Parents

Weekly Parent Bulletin - Friday 14th November

Dear parents,

Thank you for supporting our firework event last weekend, it looks like we have raised over £18,000 for the PTA from this single event! This will make such a difference to lots of school projects, potentially helping our ambition to have a new library ready for September 2026. A MASSIVE thank you to every volunteer who helped at this event, it wouldn't be possible without your support. Hats off to Charli, Steph and their PTA team for organising another superb event, next level skills!

This week has been a busy one with Anti-Bullying Week recognised with our odd sock event on Monday. This year we focused on the impact of the words we say, with the concept of kindness costing nothing. Today we supported Children in Need with our onesie day, thank you for your generosity with donations to this brilliant charity.

With Christmas on the horizon, dates have been set for our nativity shows (EYFS, Year 1 & Year 2) and carol services (Years 3 to 6). Details below:

EYFS: 9:30am - 11th December
Year 1: 9:30am - 12th December
Year 2: 9:30am - 10th December
Year 3: 2:30pm - 18th December
Year 4: 2:30pm - 15th December
Year 5: 2:30pm - 17th December
Year 6: 2:30pm - 16th December

Nativity shows will come with 3 tickets per family, with tickets shared nearer the event. This hopefully means a grandparent or close family member can attend too. We also professionally record and publish the nativity shows so that the whole family can watch these back as a Christmas treat. For the KS2 carol services, we open the doors to our hall with wider family able to attend.

The new catering service continues to see much improved meals being served. Where the meals are a significant step up from the previous offering, I suspect some children are finding the more complex menu a change to adjust to. We have gone from a relatively beige menu to a much more nutritionally enriching one. Little things like having 'sunny rice' (essentially pilau rice) with their beef tacos on Tuesday rather than white rice, oaty raisin cookies on Thursday rather than chocolate ones. On apple crumble day, it was easy to underestimate how many children had never tried custard before. If you think your little one might struggle, remember we have jacket potato and sandwich options daily too. From next week a new salad bar should be in place to complement their meals daily. If we ever spot a child not eating, we will endeavour to call you to seek permission to swap the meal for a different option. I will continue to monitor this closely and keep you updated.

We are lucky to have one of our local Councillors, Bobbie Dove, as a Governor at the school. Where she highlighted the BCP Community Fund we have been able to successfully bid for £8,000 of new benches made from recycled plastic - fitting for our Earth Charter inspired school. They look really smart and mean every class now has a fit for purpose bench to use throughout the day. We also have some lovely new park style benches that will be popping up around our site, perfect for a coffee and a chat with a friend at drop off. Little touches like this help maintain our goal for Avonwood to be a place where everyone wants to live and learn.

Avonwood staff have been in full swing with the 'awe and wonder' side of our education offer. In the last 10 days I've seen Narnia experiences in Year 5, Taskmaster challenges in Year 6, Begu space experiences in Year 1, Jurassic Park immersion in Year 3 and Dragonology experiences in Year 4 - to name a few! Seeing the way our staff combine academic excellence with the awe and wonder of primary education continues to be one of the best bits of my job.

Lastly, a plea from me to complete our annual parent survey: https://edurio.com/poll/34y8IGjf3WyoM5ZDAf7HKCsLCIF

This survey helps us better understand the things about our school that parents appreciate, along with suggestions for how we can make Avonwood even better. #TeamAvonwood

Have a great weekend!

Mr Jackson

Whole School Reminders

PTA Updates

We hope you all had as spectacular a night on Saturday as we did! Thank you to everyone who supported the PTA by volunteering before, during, or after the event. Thank you as well to everyone who came along and shared the evening with your friends and family. We raised a magnificent £18,000, all of which will go back to the school to support our children.

Some of that money will be allocated at our PTA meeting next week. Come along, join in, celebrate, have a chat and a drink. We’ll also be making plans for our Christmas events if you’d like to have a say. We will be meeting at 7:15pm at The Way Outback in Southbourne on Tuesday, 18th November. See you there!

Whole School Updates

SEND

Please see flyer below for information on an Introduction to autism and neurodiversity for parents. See table below for dates, times and venue. This is a training program open to all parents, not only those with a diagnosis.

