Dear Parents and Carers,
October is upon us already and it has been another very busy fortnight in school with children making the most of every opportunity in and out of the classroom.
Family events at Wigmore
On Thursday morning we had our first family event in school. This took the form of a coffee morning for parents of children with special educational needs. This was an opportunity to meet with a number of different parents to discuss what the school is doing well for their children and how we can make provision even better at Wigmore. Our discussions really highlighted how we are all very fortunate to have a wonderfully inclusive school community We will be organising a focus group that will work to together to make the school even better for children with special education needs. This will benefit all members of our school community. Working in partnership with parents and carers is very important to me. Our next family event will be focused on developing speech, language and communication. This will take place on Thursday 2nd December and invites and adverts will be sent out very soon. Thank you to the parents and staff who attended on Thursday.
Meet the Headteacher/Leadership Team
Thank you to the parents and carers of children who attended these different meetings over the last few weeks. It was good to meet with parents to explain my values and vision for Wigmore.
Parking improvements!
A huge thanks goes to all parents and carers who are consistently using the Asda Car Park at drop off and collection times. It has been a challenge this week with people queuing for petrol but it clear that many parents and carers prioritise the safety of all children and their families at Wigmore. Even when it rains it is important to park and stride up the hill. A brisk walk up the hill at 8:40 am is very good for your health and well-being.
Run to raise funding for the children at Wigmore
Last week we sent out information about our school Fun Run on 21st October and the teachers team taking part in the Luton Half Marathon on 31st October. Our Just Giving page is now set up and we are looking for family and friends to sponsor the children and adults taking part. We have currently raised £1366 and have been overwhelmed by the generosity of people and businesses from across the planet. The children have been working incredibly hard in their PE lessons to prepare for the Fun Run. They have also been learning about the importance of determination and hopefully watching some of the London Marathon this weekend will reinforce these key concepts. I understand that we have some members of our school community taking part in the London Marathon – I would like to take this opportunity to wish them the best of luck and a huge well done for supporting the charities that benefit from this event. All the money raised from our Fun Run and teacher participation in the Half Marathon will go back to the children at Wigmore. It would be great if you could sponsor us on the link below.
https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/wigmoreprimary2021
Learning to learn
Over the last fortnight I have been very busy visiting classrooms across the school. I have also had the pleasure of looking through the children’s books and Mrs Chavda and myself have been leading some additional group sessions with some very enthusiastic and eager Year 6 children. Some of my highlights are included below:
Year 6
Some fascinating learning opportunities taking place in Year 6 over the last 2 weeks. The children understand the difference between Athens and Sparta and the impact of Ancient Greek architecture around the world. They have also been writing some fascinating explanation texts about how dangerous Ogres are. In Maths they are masters of rounding numbers to the nearest ten, hundred and thousand.
Year 5
The scientists in Year 5 have been investigating the properties of thermal insulators. I have challenged them to come up with a way to keep my cup of Bovril hot during the winter months at the London Stadium. They have also completed some fantastic poetry on rivers. One of our Year 5 classes have started swimming and all classes are thoroughly enjoying different striking games, especially tennis.
Year 4
Coding in computing continues to inspire and motivate the learners in Year 4. They have also been learning about the Romans and can apply their knowledge of rounding to important dates they have learnt about in history. The children are working incredibly hard to develop their reading comprehension skills in their daily guided reading lessons.
Year 3
There are some fantastic learners in Year 3 who have been able to converse in simple French greetings and questions about how people are feeling. The children have been very active in their PE lessons doing different circuits to understand the benefits of good physical fitness. The scientists in Year 3 could use key vocabulary linked to their learning about light. They understand that different materials can be transparent, translucent or opaque.
Year 2
The Great Fire of London continues to captivate the learners in Year 2. The children have a good knowledge of the key facts about this event. The children have also been doing some amazing writing using Meerkat Mail as the basis of their work. The mathematicians have been busy learning how to count in 2s, 3s, 5s and 10s. They have also been learning about special books in RE.
Year 1
The musicians in Year 1 have enjoyed using Glockenspiels in music. In Maths the children have been learning about different models to group numbers. They have created some fantastic maps of the school and have been working hard to improve their writing using The Enormous Turnip as a stimulus for their writing. The children were very good at telling me the names of trusted adults they can talk to to stay safe on-line.
Foundation
The children in Foundation have started their learning journey with Read Write Inc to support their early reading and writing skills. Goldilocks and the Three Bears has been the book the adults have been using to provide children with the springboard to learn about their senses. They have settled in so well to life at Wigmore.
Cross Country Success!
Huge well done to the children, Mr Marshall, Mrs Williams and Miss Bloomfield who have been working incredibly hard over the last few weeks to prepare children for the Luton Schools Cross Country run which took place on Wednesday after school. Their efforts show that hard work and determination gets results. All runners were able to sustain a good pace and complete the challenging course. They should all be very proud of the efforts. Wigmore scooped 3 out of the 4 team events that were on offer. Champions in the following categories:
* Year 5 Boys
* Year 5 Girls
* Year 6 Boys
Well done to all schools who took part. It will be interesting to see if any of our young athletes qualify for the next level of competition.
