Damien Johnston | Wigmore Primary School

Author Archives Damien Johnston

In lifting others we rise – the spirit of empathy

19th January 2024Damien Johnston

Dear Parents and Carers,

I hope 2024 has started positively for all our families and that you are all settled and back into the good routines of daily life.

This half term we will be focusing on our school value of empathy. We are providing children with a range of opportunities in different areas of the curriculum to learn about how important it is to understand each other and that we all rise when we lift others. On Wednesday children in Year 5 and 6 were treated to an amazing musical performance by Hold the Drama, we have an author visit on Monday 29^th January and children will be learning about this important value in assemblies and PSHE lessons.

Last week we were fortunate to have Bedfordshire Police in school leading workshops on a range of different themes in order for children to develop their understanding on how to stay safe in school and beyond the school gate. Thank you to those who organised this opportunity for the children.

A number of year groups have had recent trips to Whipsnade Zoo and our Year 6 children have also had an amazing opportunity to learn about the Islamic faith at the Baitul Futuh Mosque in Morden. Our school choir is taking part in Young Voices at the O2 in London today. These opportunities bring learning to life for the young people at Wigmore. Thank you to all staff and parents/carers for organising and supporting these opportunities.

It is great to see the children making the most of the opportunities to be active in PE lessons, competitions, clubs and during playtimes and lunchtimes. We have had children attend the Luton Sports Hall Athletics finals and a Multi Sports event. Thank you to the organisers and well done to all those who are taking part. Good physical health is very important and plays an important part in maintaining positive health and well-being.

Well done to Year 3 Hazel for sharing their learning with parents and carers this week. Thank you to the parents and carers who were able to attend this.

Today we have children taking part in individual photos and photos with siblings. This is a huge task to organise with some many different things happening in school. Thank you to all involved in this.

For all the important dates keep an eye on our school website www.wigmoreprimary.com

House Points

The children have been working incredibly hard in school to earn points for their House!

Week beginning	Bramingham	Wardown	Leagrave	Stockwood
08/01/24	133	105	124	117
15/01/2024	186	163	179	186

The Gold Book

Well done to the following children who were in the Gold Book over the last few weeks.

Class	Week beginning 08/01/2024
Acorns (Reception)	Milo
Conkers (Reception)	Alayna
Pine (Reception)	Avinoor
Alder (Year 1)	Freya
Ash (Year 1)	Isra
Birch (Year 1)	Jacob
Poplar (Year 2)	Makshasree
Rowan (Year 2)	Ollie
Yew (Year 2)	Mahdi
Aspen (Year 3)	Isabelle
Hazel (Year 3)	Victor
Juniper (Year 3)	Numair
Elm (Year 4)	Rahul
Maple (Year 4)	Aisha
Willow (Year 4)	Harry
Beech (Year 5)	Andi
Hawthorn (Year 5)	Aryan
Linden (Year 5)	Dev
Holly (Year 6)	Charlie
Lime (Year 6)	Ashley
Oak (Year 6)	Damisi

Class	Week beginning 15/01/2024
Acorns (Reception)	Ahaan
Conkers (Reception)	Philip
Pine (Reception)	Marykayla
Alder (Year 1)	Orla
Ash (Year 1)	Yannis
Birch (Year 1)	Ryan
Poplar (Year 2)	Sara
Rowan (Year 2)	Violet
Yew (Year 2)	Eveline
Aspen (Year 3)	Ella
Hazel (Year 3)	Macy
Juniper (Year 3)	Siena
Elm (Year 4)	Isla
Maple (Year 4)	Aahna
Willow (Year 4)	Adeline
Beech (Year 5)	Alex
Hawthorn (Year 5)	Montana
Linden (Year 5)	Samuel
Holly (Year 6)	Sienna
Lime (Year 6)	Joel
Oak (Year 6)	Noah S

ATTEND TO ACHIEVE!

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. We want to be the best we can possibly be and reach our school target of 97%. We have to make a concerted effort in order to improve attendance and punctuality.

Every minute of every lesson counts!

Be in to win!

Be on time and in school every day!

WB 05/01/24	Percentage	Comment	Classopoly places forward
Acorns (Reception)	88.5%	Must Improve	No Moves
Conkers (Reception)	89.7%	Must Improve	No Moves
Pine (Reception)	91.5%	Must Improve	No Moves
Alder (Year 1)	97.8%	WOW	1 Move
Ash (Year 1)	97.5%	Outstanding	1 move
Birch (Year 1)	93.8%	Must Improve	No Moves
Poplar (Year 2)	96.8%	Almost there	No Moves
Rowan (Year 2)	90.3%	Must Improve	No Moves
Yew (Year 2)	90%	Must Improve	No Move
Aspen (Year 3)	95.0%	Must Improve	No Moves
Hazel (Year 3)	94.7%	Must Improve	No Moves
Juniper (Year 3)	96%	Almost there	No Moves
Elm (Year 4)	93.9%	Must Improve	No Moves
Maple (Year 4)	93.1%	Must Improve	No Moves
Willow (Year 4)	97.4%	WOW	1 Move
Beech (Year 5)	89.9%	Must Improve	No Moves
Hawthorn (Year 5)	92.1%	Must Improve	No Moves
Linden (Year 5)	95.7%	Must Improve	No Moves
Holly (Year 6)	90.7%	Must Improve	No Moves
Lime (Year 6)	96.9%	Almost there	No Moves
Oak (Year 6)	90.3%	Must Improve	No Moves
Whole School (week)	93.42%
Whole School (Year)	94.62%

WB 12/01/2024	Percentage	Comment	Classopoly places forward
Acorns (Reception)	95.3%	Must Improve	No moves
Conkers (Reception)	95%	Must Improve	No Moves
Pine (Reception)	90.3%	Must Improve	No Moves
Alder (Year 1)	94.1%	Must Improve	No moves
Ash (Year 1)	97.9%	WOW	1 Move
Birch (Year 1)	93.8%	Must Improve	No moves
Poplar (Year 2)	96.6%	Almost there	No Moves
Rowan (Year 2)	92.7%	Must Improve	No Moves
Yew (Year 2)	94.9%	Must Improve	No Moves
Aspen (Year 3)	95%	Must Improve	No Moves
Hazel (Year 3)	95.7%	Must Improve	No moves
Juniper (Year 3)	97%	Outstanding	1 Move
Elm (Year 4)	95.5%	Must Improve	No Moves
Maple (Year 4)	94.8%	Must Improve	No Moves
Willow (Year 4)	94.2%	Must Improve	No Moves
Beech (Year 5)	93.2%	Must Improve	No moves
Hawthorn (Year 5)	97.9%	WOW	1 Move
Linden (Year 5)	97.1%	Outstanding	1 Move
Holly (Year 6)	96.3%	Almost there	No Moves
Lime (Year 6)	96.0%	Almost there	No moves
Oak (Year 6)	91.3%	Must Improve	Nomoves
Whole School (week)	94.99%
Whole School (Year)	94.65%

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

The spirit of giving without getting!

8th December 2023Damien Johnston

Dear Parents and Carers,

I hope everyone is well and is enjoying the beginning of the festive season. I appreciate the efforts all members of our school community are making by giving up their time to attend a number of different events we are having in school and supporting their children to enjoy this special time of year. Normality feels so unbelievably privileged right now as we watch some awful things taking place in the world. The festive season is not about getting things but giving things such as time. Being present, available and always learning are such powerful gifts and we hope that all our families are able to have positive times together over the festive season in order to be grateful for the opportunities we have.

We have had Christmas Craft Workshops, a Christmas Jumper Day, Christmas Lunch, a Rock Steady Festive Performance and still have all the events that have been outlined in a letter to parents and carers earlier this week. Thank you to the organisers of these things and we hope you have enjoyed these opportunities.

Last Friday night a group of children and staff had the opportunity to join 65000 others at Wembley for the England versus Holland women’s football match. Another fantastic sporting opportunity for the children. They were thoroughly entertained by a fantastic match and I would like to thank all the children and staff who attended this. What an amazing experience for those who attended!

The children in Year 1 have been learning about toys and last week they took part in a toy workshop in school which was received positively by the children. Thank you to the organisers and for all who supported this great learning opportunity for the children.

The best time of any day is seeing the children for excellent work and behaviour for learning. Over the last two weeks I have been meeting with our new Anti-Bullying Ambassadors to do some training with them to commence their roles on the playground in the Spring term. It is clear that these young people have an excellent understanding of what bullying is and isn’t and the scenario based training in week 1 saw them come up with some excellent suggestions on what they could do or say to help other children on the playground. I am looking forward to further sessions with them.

