Important Updates | St. Bartholomew’s C of E Primary School

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 - 26th June 2026

“Excellent attendance is vital for children to flourish and achieve”

Our Vision relates to the parable of ‘The Lost Sheep’ and we do not want any child to be left behind. To flourish and achieve their potential children need to be in school.

Worship – Our current theme is truthfulness and this week we reflected on how hard it can be at times to tell the truth and how we have to make choices about whether to tell the truth or not.

We also reflected on our Big Question, ‘Should you always tell the truth?’ we thought about times when you might not and why.

Goodbye Mr Emmerson – Sadly we will be saying good bye to Mr Emmerson in July. He has been a fantastic part of our family for many years. We wish him all the luck in the world for his next adventure.

REMINDERS:

Transition – The children will be spending the morning of Thursday 9th July in their new classes. It is vital they are on time this day (and every other!)
Crocs – We know how popular crocs are but unfortunately we cannot allow children to wear them in school. We have had accidents when children have worn these and for health and safety reasons we do not allow children to wear them.
Birthdays – Birthdays are special days for children (although us adults may wish to forget them!) and we hope they have a fantastic day and always wish them a happy birthday. We do ask that children do not bring in treats or gifts for their class. This is not because we do not understand how important birthdays are to children, we do but for a variety of reasons. We have an increasing amount of children with allergies (some very serious) and this includes certain fruit. We also have had party bags in the past with items some children are not allowed and this has caused some issues and we do not have time to check party bags etc. We also appreciate that some parents may not be able to send in treats and this can upset the children who feel they should have brought something because someone else in their class did. I hope you appreciate that we are trying to do our best for all our children and not ruin someone’s birthday.
Uniform/Children’s Clothing – We will be having a uniform/clothes give away on Wednesday 8th July. We would welcome any donations of uniform or children’s clothing. Thank you.

HEATWAVE – This week has been unusual but will probably become more common. We are advised by the DFE and Leeds to stay open as children need to be in school to learn.

However, we are very aware of how the hot weather makes life more difficult. We are lucky that we have air conditioning in all upstairs classrooms and some downstairs rooms. We also have put many different measures in place and believe we can keep the children in school safely. We must find ways to manage and prepare for future occasions when we experience extreme weather. Whilst open we expect all children to attend.

WATER SAFETY – In Leeds we have several areas with water, the canal, river and reservoirs. It is vital children do not visit these places without adults or go in the water. You will be aware of the many accidents and unfortunate deaths in England around water especially when the weather is hot. Children and young adults do not always see or consider the dangers when they are hot and having fun with their friends. Please talk to your children about this especially if they are older and go out by themselves.

Milk - We will be providing children in Years 1-6 with the opportunity to have milk in school for the Autumn term. Nursery and Reception children already receive it free of charge. For children entitled to benefit related free school meals this will be free but you must still complete a form for the Autumn term requesting this for your child, for all others it must be ordered and paid for in advance for the term. The cost for the Autumn term will be £22.50. Forms can be collected from the office from Monday 29th June. All forms must be completed and returned to the office by Monday 13th July. Payments can be made by ParentPay once you have filled in the form. We cannot accept late payments, as we need to order the milk in advance. Once this has been paid, we cannot provide refunds.

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 (15th June – 19th June)

Nursery: 94%
Reception: 97.7%
Years 1 to 6: 95.5%

Attendance Winners for last week:

KS1 – Class 1 – 97.9%
Years 3 & 4 – Class 10 – 99.2%
Years 5 & 6 – Class 16 – 95.5%

Well done to the best classes:

EYFS & Years 1 & 2 – Class 5
Years 3 & 4 – Class 8
Years 5 & 6 – Class 15

Headteachers Awards – Well done to the children who have had a great week in school.

Class 7 Naomi
Class 7 Tami
Class 7 Aiza
Class 8 Lilas
Class 8 Isaac
Class 8 Wareesha
Class 9 Rayaan
Class 9 Loly
Class 9 Yusaf
Class 10 Saiar
Class 10 Zamin
Class 10 Denis
Class 11 Arman
Class 11 Chimamanda
Class 11 William

Weekly Round Up
Nursery – This week we have been talking about 'Super Me and Why I Am Brilliant'. The children looked in the mirrors and described what they could see. They also shared with us what real-life superheroes they would like to be when they grow up. In Maths we looked at patterns, read them, completed them, and made our own patterns using compare bears and colourful balls. We had a hot week so we made sure we were well hydrated and had less play outdoors. But to keep cool we had some ice pops, watermelon, plenty of water to drink and to play with. We also had our feet dipped in water. The children really enjoyed the splash.

