Friday 5^th June 2026

Dear Parents/Carers,

I hope you all had an enjoyable half-term break.  We were certainly blessed with some beautiful weather, and I hope you had the opportunity to enjoy some quality family time together.

As we embark on the final half term of the academic year, there is much to look forward to, with lots happening both in school and behind the scenes.  It is always a busy but exciting time of year, filled with opportunities, celebrations, and important preparations for the future.

You may have noticed contractors on site over the past three weeks.  We have had new boilers fitted throughout the school, and we are hopeful that these improvements will serve our school well for many years to come.

Alongside this, the legal processes behind academisation have been progressing steadily, and it is anticipated that the school will officially transfer to the Mitre Trust at the beginning of July.  We will continue to keep families informed as we move through this important stage in the school’s journey.

Next week promises to be an exciting one as many of our children bravely take to the stage for our Talent Show.  A huge well done to everyone who has put themselves forward to perform.  Events such as these provide wonderful opportunities for children to build confidence, showcase their talents, and experience performing in front of a live audience.  Tickets are just £3 (available in the office – cash please), and all proceeds will support our school fundraising efforts.  We would love to see as many families there as possible to cheer on our talented performers.

We are also looking forward to welcoming all of our new starter families to St Anne's next week. There will be an information meeting at 6pm on Wednesday, and it is always such a pleasure to welcome new parents and carers into our school community as children begin their journey with us.

This half-term, our Christian value focus is Respect.  Respect is at the heart of strong relationships and thriving communities, and we will be exploring what this means through stories and teachings from the Bible.

One of the key Bible stories we will reflect on is John 4:4–26, Jesus and the Woman at the Well.  In this passage, Jesus speaks kindly and respectfully to a Samaritan woman, despite cultural differences and expectations of the time.  He listens, shows compassion, and values her as an individual.  Through this story, children will explore how Jesus modelled respect, inclusion, kindness, and understanding towards others.

In school, we will be encouraging everyone to show respect in their words, actions, and the way they treat others every day.  This may include listening carefully, speaking kindly, valuing different opinions, showing good manners, helping others, and treating everyone fairly and with compassion.  We will also consider how respect extends to our school environment and wider community.  We encourage families to continue these conversations at home, helping children to recognise how acts of respect - big and small - can make a positive difference to the lives of others.

A reminder that regular reading at home makes an enormous difference to children’s progress. Even just a few minutes of reading each day helps to build fluency, confidence, vocabulary, and comprehension skills.  Reading regularly also develops a love of books and supports learning across the curriculum. Thank you for your continued support with hearing your child read at home.

Please save the date for our Summer Fayre on Thursday 9th July—more details will follow shortly.  We would be incredibly grateful for any support from parents and carers.  Could you help run a stall, volunteer some time, or donate items to help raise funds for our school community?  We are also seeking raffle prizes, so if you have links with local businesses or companies who may be willing to contribute, we would love to hear from you.  We would welcome any ‘bottles (fizzy pop, ketchup etc)’ for our Bottle Tombola stall for our KS2 stall and any chocolates or sweets for our KS1 stall please. 

Thank you, as always, for your continued support.  We are looking forward to a busy, productive, and enjoyable half term ahead.  As always, keep an eye on the diary dates for updates.

Eco Committee

A big well done to our Class 3 children Willow and Lilly, who went along to represent St Anne’s School at the MITRE Trust Sustainability morning.  They took part in various eco related activities and then shared with the other schools what they had been doing as part of eco committee for our school.

🌈 Wraparound Care

Week Commencing: Monday 8^th June 2026

Contact: 01909 473 223 Option 2

💌 Welcome to another lovely week at wraparound care!  Our team are so happy to be spending time with your children. Here’s a peek at all the fun, food, and special activities that we have planned.

🍎 Food & Tasty Treats

🥣 Breakfast Options

Day	Cereals (Low Sugar Options)	Toast Options	Drinks	Fruit Option	Optional Extra	Allergens
Monday	Weetabix Cornflakes Shredded Wheat Rice Krispies Oats (porridge)	50/50 toast with flora buttery and jam	Milk / Water / Apple juice / Orange juice	Banana	Low sugar yogurt or fromage frais	Milk, Gluten
Tuesday				Tinned peaches in fruit juice		Milk, Gluten
Wednesday				Tinned pears in fruit juice		Milk, Gluten
Thursday				Frozen mango		Milk, Gluten
Friday				Tinned oranges in fruit juice		Milk, Gluten

Breakfast is either cereal or toast with yoghurt and fruit as optional extras.

