What a busy week!   We have had two sports events: the District Athletics, in which we did brilliantly, winning lots of medals and the Safer Swim event which took place yesterday. Eight pupils in Years 5 and 6 took part and we came second overall, which means that we now go forward to the Cornwall County Finals – whoop!

Mr O’Dwyer says:

District Sports

Nearly 90 KS2 pupils represented WPA at District Sports which was back after a 3 year absence! The atmosphere was brilliant and the friendly competition was excellent. WPA had a HUGE medal haul, getting Bronze, Silver and Gold in nearly every event! Events included middle distance running, sprints, long jump and Javelin. Thank you to Wadebridge School and their sport leaders for organising such a good event. 

Swim Safe

8 children from Year 5 and 6 attended a Swim Safe competition on Thursday. The event included races involving rescuing casualties, retrieving objects from water and floating for 60 seconds before sprinting across the pool. Safe to say we have some lifeguards for the future! Wadebridge Year 5 came 3^rd and Year 6 came 2nd, meaning they are through to you Cornwall School Games Swim Safe Finals in July! Congratulations! 

Next week sees Sports Days, the inaugural Bridge Schools Games, the Year 4 Year Group Assembly and Minibeast Day and the Year 6 Activity week. Phew! The Year 6s received their beautiful (and warm…oops) leaver’s hoodies today and they look fabulous. They will now be wearing them proudly for the rest of the term, whatever the weather.

We also did very well in the Royal Cornwall Show – our entries scooped Firsts, Seconds, Thirds, Fourths and Highly Commendeds and we are DELIGHTED!  Please see the fabulous photos attached for our winning entries. All those who went said that they had a wonderful time too and we are VERY excited already for next year. 

Shining Stars

Shining Stars this week were for Progress in Writing and all of the recipients were again marvellous choices.  Staff Shining Stars were awarded to Mrs Keat (the teacher!) and the Year 6 teachers. Mrs C and Miss B have had a day of external moderation this week and they have worked their fingers to the bone preparing for it – which worked, as it went very well. Phew. All three are key, vital members of the WPA team and all work incredibly hard, which is why we love them.

Last week’s Shining Stars were for Progress in Reading and again we had some wonderful winners. The Staff Shining Stars last week were awarded to Mrs Keat (the TA) (yes, there was a very awkward moment when both got up, I will not lie…) and Mrs Callister, both for just being fantastic. I agree.

KEEP SAVING THE DATE AND OFFER YOUR HELP at the FOWPA SUMMER FAIR

Please keep Saturday 16 July free as it is the FOWPA Summer Fair. It is getting better and better but do keep an eye out for any communication. This weekend’s job is to design a cover for the programme – letters went home today. Please do get your entries back in by Wednesday 22 June so that FOWPA can choose the winner.

FOWPA would also like to announce that there will be a Talent Show at the Summer Fair – hurrah! A letter will be coming out with all of the details but here they are, just in case:

Summer Fair Talent Show

Does your child have a talent they would like to show us at the Summer Fair on Saturday 16^th July, either on their own or with their friends?

Singing

Dancing

Acting

Martial Arts

Poetry Reading

Telling a Joke

We would love to have as many of the children as possible showing off their talents.

A letter will be sent home next week for you to give us your consent for them to take part.  We will then send out a timetable of when the children will be showcasing their talent!

I hope that you managed to make notes of all of the events coming up but here are next week’s just in case:

Coming up

Monday 20 June                                                                               Year 5 Bikeability (select pupils only)

Monday 20 June – Friday 24 June                                              Year 6 Activity week and camp

Wednesday 22 June                                        0900 - 0930         Year 4 Assembly

Wednesday 22 June                                        0930 - 1130         Years 3 and 5 Sports Day

Thursday 23 June                                             0900 – 1100        Years R, 1 and 2 Sports Day

Friday 24 June                                                   0900 – 1000        Nursery Big Toddle

Friday 24 June                                                   1030 – 1230        Years 4 and 6 Sports Day

I hope that you have a wonderful weekend and look forward to seeing you all on Monday, bright and breezy.

Kindest regards

Ms Whitlock

We have had a busy week, I won’t lie.  

 

Year 5 thoroughly enjoyed their WOW Topic Day exploring all things Harry Potter.  The staff costumes were spectacular with Mr Smith as Harry; Mrs Botten as Dobby; Mrs Bryant as Bellatrix Lestrange; Mrs Smerdon as Professor Trelawney; Mrs Bodinnar as Hedwig and Miss Hawe as Fawkes the Phoenix – they were spectacular!

Year 3 performed their class assembly about how we need to save the world in front of parents on Wednesday and it was lovely. They had researched and written all of the eco facts themselves and their passion was clear to see. They were fabulous and we all really enjoyed the May 4^th Focus.

The Years 5 and 6 Girls’ Football Team played against Charlestown on Tuesday after school and, true to form, they emerged victorious, winning 9:2. A huge well done to them as they battled hard.

