Dear Parents and Carers,

I hope you all feel refreshed after the autumn half-term break. It has been lovely welcoming everyone back for what is always a busy but exciting part of the school year.

We are delighted to welcome Miss Sawyer from Lincoln University, who joins us in Class 1 as part of her final-year teaching placement. We are also very pleased that our caretaker, Adele, has returned - it’s wonderful to have her back as part of our school team once again.

This week, the children have enjoyed sharing their experiences of Bonfire Night and the fireworks they have seen.  Staff have also used this as an opportunity to talk about staying safe around fireworks and bonfires. Our Class 1 pupils have produced some delightful artwork to celebrate the theme.

The new lunch menus are now in place. We would love your feedback so that we can share it with Mrs Dunnicliffe and the Nottinghamshire County Council catering team.

Looking Ahead to Next Week

Next week, our focus turns to Remembrance. Children will observe the two-minute silence on Tuesday 11th November, and Rev. Dave will lead a short Remembrance Service for the whole school on Wednesday.

It is also National Anti-Bullying Week. Whilst the word “bully” can sometimes be misunderstood, our focus remains on respect, kindness, and inclusion.

• On Monday, children are invited to wear odd socks to celebrate our uniqueness.
• On Thursday, children can bring a ‘Jar of Joy’ — a small jar filled with kind messages, drawings, or treats — to pass on to another child as an act of kindness.

         Additional Notices

Winter Weather: As the weather turns colder, please ensure your child comes to school with a warm coat, hat, and gloves each day.  We continue to make good use of our outdoor spaces, even in the cooler months.

Attendance Reminder: As we move into the winter term, please continue to support good attendance and punctuality. Every day in school really does make a difference.

Christmas Preparations: Rehearsals for our Nativity and Christmas performances will soon begin - more information and ticket details will follow in the coming weeks.

Do you know a family with a child who will start school in September 2026? Applications are now open! Please spread the word so that we can ensure we have a full class next year – we are offering individual visits, please encourage your friends to bring their children here.

Bassetlaw Behaviour Partnership Drop In Session

Kerry Macadam from Bassetlaw Behaviour Partnership will be with us again on Monday 10 November to help our parent community with all things ‘parenting’. She is available from 9am Monday morning via the school office – no booking required.

Christmas Tree Appeal

Are you getting a new artificial tree this year? Would you consider donating your old one to school.  We are seeking at least a 7-foot tree to be used annually for the Christmas Tree Festival.  If you have anything suitable please contact the office on: 01909 473 223.

Bag2School – Bags and Shoes – Half Term Clear Out

FOSAS have a new fundraising initiative which is old bags!  FOSAS has organised a clothes & shoe collection with Bag2School to raise funds for St Anne’s School.

           Bag2School is the UK’s leading textile recycler and fundraiser working with schools and since its inception in 1999 it has now paid out over £48 million.

As well as raising vitally needed funds for FOSAS, it also helps the environment by helping to divert unwanted textiles away from landfill. A recent DEFRA report has shown that textile collection schemes are helping to reduce the volume of textiles discarded as municipal solid waste. However, it is a fact that as a nation we still send 350,000 tonnes of textiles to landfill every year.

By getting involved in our Bag2School collection, you have an opportunity to sort through your cupboards and wardrobes and put donations of unwanted textiles in the bag provided – this can include adults’ and children’s clothes, shoes (tied together please), hats, belts, handbags and soft toys, (please refer to https://bag2school.com for full details). In addition to raising much needed funds it will also raise awareness amongst the children of the benefits of recycling and reuse.

If you fill the donation bag and still have more, please can you use any other bag to donate your items, and don’t forget to ask grandparents, friends and neighbours to have a sort out as well!

Bag2School will be collecting from St Anne’s School on 9th December. Please bring your bag (or bags!) to the school office ON THE DAY and help us have a really good collection.

Arbor App

Keep a check on your Arbor App messages – these should float up as a push notification at the top of your phone.    

📲 This week, the new menu has been added so please ensure you book your children’s lunch in advance – and make sure they know what they are having each day please.

We have had some issues with snacks this week.  Please be assured that you will not have been charged for snacks your child has not had.  When checking out snacks its always a good idea to log out and then log back in to see that they have saved.  You will need to make sure there is enough money loaded onto your account or check out and pay each time.

We have been sending out quite a lot of messages for upcoming trips. Please can you ensure that you regularly check your account for outstanding balances and permissions.

FOSAS News

The FOSAS AGM will be on Tuesday 10th November at 7.30pm at the Shireoaks Inn.
The positions available will be Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary and Treasurer – if you are interested in standing, please let us know. It is a requirement that the positions are advertised on an annual basis. Of course, existing post holders can be nominated to stand again.

News from the Classes

Class Reception

Everyone has come back and settled beautifully, ready and eager to learn. The children have started their new topic, ‘People Who Help Us’, and have shown great enthusiasm as they begin exploring the different roles people play in our community. This week, they were especially excited to welcome a special visitor, PCSO Wagstaff, who talked to them all about the police in Worksop, the important jobs she does, and the different parts of her uniform. The children loved the opportunity to try on some real police uniforms.

Class One

This week, Class 1 had a whole day dedicated to learning about the Gunpowder Plot. They were finding out why we have Bonfire Night, learning about the history of the Gunpowder Plot, and making pictures to commemorate the day. They used different tools to make their firework and Bonfire pictures. They have really enjoyed their fire station role play area, dressing up as firefighters, and putting out fires using hoses and fire hooks.

Class Two

Class 2 have had an exceptional start back this half term! They are hard-workers and love their learning. In maths, children are adding and subtracting, using their numbers bond to 10 knowledge to help them with hard problems. They have also had to find the next 10. 

