Dear Parents and Carers

The spring term is always the shortest term of the year and it can feel as though it passes in the blink of an eye after the epic autumn term. I’m sure for a lot of you, it must feel that we are about to finish this term in a matter of moments after your children came back to school – which is true.

As we suspected, we haven’t noticed any long-term, worrying changes in the children who have missed some time in school. On the whole, everyone is as chipper and happy as they were before and this makes me feel positive about the rest of the school year. Thankfully, these weeks before Easter have given all children the chance to reconnect with friends and staff and to get back into a school routine. As you can imagine, some of them have been quite giddy with excitement. Now that this reintroduction is over, we need to turn our attention to getting the best out of them next term and to instilling focus and determination. Following the PRIDE Code and the expectations of the school is a key part of this.

As a parent, you can play your part as well by making sure that you remind your child of what is expected of them. These can be little reminders that long hair should be tied up every day, that we only allow studs in pierced ears, that they cannot wear nail polish and that, although we have relaxed our school uniform code a little so you can avoid buying too much new clothing, we do still expect the children to wear appropriate clothing. By making sure that your child arrives at school, on time, dressed appropriately and with the things that they need, you make our jobs easier and you save your child from having to be spoken to by a member of staff.

I always keep one eye on what we are doing at the moment and the other looking at the weeks, months and terms ahead. I want the summer term to be purposeful and productive for everyone so that the children can look back on the year as a whole and know that they did their best under challenging circumstances. You only need to look around school or at the tweets from classes to see what high quality, exciting and engaging work the children are producing. I look at the tweets and think ‘I would have loved to do have done that when I was at school’.

In the last week alone, I have seen tweets about tree studies, running with a parachute on your back to test air resistance, interval training in PE, using Crumble kits in IT, making pizzas in a mug, learning about Anne Frank, creating scarab beetles using clay, using tinker time to learn how a BeeBot works and taking part in the ‘Let’s Count’ census study. In school, it was lovely to see the FS children having a fantastic time in their PE lesson and I know that Mr Marks was bowled over by their joined-up handwriting. The list of amazing things goes on and on and in comparison, my experience of primary school in the 1970s feels black and white when what the children get now is in glorious technicolour.

I was interviewed yesterday for an article for Peterborough Matters about our experiences over the last year. As tomorrow marks the anniversary of the announcement that schools were closing (for the first time!), I was asked what I remember about this time last year and what I had learnt from the last twelve months. My first recollection was that I was blissfully naive about what was in store for us and I remember telling a colleague that I thought we would close for two weeks before Easter and then be back for the summer term. I suspect that if we had all been told last March what the next year held in store for us, we would have said we couldn’t do it. It says a lot about our perseverance and resilience that we have managed to get over each hurdle.

In the article, I also reflected on the huge support that we have enjoyed from the parents at the school. You have been so calm, so understanding, and so appreciative of everything that we have done. I do, genuinely, hope that the summer term gives us the opportunity to relax restrictions a little but do not know whether we will be able to have parents in the school. Taking a long-term view, we are about to start a review of what has worked well this year so that we can start to plan what September will look like. As you would expect, we will keep you informed of any plans that we have well in advance.

Kind regards,

Mr Eardley

Head Teacher

^{Photo by Gábor Juhász on U}

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

Let's Count! Census 2021 at OWPS

By Miss Wyatt, Maths Lead

What is the Census 2021?

The census is a survey that happens every 10 years and gives us a picture of all the people and households in England and Wales. This helps to plan and fund public services in your area. The next census is taking place on Sunday 21 March 2021. By taking part in the census, you’ll make sure that your voice is heard and your community gets the services it needs.

How is OWPS getting involved?

This year we have taken part in the Let's Count! programme.  This has been designed to teach children all about the census.  The Let’s Count! programme explains why the census is so important, and how filling in the census questionnaire can help shape children’s futures.  

Last Friday was our Let's Count day.  The theme this year is, 'This Matters To Us'.  As part of the day, each class completed their own survey, counting the type of snacks and fruit the children enjoy.  This has been an area that Mrs Porter and the Eco-Warriors have been focusing on throughout the year. We then completed charts to show this data.

Here is a selection of the charts we created, starting with the Toucans Class:

The Magpies Class:

The Elephant's Class:

Multi-Skills Club Next Term

By Mr Cowles, PE Lead

New Club at OWPS

We are pleased to introduce a brand new after-school Multi-Skills club that will be running after the Easter Holidays. Youth Dreams Project will be delivering the club.

What is the Youth Dreams Project?