We are always looking for ways to improve and I would like to thank the Early Years staff for their efforts in providing a good foundation for learning in Early Years. Last year we completed a full evaluation of the provision and implemented a specific action plan to build on what we do and I am very pleased with how things have progressed in this key part of the school.

The teachers have been working hard on curriculum letters for the Spring term. All the important things your child/children will be covering will be included in these letters. Please keep an eye out on the following link: https://wigmoreprimary.com/parents-information/curriculum-letters/

Congratulations to our school kitchen who have received a 5 star rating following a visit from Environmental Health today! The school has been 4 stars for the past 3 years and to receive this today clarifies their hard work and dedication to improve standards. Well done to all involved!

We have some staff who will be leaving Wigmore at the end of term and I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for their commitment to the children and families at Wigmore throughout their time with us. Details about new arrangements have been communicated with individual classes. Best wishes to Mr Blight, Miss Keenan, Mrs Jenkins and Ms McKenna.

House Points

The children have been working incredibly hard in school to earn points for their House!

Week beginning	Bramingham	Wardown	Leagrave	Stockwood
27/11/2023	149	163	153	106
04/12/2023	136	133	105	126

The Gold Book

Well done to the following children who were in the Gold Book over the last few weeks.

Class	Week beginning 27/11/2023
Acorns (Reception)	Maja
Conkers (Reception)	Philip
Pine (Reception)	Shon
Alder (Year 1)	Maleek
Ash (Year 1)	Artiom
Birch (Year 1)	Hollie
Poplar (Year 2)	Darius
Rowan (Year 2)	Oliver S
Yew (Year 2)	Mahdi
Aspen (Year 3)	Tyler
Hazel (Year 3)	Abyan
Juniper (Year 3)	Luca- Gheorge
Elm (Year 4)	Archie
Maple (Year 4)	Rishi
Willow (Year 4)	Cordane
Beech (Year 5)	Reeva
Hawthorn (Year 5)	Frankie
Linden (Year 5)	Katie
Holly (Year 6)	Tashla
Lime (Year 6)	Alexis
Oak (Year 6)	Taylor

Class	Week beginning 04/12/2023
Acorns (Reception)	Oliver
Conkers (Reception)	Evie
Pine (Reception)	Ajwa
Alder (Year 1)	Kyreece
Ash (Year 1)	Aliya
Birch (Year 1)	Mahdin
Poplar (Year 2)	Max
Rowan (Year 2)	Mihai
Yew (Year 2)	Olivia
Aspen (Year 3)	Evie
Hazel (Year 3)	Anas
Juniper (Year 3)	Ella
Elm (Year 4)	Amelia
Maple (Year 4)	Malina
Willow (Year 4)	Jason
Beech (Year 5)	Nouri
Hawthorn (Year 5)	Ryan
Linden (Year 5)	Omar
Holly (Year 6)	Aaliyah
Lime (Year 6)	Divya
Oak (Year 6)	Dylan H

ATTEND TO ACHIEVE!

Every minute of every lesson counts!

Be in to win!

Be on time and in school every day!

WB 24/11/2023	Percentage	Comment	Classopoly places forward
Acorns (Reception)	89.6%	Must Improve	No Moves
Conkers (Reception)	91.1%	Must Improve	No Moves
Pine (Reception)	95.8%	Must Improve	No Moves
Alder (Year 1)	92.2%	Must Improve	No Moves
Ash (Year 1)	95.4%	Must Improve	No moves
Birch (Year 1)	96.9%	WOW	No Moves
Poplar (Year 2)	93%	Must Improve	No Moves
Rowan (Year 2)	95%	Must Improve	No Moves
Yew (Year 2)	94.3%	Must Improve	No Move
Aspen (Year 3)	90.7%	Must Improve	No Moves
Hazel (Year 3)	98%	Out Standing	3 Moves
Juniper (Year 3)	94.7%	Must Improve	No Moves
Elm (Year 4)	97%	Outstanding	1 Move
Maple (Year 4)	97.1%	Outstanding	1 Move
Willow (Year 4)	95.0%	Must Improve	No Moves
Beech (Year 5)	92.9%	Must Improve	No Moves
Hawthorn (Year 5)	99.3%	WOW	3 Moves
Linden (Year 5)	96.1%	Almost there	No Moves
Holly (Year 6)	96.6%	Almost there	No Moves
Lime (Year 6)	92.1%	Must Improve	No Moves
Oak (Year 6)	97.6%	Outstanding	1 Move
Whole School (week)	94.80%
Whole School (Year)	95.26%

WB 1/12/2023	Percentage	Comment	Classopoly places forward
Acorns (Reception)	95.4%	Must Improve	No moves
Conkers (Reception)	90.4%	Must Improve	No Moves
Pine (Reception)	96.7%	Almost there	No Moves
Alder (Year 1)	95.3%	Must Improve	No moves
Ash (Year 1)	96.4%	Almost there	No Move
Birch (Year 1)	93.5%	Must Improve	No moves
Poplar (Year 2)	95.2%	Must Improve	No Moves
Rowan (Year 2)	96.3%	Almost there	No Moves
Yew (Year 2)	97.5%	WOW	1 Move
Aspen (Year 3)	95.3%	Must Improve	No Moves
Hazel (Year 3)	95.0%	Must Improve	No moves
Juniper (Year 3)	95.0%	Must Improve	No Moves
Elm (Year 4)	96.7%	Almost there	1 Move
Maple (Year 4)	95.0%	Must Improve	No Moves
Willow (Year 4)	98.5%	WOW	2 Moves
Beech (Year 5)	93.5%	Must Improve	No moves
Hawthorn (Year 5)	97.9%	Almost there	1 Move
Linden (Year 5)	91.1%	Must Improve	No Moves
Holly (Year 6)	92.4%	Must Improve	No Moves
Lime (Year 6)	93.4%	Must Improve	No moves
Oak (Year 6)	94.6%	Must Improve	Nomoves
Whole School (week)	95.02%
Whole School (Year)	95.42%

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

Year 1 making the most of every learning opportunity!

29th November 2023Damien Johnston

Reading and writing

Year 1 children have enjoyed immersing themselves into a variety of texts so far this year. They have learnt The Three Billy Goats Gruff, a poem called Pirate Pete and are now learning Little Red and the very hungry lion. The children have also enjoyed their whole class reading sessions where they have read The Jolly Postman, The Gingerbread man and are now enjoying learning more and more about animals in winter in the book Winter Sleeps: A Hibernation story. The children have been learning new skills including how to use adjectives, nouns and verbs. Ask your child to tell you what these are and keep reminding them of these word classes at home.

Maths

In Year 1 children have learnt about Place Value such as, sorting, counting and ordering objects and numbers. The children learnt to recognise numbers as words, compare numbers by finding out 1 more and 1 less as well as identifying less than, greater than and equal to. This term children in Year 1 learnt about Addition and Subtraction. They enjoyed learning about the part-whole model and adding numbers togethers. The children challenged themselves and learnt about fact families and subtraction by taking away and crossing out to find out how many is left. They have become confident with using the number line and have learnt to subtract numbers by creating jumps. The children are learning to become independent learners by using concrete resources such as counters and 10 frames, multilinks and number lines.

Science

This term in Science, children in Year 1 have been learning about Materials. The children have explored and investigated a range of different materials. These have included: Metal, wood, plastic and fabric. They have learnt about different properties of these materials and investigated how these properties can help decide what an object should be made of. Also, they have learnt new vocabulary such as, waterproof, transparent and absorbent. The children have shown a keen interest and desire to learn about this topic.

Other curriculum area which has inspired and motivated the children

The children in Birch class were very lucky last half term to have a local trip in keeping with the ‘Our Local Area’ topic. They did a local area walk where they watched the planes take off and land at Luton Airport as well as have a little play in Wigmore park. Unfortunately, we had to cancel the local area trips of Ash and Alder class due to the weather and the unexpected fire at Luton Airport. Both of these trips will be rebooked when the weather is dry. On top of this all year one children had the fantastic opportunity of visiting Pizza Express restaurant in the town centre. There they each learnt how to roll dough, stretch it out and complete the pizza with delicious toppings. We are sure you have heard from the children all about how they made themselves a margherita pizza in their fantastic hats and aprons.

