Dear Families,

Year 6 SATs

They are all done!!
These children have shown so much resilience this week.  They have tried their hardest and smiled throughout the week.  A few little wobbles were quickly calmed and the children ended the week of tests with a picnic outside in the sunshine.  We are so proud of all the children. 

Small & Tall closed
Small & Tall is closed on Wednesday 4th June in the afternoon due to staff training.  The training begins at 3:30pm so the gates and doors will all be closed just before this time.

Sports events
Next week we have all of the children’s sports days.  Please bring along a chair or picnic blanket so you have something to sit on.  We look forward to seeing you all.

Year 3 swimming
Friday 23rd May is the last swimming session for year 3.

Have a lovely weekend.

Take care and stay safe.

Mrs Wilmer

Upcoming events 

Dear Families,

Welcome back to a lovely, short half term!

This week we have recruited a new manager for Small & Tall.  Mrs Mann will be joining the team after half term.  She has lots of experience working and leading care clubs, so we look forward to her experience and enthusiasm.

Small & Tall closure
On Wednesday 4th June, Small & Tall will be closed after school due to staff training.  The training starts at 3:30pm for all staff in the school.   

Attendance / Holidays during term time
Please can I remind you that I am unable to authorise holidays during term time.  The government states that I can only authorise absences for exceptional circumstances.   Asking your child to keep a holiday a secret is not acceptable as they are too excited and want to share their experience with their friends and teachers.  

Although the holiday request may be unauthorised, it is still vital that you inform us when you will be taking your child out of school.   Due to safeguarding requirements, if we cannot get in touch with you to find out why your child is out of school, we do have to inform social services.

Sunshine
Please can you make sure your child has a sun hat with them as well as suntan lotion and a water bottle during this very warm period.

Have a lovely long weekend everyone.

Take care and stay safe.

Mrs Wilmer

Upcoming events

Dear Families,

Careers Related Learning (CRL)
We have had our Regional Director from the Trust in school this week.  As well as focusing on our teaching of English and the work in the children’s books, she has also looked at the CRL journals.

The CRL journals show your children’s aspirations, questions they have asked about various jobs and the range of careers which they have learnt about .  They are so lovely to read as they all show each and every child really is aiming high.

As part of our CRL curriculum, we would like to ask any ex-pupils if they would like to come into school to talk to the children (a class of their choice) about their education/career.  

It only needs to be 5/10 minutes (or longer if you choose).  The children love listening and learning about different careers.  They will no doubt want to ask about what you did at school, where you went when you left Friarswood and how you got the career you have chosen.

We would be really grateful if you could pass this to anyone you know who used to come to Friarswood.

What’s App class groups / Social Media
In response to the national news story about parent’s prosecution over comments made online and in Whatsapp groups:

We are aware that there are different Whatsapp groups across the classes designed to keep everyone informed and up to date with school events.  I am, however, aware that there is a minority of parents who can use this as a means of negative communication.  I would urge you to bring any concerns straight to school so that you have a clear understanding of what is taking place.  This will undoubtedly help to stop any unnecessary worries, which is the last thing we want.

Chocolate Bingo
Thank you to everyone who has donated chocolate ready for the bingo next Wednesday.  We hope you can all make it.

Office - next week
Mrs Kumar will be out of the office on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. There may be delays answering the phone and the gate, which we apologise for in advance.

Easter Celebrations
Don’t forget that next Friday we will be having our Easter celebrations, which you are welcome to join us for.  There will be an Easter bonnet parade by Early Years and KS1 (bonnets to be made at home) and the KS2 decorated egg competition (eggs to be decorated at home).  And of course - there will be some singing too.

Have a lovely weekend.  Enjoy the sunshine.

Take care and stay safe.

Mrs Wilmer

Upcoming events

Dear Families,

It’s been lovely to see so many of you in school this week to discuss your child’s progress with the teachers.  If you didn’t get a chance to make an appointment, your teacher will be making contact with you to arrange a suitable time.

Sporting events
We’ve had two sporting events this week.

Football.  Our football team was amazing and won the Newcastle School’s League. 

Cross Country - A group of children took part in the Newcastle Cross-country , each child achieving their own super results.

We are so proud of these sporting children.  They have shown resilience and a real enthusiasm to achieve their very best.

