We were delighted to welcome a visitor to our assembly this week. One of our musical parents, Nick, came into school to show the children his guitar and saxophone. Pupils enjoyed calm entry and exit music on his acoustic guitar, and learning about Nick's saxophone. They showed curiosity with their questions about how long Nick has been playing, whether he is in any groups, and even asked for his 'top tips' to be successful. We'd like to thank Nick for joining us and being so inspiring. If you play a musical instrument, and would be willing to come and play in a future school assembly, please let Mr Bailey know by calling or emailing the school office. We'd love to see you!

Library - Can You Help?

You may have noticed that our school library has been closed this academic year, so far. This is due to an ongoing staff absence. Normally our library would be open after school for pupils to visit with their parents and carers.

To help get the library open again, we are curious if any parents/carers or other adults from the community might volunteer to help run the library between 3:00pm-3:30pm each weekday. We propose creating a daily rota of adult helpers across the week. If you are able to help by regularly volunteering some of your time, we can provide full training on how to use the library system. We would need you to apply for a DBS check for safeguarding purposes, and we would rely on you to attend your scheduled day regularly. This could also be done in pairs, if enough adults express an interest. If you think you can help us, please fill in this Expression of Interest form.

Meet the Governors

Ben Loxton says "I have lived within walking distance of VPPS for over 15 years, and have two children at the school. I'm a lawyer by background, specialising in employment law, with lots of experience helping organisations to build out the policy and governance needed to keep things running smoothly. I volunteered to be a governor so that I could play my own small part in helping our children to have the best primary school experience possible, and I'm really excited to be part of the VPPS community."

A Message From the Children’s Commissioner for England

I hope everyone at Victoria Park Primary School enjoyed the much-needed Christmas break. I just wanted to offer my final thanks for your support with my national campaign ‘The Big Ambition’ which will be closing this Friday 19th January.

I have been overwhelmed by the response the survey has received. Over 300,000 children, young people, parents and carers have participated, making it one of the largest surveys of its kind!

This is the final push to hear from even more children before the survey closes, it is so important that every child in England has an opportunity to tell policy makers what they want and need ahead of the General Election.

Children and parents or carers can complete the survey here.

I am so very grateful for your support, and I am beyond excited to share the findings.

Very best,

Dame Rachel De Souza

Children’s Commissioner for England

Other Information

• Take a look at the flyer below for information about Mad Science Holiday Clubs taking place during February Half Term. These are exciting Science based half term camps for children between the ages of 5-11 years old. All camps are hosted by highly trained Mad Scientists, who are accomplished Science communicators, and go above and beyond to ensure every little camper leaves with a new wealth of Science skills and knowledge, and more importantly a massive smile. For more information on these camps, click here.

• Do you want to discover who once lived in your house, or gain a better understanding of the history of your street? The St Luke's Community Heritage Project 2024 might be of interest. Here are details of their introductory talk and workshop taking place at the Star & Dove on 31st January.

• The brochure below details after school activities and other groups taking place at Bishopsworth Skate Park (in Campus Pool), including prices, timetables and subsidised opportunities.

Please remember that next Friday (26th January) is an INSET day, so school will be closed to pupils. Teachers and Teaching Assistants will all be at St Werburgh's Primary School with colleagues from other CST Primary Schools learning about metacognition in teaching and learning. We hope you have a lovely weekend!