🍌 After School Snacks

Day	Snack	Allergens
Monday	Cheese toastie, apple, cucumber	Gluten, Egg
Tuesday	Spaghetti on Toast, orange	Gluten
Wednesday	Cheese Wrap, raisins, banana	Milk, Gluten
Thursday	Pizza Pittas, raisins, pear	Milk, Gluten
Friday	Egg mayo sandwich, veg sticks, fruit salad	Egg, Gluten, Milk

🎨 This Week’s Afterschool Activities

Time	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
3:20–3:40	Snack & Social	Snack & Social	Snack & Social	Snack & Social	Snack & Social
3:40–4:00	Reading	Reading	Reading	Reading	Reading
4:00–4:30	Food Art	Nutrition	Fitness Circuits	Healthy Habits	Smoothie Making

News from the Classes

Reception

This week, the children have begun learning about the life cycle of a butterfly using the story The Very Hungry Caterpillar, by Eric Carle.  They enjoyed creating a lovely paper plate craft to represent the life cycle, using rice and pasta to add detail and texture.  In maths, the children have been learning about sharing and exploring the meaning of the words fair, unfair, equal and unequal.  They have taken part in practical activities to help them understand how to share fairly and recognise when things are not equal.

Class One

This week, Class 1 have started learning about Grace Darling in their history lessons.  The children have been exploring who she was, what she did, and why she is remembered as an important figure today.  To begin, they carefully investigated a picture of Grace Darling, using the clues they could see to help them think about what she might have done to become significant in history.  They had some fantastic discussions, spotting differences between life then and now and considering how long ago the picture may have been taken.  The children showed great curiosity, asking lots of inquisitive questions and really enjoyed sharing their ideas with one another.  They then watched a video which explained Grace Darling’s story in more detail, learning all about her brave rescue and why her actions made her famous. 

Class Two

In Class 2, the children have been looking at fractions, exploring what a numerator and denominator are, and how they could look for unit and non-unit fractions.  In English, the children have been exploring facts about Australia, and completing a planning document to support when writing their reports.  In Topic, the children have been exploring the human features of Australia, looking at places such as Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge.  We have also looked at physical features such as The Great Barrier Reef and Eyres Rock.  The children have explored the computers and using the program Scratch.  In RE, the children have explored the story of Jonah and the Whale, the children are in the process of writing a mini-story.

Class Three

This week, Class 3 have been developing their sprinting technique in PE, focusing on improving their running posture, arm movement and acceleration.  The children have shown great enthusiasm as they practised these skills through a range of activities and challenges designed to build speed and coordination.  In English, the class have been expanding their vocabulary in preparation for writing diary entries.  They have explored a variety of ambitious and descriptive words and discussed how writers use language to convey thoughts, feelings and experiences effectively.  In Maths, Class 3 have been learning to tell the time to the nearest 5 minutes on both analogue and digital clocks.  The children have been practising reading and interpreting different clock faces, using time-related vocabulary and applying their knowledge to solve a range of practical problems.  During Whole Class Reading, the children have begun their new class text, Bear Grylls Adventures: The Blizzard Challenge.  They have enjoyed making predictions about the story, discussing the characters and events, and developing their comprehension skills as they follow the exciting adventure. In Geography, Class 3 have been exploring the United Kingdom, identifying its four countries and locating their major cities.  They have also been learning about the seas that surround the UK and developing their map-reading skills to strengthen their geographical understanding.

 

Class Four

Class 4 have been putting in one final push as they prepare for their statutory Multiplication Tables Check next week.  The progress the children have made throughout the year has been phenomenal and they should all be incredibly proud of what they have achieved.  They have shown remarkable resilience in overcoming individual challenges and have approached their learning with determination and a positive attitude.  It has been wonderful to see the children working hard both in school and at home to improve their recall of times table facts and achieve their personal goals.  Their commitment, perseverance and growth have been truly impressive and the class should be congratulated on the effort they have shown throughout their preparation.

Class Five

Class 5 have had a purposeful and engaging week of learning, showing real focus and enthusiasm across the curriculum.  In maths, they have been working with decimals and have applied their knowledge to problem‑solving tasks, explaining their reasoning with increasing clarity.  This week in English, pupils revisited common and proper nouns, they also explored the features of a newspaper report, such as headlines, orientation paragraphs, quotes, and formal tone.  In reading, pupils practised inferring meaning from our class text, ‘Who Let the Gods Out?’, using clues from the text to understand characters’ thoughts, feelings, and motivations. In History, pupils learned about the origin of the Olympic Games in Ancient Greece.  They explored why the games were created, who took part, and how the ancient events compare with the modern Olympics.  As part of our Young Leaders programme, pupils began planning their action project.  They discussed issues that matter to them, considered how they could make a positive impact, and created initial ideas for projects they will develop further over the coming weeks.  In PE, pupils worked on their fielding skills, focusing on both long and short catching techniques.  They practised positioning, communication, and accuracy.

