On Wednesday 6th December, we are having a Christmas Carol Concert at St Peter’s Church, from 6pm to 7pm. There will be performances from the school choir and Y3 pupils as well as opportunities to sing together as a school community. If your child is a member of the choir or Y3, please ensure that they at the church for 5.45pm to meet school staff. They will need to wear their school uniform though they can also wear festive accessories like tinsel or a Christmas hat if they would like to.  

If your child is not a member of the choir but you would like to join us for our concert, you are more than welcome. It is a great way to get into the festive spirit and celebrate as a school community.  Please complete the form below to let us know if you are attending.

We look forward to seeing you there. 

Yours sincerely, 

Miss Couves and Miss Short  

​This Week In School…
Year 3 – have been busy building their times-table knowledge in Maths. This week, they have been focusing on the 5 times and 10 times tables, working on how to multiply and divide. They were able to transfer this knowledge to solve word problems. In English, Year 3 have been using their creativity skills to develop a brand new animal! They have put their fantastic ideas into non-chronological reports working hard to include lots of detail and fascinating facts. Finally, Year 3 had a brilliant end to the week with their WOW Pre-Historic Britain Day! The children were transported back to Pre-Historic Britain for the day using their recent work in History to complete a variety of activities including den building, Pre-Historic PE and animal fact files. A busy and brilliant week – well done year 3!
Year 4 – have been working hard to continue their narrative poems they had paused writing to rescue Dog Man last week. They are very excited to share their poems with each other and some are looking forward to sharing them at the poetry party. In Maths, they have been solving multiplication problems using the 7 times tables. In History, they have learnt about ancient Greek warfare, they have looked at a soldier’s uniform and learnt about the origins of the marathon and were shocked that the Trojan War was won using a wooden horse. In Science, both classes have now finished their experiment into finding the best sound proofing material as part of their topic on sound.
Year 5 – have worked hard all week to continue their learning on fractions. They have learnt how to order and compare fractions with different numerators and denominators, by converting them using their times table knowledge. In English, they have also completed our Dogman comics, where the children have really impressed us with their artistic talents. They have also introduced some new features on our Year 5 success criteria, including modal verbs and parenthesis, which they have understood brilliantly. In Humanities, they have consolidated their learning on the Vikings by producing some detailed timelines of the major events in this historical period.
Year 6 – have completed their comic strips and solved the mystery of the disappearance of Dog Man.  They produced some fantastic stories whilst ensuring to include as many features from the Year 6 writing success criteria as possible.  In maths, Year 6 have compared and ordered fractions and also solved problems involving adding and subtracting fractions.  In science, the children have planned and investigated how harmful micro-organisms grow; they will be observing and recording their results over the course of the next few weeks.

Due to increased running costs the following changes are being made to Earlybirds Club charges with effect from 4th December 2023
The new prices will be £6 from 7.30am and £4 from 8am
Bookings made before today will be honoured at existing prices.

Please see the information regarding how children learn phonics here at IVJS:

 
Dear Parents/Carers,
 
Attendance at IVJS
 
At IVJS we want every child to meet their potential and we know that to do this they need to be attending school regularly.  Irregular attendance is defined by the government as a child missing 10% or more of the school year, this equates to 19 days.  The government uses the term as persistent absentee to describe a child who misses 19 days of school in a year.  
We know that it is not always possible for a child to attend school every day as they do occasionally become ill.  As always, when we monitor attendance we will be using a common-sense approach.  However, we are required to monitor attendance and act on poor attendance by following the Council’s policy.  Below we have made a flow chart to show the processes and also to show you how quickly your child could be classed as a persistent absentee.  
We will always work with you and try to support you if there are barriers to your child attending regularly.  If your child’s attendance is poor, we will meet with you and if necessary explain the Council’s policy.  
IVJS is a place where every child belongs.  We create a welcoming environment to allow all children to gain a sense of belonging and ultimately achieve academically through regular school attendance.
4 days absence:
We start to monitor attendance to ensure that the child attends school regularly. Phone call made by attendance officer. Stage 1 – IVJS letter sent to parents. Possible early help support offered.
7 days absence:
We monitor attendance more closely. Stage 2 - Letter 1 sent to parents as the concern will be that the child is in danger of becoming classed as a persistent absentee.  If accepted - parents will meet with the attendance lead to explore barriers and to discuss how the school can support.
10 days absence:
The child is a high risk of Persistent Absence. Stage 3 - Letter 1a sent to parents. Parents meet with attendance lead and we will consider support from external agencies. Attendance lead will explain the Bucks attendance policy and the legal requirements for children to attend school.
13 days absence:
The child is at serious risk of Persistent Absence. Stage 4 - Letter PCM1 Invite. The school will meet with parents and will write an attendance contract to ensure regular attendance. Attendance will be closely monitored and reviewed post parent contract meeting.  The school will continue to support the family.
 16 days absence:
The school will be working closely with Bucks Council.  All avenues of support will have been exhausted and the support is not working or not being engaged with. The school will now ask Bucks council to enforce attendance through statutory intervention to protect the child’s right to an education.
19 days absence:
The child is now considered a Persistent Absentee. Persistent Absence is when a pupil enrolment’s overall absence equates to 10 per cent or more of their possible sessions. Over an academic year this equates to 19 days. At this stage the child will be PA for the remainder of the school year. Safeguarding referrals at this stage can be made. The child and family will continue to be supported

