Dear Parents and Carers,

I hope everyone is keeping well and have enjoyed the sunny start to the beginning of the second half of the Spring term.

Ramadan and Lent

To all our families who are observing the religious events of Ramadan and Lent I wish you all the very best for a positive month of reflection and growth.

Race and Conscious Equality

Last Friday we celebrated Mother Languages Day in school. The children had an excellent day in school learning about languages from all over the world from our expert teachers, parents and students from Putteridge High. The day culminated in two brilliant assemblies where children shared their learning with one another. Learning about languages is a great way of promoting our school values and develops a sense of belonging across the school. The children in Key Stage 2 were also treated to a performance about belonging yesterday. Thank you to Tangled Feet for providing this and to our staff working party for Race and Conscious Equality for all their efforts.

Did you know that Romanian is the second most spoken language at Wigmore? Following the amazing lessons taught by parents, teachers and children I have learnt the following interesting 5 facts about Romania:

1. Romania houses 7 UNESCO World Heritage Sites

2. Romania is one of the countries with the fastest internet speed

3. Romania has Europe’s largest rock sculpture

4. Romania has the first city, Timisoara, to use electric street lamps in Europe

5. Romania is the largest country on the Balkan Peninsula in Eastern Europe.

Mastering Maths

We also had a huge number of parents and carers in school learning about our mastering number sessions that we are running in Key Stage 1. Thank you to all who organised this and to all the parents who were able to attend.

SEND Team update 

For our parents and carers who have children with special educational needs we have had two information sessions.

Elisabeth from EPIC (Empowering Parents Influencing Change) joined us for our Parents Information Session for SEND on 30th January, she shared about the work of EPIC and how they are able to support parents and children/young people with SEND needs in Luton. EPIC is the official Parent Carer Forum (PCF) for the Luton Borough and they are a non-profit, independent registered community interest company made up of parents and carers of children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) aged 0-25. Their mission is to bridge the gap between local services and families by ensuring that parents’ voices are heard, valued, and acted upon to improve services that meet the needs of our community. They represent all members across all disabilities, working collectively to influence positive change for families living in or accessing services within the Luton Borough. Further information can be found on their website: https://epiclutonpcf.org/

Today Natalie Hodges from Luton Borough Council joined us for our SEN Parent Coffee Morning. Natalie spoke to us about her role as SEN Parent Engagement Officer. She explained that her role is to work across Luton to develop and embed processes, that enable the participation of children and young people with Special Education Needs and Disabilities, their parents and carers in decision-making and service planning, delivery, and evaluation. She also aims to drive the participation of children and young people with SEND in decision making and service planning, delivery, and evaluation across education, health and social care in Luton. As well as this, she hopes to empower SEND children and young people (CYP) to make a difference, helping them to develop their skills and abilities and make positive contributions to the outcomes of other children and young people. During the session Natalie offered parents the opportunity to share their experiences of SEN and asked them to express their ideas on how services in Luton for SEN can be improved.

Follow Luton Local Offer on Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/LutonL0?locale=en_GB

Or you can join their SEND Newsletter mailing list to hear about engagement opportunities

https://luton.us4.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=1f2ee8824f010bdb0531edad4&id=573b9f6d40

Any parents and carers of pupils with SEND needs are always welcome to join us for these friendly and inclusive sessions which take place once a term – details of every session are sent by the school admin team.

Last week, Mrs Jones, our library assistant and former school governor had her last day in school with us. She has worked and volunteered at Wigmore since 2010. Her final message to the children was shared in celebration assembly today, encouraging all children to keep reading. All the best for an amazing retirement.

The Gold Book – Well done to the following children who were in the Gold Book this week.   

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!

Lateness = lost learning!

Days off school = lost learning! 

With thanks for your continued support,

Mr Johnston

Dear Parents and Carers,

The first half of the Spring term has flown by and I hope all our children and their families are looking forward to a rest and recharge over the half term.

It has been great to see and talk to so many children over the last few weeks about their progress in writing. This year, under the guidance of our writing lead Mrs Parkar, every class has introduced an author’s chair to give the children a sense of purpose and audience for when they write. I know the children have responded positively to this and have enjoyed sharing their writing with their peers, it is hoped that this will continue to motivate the children to write more quality texts. Writing is like thinking through our fingers!

Well done to both Juniper and Ash class for fantastic sharing assemblies over the last 2 weeks. Thank you to the teachers for preparing the children so well and for all the parents and carers who were able to attend.