The children have enjoyed singing assemblies weekly and also class music lessons delivered by The Luton Music Service. These are invaluable sessions for the children to learn appropriate music skills.

Over the next few weeks the sequence of learning will focus on:

Toys from the past and how they have evolved over the years.
The children will be learning the story ‘How to Catch a star.’
In math, we will be focusing more on subtraction before moving on to geometry.
We are also preparing for our Christmas concert and learning a range of festive songs.

Every sunrise begins with new eyes

24th November 2023Damien Johnston

Dear Parents and Carers,

I hope you have been fortunate enough this week to catch some of the amazing sunrises that have been on offer in the local area. Research suggests that spending 20 minutes outside at the beginning of the day can have a positive impact on mental health and well-being and when you get the bonus of an amazing sunrise it makes a great start to the day.

It has been great visiting classes over the last fortnight to see learning in action. I am always impressed by the good behaviour and focus of the children. This week it was nice to see the progression in our maths curriculum in Key Stage 2 and some careful thought with the resources adults are using to support children with special educational needs. The highlight of any day is seeing children learning and achieving their personal best.

It was great to work with children last week to look at our Anti Bullying Policy and job description for the new role of Anti Bullying Ambassadors. Miss Wynter and I have been inundated with job applications and each class representative will commence their training soon. Thank you to the parents and carers who were able to attend our learning showcase assemblies for this very important week.

Children sharing their learning with confidence is an important area of focus in personal development. Thank you to Pine and Linden class for their sharing assemblies and to the parents and carers who were able to attend these.

We have also had our Early Years Share and Learn session recently. Thank you to all who attended this. Our Year 1 children have all been out over recent weeks on a trip to Pizza Express, thank you to all who have organised these opportunities for the young people at Wigmore.

Well done to the children who have represented the school recently in the Key Stage 1 Sports Hall Athletics and the SEND Sports Festival! I hope they enjoyed these experiences.

In assembly on Monday we focused our learning on road safety. It is important that we have the support of all members of our school community with road safety. Please drive slowly around the school area and respect the line markings. Please do not park on zig zag lines. The children were very good at understanding the need to cross Wigmore Lane with our crossing patrol supervisors and the need for adults to closely supervise them when walking to and from school. Did you know the average car weighs roughly the same as an elephant and cars can travel as fast as a cheetah at full speed. Please make sure your car is moving at elephant walking pace around the school area and not cheetah pace! We do not want any accidents involving any members of our school community. Speeding is dangerous!

House Points

The children have been working incredibly hard in school to earn points for their House!

Week beginning	Bramingham	Wardown	Leagrave	Stockwood
13/11/2023	167	129	108	75
20/11/2023	219	194	228	236

The Gold Book

Well done to the following children who were in the Gold Book over the last few weeks.

Class	Week beginning 20/11/2023
Acorns (Reception)	Lemarni
Conkers (Reception)	Luca O
Pine (Reception)	David
Alder (Year 1)	Avik
Ash (Year 1)	Arthur
Birch (Year 1)	Alex
Poplar (Year 2)	Harper
Rowan (Year 2)	Caitlyn
Yew (Year 2)	Victor
Aspen (Year 3)	Ellis
Hazel (Year 3)	Isabelle
Juniper (Year 3)	Zalfa
Elm (Year 4)	Zhaneta
Maple (Year 4)	Bella
Willow (Year 4)	Gabriel
Beech (Year 5)	Grace
Hawthorn (Year 5)	Kimberley
Linden (Year 5)	Abdur-Rahman
Holly (Year 6)	Ioan
Lime (Year 6)	Sam
Oak (Year 6)	Maddie

ATTEND TO ACHIEVE!

Every minute of every lesson counts!

Be in to win!

Be on time and in school every day!

WB 10/11/2023	Percentage	Comment	Classopoly places forward
Acorns (Reception)	86.7%	Must Improve	No Moves
Conkers (Reception)	92.2%	Must Improve	No Moves
Pine (Reception)	90.4%	Must Improve	No Moves
Alder (Year 1)	91.5%	Must Improve	No Moves
Ash (Year 1)	93.6%	Must Improve	No moves
Birch (Year 1)	91.5%	Must Improve	No Moves
Poplar (Year 2)	97.4%	Outstanding	1 Move
Rowan (Year 2)	99%	WOW	3 Moves
Yew (Year 2)	97.5%	Outstanding	1 Move
Aspen (Year 3)	96.7%	Almost there	No Moves
Hazel (Year 3)	93.7%	Must Improve	No Moves
Juniper (Year 3)	95.0%	Must Improve	No Moves
Elm (Year 4)	92.9%	Must Improve	No Moves
Maple (Year 4)	95.7%	Must Improve	No Moves
Willow (Year 4)	93.2%	Must Improve	No Moves
Beech (Year 5)	95.5%	Must Improve	No Moves
Hawthorn (Year 5)	97.9%	WOW	1 Move
Linden (Year 5)	97.9%	WOW	1 Move
Holly (Year 6)	97.2%	Outstanding	1 Move
Lime (Year 6)	97.2%	Outstanding	1 Move
Oak (Year 6)	96.9%	Almost there	No Moves
Whole School (week)	94.86%
Whole School (Year)	95.35%

WB 17/11/2023	Percentage	Comment	Classopoly places forward
Acorns (Reception)	86.3%	Must Improve	No moves
Conkers (Reception)	92.9%	Must Improve	No Moves
Pine (Reception)	89.1%	Must Improve	No Moves
Alder (Year 1)	94.8%	Must Improve	No moves
Ash (Year 1)	96.4%	Almost there	No Move
Birch (Year 1)	95.8%	Must Improve	No moves
Poplar (Year 2)	92.6%	Must Improve	No Moves
Rowan (Year 2)	97%	WOW	1 Move
Yew (Year 2)	91.1%	Must Improve	No Moves
Aspen (Year 3)	95%	Must Improve	No Moves
Hazel (Year 3)	95.7%	Must Improve	No moves
Juniper (Year 3)	95.7%	Must Improve	No Moves
Elm (Year 4)	94.3%	Must Improve	No Moves
Maple (Year 4)	98.6%	Outstanding	2 Moves
Willow (Year 4)	91.1%	Must Improve	No Moves
Beech (Year 5)	95.2%	Must Improve	No moves
Hawthorn (Year 5)	99%	Outstanding	3 Moves
Linden (Year 5)	96.8%	Almost there	No Moves
Holly (Year 6)	96.6%	Almost there	No Moves
Lime (Year 6)	97.2%	Outstanding	1 move
Oak (Year 6)	99.3%	WOW	3 moves
Whole School (week)	94.89%
Whole School (Year)	93.51%

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

Own your learning

10th November 2023Damien Johnston

Dear Parents and Carers,

This week we have launched our value for the half term with the children in school. We are focusing on independence. We want all children in school to own their learning, making good decisions about what they do so they can develop motivation from within to achieve the goals they set. Allowing children to make mistakes, to experience success and failure and include your child in everyday skills and tasks around the house are excellent ways to develop independence out of school.

Thank you to the parents and carers who attended parent consultations prior to half term. We hope you found these updates helpful. If parents would like to see any information about our school curriculum there is a wealth of information on the quality of education page on our school website. Year group blogs will also be updated very soon.

Thank you to all the parents and carers who were able to join us in school for our learning showcase assemblies for Black History Month. The children have thoroughly enjoy learning about inspirational adults from ethnic minority backgrounds. Their contributions have been celebrated by children across the school.

Over the last few weeks senior staff have been focusing on our on-going drive to improve curriculum adaptations for children with special educational needs and disabilities. We have had Malcolm Reeve (National SEND Leader) in school providing helpful advice and tips to support us on our journey of improvement. Thank you to the children and parents who met with Malcolm to offer their thoughts and opinions. We will follow up on some of learning we will be taking forward in our next coffee morning with parents and carers.

Thank you to everyone who supported wearing red to kick out discrimination of all forms the day before the half term break. All forms of discrimination, including racism, are wrong. It is the responsibility of every adult to ensure children know that kindness is key. It opens the door the happiness.

Thank you to the children in Year 1 Birch, Year 2 Poplar and Year 4 Elm for leading fantastic assemblies over the last 3 weeks. Well done to all involved and thank you to the parents and carers who were able to attend.

