Dear Parents and Carers,

Thank you and Merry Christmas! 

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all our families the very best for the festive season and thank you all for your on-going support in 2021. The staff have been very fortunate to receive messages and gifts which really shows that everyone in our school community understands and lives the important value of kindness. Thank you!

A huge thanks to all the children for their hard work and determination throughout the Autumn term. Thank you to the staff who have worked incredibly hard for the children and support given to their families as well. It is now time to rest, reflect and re-energise so we are ready to face the challenges of the Spring term with positivity and enthusiasm.

Design Technology WOW WORK!

In my last blog I wrote about some of the amazing learning we have seen in the children’s writing. This blog will focus on some of the amazing Design Technology work the children have been producing this week.

Year 6

The Formula 1 season might have just finished and I can tell you we have some future engineers in Year 6 which shows through the great design and making of motorised Christmas cars.

Year 5

Decorating Christmas trees using pine cones, lolly sticks, beads and string were some of the activities the children had the opportunity to explore in Year 5, which they thoroughly enjoyed, some very good decorations were produced.

Year 4

Some great Christmas decorations using recycled jigsaw puzzles have been made. Such good learning for year 4 pupils.

Year 3

The positive energy and enthusiasm from our Year 3 children have led to the amazing creations of Christmas Jars and Advent wreaths.

Year 2

Mini Santa’s and some brilliant baubles were the focus in Year 2 which the children enjoyed thoroughly.

Year 1

Rudolph was theme and jigsaw puzzle pieces were the materials used in Year 1 for their decoations.

Foundation Stage

Glittering Christmas baubles showcasing an individual photo which will be great keep sakes for the children in Reception.

WELL DONE EVERYONE!

Accelerating progress in writing at Wigmore 

I have been extremely impressed with the amount of progress children have made with their writing this term. Well done to the following children who have been recognised in assembly today for their efforts.

Recognition has also gone to a number of children for making a special effort to read at home for 10 minutes every day, keep going. We want to see more children achieving the different Give Me Ten milestones as this will help support their progress in writing.

Supporting our families

Thank you to our family workers who have been working incredibly hard over the last few weeks. Their hard work with a number of families shows demonstrates the important value of kindness. They have been working closely with the Salvation Army and have been able to support so many in different ways and sometimes it is as simple as just being there to listen and give some time. School uniform, shoes, wellies, trainers, coats, blankets, throws, hats, scarves, gloves, food and hygiene products and this list could continue. A steady flow of giving and receiving creates a climate of kindness and demonstrates empathy.

Gentle reminder

I have noticed an increased number of cars not using the Asda Car Park at school drop off and pick up. Please make a concerted effort in the new year to increase the daily steps, park in the Asda Car Park and walk the short distance up the hill to Wigmore. For those using the back gate please respect our local residents by parking considerately. By doing this you are keeping all members of our school community safe and reducing pollution outside the school – cars idling whilst parking up just to drop off quickly is not the way forward, active travel methods are the best option.

House Points

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

The Gold Book

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

School Value of the Month – respect award winners for November

Kindness award winners for December

ATTEND TO ACHIEVE!

453 (WB 6.12.21) and 458 (WB 13.12.21) children’s names were entered into our attendance “Wheel of Fortune” family prize draw.

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.

Attendance for this school year at Wigmore stands at 93.7% which is slightly above the national average. At Wigmore we do not want to be slightly better than average – we want to be the best we can possibly be and reach our school target of 97%.

Lateness = lost learning!

Days off school = lost learning!

Staff farewells

Unfortunately the end of term in a school can often bring departures in a school. Today in Celebration assembly we said goodbye and good luck to the following members of staff and we wish them all the very best for their future endeavors. They have all served the school community admirably.

Miss Squires (Class teacher – Year 1 Yew Class) is pursuing a career outside the teaching profession. Miss Siddique will be taking on the role of class teacher in Yew Class from the beginning of the Spring term.

Mrs Attfield (Teaching Assistant) joined the school as a volunteer supporting Year 6 PE lessons and has made the decision to focus on enjoying time with her young grandson.

Mr Paul has worked in a range of roles across the school (Midday Supervisor, Crossing Patrol and Casual Teaching Assistant) he will be focusing on other things outside of school.

Mrs Harvey (Teaching Assistant) is retiring to spend time with her daughters and her dog Lyla.

Mrs Carmen (Teaching Assistant) is relocating to another part of the country. No doubt she will enjoy long walks by the beach with her family and four legged friends.

Mrs Lamb (Teaching Assistant) has secured employment in an early years setting after a number of years in the older year groups.

