We know that many schools have or are now being affected by Coronavirus. Vigilance and sound

communication is required at this delicate stage. I am assessing the situation on a daily basis and I

am including within this newsletter the advice provided by the NHS.

Lock Down

Today we practiced a partial lock down scenario. The children and the staff were amazing as

ever. Our new lock down alarm signal worked well, the children stayed calm and quiet within their

classrooms and senior teachers and Mr O’Connor patrolled the school to ensure the drill was

effective. Let us hope that we never have to employ a real lock down.

Prank Call

Sadly, I have to report to you that on Saturday 15th February at 6.30pm Atwood received a prank

phone call from a group of children - both male and female - who had withheld their phone

number. Furthermore, the children in question mentioned the name of an Atwood pupil as if to

pretend that it was them who made the call. Whilst we do not know if it was Atwood pupils who

made the call, please do remind your children that prank calls are not to be encouraged.

Blankets or Single Duvet

Mr Glenn requires around 3 blankets or 3 single duvets! Why? He wants to muffle the kick drums

we have at school to improve their tone. If you can assist Mr Glenn, then please to pop them into

the office. Any spares will be used in the medical room.

Parents’ Evening

I look forward to seeing you all for next week’s Parents’ Evenings. We hope that you gain useful

information about your child’s academic and pastoral progress.

Class Reps

I really enjoyed meeting up with the class reps on Wednesday. We talked about the use of the

School Voluntary Fund, Atwood’s results for 2019 and use of school resources.

NEWSLETTER 28 FEBRUARY 2020

SENIOR LEADERSHIP TEAM’S WELCOME

Our next meeting is on Wednesday 29th April. My thanks to Mrs Alison Morgan and Mr Carl

Knightly who also attended on behalf of the Governing Board.

Yours faithfully,

Rob Veale, Kate Standing, Nina Gambier,

Matt Dench, Hannah Townsend & Michaela Groves

Senior Leadership Team

TEAM POINTS

Earth 167

Fire 157

Air 149

Water 124

We will be holding another of our popular Dads' Breakfast sessions on Wednesday 1st

April. The morning will start with a talk by Mr Dench on the positive impact of dads reading with

their children, followed by breakfast and games with the children. All dads, male carers, grandads,

uncles and older brothers are warmly invited to attend.

The session runs from 8:45am until 9:45am. Please drop off your child as normal, then make your

way to the side door of the Junior Hall (facing the car park) where staff will sign you in.

If you would like to attend, please email the school office with your child's name and class so we

have an idea of numbers.

We look forward to welcoming you to another successful Breakfast!

FOAP will be serving drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) and snacks at the Year 3 & 4 productions

on Tuesday 17th and Thursday 19th March. Cash and card will be accepted.

DADS’ BREAKFAST

YEAR 3 & 4 PERFORMANCE

Public Health have released guidance on Coronovirus for parents and schools which you may find

useful.

CORONAVIRUS

We are running a workshop for parents on the topic of anti-anxiety. Led by Zoe Barkham, Croydon

Schools Improvement Officer, the workshop will give parents advice on coping with anxiety in their

children and tips on how to help.

The workshop will take place in the Junior Hall on Thursday 26th March from 1:30pm until

3:00pm and is open to all parents.

If you would be interested in attending, please email the office to confirm. If we do not get a good

number of parents, we may have to cancel the session, so do let us know as soon as possible if you

would like to come along.

World Book Day is fast approaching and at Atwood we are ready to

celebrate all things reading on Wednesday 4th March 2020. During

this day, every class will have a session with the award-winning author, John

Dougherty who is famous for titles such as the 'Stinkbomb & Ketchup-face

series', 'There's a pig up my nose' and many other titles. Teachers are also

busy planning a range of exciting and creative cross-curricular activities to

fill the day to celebrate and promote a love of reading.

In previous years, all children have been invited to dress up as a book

character for the day but this year we would like to do something different. We will not be dressing

up but instead will be creating a World Book Day potato character! Each child will need to bring in

a large raw potato which they will be decorating during the day to recreate their favourite book

character. To do this, we need your help! Class reps will be receiving a list of materials that each

class will need. If you can, please sign up to donate one of these items that your child's class will be

able to use.

We are really excited about World Book Day and thank you in advance for your continued support.

For information, ideas and activities for World Book Day, visit: https://www.worldbookday.com/

WORLD BOOK DAY

ANTI-ANXIETY WORKSHOP

Thank you to all of you who very kindly donated shoes to the African Village School Fund in

Ekudzeni. The charity provides sustainable interventions and financial support to the orphans and

vulnerable children of Ekudzeni, and one of their main focuses is accessible pre-school and primary

education, meaning good quality school shoes are very much needed.

The shoes have now reached their destination and we thought you might like to see some pictures

of them with their happy new owners!

