Welcome to term 6 - always a busy term, hopefully with plenty of sunshine. This is also a term for celebration and change, so please keep coming back to the weekly newsletter for important news and updates as the term progresses.

Staff moving on this year

There are always a mix of emotions to accompany news of friends and colleagues moving on. Congratulations to Mr Bliss who will be leaving Victoria Park Primary School this year to join our CST colleagues and pupils at Stoke Park Primary School where he will be teaching in Year 6. Our congratulations also go to Ms Parry who has a new role at Kings Oak Academy as a reading tutor, which starts in September. Finally we say goodbye and good luck to Miss Bunnett who will be leaving Bristol to return to Cornwall during the summer holidays. All three of these valued staff members have made a wonderful contribution to the life of our school and will be missed. We will introduce you to new staff members joining the team in next week's newsletter.

Transition mornings

Term 6 always includes an opportunity for pupils to meet their new teacher for next year. Sometimes these are called "shuffle up" mornings. This year we will have three "shuffle up" mornings spread out over the last three weeks of term. The first of these will be on Thursday 1st July; children will find out who their new teacher is on that day then spend the morning in their new classroom.

Whole School Storytelling Day

You may remember that we postponed our celebration of World Book Day until a time when everyone was back in school. Our Whole School Storytelling Day will be on Wednesday 7th July. Children may dress up as a character from a book or, alternatively, a costume closely linked with nature. This is because we are lucky enough to have a visitor for the day working with each year group, focusing on a folktale called 'The Dream Makers'.  Each year group will follow a story trail in the school grounds and engage in activities based on the story through art, storytelling and written activities. Please don't worry about elaborate costumes; a simple mask, coloured clothes, face painting or ears can all be good options!

Uniform reminders

We are a uniform-wearing school and children are expected to wear the agreed school uniform at all times. Full details are on the School Uniform section of the school website. Our school uniform consists of: navy blue sweaters or sweatshirts (not hoodies), preferably with the school logo; white polo shirts; grey or black trousers/leggings; grey or black skirts with grey, black or blue tights; black shoes or black trainers; blue hijabs or head coverings.

Reminders

• Children should not be wearing hoodies or other jumpers instead of a navy sweatshirt or school jumper.
• School shoes should be black.
• At the moment, children are permitted to wear trainers on the day of their PE lessons only. This is because we are not asking children to change for PE while we have a staggered timetable in place (due to COVID restrictions).

Protect your children from the sun

The weather is getting warmer and children should now be coming to school prepared to be outdoors.

• On sunny days, please apply sunscreen with a high factor to your child(ren)'s skin before coming to school in the morning.
• We recommend that you use an "all day" sunscreen which only needs applying once. This is readily available.
• Children may bring a cap or sunhat to wear outdoors - please make sure this is labelled with your child's name.
• If you are happy for your child to apply additional sunscreen to themselves during the day, this should be sent in a named bottle. The children should keep this in their own bag.
• Staff do not generally apply sunscreen to children, but are happy to supervise self-application.
• Sunscreen must not be shared with other children.
• We also encourage pupils to stay safe in the sun by seeking shade, wearing sun hats, and drinking water.

A message from Moose

Dear Parents/Carers,

Welcome back! We are pleased to be back and our first week has gone well adjusting to our new premises. The bookings for Term 6 are still open and have availability. If you are not already registered with Moose, we welcome new families and the information of how to register can be found via our Moose website:

https://www.moosekidsclub.co.uk/

If you have any further questions, do please contact Sam on 07305083381 or mooseplayscheme@hotmail.co.uk. We thank you all for your continued support and look forward to next week!

The Moose Team.

National School Breakfast Programme

The National School Breakfast Programme is pleased to announce the launch of its Breakfast at Home area on the Family Action website. The Breakfast at Home area shares with parents the benefits of eating a healthy breakfast, and the impact this can have on their child’s readiness to learn, health and well-being. It offers tools to support parents in providing a low cost, nutritious daily breakfast. The easy-to-navigate website contains six main categories; get organised, nutrition and well-being, family fun, top tips, recipes and videos and research. Within these categories are planners, hacks, information about what’s in cereal, nutrition factsheets, ideas for weekend breakfast, quizzes and much more. 

www.family-action.org.uk/BreakfastAtHome

Meet a mermaid and win a boat trip!

Treasure Your River is a litter busting campaign and is launching in Bristol with loads of fantastic family events to get involved in.

https://www.treasureyourriver.co.uk/

They are running 2 competitions - to design a flag for their new recycled plastic litter picking boat and to design a waste gobbling machine. Enter the competition here:

https://www.sustainablehive.com/school-s-competitions

You could win a paddle board session, meet a mermaid or go on a boat trip! There are loads of brilliant events coming up in Bristol. We'd love you to do your bit and get involved.

https://www.sustainablehive.com/treasure-your-river-events

Bristol Sport - Girls' Football

Bristol Sport Foundation (BSF) has recently launched a Girls' Development Football Hub for school years 3 – 6. This hub offers girls the opportunity to play football in a safe and fun environment and to learn new skills under the watchful eye of qualified and experienced coaches. The hub is a player-focused environment that will support individuals to develop their football skills with a view to them taking the next step on the performance pathway. Click on the poster below for more details.

Speech and Language Drop-in Session

Click below for details of the next drop-in session with Speech and Language Therapist, Leonie Vooght.

Friends of Victoria Park Primary School

Massive Summer Raffle – NOW LIVE!

To be in with a chance of winning one of our fabulous prizes, simply text VPPS to 70970.

Tickets cost £5 each, and you must be aged 16 or over to enter. Please seek the bill-payers permission first. For full terms and conditions, visit

http://www.easydonate.org/QBFK02

The closing date for entries is Fri 16 Jul 2021. Please spread the word – every penny raised goes directly towards enriching our children’s education! The PTFA would like to say a HUGE thank you to the following local businesses who together have donated prizes worth more than £900!

• The Bartender Hire Company - Online Cocktail Making for 5 worth £225 (18+ only)
• Morag MacDonald Photography - £100 Gift Voucher for a family/child/baby/pet portrait session (two available)
• Greenwoods - Family Day Pass to Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm worth £70
• Southville Deli - £20 gift vouchers (two available)
• Hunters Estate Agent (Bedminster) - Luxury Food Hamper worth £40
• Earthcake - £40 voucher for a 7-inch Birthday Cake
• Catherine Bell - £40 Body Shop Gift Bag
• Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm - Voucher for 2 Adults Entry
• Hugo's Greengrocer Deli - £30 Gift Voucher
• Old Down Estate - Family Day Pass
• Crucial BMX - £10 gift voucher and T-Shirt
• The Park Bakery - Picnic for two in Victoria Park.
• Wyatt and Ackerman - 29pc Oil Painting Set
• Fox and West - Seasonal Veg Box Voucher
• Mini Potters - £20 gift voucher
• Zero Green - £20 gift voucher
• Bristol Loaf - £10 gift voucher

PTFA Meeting – 17 June

PTFA meetings are open to anyone with a child at the school who’d like to help us raise money, build community and help enrich our children’s education. Whether you’ve got ideas to share, or you’d just like to listen in, we’d love to see you!

The next meeting will be held on Zoom from 8:00-9:00pm on Thurs 17 June. You’ll need the Meeting ID (860 8965 7346) and Passcode (VPPS) to dial in. We’ll be discussing our plans for next academic year, so do please come along and share your thoughts!

We have an INSET day coming up - don't forget that school will be closed on Friday 25th June (in two weeks' time). On this day, teachers will come into school and benefit from training sessions throughout the day.