There continues to be a myriad of sporting opportunities for the young people at Wigmore. Thank you to all children who have taken part in the following and for those who have organised these opportunities:

Our Year 6 Sports Leaders who are leading games on the playground on a daily basis in school.
Year 3, 4, 5 and 6 Sports Hall Athletics
Boys and Girls Futsal
EFL Football Tournament

House Points

The children have been working incredibly hard in school to earn points for their House!

Week beginning	Bramingham	Wardown	Leagrave	Stockwood
16/10/2023	334	279	274	233
30/10/2023	183	210	178	114
06/11/2023	290	238	303	256

The Gold Book

Well done to the following children who were in the Gold Book over the last few weeks.

Class	Week beginning 16/10/2023
Acorns (Reception)	Reggie
Conkers (Reception)	Nana
Pine (Reception)	Oliver
Alder (Year 1)	Diana
Ash (Year 1)	Noah
Birch (Year 1)	Amelia
Poplar (Year 2)	Blake
Rowan (Year 2)	Niamh
Yew (Year 2)	Remi
Aspen (Year 3)	Iyan
Hazel (Year 3)	Kacper
Juniper (Year 3)	Lawson
Elm (Year 4)	Alfie
Maple (Year 4)	Esa
Willow (Year 4)	Donell
Beech (Year 5)	Ellie
Hawthorn (Year 5)	Luciano
Linden (Year 5)	Emmanuel
Holly (Year 6)	Tyler
Lime (Year 6)	Ananya
Oak (Year 6)	Denisa

Class	Week beginning 06/11/2023
Acorns (Reception)	Emily
Conkers (Reception)	Evie
Pine (Reception)	Emily
Alder (Year 1)	Emily
Ash (Year 1)	Adelina-Maria
Birch (Year 1)	Isla
Poplar (Year 2)	Jayden
Rowan (Year 2)	Elijah
Yew (Year 2)	Callum
Aspen (Year 3)	Sofia
Hazel (Year 3)	Edna
Juniper (Year 3)	Leunisa
Elm (Year 4)	Seyit
Maple (Year 4)	Euan
Willow (Year 4)	Emilia
Beech (Year 5)	Vihan
Hawthorn (Year 5)	Lily
Linden (Year 5)	Omar
Holly (Year 6)	Matei
Lime (Year 6)	Toby
Oak (Year 6)	Naila

Reslience award winners for Autumn 1

Well done to the following children who were awarded resilience awards for the first half of the Autumn term.

Class	Award winner
Acorns (Reception)	Kevin
Conkers (Reception)	Liam
Pine (Reception)	Hamza
Alder (Year 1)	Paul
Ash (Year 1)	Harry
Birch (Year 1)	Ryan
Poplar (Year 2)	Mia
Rowan (Year 2)	Ibrahim
Yew (Year 2)	Alanna
Aspen (Year 3)	Tullulah
Hazel (Year 3)	Jesse
Juniper (Year 3)	Noah
Elm (Year 4)	Anhela
Maple (Year 4)	Aahna
Willow (Year 4)	Harry
Beech (Year 5)	Franklin
Hawthorn (Year 5)	Nicola
Linden (Year 5)	Emmanuel
Holly (Year 6)	Kallum
Lime (Year 6)	Awin
Oak (Year 6)	Louie

Give Me Ten!

It is great to see so many children wearing their Give Me Ten badges around school, a number of children have now reached the 50 times milestones and a big number are now on 25 times according to classroom displays and the records we keep in school. I will publish an up-to-date list in a separate letter but would like to share with you the names of the children who have made the huge effort to reach 50 times in rapid time!

GMT – Reading 50 Times Milestone Autumn 2023				TOTAL
Year 1	ASH	BIRCH Adam Jacob Olivia K Ryan Olivia W Isla	ALDER Ke’Jon
Year 2	POPLAR	YEW	ROWAN Georgios Elliot Niamh Mounesh Ibrahim Elijah Ishita Ashley
Year 3	HAZEL Aleana Theo	ASPEN	JUNIPER Noah Louis Lawson Rodrigo
Year 4	ELM Seyit Wojciech	WILLOW Layla- May Jannet David Gabriel Drew	MAPLE Malina Freyja
Year 5	HAWTHORN Bethany Brodie Max Aryan Lacey Darsh Yakub Laith	LINDEN Ethan Hassan	BEECH
Year 6	HOLLY Tobiasz Charlie Liberty David	LIME Saira Divya	OAK Zachary Callum Ayaansh Taylor Ayesha Hadassah Patrick M Saira Disha Maddie Sophia Grace Daniel

ATTEND TO ACHIEVE!

Every minute of every lesson counts!

Be in to win!

Be on time and in school every day!

WB 13/10/2023	Percentage	Comment	Classopoly places forward
Acorns (Reception)	90.7%	Must Improve	No Moves
Conkers (Reception)	97.6%	Outstanding	1 Move
Pine (Reception)	97.9%	Outstanding	1 Move
Alder (Year 1)	90.5%	Must Improve	No Moves
Ash (Year 1)	91%	Must Improve	No moves
Birch (Year 1)	90.7%	Must Improve	No Moves
Poplar (Year 2)	95.6%	Must Improve	No Moves
Rowan (Year 2)	98.7%	Wow	2 Moves
Yew (Year 2)	95%	Must Improve	No Moves
Aspen (Year 3)	96.2%	Almost there	No Moves
Hazel (Year 3)	98.3%	Outstanding	2 Moves
Juniper (Year 3)	95.3%	Must Improve	No Move
Elm (Year 4)	93.9%	Must Improve	No Moves
Maple (Year 4)	100%	Wow	4 Move
Willow (Year 4)	96.8%	Almost there	No Moves
Beech (Year 5)	92.3%	Must Improve	No Moves
Hawthorn (Year 5)	95.5%	Must Improve	No Moves
Linden (Year 5)	97.9%	Outstanding	1 Move
Holly (Year 6)	98.6%	Outstanding	2 Moves
Lime (Year 6)	96.2%	Almost There	No Moves
Oak (Year 6)	97.6%	Outstanding	1 Move
Whole School (week)	95.55%
Whole School (Year)	95.75%

WB 27/10/2023	Percentage	Comment	Classopoly places forward
Acorns (Reception)	85.5%	Must Improve	No moves
Conkers (Reception)	97.1%	Outstanding	1 Move
Pine (Reception)	94.3%	Must Improve	No Moves
Alder (Year 1)	95.7%	Must Improve	No moves
Ash (Year 1)	94.6%	Must Improve	No Move
Birch (Year 1)	87.5%	Must Improve	No moves
Poplar (Year 2)	94.4%	Must Improve	No Moves
Rowan (Year 2)	99.2%	WOW	3 Moves
Yew (Year 2)	94.2%	Must Improve	No Moves
Aspen (Year 3)	92.7%	Must Improve	No Moves
Hazel (Year 3)	89.6%	Must Improve	No moves
Juniper (Year 3)	86.7%	Must Improve	No Moves
Elm (Year 4)	93.3%	Must Improve	No Moves
Maple (Year 4)	95.5%	Must Improve	No Moves
Willow (Year 4)	93.8%	Must Improve	No Moves
Beech (Year 5)	91.8%	Must Improve	No moves
Hawthorn (Year 5)	98.3%	WOW	2 Moves
Linden (Year 5)	98.2%	Outstanding	2 Moves
Holly (Year 6)	94.4%	Must Improve	No Moves
Lime (Year 6)	97.8%	Outstanding	1 move
Oak (Year 6)	98.3%	WOW	2 moves
Whole School (week)	93.97%
Whole School (Year)	95.56%

WB 03/11/2023	Percentage	Comment	Classopoly places forward
Acorns (Reception)	86.1%	Must Improve	No Moves
Conkers (Reception)	95.3%	Must Improve	No Moves
Pine (Reception)	94.9%	Must Improve	No Moves
Alder (Year 1)	89.6%	Must Improve	No Moves
Ash (Year 1)	92.5%	Must Improve	No Move
Birch (Year 1)	95.0%	Must Improve	No Moves
Poplar (Year 2)	94.1%	Must Improve	No Moves
Rowan (Year 2)	97.7%	Outstanding	1 Move
Yew (Year 2)	97.9%	WOW	1 Move
Aspen (Year 3)	89.9%	Must Improve	No Moves
Hazel (Year 3)	98.0%	WOW	2 Moves
Juniper (Year 3)	94.3%	Must Improve	No Moves
Elm (Year 4)	92.1%	Must Improve	No Moves
Maple (Year 4)	95.4%	Must Improve	No Moves
Willow (Year 4)	95.0%	Must Improve	No Moves
Beech (Year 5)	90.6%	Must Improve	No Moves
Hawthorn (Year 5)	97.2%	Outstanding	1 Move
Linden (Year 5)	97.9%	Outstanding	1 Move
Holly (Year 6)	95.5%	Must Improve	No Moves
Lime (Year 6)	95.5%	Must Improve	1 Move
Oak (Year 6)	96.2%	Almost There	No Moves
Whole School (week)	94.35%
Whole School (Year)	95.41%

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

Keep moving forward!