House Points
The children have been working incredibly hard in school to earn points for their House!
| Week beginning | Aviators | Brewers | Mechanics | Plaiters |
| 20th September | 479 | 455 | 532 – WINNERS! | 295 |
| 27th September | 217 | 301 | 400 – WINNERS! | 336 |
Our school value for the month – determination
Well deserved award winners for consistently demonstrating our value for the month of September. Next month we move onto
| Class | Determination award winner |
| Acorns (Reception) | Mihir |
| Conkers (Reception) | Caitlyn |
| Pine (Reception) | Vlademir |
| Poplar (Year 1) | Connie |
| Rowan (Year 1) | Shae |
| Yew (Year 1) | Lexi |
| Aspen (Year 2) | Naomi |
| Hazel (Year 2) | Joshua |
| Juniper (Year 2) | Poppy |
| Elm (Year 3) | Phoebe |
| Maple (Year 3) | Nicola |
| Willow (Year 3) | Oscar |
| Beech (Year 4) | Disha |
| Hawthorn (Year 4) | Sienna |
| Linden (Year 4) | Kyle |
| Holly (Year 5) | Philomena |
| Lime (Year 5) | Jodon |
| Oak (Year 5) | Sophie |
| Alder (Year 6) | Gabriela |
| Ash (Year 6) | Sasha |
| Birch (Year 6) | Momin |
The Gold Book
Well done to the following children who have been in the Gold Book this week.
| Class | 24th September | 1st October |
| Acorns (Reception) | Olivia | Victor |
| Conkers (Reception) | Scarlett | Bradley |
| Pine (Reception) | Heeba | Mia |
| Poplar (Year 1) | Noah | Aurelia |
| Rowan (Year 1) | Hafsah | Mercy |
| Yew (Year 1) | Hashim | Maddison |
| Aspen (Year 2) | Landon | Raessa |
| Hazel (Year 2) | Nylah | Archie |
| Juniper (Year 2) | Sravan | Wolfgang |
| Elm (Year 3) | Dev | Katie |
| Maple (Year 3) | Ryan | Setayesh |
| Willow (Year 3) | Roqaya | Ellie |
| Beech (Year 4) | Layla | Saira |
| Hawthorn (Year 4) | Kallum | Bear |
| Linden (Year 4) | Anshi | Blake |
| Holly (Year 5) | Layla | Lakshita |
| Lime (Year 5) | Olivia | Ryan |
| Oak (Year 5) | Keisha | Muntazir |
| Alder (Year 6) | Liaba | Yassir |
| Ash (Year 6) | Patrycja | Maddison |
| Birch (Year 6) | Natalie | Erin |
ATTEND TO ACHIEVE!
486 children’s names were entered into our attendance “Wheel of Fortune” family prize drawer.
At Wigmore we have to aim to be here every day! Excellent attendance is 97% or above. There are strong links between good attendance and good progress in school, both academically and socially.
| Class | 20th September | Comment | 27th September | Comment |
| Acorns (Reception) | 90.8% | Must improve! | 96.9% | Almost there! |
| Conkers (Reception) | 97.2% | Outstanding! | 98.8% | Outstanding! |
| Pine (Reception) | 90% | Must improve! | 96.9% | Almost there! |
| Poplar (Year 1) | 90.4% | Must improve! | 94.3% | Must improve! |
| Rowan (Year 1) | 97.9% | Outstanding! | 88.9% | Must improve! |
| Yew (Year 1) | 87.2% | Must improve! | 90.5% | Must improve! |
| Aspen (Year 2) | 97.9% | Outstanding! | 96.8% | Almost there! |
| Hazel (Year 2) | 93.1% | Must improve! | 99.3% | Outstanding! |
| Juniper (Year 2) | 83.7% | Must improve! | 94.8% | Must improve! |
| Elm (Year 3) | 94% | Must improve! | 95.6% | Must improve! |
| Maple (Year 3) | 91.2% | Must improve! | 92.5% | Must improve! |
| Willow (Year 3) | 89.6% | Must improve! | 97.5% | Outstanding! |
| Beech (Year 4) | 95.2% | Must improve! | 96.8% | Almost there! |
| Hawthorn (Year 4) | 89.5% | Must improve! | 97.8% | Outstanding! |
| Linden (Year 4) | 98.2% | WOW! | 98.9% | Outstanding! |
| Holly (Year 5) | 93.7% | Must improve! | 89.9% | Must improve! |
| Lime (Year 5) | 94.1% | Must improve! | 89.6% | Must improve! |
| Oak (Year 5) | 93.1% | Must improve! | 91.7% | Must improve! |
| Alder (Year 6) | 91.7% | Must improve! | 97.9% | Outstanding! |
| Ash (Year 6) | 95.1% | Must improve! | 91% | Must improve! |
| Birch (Year 6) | 89.9% | Must improve! | 90.1% | Must improve! |
| Whole school | 92.6% | Must improve! | 94.4% | Must improve! |
Lateness = lost learning!
| 5 minutes late every day | 3 days of learning lost |
| 10 minutes late every day | 6 and half days of learning lost |
| 15 minutes late every day | 2 weeks of learning lost |
| 20 minutes late every day | 19 days of learning lost |
Days off school = lost learning!
| 97% to 100% attendance | Excellent attendance! This is our goal! |
| 95% attendance | 10 days of learning lost per year |
| 90% attendance | 19 days of learning lost per year |
| 85% attendance | 29 days of learning lost per year |
| 80% attendance | 38 days of learning lost per year |
| 75% attendance | 47 days of learning lost per year |
With thanks for your continued support in the work we do with your children,
Mr Johnston