For more information about the work of the African Village School Fund, visit

https://www.africanvillageschool.org.uk/

SHOES FOR AFRICA

Parent Gym is returning to Atwood Primary Academy... Come and give your parenting

skills a 'workout'. Find out more and sign up here: http://bit.ly/3a9wtMJ

Within this link parents can:

watch this short video and read a summary of the benefits of Parent Gym

view the 6 week programme structure

see the programme dates and times

sign up to register their place

The Parent Gym programme at Atwood Primary Academy will be running on:

Tuesday mornings, from 9:00 - 11:00 a.m., commencing on Tuesday 19th May 2020 with a

Taster session on Tuesday 5th May 2020 from 9:00 - 10:00 a.m. in the school library

Taster session on Tuesday 5th May 9-10 a.m.

Chat session on Tuesday 19th May 9-11 a.m.

Half term Tuesday 26th May

Love session on Tuesday 2nd June 9-11 a.m.

Behave session on Tuesday 9th June 9-11 a.m.

Care session on Tuesday 16th June 9-11 a.m.

Discover session on Tuesday 23rd June 9-11 a.m.

Together session on Tuesday 30th June 9-11 a.m.

NEWS FROM THE FRIENDS OF ATWOOD

PARENT GYM

Mother’s Day Tea – Friday 20th March

Tickets for the Mother’s Day Afternoon Tea are now SOLD OUT! Thank you for the amazing

response.

Donations

Can you help with some donations for the Mother’s Day tea?

On Friday 20th March we would welcome donations of cakes, cupcakes, cookies and sweet treats

to be served at the Mother’s Day Tea. These can be dropped to the library decking on the morning.

Please no nuts or fresh cream.

We are also looking for the following (to be donated by Friday 13th March):

10x vases (tall enough for daffodils)

Tea pots

Tea spoons

Knives/butter knives

Napkins

We would be very grateful if you can help with any of the above!

Book and Uniform Sale – Tuesday 31st

March

FOAP will be holding a book and uniform sale on

Tuesday 31st March. If you have any good quality

children’s books (for all ages) that you would like

to donate, please drop them to school before 30th

March to allow us to sort them before selling them

on 31st March.

The Book and Uniform Sale will take place at both

morning drop off and afternoon pick up in the

Library. Come and stock up on summer uniform

ready for after the Easter half term.

Cash and card are accepted.

Atwood's 60th Anniversary Football Tournament – Saturday 25th April

On Saturday 25th April Atwood will be hosting a family Football Tournament for the first time.

You can choose to play for a year group or a mixed team. Each team will need to arrange a kit or

wear the same coloured t-shirt.

After feedback we have slightly amended the Atwood’s 60th Anniversary Football Tournament

and switched women’s football to netball.

If you would like to register for one of the Female Netball Teams or Male Football Teams

please click on the link below

https://www.tickettailor.com/events/foap/299641

On the day sign in will start at 1.30pm with kick off at 2pm.

There will be a bar, BBQ, inflatables (to keep the children entertained)...

Referees

To make the day go smoothly we are looking for

3 volunteer referees. If you would like to referee

rather than play we would love to hear from you!

If you or your children play for a team please

consider asking if there is anyone who is willing

to help out on the day. They do not need to be

trained referees - just people who know the

game and are willing to help out- we can

reimburse them with a voucher for food and

refreshments on the day!

The Circus is coming to town!

Happy’s Circus will be returning to Atwood on Sunday 3rd May. This year’s theme is Fairies and

Fantasy.

Gates open at 12 noon. There will be a BBQ, bar, refreshments, inflatables plus more. You will also

be able to stock up on nibbles from our snack stop before going into the big top at 1.30pm.

Earlybird - until 12 noon 3rd April 2020

Individual Ticket £9

Family Ticket £33 (gives entry for 4 people, at least one person in the group must

be over 18 years)

Under 3's sat on a lap Free

Full price - until 12 noon on 3rd May 2020

Individual Ticket £10

Family Ticket £36 (gives entry for 4 people, at least one person in the group must

be over 18 years)

Under 3's sat on a lap Free

On the gate (subject to availability) - from 12 noon on 3rd May 2020

Individual Ticket £12.50

Under 3's sat on a lap Free

ALL UNDER 16 year olds must be accompanied by an adult (over the age of 18 years) at

the event

Accessibility and Inclusion

There will be an accessible toilet available.

If you will have a wheelchair user in your party please contact us with the number of wheelchairs

and total number of people in your party so we can reserve your seats. This must be prearranged

as we have to provide a list to the Circus by 15th April.

If you are attending with a person who needs a little extra time to adjust to their surroundings -

ASD, sensory processing difficulties etc please get in contact with us and we can arrange for you to

enter the big top early to take your seats to a background of low music and allow you to settle in

before it is opened to general ticket holders. This must be prearranged as we have to provide a list

to the Circus by 15th April.

This year the FOAP has organised a number of mufti days to help promote our fundraising events

for Atwood’s 60th Anniversary, raise funds and allow pupils who can’t come to the events partake

in some form.

The first, on Friday 24th April, is to promote the Atwood’s 60th Anniversary Football tournament.