13th October 2023Damien Johnston

Dear Parents and Carers,

In the first half of the Autumn term we have been focusing on our school value of resilience. Having the courage to continue is more important as ever as we may all start to tire towards the end of a half term but with a positive mindset to improve anything is always possible.

You may have seen the improvements we have made of the last few weeks to the outdoor environment – a new fence in the early years, raised beds, a developed pond area – getting better never stops.

The children have also been focusing on different aspects of Black History to mark this important month which celebrates the contributions of some very influential people the children may not know about. We have also started work towards achieving the RACE Charter Mark and next Friday we will all be wearing red in support of the Kick Racism Out campaign – there is no place for racism anywhere and at any time.

Thank you to the parents and carers who were able to attend our SEND Coffee Morning, Behaviour and Trauma workshop and CAMH Coffee Morning. Thank you for also supporting our Hello Yellow Day on Tuesday, your donations will go towards purchasing resources to support mental health initiatives in school. Next week we also have parents evening and we look forward to welcoming all families into school for this.

It has been great to see the children taking part in activities out of school as well. Children have taken part in the Key Stage 1 Multi Sports Festival and Year 3 and 4 Rugby Festival. This week children in Year 1 have also been out to Pizza Express on a trip. Thank you to the adults who have been involved in supporting the children on these trips.

It has been great to see so many children for good work and an increased number of children have also earned their first milestone badge for Give Me Ten in the quickest time possible. I am also aware that there are a number of children who will earn their 25 times badge today. It would be great to see more children wearing these badges. Please take 10 minutes out of your time to read with your child daily. The benefits of reading at home for just 10 minutes a day are enormous. Well done to the following children.

GMT – Reading 25 Times Milestone Autumn 2023

TOTAL

Year 1

ASH

Isra

Brandon

Melissa

Harry

BIRCH

Tammy

Adamantios

Jacob

Olivia K

Ryan

Olivia W

ALDER

Logan

Year 2

POPLAR

Radu

Srija

Vladimir

YEW

Adam

Amanah

Enan

Isabella

Mihir

Olivia

ROWAN

Georgios

Elliot

Elijah

Ashley

Year 3

HAZEL

Alex

Jesse

Violet

Lexi

Aleana

Theo

ASPEN

Hafsah

Max

Noah

Ryan

Manu

JUNIPER

Chloe

Siena

Rodrigo

Aurelia

Noah

Lawson

Year 4

ELM

Jake

Wojciech

Rahul

Seyit

WILLOW

Layla May

Faith

Jannet

Kasandra

Gabriel

Harry

Drew

David

MAPLE

Malina

Freyja

Cosmin

Year 5

HAWTHORN

Aryan

Max

Brodie

Darsh

LINDEN

Ethan

Phoebe

Sonam

Hassaan

Zuzanna

BEECH

Vihan

Brielle

Roqaya

Grace

Ayaka

Reeva

Maab

Year 6

HOLLY

Tobiasz

Charlie

Liberty

David

LIME

Abigail

Saira

Divya

Toby

Mrudha

Theo

Gavin

Lydia

Leilah

Dylan

OAK

Daniel

Grace

Disha

Taylor

Zachary

Maddie

Ayesha

Callum

Saira

Leo

Sophia

Noah

Ayaansh

House Points

The children have been working incredibly hard in school to earn points for their House!

Week beginning	Bramingham	Wardown	Leagrave	Stockwood
02/10/2023	259	210	264	241
09/10/2023	315	315	195	203

The Gold Book

Well done to the following children who were in the Gold Book over the last two weeks.

Class	Week beginning 02/10/2023
Acorns (Reception)	Nathaniel
Conkers (Reception)	Jake
Pine (Reception)	Elia
Alder (Year 1)	Nadia
Ash (Year 1)	Alexander
Birch (Year 1)	Kai
Poplar (Year 2)	Amina
Rowan (Year 2)	Chloe
Yew (Year 2)	Tyrell
Aspen (Year 3)	Adam
Hazel (Year 3)	Jesse
Juniper (Year 3)	Siena
Elm (Year 4)	Toby
Maple (Year 4)	Shayaan
Willow (Year 4)	Naomi
Beech (Year 5)	Keira
Hawthorn (Year 5)	Alexander
Linden (Year 5)	Phoebe
Holly (Year 6)	Leon
Lime (Year 6)	Abdullah
Oak (Year 6)	Noah

Class	Week beginning 09/10/2023
Acorns (Reception)	Patrick
Conkers (Reception)	Alayna
Pine (Reception)	Nicola
Alder (Year 1)	Destiny
Ash (Year 1)	Melissa
Birch (Year 1)	Skyla-Mae
Poplar (Year 2)	Yusuf
Rowan (Year 2)	Hunter
Yew (Year 2)	Ethan
Aspen (Year 3)	Rory
Hazel (Year 3)	Aleana
Juniper (Year 3)	Falak
Elm (Year 4)	Jake
Maple (Year 4)	Romain
Willow (Year 4)	Ledjona
Beech (Year 5)	Temitola
Hawthorn (Year 5)	Carina
Linden (Year 5)	Victoriya
Holly (Year 6)	Rafi
Lime (Year 6)	Anisa
Oak (Year 6)	Daniel

ATTEND TO ACHIEVE!

Every minute of every lesson counts!

Be in to win!

Be on time and in school every day!

WB 29/09/2023	Percentage	Comment	Classopoly places forward
Acorns (Reception)	95%	Must Improve	No Moves
Conkers (Reception)	98%	Outstanding	2 Moves
Pine (Reception)	99.2%	Outstanding	3 Moves
Alder (Year 1)	90.6%	Must Improve	No Moves
Ash (Year 1)	97.2%	Outstanding	1 Move
Birch (Year 1)	93%	Must Improve	No Moves
Poplar (Year 2)	97.7%	Outstanding	1 Move
Rowan (Year 2)	98%	Wow	2 Moves
Yew (Year 2)	92.9%	Must Improve	No Moves
Aspen (Year 3)	96.9%	Almost there	No Moves
Hazel (Year 3)	96.8%	Almost there	No Moves
Juniper (Year 3)	97.3%	Outstanding	1 Move
Elm (Year 4)	91.1%	Must Improve	No Moves
Maple (Year 4)	97.1%	Outstanding	1 Move
Willow (Year 4)	89.1%	Must improve	No Moves
Beech (Year 5)	95.7%	Must Improve	No Moves
Hawthorn (Year 5)	96.6%	Almost there	No Moves
Linden (Year 5)	98.9%	Wow	2 Moves
Holly (Year 6)	96.9%	Almost there	No Moves
Lime (Year 6)	93.6%	Must Improve	No Moves
Oak (Year 6)	93.4%	Must Improve	No Moves
Whole School (week)	95.46%
Whole School (Year)	95.61%

WB 6/10/2023	Percentage	Comment	Classopoly places forward
Acorns (Reception)	96.7%	Almost there	No moves
Conkers (Reception)	98.8%	Outstanding	2 Moves
Pine (Reception)	98.3%	Outstanding	2 Moves
Alder (Year 1)	91.8%	Must improve	no moves
Ash (Year 1)	97.2%	Outstanding	1 Move
Birch (Year 1)	91.9%	Must Improve	No moves
Poplar (Year 2)	97.8%	WOW	1 Move
Rowan (Year 2)	97.3%	Outstanding	1 Move
Yew (Year 2)	95.7%	Must improve	No Moves
Aspen (Year 3)	99%	Outstanding	3 Moves
Hazel (Year 3)	96.0%	Almost there	No moves
Juniper (Year 3)	98.7%	Outstanding	2 Moves
Elm (Year 4)	97.1%	Outstanding	1 Move
Maple (Year 4)	100%	WOW	4 Moves
Willow (Year 4)	93.9%	Must Improve	No Moves
Beech (Year 5)	92.7%	Must improve	No moves
Hawthorn (Year 5)	97.9%	Outstanding	1 Move
Linden (Year 5)	99.3%	Outstanding	3 Moves
Holly (Year 6)	97.9%	Outstanding	1 Move
Lime (Year 6)	97.6%	Outstanding	1 move
Oak (Year 6)	98.6%	Outstanding	1 move
Whole School (week)	96.86%
Whole School (Year)	95.83%

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

Proud of all the great things happening in school

29th September 2023Damien Johnston

Dear Parents and Carers,

It is amazing to think that we are almost in October and rapidly approaching the end of the first half of the Autumn term.

