Issue 4 - Autumn 2024
Proud to be ELSTON! Empowered, Listeners, Successful, Together, Open-Minded, Nurturing.
Dear families,
We have reached the end of Autumn 1! Its been a very busy but successful half term. We are so proud of how well children have settled into their new classes and routines, particularly pupils who are new to school and those who have moved into a new key stage. We've seen some fantastic learning across school and children have taken part in many exciting extra curricular opportunities.
This term we've had a big push on handwriting and presentation and have seen great improvements in many pupils' handwriting. Some pupils in Key Stage Two are beginning to write in pen - well done to them!
This month we've celebrated Black History Month with weekly assemblies. Pupils have learned about famous figures including boxer Nicola Adams and pilot Bessie Coleman. Our artist of the month was Beyte Saar and our author of the month was Benjamin Zephaniah. Children also learned about famous composers - Florence Price and William Grant Still.
Thank you to families who attended last week's parent consultations. 88% of families attended - brilliant! If you didn't make an appointment but would like to meet with your child's class teacher, please contact school.
Thank you for your donations for Hello Yellow - we raised £180 for Young Minds!
We've loved seeing children enjoying themselves and learning new skills in our after-school clubs. Some older children are currently walking home after clubs, however, with the nights drawing in, we request that all children are collected from clubs by an adult for the remainder of the sessions.
I hope that children enjoy their half terms next week. Eight weeks is a long half term and we know they are ready for a break! We look forward to seeing them back on Monday 4th November.
Thank you for your continued support, we appreciate all that you do to support pupils with their learning.
Miss E Foster
Headteacher
Attendance
We track attendance weekly and monitor any pupils falling below 96%. School attendance increased to 95.7% - great! We'd love to see this increase above 96%. Well done to Year 1 and Year 4 who have the highest attendance so far! All Key Stage Two year groups saw increased attendance - well done.
Please could we remind families to inform school of any absences before 9am. Please call 01902 558866. If you are calling before 8am, please leave a voicemail and this will be picked up and reasons for absence recorded on Arbor. Families can now also email attendance@elston.org.uk to report any absences.
If your child has a medical appointment, please bring them to school before and after wherever possible.
Year group | Up to 17.10.24 |
Whole School (Without Reception) | 95.7% |
Reception | 96.0% |
Year 1 | 97.0% |
Year 2 | 95.8% |
Year 3 | 94.7% |
Year 4 | 97.4% |
Year 5 | 94.6% |
Year 6 | 94.9% |
Positive praise!
Last week, we received an email from a police officer who was working in the area behind school as pupils were arriving to school.
He said, "Many of your upper school (year 5 and 6) students passed us and I was incredibly impressed by how polite they all were. While this should be basic, it often isn’t and I felt it warranted an email from me... by nature of my role I don’t often get the chance to pass on praise so I thought I would email following this to pass on how impressed I am."
We are so proud - well done to our pupils for representing school so well.
MP Visit
Elston Hall had the pleasure of welcoming Sureena Brackenbridge, an MP for Wolverhampton, into the school. The head boy and girl gave her an informative tour and then welcomed her into the hall to meet with the School Council and House Captains. Sureena shared a little about her role as an MP and then answered some wonderful questions that the School Council had set for her. At the end, she asked if they had any further questions, to which they surprised her with some amazing queries about her role. The children were a fantastic representation of Elston Hall and Sureena was very impressed with the polite nature, eagerness to learn and calm attitude of the pupils at the school.
Harvest
Today, Year 2 performed a fantastic harvest assembly for families! Well done children. Thank you to everyone who sent donations in. They have been collected by the Good Shepherd and will be used to help people in need.
Year 1 DT workshops
This week, Year 1 families were invited to take part in DT workshops. Thank you to all parents/ grandparents who attended, we hope you enjoyed helping your child create a bag for Tinkerbell. It was great to see you all getting involved and sharing your sewing expertise!
Please see the blog on our website for pictures!
Parent Survey
Last term, parents were invited to complete our parent survey. The results have been analysed and can be found here with actions for areas to improve. 1dedc0_009606f799c94c8a8ffb238cfddc3098.pdf
We received lots of positive comments - thank you!
Communication
In the parent survey, a few parents expressed confusion over methods of communication used. We've streamlined our communication methods and a summary of these can be found here: Communication | Elston Hall
We no longer send out paper letters. Instead, letters will be sent out via Arbor. These may go into junk initially so please check there and amend settings if you are not receiving them. In-app messages will also be sent with reminders of events.
From November, we will no longer send text messages. Any minor head bumps will instead be notified via in-app message. Merit assembly invitations will be sent out via email.
As a school we've decided to move away from using X to share school-related posts. From November, we will only publish pictures of trips and activities on our website. Please keep your eye on year group pages and events pages for updates of what we've been doing in school!