Mrs Josephs (Teaching Assistant) is due to have a baby very soon and is starting her maternity leave. We look forward to hearing of her news!

I do hope everyone has a safe and merry festive season and we look forward to welcoming everyone back to school in 2022!

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

Mr Johnston

Dear Parents and Carers,

We have now entered the festive month of December and there continues to be a range of amazing learning opportunities across the school for the children to make the most of. With two weeks remaining of the term it is important that we all try to stay in good routines both in school and out of school to make the most of every opportunity to learn.

Developing children’s writing at Wigmore 

Over the last two weeks children from across the school have been exploring and engaging with an interesting story without any words – Journey by Aaron Becker. The teaching staff have been working hard to focus on effective lesson design and planning that is responsive to the needs of all learners.  It has been great to see staff thinking creatively of how to support learning with different visuals from the story. In order to activate hard thinking the teachers have also been thinking carefully about the resources they use to support children’s writing. In our final staff meeting of the term we will be looking at standards of writing across the school and will be presenting one children from each class with an award in Celebration Assembly for making excellent progress in writing this term. Highlights from different classes related to this learning are below.

JOURNEY by Aaron Becker – YouTube

Early Years Foundation Stage

The children have thought about and have been doing some writing about what might be behind the red door. Predicting what might happen is a very important skill in the early years.

Year 1

The children watched the beginning of the story. They have been talking about different journeys they have been on and have been busy answering the following questions: What is the longest journey you have been on?  What is the most exciting journey you have been on?  If you could go anywhere, where would you like to go?  Would it be real or fictional? What mode of transport would you use? 

Year 2 

The children have been imagining they are the character in the story. Using a line down the middle of the classroom the children wrote on post it notes to stick next to the line. They moved through different settings asking questions about their senses: What might the character see, hear, smell or taste?

Year 3 

Interesting sentence openers to hook and engage the reader have been one of the areas Year 3 have worked on. The teachers have created some fantastic visual resources to support all learners and the children have been coming up with some amazing time and emotive sentence openers.

Year 4 

Regular and irregular past tense verbs has been an area of focus in Year 4. The children have been able to use these accurately in their writing. I look forward to seeing the final version of their journey stories.

Year 5 

Proof reading and editing your own writing is one of the key skills Year 5 have been working on this week. They have been able to identify and edit different errors in short journey stories and apply the skills they have learnt from this to their own learning.

Year 6 

The children have been busy planning their own journey stories. They have been using their planning frames to ensure their writing is well-structured, organised and flows well. Lessons always have a grammar focus and the children are responding positively to the high expectations the teachers have of them.

The Back Page 

On Wednesday 24th November some of our children with special educational needs had the opportunity to take part in a sports festival at Inspire. Curling, table cricket, table tennis, goal ball and hockey were some of the sports on offer. The children, and staff, had an amazing time! Huge thanks to Mrs Godfrey, our team of teaching assistants and Mr Addison for supporting the children so well on the day.

On Friday 26th November Wigmore entered the Year 6 Luton Schools Football Tournament which took place at Stopsley High School. The team did very well, finishing second in their group and going on to win the Plate section on the day. Huge thanks to Mr Brady and Mr Addison for supporting and leading the children on the day.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to take part in, observe and enjoy some command style activities with the children in Year 6 Ash Class. Mrs Clark has been leading some brilliant activities and this has resulted in children making good progress with their physical development and their ability to work well with each other solving various problems.

Yesterday our Year 6 Dance group took part in a competition held at Luton Sixth Form College. The group have been working hard over the last month to develop a high energy routine to a very popular song by Rhianna. Huge thanks to Mr Marshall for supporting the children so well with their dance.

Well done to all the children who are making the most of these opportunities at Wigmore and to all the adults who have gone above and beyond to give children the chance to take part and enjoy the benefits of regular physical activity.

Year 1 Trip to Wigmore Valley Park 

Last week the children in Year 1 had the opportunity to visit Wigmore Valley Park to support their learning in Science. The children had a great time stimulating their different senses, autumn is a brilliant time of year to do this. The park is very local to our school and if you have not been before do take some time out to visit this local gem. There is a lot of research that suggests that being out and about in the great outdoors is very good for your mental health and well-being. Thank you to the adults who organised and accompanied the children on the trip.

Staffing update 

This week at Wigmore the children and staff said farewell to Mrs Lepick (Higher Level Teaching Assistant in Year 2). Mrs Lepick has served the children and families at Wigmore for a number of years and I would like to take this opportunity to thank her for her commitment to the school throughout her time at Wigmore. We wish her all the best.

