Headteacher: Laura Bishell-Wells

Email: swinefleet.primary@eastriding.gov.uk
Website: www.swinefleetprimaryschool.co.uk
Location: Swinefleet Primary School, Low Street, Swinefleet, Goole, UK
Phone: 01405 704386
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/SwinefleetPrimary

Instagram: Swinefleet Primary (@swinefleet_pr) • Instagram photos and videos

It is lovely to have all of the children back after our half-term break and what a start back it has been. Below you will see just a snippet of what we have been to and find out about what we have coming up this week.

There is a lot included in the newsletter this fortnight including up and coming diary dates, reminders, links to some external resources and a survey we would love for you to take a look at.

This fortnight in Little Pearls we have read 'Elmer and Elmer's Snowy Day'.

We were also reading 'Mr Wolf's pancakes' in preparation for Shrove Tuesday (Pancake Day).

There has been lots of exploring and talking about different weathers in Little Pearls.

Luckily living in Yorkshire we get to experience all the different weathers in just one week, so we have been able to get lots of hands on experience!

We have enjoyed exploring colour mixing, following the interest of some of our children. This colour exploration tied in nicely with our Elmer story as we have had lots of colourful activities, including painting, colouring, chalking, gluing and sticking, mixing experiments, playdough and exploring the parachute and sensory balls.

Whilst outside, we have been practicing our physical development skills, balancing in the stepping stones and the climbing equipment - and helping our friends with these new skills.

We have been busy retelling familiar stories with the use of puppets, story spoons and props - we recognised lots of a familiar characters in 'Mr Wolf's Pancakes', which led us to read and retell lots of different fairy tales.

Little Pearls have had a go at making their own pretend pancakes from gloop (cornflour and water) in our messy area, scooping using utensils and filling up frying pans. We then got to try real pancakes and test a variety of different toppings! They were very tasty!

In maths, we have been exploring number songs and practicing counting to 5.

We have sung '1 Potato, 2 Potatoes', '1,2 Buckle my Shoe' and '1,2,3,4,5 Once I Caught a Fish Alive' - we have had lots of fun with these songs making them interactive and hands on, ensuring the children are having fun whilst learning.

We have lots more fun and learning planned for our next fortnight and cannot wait to see our Little Pearls again next week.

Welcome back to the second half of the spring term. This half term our theme is ‘Weather’.

Last week we focused on different types of weather, and we even practised weather forecasting! We read ‘Elmers Weather’ and ‘One Snowy day’. We discussed the types of clothing we need to wear during the winter months, and we labelled them using our phonics. Over this half term we will be completing a weekly weather diary and looking at the changes in our weather. This week we have been outside observing how the landscape changes with the seasons. We have also enjoyed pancake tasting on Shrove Tuesday and we talked about why we eat pancakes and why Christians commit to a period of lent before Easter.

In our provision we have been focusing on using open ended resources in our play and we have been enjoying being outside in the warm spring sunshine. We have been using pipes and different containers to move water in our water trays. We have been building bridges for our train tracks. We have been creating tracks for our bikes and scooters.

In maths lessons, we have been learning about ‘length, height and time’ we have been comparing different heights and lengths, and we have been sequencing times of the day when we do certain activities eg lunchtime. We have also sequenced how to make a sandwich.

Over the next few weeks, we are going to be focusing on rainy and windy weather.

We have to start by saying how unbelievably proud we are of every child in Rubies. During our amazing visit to the Hull museums last week, the children represented the school fantastically. We all thoroughly enjoyed our visit and the children seem to absorb everything we learnt. It was wonderful to watch the children engage with the Amy Johnson workshop. We learnt lots of fascinating facts about Amy and the children investigated a range of artefacts to explore her life. Rubies were amazed that with the magic of time travel we were lucky enough to have a visit by Amy Johnson herself! The children could not believe it! It was a real pleasure to take the children into Hull and we look forward to using everything we have learnt back in the classroom to take our learning further.

Next week we will be writing a letter in English to tell other children about our wonderful trip and use persuasive language to encourage others to visit the museums. We will learn about the features of a letter, informal and formal language and time conjunctions.

In History we have further explored the life of Amy Johnson and different types of aircraft throughout history.

In Science we are moving onto Plants this half term. The children will be looking at different types of trees, plants and leaves. We will be exploring the area around us outside, looking at what we can observe around us and how plants and trees look at this time of year. Hopefully we may be able to find signs of spring!

Children enjoyed learning about Shrove Tuesday in RE this week. We learnt about the importance and meaning of Shrove Tuesday and why people make pancakes to celebrate. We also managed to sample some pancakes ourselves!

