It is the teachers choice today for their ‘favourite moment’ from the term which they shared with the children in assembly today…

Year R – Miss Smith has been delighted by the enthusiasm in which the children have embraced their Animals Topic. We hope that they continue in this interest as we need ecologists, conservationists, zoologists, vets and marine biologists in the future!

Year 1 – Mrs Vogel shared some lovely news about how many compliments there were about the behaviour and manners of the whole Year 1 class on Tuesday when they went to Arundel to complete their super Castles Topic. Great work!

Year 2 – Miss Kirby is incredibly proud of the children for really STRETCHING their comfort zones in maths this term. They have been trying out the next level in their learning and setting their own challenges which reflects mastery level thinking for Year 2.

Year 3 – Miss Hand has been thrilled by the interest in the Romans history topic this half term. The children have really impressed her by extending their learning and research at home – keep it up Year 3 and do continue to develop their interest and enjoy the wealth of the Roman legacy whether you book a trip to Italy or visit Fishbourne Roman Palace!

Year 4 – Mrs Scott-Bromley was really proud of the feedback about the class at the Sculpture Park visit and from their residential. They have worked as a team and made independent choices. Keep it up Year 4!

Year 5 – Miss Wiggins was torn between two choices for her class. Firstly, they wowed her at Calshot with their terrific teamwork and in trying new activities and challenges and secondly, they have impressed in their scientific work over the half term.

Year 6 – Mrs Miffling shared how brilliantly the class responded under the pressure of the SATs week. It is intense but each child did their best and tried hard. They have knuckled down to business as usual this week too.

There have been many super learning moments over the last five weeks and it has been great to see the sunshine a little more frequently too! I hope it continues to shine down on us all over half term. Have a good rest and see you back to school on Monday 3^rd June. We will be re-booting our five a week reading after the holiday so please support at home by signing off at least once a week and hearing children read out loud too.

Have a good week,

Mrs Katy Pinchess, Headteacher

 

THANK YOU TO…

…the Proud family for the leaf blower – Mr Lucas loves it!

…the Bingeman family for the butterfly garden

…the Bryan family for the donation of gluesticks

 

WELL DONE TO...

…all the families who embraced Walk to School week – the children have shared their efforts in class on the special posters and Mrs Vogel will be sharing the findings with us as a proud Healthy School. We encouraged everyone to get involved and walk a little extra every day and heard great stories of before school drop offs, siting of the Bentley goslings and even after school walks. Great work everyone and thank you to parents and carers for supporting children with this.

Our furthest walkers (to our knowledge) were Hazel and Tom who set out at 7am on Tuesday to walk to school from Upper Froyle. Dominic joined them at Lower Froyle at 7:45am. It was a beautiful walk and they got to school on time! They talked about how children got to school in the olden days and what they might have eaten for breakfast then.

…our fabulous Tennis Teams who were first and third at the tournament today.  The first team (Morgan – Year 4, Olivia, Olivia & Joe – Year 3) are through to the Hampshire Games later in the Summer.  Our second team (George & Matthew – Year 3, Lily & Emily – Year 4) missed out on second place by only one point.  Miss Smith was very proud of all our players’ sportsmanship and perseverance throughout the tournament; she was particularly impressed with their manners and honesty during play.  Well done Tennis Teams!

 

SCHOOL LUNCHES

The price of a school lunch will rise in September to £2.40 per day for Junior children. 

It is possible you may qualify for free school meals; simply click here to go online to find out if you qualify. Alternatively, just pop into the school office and Mrs Drew can check for you.  Please be assured all information about free school meals is kept in the strictest confidence.  Infant school lunches remain free.

 

French NEWS

Languages are taught through the four key skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing. At Bentley writing begins in Year 1 with the copying of simple words, such as labelling a picture using a wordbank. By the end of Key Stage 2 the children are able to write a variety of sentences in French using either wordbanks and dictionaries for support or phrases they have learnt off by heart. This was demonstrated recentlly with the Year 6 Monsieur Madame books which are currently on display in the Year 6 classroom. Increasingly over the last couple of years, I have been encouraging the children to develop their memories during French lessons. This includes being able to recall words orally as well as in writing.

French Spelling Challenge

Recently the children in Key Stage Two were challenged to learn a list of words of their own choice in French off by heart for a French Spelling Challenge. Well done to the following children who received the highest score in each of their respective classes:

Naomi – Year 3, Darrell – Year 4, Max – Year 5 and George – Year 6

Congratulations also go to Year 3 who gained the class prize for their achievement in the challenge. They were treated to a game of Pétanque on Wednesday.

French Termly Awards

Last term the following children received a French award:

Year 3 – Sophie, Year 4 – Michaela, Year 5 – Spencer and Year 6 –Eloise

Well done to all of these children. You have worked very hard this term and shown great enthusiasm for learning a language.

French Day

French Day has long been a feature of the Summer Term calendar of events at Bentley. However, this year it will take place during September to tie in with the annual European Day of Languages. The theme will support the school’s passion for educating children about other countries and will celebrate ‘La Francophone’ - countries where French is spoken throughout the world. Each class will study a French-speaking country during the day, with the aim of appreciating that French is a great language to use to travel to some amazing countries.

French Curriculum

To learn more about the French curriculum at Bentley, please click here

 

DATES AHEAD...

There are lots of lovely activities in the weeks ahead so do check the school calendar on the website and the dates list. You will want to have a ‘save the date’ ready for…

Your child’s visit to St Mary’s Church in the first week back – we would really appreciate your help to walk up to church. Click here to check on the ‘What’s Happening’ page to find out which day and time your child will be going and to volunteer. It is a very special hands on experiential event and last year parents were unanimous in saying how wonderful it was to pray, reflect and experience this with the children. Those of all faiths and no faith are very welcome to join us.

Sports Day on Wednesday 12^th June - we hope that extended family can come along to watch the athletics, races and then take part in a family picnic lunch (wet weather date is planned for 19^th June)

PTFA Fair after school on Friday 21^st June – all the family are welcome to join the pirate extravaganza! More details to follow after half term!

Boats to Bentley Big Bike Ride on Saturday 29^th June – join us for the bike ride or the children’s Cycle-Mania or just come along and help us celebrate the riders’ achievement at the BBQ in the afternoon.

Open Afternoon on Friday 12^th July from 2-3.30pm

 

BUILDINGS AND SITE NEWS

Over half term we have lots of IT work taking place to upgrade our school network and systems to ensure that we stay connected and protected. Mr Lucas has big plans to remove the blue fences around the Rainbow playground and we will be piloting after half term to see how the space works and whether or not new fences will be required. You may notice that he has relocated the wonderful welly rack to be much closer to the gardens and Year R. Unfortunately, the contractors who are booked to complete the playground markings have had to postpone so this work may now be delayed to the summer break.

Gladly we are happy to report that our Hampshire building services have fixed the costly damage done to our lovely school when thieves came onto site. Whilst what was stolen was worth approximately a couple of hundred pounds the cost of the work was in the thousands. We have taken steps to increase the security on site and would urge anyone who witnesses any suspicious behaviour to contact the police on the 999 phone number to help.  

 

CHARITY NEWS

There is some fantastic news to report from the St Mary’s and Bentley CE Primary School partnership - our events for Christian Aid Week raised an amazing £575!

This is enough to provide 10 community health worker kits, including a bicycle and torch in each one, enabling them to access women in surrounding villages and providing the support that it is vital in maternal health.

If you baked a cake, bought a cake, flipped bacon, served a scone or drank some tea – thank you SO much, it really is appreciated.  And if you missed the opportunity to find out more, or to contribute financially, then you can do both online here: www.caweek.org