Dear Parents and Carers,

I hope you have all had another wonderful week, it has certainly been a busy and productive one here! Year Six were fantastic last week, rising to the challenge of their SATs and doing their best throughout. This week, Year Two have been completing some 'Special Agent Training' tasks (Year Two SATs) and have also been fantastic, working hard throughout. I know the brain biscuits have definitely helped. Unlike Year Six, these SATs are used internally by teachers as further evidence towards their teacher assessments. 

Yesterday, Year Five had a 2CanLearn session with lots of their parents that ended with a BBQ! Unfortunately, I was at an OWN Trust meeting at Woodston Primary School and missed the chance of enjoying a burger or hot dog. I heard the session went really well, and I know many other year groups (and especially the staff) were quite jealous of this event. Well done to all those that were involved. I know it took a lot of prep to get everything ready. 

Next week we will be celebrating the Queen's jubilee on Tuesday 24^th May. There will be special assemblies, activities in classrooms, and a street party-style lunch. Please remember to dress your children in red, white, and blue for the event. 

Looks like the weather is returning to warm, dry sunshine for the weekend, I hope you all make the most of it, and we shall see you on Monday for the final week of this half-term.

Mr. Marks

Deputy Headteacher

^{Photo by Polina Volkova on Unsplash}

Each week, we publish the latest achievements of the children at Orton Wistow Primary School. 

FOWS Update 20.05.22

By Mrs Francis, FOWS

We have two FOWS events coming up in the next week: we are thrilled to have the return of our school disco, and we have the final donation day of the academic year. 

Disco - Thursday 26th May

There are two discos, the first is for FS and KS1 children and is from 4.30pm to 5.30pm.

The second is for KS2 children and is from 5.45pm to 7pm. 

The disco costs £3 to attend (payable on arrival). The price includes a drink and a small snack for children.

Traditionally we hold this disco outside - at present we're hopeful it will be able to be outdoors but of course, this is weather dependent. Please watch our Facebook and Twitter pages for updates. 

We will be sending a separate email next week explaining drop-off and collection arrangements. 

Donation Day - Friday 27th May

This is our final donation day this academic year, and we are excited to invite your child to wear their favourite t-shirt in exchange for some sweets or chocolate that can be used at the summer fayre. All the donation days held throughout the year contribute enormously to all the events we run, and mean that together we can raise even more money for the school. Please support this event if you can, and a huge thank you in advance from FOWS for any donations. 

As always, we'd like to thank our volunteers and our committee - without them, we wouldn't be able to run these events. 

Summer Fayre

We're busy behind the scenes getting things ready for the summer fayre but are still desperately searching for someone to match fund for us. 

BGL and Barclays have done this before for us - if you work for either of these companies please let us know - you could help us raise up to an extra £1000! Imagine if more than one person was able to match fund for us - this could end up being a bumper year for the fayre! There is very little involved in the process, if you think you're able to help, please email, and we can answer any questions you might have. Fows@owps.org.uk

^{Photo by Аида Тикиева on Unsplash}

OWN Trust Charity Non-Uniform Day

On Friday 10th June, Orton Wistow Primary School is participating in an OWN Trust Charity Non-Uniform Day, along with Woodston Primary School and Nene Valley Primary School, to raise money for the Cavernoma Alliance UK.

How can your child participate?

Children in all three of the OWN Trust Schools, including Orton Wistow Primary School, are invited to wear non-uniform on Friday 10th June 2022 and bring in a donation of £1 for the Cavernoma Alliance UK.  

What is Cavernoma?

A cavernoma is made up of abnormal blood vessels and can be found in the brain and/or spinal cord and looks like a raspberry. Cavernomas are also known as cavernous angioma, cavernous haemangioma or cerebral cavernous malformation (CCM). They can measure from a few millimetres to several centimetres. A cavernoma can get bigger, but this engorgement is not cancerous and does not spread to other parts of the body.

Sometimes the cells lining the blood vessels ooze small amounts of blood (inwards) within the cavernoma, or (outwards) into the surrounding tissue. The risk of re-bleeding varies widely and is difficult to predict accurately.

1 person in 600, in the UK, has a brain cavernoma without symptoms (asymptomatic). This equates to roughly 90,000 people – enough to fill Wembley Stadium. A spinal cavernoma is rarer than a brain cavernoma.

