The Benhurst Bulletin

Dear Parents and Carers,

It has been another exciting week at Benhurst, with our children continuing to settle into routines and embrace all that the new school year has to offer.

Our children have been buzzing with excitement about their applications for leadership roles as part of the Benhurst Pupil Parliament. We look forward to shortlisting the children and supporting them to grow as confident leaders. Over the coming weeks, we will announce those who have been selected.

This week our Reception children continuing to settle into school life, they have taken another big step by staying through lunchtime and ending the week by completing full school days. We are so proud of how confidently they are embracing their new routines.

Have a wonderful weekend! 😊

We are excited to announce the launch of the Zoe Bear Passport across the LIFE Education Trust!

The Zoe Bear Passport has been designed to give our pupils opportunities to experience new activities, develop new skills and take part in enriching experiences both in and beyond the classroom.

The passport will travel up through each year group with our pupils, allowing children to build on their experiences and complete new challenges as they progress through their time at a LIFE Primary School.

The LIFE Education Trust is committed to supporting the development of the whole child. As part of this, pupils will have opportunities to complete tasks across Zoe’s Five Types of Task.

🐻 Zoe’s Five Types of Task

🎨 Culture Quest

• Art, music, history, workshops, trips, poetry, film, food, festivals
• Culture Quest encourages pupils to explore and enjoy a wide range of cultural and creative experiences.

🌍 Super Citizens

• Volunteering, charity work, school council, debating, community projects
• Super Citizens gives pupils opportunities to contribute to their school and wider community and develop their understanding of being an active citizen.

⛺ The Great Outdoors

• Outdoor learning, scavenger hunts, camping, astronomy
• The Great Outdoors encourages pupils to discover, explore and learn beyond the classroom.

🚀 Future Ready

• STEM projects, coding, finance, leadership, public speaking
• Future Ready helps pupils develop skills and experiences that support them in preparing for their future.

🏃 Move and Groove

• Fitness, sports, dance, yoga, mindfulness, teamwork, movement
• Move and Groove promotes opportunities to be active, work with others and develop physical and emotional wellbeing.

⭐ Earning Zoe Bear Stickers

• Every time a pupil completes a task, they will earn a Zoe Bear Sticker to add to their passport.
• As pupils progress through the school, their passport will travel with them, creating a record of the wonderful experiences, challenges and opportunities they have taken part in.

We hope the Zoe Bear Passport will inspire our pupils to:

🐻 Try something new

🌟 Discover new interests

💪 Develop new skills

🤝 Contribute to their community

🌈 Enjoy experiences beyond the classroom

We can't wait to see where Zoe Bear's adventures take our pupils!

Belong • Achieve • Contribute

LIFE Education Trust

This half term, our English lessons will be inspired by The Piano, a thought-provoking short film that explores the powerful themes of memories, emotions and reflection.

The children will have the opportunity to develop their creative writing skills by writing their own imaginative narratives. They will learn how to create atmosphere, build suspense and use descriptive language to bring characters, settings and events to life.

Along the way, we will encourage the children to experiment with powerful vocabulary and varied sentence structures, while continuing to develop their grammar, punctuation and writing stamina.

We hope this unit will inspire the children to use their imaginations, express their ideas and emotions through writing, and develop a real enjoyment of storytelling. We can't wait to see the wonderful stories they create!

This term in History, we will be learning about World War II, one of the most significant events in modern history. The children will explore why the war began, key events that took place, and how it changed the lives of people both in Britain and around the world.

We will discover what everyday life was like during the war, including learning about evacuation, rationing and the important roles people played on the home front. We will also explore the changing role of women during this period and consider how the war affected our local community.

Through stories, photographs, historical sources and activities, the children will develop their understanding of the past and learn how events from World War II continue to shape the world we live in today.

This term in Science, we will be learning all about electricity and discovering how it powers many of the things we use every day.

The children will explore how electrical circuits work, including the differences between series and parallel circuits. They will also investigate conductors and insulators and learn how to use electricity safely and responsibly.

Through a range of hands-on experiments and practical activities, the children will have the opportunity to test their ideas, make predictions and develop their scientific enquiry skills. We hope this exciting topic will encourage plenty of curiosity as the children discover the science behind the electrical world around them!

📅 Term 1 Key Dates Monday 7th September – Friday 23rd October

🎊September

Week beginning 21st - 🎉 Benhurst’s 90th Anniversary Launch. More information to follow.

Wednesday 23rd - ☕ Coffee Break: Attendance – 3:00pm

Wednesday 30th - ☕ Coffee Break: OPAL – 3:00pm

🍂 October

Friday 2nd - 🌈 Colour Run – 2:00pm. More information to follow.

Week beginning 5th -🚲 Bike to School Week

Friday 9th - ☕ Coffee Break: Phonics – 9:00am

Tuesday 13th - 📸 Individual School Photos

Friday 16th - 🪨 Year 3 Stone Age Day

Friday 16th - ☕ Coffee Break: Zones of Regulation – 3:00pm

Week beginning 19th October - 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Families Week. More information to follow.

Thursday 22nd - 🪩 Neon 90s Theme Disco EYFS & KS1: 4:00pm–5:00pm

Thursday 22nd - 🪩 Neon 90s Theme Disco KS2: 5:30pm–6:30pm

We have installed new gates over the summer and are currently in the early stages of programming and setting them up.

Once the gates have been fully programmed, we will share an update confirming the times when the gates will be open and closed throughout the day.

Thank you for your patience and understanding while we continue to work on this.

Year 1

Dormouse – Kemuel for being helpful and respectful to adults and friends

Hedgehog – Ana for completing brilliant maths work during our independent task. Well done and keep working hard.