House Points

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

The Gold Book

Well done to the following children who have been in the Gold Book over the last 2 weeks.

ATTEND TO ACHIEVE!

 461 (WB 22.11.21) and 461 (WB 15.11.21) children’s names were entered into our attendance “Wheel of Fortune” family prize draw.

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.

Attendance for this school year at Wigmore stands at 94.1% which is slightly above the national average. At Wigmore we do not want to be slightly better than average – we want to be the best we can possibly be and reach our school target of 97%.

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,

It has been a fantastic and motivating two weeks in school. Everyone should be very proud of their efforts in and out of the classroom!

Respect

During the month of November we are focusing on the value of respect in school. The children have been fantastic in recognising that if we are to be able to be a living example of this value we have to be kind. Kind words, thoughts and actions towards ourselves, each other and the environment. The children have had access to some very thought provoking assemblies led by different staff.

Inside the four walls of the classroom and outside on the playground is where the magic happens! 

Along with other senior staff, I have been busy visiting a number of different classes across the school to see learning in action, visiting lessons and meeting with children and their books to discuss the different opportunities they have in a range of subjects. The children I have met are developing their confidence and ability to converse about their learning, their successes and the things they may need to do next in order to improve further. It has been pleasing to see and hear about the progress they are making in school.

Class blogs

The class blogs on our school website provide an insight into what has been taking place in and out of the classroom. Please take some time to have a look at this section of the website as it may assist parents and carers as a springboard into a conversation with your child about what is happening in school.

Loud and proud in Year 4 Linden

On Tuesday afternoon the children from Year 4 Linden Class shared some of their learning from different curriculum areas with parents, carers and the rest of Key Stage 2. I was particularly impressed with their voice projection and the huge number of parents that were in school to enjoy this opportunity. Well done to the children and staff in Year 4 Linden Class.

Remembrance Day

On Thursday 11th November and over the last few weeks the children have been learning about the importance of this special day. The respectful behaviour and learning opportunities the children have had linked to this have been very thoughtful and special. Thank you to all those who have purchased items to support the Poppy Appeal.

Amazing displays 

Over the last few weeks I have seen some amazing displays created that reflect the current learning of the children and the high standards they are achieving. Huge thanks to the teaching staff for taking the time to celebrate learning this way to make our learning environment reflective of the high expectations we are aiming to achieve.

Fantastic Family Workers 

From regular coffee mornings to thought provoking courses, our school family workers are here to help all families at Wigmore. They have been working incredibly hard over the last few weeks to ensure they continue to support families who are facing a number of different challenges. If you ever feel you need any support, for any reason, our family workers can signpost you to a number of different services and most importantly they are often available to listen.

On Thursday 2nd December at 9 am Mrs Clark, Susan and Trezett will be running a course on developing speech, language and communication. The course is open to all families and will provide helpful tips on how to support your child develop good skills in this area.

The Back Page!

Huge well done to the Key Stage 1 children who took part in the indoor athletics festival at Inspire on Wednesday.

Huge well done to the children who have been putting in maximum effort to their swimming lessons since the beginning of this year. Swimming is such an important life skill and it has been great to hear about the pleasing progress they are making after an extended period of time of not being able to go swimming.

Our before and after school clubs for sport are very popular! It is great to see such a huge number of children involved in physical activity. The benefits of regular physical activity are wide reaching!

I was also fortunate enough to catch a glimpse of the Year 6 Dance group who will be representing Wigmore at a local dance festival very soon. Their skill level, agility, energy and enthusiasm is amazing!

Massive thanks to Mr Marshall, Miss Williams and Mr Addison for their willingness to make the magic happen in sport so regularly.

Clubs 

Thursday after school is a real treat being able to listen to our wonderful school choir in their preparations for Christmas and the Young Voices performance which is taking place in January in Birmingham.

Mr Omer and Mrs Porteous-Heath have kindly volunteered to open our school library every Tuesday after school for families. This will help your child achieve the Give Me Ten reading milestones! 10 minutes of reading at home every day will have a positive impact on your child’s learning.

Foot paths around the school 

As the weather starts to close in some of the grassy areas are becoming soft and slippery under foot. There is a lot of parent and carer foot traffic on site of a morning and at the end of the day. I have noticed the path up to the back gate is rather narrow and can be congested when people are trying to pass one another. It is important that we all consider the space we have to ensure everyone can stay on the path. If you have a push chair please consider walking in single file to allow others to pass safely.

The Gold Book

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

House Points

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

ATTEND TO ACHIEVE!

