Dear Parents and Carers,

Where has that week gone? I knew it was going to feel busy, having all the children back in school and it has whizzed by. On Monday morning, when I opened the gate, I'm not sure who looked happier, the children or the parents! I spend a chunk of most lunchtimes on the Year Five/Six playground, and it has been wonderful to see all the children back where they belong, playing and catching up with their friends. Any step towards some kind of normality is a positive one and walking through the school and past full classrooms, with teachers teaching and TAs supporting, has made me feel optimistic for the coming months. 

You and the children should feel very proud of how they have settled back into school. The plans staff have put in place to ease all the children back into full-time and face-to-face education has worked brilliantly.  The chance for children to talk, share and spend time 'warming up' has helped them to make this week enjoyable for all. 

I sent a letter on Wednesday reminding all families of our expectations for the start of the day. There has been an improvement since then and we are seeing fewer children arrive at school too early. Please continue to do your best to arrive at the time your children start and finish each school day. It is great to see so many children still travelling to school on bikes and scooters. Please remind your children that they must walk all bikes and scooters from the gate to the scooter/bike racks and then walk them to the gate at the end of the day. 

With school welcoming back all pupils and the Covid pandemic moving in the right direction, we have started to consider what else we may be able to do in the next few weeks and the Summer term. Next week should have seen the Year Three children go to Burwell, their first school residential.

Unfortunately, things like that are not possible yet but we are looking forward to Comic Relief (Red Nose Day) next Friday (19th). Children can either wear their own clothes or dress as a superhero for a £1 donation towards the charity. We will also be selling biscuits on that day.

Mr Cowles and I have also been discussing clubs and we are planning to offer some after-school clubs run by an outside company as well as some lunchtime or after-school clubs run by some members of staff during the Summer term. Details about these will be sent home when we have finalised the plans. 

Take care and stay safe everyone!

Mr Marks

Deputy Head Teacher

Photo by Arno Smit on Unsplash

Each week, we publish the latest achievements of the children at Orton Wistow Primary School.  You can find out the weekly results for:

• Attendance
• Class Dojos
• Dojo Masters
• House Points
• Reading Champions
• Shining Stars
• Times Table Rock Stars

Operation Frog Rescue at OWPS!

Frogs and Frogspawn on the Field

On Thursday 11th March, we discovered a family of frogs. The recent rainy weather left a large puddle on the school field near the Key Stage Two playground.  It is close to the site of an old pond (now filled in) that used to be on the school grounds.

At the last count, staff and children spied fourteen frogs and a gelatinous mass of frogs' eggs.

It was an opportunity for some of the children to see the wildlife up close.

The Life Cycle of a Frog

Frogs are amphibious, which means they can live on land and in water. 

In the early stages of their lifecycle, however, when the frogs are tadpoles, they can only breathe through gills and need to live in water.

You can discover more about the common frog (orRana temporaria) by clicking here.

Concerns for the OWPS Frogs' Welfare

The frogs had spawned in a puddle that had been temporarily formed by the recent rainfall.  Staff members were concerned that once the puddle drained away or dried up, the frogspawn would perish.

As we say at OWPS: 'Everybody Matters'.  The frogs were no exception!

The office staff rallied around to research how to safely move the frogs.  Information from the website www.froglife.org (a national wildlife charity committed to the conservation of amphibians and reptiles and the habitats they depend on) was very useful and informative.

A New Home for the Frogs

Woodston Primary School, one of our partner schools in the OWN Trust, has a pond on their school grounds.  They had been on standby to take the frogs if necessary.

Instead, our very own Mrs Nalton, who works in the school office, kindly offered to re-home the frogs in her pond. She and her husband came to collect the frogs after school ended yesterday.  They safely transferred the frogs from the muddy puddle...

...to the pond at Mrs Nalton's home:

We are all relieved that the story had a happy ending and hope that the frogs enjoy their new home! We will keep an eye on the puddle to check if any more frogs arrive.

If you want to find out more about creating a habitat for frogs and other wildlife, froglife.org has details of the Just Add Water national campaign. 

Top Photo by Sandy Millar on Unsplash

World Book Day at OWPS

By Mrs Edwards, Reading Lead

Thursday 4^th March saw World Book Day land at OWPS.

Whilst we weren’t able to celebrate the day in the usual way, we were so pleased that the children at home and school were able to mark the occasion with a day off of usual lessons and a focus on books and reading instead!

Pupils had a go at a wide variety of book-related activities and yet again they showed their passion for reading.

Key Stage One

Year One enjoyed a book-tastic day on Thursday 4^th March. The children at home and in school, created marvellous bookmarks, amazing toilet roll puppets, and a cosy reading den to share a book with a family member. The children created a role on the wall and a book review about their favourite storybook too. Miss Ellis recorded the Year One’s favourite story ‘That Rabbit Belongs to Emily Brown’ for the Elephants and Iguanas to enjoy with a delicious hot chocolate. We enjoyed sharing our love of reading on World Book Day. 

Year 2 made World Book Day bunting.  They decorated the bunting with characters from their favourite books and stories (pictured at top of article).

Key Stage Two

Children in the Macaws enjoyed the World Book Day home learning activities and watched Mrs Campbell, the school librarian, reading stories via video.

As well as taking part in classroom and at home activities, some children in Year 6 read to Mr Eardley and Mr Marks, and even brought along a cup of tea and treats!

World Book Day and the Dining Car

Our amazing kitchen staff made hot chocolate and biscuits for everyone in school – thank you so much!

Red Nose Day 2021

By Mrs Johnson, Learning Mentor

Red Nose Day at OWPS

A reminder that on Friday 19^th March we will be raising funds for Comic Relief by having a non-uniform day and selling biscuits to eat at break time.

Children will be asked to donate £1 to have a non-uniform day and 50p for a biscuit.

Children can wear Superhero fancy dress if they would like to. Whether they dress as a famous superhero, Wonder Woman/Superman, create a brand new Superhero, just have a non-uniform day or choose to wear their school uniform, all of the children at OWPS will be using their super fundraising powers to make a difference to the lives of others!

We will not be selling Red Noses this year but if children have bought one elsewhere they will be allowed to wear it in school but only on Red Nose Day.

More information about Red Nose Day

For more information about Red Nose Day and to purchase plastic-free noses and other merchandise, please visit the Comic Relief website.  There are also lots of resources for children here.

A weekly section on how to maintain good mental health and well-being.

 Find out what's happening in the school kitchen and learn more about the delicious food at OWPS.

RNIB Stamp Collection

A reminder that if you have Christmas stamps that you have been saving for the RNIB collection, you can still bring them in.   There is a box in the front entrance of school on the left-hand side.

Parking in Five Arches

We would like to remind all parents and carers that parking in Five Arches when dropping off or picking up your child/ren is prohibited at certain times.

A resident of Five Arches has complained that people have been using the street as a place to park in the mornings and afternoons.

We would appreciate it if you could respect the parking rules in line with the signage at the entrance to Five Arches and help us to maintain good relations with our neighbours in Orton Wistow. Thank you.

Find out what is happening in the community, nationally and internationally.

^{Disclaimer: Orton Wistow Primary School does not endorse any products, services or activities that appear in the Community section of this newsletter, and is not responsible for any contract entered into by either party. Given the current circumstances, we would recommend all parents check with any providers regarding the status of these services, activities and clubs}