Should you have any questions regarding attendance, please do not hesitate to contact the school.

Yours sincerely,
 
Mr Clifford
Deputy Head and Attendance Lead

​This Week In School…
Year 3 – have been using their call from Dog Man to create their very own comic book. They have used the evidence from around the school to formulate a fantastic series of events that end in an interesting and well-thought-out Dog Man adventure. In Maths, they have used their knowledge of their 2 times-tables to explain halving and doubling. They then used that understanding to solve word problems. In DT, they have created some creative finger and hand puppets, which let them show off their sewing skills.
Year 4 – have loved trying to solve the mystery of what has happened to Dog Man! They have really enjoyed drawing their own comic book strips where they have made themselves the hero of the story rescuing Dog Man. In Computing they have been phishing... they learnt about online scams and how their online activity can be traced and traced via their digital footprint. In History, they carried out research comparing Athens and Sparta. They were shocked to learn about the different ways boys and girls were treated. In Maths, they have become more familiar with their 3, 6 and 9 times tables and how they are related.
Year 5 – have worked hard in understanding improper fractions and mixed numbers. They have been busy converting fractions from one form to another. In English, the children finished writing their newspaper articles about Salim's disappearance and worked hard publishing them - they were impressive! The children explored reversible and irreversible reactions by carrying out the Coke and Mentos experiment, which they enjoyed so much! In Humanities, the children learnt about King Alfred the Great to deepen their understanding of the Vikings and Anglo-Saxons in Britain. It was a busy but fun week in Year 5!
Year 6 – have enjoyed writing about the mystery of the disappearance of Dog Man.  They have planned and drafted their comic strips and are looking forward to creating a class book with all their stories. In Maths, they have begun looking at fractions and have solved problems involving equivalent fractions and fractions on a number line.  In Science, they are exploring organisms and living things.

Please be aware that there will be changes to our before school childcare club from Monday 20th November.

• As we are growing in numbers, we are regularly hitting our capacity in Earlybirds which means that we will no longer be able to accept children who have not pre-booked via SchoolMoney. 
• The club will now also take place in the Lower School Shared Area, the drop off will be the same place as the Bluebells pick up.
• Parents will need to bring children to the door to sign them in, please do not let children come in themselves.
• Pricing will also be changing from the 27th November. There will be 2 separate costs, one from 7.30am and one from 8am. Please make sure you have your children in club for either 7.30am or 8am.
• If your child will not be making it to the breakfast club, please email or leave a voicemail with the school before 7.30am as we will be contacting parents of any child absent from club.

Dear Parent/Carers,
 
Great news! We will be coming to your school to do Bikeability training with your children in year 6.
 
Our training will take place at/around school the week commencing 5th February.
 
The Bikeability Level 2 course aims to improve rider’s skills and confidence for cycling on smaller roads and simple junctions without too much traffic. It prepares riders for cycling on larger and busier roads and more complicated junctions.
 
As part of the course we cover Bikeability level 1 fundamentals which ensures your child is safe to ride on the roads. All the riders will have to show the instructors they can do everything at the Bikeability Level 1 before they can go on the roads. Bikes can be left at IVJS overnight for the week however the school cannot take any responsibility for them.
 
Each child will need to have their own roadworthy bike, a helmet, suitable clothing for spending up to 90 minutes riding a bike outside (e.g. a shower-proof coat if it is going to rain, gloves if cold) and secure flat shoes/trainers, water, other personal requirement e.g. Medication needs, sun cream, inhaler.
 
Roadworthy condition means both brakes are fully working, tyres pumped up, gears (if present) operate as designed, chain properly lubricated.
 
 For more details about courses and some useful information regarding helmets, bike sizing, etc. please visit our web site at  https://www.spokesci.com/for-parents
 
The cost of the course is £10 per child, non-refundable. If you would like your child to take part, please book your child’s place on the school’s SchoolMoney system (it will show under the payments tab). We will then ask you to sign and return the consent form. Places are limited to 20 spots and so it will be a first come first serve basis.                              
                              
Kind regards
  
Bespoke Cycling Instruction Ltd