Dear Parents and Carers,

I hope everyone is keeping well.

Thank you to all families who have contributed to raising much needed funds today for the NSPCC. Number Day has been a real success in school and it has been great to see the children so engaged in their focused day of learning in Maths today. Thank you to those who organised the great opportunities for fun with Maths for the children.

The class teachers have been busy updating the individual year group blogs and our school X feed (formerly Twitter) has links to these important pages which will provide you with a flavour of what the children have been doing in and around school. We hope you find these useful and thank you to the teachers for working hard on these. Please follow our school feeds @WigmorePrimary and @WigmorePe

We have had some fantastic assemblies in school over the last few weeks ranging from Year 1 Alder’s class assembly to a fantastic drumming performance by two of our talented young musicians in Year 5. On Tuesday we also launched Mental Health Week which will be taking place next week. Thank you to all involved.

Reading is at the core of the curriculum and we are always looking at creative ways to link what we do in the curriculum with our school values. This week children from across the school had author of Call Me Lion, Camilla Chester, visit the school to work with the children on our school value of empathy. The author was impressed with the children’s knowledge of this important value and how it is essential that we all live this value in our daily lives. The queues to have books signed was a lengthy one but thank you to the families who were patient to get a copy for their children to read at home. No doubt Reading Records will have Call Me Lion listed as the children strive to achieve the next Give Me Ten milestone. Thank you to those who were involved in organising this opportunity for the children.

We have had a number of children represent the school over the last two weeks at Multi Sports events at Inspire Sports Village. Well done to all who took part and to the organisers of the events.

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 were in the Gold Book over the last few 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 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! 

The Gold Book

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

The Gold Book

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

The Gold Book

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

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! 

The Gold Book

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

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. 

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!

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,

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.

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 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,

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! 

The Gold Book

Well done to the following children who were in the Gold Book last 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 in the work we do with your children, 

Mr 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! 

The Gold Book

Well done to the following children who were in the Gold Book last 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 in the work we do with your children, 

Mr 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.

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