Children can come in mufti/sportswear if they wish in return for £2 cash to be handed to the class

teacher which will be promptly collected by the FOAP.

The second, on Friday 1st May, is to promote the Circus. Children can come in mufti, circus

themed fancy dress/face-paints if they wish in return for £2 cash to be handed to the class teacher

which will be promptly collected by the FOAP.

The third, on Friday 12th June, is for Atwood’s 60th birthday party, where children can wear their

party clothes in return for a £2 donation to the school fund, paid for via School Gateway. The

children will have a BBQ lunch and celebrate with crafts, inflatables and games in the afternoon all

funded by the FOAP. Further details will be given closer to the event.

As usual we will have a summer fair mufti day on Friday 3rd July in return for a bottle of drink for

the bottle tombola.

If your child wants to partake they can do so and all donations are voluntary. You do not need to

donate in order for your child to join in the FOAP mufti days.

Atwood governors will be holding another drop-in session in the Children’s Centre on Monday

2nd March from 8:45am until 9:45am. Please feel free to pop in if there is anything you would like

to raise.

GOVERNORS’ DROP-IN SESSION

FOAP MUFTI DAYS

SEN NEWS

Week ending

14th Feb

Week ending

28th Feb

Infants (highest) Orange

99.3%

Violet

98.3%

Juniors (highest) 5I

99.3%

6S

99.4%

Whole School (weekly) 95.6% 96.7%

Whole School (year to date) 96.4%

Here are some useful dates for your diary for this academic year. Some of these dates are

provisional: we aim to keep the dates as they are; however, there might be reasons why we need

to amend dates. If this is the case, we will let you know as soon as possible. Newly added items are

in red.

Tues 3rd Mar - Parent Gym Session 4 1:00pm – 3:00pm

Tues 3rd Mar – LAC/AFC Breakfast – 9:00am

Thurs 4th Mar – World Book Day (no costumes)

Tues 10th Mar - Parent Gym Session 5 1:00pm – 3:00pm

Tues 10th Mar – Carroty Wood Parent Talk – 3:30pm

Fri 13th Mar – St Patrick’s Day - children can wear Cubs/Brownies uniforms

Sun 15th Mar – Dig for Atwood Day

Tues 17th Mar - Parent Gym Session 6 1:00pm – 3:00pm

Tues 17th Mar – Year 4 Performance

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

ATTENDANCE

Thurs 19th Mar - Year 4 Performance

Fri 20th Mar – Mothers’ Day Afternoon Tea – 2:00pm

Mon 23rd Mar – Wed 25th Mar – Year 5 to Carroty Wood

Thu 26th Mar – Anti-Anxiety Workshop (Parents) 1:30pm – 3:00pm

Fri 27th Mar – EYFS Easter Making Day

Mon 30th Mar – Class Photos

Tues 31st Mar – Class Photos Backup Day

Wed 1st Apr – Dads’ Breakfast

Thurs 2nd Apr – Easter Discos

Years 1-3 4:30pm – 6:00pm

Years 4-6 6:30pm – 8:30pm

Fri 3rd Apr – LAST DAY OF TERM

Monthly mufti day - £2 donation to the School Fund

Mon 20th Apr – START OF SUMMER TERM

Thu 23rd Apr – St George’s Day – Cubs/Brownies uniform may be worn

Fri 24th Apr – Football Themed Mufti Day - £2 donation (cash)

Sat 25th Apr – Family Football Tournament

Wed 29th Apr – Year 3 Visit to Crofton Roman Villa

Fri 1st May – Circus Themed Mufti Day in return for £2 donation (cash)

Sun 3rd May – Happy’s Circus

Fri 8th May – VE Day Bank Holiday

Mon 11th May – Thurs 14th May – KS2 SATS Week

Mon 18th – Fri 22nd May – Year 6 to Stubbers

Fri 22nd May – Monthly Mufti Day (£2 donation to School Fund)

Mon 25th – Fri 29th May – HALF TERM

Thurs 4th Jun – Riddlesdown Induction Evening

Fri 5th Jun – Riddlesdown Induction Day

Fri 12th Jun – Atwood’s 60th Birthday Celebration!

Mufti Day (party wear) in return for a £2 donation (Gateway)

Tues 16th Jun – Year 5 Taster Day at Warlingham

Fri 19th Jun – Year 2 to Brooklands Museum

Mon 22nd Jun – Reception to Bore Place

Thu 25th Jun – Sports Day & Picnic

Tues 30 June & Wed 1st Jul – Warlingham Induction Days

Fri 3rd July – Riddlesdown Induction Day

Fri 3rd Jul – Monthly Mufti Day in return for a bottle for the bottle tombola

Sat 4th July – FOAP Summer Festival

Mon 6th Jul – Year 1 to British Wildlife Centre

Fri 10th Jul – Sat 11th Jul – Camp Atwood (Year 4)

Tues 21st Jul – LAST DAY OF TERM – Finish at 1:30pm

Please note there is no After School Care provision on this day.