The event was made even more magical with a special visit from Father Christmas—and a pony! The festive spirit was truly alive, and it was definitely an event to remember. A huge thank you goes out to our hardworking PTFA, whose dedication and effort made the event such a success. Thanks to everyone’s support, we raised an incredible total of £1881—an amazing achievement that will go a long way in supporting our school projects.

This week, our Year 4, 5, and 6 classes participated in a special money workshop run by The Money Charity, where they learned valuable skills about budgeting, saving, and the importance of making smart financial choices. The children thoroughly enjoyed the experience and came away inspired and full of ideas.

Meanwhile, our Year 2 pupils had a wonderful trip to the theatre, where they watched The Owl Who Came For Christmas. The children were thoroughly enjoyed the performance, and I had the pleasure of joining them on this trip. I was incredibly impressed by their behaviour throughout—they were a credit to our Bentley community!

Next week marks the beginning of our much-anticipated Christmas productions. The children have been working hard and are excited to share their performances with you. I’m sure you’ll join me in wishing them the very best of luck (though I know they won’t need it!).

Thank you, as always, for your continued support in making Bentley Primary School a place where children thrive and memories are made.

 

ATTENDANCE

Governors have set the attendance target for the school at 97%. Last week the attendance rate for the whole school was 94.01%.

Last week’s class attendance figures are below:

 

THANK YOU…

…to the BAD Co for a donation of £150 to the school. We are very grateful for your donation.

 

GOLD BOOK

Below is a photo of the children who were in the Gold Book this week. Well done!

 

TT ROCKSTARS!

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

There will be no more Battle of the Bands competitions now until after Christmas.

THE MONEY CHARITY WORKSHOPS

This Thursday Year 4, 5 and 6 enjoyed a very interesting workshop all about the important topic of money! 

Katie from The Money Charity held lively discussions with the children.  They had to estimate the cost of everyday items, understand why it might or might not be helpful to purchase items in bulk, think about budgeting and make choices whether to spend or save money.  A key underlying theme was the idea of want versus need when spending money. 

Chloe, Year 4, 'Sometimes things that we think are cheap, actually cost more.'

Seb, Year 4, 'Something might be cheap but you need to look at the quality of it.'

Elizabeth, Year 4, 'We learnt to think carefully about items that we might want but don't actually need.'

This was a wonderful chance to think about real-life maths!

Mrs Matthews

BREAKFAST CLUB

A reminder that Breakfast Club starts at 7.45am. Please do not arrive earlier as prior to that staff are getting ready.

CHRISTMAS LUNCH

Our Christmas Lunch will be held on Thursday 19th December.

Please click here to login in to Scopay by Wednesday 11th December

for each of your children to confirm whether they will have a hot lunch that day, or they will bring in a packed lunch. All children will sit together with their class in the hall regardless of their food choice, so will all enjoy the festivities.

BASKETBALL

On Monday, a team of Year 3 and 4 children participated in a basketball tournament held at Amery Hill School.  The game was fast paced and action packed with Bentley holding their own and scoring lots of goals during the six games that were played.  All 12 members of the team played extremely well, demonstrating our school values of love, courage and community brilliantly.  A huge well done goes to all the players.

ISABELLE’S TRIP TO PARLIAMENT

This week, Isabelle from Year 5 went to visit the Houses of Parliament with her Mum, to mark the 30^th anniversary of the Organ Donor Register in the UK.  

Over 100,000 lives have been saved through organ donation but the list of people needing a donor is at the highest level it has ever been.  Isabelle has been waiting for a kidney donor for almost a year and a half.  She went to the event in Westminster to explain to politicians and policy makers what life on the waiting list is like - especially for a child.

She shared her story with the rest of Year 5 today and it prompted a lot of lovely discussion and questions from her class.  They all felt it was important to share how brave Isabelle continues to be with the wider school community.  

Below is a copy of Isabelle's presentation.  There is a link at the bottom if you would like to register your decision about your choices on the NHS organ donor register.

 

‘On Wednesday I visited the Houses of Parliament. I was invited to attend an event marking the 30^th anniversary of the Organ Donor Register in the UK. Since then, over 100,000 lives have been saved through organ donation. Currently there are 6,300 people like me, waiting for a kidney. This is the highest the list has ever been. 

