Newsletters

MESSAGE FROM MRS ROBINSON

It seems unbelievable that we are already at the half way point in our Spring Term! I continue to be amazed at the children’s hard working attitude and the way they have been applying themselves to their learning. I have been particularly looking out for children showing our GROW IT Value of ‘Originality’ and our HEARTS Value of ‘Ambition’ this half term and have been so impressed with what I have seen. We have some wonderfully ambitious children with some very creative ideas – you deserve to be extremely proud of them!

YEAR 3

We have been keeping busy in Year 3, enjoying learning about rivers in Geography and continuing to explore the Ancient Egyptians in History.

Our History unit has been running alongside our English unit on instructional writing. The children did a brilliant job this week of pulling together their newly discovered mummification knowledge to write a set of instructions for the mummification of an Egyptian Pharoah. Some of the children definitely channelled their inner ‘Horrible Historian’ and didn’t leave the gory details out!  

After a practical session last week mummifying a tomato, our Year 3s are fast becoming embalming experts! If they haven't already shared what they know with you, please do find some time to ask them about it (although we advise that on this occasion, dinner time might not be the best opportunity!) 

We were also lucky enough to have the opportunity to make a playground river, identifying the different features and bringing our unit to life in our school environment. There was lots of excitement across the year group, and some very supportive children encouraging our 'river' to find its path through the stones and soil. The highlight was definitely the formation of a waterfall! 

We are currently comparing the Hermitage River to rivers across the world; if you do get a chance to visit our local river over half term, it will really help contextualise this for the children.

We would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a wonderful half term.

ECO NEWS

Biodiversity

In January, our new flora and fauna identification board, funded by Waitrose, was presented to Eco Club, joined by Kathy Heidstrom from Waitrose and our new Eco Governor, Mrs Jenny Lane. The board will be installed in Bosmere's wild meadow over half term. 

On 24th January Eco Club took part in the RSPB Big Schools' Bird Watch, spotting birds in the copse and around the school grounds. Altogether we identified 9 different species and submitted our results to the RSPB. 

Marine 

We are trying to encourage less single-use plastics in Bosmere's lunch boxes: Every Wednesday lunchtime, Mrs Dunn and Eco Club check lunch boxes, giving out stickers for lunch boxes with small, reusable containers and minimal single-use plastics. So far, Year 6 are streaking ahead, closely followed by Year 3, with Years 4 and 5 jostling for third place. 

Energy 

Energy Monitors record whether the lights and computer monitors have been turned off in classrooms every lunchtime. Since September, the class with the most ticks is 5K, followed by 4S, then 6C. Year 6 is generally better than the other year groups. Every member of Eco Club is taking on responsibility to close playground doors when they see them standing open. 

Transport 

Miss Dawes and the Bosmere Junior Road Safety Officers (JRSOs) have created a survey for every Bosmere pupil to complete in a computing lesson, telling us how they currently travel to and from school, and whether they might consider travelling in a more sustainable way - walking, cycling, scooting, etc. - for at least some days when they come to school. The survey results will be published once every class has had a chance to complete it.  

Water

Dominique created a superb poster to encourage people to save toilet paper - less paper means less water is needed to flush the toilet. Eco Club stuck posters on the doors of all 25 toilet cubicles around the school!

Recycling 

Eco Club helped with the second Pre-Loved Uniform, Clothing and Wellies Event. Nearly £90 was raised for school PTA funds. It was great to see so many families making use of this; it is always good to know that clothing which is no longer needed by one family is being handed on to another. There will be another event in the Summer Term on 16^th May, so watch this space for more details!

… We have lots more exciting eco activities planned for next month …! 

WELLBEING TIP

Being a parent
Whoever said being a parent was easy can’t have been a parent themselves! Parenting comes with ups and downs and it’s always best to expect the unexpected! If only children came with instruction manuals parenting would be so much easier!

