I am delighted to inform you that next week we will to re-launch our many pupil leadership opportunities for the year. Next week we will begin the process of appointing our School Ambassadors. Representatives from each class will play a vital role in being the class spokesperson in all areas of school life. 

It’s World Mental Health Day this Sunday 10 Oct, a global awareness day to highlight the importance of mental health and it’s a great opportunity to start a conversation about mental wellbeing.

We all need to do more to keep our minds healthy as we would our bodies, and there are lots of great resources out there to help US. Public Health England has produced some useful resources as part of their Better Health - Every Mind Matters campaign. 

Starting a conversation about mental health might seem daunting, but we all experience difficulties from time to time and it’s OK to reach out and ask for help. Now more than ever it’s important to get the help you need and talk to friends and family to help them find support if they need it. A short conversation with another person can sometimes make all the difference.

If you or someone you know is struggling visit the Now Were Talking Together To Prevent Suicide | Healthy Minds (whct.nhs.uk) where you’ll find new local resources created to provide help and advice for those who are suffering with their emotional health. There are some really helpful tips and advice on how to talk to someone about how they are feeling, so why not get that conversation started?

You do not have to struggle alone. Talk to somebody if you need help – Herefordshire & Worcestershire 24-hour urgent mental health helpline – 0808 196 9127

On the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, we had a lovely animal blessing service on the playground led by Year 6. It was lovely welcoming pets into school for Father Lamb's blessing.

It was wonderful yesterday to meet this weeks Buzzy Bees who have all been chosen for great reading both at home and school.

This week the Buzzy Bees are:

Parents' evenings are one of the most important appointments in the school calendar, allowing  teachers and parents to work together to increase pupils results. Last year parents' appointments were all virtual and feedback has identified that some parents prefer a virtual appointment. Dates are as follows and appointments can now be booked (sorry for the delay this was due to technical issues beyond our control):

On Tuesday all children received an open day flyer asking them to deliver this to a family/household who have a child who is due to start school in September 2022 (born September 2017-August 2018). Every child wrote their first name and class on the flyer instructing families to bring the it along to the Open Day. If the flyer with a child's name on is returned to school on the open day, they will receive a book from school.

Year 2 have had a lovely day reading, learning and writing our own poems. Mrs Lloyd read Year 2 a lovely poem about a dragon and we used our inference skills to work out where the dragon was. Then we wrote our acrostic poems for the words 'THIS IS ME'. In the afternoon we all learnt the poem, 'The Ning Nang Nong' by Spike Milligan. We love reading in Year 2!

Year 4 enjoyed National Poetry Day, they listened to different poems read to them by Miss Ballard and Ms Baylie and then they had a go at writing their own!

Year 6 spent time thinking all about what makes them unique and about their best qualities. They then were challenged to write their own poems about themselves which will be entered into the National Poetry Writing competition. We were very impressed with their rhyming structures!

Mrs O'Hara and her family are doing a mud run for cancer research. This is a charity that is really close to their hearts. If you can donate and support this worthy cause in any way they would be most grateful.

Thank you to everyone for your feedback at Teapot time, it is a great way for us to learn and grow. This week the questions asked were:

1. Can Mrs Brocklesby explain to the children that if they deliver an open day flyer and someone brings it into school they will receive a book?

Yes

2. Parents would like to say teething issues with Go Read App are now solved.

3. Please can P.E. days be updated on the newsletter?

Yes this week they have been revised.

4.  A parent raised a concern regarding coconut flap jacks on the school menu.

Mrs Brocklesby will look into this and report back next week.

EB - will investigate if it is real coconut and thank parents for spotting things, that we might not see as staff.

5. TAPP would like to organise a Christmas craft club - £1 to decorate a bauble.

Yes a great idea-date to be confirmed soon

Thank you for all of the wonderful pumpkin pictures that have already been returned to school. If you haven't already done so then please send into school by Monday 18th October.

Can we please ask that you donate any unwanted, pre-used, clean school uniform for a swap shop that will take place in November. All items will be sold for £1.

We would like to thank the Teapot Time Group for helping to organise and co-ordinate this event.