Arbor will send emails and in-app messages to primary guardians so please log on and check that your contact details are correct.
Thank you for your continued support.
Year 3 and 4 Cricket sessions
We are delighted to be hosting cricket sessions in school from 'Chance To Shine'. A letter has been sent to Y3/4 with further details of this. The sessions will be held every Tuesday from 5th November - 10th December (inclusive). Y3/4 children should wear their PE uniform on these days. The cricket coach will also be offering cricket sessions to KS2 children during lunchtimes.
Sporting News
Our boys football team beat Villiers in a thrilling game that eventually ending 4-3. The boys showed great determination and team spirit after going 3-0 down in the first half.
Last week our girls football team played a friendly match on Bee Lane against St Anthony's. The game ended with a 4-0 victory to Elston Hall. The girls played brilliantly in their first competitive match and played lots of great football.
Poppy sales
We have a limited number of items that will be sold after half term ahead of Remembrance Sunday - these will be sold during the first week back by our house captains (from Tuesday 5th November) - further details will be sent out after half term.
Reminder - Applications now open for 2025 Secondary School places
Applications are now being taken for secondary places for students due to start Year 7 in 2025.
Parents or carers of pupils in Year 6 who will start secondary school next autumn have until Thursday 31 October 2024 to apply for a place at their preferred schools.
Further information, including the link to the online application form, can be found here.
Details of secondary school open events can be found here.
Should parent/carers require support with their application, they can contact the School Admissions Team on 01902 551122 or email school.admissions@wolverhampton.gov.uk
Bonfire Menu
New menu for Autumn 2
Cook has prepared a new menu for after half term which can be found here: Lunches | Elston Hall
Head bumps and injuries
While we do everything we can to prevent injuries, they do happen in school, particularly when children are playing outside at break or lunchtime. We have many staff across school who are first aid trained and they assess any injuries and provide basic medical treatment. Medical slips are sent home which contain information about any treatment given. Some of you will be very familiar with these!
We are extra cautious if a child reports a head bump. We use yellow wrist bands to identify children who have had a head bump, in case they were to experience difficulties later in the day. If a first aider assesses a child and sees no bump or mark, you will receive an in-app message just to let you know. If there is a bump, we contact families to report the injury and decide on next steps.
Board games
We would like to request any donations of board games/activities suitable for wet lunchtime boxes. If you have any games that your children no longer play with, please send them into school. Thank you!
Key Dates
Autumn Term 2024
Monday 28th October—Friday 1st November—Half term break
Monday 11th November - World Nursery Rhyme day for EYFS
Tuesday 12th November - Odd socks day for anti-bullying week
Wednesday 13th / Thursday 14th November—Y3 Trip to Tanglewood
Tuesday 19th November—Y2 Circus visit (in school)
Friday 15th November - Children in Need
Thursday 21st November - Year 4/5 trip to cinema
Monday 25th November—Flu immunisation catch up session
Wednesday 11th December - Christmas lunch and Christmas jumper day
Thursday 12th December - Nursery Christmas Performances 9:15 & 13:30, Reception 10:15 & 14:30
Friday 13th December - Reception trip. Year 5 Christmas Performances 9:15 & 13:30, Year 6 10:15 & 14:30
Monday 16th December - Year 1 Christmas Performances 9:15 & 13:30, Year 2 10:15 & 14:30
Tuesday 17th December - Year 3 Christmas Performances 9:15 & 13:30, Year 4 10:15 & 14:30
Monday 23rd December—Friday 3rd January—Christmas break
Spring term 2025
Monday 6th January —Pupils return to school
Monday 17th February—Friday 21st February—Half term
Monday 24th February—INSET DAY—School closed to pupils
Monday 14th April—Friday 25th April—Easter break
Summer term 2025
Monday 28th April —Pupils return to school
Monday 12th May—Thursday 15th May—Year 6 SATs
Monday 26th May—Friday 30th May—Half term
Monday 2nd June—Friday 6th June - Year 4 Multiplication Checks
Monday 9th June—Friday 13th June - Year 1 Phonics screening and Year 4 Multiplication Checks
Friday 20th June—INSET day—School closed to pupils
Friday 18th July—Last day of summer term
Community Links
Wolverhampton Family Hubs - Stay and Play
Here is a collection of weekly drop-in groups across Wolverhampton. Our vision is to support parents and families by providing a stimulating environment in which all children are welcome, respected and encouraged to fulfil their full potential. Your child will be learning new skills and beginning to understand the world around them. Stay and play groups offer a chance for children aged 0-5 years to socialise and play with others, and for the parents to meet one another. We provide them with a safe environment to discover new toys and get used to socialising with other children
On the right hand side of the page, there is a ‘scroll-down’ which shares information of other groups and support days at the hub, including Journey of Change, Circle of Security and Financial Well-being.
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