Dear Parents and Carers,

We hope you have had a good week. We thoroughly enjoyed the Year 1 and Reception nativity performances this week. The children were outstanding, singing and speaking with great confidence. I was very impressed. We are extremely proud of the children and they should be proud of themselves. They were truly amazing. The Nursery delivered a fantastic performance today, and it was lovely to see them singing with big smiles. They delighted everyone with their joyful Christmas singing this morning, filling the room with festive cheer. Their bright smiles, confident voices, and heartfelt enthusiasm made the performance a truly special moment for everyone. Thank you to our parents and carers for coming.

All the children enjoyed their Christmas lunch today, and their hats looked amazing. It’s wonderful to see the children having such a fantastic time.

Our Year 2 to Year 6 performance will take place at St Matthias Church on Tuesday at 10:15am. We look forward to seeing you there.

The Betty Layward Chess team performed exceptionally well at a chess tournament last week, finishing 2nd out of 12 schools. It was a brilliant performance and the whole school is very proud of them. Huge congratulations to the team. Well done to Sacha, Gene, Jacob, George, Al, Henry, Lorcan, Kevin, Cyrus and Lucas.

The Winter Fair was a great success on Saturday, and it was fantastic to see so many of you there. A big thank you to the organisers, volunteers, and everyone who donated. These events truly make a difference for the school, and it was a very memorable occasion.

The classes have been entertaining the children with Elf on the Shelf, and I have attached some photos for you to enjoy. The children love coming into school in the morning to see what the elf has been up to.

We have added a new area to our Opal Play. The children are full of excitement as they zoom around the playground on scooters. They have built imaginary tracks, take turns, cheer each other on, and find new ways to play together. We are currently asking for donations to restock our Opal resources. Donation crates are at the front of the school. We would especially appreciate wellies and waterproofs.

Our road safety officers are on site in the mornings to keep the entrance clear and ensure no one is using their mobile phones. They do an excellent job and are really helping. Please listen to them if they ask you to move. We need to keep the entrance free of obstruction. I appreciate your support with this.

We will finish on Friday at 1pm, and there will be no after-school club. Please collect your children at 1pm and please do not be late.

Have a lovely weekend,

Jessica

Headteacher