The Parish would like to extend a huge thank you for all of the bottles that have been donated today for their Bazaar. 

You are most welcome to join us in church now that Covid restrictions have been lifted. Alternatively you can join using the live-streaming facility. Please note if cases rise in the area we may make the decision to not attend Church and access Mass via the livestream-parents will be informed ASAP.

We are delighted to inform you that we are planning to hold an assembly for every class in the Spring and Summer term. Please see the assembly dates below:

Applications for school places in Worcestershire for September 2022 are now open. 

If you have a child due to start in September or know of someone who may wish to apply to St. Ambrose please tell them to contact me for a visit and tour of our lovely school. Please help us to spread the word about our Open Day on Saturday 16th October 2pm-4pm. Please remember we receive applications from families of all faiths.

On Wednesday, Year 6 had a fantastic time visiting Hagley High School and sampling what Year 7 could be like for them next year. They started off their morning by being welcomed by two of our wonderful past pupils Katie and Zach who were our guides for the morning. Their first lesson was an art lesson where they made a collage postcard and tried carbon printing for the first time. Then they got to go into a science laboratory and took part in some fun experiments. To finish off their morning, they made some delicious pizzas which they got to eat when they came back to school. 

Please see the flyer below detailing Hagley's open day this Saturday from 9.00am - 12.30pm.

Letters have been sent home with your child regarding their High School application for September 2022. Please ensure that you read the letter carefully and if you require any help then please speak to the school office.

Please see the poster below about this wonderful incentive that is being run by people within our school community.

At St Ambrose, we are passionate about teaching our pupils to become fluent and confident readers who love reading. This year, we will be focussing on reading and will continue to provide lots of opportunities for our children to develop their reading skills.

This year, we are delighted to be working with Sooper Books, who have kindly donated award-winning fairy tables, bedtime stories, fables and poems for kids for you to read and share at home. Please see our reading for pleasure resource under our school tab on our website. More stories will be added throughout the year so please keep checking what's new!

This week we are launched 'Go Read' at St Ambrose, a digital reading diary to record pupils' reading journeys. Thank you to everyone who trialled the app last term, the feedback from parents, pupils and staff were very positive and we have taken onboard all the feedback provided. This will now replace the paper reading diaries we have used in previous years.

If you already have 'Go Read' then all you need to do is carry on using it. If you are new, then you will find all the details as to how you can download the app on the letter below. Your child should have come home with your log in details and their personal code for you to use, please see a member of staff if you did not receive this. Once accessed, you can then log what pages your child has read and pupils also have the option to log what they have read by themselves (particularly KS2 pupils).

In addition to any books your child is reading from school, Go Read' has the option to add on their own personal books they are reading from home. We would love to see what books your child is interested in reading. Please note that when your child has finished a book, do not click the tab where it says complete book as this is just for teaching staff.

'Reading is the key that opens doors to many good things.'

As a reminder, our reading expectations are for all children to read at least 5 times a week at home. How regularly and how much pupils are reading will continued to be monitored by staff each week on the 'Go Read' app. It is recommended that: children read for at least twenty minutes a day; that they are listened to by an adult and that time is dedicated to discussing what has been read and any new vocabulary discovered. Pupils will also continue to be listened to read each week by members of staff and this will be logged on the app as well.

The Emmaus Directors have agreed that for the Autumn Term that children can wear P.E. Kit on their P.E. days. 

Please ensure that your child comes to school in their correct P.E. kit. The P.E. uniform is as follows:

• Black shorts, black leggings, black track suit bottoms (unbranded if possible)
• Maroon round neck T-shirt with embroidered badge
• P.E pumps or black trainers
• Bag to hold pumps, T-shirt and shorts.

PLEASE NOTE: P.E. HOODIES CAN ONLY BE WORN ON P.E. DAYS.

Father Lamb extends a warm welcome to all families to continue to attend Mass over the summer. Please click on the link below which will take you to the Parish website where you can view newsletters and get information on Mass times.

Please follow the link below to access this week's Wednesday Word.

Kind Regards,

Mrs Brocklesby