Over the last few weeks there have been a number of classes taking in part in a range of trips to support their learning in different areas of the curriculum. Year 6 have been on a local walk and a trip to Whipsnade Zoo, Year 4 have also been to Whipsnade. It is always to hear the positive reports about the behaviour and positive attitude of Wigmore children on trips. Thank you to the staff for organising these opportunities for the children.

Our 60 strong school choir took part in the Young Voices evening at Wembley Arena earlier this week. It has been amazing to hear of the excellent behaviour and high quality performance put on by all Luton schools but especially our huge choir. Thank you and well done to everyone involved.

We are looking for parent volunteers to support Mother Languages Day on Friday 28th February. Miss Islam and Mrs Ely have been working incredibly hard to organise an amazing day of language learning for the children and we are looking forward to having students from Putteridge High lead language sessions for the children. If you are able to come in to share the amazing languages you speak at home please speak to a member of staff. Wigmore is an amazing, diverse school community and this day will be an excellent way to celebrate this.

This week all classes have been braving the cold weather to take part in activities linked to the Big Schools Birdwatch. Thanks to Mrs Zhouri for organising the activities the children have been completing throughout the week.

On Thursday our Year 4 and 5 footballers took part in a local football tournament and represented the school very well. Thank you to Mr Marshall and Mr Whadcoat for organising these wonderful sporting opportunities for the children.

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

Empathy Awards for this half term 

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! 

Lateness = lost learning!

Days off school = lost learning! 

With thanks for your continued support,

Mr Johnston

Dear Parents and Carers,

We are flying towards February in the hope that we have some more settled and warmer weather.

It has been a busy time in school. Last week senior leaders and governors visited classrooms on Tuesday and Thursday afternoon to see the wider curriculum in action. It was great to see excellent behaviour for learning in all classrooms with children accessing a wide range of interesting and engaging activites.

Tangled Feet have been delivering their exceptional Mindfulness Programme to some of our children in Key Stage 1. I visited the music room last Tuesday and am looking forward to visiting the session again just before half term. They are incredibly adaptive to the needs of our children since starting with us. They have worked hard to ensure the children feel supported, understood, and empowered to manage their emotions well.

Over the last fortnight we have had children participate and enjoy their involvement in the Year 5/6 multi sports festival, County Football Finals and a PE Reward trip to an indoor rock climbing centre. Thanks to Mr Marshall, Mr Whadcoat and all the children involved in representing our school so well at these events.

Well done to Year 5 Hawthorn class for sharing their learning with their peers and parents in their recent sharing assembly.

Last week we had individual school photos, the proofs will be going home today with your children, please ensure you place your orders by Friday 7th February. Thank you to the office staff for organising this.

This week children in Foundation commenced their class trips to Pizza Express. The children and staff had a great time. Thank you to the staff for organising this opportunity for the children.

On Thursday we had visitors in school from EPIC to share information with parents and carers of children with special educational needs and disabilities. EPIC provide a wide range of services to parents and carers of young people with SEND – a listening ear, signposting to services, parental courses. The session was very positive and well received by all in attendance. Thank you to our SEND team for organising this opportunity for parents and carers and thank you to those who were able to attend.

This year we have continued to make progress towards achieving a Race and Conscious Equality charter mark. We have a working party of staff who have been very busy organising different cultural events that are going to be taking place in school. Communication will be sent out to families regarding the events we have planned. It would be great to see parents and carers get involved in what is being offered to help promote race equality. We all have a responsibility to ensure racism and inequality does not exist in society.

The Gold Book

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

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! 

Lateness = lost learning!

Days off school = lost learning! 

With thanks for your continued support,

Mr Johnston

Dear Parents and Carers,

I hope everyone is well and has settled back into positive daily routines early in the new year.

It has been a busy two weeks in school full of amazing learning opportunities for the children.

Last week all classes introduced our value for this half term – empathy. It is very important that we all show empathy in order to live in peace with one another. By making an effort to see with the eyes of others, listen with the ears of others and feel with the hearts of others the world would be a much better place for everyone to live in.

In order to ensure children understand this abstract concept we have been using a range of diverse positive role models and their stories as examples for the children to follow. A recent survey of young people in the UK provides us with an insight of how important positive role models are for young people – 93% said that they are very important. On Monday afternoon senior leaders visited classrooms to see children learning about amazing, positive role models and how their life experiences helped demonstrate our school value of empathy. We were very pleased with the learning that was taking place across the school and children responding positively to the high expectations of the adults they were working with. Well done all!

