A few parents have suggested that we set up an Amazon Wish List for those who may not have items to donate but would still like to contribute. I have put together a range of items on the list, and the link can be found below. We are focusing on the Christian value of generosity this half-term in worship, and it is clear that the Bentley community is wholeheartedly living out this value. Thank you once again for your continued support.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/27K4UM8E7XBNH?ref_=wl_share

In school, we have been fortunate to have a number of visitors come to school recently to enrich our curriculum. From the Fire Service visiting to teach important safety lessons, to an exciting in-school performance of Macbeth, and a memorable trip to Arundel Wetlands, it has been an incredibly engaging and enriching time for our students. These experiences are helping to bring our curriculum to life and provide hands-on learning opportunities. Below, you will find some recounts from the children about these fantastic events.

This week, Year 5 and 6 had a visit from two of our old year 6s who are now at Eggar's alongside their new headteacher. They told them all about secondary school life and answered any questions or worries they may have about the transition coming their way in the next couple of years. Our pupils were particularly impressed with the Minecraft video that was shown of the secondary school that had taken one student five months to create! We heard from Sam and Pablo how the food is delicious (you pay with your fingerprint - wow!) and that there are so many clubs to choose from at lunch and after school.

On Thursday, Year 4 enjoyed a very sunny trip to the WWT Wetlands Centre, in Arundel.  The children experienced many 'awe and wonder' moments when they caught and studied many small creatures during pond dipping, sketched the beautiful landscape whilst sitting in a bird hide and floated peacefully through the reeds in the centre's electric boat.  Dottie and Lyra said, "We really enjoyed the pond dipping because we found lots of creatures.  We particularly like the greater water boatmen."  

Ellen said, "I liked the boat trip because it was fun and we could feel the reeds on our faces."

In other school news, Mrs. Matthews led a whole school assembly this week to re-launch Times Table Rock Stars (TTRS), an excellent tool to help children practise their times tables in a fun and engaging way. If you would like more information about how it works, please don’t hesitate to speak to your child’s class teacher.

On a different note, I would like to remind everyone about an important safety measure. When entering through the gate, please ensure it is securely closed behind you, even if you're only popping in for a brief moment. Your help in keeping our children safe is greatly appreciated.

Vicky Hallett

Headteacher

 

THANK YOU…

…to the Ormond family for the arts supplies, the Meagher family for the storage container, the Unwin family for the Jenga and Connect Four, the Walter family for the toy dinosaurs and to the Thurman family for passing on to the local community Mrs Hallett’s letter requesting donations. We are very grateful for your generous donations and support.

 

STEM CHALLENGE

Some Year 6 children have written about an exciting event earlier this week:

A group of our Year 6s went to a very exciting STEM workshop at Frensham Heights School focused on Greenpower Formula 24 Racing. They discussed, debated and learnt about aerodynamics, heat dissipation, battery efficiency and gearing effects. Year 6 particularly enjoyed the practical timed activities, covering car design, wheel changes and rolling pit stops. Our pupils did Bentley proud with their table topping times and superb questions.

 

 

 

 

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES IN SCHOOL

We are very pleased to share some news about the roles that some of our fantastic children have taken on in school.

Our Eco Leaders are Lexi D and Flora-Rose.  They have taken on board the role so brilliantly showing great initiative and a positive can-do attitude.  Eco Council is really lucky to have such brilliant leaders this year!

 

TT ROCKSTARS!

Well done to Year 3!  This week they won the Battle of the Bands competition, which involved all of the key stage two classes.  Excellent work for practising your times tables and helping your class to win this week!

Battle of the Bands will run again from Friday 4^th October until Thursday 10^th October.  Good luck everyone!

 

ECO UPDATE

Eco Council & Eco Lesson

This week Eco Council led collective worship to share their learning from last week’s Hampshire Climate Unity Conference. They finished off by reading the book ‘The Crown’ by Emily Kapff in which a girl from the future invites the reader to consider what kind of world they would like to pass on. This provided a great discussion point in our Eco Lessons where we also explored the problems and solutions of climate change. In addition, the children were also introduced to the Blue Peter Earthshot Competition which challenges children to invent a solution to an environmental problem. For more details of how to enter, please click here,

Litter Picker Backpacks

The Young ACAN Litter Picker Backpacks are back! Over the course of the year your child will have the opportunity to take home one of our litter picker backpacks to enable families to go on a litter pick during the weekend. They will be allocated on a Friday afternoon and sent home for the weekend.