Introduction to Autism & ND for parents 2025-2026

Avonwood Family Wellbeing Hub

Please take a look at the new Avonwood Family Wellbeing Hub available on Padlet by scanning the QR code. Here you will find a wealth of information for parents and children on subjects such as friendships, anxiety and worries, confidence and self-esteem, transitions and Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA) amongst other subjects. The contents includes webinars for parents, information about local support, toolkits for children and much more and this will be a resource which builds over time so please do check back regularly.

https://padlet.com/gemmamorling/avonwood-family-wellbeing-hub-5d71iuw8s895ed3d

Safeguarding and digital wellbeing

As part of our ongoing commitment to safeguarding and digital wellbeing, on Wednesday 19th November at 18:30, we have arranged for an online safety expert to join us for a live session. This will be a valuable opportunity for you to ask questions and hear expert advice tailored to the concerns we see in our school community. Please submit any questions you have at: Online Safety Webinar Questionnaire – Fill in form

You can join via this link:

Join Microsoft Teams Meeting
teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-joi...
ID: 3953907722275
passcode: tQ3FF9Sf

Well done to Nancy and Olivia!

Nancy and Olivia from year 6 have created their own company called "Chilled Child" and have sold clothes and books to raise money for Children In Need. They raised £29.30 so far and aim to raise £50 next year.

Term Time Holidays and Attendance Expectations – BCP Guidance

Please be reminded that holidays taken during term time will not be authorised under any circumstances. Following guidance from BCP, any illness reported immediately before or after a term-time holiday will require supporting evidence, such as flight confirmation or travel documentation, to verify the dates of travel. From August 2024, under the national framework for school attendance, parents may be issued a Fixed Penalty Notice if their child has 10 or more sessions (equivalent to 5 school days) of unauthorised absence within a 10-week period. The fine is £80 per parent, per child if paid within 21 days, rising to £160 if paid within 28 days. A second fine within three years will be charged at the full £160 rate, and further offences may lead to prosecution and fines of up to £2,500. We appreciate your cooperation in helping us maintain high standards for all pupils and ensuring every child benefits from consistent school attendance.

Weekly Year Group Updates

EYFS

Phonics books - All children will now have received a reading pack with a phonics book and a parent handout with tips and guidance to support your child with reading at home. Please read the phonics text sent home at least three times. This gives your child the opportunity to develop the following:

- Fluency (95% of the text)

- Prosody (expression and intonation)

- Vocabulary and comprehension

Nativity - All children have been given a part in the nativity and a description of the costume they need. If your child has a speaking part, please practice their lines with them at home as often as you can. All costumes need to be returned to school in a named bag by Wednesday 3rd December. Thank you. 🙂
We have launched an EYFS Information Padlet that we will keep updated with what we are learning about and how to help your child at home. Here is the link: https://padlet.com/danielledimambro/eyfs-avonwood-hwijufw6exnk0gq

Year 1

Thank you to all the parents that came to help us on the school trip to Kings Park yesterday - the children had a fantastic time applying their Geography and Science learning to their local area.
Please check your child's bookbags and home learning folders this weekend. Nativity costumes and any lines to practise have been sent home. We kindly request costumes are sent to school in a named bag by Monday 1^st December as specified on the slip.
Individual school photo slips have also been put into bookbags/home learning folders.

Year 2

We’re creating a special surprise display for the children, and we’d love your help!
Please write a short, positive message on the front of an envelope with your child’s name—something that will make them smile when they see it.

Here are some ideas to inspire you:
- “Emily – You light up every room you walk into!”
- “Jamie – We’re so proud of your kindness and hard work!”
- “Sophie – You are brave, clever, and loved beyond measure!”
- “Oliver – Keep shining bright like the star you are!”
It doesn’t need to be long—just a few words that celebrate what makes your child amazing. If you don’t have a spare envelope, no problem! Simply write your message on a piece of paper so it can still be displayed.

Please keep this a secret if you can—we want it to be a lovely surprise!

All messages need to be in by Wednesday 19th November, but the sooner the better.

Thank you so much for helping us create something truly special!

Year 3

None this week.

Year 4

None this week.

Year 5

The children will be participating in a first aid course on Tuesday morning. There is nothing parents need to do, but we wanted to make you aware.

Year 6

CGP homework books - These are due to be handed in by Thursday 20th November. If you have any questions before then, please speak to your child's class teacher.
Check out this week's Taskmaster session on this padlet. Feel free to add some encouraging comments! You will also be able to see how other United Learning schools got on with their challenges.
Current Taskmaster Prize Task for groups: The most satisfying thing to squish.