Overthorpe C of E Academy

BELIEVE, ENJOY, ACHIEVE

“At Overthorpe, we are one family.

We nurture the courage

and skills to fly higher than the flock,

whilst building a nest together –

a place of knowledge, character and faith to come home to.”

TRUST, FRIENDSHIP, ENDURANCE, FORGIVENESS, HOPE

Click on the link to find photos from this week's learning!

Head of School - Ms L McCarthy

Senior Leadership Team - Ms L Stott (Assistant Head), Mrs S Wood (SENDCo)

Executive Headteacher - Mr J Mitchell

Designated Safeguarding lead - Mrs S Wood

Deputy DSLs - Mr J Mitchell, Ms L Stott, Ms L McCarthy

Barn Owls have had an amazing start to the year and we really enjoyed our Dough Disco sessions.

Headteacher's comment

What a busy and exciting week we have had in school! I can hardly believe how quickly the days are flying by. It has been wonderful to see our pupils fully settled back into their learning, demonstrating enthusiasm, determination and pride in everything they do. Last week, children had the fantastic opportunity to work alongside a visiting artist, developing their creativity and producing some truly impressive pieces of artwork. I have also been delighted to see pupils beginning their new leadership roles across the school, embracing their responsibilities with confidence and maturity. As I walk around school, it is clear that pupils are eager to showcase their successes, and their beautiful presentation and high standards of work are a credit to them. I am incredibly proud of the positive start everyone has made and look forward to another successful and rewarding week ahead.

Best wishes,

Ms McCarthy
Head of School

Ms Scott

We are delighted to announce that Mrs Scott was successful in her application to become our new Pupil Support Officer. Mrs Scott will be working closely with children, families and staff to promote positive attendance, encourage excellent behaviour and provide support where it is needed most. She will be an important link between home and school, helping to ensure that every child has the opportunity to thrive, succeed and enjoy their time in school. We are excited to welcome Mrs Scott to the role and look forward to the positive impact she will have across our school community. Congratulations Mrs Scott!

Collective Worship

Have you filled a bucket today?

In Collective Worship this week, we explored the picture book Have You Filled a Bucket Today? by Carol McCloud. The story uses the simple idea of an invisible bucket to help children understand how our words, actions and choices can affect the people around us. When we show kindness, friendship, encouragement and care, we can help to fill someone else’s bucket. When we are unkind or hurtful, we can make their bucket feel empty.

The message is a wonderful reminder that every one of us has the power to make a positive difference to someone else’s day. A smile, a kind word, including someone in a game, offering help or simply noticing when somebody needs a friend are all small actions that can have a big impact.

At Overthorpe, we want every child to “fly higher than the flock” by developing not only knowledge and skills, but also the character and relationships that help them to flourish. Friendship, compassion, kindness, respect and understanding are important parts of this journey. These are the qualities we want our children to develop as they grow and the qualities that become part of their “nest” – the knowledge, experiences, character and faith that they carry with them throughout life.

As a nurturing church school, we believe that every child is precious and has a part to play in helping our school community to flourish. This week, we have encouraged the children to think about whose bucket they might fill and how, through simple acts of kindness and love, we can help one another to fly higher together.

Flying Higher Together

We are delighted to share this wonderful art display, created by our whole school community. Thanks to the generosity and kindness of our PTA, every child had the opportunity to work alongside artist Emma Bairstow to create a beautiful piece of artwork showcasing our class birds. The project provided a memorable and inspiring experience for all the children, encouraging creativity, collaboration and pride in their work. We are incredibly grateful to our PTA and Emma for making this possible, and we are sure that this stunning display will be enjoyed by our school community for many years to come.

Attendance

This week's Learning Champions

Breaktime Snacks and Packed Lunch Update

Healthy eating is an important part of our school’s commitment to supporting children’s health, wellbeing and learning. When preparing packed lunches, we ask parents to include a balanced selection of foods, such as fruit and vegetables, a source of protein (for example meat, fish, eggs or humous), a starchy food such as bread, pasta or rice, and a dairy item such as cheese or yoghurt. Fruit-based desserts are encouraged, and cakes or biscuits may be included occasionally provided they are not chocolate coated and are low in sugar.

As a nut-aware school, we ask that nuts and nut products are not brought into school. This includes peanuts, mixed nut packs, peanut butter, Nutella, cereal bars containing nuts, cakes containing nuts and foods made with nut-based sauces. Please check packaging carefully, as some products may contain nuts even when they are not obvious ingredients.

To help children make healthier choices, please do not include sweets, chocolate bars, chocolate-coated biscuits or cakes, chewing gum, crisps, sugary popcorn, fizzy drinks, squash, chocolate spread or jam sandwiches. Processed meat products such as sausage rolls, pies and sausages should be limited and included no more than twice per week. Fresh water is available to all children throughout the day and at lunchtime.

For breaktime snacks, we encourage simple healthy options such as fresh fruit and vegetables, cheese, yoghurt, plain crackers, rice cakes and low-sugar cereal bars. Please avoid chocolate, sweets, cakes, biscuits, sugary drinks, crisps and processed meat snacks. Thank you for your support in helping us promote healthy habits and ensure that all children have nutritious food to fuel their learning throughout the school day.

Our full updated policy for packed lunches and breaktime snacks will be put on our school website ready for September.