If your child comes home with a litter picker backpack, we ask you to be aware of safe litter picking. Please be noted that participation in a litter pick using the litter picker backpack is entirely at your own risk and that children must be supervised by an adult. The school does not provide insurance for this activity. Please click here for a Beginner’s Guide to Litter Picking produced by Keep Britain Tidy. You may wish to watch this short video by Picker Pals before you embark on your litter picking! Please return the litter picker backpack to school on Monday. Inside the bag is: a litter picker; a notebook to record your litter pick; a pair of gloves; hi-viz jacket and a reusable bag. We kindly request that you dispose of the litter safely and return the reusable bag in the backpack together with its contents.

 

NURTURING PROGRAMME

Alton Cluster Support Service are running an 8 week parenting course starting on 14^th October. Children are rewarding, stimulating and fun, but looking after them can be stressful and challenging. The Nurturing Programme helps deal with those challenges so that you can have a calmer, happier life. A tried and tested programme, it helps us think about what we do, why we do it and how it makes us feel.

Click here to book your place!

 

 

 

 

 

 

STARTING SCHOOL AND MOVING TO SECONDARY SCHOOL – SEPTEMBER 2025

 

It is already time to be looking ahead to next September! If your child is in Year 6, please look at our community pages for information about open events for our local secondary schools, Eggars and Amery Hill. Applications are already open.

If you have a younger child who turns 4 between 1^st September 2024 and 31^st August 2025 (or know someone locally who does) we are already advertising our open events for prospective parents. Click here to find out more.

 

 

 

 

 

PTFA

What’s coming up?

Bingo at The Anchor: 7:30 arrival for 8pm start! Join us for Bingo at The Anchor - half of the profits are going towards the PTFA (the other half makes up the grand prize!) 

£2 per bingo strip, £7 for a whole bingo page

No need to buy a ticket, just turn up on the night. Food and drink available to purchase on the night from the pub. 

Welcome Afternoon tea:

Friday 18th October, straight after school. Hosted by the infants, this event is set to be a lovely addition to our school calendar - a lovely way to meet new families, chat to staff and catch up with friends.  

Cake donations will be gratefully received!

We need some volunteers! Please sign up here: 

https://volunteersignup.org/LEYHE

No need to buy a ticket, just turn up on the evening. 

Hot drinks, scones, cake and sandwiches will be available to buy. Card only. 

Other notices:

All our ticketed events can be viewed on www.pta-events.co.uk/bentley. 

For all our ticketed events, eg Fun Club, all children need to have a pre-booked ticket. We cannot accept any children into the events on the day of the event. The ticket sales will close the day before the event. No tickets can be purchased or reserved after this - we need to know exact numbers for adult:children ratios, overall safety and for purchasing the right amount of food.

Parentkind: the charity that supports school PTAs - have teamed up with Asda, who is making millions of pounds available to donate to primary schools across the UK through their ‘Cashpot for Schools’ initiative – all you have to do is: opt in through the Asda Rewards app, choose our primary school and shop and scan in store or shop online at Asda.com, between 2nd September and 30th November 2024 Asda will donate 0.5% of the value of your shop to our PTA. Also, every time somebody opts in, Asda will give an additional £1 to the school Cashpot. Plus, it doesn’t stop there – Asda are also giving £50 to every school to get them started.

Apples: Apple picking is in full flow, but we need more help! Here is a spreadsheet with the pick locations: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/19-UAtCs7IikiJtq05qYH9ehcK0jgH49XqDgqeoFRqjY/edit

Can you help? Children are welcomed in most locations and it doesn’t have to be during the school day! Evenings, weekends, with extended family etc. Please let us know if you can help. 

Wanted: Craft material donations for fun club. This could be paper, pens, glue, tissue paper, paint, paint brushes/pallets, string, stamps, craft sets (eg beads) etc

Please drop to your rep, the chairs or into the office.