Thank you to the parents and carers who were able to attend the Welcome Meetings and the reading workshops that we have had in school over the last two weeks. Your attendance at these events is very important as we always endeavor to work in partnership with families as this will benefit the children.

This academic year we are working towards achieving the RACE Charter Mark. We believe that as a school we have a responsibility to teach the children that racism is not OK and it will not be tolerated at Wigmore. Children have recently taken part in Show Racism the Red Card workshops and at the end of the half term all members of the school community will be asked to wear red in support of kicking racism out. Thank you to the children for being respectful and well informed in the workshops and many thanks to the adults who have organised these important opportunities for the young people at Wigmore.

It has been pleasing to see and hear the improvements we are making to the music curriculum at Wigmore. Our newly decorated music room is well equipped for instrumental tuition for different year groups run by specialist teachers for the Luton Music Service. I have been very impressed with the singing in singing assemblies and the sound of Rock Steady on a Wednesday morning really creates a positive start to the day. Thank you to all who have organised these things.

There has also been some amazing things taking place on the sporting front and thanks must go to the children for participating with amazing energy and to Mr Marshall and Mr Whadcoat for organising the following events:

Year 5 and 6 Boys and Girls Rugby Festivals
Cross Country
Year 3 and 4 Multi Sports Festival

You may have seen in the news on Wednesday a range of stories about improving attendance and punctuality in schools. It is the responsibility of parents and carers to ensure their child/children are on time and in school daily. Letters have been sent to all families explaining the different systems and processes we have in place at Wigmore and it is essential that we work together to improve attendance and punctuality at Wigmore.

Well done to the following children for earning different rewards in school over the last two weeks.

House Points

The children have been working incredibly hard in school to earn points for their House!

Week beginning	Bramingham	Wardown	Leagrave	Stockwood
18/09/2023	255	332	205	261
25/09/2023	347	331	331	277

The Gold Book

Well done to the following children who were in the Gold Book last week.

Class	Week beginning 18/09/2023
Acorns (Reception)	Wuraola
Conkers (Reception)	Zara
Pine (Reception)	Zaina
Alder (Year 1)	Alfie
Ash (Year 1)	Alma
Birch (Year 1)	Victoria K
Poplar (Year 2)	Rafsan
Rowan (Year 2)	Daniel
Yew (Year 2)	Aaliyah
Aspen (Year 3)	Max
Hazel (Year 3)	Shivaansh
Juniper (Year 3)	Aurelia
Elm (Year 4)	Nylah
Maple (Year 4)	Bektash
Willow (Year 4)	Kevin
Beech (Year 5)	Roqaya
Hawthorn (Year 5)	Darsh
Linden (Year 5)	Hassan
Holly (Year 6)	Gabriela
Lime (Year 6)	Emily
Oak (Year 6)	Layla

Class	Week beginning 25/09/2023
Acorns (Reception)	Irfan
Conkers (Reception)	Emily
Pine (Reception)	Jaxon
Alder (Year 1)	Dev
Ash (Year 1)	Arijon
Birch (Year 1)	Olivia K
Poplar (Year 2)	Amy
Rowan (Year 2)	Elliot
Yew (Year 2)	Kacie
Aspen (Year 3)	Lauren
Hazel (Year 3)	Ayman
Juniper (Year 3)	Jake
Elm (Year 4)	Ana
Maple (Year 4)	James
Willow (Year 4)	Drew
Beech (Year 5)	Kylan
Hawthorn (Year 5)	Victoria
Linden (Year 5)	Daniel
Holly (Year 6)	Tobiasz
Lime (Year 6)	Blake
Oak (Year 6)	NA

ATTEND TO ACHIEVE!

Every minute of every lesson counts!

Be in to win!

Be on time and in school every day!

WB 15/09/2023	Percentage	Comment	Classopoly places forward
Acorns (Reception)	99%	Outstanding	3 Moves
Conkers (Reception)	93.1%	Must Improve	No Moves
Pine (Reception)	98.7%	Outstanding	2 Moves
Alder (Year 1)	91.1%	Must Improve	No Moves
Ash (Year 1)	94.6%	Must Improve	No Moves
Birch (Year 1)	93%	Must Improve	No Moves
Poplar (Year 2)	94.6%	Must Improve	No Moves
Rowan (Year 2)	94.2%	Must Improve	No Moves
Yew (Year 2)	96.6%	Wow	No Moves
Aspen (Year 3)	97.9%	Outstanding	1 Move
Hazel (Year 3)	89.3%	Must Improve	No Moves
Juniper (Year 3)	99.3%	Wow	3 Moves
Elm (Year 4)	93.4%	Must Improve	No Moves
Maple (Year 4)	94.3%	Must Improve	No Moves
Willow (Year 4)	95.6%	Must Improve	No Moves
Beech (Year 5)	99.3%	Wow	3 Moves
Hawthorn (Year 5)	95.2%	Must Improve	No Moves
Linden (Year 5)	94.1%	Must Improve	No Moves
Holly (Year 6)	96.0%	Almost There	No Moves
Lime (Year 6)	95.2%	Must Improve	No Moves
Oak (Year 6)	94.5%	Must Improve	No Moves
Whole School (week)	95.19%
Whole School (Year)	95.73%

WB 22/09/2023	Percentage	Comment	Classopoly places forward
Acorns (Reception)	93.1%	Must Improve	No Moves
Conkers (Reception)	99.2%	Outstanding	3 Moves
Pine (Reception)	95.8%	Must Improve	No Moves
Alder (Year 1)	91.9%	Must Improve	No Moves
Ash (Year 1)	95.7%	Must Improve	No Moves
Birch (Year 1)	94.8%	Must Improve	No Moves
Poplar (Year 2)	97.7%	Outstanding	1 Move
Rowan (Year 2)	95.4%	Must Improve	No Moves
Yew (Year 2)	94.6%	Must Improve	No Moves
Aspen (Year 3)	93.4%	Must Improve	No Moves
Hazel (Year 3)	96.8%	Almost There	No Moves
Juniper (Year 3)	95.3%	Must Improve	No Moves
Elm (Year 4)	96.2%	Almost There	No Moves
Maple (Year 4)	95.6%	Must Improve	No Moves
Willow (Year 4)	94.8%	Must Improve	No Moves
Beech (Year 5)	95.7%	Must Improve	No Moves
Hawthorn (Year 5)	95.9%	Must Improve	No Moves
Linden (Year 5)	98.2%	Outstanding	2 Moves
Holly (Year 6)	95.7%	Must Improve	No Moves
Lime (Year 6)	94%	Must Improve	No Moves
Oak (Year 6)	96.6%	Almost There	No Moves
Whole School (week)	95.51%
Whole School (Year)	95.67%

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

A strong start to the academic year!

15th September 2023Damien Johnston

Dear Parents and Carers,

It has been a busy few weeks in school with so many positive learning opportunities for the young people at Wigmore. They have made a fantastic start to the year and it is important that we build on this over the coming weeks to form consistent good habits in and around the school.

We have had the following exciting things:

Launch of our new values, aims, vision and logo, burying the time capsule near our new tree and forming the logo on the school field for a special photo to be taken by a drone.
Resilience, Rock Steady, Singing, Roald Dahl Day and Celebration assemblies.
Year 4 Romans Themed Day
Year 6 Ancient Greeks Themed Day
Music lessons starting.
Give Me Ten has started!
Welcome Meetings.
Meet the Leadership Team meetings.
Themed lunch for Roald Dahl Day.

Thank you to everyone who has taken part in these events and thanks must go to the people who have organised these opportunities.

We are seeing attendance and punctuality at Wigmore improve. Last year our data was above the national and Luton average and our number of children who are persistently absent from the school went down to levels below the national and Luton average. However, we must not stop improving and growing and need to strive to get to the levels reached pre pandemic. Details of attendance and punctuality incentives and measures in place for poor standards will be sent home soon. Let’s work together to continue to improve this further. Make sure your child is on time and in school daily!