Shining Stars

Shining Stars this week were for Progress in Maths. We had some lovely Shining Stars and I was delighted to hear just how much progress is being made – especially in Times Tables.  Staff Shining Stars were awarded to Mrs Jeffery in Year 4 for her kindness and dedication to the job; Miss Walby in Year 1 for her hugely hard work and willingness to go away above and beyond what is expected all of the time and Mr O’Dwyer for ALL that he does.  All three staff are SO appreciated and we are lucky to have them all!

Clubs

Clubs start next week (the week of 9 May). You will have been notified if your child has a place in a club, but do please contact the office if you have any questions.

PE Days

Please see below for the Summer Term’s PE days. Please come into school in PE Kit on your PE Days (unless your child is in Reception).  Please do remember that school jumpers or plain black or dark jumpers (not hoodies) are accepted PE kit, not anything else.

Mrs Berridge

After 31 hugely enjoyable and not at all stressful years, Mrs Berridge has made the decision to retire at the end of the Summer Term. Whilst I battled hard to keep her for ‘just one more year’, she is adamant that now is the time! I will be writing to you all to tell you of our plans, but I just wanted to let you know as I know that Mrs Berridge has taught many generations of Wadebridge families and lots of you will have known her a teacher of you as well as a teacher of your children. We will make sure that we send her off with a bang (not literally), but do look out for an email.

School Platinum Jubilee Party

We are delighted to let you know that we are planning to celebrate the Queen’s 70 years of service (if only you had held on for a few more years, Mrs Berridge, we could have done the same for you…) with a Years R to 6 Jubilee Party. We will be writing to you to let you know the finer details closer to the time, but please know that we will be in party clothes that day. Whoop whoop! Nursery are having their party on Friday morning.

Coming up

This list is quite long, so please do take the time to read it – I promise you it is worth it!

Throughout May – KS1 Year 2 SATs (just for info)

9 – 12 May – KS2 SATS

16 – 20 May – Walk/Scoot/Bike to school week (there will be a prize for the most active class)

16 – 18 May – Year 5 residential trip to Bideford Ultimate Adventure Centre

19 May SIBLING PHOTOGRAPH DAY – PLEASE WEAR SCHOOL UNIFORM IF YOU HAVE MORE THAN ONE CHILD AT WPA (and bring PE Kit if you have PE on that day)

25 May – Years R – 6 Platinum Jubilee Party in school

30 May – 3 June HALF TERM WEEK – SCHOOL CLOSED

6 June – school re-opens after Half Term (NO INSET day)

6 – 9 June – Phonics Screening Check week for Year 1

10 June – INSET DAY (and Royal Cornwall Show)

Phew! I hope that you have a lovely weekend and I look forward to seeing you all on Monday. I especially look forward to seeing Year 6s for their SATs breakfast at 0815 on Monday morning – what a treat!

Kindest regards

Ms Whitlock

Welcome back to the Summer Term! We have had a lovely sunny week and already have been extremely busy. We welcomed Mrs Martyn to WPA and are delighted that it seems like she has been here forever. Some of the Year 3 and 4 boys took part in a local football festival on Wednesday and we won quite a few matches with the highlight for our Year 3 team being the match against our Year 4 team, which they won! Well done to all who took part and we look forward to the rematch…

 On Wednesday we were delighted to welcome the Grace Project into school. They are a local non-profit organisation who have two main purposes – to help families who would benefit from some clothing for their children and to help rehome pre-loved clothing. If you are interested in contacting them, please do either let us know via the secretary@wadebridgeprimary.co.uk email address or by contacting The Grace Project directly: grace@wadebridgeparish.org.uk.

Today we had lots on! Year 5 had an Arena ‘Alternative Sports Day, where they tried their hands at Archery, Capture the Flag, Boccia, Tri-Golf and Lacrosse. I sadly was not able to join in (despite my best efforts…) but they had a wonderful day and were thoroughly exhausted by the end of the day – I hope that they all sleep well tonight. The Year 5 staff most definitely will….. Years 3, 4 and 6 enjoyed RNLI Water Safety talks today too. We learned all about how to keep safe near and in the water and I was really pleased with how much information pupils retained when I quizzed them at the end of the day and I hope that they found the sessions useful and fun.

Class photos went really well too and I cannot wait to see the final pictures – they always look so fantastic and are really lovely to keep. As soon as we get the copies in, we will let you know, but thank you for your support with uniform and PE kits on the day.

 Clubs

Summer Term Clubs start the week after next – on 9 May. You should have heard from the office if your child has a place in a club, but please do contact us if you are not sure.  All clubs (apart from Jason Thomas Dance on a Friday and Pro 20 on a Monday) are new this term.

 Shining Stars

Shining Stars this week were for excellent relationships. Again, it was really tricky for all teachers to choose just three pupils from their class and we had some amazing winners, but my favourite was the pupil who was awarded a Shining Star for their much improved and now excellent relationship with English. Staff Shining Stars were awarded to Mrs Young, who is a much valued and vital member of the WPA staff. She is the most reliable, resourceful, creative and wonderful TA and we love her. Mrs Lucock, who most parents know as Caroline, was our other winner, and my goodness she deserved it. She can co-ordinate the most tricky of days and is worth her weight in gold. At least… Well done to all winners today; we are very proud of you.  