Last week children in Key Stage 1 and 2 also learnt about the Jewish celebration of Hannukah. Thanks to Miss Pirks for organising a member of the local synagogue to come into school to share their experiences with the children. It is important that we have representatives of all faith backgrounds share their experiences to promote the British values of respect and tolerance.

Well done to the children in Key Stage 2 who represented the school so well in the recent indoor athletics competitions against other schools. Thank you to Mr Marshall and Mr Whadcoat for preparing the children so well to achieve success in this event.

Monday 20th January in the UK is often deemed as one of the most difficult days of the year in the UK for people who have challenges with their mental health. In order to raise the profile of empathy and understanding the needs of others we will be raising money for Young Minds via having a non-uniform day wearing clothes that make individuals happy. Thank you for your support with this and many thanks to the staff who have organised this.

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

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! 

Lateness = lost learning!

Days off school = lost learning! 

With thanks for your continued support in the work we do with your children,

Mr Johnston

Dear Parents and Carers,

I hope everyone is keeping well and looking forward to a well earned rest and recharge at the end of the Autumn term. This will be my final blog for this half term and I would like to take this opportunity to wish all our families a wonderful festive season on behalf of all the staff at Wigmore.

Thank you to all the families who supported our first ever Craft Fair on Sunday 1st December. This was a roaring success due to the hard work of the organisers and kindness of those who attended. Thank you to all involved.

Many thanks to the families who have supported the Asda Cash Pots for Schools fundraising drive. The school have raised over £2000 due to members of our school community remembering to swipe their cards every time they visited the store to make purchases. Your kindness will benefit the young people at Wigmore.

Thank you to the parents and carers who have been able to attend our recent Christmas Crafts sessions in schools. Thank you to the adults for organising some amazing activities for all different year groups and to Mrs Willis for coordinating the staff.

On Wednesday the children were treated to an amazing Christmas meal from our fantastic school kitchen. There was a real festive feeling in the school with children and staff singing songs in their Christmas jumpers. An amazing time was had by all. Thank you to the kitchen staff and Mrs Halsey for organising such a brilliant festive meal.

Over the last few weeks senior staff have been meeting with teachers to discuss the progress of children in reading, writing and maths. Mr Clarke has also been very busy assessing the children’s progress in phonics. The conversations and assessments have been very beneficial and tweaks will be made to ensure all children at Wigmore continue to make progress in these key areas of learning.

Thank you to Mr Marshall and Mr Whadcoat for their continued hard work with organising a range of sporting opportunities over the last fortnight. The Learn to Ride class have been very well received and during the week we had a visit from another local school to see sensory circuits for SEND children in action. Physical education at Wigmore continues to be outstanding in so many ways!

This academic year subject leaders have been asked to organise additional trips to promote learning in their areas of responsiblity. This week we had a group of readers visit the Roald Dahl Museum in Great Missenden. Thank you to all who were involved in organising this. Next week the fun with trips continues with Year 5 visiting the Space Centre in Leicester.

Next week is the final week of the Autumn term and we have the following things happening in school.

Monday – Christingle Service for children

Tuesday – Foundation Nativity

Wednesday – Rock Steady Concert

Thursday – Key Stage 1 Christmas Performances, including fundraising efforts for a very worthwhile cause

Friday – School closes for the end of term at 1:30 pm

The Gold Book

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

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! 

Lateness = lost learning!

Days off school = lost learning! 

We look forward to seeing children back in school at 8:45 am on Monday 6th January.

Mr Johnston

Dear Parents and Carers,

I hope everyone is keeping well and staying warm in the colder weather.

It has been a busy and enjoyable fortnight in school with so many amazing learning opportunities for the young people at Wigmore.

This week senior leaders have been visiting classrooms in the afternoons to get a flavour of the children’s learning and progress in a range of different curriculum areas. I have been impressed with the excellent behaviour for learning and the way they are retaining their knowledge and key vocabulary for their learning.

The children have also had so many great opportunities to take part in a range of sports both in and out of school. Well done to all the children involved and thank you to Mr Marshall and Mr Whadcoat for organising the following things:

• SEND Sports Festival
• Basketball Festival
• Year 5 and 6 Boys Football Festival
• Learn to Ride

Well done to Year 1 Alder Class for leading a great sharing assembly this week. Thank you to the parents and carers who were able to join us for this and to the staff in class who did a great job preparing the children.