Reception - This week in Reception we have been really interested to learn and talk about how things have changed in the past. We read a lovely story about a tree that lived on the same street for 100 years. The illustrations showed how clothes and transport has changed and the children spent lots of time talking about how Televisions and photographs used to be black and white! They were really shocked to hear that when Mrs Ingleson first got a phone as a teenager it could only be used to call and send messages and it didn't have internet! We started thinking about how things might change in the future and what technology we might have when the children in Reception are adults. The caterpillars are continuing to grow and we are waiting patiently for them to start their transformation into butterflies. As it has been really hot this week we have been keeping cool by creating our own spas. We have enjoyed putting our feet in the water and relaxing with cold flannels. In Maths we have been consolidating our knowledge of number bonds.

Years 1 & 2 –Children in Year 1 have been exploring different types of plants in Science this week. They have used their oracy skills to recap what evergreen and deciduous trees are and have talked about how we can tell the difference between their leaves. The children enjoyed going outside and collecting different leaves. They used talk tokens to take it in turns to pick a leaf and tell the children in their group if it is deciduous/evergreen and why e.g. ‘I know this is a deciduous leaf because it is thin and bumpy.’.
In Year 2 the children have been reading the book 'The Secret of Black Rock'. They have been using the descriptive language in the story to write their own expanded phrases and similes to describe the setting of the story. Children also use the conjunction 'but' to join sentences that show contrast.

Years 3 & 4 –Year 3 enjoyed their trip to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, where we looked at the pieces of art and class 8 enjoyed making their own 3D sculptures. In Geography we have been working on our mapping skills and in Science, we have been investigating how the length of our legs changes our athletic abilities. In DT, we have enjoyed practising our sewing skills.
Year 4 have enjoyed creating a population chart of Central America. In PSHE, we have been looking at water safety and what to do to keep ourselves safe. In rounder’s, we have been playing games of rounder’s, using our skills we have developed over the last few weeks. You should also have received your child's times table scores. The children have tried hard to work on their recall of times tables. TTRS is the best app to use to continue to improve this.

Years 5 & 6 – Lessons: 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

Lineham Farm – Important Information for Monday and Wednesday Groups:

Lineham Farm week is next week and we are very excited! For children attending either Monday or Wednesday:

On arrival, children should drop their luggage at the minibus, where members of staff will be waiting.
All luggage will be loaded onto one minibus.
Once luggage is dropped off, children should walk around to their usual school entrance.
School uniform is not required – children should come dressed in the clothes they will be wearing for their first day of activities.

Thank you for your support – we’re looking forward to a fantastic experience for all the children!

Dates for Year 6 Families:

End of an Era Year 6 Musical - Year 6 will be performing their End of an Era musical on Tuesday 14th July: Daytime at 1:30pm & Evening performance at 6:00pm. A separate letter will be sent out closer to the event on how to book a place at either the daytime or evening performance.
Leavers’ Service at church - We will be holding our Year 6 Leavers’ Service at church on Wednesday 15th July at 10:00am. All parents and families of Year 6 children are warmly invited to attend.
Year 6 Leavers’ Disco Celebration - Thursday 16th July 5:00pm – 7:00pm Further details will follow closer to the event.
Guard of Honour - To mark their final day, Year 6 will finish at 3:30pm on Friday 17th July. They will be the last children to leave the school, giving families and the wider school community the opportunity to gather and say a final goodbye.
Transition to Secondary School - Transition visits to secondary schools have now begun, and we wish all children visiting their new schools the very best.

We hope they enjoy the opportunity to meet new teachers, make new friends and begin to familiarise themselves with their new surroundings as they take this exciting next step.

School Dates 2025 -2026:

Monday 29th June – Wednesday 1st July Lineham Farm Class 13 & some Year 5 children from Class 14

Wednesday 1st July – Friday 3rd July Lineham Farm Class 12 & some Year 5 children from Class 14

Friday 17th July 2026 School Closes at 3.30pm

School Dates 2026 -2027:

Tuesday 1st September 2026 School Opens at 8.30am
Friday 2nd October 2026 Training Day – No Children in School
Friday 23rd October 2026 School Closes at 3.30pm
Monday 2nd November 2026 School Opens at 8.30am
Friday 27th November 2026 Training Day – No Children in School
Friday 11th December 2026 Training Day – No Children in School
Friday 18th December 2026 School Closes at 3.30pm
Monday 4th January 2027 School Opens at 8.30am
Friday 5th February 2027 Training Day – No Children in School
Friday 12th February 2027 School Closes at 3.30pm
Monday 22nd February 2027 School Opens at 8.30am
Friday 26th March 2027 School Closed Good Friday Bank Holiday
Monday 29th March 2027 School Closed Easter Monday Bank Holiday
Friday 2nd April 2027 School Closes at 3.30pm
Monday 19th April 2027 School Opens at 8.30am
Monday 3rd May 2027 School Closed May Bank Holiday
Friday 28th May 2027 School Closes at 3.30pm
Monday 7th June 2027 School Opens at 8.30am
Friday 18th June 2027 Training Day – No Children in School
Thursday 22nd July 2027 School Closes at 3.30pm