Weekly Newsletter

Headteacher - Mr J Parkinson

Associate Assistant Headteacher - Miss L Whale

Associate Assistant Headteacher - Mr K Reynolds

Dear Parents and Carers,

It has been another positive and busy week at Larks Hill!

Mr. Parkinson has spoken to pupils about upcoming projects in Tuesday’s after school Gardening Club, which has already generated lots of interest across school. Many pupils are keen to join, and the group has begun planting bulbs ready for spring. It is wonderful to see pupils taking pride in developing our outdoor spaces. If your child would like to join the Gardening Club, you can book them a space via MCAS.

Year 4 enjoyed a slightly different PE session this week when Sengoku Martial Arts visited school to deliver a focused session on basic techniques and reaction training. Children thoroughly enjoyed the experience and demonstrated excellent concentration and enthusiasm throughout.

Later in the week, Year 4 also took part in a ‘WOWW’ intervention session, exploring ways to improve mental wellbeing through acts of kindness and positive choices.

Year 3 guitar practice continued as usual, with pupils already making great progress! They are beginning to practice with confidence in preparation for what promises to be an excellent summer concert later in the year.

Casper - Reception

George - Year 2

Sebastian - Year 3

Sonny H - Year 4

Scarlett - Year 5

Fin - Year 6

This week Headteachers award goes to Nieve - Year 4 for persevering with her handwriting presentation. Well done Nieve!

Our TT Rockstars this week are:

Heather - Year 5

Lochy - Year 4

Monroe - Year 4

Monday, 19th January - Year 6 Historical Walk to Around Pontefract

Wednesday, 21st January - Bun Sale

Tuesday, 27th January - Year 6 SATs Meeting to Parents - 5pm - 5.30pm

Wednesday, 28th January - Parents Evening 1 - 3.30pm - 6pm

Friday, 30th January - Young Voices Concert

Wednesday, 4th February - Parents Evening 2 - 3.30pn - 6pm

We are delighted to announce a new concept in school designed to showcase our fantastic students and their extra-curricular successes.

Celebrating our Achievements and Talented Students or CATS!

CATS! was created after Miss Whale noticed one of our Year 3 pupils, Lottie, wearing her club football kit at Park Run in December. Lottie spoke with great passion about her team and their recent tournament success, and Miss Whale was incredibly proud of her fantastic achievement. Soon after, Lottie and several other Year 3 pupils were excitedly sharing their out-of-school talents on the playground, leading to discussions about how these achievements could be celebrated within our school community.

We are therefore encouraging parents & carers to email Admin with any pictures and information about your child’s successes and achievements for a chance to feature in our weekly CATS Spotlight section on the newsletter. From sports competitions to music grades, swimming certificates and Blue Peter badges, cooking at home, Random Acts of Kindness or singing… the list is endless. Photos will also be displayed on a board within school for all to see!

We will soon have a CATS mascot who can be taken along to events and competitions.

This week’s CATS Spotlight goes to Fin in Year 6 for his performance with The Northern Ballet in The Nutcracker at the Leeds Grand Theatre over the festive period.

On Wednesday, 21st January we will be holding our first Bun Sale of 2026!

We are asking families to donate buns or cakes to school which will then be on sale to students throughout the morning for 50p each.

Donations of homemade or pre-packaged buns and cakes are welcomed and should be brought into school on the Wednesday morning.

Are you having a New Year clear out? Have the children grown AGAIN?

We are pleased to be running a clothing collection to support The Clothing Bank and our local community in Pontefract.

We would be grateful for donations of clean, good-quality women’s, men’s and children’s clothing that you no longer need. All items should be bagged and can be brought to the school office or taken directly into your child’s classroom.

Donations will be accepted throughout this half term and next half term. Your generosity will help support families within our local area, and we thank you in advance for your continued support

Please follow this link if you would like to find out more about The Clothing Bank. https://theclothingbank.org.uk/mission/

We are delighted that so many of you have already booked your parents evening appointments with your child's class teacher.

If you haven't yet booked, this can be done on MCAS. Appointments are available on 28th January 4th February.

If you feel that you may need a longer appointment than the allocated 10 minutes, or an additional appointment for separated parents, please contact the office or your child's teacher directly and we will be happy to arrange this for you.

As part of our ongoing commitment to supporting families with online safety, we will continue to share weekly resources and guidance. Following on from last week, parents and carers may find the attached guide helpful, which outlines popular apps and games used by children.
Social-Media-and-Popular-Games-Handout-for-Parents-V1-1.pdf

A reminder that this weekend sees the second Junior Park Run of the academic year at Pontefract Racecourse, starting at 8:45am on Sunday. We are delighted that a number of Larks Hill pupils have already signed up to take part. Miss Whale, Miss Jones and Mrs Smith will be there to support our runners.

Junior parkrun is a free, community event where you can walk, jog, run, volunteer or spectate. Junior parkrun is 2k in length, dedicated to 4-14 year olds and their families and friends of all ages. Junior parkrun is positive, welcoming and inclusive, there is no time limit and no one finishes last. Everyone is welcome to come along and you can attend every week or just whenever you can.

You must register in order to take part. You can register for parkrun for free here - www.parkrun.org.uk/register/ or scan the QR on the poster below.

Further information about the course, rules & guidelines and facilities can be found here. home | Pontefract junior parkrun | Pontefract junior parkrun

We hope to see and many families there as possible on Sunday

The Pomfret Family Hub have an upcoming course taking place in Pontefract. It is a free course for parents (run as a pop-up session) to support parents in understanding children's behaviour and how to communicate with and support their children effectively.

The workshop will be held of Friday, 6th February 9.30am - 11am at the Pomfret Family Hub. Please call 01977 722644 to book a place.

Thank you, as always, for your continued support. It has been another productive week across school, and we look forward to building on this as the term continues.

Yours sincerely,
Mr Reynolds

The menu for next week is Week 1

Please see below our Spring Diary Dates. Please note that some dates may be subject to change and more events or activities may be added. We will endeavor to keep you informed of any changes or additions throughout the term.