As a parent we are sometimes expected to have all the answers, but this definitely isn’t the case. We learn along the way with our children and have to figure it out together. We grow as a parent as our children grow.

A child loves to be heard and know they are being listened to and in turn the child knows it is safe to talk and share how they are feeling. Listen to your child and let them know you’re listening. Reflect back on what they’ve told you so they know you’ve heard what they’ve said and refrain from dismissing or undermining them as this may prevent them opening up to you again for fear of a negative reaction. I know we are all busy, life gets in the way and time flies by, but giving you child some uninterrupted quality time with you will only strengthen the relationship and bond.

Turn off the TV, get off your phone, put down the iPad. 
Giving your child time costs nothing and everyone likes something for nothing!

Interests: I have lived in Havant for over 10 years and just love living by the coast. Being able to be outdoors is really important to me and I enjoy long walks around the harbour and on the South Downs. I recently took on an allotment, so I am excited about developing that and learning to grow things on a larger scale than in my garden. I love camping and travelling the UK. I am currently restoring a 1980’s VW Camper Van with my husband, so we are looking forward to many more adventures in that.  

Why I became a Governor and what is expected of me 

Compliance and effective governance is very important to me. Having experienced poor standards of schooling in my childhood, it has been very important to me to ensure that children and families in my local community receive high quality support and education. I became a Governor because I wanted to give back to the community and support schools wherever possible. This is even more important to me now that I am a mother myself.  

I have a son who attends Bosmere and I am fortunate that I can fit my Governor duties around my work and home life. It is lovely to be able to come into the school during the day and see the amazing work that all the staff and pupils do. I am always made to feel welcome and that my contribution, no matter how small, is valued. We are encouraged to carry out visits as often as we can, but do share this across the Governing Body. 

My current roles on the Governing Body and what they involve 

I joined the Governing Body at Bosmere in September 2022 as a Parent Governor, so I am still quite new, but I do have experience of being a Governor at another local school for several years.  

As a Governor we get the opportunity to have a focus year group, so this academic year I chose Year 3. I also oversee the topic of Art and I am a member of the Head Teacher Performance Management Committee.  

The role of Governor develops over time and we get to choose committees we might like to be part of (using our strengths and skill bases, or just an area which we might have an interest in). We get to support events at the school and there are lots of ways we can get involved and be part of the school community. There are also ways to support the school out of hours too, so this helps with working around our own lives.  

If you think you might like to be a Governor then I highly recommend looking into it, as it is so rewarding.  

INDUSTRIAL ACTION

Thank you for your patience and understanding as we navigated the first day of the planned teacher industrial action. On this occasion our risk assessments meant that we were able to keep the school open to all pupils. This may not, however, be the case on future days, so please can we remind parents that alternative arrangements for childcare may be required on

• Thursday 2^nd March
• Wednesday 15^th March
• Thursday 16^th March

Further updates will be provided for each of the dates as soon as we are able to.

MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT WORKERS

Some of you met our new Mental Health Support Workers, who were visiting the school during our pre-loved uniform event. They were able to chat to parents about the support they can provide and signpost other resources which are available. They will also be in school between 4pm and 4:45pm on Monday 20^th March as part of Parents Evening.

Some of our pupil librarians have had great fun making videos of their book reviews and recommendations which have been shared in Celebration Assembly and you can see them on our website here. We are always keen to hear what the children have enjoyed reading; they can see Mrs Library Dunn if they want to recommend a book.

Brain Games

Twice every week we run our lunchtime drop-in sessions of Brain Games – LS on Mondays, US on Thursdays. The children have great fun challenging their little grey cells with puzzles, memory games, quizzes and riddles. A big favourite is to design your own word search then get others to see if they can find everything on your list.

Book Donations

We have received some superb donations of books to the Library this year – thank you very much! With tight financial budgets, we are always keen to receive books which are no longer needed at home; if you have any to spare, please send them in to Mrs Library Dunn. Thank you!