Class Six

Class 6 have had another fantastic week with lots of different learning experiences taking place. The children have been successfully completing their Bikeability training, showing their growing knowledge of awareness and responsibility while out on the roads.  In English, the class have been creating a narrative based on the animated story Rock, Paper, Scissors.  The children have shown lots of creativity, generating imaginative ideas and beginning to apply their Class 6 writing skills to bring the story to life.  In science, we have continued exploring the circulatory system, building on prior knowledge and deepening our understanding of how the body works.  As a class, the children are starting to put together a piece of writing work ready for their upcoming transition to secondary school.  We have also started programming Micro:bits, which the children have thoroughly enjoyed. They have been learning how to code simple programs and are beginning to understand how technology can be used in creative and practical ways.

Congratulations to our Stars of the Week this week

Well done to all pupils who received certificates this week.  Your hard work, positive attitudes, and kindness continue to make our school a wonderful place to learn.

Class Reception – Cassian & Alfie

Class One – Lily-Rose & Azra

Class Two – Charlotte

Class Three – Ahmad

Class Four – George S & Drew

Class Five – Casper

Class Six – Ruby

Tidy Classroom Award: Class 2  – Well done!

Lunchtime Stars: Willow (3)

Awards In School

Bikeability Level 1 &/or 2 (Class 6)

Harriet B, Veda, Jensen, Nicole, Kyla, Alice, Adam, James, Isaac, Lailah, Abigail, Ava, Jack, Ruby, Jacob, Georgiano, Sophie, Harriet R, Joshua, Hooria, Liam, Alfred, Henry, Ethan, Amber, Oliver

Out of School Achievements:

Dementia UK – 31 miles walked in May, raising £927 for charity: Annie (5)

Second football match scoring 5 goals: Harry N (1)

Retford Gymnastics Recreational Club Competition. 3^rd place. Girls Cricket Festival – Most Supportive Player.  Part of the winning Clumber Park under 11 team against Worksop (claimed 2 wickets). First hardball Clumber Park under 13's debut against Bawtry: Harriet R (5)

Darley Dale Duathlon. Star of the Week at Gymnastics. Taking part in a Tennis Tournament: Leo (3)

SJR Under 7’s Coaches Player of the Year: Florence (2)

Dance Show: Lily H (1), Penny (1)

Boxing Trophy: Isla (3)

Dojo Belt: Wilf (R)

50m Swimming Certificate: Jude M (4)

Gymnastics Apparatus Level 2: Alex G (2), Jack (2)

Well done to all!

Church Services

10:00am StA@10Together, led by Revd Dave

6:00pm StA@6, led by Revd Dave

2025-2026 Attendance

Class	Attendance
R	91.19%
1	92.73%
2	95.24%
3	95.9%
4	98.57%
5	98.51%
6	93.48%
ALL: 95.28%

Please use your Arbor App to check your current child’s attendance.  Scroll up on your home page and you will see it for this year.

Increasingly, time is being taken away from having to do home visits in relation to attendance as part of overall safeguarding procedures and national expectations for school attendance, please take a look at future holiday patterns when considering your next holiday.

Prayer from Keira-Leigh and Oliver (6)

Dear God,

When we have our moments please help us to be honest and be the best version of our selves.

Amen

Dear God,

Please help us to encourage others to be honest and give us the courage to tell the truth, being brave when we make a mistake.

Amen

Mrs Middleton & the St Anne’s Team

Diary Dates

 

Key Dates to Remember in the School Year
Key Statutory Weeks (Assessment)
Year 4 Multiplication Check – Monday 1 June 2026 (2 weeks) Year 1 Phonics Screening – Monday 8 June 2026 (2 weeks)
Please ensure your children are in school during these times as their data will count even when absent.
Looking Ahead
June	1-12	Y4 Statutory Timetables Test Fortnight
	8-12	Y1 Phonics Screening & Year 2 Assessments
	8	Admissions Governors Meeting
	9	Y5 Ancient Greek Workshop in school
	10	Meeting for New Starter Parents 6:00 pm
	11	St Anne’s Talent Show – 6pm – tickets in the office
	15	Big Talk Day (RSHE Education) – whole school
	17	Finance Governors Meeting
	18	Y1 Class Assembly – 2:45 pm in the hall
	17-18	Father’s Day Secret Sale afterschool
	19	Non Uniform Day
	22	Drumming Concert (for parents / carers of children who do drumming in school) – 2:30 pm
	22-26	Sports Week
	23	Sports Day – KS2 AM & KS1 PM
	25	Y6 London Trip
	30	School Photos Strategic and Development Governor Meeting
July	1	Whole School Transition Day
	2	Y4 Class Assembly – 2:45 pm in the hall
	8	Full Governors Meeting
	9	Summer Fayre – 2:30 pm
	16	Open Afternoon – 2:15 pm
	24	Leavers Assembly 2:00 pm in Church