Cavernoma also occurs in other areas of the body, such as the spine.

Whilst people with cavernoma have things in common, each person remains unique. This should be considered for each individual who may require both lifelong support and medical attention.

Why has the Cavernoma Alliance UK charity been chosen?

The Cavernoma Alliance UK has been chosen as the charity this year because cavernoma affects the family of one of Nene Valley’s former pupils and former staff members.

All three schools in the OWN Trust will be taking part in the non-uniform day on 10th June 2022 to raise money for the charity.  It is the first time that Woodston, Nene Valley, and Orton Wistow Primary School have undertaken a joint charity initiative, and hopefully, we will raise lots of money between us to help fund the work of the Cavernoma Alliance UK.

For more information about the Cavernoma, Alliance UK, please visit https://cavernoma.org.uk/

Thank you for your support.

^{Photo by Nicola Fioravanti on Unsplash}

Celebrating Success

Here at Orton Wistow Primary School, we recognise that success comes in all different shapes and sizes! We celebrate the children's achievements in school in the Achievements section of the newsletter and website.

Many of the children, however, are also achieving things outside of school.  We would like to recognise these successes too.

It might be that your child has passed a music or dance exam, gained a karate belt, starred in a show, volunteered, taken part in a sporting event, or done something that they didn't think was possible!

If you would like to share your child's achievements with us so that we can celebrate their success, please complete the Celebrating Success form. Contributions will be considered for inclusion in upcoming editions of the newsletter.

We look forward to hearing about your children's extracurricular achievements!

Celebrating Success this week!

This child in Y4 took part in the rat race obstacle course at Burghley house. She loved the wet and muddy obstacles! Congratulations!

After lots of hard work and perseverance, this child in Year 3 successfully passed his belt test and is now an Orange and White belt in karate! Well done!

Congratulations to this child in Year 4 who was awarded a trophy at the end of the season by his football team, Peterborough Pollonia FC. Congratulations!

This child in Year 4 had her first competition competing for Spirals. She came third place on her beam routine achieving a medal and a rosette for all round.  Well done!

Queen's Platinum Jubilee Celebrations

We are excited to share with you that we will be celebrating the Queen's Platinum Jubilee in school all day on Tuesday 24th May.

Children will be asked to come in non-uniform and wear red, white, and blue items of clothing to school instead (any PE sessions will be moved to a different day) and we will spend the whole day learning more about the Queen, her life, and the importance of this historic Jubilee.

Each year group will create their own unique collaborative artwork of the Queen's head, filled with different native flowers from the UK.

During our assembly, we will all sing the National Anthem, and at lunchtime, the whole school will take part in a huge 'street party' by sitting down to eat a traditional British meal of fish and chips (vegetarian option also provided) outside together under the KS2 canopy. Feel free to pack your own 'Jubliee' style picnic if your child is packed lunch this day). 

We will have the chance to make Union Jack bunting to hang in the hall, and have a wonderful fun-filled day.

^{Photo by Hello I'm Nik on Unsplash}

Discover what is coming up in the OWPS Dining Car.

Join Your Child For Lunch!

Following on from Mr Eardley's promise to invite every parent into school at some point during the Summer Term, we are pleased to announce that the Dining Car is now open for parent bookings after half-term.

We would like to invite one parent for one dinner per family group after the May half-term. We hope this will be the fairest way to ensure that every child has lunch with a member of their family. 

You can book in for a lunch Monday to Friday in the weeks commencing:

• 6th June 2022
• 27th June 2022
• 4th July 2022
• 11th July 2022

Simply email the school office at office@owps.org.uk or ring us on 01733 370646 to book your place. The cost of an OWPS adult lunch is £4.  When you ring in to book we will create a payment item in the payment shop on Parentmail to enable you to pay in advance and confirm your place.

We will be contacting you separately regarding the Father's Day lunches that will be held during the weeks commencing 13th June and 20th June 2022.

Read about what is happening locally, nationally and internationally.

^{Disclaimer: Orton Wistow Primary School does not endorse any products, services or activities that appear in the Community section of this newsletter, and is not responsible for any contract entered into by either party. Given the current circumstances, we would recommend all parents check with any providers regarding the status of these services, activities and clubs}