Another highlight from the last couple of weeks has to be world book day. Well done Parents! We had a fantastic range of world book day costumes in Rubies and the children were super excited to share their characters with the class. We spent the day exploring different books, characters and authors. We shared stories with children in other classes, and took part in a showcase in the hall where the whole school shared their amazing outfits.

READING REMINDER

To receive a ‘read’ this will need to be an uploaded video of your child reading on seesaw. Lists of what books children have read or photos will not count as a read. It must be a video – this can either be a video of the child reading or just a sound recording of the child reading. We would also like to remind children to read their school reading book at home at least twice a week.

If you would like any help on how to do this, please ask.

The Rubies Team

Welcome to another exciting update from Diamonds Class! We've had an engaging and productive few weeks filled with fun learning across all subjects. Here’s a quick look at what we’ve been up to:

Science: Living Things and Their Habitats In Science, we’ve been exploring the fascinating world of living things and their habitats. We’ve been studying the different groups that animals can be grouped into as well as looking at the acronym ‘Mrs Gren’.

Maths: Fractions In Maths, we've been focusing on fractions. The children have worked on understanding fractions of shapes and numbers. We’ve used a variety of hands-on activities to make fractions fun and engaging. Our next step will be applying these skills to real-world problems to deepen their understanding.

English: Newspaper Report In English, we’ve been working on writing newspaper reports. The children have been investigating the key features of a report, such as headlines, introductions, and the 5 Ws (Who, What, When, Where, Why). As part of the unit, we’re leading up to writing a newspaper report about the eruption of Pompeii!

History: Pompeii History lessons have taken us back in time to the eruption of Mount Vesuvius and the tragic destruction of Pompeii. The children are learning about the life of the ancient Romans and how the eruption impacted the city. They’ve been comparing the Roman way of life to our modern-day lives and creating detailed reports about the eruption’s aftermath.

PSHE: Healthy Me In PSHE, our focus has been on the topic "Healthy Me." We’ve been discussing the importance of maintaining both physical and mental health. The children have learned about balanced diets, exercise, and how to stay safe online. We’ve also been practicing mindfulness techniques and thinking about the importance of a positive mindset.

It’s been a fantastic start to the term and we can’t wait to see what the next few weeks have in store!

We are already in March and the Sapphires have been very busy!

Our trip to the museum quarter was wonderful. The children’s behaviour was exemplary and everyone thoroughly enjoyed learning about who William Wilberforce was and what he achieved. The children put their historical skills to good use by analysing primary and secondary artefacts and discussing them in their groups. It was lovely to see the whole of Sapphires class playing tig at lunchtime together on the grassy area – such a super team! In the afternoon, there was the opportunity to visit the East Riding Museum and Street Life, it was great to see Mrs. Harrison and Mrs. Dean competing on the vintage football table with the children! They loved exploring the retro arcade games as well! We could have stayed for another day!

This Wednesday, the Year 5s painted pallet collars and a planter to grow fruit and vegetables in the school garden -thanks to Mrs Beadle for giving them this outdoor learning experience and thanks to Howdens for donating the pallet collars and planter. The Year 5s are also enjoying swimming and members of the public have made positive comments about their behaviour and attitudes – well done swimmers!

This half term, we have started Kensuke’s Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo and have got a cinema visit to look forward to in a couple of weeks to see Kensuke’s Kingdom. So far the children have discussed the front cover, blurb and are getting into the book.

The Sapphires have loved listening to a music video from the Literacy Shed called Titanium. The children are using the video as a stimulus for their writing. They have worked on cohesive techniques this week including conjunctions, prepositions and adverbials. The Sapphires team can’t wait to see what super stories they produce next week!

In maths, the Sapphires have focussed on calculating using measures, area and perimeter and are currently recapping on position and directions. Please keep reminding the children to play TTRS and complete the new mental maths homework.

It has been lovely to hear from the children who have taken part in the well-being bingo and how much they are enjoying this.

In history, the Sapphires have completed a double page spread to finish our work on William Wilberforce. To start our geography work this half term, the Sapphires have revisited biomes and thought about where our food comes from. This week, the children have considered the advantages and disadvantages to imports and trading responsibly.

In Science, the children have designed their own boats using plasticine to see the effects of water resistance. In Art, Mrs. Harrison has taught the children about Freedom Quilts linked to our Slavery and Freedom unit. The children have enjoyed sketching out their parts of the blanket and can’t wait to put it all together on a piece of material.

World Book Day has been another success – the children enjoyed taking part in a catwalk, paired reading with other classes, completing a quiz and other fun book- related activities.

The Sapphires team (Mrs. Dean, Mrs. Harrison and Mrs. Wilde) would like to wish you all a lovely weekend. Remember to practise spellings, times tables and to keep uploading reads to Seesaw. PE kits need to be in school all week please.

Please ensure that P.E kit is in school all week and is named.