Well done to the following children for earning different rewards over the last fortnight in school.

House Points

The children have been working incredibly hard in school to earn points for their House!

Week beginning	Bramingham	Wardown	Leagrave	Stockwood
11/09/2023	163	124	128	85

The Gold Book

Well done to the following children who were in the Gold Book last week.

Class	Week beginning 11/09/2023
Acorns (Reception)	Alfie
Conkers (Reception)	Theo
Pine (Reception)	Arbaaz
Alder (Year 1)	Ella J
Ash (Year 1)	Valentina
Birch (Year 1)	Justin
Poplar (Year 2)	Vladimir
Rowan (Year 2)	Lilah
Yew (Year 2)	Mihir
Aspen (Year 3)	Manu
Hazel (Year 3)	Alex
Juniper (Year 3)	Zac
Elm (Year 4)	Darcie
Maple (Year 4)	Poppy
Willow (Year 4)	Kasandra
Beech (Year 5)	Taras
Hawthorn (Year 5)	Kiian
Linden (Year 5)	Bailey
Holly (Year 6)	David
Lime (Year 6)	Gavin
Oak (Year 6)	Jackson

ATTEND TO ACHIEVE!

Every minute of every lesson counts!

Be in to win!

Be on time and in school every day!

WB 08/09/2023	Percentage	Comment	Classopoly places forward
Acorns (Reception)	96.3%	Almost There	No Moves
Conkers (Reception)	90.7%	Must Improve	No Moves
Pine (Reception)	93.8%	Must Improve	No Moves
Alder (Year 1)	90.4%	Must Improve	No Moves
Ash (Year 1)	97.9%	Wow	1 Move
Birch (Year 1)	97.3%	Outstanding	1 Move
Poplar (Year 2)	96.6%	Almost There	No Moves
Rowan (Year 2)	96.1%	Almost There	No Moves
Yew (Year 2)	94.1%	Must Improve	No Moves
Aspen (Year 3)	100%	WOW	4 Moves
Hazel (Year 3)	95.2%	Must Improve	No Moves
Juniper (Year 3)	94.7%	Must Improve	No Moves
Elm (Year 4)	98.6%	Outstanding	2 Moves
Maple (Year 4)	97.5%	Outstanding	1 Move
Willow (Year 4)	97.4%	Outstanding	1 Moves
Beech (Year 5)	97.3%	Outstanding	1 Moves
Hawthorn (Year 5)	95.9%	Must Improve	No Moves
Linden (Year 5)	94.3%	Must Improve	No Moves
Holly (Year 6)	98.7%	Outstanding	2 Moves
Lime (Year 6)	94.1%	Must Improve	No Moves
Oak (Year 6)	94.8%	Must Improve	No Moves
Whole School (week)	96.18%
Whole School (Year)	95.68%

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

Have a great summer and thank you!

21st July 2023Damien Johnston

Dear Parents and Carers,

It has been a busy but productive last 3 weeks in school and I have no doubt that everyone is more than ready for the opportunity to relax and recharge over the summer holidays.

We have been treated to amazing assemblies – Hazel, Aspen and Maple Class shared their learning with confidence, we have also had a Year 3 percussion performance and a Brass Band perform in school to promote instrumental tuition. Thank you to all who attended and to those who organised these opportunities for the children.

The children have had the opportunity to learn about different cultures in class and this culminated in our International Fair which raised in excess of £1000 for the school. Thank you to everyone who helped organise this and the volunteers who ran different stalls for the children. This money will go a long way to improve the learning environment for the children at Wigmore.

We have also had different trips and visitors come into school for the children. Year 2 had their beach day at Frinton in Essex. An amazing beach voted one of cleanest and best in the UK. Teaching Talons visited the children in the Early Years and our Year 5 and 6 children had workshops led by the NSPCC on some very important themes linked to keeping themselves safe and speaking up if they do not feel safe. Once again we must thank the organisers of these opportunities and to all the parents and carers who contributed to the costs of the trips.

All children will have now had the opportunity to meet their class teacher and staff for next academic year. Some of our young people with special needs will have received transition packs to support their move to their new class. Thank you to all the staff who have put an enormous effort in to make this process manageable for the children. It has been great to see our new teachers in school and speaking to the children at lunchtimes I know they are looking forward to next academic year.

On Friday we will say farewell to our Year 6 children who are moving on to high school. Over the last few weeks they have had their Camp Night, end of Wigmore Disco (thank you to the parents who organised this) and leavers assembly. We wish them all the best and I would like to thank those families who are also leaving Wigmore for their on-going support as their children embark on the next part of their educational journey.

This week senior staff have been busy meeting with teachers looking at the progress of all children in our termly pupil progress meetings. Parents and carers will have received end of academic year reports on Monday and we hope you have found these helpful.

Our Family Workers had a special party on Wednesday to say farewell to the families they have worked with during their time at Wigmore. Thank you to all who attended this important send off and we wish Susan and Trezett all the very best for the future.

On the sporting front the children have been able to access some amazing sporting opportunities in school due to the on-going dedication of our amazing PE teachers, Mr Marshall and Mr Whadcoat. Sports Day was an amazing success, thank you to all who were able to attend to support the children. The Town Athletics Finals, outdoor and adventurous activities sports festival, a multi sports festival at Downside School, weekly swimming lessons and regular weekly high-quality PE lessons have all continued to happen. The young people at Wigmore have access to a high-quality diet of physical activity!

There will be a lot happening over the summer holidays with improvements to the learning environment. I hear some amazing stories of children doing their own things to improve the environment. One of our Year 4 pupils has taken responsibility for regular litter picking – well done to this young person who is making a difference at Wigmore. We all need to take this level of pride in our environment.

Congratulations to the following children for becoming reading ambassadors at Wigmore. We would like to see an increased number next academic year as the benefits of reading to and with your child are enormous.

Reception

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Year 4

Year 5

Year 6

Logan

Harry

Olivia

Jacob F

Isabella

Eleona

Srija

Radu

Heeba

Vladimir

Theo

Hafsah

Manu

Max

Seyit

Wojciech

Malina

Roqaya

Ayaka

Keira

Sonam

Hassan

Ethan

Vir

Phoebe

Brodie

Max

Aryan

Bethany

Kimberley

Divya

Saira

Leilah

Sophia

Disha

Tobiasz

Liberty

Matei

Kallum

David

Charlie

Jacob

Freddie

Damla

Ayanna

Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all staff for their on-going commitment to the young people at Wigmore this year. I would also like to thank parents and carers for their support for the work we do with your children. Farewell and best wishes to all the children, families and staff who are leaving Wigmore.

The children return to school at 8:45 am on Tuesday 5^th September.

Have an enjoyable and safe summer holiday!

Mr Johnston

Be curious and learn new things, it is good for the mind

30th June 2023Damien Johnston

Dear Parents and Carers,

Eid Mubarak to all our families and staff who have celebrated this important religious festival this week. We hope you had a positive day of celebrations.

Last week we celebrated the contribution of refugees to British society. We welcomed different guest speakers to school to talk to the children about their experiences and the children produced some amazing learning from different books selected to read throughout the week. The week culminated with a learning showcase and coin trail on the playground to symbolise the journey of a refugee. This coin trail raised an enormous £395 for charity. Thank you for your support with this. These learning opportunities are so important for children to develop empathy, compassion and tolerance. Thank you to all who were involved. The children at Wigmore are very respectful.

On the sporting front different boys and girls teams have experienced success in football matches against Someries Junior School. A group of children also represented the school in the County Finals for Quad Kids Athletics. Thank you to the staff who organised these opportunities and well done to all involved.

Today children in Foundation Stage visited Little Gems for some focused learning on dental hygiene. Thank you to those who organised this and well done to our children in Foundation who are an absolutely brilliant year group who consistently demonstrate excellent behaviour for learning.

Well done to the children in Ash Class and Acorns Class for their excellent sharing assemblies. The standard of voice projection and confidence in front of an audience is an excellent example for all. Thank you to the staff who prepared them well and to the parents and carers for being an excellent audience.

Thank you to the parents and carers who were able to attend the curriculum resources sharing meetings for Relationships and Sex Education. We hope you found these opportunities as a useful way to know what learning has been taking place in school so this can be supported at home. Thank you to the staff who have organised these opportunities.

Last week Year 4 Elm Class visited Warden Hill Juniors as part of our work in the Linking Network programme. The children thoroughly enjoyed meetings up with their new friends and we are looking forward to taking part in the programme again next academic year.