Year 2

Rabbit - Zayd for excellent writing and great listening

Squirrel - Arthur for demonstrating our Respect core value. Arthur has been kind and polite, consistently showing good manners and respect towards others

Year 3

Otter- Ridhvik for Participation in all lessons demonstrating ambition and courage

Badger-Abdul for always showing ambition by pushing himself to always try the hot challenge in maths

Year 4

Deer- Regan for courage and compassion- well done Regan!

Fox- Beatrice for consistently showing compassion

Year 5

Wren - Jenson for a positive start to the year, showing courage in music and sharing during class discussions

Robin- Leon for his courage and contribution in discussion in all subjects

Year 6

Owl- Freddie for showing fantastic resilience in his learning every day and always trying his best, even when things are challenging. Keep it up, Freddie!

Kestrel - Jathin for his positive attitude in all aspects of his learning

KS1 Winners Year 2 Squirrel

KS2 Winners Year 5 Wren

• Bottle Green Jumper with Logo
• Bottle Green Cardigan with Logo
• White Polo Shirt
• Black trousers Black Skirt or Pinafore Black Skirt
• Summer Dresses – Green Gingham Dress
• Summer Black Shorts

• Bottle green shorts
• Round-necked plain white t-shirt
• Black plimsols or plain black trainers
• Black tracksuit bottoms & black sweatshirt

Please note that football kits are not permitted

Just a gentle reminder - please ensure children are only wearing studs with a flat back and no artificial nails or nail varnish are worn.

Break time snacks can be:

● A piece of fruit;

● A vegetable;

● A healthy cereal bar (without chocolate)

Break snacks should not include:

● Crisps (including baked crisps)

● Confectionery such as chocolate bars, chocolate-coated biscuits and sweets;

● Cakes and biscuits;

● Nut or nut products (although they can be very healthy) because of the danger to other children with allergies.

Our communication platform - MCAS
MCAS lets parents:

• View information about their child in real-time via a web browser or app e.g., attendance.
• Make payments for products, events, trips and other activities run by the school
• Receive communications and messages from the school
• Find out about and pay for trips, visits and clubs
• Update your details and those of your child(ren)

All communication via MCAS - if you require any assistance, please complete the Google Form that has been shared in the letter.

Should you require a copy of the letter, please do not hesitate to contact the school office.

What is School Grid?

SchoolGrid is a modern and user-friendly online meal-ordering platform. It gives parents greater convenience, control, and transparency when managing their child's school meals through a secure online account.

How it works?

• Using the SchoolGrid app, parents can easily order and plan meals in advance, and place same-day meal orders up until 9:00am.
• The platform enables parents to view menus, recipes, and ingredient information, allowing them to make informed decisions about their child's meal choices and dietary requirements.
• It features industry-leading allergy and dietary protection controls, helping to ensure that meals are suitable for individual dietary requirements.

• It is easier for parents to order compared to the current system
• It provides more detailed meal information
• It allows later on the day ordering

To ensure the safe and effective implementation of SchoolGrid, the school will share essential pupil information with the platform, including your child's name, class, age, and any recorded allergy or dietary information. This will help ensure that every child can enjoy a nutritious, suitable, and allergen-safe meal each day, supporting their health, wellbeing, and development.

As we look forward to the new academic year, we are introducing movement breaks within the classroom to support the wellbeing, regulation and learning of all our children.

From the new academic year, movement breaks will take place in class and will no longer be delivered in separate groups. This will allow all children to benefit from regular opportunities to move, refocus and reset throughout the school day.

Movement breaks can help children to regulate their emotions, improve concentration, increase engagement and feel ready to learn. They will be short, purposeful and inclusive, with activities that can be easily incorporated into the classroom routine.

Our aim is to create classrooms where children feel calm, focused and ready to learn, helping every child to flourish and achieve their potential.

Office Hours

8am- 4pm

Parking - Warren Drive and Benhurst Avenue

We have had some communication from local residents from Warren Drive and Benhurst Avenue, who have raised serious concerns regarding illegal and dangerous parking. We really need your help and assistance - please park safely, responsibly and respect our community. If there continues to be issues, the local residents may choose to pursue restrictions in the roads which would make it more inconvenient for everyone. Thank you.

Our before and after school provider is ABACUS. They have been supporting the children and parents at Benhurst since September 2008.

ABACUS are based in our Dining Hall and provide the children with a range of toys, games, computer consoles, Lego, creative activities, home corner, books, larger equipment and use of the school outdoor space. Only Benhurst children may attend this club.

ABACUS are flexible and will accommodate children who wish to attend other in house school clubs; they will collect them and bring them to the setting.

For further information please visit www.abacusafterschoolclubs.com or telephone 07903 708764.

Your child may be able to get free school meals please see the guidance below from the Government;

• Income Support
• income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
• income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
• the guaranteed element of Pension Credit
• Child Tax Credit (provided you’re not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190)
• Working Tax Credit run-on - paid for 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit
• Universal Credit - if you apply on or after 1 April 2018 your household income must be less than £7,400 a year (after tax and not including any benefits you get)

Children who get paid these benefits directly, instead of through a parent or guardian, can also get free school meals.

Your child may also get free school meals if you get any of these benefits and your child is both:

• younger than the compulsory age for starting school
• in full-time education

If you do not qualify for most benefits (also known as having ‘no recourse to public funds’), your child may still be eligible for free school meals. Ask their school or local authority whether they’re eligible.

Infant free school meals in England

Your child will be able to get free school meals if they’re in a government-funded school and in:

• Reception class
• Year 1
• Year 2

Tell your local authority if you also get any of the qualifying benefits. Your child’s school can get extra funding if you do

https://havering.cloud.servelec-synergy.com/Synergy/Enquiries/Citizen/FreeSchoolMeals.aspx