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Important Note:
This is a text and image only webpage that can be used to easily translate important updates for those whose first language is not English.
Weekly Newsletter - 30th January 2026
“Excellent attendance is vital for children to flourish and achieve”
Something Mrs Wainwright has enjoyed this week was seeing how well the children behaved in worship. The children are always keen to contribute in our weekly worship. We invite children to join in our prayer and always have time for quiet reflection and they are always respectful and thoughtful.
Worship – Our current theme is perseverance and this week we talked about people who have to leave their home and travel a long way to safety, starting with Mary and Joseph who fled to Egypt with Jesus. We reflected on how we can help new children to our school and make them feel welcome after they have persevered and kept going when life was difficult.
We also reflected on our Big Question, ‘Why is life like a race?’ we discussed how we all have times in our life when things are difficult, sometimes these things can be small, like finding a maths lesson hard sometimes much bigger like losing your home.
We have also discussed our attribute, ‘resilience’. We need to be resilient when we find things difficult.
The St Bart’s way – The children leading in and out of worship this week really showed the St Bart’s way and how we walk in school with our classes, well done and keep it up.
REMINDERS:
- Punctuality – children need to be in school on time, we are having increasing numbers of children coming through the office after 8.50am and this is affecting the work of the office and other staff who have to manage this. Occasional lateness cannot always be helped and we understand this but regular lateness is not acceptable. Remember if your child is late an adult must come to the office with them.
- Bedding – we still have some single bedding available, please see Miss Lawson. When it’s gone it’s gone!
- Free School Meals – all children in Reception, Year 1 & 2 are entitled to a free school meal, if your child has a pack lunch why not let them try school dinners for a week to see if they like it. Ask Mrs Busby if you would like to arrange this.
If you think you may be entitled to benefit related school meals, whatever year your child is in please see Mrs Busby, not only does this help you but helps the school access all the funding available to support our children’s education.
NSPCC Workshops – Following on from last week’s assembly Years 2, 5 & 6 will be taking part in NSPCC workshops next week.
Food You Love Theme Menu - We will be serving a theme menu on Friday 13th February, if your child normally has a packed lunch and would like a dinner on this day please pay by ParentPay, payment must be made by Friday 6th February, and inform us of any allergies. The cost is £2.90. You can see the Menu on our website and in the notice boards.
Attendance
We expect all children to be in school every day and on time. 8.30am for nursery, 12.30pm in the afternoon and by 8.50am for the rest of school. Thank you
Last week’s attendance (19th January – 23rd January)
- Nursery: 91.7%
- Reception: 95%
- Years 1 to 6: 96.2%
Attendance Winners for last week:
- KS1 – Class 3 – 96.7%
- Years 3 & 4 – Class11 – 99.2%
- Years 5 & 6 – Class 14 – 97.7%
Well done to the best classes:
- KS1 – Class 5
- Years 3 & 4 – Class 8
- Years 5 & 6 – Class 12
Headteachers Awards – Well done to the children who have had a great week in school.
- Class 1 Eesa
- Class 1 Fabiha
- Class 1 Ivy
- Class 2 Haris
- Class 2 Alina
- Class 2 Firas
- Class 3 Zahra
- Class 3 Talia
- Class 3 Sienna
- Class 4 Eshaal
- Class 4 Zayaan Q
- Class 4 Ibby
- Class 5 Vivien
- Class 5 Aliyan
- Class 5 Daniel
- Class 6 Aida
- Class 6 Bavan
- Class 6 Louie
Weekly Round Up
Nursery – We continue to learn about winter and winter animals. This week our focus story has been 'Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Can You Hear?'. We looked at various animals and listened to sounds they make. During creative activities we painted polar bears and other characters from the story, and we made houses for the animals using junk modelling. In Maths we looked at positional language and practised the vocabulary by placing penguins in, on, under, and behind various objects. We had write dance sessions where we used scarves and danced to music.
Reception – This week in Reception we have been listening to the story ‘Emma Janes Aeroplane’ and learning about the different places she visits on her journey. We have used puppet props and story maps to retell the story and have enjoyed looking at photographs of Big Ben, The Statue of Liberty and the Eiffel Tower. In Maths we have been comparing amounts using vocab more and fewer. We have used practical resources to show more and fewer and have been counting carefully to find out how many more.
