December 2022

December has been filled with all the joy and excitement of Christmas preparation.  It was great to see so many of you join us for our KS1 and Early years nativity plays – which are always special occasions – the children did so well. 

A massive thankyou to F@B for all their hard work in planning and running a wonderful Christmas Fair (see how much they raised below!)  It was very festive and very well attended - F@B have also provided special treats for the children at our Christmas lunch this week.

We are looking forward to our Christmas Service in Church on Friday led by year 6 – a chance to celebrate the Christmas story together just before the holidays.

I thank you all for your continued support and wish you all a wonderful Christmas and a blessed New Year.

Mr Morrissey

Interim Headteacher 

(To keep up with all of the news please see the school website.)

Monthly Reflection

Activities that have been taking place

Year R

Duck and Hen class have had a busy few weeks celebrating their fab finishing; Nursery Rhyme Day,  Wow science experiment, saving Humpty Dumpty and retelling the Christmas Story through their Nativity performance. 

Year 1 & 2

Year 2 performed their Nativity called 'It's a Miracle!' with Year 1 performing dances to three songs.  Each child spoke their lines clearly to the audience and did an amazing job!  The singing was brilliant too!  Well done to everyone!

Year 3 & 6

On Monday 5^th December,  Years 3 and 6 took part in a STEM electricity workshop as a stunning start to their next science topic.   Ali, from STEM innovation LTD, wowed us with some amazing electrical experiments and demonstrations including using a TESLA coil, lighting LED lamps and a real-life K1 robot!

Year 4

Year 4 have been incredibly busy the last couple of weeks of term baking, designing, making, evaluating as part of DT.  In small groups, they used the limited ingredients that the Vikings would have had to make Viking bread.  All the children got to take some home so hopefully you were all able to try some. 

A Viking ship should have sailed your way too!  The children spent a fun day learning all about Viking longboats - they were then able to design and make their own replicas. The main hull of the boat was made using wooden lolly sticks and the children then designed their own sails, shields and figure heads to add.  They all tested their finished ships to see if they floated and how many 'men' they could hold.  Finally, they evaluated their work.  Some were more successful than others but they all had fun!

Year 5

To end our topic on ancient Egypt, Year 5 tasted and evaluated different types of flatbreads and this week the children made their own delicious ancient Egyptian flatbreads.  

Year 6

On Friday 9^th December the two Year 6 classes visited two local care and retirement homes to spread a little Christmas cheer with their carol singing.  The residents loved seeing the children visit and it was lovely to see our children chatting confidently with the residents afterwards too.

Broadwater's Got Talent!

This year we saw an incredible array of acts for the live final of Broadwater's Got Talent! From magic and comedy to stop motion animation, it was an entertaining afternoon that was judged by school council and watched by the junior school. Congratulations to everyone who took part and especially to the 2022 winner: Rudresh! He wowed the audience and judges with his phenomenal ukulele playing that everyone loved hearing. 

Other News

School Governors - Update

The Governors have had another busy Term.  Lucy Bunn was elected Parent Governor and Gemma Peck appointed Foundation Governor - this means our Board is now complete.  Lucy brings many years of experience working in Human Resources and Gemma brings to the Board a wealth of experience in Early Years Teaching.

Among the various Governor Board groups, the Communications Committee continues to explore concerns around parking and related pollution levels and is exploring plans for next year's 150^th anniversary of our School's foundation being laid. Our Curriculum Committee meanwhile is busy preparing a busy Spring term of school visits around writing, maths and sports.

The Governors wish everyone at our school a wonderful Christmas, and a Happy New Year.

Communication from School - Update

In response to feedback we have received, starting in January, we will be trialing a new streamlined approach to how we communicate school information with you.  Letters will continue to be sent through the same channels with the intention that most letters are sent on one of 2 days each week:

-        Thursdays will be class letters (eg trips, visitors, curriculum)

-        Fridays will be whole school letters – presented as a ‘Bulletin’

Letters and messages relating to Sporting events and those regarding individual children (eg music lessons, attendance, letters from the Inclusion team) will not follow this pattern and will be sent when needed.

We are hoping that this approach will improve channels of communication going forward.