PE Days

A reminder one last time for see below for the Summer Term’s PE days. Please come into school in PE Kit on your PE Days  (unless your child is in Reception, where changing into PE kit is part of the curriculum).

Coming up

Year 6 have their SATs during the week starting 9 May. Year 6 parents please see the letter that went home today but please do get in touch if you have any questions.

Year 5 Residential

The Year 5 Residential Trip to Bideford Ultimate Adventure Centre is from Monday 16 to Wednesday 18 May. A reminder letter will be coming home next Tuesday but we are very excited that there are only 2 weeks of school before we go - whoop!

Finally, I hope that you have a lovely weekend and a fantastic Bank Holiday. We look forward to seeing you on Tuesday.

Kindest regards

Ms Whitlock

We made it! Thank you so much for all of your support this term; it is so appreciated.

This week we have seen plenty of Easter activities and work: I have seen much re-telling of the Easter Story; we have heard about Easter Traditions around the world and we have done all things Easter including chocolates and bunnies.  I do love Easter in school – there are some banging songs to sing; I always learn something new and it signifies (to me) the lighter evenings and the prospect of the exciting Summer Term. 

First this week – we have some very exciting news.  Lots of pupils entered the Fowey Festival for young Artists and Writers and we have some winners! Mrs Keat, our Art lead, has said the below:

Fowey Festival

Every year, Wadebridge Primary Academy are proud to take part in the Fowey Festival Awards for Young Writers and Artists and this year was no different.  

We entered a wide range of art work and writing from across the school and today, we have had some wonderful news. The festival judges have looked carefully at all the amazing entries from around the county and have come to their decision.  Here is what they said: 

We are really pleased to announce that three children from Wadebridge Primary Academy have been shortlisted for the special award of ‘Artist of the Year’ and their framed work will be on display in Fowey River Gallery, 38 Fore Street, Fowey during the Easter school holidays.

Our talented art winners are Joseph and Merryn in Year 2 and Sydney in Year 1.

We also were told about a gifted letter writer: Ryan in Year 6.

This is the really exciting bit:  As part of the competition, the judges wish to find the Artist of the Year, which will be done through a public vote.  If you would like to view the three WPA pupils' art work and cast a vote for your favourite piece of work and enable one of our WPA pupils to become 'Artist of the Year', then please visit the Fowey River Gallery during the Easter holidays.

In May, these three pupils will be invited to a grand presentation event where they will be presented with their prizes and their framed art work.  As part of the presentation event, the children and their parents will also be invited to a talk by the renowned author of the very popular ‘Charlie and Lola’ and ‘Clarice Bean’ books, Lauren Child.

We want to congratulate our talented winners and let you know that we are proud of all of the brilliant work that was submitted into the competition by all of our pupils.  

Massively well done to all of the entrants but especially well done to these four pupils. A complete list of winners will be announced on 26 April so more then– Phew!

Shining Stars

Shining Stars this week were for progress this term.  Excellent winners as always and so very deserved. Shining Stars also went to our fabulous Pupil Leadership Team for their super showing around of our Governors yesterday. They were confident, smiley and excellent ambassadors for the school and I am very proud of them all. Well done to Abi, Huw, Molly, James and Claudia. Staff Shining stars this week were plentiful! As you may know, we have had a lot of staff absence this term due to Covid and every staff member has stepped up and done their bit, but I wanted to celebrate a few who have really shone this week.  Penny Thomas, Trina Head and Heidi Kendall in the Kitchen have been wonderful this week and last week and they thoroughly deserved their shining stars. Also, you will be delighted to hear that I can work almost every gadget and do every lunchtime duty in the kitchen now, but I was happily able to avoid the actual cooking. Better for everyone. Shining Stars also went to Mrs Divall, Miss Taylor and Miss Rash for their outstanding work in the Early Years. The last Shining Star this week went to Mrs Orme. Mrs Orme is not with us next term as she is going to Pelynt Primary to lead the team over there, but she will be back with us in September. Which we are VERY happy about. However, we wanted to thank her for her amazing work at WPA as she is simply the best.

Coming up

CLASS PHOTOGRAPHS will be taken on Wednesday 27 April (the first Wednesday back after the Holiday). If you have PE on this day (Wednesday) then please make sure that your child comes into school in their school uniform and brings their PE kit in to change into after their photograph is taken.

Some Year Groups are changing their PE Days; these year groups are now having PE on a Wednesday:

Year 3

Year 5

Clubs

There are no clubs in the first week back (BridgeKids will be running) apart from an invite only sports club offered by Saints South West. Hopefully, you will know if you have been invited. Phew.

PE Days

Please see below for the Summer Term’s PE days. Please come into school in PE Kit on your PE Days. A reminder of PE kit will be sent out on the first Monday back of Term.

FOWPA Quiz Night The FOWPA quiz night went VERY well and they raised a fantastic £483. Thank you to all who took part and THANK YOU to FOWPA for a brilliant night.

Finally, I hope that you have a lovely weekend and a fantastic Easter Break. We look forward to seeing you on Monday 25 April at the normal time. The gates will open at 0825.

Kindest regards

Ms Whitlock