 487 (WB 8.11.21) and 481 (WB 15.11.21) children’s names were entered into our attendance “Wheel of Fortune” family prize draw.

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.

Attendance for this school year at Wigmore stands at 94.6% which is slightly above the national average. At Wigmore we do not want to be slightly better than average – we want to be the best we can possibly be and reach our school target of 97%.

Lateness = lost learning!

Days off school = lost learning!

With thanks for your continued support,

Mr Johnston

Dear Parents and Carers,

The week before half term, half term and the current week has passed very quickly and has been full of amazing opportunities for learning for so many different members of our school community. I do hope you all had a restful half term break and enjoyed some of the amazing colours on offer in the great outdoors! Autumn is an amazing time of year!

As the weather changes and the amount of daylight hours reduces it is important that parents and carers driving to and from school continue to use the Asda Car Park. We want all our families to arrive safely and without the bother of pollution caused by engines idling on Twyford Drive. Active travel opportunities give you a better opportunity to experience the best of autumn.

If you are walking to and from school please use the pedestrian gate and not the car park gate as this is very unsafe.

Running for Team Wigmore! 

Our Fun Run and teachers team taking part in the Love Luton Half Marathon was a real success. We have raised £10,375 (this includes £2500 from a local charitable trust who heard about the good work we are trying to do and some substantial donations from other local businesses).  Over the next few weeks our school council will be looking at different quotes that have arrived in school over half term. This amount is exceptional! Your kindness and generosity is most appreciated. Thank you to Mr Marshall and Mrs Williams who organised the fun run, Mrs Addision for all her hard work behind the scenes, Mr Addison for his helpful training programme for the teachers taking part and finally to the teachers who braved atrocious conditions to cross the line successfully on Sunday. Everyone living the values of determination and courage. A huge well done to some of our parents at Wigmore who took part in the school fun run and those who joined the teachers on the starting line at Stockwood Park on Sunday morning.

Well done to our Guess the Time competition winners. The children named have demonstrated some expert investigation skills!

Reading at Wigmore – Give Me Ten!

Our school library will be back up and in full operation from next week. One of our school governors, Mrs Jones, has kindly offered her time to oversee its use. Mrs Porteous-Heath and Mr Omer will be opening the library every Tuesday after school so our families can borrow books to take home and read with their children. All classes will have access to a library session during the week with their class teacher. Reading is at the core of the curriculum. We want children to reach the different Give Me Ten milestones.

Sporting life at Wigmore! 

If there were back pages on Headteacher blogs they would be full. Mr Marshall and Mrs Williams have been working incredibly hard to provide some wonderful sporting opportunities for the children at Wigmore.

Football Matches 

The boys football team travelled to Linden Academy and St Joseph’s before half term. Winning 3-1 against Linden and losing 3-1 against St Joseph’s. Well done to all who took part.

Sports Hall Athletics

Some of our Year 5 and 6 children also took part in the sports hall athletics championships and qualified for the next round. Well done to all who took part.

Parent and Carer Consultations

Thank you to all the parents and carers who joined us in school recently for parent and carer consultations. We hope you found these useful and had the opportunity to look through your children’s books to see the progress they have made so far this year. Thanks to the office staff for organising the evenings and to the teachers for putting the effort into developing good working partnerships with our families.

Awe and wonder in Year 3

Just before half term the children in Year 3 were treated to an amazing day with different reptiles in school. They have produced some quality work linked to this. Year 3 Maple also had their class sharing assembly and have set the bar very high with the sharing of their learning with Key Stage 2 and parents and carers. They were confident and articulate and the audience detectives listened very well. Thanks to the staff in Year 3 for continuing to do an amazing job with the children and to our parents and carers for their support.

Year 5 and 6 Outdoor Learning

Thanks to Mrs Clark who has been organising some amazing outdoor learning opportunities for the children in Year 5 and 6 on a Thursday afternoon. Ryebridge construction have donated some great resources the children have been able to be use to develop team work skills. The children are really enjoying these activities.

Religious Education

The children have also been learning about the festival of Diwali. Happy Diwali to all our families who are celebrating Diwali this week. Mrs Chavda did an amazing assembly with Key Stage 1 this week and children in Key Stage 2 will be learning about this next week.

This week in school Year 6 have been learning about the Islamic faith via a special visit from Imam Usman Shahzad Butt from the Stevenage Mosque. Thank you to the teachers for organising this wonderful learning opportunity for the children.

Staffing news

Congratulations to Miss Keenan and her family who welcomed baby Ellie into the world on 28th October. I have heard that everyone is doing very well. Exciting times ahead!