This week at Bentley...

This week's newsletter is all about giving thanks. We have so many people to appreciate for making this week such a wonderful experience for our children.

It has been a wonderfully busy and exciting week here at Bentley. Our children have been engaged in some fantastic learning experiences, and we are so proud of all their enthusiasm and curiosity.

Year R have been busy exploring space, transforming their role play area into a Space Station and immersing themselves in the wonders of the universe. Year 2 had an incredible trip to the Gilbert White Centre, linking perfectly with their topic on Antarctica. Year 6 enjoyed a fantastic visit to Eggars, where they watched a brilliant production of Annie and then took part in a range of sporting activities. Year 3 had a wonderful day at the Gordon Brown Centre, enjoying a Teddy Bears’ Picnic and getting a first look at where they will be staying for their residential later in the year. Year 5 have had an unforgettable week at Calshot. A huge thank you also to the Bentley team who have worked hard to ensure the children who did not attend had a fun and engaging week at school. We look forward to welcoming Year 5 back and hearing all about their amazing adventures. A heartfelt thank you also goes to our dedicated staff, who have given up time with their friends and families to make this week possible.

None of these experiences would be possible without the kindness and generosity of our minibus volunteers. A huge thank you for giving your time and energy to help transport our children. We are so grateful for your support.

Thank you to everyone who came to last week's Quiz Night. What a night it was. A huge well done to Mrs Blake for putting together such creative and entertaining rounds, including Guess the Donut, Name the Backwards Song, and Dunking Biscuits. A massive thank you to everyone involved in organising the event. The PTFA managed to raise an incredible £900 for the school.

As always, thank you for your continued support. Wishing you all a fantastic weekend.

Mrs Hallett

Headteacher

ATTENDANCE

Governors have set the attendance target for the school at 97%. Last week the attendance rate for the whole school was 94.07%.

Attendance figures for each class last week are below:

HOUSEPOINTS

This week’s housepoints totals:

405

575

379

310

SAFEGUARDING – EVERYBODY’S BUSINESS

Safeguarding– Everybody’s business! Parents often take time to reflect on smart phones, what children need access to and what age, Smart Phone free childhood was brought to my attention by a parent and we have been talking about it in our cluster of local schools. The newsletter is very informative and does give some excellent ideas for parents, as the ultimate teacher of our children, as well as answering some of those when, how and what questions. Do sign up and share with others. This is based in research and has very valid reflections for us all. Please do have a look. www.smartphonefreechildhood.co.uk

THANK YOU…

…to Ann Barton for the wonderful brand new tablets, stationery and picture frames. We really appreciate your generosity!

ECO UPDATE

Butterfly Garden Ground Force Day

On Sunday a small and mighty team of fabulous volunteers came together to clear the site ready for our Butterfly Garden. After the equivalent of 30 hours of hard graft, the site was declared ready for the Butterfly Garden – a brilliant blank canvas for the children’s ideas. Thank you to the following volunteers for giving up a Sunday afternoon – Elise Cavanough, Tom Moore, Kathleen Proud, Georgie Fuller, Rob Tagg, Catherine and Robin Welland-Jones, Emma and Glyn Jones and Vicky Hallett. We were especially grateful to Catherine and Robin who also bought a trailer so that the green waste could be removed. Next week Eco Council will start judging the competition – watch this space about exciting news of the winning entries!

Treasure Not Trash – Time for a Spring Clean!

This year we are working with Young ACAN to educate our school community about waste and how to ‘Treasure Not Trash’. Borrowing from places like libraries or friends and family is a great way of saving money and avoiding buying more stuff! Another great initiative from ACAN is about to relaunch. The Alton Community Share is a library for toys, board games and puzzles aimed at families. Before the relaunch on 12^th April, the volunteers at the Community Share are looking for new stock. So why not have a Spring clean and donate your unwanted, good-quality games, toys and puzzles to the open events on March 22^nd and 29^th at St Lawrence Parish Centre in Alton.

PTFA

A big THANK YOU to Naomi and the quiz support team for hosting the PTFA quiz last week. It raised an amazing £900!!

Thank you to everyone who took part.

Cake sale - Friday 21st March, cakes provided by year 2. 50p per item, cash or card accepted (minimum transaction on a card is £1)

April 1st is April School’s Day!

Children are invited to try to trick their teachers by disguising themselves!

Bring in £1 to take part by dressing up however they wish - as another student? As a famous person? As a Teacher? Any way the teachers might not know who they are!

This could be done with a full costume, a wig, a mask… we look forward to seeing their disguises!

Over the Easter holidays, children will be set a £20.25 challenge. The child with the most creative way to raise £20.25 will win a prize. Maybe they should start thinking now? We can’t wait to see what they come up with!

For those that like to plan ahead, here are some dates for your diary

Colour Run Friday 2nd May