This week the children were treated to an important performance from a theatre company on the theme of recycling and looking after the environment. We want the children to think about and understand key environmental themes and theatre performances are an excellent way to reinforce key learning. Do take the opportunity to converse with your child about the Riki Cycle visit.

On Tuesday our school governors were in school for their annual governor day. They took part in a range of learning opportunities to see the school in action and also presented awards to children in two special assemblies. I have included the award winners below. It is always such a difficult decision to make when it comes to these awards.

	Pupil achievement award	Pupil progress award	Overcoming challenges award	Physical activity and sport award	Positive contribution to the class and community award	Outstanding pupil
Reception	Olivia	Mehvish	Inaaya	Melissa	Dev	NA
Year 1	Niamh	Yusuf	Kacie	Dominika	Mihir	NA
Year 2	Chloe	Lauren	Dominic	Jesse	Alex	NA
Year 3	Ameenah	Darcie	Aahna	Bethany	Ojas	NA
Year 4	Taras	Nicola	Bailey	Keira	Abdur-Rahm	NA
Year 5	N’varee	Leo	Kallum	Louie	Mrudhanjani	NA
Year 6	Jacob	Max	Holly	Boy Oliver Girl Sophie	Olivia	Saleh

On Thursday next week most classes will have the opportunity to spend time with their teachers for next academic year. We will send details of the teaching structure home on the day children have the opportunity to meet them. Best wishes to our Year 6 children who will be visiting their secondary schools at the end of next week.

At the end of this academic year we will be saying farewell to the following members of staff and I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for their years of dedicated service to the children and families at Wigmore. I am sure that over the next few weeks families will have the opportunity to say farewell and thanks to these members of staff.

Mrs Bainbridge is relocating to the north of England to be closer to her family. She has worked at Wigmore in different classes and has led a range of different subjects for the last 10 years. Her kind, caring manner and support for the children has been amazing. We wish her and her children, who also attend Wigmore, all the very best for the move.

Mrs Feagan has worked at Wigmore for the past three years in Year 4. She is taking a new direction in her career and will be taking up a role with the NHS. The learning environment she has created in Year 4 has been a calm and purposeful one. We wish her all the very best for her new career.

Mr Addison has been our reliable and hard-working assistant site manager since 2018. He has helped around the school in so many ways not just as a site manager. He is always available to help with ferrying children to and from sports events and trips. He offers amazing coaching for children (and staff) for their running pursuits outside of school and is always willing to go the extra mile for everyone. We wish him all the best for his retirement.

Due to the need to have more adults working directly with children across the school our Family Workers, Susan and Trezett, will be leaving Wigmore at the conclusion of the summer holidays. Both Susan and Trezett have worked incredibly hard to support families throughout their time at Wigmore and I would like to thank them for their years of dedicated service. They will continue to be available until the end of this term. As mentioned in previous communication with families, Wigmore will have an SEND Team (SENDCo, SEND Teacher, SEND Teaching Assistant and Pastoral Lead) and Senior Leadership team who will be able to continue to support a range of families across the school. If you need any support or advice do not hesitate to contact school or speak to a senior leader on the gate to arrange a time to come in and converse with staff.

Last but not least is the fantastic Mrs Addison. Mrs Addison has worked at Wigmore for the last 18 years. She was the first friendly face that welcomed me to this amazing place when I started at Wigmore and is often the friendly face on the gate that welcomes every single person into school of a morning. Mrs Addison has a “can do” attitude and cares for every single person at Wigmore. We wish her the very best for a great retirement. Mrs Halsey has already started at Wigmore as our new school business manager and is doing a fantastic job after a comprehensive handover from Mrs Addison.

Dates for your July diary

Monday 3^rd – Teaching Talons visiting Early Years, Cultural Week starts

Tuesday 4^th – NSPCC visiting Year 5 and 6 for workshops, Hazel Class Assembly

Wednesday 5^th – National Education Union strike action to impact some classes, NSPCC visiting Year 5 and 6 for workshops

Thursday 6^th – Transition morning (staffing letter to go out to parents and carers), Outdoor and adventurous activities sports festival at Lewsey Park

Friday 7^th – National Education Union strike action to impact some classes, Year 6 QES Transition (day 2)

Monday 10^th July – International Fair and non-uniform day (parents can collect their children from 2:40 pm to take them to the fair which starts at 2:45 pm)

Tuesday 11^th July – Year 3 and 4 Multi sports festival at Downside, Brass Band Performance, Maple Class assembly, Year 2 Seaside Trip.

Wednesday 12^th – Foundation Sports Day (afternoon), Year 6 Camp Night

Friday 14^th – Key Stage 1 Sports Day (afternoon), Key Stage 2 Sports Day (morning)

Monday 17^th – Reserve Sports Days for Key Stage 1 and 2, End of academic year reports home to parents

Tuesday 18^th – Year 3 Percussion Performance to Parents

Wednesday 19^th – Reserve Sports Day for Foundation Stage (afternoon)

Thursday 20^th – Year 6 Leavers assembly to parents (9:30 am), Year 6 Leavers Disco

Friday 21^st – School closes for the Summer holidays at 1:30 pm

House Points

The children have been working incredibly hard in school to earn points for their House!

Week beginning	Aviators	Brewers	Mechanics	Plaiters
22/05/2023	169	171	217	145
05/06/2023	479	426	401	432
12/06/2023	221	260	240	233

ATTEND TO ACHIEVE!

Every minute of every lesson counts!

Be in to win!

Be on time and in school every day!

16/06/2023	Percentage	Comment	Classopoly places forward
Acorns (Reception)	92.2%	Must Improve	No Moves
Conkers (Reception)	96.3%	Almost There	No Moves
Pine (Reception)	92.2%	Must Improve	No Moves
Alder (Year 1)	94.0%	Must Improve	No Moves
Ash (Year 1)	97.2%	Outstanding	1 Move
Birch (Year 1)	96.0%	Almost There	No Move
Poplar (Year 2)	98.7%	Wow	2 Moves
Rowan (Year 2)	96.0%	Almost There	No Moves
Yew (Year 2)	91.4%	Must Improve	No Moves
Aspen (Year 3)	89.0%	Must Improve	No Moves
Hazel (Year 3)	96.2%	Almost There	No Moves
Juniper (Year 3)	89.7%	Must Improve	No Moves
Elm (Year 4)	97.7%	WOW	1 Move
Maple (Year 4)	95.7%	Must Improve	No Moves
Willow (Year 4)	95.3%	Must Improve	No Moves
Beech (Year 5)	97.3%	Outstanding	1 Move
Hawthorn (Year 5)	94.0%	Must Improve	No Moves
Linden (Year 5)	96.9%	Almost There	No Moves
Holly (Year 6)	92.9%	Must Improve	No Moves
Lime (Year 6)	94.0%	Must Improve	No Moves
Oak (Year 6)	90.6%	Must Improve	No Moves
Whole School (week)	94.46%
Whole School (Year)	93.43%

WB 23/06/2023	Percentage	Comment	Classopoly places forward
Acorns (Reception)	91.9%	Must Improve	No Moves
Conkers (Reception)	90.7%	Must Improve	No Moves
Pine (Reception)	83.7%	Must Improve	No Moves
Alder (Year 1)	95.3%	Wow	No Moves
Ash (Year 1)	91.0%	Must Improve	No Moves
Birch (Year 1)	85.3%	Must Improve	No Moves
Poplar (Year 2)	92.7%	Must Improve	No Moves
Rowan (Year 2)	90.0%	Must Improve	No Moves
Yew (Year 2)	86.6%	Must Improve	No Moves
Aspen (Year 3)	94.0%	Must Improve	No Moves
Hazel (Year 3)	96.6%	Wow	No Moves
Juniper (Year 3)	86.3%	Must Improve	No Moves
Elm (Year 4)	92.0%	Must Improve	No Moves
Maple (Year 4)	92.7%	Must Improve	No Moves
Willow (Year 4)	88.5%	Must Improve	No Moves
Beech (Year 5)	88.7%	Must Improve	No Moves
Hawthorn (Year 5)	91.3%	Must Improve	No Moves
Linden (Year 5)	87.6%	Must Improve	No Moves
Holly (Year 6)	88.7%	Must Improve	No Moves
Lime (Year 6)	86.7%	Must Improve	No Moves
Oak (Year 6)	90.4%	Must Improve	No Moves
Whole School (week)	90.02%
Whole School (Year)	93.33%

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