Years 1 & 2 – This week Years 1 and 2 have completed some excellent work in their art lessons.
The children in Year 1 have been experimenting with sculpture in the style of Francois Pompon. In their oracy lesson they have looked at the different animals he has sculpted and said which is their favourite and why. Children used clay to sculpt an Antarctic seal. In Year 2 the children have been experimenting with collage in the style of the artist Jesse Treece. They have studied how he created backgrounds and foregrounds and layered different materials to create effects. Children have looked at different materials to create an image of fire as part of their work on the Great Fire of London.
Years 3 & 4 –This week, Year 3 have enjoyed reading Chapter 4 of the Iron Man, where we met the mysterious space creature who came to battle him! In Maths, we have been practising our method for division, using base ten and counters to help us understand when we need to exchange. In computing, we enjoyed recording our presentations using a green screen - we look forward to bringing these to life in the coming weeks. In French, we enjoyed talking about foods we liked and disliked.
This week in Year 4, we enjoyed writing the end of our own adventure story. In Maths, we have been looking at measurements and have been converting between cm and m. In RE, we looked at qualities religious leaders must have and in History we looked at artifacts found from the Stone Age era. In Art, we enjoyed sewing the outline on our final pieces of work.
Years 5 & 6 – Lessons - In History, Click on the following links below to catch-up on the latest news in Years 5 & 6:
https://www.st-bartholomews.leeds.sch.uk/blog/category/year-5
https://www.st-bartholomews.leeds.sch.uk/blog/category/year-6
The Deep - Thank you to all the families who have made a voluntary contribution, including contributions since the last newsletter – your support is greatly appreciated.
Homework - Homework is given on Mondays and must be completed by the following Monday. Each week, children will be expected to complete homework on Emile (with tasks set in Grammar, Punctuation and Maths) and Oxford Owl (tasks set in Spelling). Spelling Homework will be set from Monday. Children will also be encouraged to use Reading Plus at home to support their reading development. Children who complete all their homework will be rewarded with a longer lunchtime on Friday.
Spring Homework Challenges have also been handed out to all children. These activities are all linked to our topics in the Spring Term. It would be lovely to see children completing some of these at home, either independently, or with some support. Be creative! We look forward to seeing completed challenges!
Click on the link below to view the Spring Challenges!
https://www.st-bartholomews.leeds.sch.uk/parents/homework
Year 6 SATs Week - Year 6 SATs week will begin on Monday 11th May 2025. It is vital that all children in Year 6 attend school that week. The test timetable will be as follows:
- Monday 11th May: Grammar, punctuation & spelling
- Tuesday 12th May: Reading
- Wednesday 13th May: Arithmetic & Reasoning
- Thursday 14th May: Reasoning
School Dates 2025 -2026:
- Tuesday 3rd February 2026 Year 2 -Classes 5 and 6 Great Fire of London Workshops
- Friday 13th February 2026 School Closes at 3.30pm
- Monday 23rd February 2026 School Opens at 8.30am
- Friday 20th March 2026 Training Day – No Children in School
- Wednesday 1st April 2026 Year 1 Farm Visits
- Thursday 2nd April 2026 Year 1 Farm Visits
- Thursday 2nd April 2026 School Closes at 3.30pm
- Monday 20th April 2026 School Opens at 8.30am
- Monday 4th May 2026 School Closed May Bank Holiday
- Monday 11th May 2026 Year 6 SATs Grammar, Punctuation & Spelling
- Tuesday 12th May 2026 Year 6 SATs Reading
- Wednesday 13th May 2026 Year 6 SATs Arithmetic & Reasoning
- Thursday 14th May 2026 Year 6 SATs Reasoning
- Friday 22nd May 2026 School Closes at 3.30pm
- Monday 1st June 2026 School Opens at 8.30am
- Friday 12th June 2026 Training Day – No Children in School
- Monday 15th June 2026 Seaside Visit - Class 5
- Thursday 18th June 2026 Seaside Visit - Class 6
- Friday 17th July 2026 School Closes at 3.30pm
Below are the Leeds school dates for next year.
Please check them carefully and ensure any holidays and longer visits to family are not in school time.
Leeds school calendar (term dates) 2026 – 2027