 I went to the event to meet with politicians and decision makers - to explain to them what life on the waiting list is like - especially for a child. I have been on the list for 495 days so far - which is almost a year and a half. We can't go on holiday or travel further than 2 hours from London in case I get the transplant call. Because my kidneys don't work well enough now to clean my blood properly I am on a dialysis machine 5 nights a week, for 8 hours each night. So far this year, I have been on my machine for 1,400 hours.

We met many people – some who are on the waiting list like me, and others who have had a transplant already. There were NHS Leaders, over 50 MPs and members of the House of Lords – including Baroness Merron, the under Secretary of State for Health and Social Care in the House of Lords. She is the person ultimately responsible for organ donation policy within the government.

I had a wonderful day, even if it was a bit tiring. I'm so glad I went - I am lucky that I can share my story. Many children on dialysis are too poorly and some are stuck in hospital. I was speaking for them.

 

If you haven’t already, register your wishes at Register your decision - NHS Organ Donation.’

Isabelle Cavanough – Year 5

 

LIBRARY

Please could all school library books be returned by Wednesday 11^th December. Thank you.

“TIGGY TALK” WALK

A message from Katie Edbrook, mum of Beau (Year R):

“As you may or may not know Beau’s little sister Tiggy was born this year and diagnosed as profoundly deaf. After many audiology appointments, Tiggy has received the wonderful news that she will be receiving bilateral cochlear implants in January 2025. My husband and I are currently fundraising for Tiggys auditory verbal therapy post surgery. We shall be walking 26.2 miles on the Clarendon Way Walk from Salisbury to Winchester in April.”

Please click here to find out more and donate.

 

YEAR 1 & 2 CHRISTMAS PLAY

Tickets for the performance of Prickly Hay on Tuesday 10^th December have been sent home today. Tickets for Wednesday’s performance will go out in book bags on Monday.

 

ECO UPDATE

Young ACAN Pollinators Poster Competition – Deadline Extended!

If you’re looking for an activity this weekend, why not enter the Young ACAN Pollinators Poster Competition? We would like as many children as possible to get involved in this exciting poster competition to raise awareness of the decrease in bees and butterflies this year and to encourage us all to take action. Young ACAN is asking young people from 4-18 to create an eye-catching and inspiring poster so older brothers and sisters are welcome to get involved as well. There will be prizes for the best entries as well as a public exhibition. Closing date extended: Monday 9th December. Please bring entries into school on Monday morning.

Eco Council – Regift-Reuse-Relove Stall

Last Friday Eco Council hosted the Young ACAN Regift-Reuse-Relove stall at the PTFA Christmas Fair. The stall was popular with all ages who enjoyed finding a unique gift for friends and family. Eco Council reps from KS2 were brilliant at helping visitors choose items and using their maths to take money and give change. We raised a brilliant £71.05 which equates to over 150 preloved items finding their way to a new home this Christmas. If you missed the stall, don’t worry! Eco Council will be hosting the stall again before Christmas – watch this space for more details! A huge well done and thank you to Amelie, Ava, Ellen, Max, Holly, Flora-Rose and Lexi D for giving up their time to help.

STARTING SCHOOL – SEPTEMBER 2025

 

Applications are now open for Year R starters in 2024. 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 still have one more open event on 7^th January for prospective parents. Click here to find out more. All applications need to be submitted by 15^th January 2025.

 

 

 

 

HCC SURVEY

As part of Hampshire County Council’s commitment to improve accessibility and enable more people to walk and cycle for short journeys, all Hampshire residents are invited help identify where there are barriers to walking and cycling on local streets. They are particularly keen to hear from people who use mobility aids (including mobility scooters), pushchairs or buggies, people who use cargo bikes and trailers, or other adapted cycles. 

 

The survey is live from noon on Monday 28 October and will close at 11:59pm on Sunday 22 December.

 

Please click here to visit the survey page to read more and participate.

 

PTFA

 

Staff gifts collections are going to be started in class whatsapp groups soon. Keep an eye out. 

 

 If you didn’t win at the raffle, don’t worry! More brilliant hampers will be up for grabs at each school play! Cash and card accepted.