Well done to all of you. 

Year 3 swimming
Next Friday (28th) is the last swimming session of this term.  It’s the first year ever that we have had every child swimming without any swimming aids from the deep end to the shallow end.  They have been amazing.  We can’t wait to see what they achieve next term.

The dates for next term will be a little sporadic due to taking the older children swimming ready for the Newcastle swimming gala.  We will let you know the dates as soon as we have them.

Years 5 & 6 swimmers
Next term, we will be looking for some children to take part in the Newcastle swimming gala.  The children need to be strong, fast swimmers.   We will ask the children who would like to take part, and then we’ll practice the races and pick the fastest swimmers for the girls and the boys' teams.

If your child hasn’t swam for a while, they may want a little practice over the Easter holidays before we do our practice sessions.

I will send out more information about this, when I receive it.  

Nursery
The numbers for nursery in September are looking very promising, with only a couple of places left.  If there are any siblings that should be joining our Nursery in the next academic year, please can you let me know so that we can ensure there is a place for them.

Have a lovely weekend.

Take care and stay safe.

Mrs Wilmer

Upcoming events

Dear Families,

What another lovely week we’ve had.  It certainly makes everyone feel much better with a bit of sunshine.

CEO visit
Yesterday, we had a visit from our CEO, Dr Chris Tomlinson.  He had a tour around the school and met with some staff as well as having a chat with some of our children.  It was lovely to show off Friarswood and the wonderful things we do.  He certainly appreciated all of the hard work and dedication that goes into making our school so great.

World Book Day
To celebrate World Book Day, we did something a little different this year and asked the children to choose a word that they could dress up like. We have had some amazing words today! The creativity and ideas were just amazing. There are a few pictures in the photo gallery on our website to see. Thank you for all your efforts to help make this day so enjoyable for everyone. 

Online Safety
Here is a link to information about making online viewing safer for children.  I hope you find it useful.

Orchestra Trip
Next Tuesday, some of our Year 3 and 4 children are going to Hanley to watch the Halle Orchestra.  We hope this will inspire the children, especially those children who already play instruments.

Asthma Academy
I have received this notice off the NHS.  Here is the referral link.

October half-term 2025
As you know, we have a two week half-term in October.  I have sent out a survey for anyone who may need childcare for the week beginning 20th October.  If there is enough interest, Bee Active will run a sport and activity club for the week.  Bee Active have been involved with Friarswood for over ten years and have a great team of staff who work for them.  If you do choose Bee Active for your childcare, I’m sure the children will have lots of fun.

Here is the link for the form.

Bags to School
The PTA have arranged a ‘Bags to School’ day on 31st March.  If you are having a sort out of unwanted clothes etc, please pop them into one of the bags that your child will bring home and return to school on either Friday 28th or Monday 31st (morning).  The collection will be at some point on Monday 31st March, so please do not bring them in after school on the Monday.

Bags to School pays the PTA for the items by weight, so the more bags we have, the more money raised.  Happy sorting everyone!

Have a lovely weekend everyone.

Take care and stay safe.

Mrs Wilmer

Upcoming dates

Dear Families,

It’s been a very busy first week back.  KS2 are busy rehearsing for the Summer Show.  Don’t forget to send money in for your tickets.

Year 6 Dentist talk
Year 6 had a workshop focusing on making sure you clean your teeth carefully and correctly.  They learnt about how certain foods can damage your teeth and how much sugar is in certain foods.  Hopefully, all the children will be taking extra care of their teeth from now on.

Swimming Gala trials
This went really well today.  I was so impressed with how fast the children were.  They really have improved from the last time I took them swimming.   Just to confirm, we won’t be deciding who is coming to the gala until after the third week of trials.

Small & Tall care club price increase
Unfortunately, we have had to make the unpopular decision of increasing prices.  This is due to the overall costs increasing so much.  The new prices will start in September.  Mornings will be £5.95 and after school it will be £9.85.

Transitions
Over the next few weeks, the children will be meeting their new teachers as well as finding out where to arrive for school in the mornings and leave at the end of the day.  The official move up morning is Thursday 3rd July.  Children will need to go to their usual class for registration, and then they will go to their new classroom.

Have a lovely weekend.

Take care and stay safe.

Mrs Wilmer

Upcoming Dates