The last newsletter before the holidays…I started writing it whilst in London with Year 5 last week but never managed to get it finished then. Hence why this one is a bumper issue! I hope you all have a relaxing Easter break, and we all get a little bit of sunshine ☀️. See you in a couple of weeks.
“He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still here in Galilee, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day raised again.'”
Luke 24: 6-7
Return to School
Children return to school after the Easter break on Monday 17th April.
Raring to Go Spring 2023
Here’s the digital magazine link for Raring2go! Spring 2023 magazine:
https://magazines.raring2go.co.uk/kidderminsterandstourbridge/spring2023/
Pedmore Thrive
The last issue for this term of Pedmore Thrive can be found here.
Easter Service at Church
Yesterday (Thursday) everyone in school went over to St Peter’s to take part in worship. David was there to welcome us and each class shared a song, poem, prayer or story. It was lovely to have all of the children together sharing what they had practised. If you want to share a little bit of it with your child, one of the songs shared was ‘Sing Out an Easter Song’ – this was shared by Year 3. If you want to sing this song with your child at home then you can access a version of it here.
Palm Cross
At the end of the day today, each child will come home with a palm cross to remind them of the Easter story. Each cross has been hand-made by the villagers in the Massai village in Southern Tanzania. The sale of these crosses helps to support the village.
Easter Holiday Football Clubs at Belbroughton
Details of these can be found here and here.
Stourbridge Tennis Clubs
Anyone interested in tennis clubs available over the Easter break can find details here.
Coronation Picnic
On Thursday 4th May, there will be a special Coronation Picnic event being held on the school field. This will be held in the afternoon. School will be closed to children that day, due to the school being used as a poling station. More details about this event, and how you can get involved, will be sent out after Easter. Keep the date free!
Red Nose Day
Our Red Nose Day collection raised £265.59! Thank you to everyone who supported us by donating.
New Menu
Next term’s menu for school lunches can be found here.
Forest School Update
Year 1 enjoyed their last session in Forest School this week by getting literally stuck in the mud pit!
After all the rain, the mud was particularly gloopy and they had great fun rescuing each other as well as creating a great swamp for the dinosaurs.
Over the last 6 weeks the children have embraced everything Forest School has to offer, leading their own learning, connecting to nature, working together as well as copious amounts of play.
The children can now name familiar garden birds and start to recognise their calls, they have used a saw to make their own log dogs, worked in teams to make birds nests, learnt the importance of having 5 minutes peace and had many snacks from the camp fire.
We have also been entertained with plentiful shows and this week I had a particular heartwarming moment when one show incorporated many of the stories I have told them each week.
It’s been great to see how the children’s confidence has grown and that previously quiet children have found their voices.
Thank you Year 1 for a great 6 weeks- I have loved our sessions and I think after your stand off this week and chanting that you didn’t want to go in, was testimony that you had a good time too!
Forest School Activities in Easter
Ruth Hill is running two events during the Easter holidays: a family bushcraft event and a cooking club. You can find further details at the links below:
Attendance
Whole School – 95.4%
Reception – 90.53%
Year 1 – 98.25%
Year 2 – 93.33%
Year 3 – 94.42%
Year 4 – 99.04%
Year 5 – 93.95%
Year 6 – 97.93%
Rags2Riches Clothes Collection
The Rags2Riches clothes collection, organised by Pedmore PTA, raised £141.16. Thank you for all of your donations.
PTA Easter Egg Hunt
Thank you to everyone who came along and supported the Easter Egg hunt last Saturday morning. It was a lovely morning and children had a great time searching for chocolate! Thanks to your generosity, we raised an amazing £1073.88!
Safeguarding
Below is some information around current topics in safeguarding. If you need any further information, or have anything you want to discuss, please get in touch with school.
For Parents – What is Misogyny?
We all know that misogyny, particularly amongst teenage boys, is getting worse. The continual media reporting of people like Andrew Tate combined with the algorithms used within the likes of social media means that misogynistic content is everywhere. There is only so much that can be done in school, parents need to be having conversations at home, but these conversations can be difficult, particularly if you don’t know where to start.
Internet Matters have put some great resources together to help with this, including a video, where children might see this type of content online, terms to know and tips to tackle misogyny. You can find all the resources HERE. There is also really good information and advice in relation to tackling online hate and trolling which you can find HERE.
For Parents – Video Games and Reading
As much as people talk about the negatives of gaming, games playing can be hugely beneficial in many ways such as teamwork, problem solving, critical thinking and so much more, including reading. This is particularly true for those children who are reluctant to read or who are struggling. Andy Robertson from Ask About Games has put together a great little selection of games which you can find HERE.
TikTok and Reality Shifting
Is reality shifting a TikTok trend? What is reality shifting? I had little idea about this until I saw a new study from Voicebox. The hashtag realityshifting has had over 2 billion views on TikTok at the time the report was written so there’s a pretty good chance that some students will have heard of or seen it. In the words of the report, “Reality shifting is a meditation-esque practice where people believe they can shift their consciousness into other realities (not to be confused with daydreaming.”
According to the report there is concern that some young people are neglecting responsibility and ignoring tricky emotions by choosing to escape their reality instead.
You can see the report HERE.
TikTok Guardian’s Guide
There have been quite a few updates to TikTok over recent months so it may be worth reading this updated guide which includes family paring, digital wellbeing, privacy and more. You can find the updated guide HERE.
Take Care & Stay Safe
Mr Dunn
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