.  It is called Poppy’s playtime and is based on a toy which chases you around a toy factory.  There is not an official rating for the game; however, it is causing some of our older children to have nightmares.

The toy in this game is called Huggy Wuggy and he looks like this:

Online safety experts have been alerted to a video game, being described by some users as an “introduction to horror.” Videos, versions of the game, and associated material are becoming increasingly popular on YouTube, Roblox, and other platforms used by young children.

Poppy Playtime features frightening images and themes that are paired with child-friendly items. This may be especially upsetting to children who have not yet developed the resilience to deal with disturbing content.

• Added anxiety and stress – Children and young people are still growing and learning. They may not be at a level of emotional maturity that would be able to process frightening content, even if it is intentional. Horror games could hamper that growth by creating unnecessary anxiety and stress.
• Intrusive thoughts – Everyone has the ‘thing that goes bump in the night.’ If children play this game or watch it, the Boogeyman could easily be replaced with characters like Huggy Wuggy. This could cause children to lose focus or sleep and could interrupt family rest cycles.
• New fears – The manipulation of child-friendly items into threatening characters exploits the sense of security a child would feel around these things. They may suddenly be terrified of something that had never been a worry before.

To help parents and carers better understand these issues, you can find out more information here:-

Poppy Playtime: Online Safety Review