Dear Parents and Carers,

I hope you all enjoyed the half-term break and the Jubilee celebrations. Paddington Bear meeting the Queen was definitely a highlight for me! 

The children have returned to school with a spring in their step and smiles on their faces for the final half-term of this academic year. This is always the busiest period of time in school, but it is also full of events that we look forward to. After riding the pandemic wave over the past two years it is a great feeling knowing that we will be able to welcome you into school several times over the coming weeks for the Summer Fayre, sports days, open day, 2CanLearns, special assemblies, and the Year Six production. 

On Tuesday this week, we met with the parents and carers of the children joining us in September. It was the first time we have had a face-to-face meeting with a large group of parents for a long time and although Zoom meetings have their place, some regular OWPS events are much better in person. 

For the 17^th year in a row, Mr Eardley spoke to the new parents on Tuesday, but sadly this was for the last time. This will be our last half-term with him as our Headteacher and when someone has been in that position for as long as he has and at the same school, it is a big change and the news came as quite a shock for many. I have been Mr Eardley's deputy for over twelve years. His leadership, support, guidance, and friendship have all been such an important part of my professional and personal life and I shall miss working with him in September. The impact he has had on our school, the pupils, families, staff, and community is immeasurable. We shall ensure his final few weeks with us all let him know how grateful we are for his hard work and dedication to Orton Wistow Primary School.  

The sun has returned, and I think we are in for a pleasant weekend. Make the most of it and I shall see you next week. 

Mr. Marks

Deputy Headteacher

^{Photo by Chris Boland on Unsplash}

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

Jubilee Celebrations at OWPS

Orton Wistow children and staff celebrated the Queen's Platinum Jubilee in style on Tuesday 24th May 2022.

The children started off the day with two special Platinum Jubilee Singing Assemblies, one for Key Stage Two children and one for Foundation Stage and Year One children, which included singing a couple of verses of the National Anthem.

It was then all hands on deck to set up tables under the canopy in preparation for a Jubillee Fish and Chip lunch.  The children coloured Union Jack bunting which was used to decorate the school, and some classes even made crowns.

Many of the children also had an opportunity to look at the OWPS 20^th Century history timeline and talk about where the events fit into the chronology of the last century. 

Mrs McIntosh arranged for each class to create a special art project using wildflowers native to the UK and the silhouette of the Queen's head. They are now on display near the school entrance and look amazing!

Year Six Family Learning 26.05.22

By Mrs Simmons, Year Six Class Teacher

On Thursday 26^th of May, Year Six invited all parents to their '2 Can Learn', where children and parents reminisced about their time at Orton Wistow.  They produced 'scrapbook' pages, which will be used in class before the end of the year, and used photographs and scrapbooking materials to showcase their memories and learning journeys from Foundation Stage to Year Six.

FOWS Summer Raffle 24th June 2022

A letter went home this week including 4 books of Grand Draw tickets for you to sell to family/friends.

Tickets are priced at 50p each/ £2.50 for a book of 5.

This will be our first Fayre for 2 years and we are so looking forward to seeing you and the children enjoying the stalls, and performances and taking part in all the activities. We really appreciate all the donations you have given us throughout the year and this year we have contributed to the new bike sheds fund, library books, and activities run in the school.

Please return the stubs, money and / or any unsold tickets to school as soon as possible – you might be lucky and win one of the many fantastic prizes including;

• £100 cash – courtesy of Cfes Ltd
• £50 M&S voucher- donated by Electrolite Consulting
• Google Nest  – donated by BGL (alternative prize to that previously listed)
• Chef de la Maison voucher for a luxury afternoon tea
• Champagne and champagne flutes
• Rumble Live voucher for 2 people for an hour
• Cut and Blow dry with Liz
• £20 Boden voucher
• One month free Martial Arts training
• Sacrewell Family Day Pass
• Voucher towards a treatment at Pure Tranquillity
• Avon Pamper Package
• Relaxation session with Hummingbird Hypnotherapy
• Mini photoshoot with Humankind Photography
• Gel manicure by Christie nails and beauty
• And more…….

We cannot raise funds for our children without the support from all the parents and staff at Orton Wistow Primary School.  We would like to thank you again for your continued generosity and ongoing support.

If you need more tickets, please call into the office.

^{Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash}

Library Corner June 2022

By Mrs Campling, Librarian

Empathy Day 2022

This week is the 6th annual ‘Empathy Day’, run by UK charity Empathy Lab with the specific aim of building empathy and resilience in children and young people through reading. Each year they release a list of recommended books for primary and secondary age children, and I was delighted to see that many of the titles on the primary list this year are already gracing our shelves here at Wistow!

This year’s theme is “Empathy: Our Human Superpower” and challenges us to practice empathy in our day-to-day lives with small, manageable activities, or changes that are easy to implement. Developing empathy is crucial to our ability to function as well-rounded individuals, and it’s important that children are able to see their connection to all kinds of people, not just those who look, act, speak or experience the world in the same way as they do. We are highlighting this day in the library with some of our favourite ‘read for empathy’ books, and you’ll find plenty of resources for home on the Empathy Lab website here: www.empathylab.uk 

Classroom Book Corners

Mrs Edwards, Miss Tansley and I have been busy behind the scenes restocking all of the classroom book corners ready for September! Each year group will have 50 brand-new books (25 per class, but they can be shared between the two classrooms) that belong specifically to that year group. We’ve used the excellent Books for Topics lists to ensure that each year group has a good selection of books and I, for one, am really excited for what will be an ENORMOUS delivery in the next couple of weeks! 

Recommended Reads

All of this month’s recommendations are from the Empathy Day book list!

A Shelter for Sadness by Anne Booth & David Litchfield:
This simple, yet beautiful book features a young boy who builds a shelter in which his sadness (depicted as a soft, melancholy, shapeless creature) can live, with all the things it might possibly need. Even as adults we often struggle to simply sit with and feel our emotions, particularly negative ones, and this book gently encourages children to recognise their sadness and acknowledge it, before moving forwards. The illustrations and colour palette really contribute to the soft, gentle approach of the book and make it a very calming, restorative read.

The Great Food Bank Heist by Onjali Q Rauf:
Rauf is fast becoming a prolific name in writing on current issues in a way that both children and adults can absorb the reality of the situation, whilst also communicating a very tangible sense of hope that we can affect change in the world. Her books never stay long in the library! In this short novel, a group of children sets out to catch a gang of thieves who are stealing from the local food bank. It’s dyslexia friendly too, published by Barrington Stoke.

Being Me: Poems about Thoughts, Worries and Feelings by Brownlee et al:

Poetry is top-notch at getting to the heart of a situation or emotion and this collection from three very different poets is no exception. With poems ranging from the abstract “What to do with Worries” to the specific “Dad’s New Girlfriend”, this is a great book to dip in and out of. 

^{Photo by Liana Mikah on Unsplash}

Father's Day Lunches

We are looking forward to seeing dads in school for the Father's Day lunches that are taking place from 13th - 24th June 2022. 

We would be grateful if you could ensure that you have paid on parentmail in advance (checking in Payments/Shop to see the payment item).

Please note that bookings are now closed.

If you are unsure of what time to attend, please look at the lunchtimes below and arrive 5 minutes before your child (or YOUNGEST child if you have more than one at the school) is due to have lunch.

Join Your Child For Lunch!

Just a reminder that there are still places available if you wish to join your child for lunch at OWPS.

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

• 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.

If you are unsure of what time to attend, please look at the lunch times above and arrive 5 minutes before your child (or YOUNGEST child if you have more than one at the school) is due to have lunch.

Discover what is coming up in the OWPS Dining Car.

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}