 In writing children have been introduced to 'The Great Stink' and they have made predictions about what they think will happen in the new story. They have also been doing more cursive handwriting this week and even using Letter Join on the IPads to trace the letters. In Geography, they’ve been looking at maps and finding Worksop on a map as well as looking at how Worksop looked during Victorian times and comparing it to now. In PE, the children have begun to look at net and wall games, focusing on skills of throwing.  

Class Three

This week Class 3 had a new arrival, a woolly mammoth! The children were tasked with following the steps in their new class text: ‘How to Wash a Woolly Mammoth’, to wash their class woolly mammoth.  The children had a fantastic time washing the mammoth and collected some fantastic vocabulary to use in their instructions. In history, Class 3 started learning about the bronze age and made comparisons to their learning on the stone age last half-term. In music Class 3 started their unit on Raga, a style of Indian music, they listened two some different examples and explained the different aspects of the Ragas.

Class Four

This week, Class 4 have begun a new unit of learning in English. They are building up to writing diary entries thinking about conjunctions, past, present and future tense and the spelling of Year 3 and 4 statutory words. The children have been inspired by the book, ‘Where the Poppies Now Grow by Hilary Robinson and Martin Impey’ and have also enjoyed learning about Anne Frank - hearing extracts from her diary.

Class Five

It’s been an exciting week!  In music, the topic is “What a Performance – Silent Movies.” The children began by listening to ‘Peter and the Wolf’ and identifying the different characters by the instruments used to represent them. They then listened to another piece of music and came up with possible titles for it — Natalia came very close to the real title, Short Ride in a Fast Machine! Now, they are busy creating their own graphic scores in preparation for performing their silent movie soundtracks to the rest of the school.

Class Six

Welcome back to the Autumn Term! Picking up from the incredible residential last half-term, the children have got straight back to their topic of World War 2. The children have been researching and drafting ‘Remembrance Poems’ this week; this event is a great link to their work in history. The children are developing the use of metaphor and figurative language to develop their writing skills. In Maths, it has been all about mental calculations, using division facts to answer reasoning questions and the start of the fractions units. Science involved the children demonstrating their learning of creating a complete circuit, drawing it out scientifically to re-create morse code messages.

Congratulations to our Stars of the Week this week

Class Reception – Thomas and Laeticia

Class One – Wilf and Zachary

Class Two – Oscar and Alfie

Class Three – Teddy and Jasper

Class Four – Daisy P and David

Class Five – Alexander

Class Six – Hooria and Amber

Tidy Classroom Award:

Class Reception

Out of School Achievements:

Jack F (2) – has achieved a PB in his latest ‘Park Run’, 11mins running 2km. He has earnt his 50-park run band which is the equivalent of an ultra-marathon!

Anaika (1) – earning her Puffin swimming badge.

Joseph (4) – achieving his White medal from the Darts Academy.

Daisy P (4) – coming 3^rd in a Lincolnshire competition with her club.

Lilly H (2) – Core Skill level 2 gymnastics and was awarded Thursday Gymnast of the Month.

Jacob (6) - awarded ‘Parents player of the Match’ at his recent game with SJR.

Well done everyone.

Church Services

Sunday - Remembrance Service with Rev Dave

StA@6 with Rev Edith

Don’t forget Wednesdays at 3.20pm St Anne’s Connect – a service for all the family in the school hall. Sandwiches, crisps and a sweet treat for everyone, with juice and hot drinks. We then join for a 30-minute service of worship and fun together.

2025-2026 Attendance

Class	Attendance
R	95.42%
1	99.14%
2	93.75%
3	99.14%
4	100%
5	98.37%
6	93.33%
ALL:        97.02%

Prayers for the week from – Ruby and Jack Y6

Dear Lord

Guide the leaders of the nations, that they may work for the common good, and strengthen our hearts with a vision of your kingdom.

Amen

Dear Lord

Help us to create a democracy and a country where all might thrive.

Amen

Thank you, as always, for your continued support and involvement in school life. It’s a pleasure to see our pupils learning, growing, and showing such enthusiasm for the term ahead.

Don’t forget ‘individual photos’ on Monday – school uniform please.

Mrs Middleton & the St Anne’s Team

Diary Dates

ADVANCE DATES TO AVOID BOOKING ANYTHING

Inset Days				Key Statutory Weeks (Assessment)
Monday 3 November Friday 13 February Monday 27 July				Year 6 SATS Week – Monday 11 May to Thursday 14 May 2026 Year 1 Phonics Screening – Monday 8 June 2026 (2 weeks) Year 4 Multiplication Check – Monday 1 June 2026 (2 weeks)
Please ensure your children are in school during these times as their data will count even when absent.
	Looking Ahead
	November	10	Anti-bullying Week Individual School Photos (younger siblings from 8.45am in the Hall – enter via the office please) Kerry Macadam – Bassetlaw Behaviour Partnership Drop In
		12	Remembrance at War memorial
		13	Class 2 Victorian Classroom trip Flu Immunisations in school
		14	Children in Need YR & Y1 Welbeck Trip
		18	Maths Parent Workshop 2.45 in the hall
		19	Y3 Creswell Crags Finance Governors Meeting at 5:30pm
		20	Y6 Holocaust Visit - school
		22	Workshop Christmas Light Switch On
		27	Class 6 Assembly at 2:45 pm Flu Immunisations for Class 2
		28	Year 1 Emergency Services Museum
	December	4	Y3 Jingle Jog
		9	Reception Nativity (AM) / KS1 Nativity (PM)
		10	Reception Nativity (PM) / KS1 Nativity (AM)
		12	Christmas Craft Afternoon at 2:00 pm
		16	Portland Schools Carol Service
		17	Christmas Dinner Day/ Party Day
		19	End of term Service 2:00 pm in the church