Over the last few weeks children in Year 2 have been working with an organisation called Tangled Feet. They are working with the children on developing skills linked to mindfulness. Mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going around you. It is important life skill and very much linked to the values of independence and empathy. The children are thoroughly enjoying the sessions. Thank you to the adults who have organised this opportunity for Year 2.

On Wednesday I was able to provide school tours for families who may be interested in joining Wigmore in September 2025. If you know of anyone with Nursery aged children please encourage them to book onto a school tour.

Don’t forget to pop into our Craft Fair on Sunday! Thanks to all who have organised this fundraiser for the school.

The Gold Book

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! 

Lateness = lost learning!

Days off school = lost learning! 

With thanks for your continued support,

Mr Johnston

Dear Parents and Carers,

It has been a busy and exciting start to the second half of the Autumn term.

This half term we are focusing on the value of independence, the ability of everyone in our school community to own their learning. Phase leaders have presented the award winners of our value for last half term and we look forward to seeing everyone focus on this important value in the lead up to the end of the Autumn term. It will require everyone to think carefully about the decisions they make in all aspects of learning.

Wigmore School have now taken on the organisation and running of Funtastic Club. Thank you to all who have been involved in making the transition as smooth as possible and if you require a place in our breakfast or after school club do not hesitate to contact the school office for more information. Thank you to all our parents and carers who have adapted well to the new systems and processes we have put in place to ensure the club runs smoothly for the children who attend.

Thank you to the parents and carers who were able to attend our first SEND Parent Information Session. Mrs Clark, Mrs Eversden and Miss Jackson have done a fantastic job organising different speakers to attend these sessions to provide important updates for parents and carers on a range of issues linked to supporting young people with special educational needs and disabilities. Mrs Clark and Mrs Eversden have also been dropping into lessons across the school this week with a focus on how well the children with SEND are being supported in lessons.

Last week in school it was great to hear and see the delights of children enjoying themselves at our school disco. Thank you to all who were involved in the organisation of this and to those staff who were able to stay to support the children to have a good time with their friends. The children looked fantastic in their costumes. The event raised much needed funding for the school.

This week senior leaders, one of our school governors and our writing subject leader – Mrs Parkar, visited classrooms to see writing in action across the school. It was great to see children across the school so engaged and motivated to write. The children are taking pride in their work and are using the models provided to support their own learning. It was also pleasing the see our children with special educational needs being supported well with different resources to support their writing in lessons. Well done to all involved!

Over the last few weeks the children have been involved in some very worthwhile learning about Remembrance Day and Anti Bullying. It has been great to see the work being produced by the children in these two areas and hearing about some of the lessons they have been involved in.

Children in different year groups have also been involved in different trips to Wardown Park and Wembley Stadium and have been very successful at the Sports Hall Athletics event at Inspire Sports Village. These opportunities are very important for the children and thanks must go to the adults in school who have organised these.

Well done to the children and adults in Acorns Class for leading a fantastic class assembly yesterday. Thank you to all the parents and carers who were able to attend this.

Thank you to all the families and staff who have been supporting the Asda Cashpot for Schools. So far your efforts have raised a total of £1818. With 15 days left it would be great if this number could pass the £2000 mark.

One of our teaching assistants, Mrs Clarke, has also been busy fundraising over the last year. She has been running a mile a day in support of Histiocytosis UK. If you would like to support her phenomenal efforts please feel free to donate on the link below. What an amazing effort! Inspirational in so many ways!

https://www.justgiving.com/page/amanda-clarke-1704031399199

Over the last week I have had communications with a number of local residents about families parking in Twyford Drive at school drop off and collection time. Local residents have shared photos with me of parking at different times of the day and signficant traffic congestion in poor weather. This is having an impact on their daily lives and also makes school arrival and departure times unsafe for the children and families at Wigmore. There are a number of families who ignore our requests to use the Asda Car Park before and after school. Please be considerate of local residents and prioritise the safety of our school community by parking in the Asda Car Park. Thank you to the families who consistently use the Asda Car Park.

The Gold Book 

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

Reslience award winners

Well done to the following children who consistently demonstrated our school value of resilience last half term.

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! 

Lateness = lost learning!

Days off school = lost learning!