YDP was set up in 2014 to motivate and inspire all young people. The founders, Luke Kennedy and Luke Steele, describe their ethos:

"Our ethos is to deliver the highest standard of sports coaching, providing opportunities for as many young people as possible. We pride ourselves on our passionate delivery and commitment to positively impact the lives of the young people we get the privilege to coach."

You can find out more by visiting http:www.youthdreamsproject.co.uk

What will the Multi-Skills Sports Club involve?

The children will learn the basics of a range of sports including Football, Dodgeball, Tag-Rugby, Hockey and Basketball. 

An instructor from YDP, Jones Da Sousa, came to visit the school on Thursday 18th March 2021 to give the children a taste of what the Multi-Skills Club will involve.  The children enjoyed trying out the different sports.

Who can join?

The club will be running for Years 1 and 5 until May half-term.  After half-term, it will run for Years 2 and 6.  It costs £3 per session and parents will need to book their child on for 6 full weeks. A letter will be going out to parents in the relevant year groups.

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World Poetry Day

World Poetry Day is on the 21st March 2021 and we invite children, staff and parents to share their favourite poems.

What is National Poetry Day?

Held every year on 21 March, World Poetry Day celebrates one of humanity’s most treasured forms of cultural and linguistic expression and identity: Poetry.

UNESCO first adopted 21 March as World Poetry Day during its 30th General Conference in Paris in 1999, with the aim of supporting linguistic diversity through poetic expression and increasing the opportunity for endangered languages to be heard.

World Poetry Day is an occasion to honour poets, revive oral traditions of poetry recitals, promote the reading, writing and teaching of poetry, foster the convergence between poetry and other arts such as theatre, dance, music and painting, and raise the visibility of poetry in the media.  As poetry continues to bring people together across continents, all are invited to join in.

You can find out more by clicking here to visit the World Poetry Day page on the UN website.

Selection of Poems Chosen by OWPS Staff

In celebration of World Poetry Day, staff from Orton Wistow Primary School are sharing their favourite poems and explaining why they like them. This week, Mrs Porter, Mrs Francis and Mrs Schneider tell us about their favourite poems.

Mrs Porter's Favourite Poem

This 'nonsense poem' is a favourite of mine and was introduced to me by my Mum and Dad when I was very young. I enjoy rhyming poems and like cats, so this is a perfect poem for me! There are some unusual words that I enjoyed learning the meaning of and then sharing with my children.  I remember explaining to them what a 'runcible spoon' is, which they told me "you get in KFC" and can now be likened to a 'spork' - just like Forky in Toy Story 4!

Mrs Francis's Favourite Poem

This is my favourite poem, I studied it when I was doing my A levels and I have always loved it. It's about the English language and words that don't fit with the 'rules' we have. I've always found the English language interesting, and this sums up why! 

^{Quoted by Vivian Cook and Melvin Bragg 2004, by Richard Krogh, in D Bolinger & D A Sears, Aspects of Language, 1981, and in Spelling Progress Bulletin March 1961, Attributed to T S Watt, 1954. Brush up on your English with Hints on Pronunciation for visiting Foreigners, from the Manchester Guardian}

Mrs Schneider's Favourite Poem

This poem, The Road Not Taken, is by Robert Frost, an American Poet.  He often writes about nature and the countryside around where he lived in Massachusetts.  This poem is about having to choose between two paths in a wood.  I love walking in the countryside and have often had this dilemma about which path to take when both look equally enticing.  The poem is also a metaphor for the choices we make in life.

Share Your Favourite Poems 

We would like to invite you and/or your child to share your favourite poems with us.  Simply email the poem and the name of the poet to digital@owps.org.uk together with a few lines about why it is your favourite poem.

_{Photo by Trust "Tru" Katsande on Unsplas}

National Pet Month

National Pet Month is from 01.04.21 - 10.05.21 and we'd like to hear all about your pets!

What is National Pet Month?

National Pet Month (NPM) celebrates and raises awareness of responsible pet ownership through educational campaigns and resources across various platforms. NPM celebrates pet ownership, sharing the many benefits of our cherished companions across the UK.

How is OWPS getting involved?

Staff at OWPS will be sharing photos of their own pets in a special feature in the newsletter after Easter.

Woodgreen Animal Shelter will also be coming to visit the school on the 14th May 2021.

Tell Us About Your Pets

We would like to invite you to tell us about your pets so that we can feature them in the newsletter too!

Send in a photo of your pet and let us know its name, age, breed and any other interesting facts.  

Just complete our National Pet Month Form or email digital@owps.org.uk.  If you decide to email, please don't forget to state in the email that you give us permission to publish your photo in the newsletter and on the website.

We hope you get involved and tell us all about your pets!

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.

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}