Due to the colder weather; joggers and a jumper are recommended for P.E.

Children with longer hair need to ensure that this is tied up for P.E so please ensure that your child has a bobble within school.

If you haven't already done so please can you send in a family photo this can either be printed or sent electronically over Tapestry.

Thank you

Please remember that we are nut free and therefore nut products are not permitted. Thank you for your support in this.

Please can you ensure that your child has a coat in school as the weather has now turned colder and that they have suitable footwear for the weather. If you are sending your child to school in wellies then please ensure that they have indoor footwear to change into when inside.

Many thanks.

Please ensure that you have logged into Arbor and on the main page and filled in the consent question which appear near the top. Thank you to all who have already done this.

A new permission has been added about allowing us to speak to other agencies and professionals this includes services such as the Educational Psychologist and Speech and Language. If a referral was then needed to one of these services a discussion would occur first before referral.

Please can we ask that your child has outdoor shoes available to them on a Monday or Wednesday as Mrs Beadle often takes out groups to the outdoor allotment area which does get muddy. If you would like to leave these in school please feel free.

If anyone has any wellies that no longer fit they would be happy to donate this would be wonderful. We hope to build up a collection through some fundraising so that all children will have a pair of wellies available to them in school for these sessions.

Please can all nursery bookings for the following week be emailed to the school office no later than each Thursday. Thank you.

Children in Years 5 & 6 are going to watch the screen version of their current book on Thursday 27th March.

A number of people in Swinefleet are trying to set up a youth club for the children but need your views. It would be really appreciated if you could fill in their short survey below.

Load up your photos to Seesaw/Tapestry and return your dated sheets by 31st March to be in with the chance to win our 'Family Treat Hamper'.

Our mental maths challenges have been launched and are tailored to your child's current stage. As they conquer an objective they can cut off a strip and bring it in to be tested. They do not have to learn every objective on the sheet in one go. When they have mastered an objective they can spin our wheel and see how many raffle ticket entries they win. We will have draws throughout the year with our first one being on Friday 4th April.

Some stages and objectives take longer to conquer than others so your child may feel they are not managing to get as many raffle tickets as others at times. Please encourage them to keep going though as other stages they may well race through as they might have to learn specific facts such as number of days in a month rather than calculations on a later stage.

Children in Reception will receive their first stage after half-term.

We would love you to support your child with this at home as these skills help them tremendously with their maths work and are ones they we will be using continuously throughout their learning.

Regular reading is crucial in supporting children to develop their reading skills. In school we read with/ or to the children daily in every year group.

We love to see your reading and engage with it so it is great if this can be uploaded to Tapestry or Seesaw. Some of the children will film themselves reading and the staff then follow the stories with them. In Sapphires, the children often comment back and forth with staff based on what they are reading and staff are left on a cliffhanger waiting for the next read upload to find out what is happening.

Remember we offer reading clubs at lunchtime and after school and these are equivalent to three reads each.

Reading reward points needed:

Bronze - 15

Silver - 20

Gold - 30

These show the key learning that your child will be doing as part of their current theme in school. It would be really beneficial if you could support them with this as they learn this within school. Updates on Seesaw and Tapestry will let you know when certain sections of this key learning will be tested. If you have any questions regarding this then please pop and see you child's class teaching team.

Each button below takes you to your child's class page where you can find this themes Knowledge Organisers and information. These have also been sent out via Tapestry/Seesaw.

Please see the menu below. Children can have a hot dinner on any day and do not need to be hot dinners all week. Dinners do not need to be pre-booked.

Dinners can be paid for via Arbor. Children in Reception, Year One and Year Two are entitled to Universal Free School Meals.

Free School Meals are available to some children dependent on household income. If you think you could be eligible there is more information available via Apply for free school meals - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) or Mrs Risebury will happily give you further information of how to apply.

Please see the button below. As a school we tried to give dates well in advance and will avoid changing these wherever possible. Please note new dates are in red.

Below are our term dates up until July 2026.

Whole school attendance: 96.31%

The attendance figure all pupils and schools are expected to aim for is 97%+

School attendance is vital in supporting children's progress and preparing them for their future careers. We appreciate sometimes children are unwell and need to be off school which cannot be helped. Below are some information leaflets which you may find useful.

We know that conflict is a normal part of relationships, and we also know that it's not conflict that is the problem, but how we deal with it.

Evidence shows that ongoing, poorly-resolved conflict can have a damaging effect on children’s well-being and happiness. The Relationship Matters website provides tips and support local to you and within the site, there are some great tools, such as the Amity's Little Book of Relationship Care, and links to a broad range of websites, including Mind, and the One Plus One site, which supports separating parents to handle arguments better.

There is also Separating Better, a useful app for families going through separation.

The Local Offer website.