SPORTS REPORT

A frustrating half term has seen several of the sports competitions postponed due to rain, wind and freezing conditions. However, a few were still able to take place.

29th November - Year 6 Football – 5^th

It was an unusually difficult afternoon for a team who has won medals on numerous occasions throughout their time at Broadwater.  They recorded a couple of wins, draws and defeats to end in 5^th place out of the 8 teams.

1^st December - Year 2 gymnastics – Overall 3^rdGirls team – 2^nd place and silver medals

Nine of our year 2 children had been working hard to learn and practise their gymnastics routine ahead of the competition. They had a floor routine involving rolling, balancing and jumping, as well as a transition and jump from a bench. They achieved some excellent scores and the girls earned second place and silver medals!

6^th December - Year 4 Football – 6^th

Nine teams took part in, what turned out to be, a hugely competitive (and absolutely freezing!) afternoon of action.  The boys fought incredibly hard throughout the tournament and achieved a very respectable set of results with 3 wins, 3 draws and just two 1-0 defeats. This meant they had finished 6^th, but to emphasise how close it had been, another victory would have seen them jump to second place!

World Cup 2022 Competition

The children were set the task of designing posters to represent one of the countries in this year’s football world cup. Early years, Year 1 and Year 2 were asked to make artwork to show their country, whilst Years 3 to 6 were challenged with making a fact page. We had a huge amount of entries representing a very wide range of countries! Well done to everyone who entered and produced some wonderful, creative designs. And a special well done to those who were selected as winners!

Winning entries: 

Early Years – Lola and Noah

Year 1 – Bella and Nora

Year 2 – Ted and Jack

Year 3 & 4 – Isla, Bertie and Shalom

Year 5 – Adam and Sam

Message from F@B 

Thank you to everyone that volunteered and attended the Christmas fair we raised over £3000.00 which is amazing.

We are looking forward to hosting a quiz night, bingo night and lots of other ideas too in 2023.

Friday 16th there will be a F@B sale of some Christmas food items after school outside the hall.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Nikki Chapman

F@B Chair & Team

Important Diary Dates

BANK HOLIDAY:

Monday 2nd January 2023 

INSET DAY (NO SCHOOL FOR CHILDREN): 

Tuesday 3rd January 

Start of Spring Term:

 Wednesday 4th January 

Yr 2 Curriculum News Meeting for Parents:

Yr 2 - Thursday 5^th January 2023 @ 2.50pm

 Yr 5 Trip to South Downs Planetarium:

      Friday 6th January   

Yr 1 Curriculum News Meeting for Parents:

Monday 9^th January 2023 @ 2.50pm

Yr R Curriculum and Maths Meetings for Parents:

Tuesday 10^th January 2023 - choice of 9.00am or 6.00pm

Starting School Admissions Applications for Sept 2023 start:

WSCC online application deadline is 15th January 2023 (all Broadwater Supplementary forms to be at school by the same date).  Please note that any supporting evidence (Church Support form) must be returned by 31st January 2023 having been signed by the church minister.

Yr R Chinese New Year Dressing Up Day:

Friday 20^th January 2023

Class-led Assemblies for Parents to attend:

Y4 Toucan Class - Friday 20th January (9.00am)

Y2 Penguin Class -  Friday 27th January (9.00am)

Y6 Kestrel Class -  Friday 3rd February (9.00am)

Y1 Robin Class -  Friday 10th February (9.00am)

Spring half term holiday:

13th - 17th February 2023

Please see the parent calendar on the school website for a full list of events and dates.

Parent Calendar

Reminders

TERM DATES for 2022-2023

AUTUMN TERM

Thursday 1st September 2022 (Note: INSET DAYS 1st Sept and 21st Nov) – Friday 16th Dec 2022

(Half term holiday: 24th - 28th October 2022)

SPRING TERM

Tuesday 3rd January 2023 (Note: INSET DAY 3rd Jan)– Friday 31st March 2023

(Half term holiday: 13th - 17th February 2023)

SUMMER TERM

Monday 17th April – Friday 21st July 2023 (Note: INSET DAYS 20th & 21st July)

(Half term holiday: 29th May – 2nd June 2023)

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