June Newsletter
30th June 2025
What a busy month it has been! We wanted to take a moment to reflect on our recent activities and share our enthusiasm for what lies ahead.
Firstly, I would like to express how thoroughly enjoyable our recent residential trip to Gullivers was. It was an absolute pleasure to see our children thrive in such a dynamic environment, showcasing their resilience while forging friendships and creating fantastic memories alongside our federation school, Cowick.
Our Sports Day was another highlight this month. It was wonderful to see such a great turnout from parents, grandparents, and family members who supported our children. The weather was particularly kind to us, enabling everyone to share in the joy of the day. We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to our dedicated Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) for providing refreshments, making the event even more enjoyable for all.
Additionally, our children in KS1 and KS2 had a fantastic time during their trip to Goole for the Little Big Sing / Big Sing. Both days were exceptionally warm, yet the children presented themselves brilliantly, singing and dancing with such enthusiasm, truly embodying the spirit of our school.
As we approach the final month of this academic year, we look forward to another jam-packed schedule of events and activities that will enrich our children’s learning experiences.
Thank you for your continued support and involvement. It truly makes a difference in our school community.
Kind regards
Mrs Rawes and Mrs Batty
Attendance
Our Attendance to date is: 96.1%
Authorised Absence: 2.8%
Uauthorised Absence: 1.1%
Writing workshop KS2
Puddle Suits
A big thank you to Mrs Atha for kindly purchasing a class set of puddle suits for our EYFS class. We are sure that the children will have lots of wet, wild and happy learning sessions wearing them!
Well Done Miss Habbishaw!!
Two weeks ago Miss Habbishaw showed courageous advocacy, and our Christian value of generosity, by running the 5K Race for Life, raising over £200 for Cancer Research. Willow Class know that she is not a natural runner (!) but she has now finally recovered!
Oak Class
We have had a fantastic time in Oak Class learning all about the past.
In our literacy we have been listening to and writing the story ‘Peepo’ by Janet & Alan Ahlberg. This lovely story, with its beautiful illustrations, has given us a peek into the past through the eyes of a child. The children have been spotting similarities and differences between their homes and the home in the story. They were excited by the idea of having a bath in front of the fire!
In our knowledge and Understanding of the World lessons the children have used wash day artefacts from the past to gain hands on experience of washing clothes without electricity. They have loved scrubbing the socks on the scrubbing board then using the dolly and tub. They found it hard work and the wooden pegs were quite fiddly when they pegged out their clean washing.
Mrs Batty
Ash Class
This half term has been as busy in Ash class as it's been hot outside! A few highlights include growing our plants (sunflowers and peas) and taking turns to tend to our little garden outside. The children conducted an investigation to find the best conditions for growing which included putting a seed in the fridge, one without any water and another in the dark. The results were very interesting! Can your child explain the best conditions and why? Thank you to our work experience student, Miss Pool, who helped us in class for a fortnight and created our lovely Plants display.
Then there was Sports Day! Thank you to all who could make it, and for those who couldn't, we hope you enjoyed the photos and videos we posted on Dojo. The children did themselves proud, everyone having a good try at the races and cheering each other on! More recently, we enjoyed our visit to the Junction Theatre Goole, to partake in the Little Big Sing alongside four other local primary schools, including Cowick. Despite the rising temperature, the children sang and danced to the live band, embracing the moment and feeling, as Bob Marley sang in one of the songs, that 'every little thing gonna be alright'!
Mrs Pears and Mrs Blades
Willow Class
In Willow Class we have had SUCH an exciting couple of weeks. Last Friday, we joined with the rest of Key Stage 2 to sing in collaboration with two other school's at The Junction Theatre in Goole for The Big Sing. We had a fabulous time. We certainly rocked Goole! Miss Habbishaw was very moved during our rendition of 'Sing' which many children in the class also signed.
On Wednesday, we collaborated with Maple and Birch Classes to take part in a giant online writing workshop to celebrate National Writing Day. Free from the constraints of SPaG (though Miss Habbishaw found that bit hard!) we wrote some very exciting mystery stories under the guidance of a real writer! Writing for Pleasure, like Reading for Pleasure, is good for our mental well-being and there were certainly lots of smiles.
Miss Habbishaw
Maple Class
Maple Class have had a busy and exciting time learning all about how our muscles and bones work together to help us move. As part of our science topic, we created our own working models of arms using card, string, and straws, which helped us to visualise how tendons and joints function in real life. In English, we’ve been thoroughly enjoying The Secret Diary of John Drawbridge, a fascinating story set in a medieval castle. Through the book, we’ve discovered lots of interesting historical facts about life in Medieval England, from castle life and feasts to knights and training. This week, we’re looking forward to using everything we've learned to write our own diary entries in the style of John Drawbridge!
Mrs de Bethel
Birch Class
As the temperatures have increased, so has our pace of learning.
Year Six have waited patiently all year for their turn for Forest School and have created some wonderful things already, and Year Five have been developing their understanding of all the changes that will start as they move into Year Six - this time next year will come around so quickly for them!
We began the month with trips out. Year Five had a fabulous time at Go Ape, Normanby Hall. They entered into the spirit of the trip and challenged themselves on the high ropes - well done Year Five!
Year Six have had an equally successful trip to Gulliver's Valley. They packed so much into their stay away. There were so many giggles and friendships made. It was a great trip and the children's behaviour really stood out, well done Pollington!
Using the BBC's Micro:bits in our Computing lessons has shown just how quickly children can develop their skills in computing and how much they enjoy it, but at the other end of the spectrum, it was lovely to see the children enjoying themselves at the Big Sing concert. It was extremely hot, but that did not stop the singing, or the dancing!
Mrs Foster
Staffing up date and Classes Next Year
We are looking forward to welcoming Mrs Carpenter (SENCo), Mrs Jones and Miss Yates to the team from September. Mrs Horrocks has resigned from her position as TA within school to focus on her business, Woodland ExpLaura's - and we are delighted that she will continue to work at Pollington-Balne to deliver Forest School sessions.
We are pleased to inform you that the classes for next year will be as follows:
Birch - Year 6: Miss Habbishaw
Willow - Year 4 & 5: Mrs Jones
Maple - Year 3 & 4: Mrs Blades and Miss Yates
Ash - Year 1 & 2: Mrs de Bethel
Oak - EYFS: Mrs Batty
We apologise for the delay in sending out information regarding classes, due to recruitment and also appeals from the admissions team for which we are still awaiting the outcome of two appeals.
Yr 6 Residential
Year 6 joined with Cowick Year 6 pupils on a wonderful Residential to Gullivers. The children had fun learning about dinosaurs, using their bushcraft skills, laser questing, grass sledging as well as having a fun filled day on the rides. They also visited Skils Street Centre where they learnt about job roles in the aviation industry. A big shout out and thank you to the adults who went on the adult supervised rides over and over again, Mrs Foster's blood has now returned to her feet; Mrs Rawes, Miss Houston and Ms Warren are all dried out! A great time was had by all and our pupils from both schools were exemplary and a pleasure to be with.
Musical Congratulations!!
Well done to Asha our year 6 pupil who has recently passed her Grade 2 Clarinet exam. What a hugh achievement and shows what dedication and practice can produce!
Yr 5 Go Ape
A joint trip to Go Ape with Pollington-Balne and Cowick was a great success, if a little wet! The weather did not put a dampener on the day and everyone had a great time swinging above the trees. Thanks to Mrs Habbishaw and Mrs Horrocks who lead the trip. Again the children were a credit to our schools.
Books and Reading
We are conducting a book audit ready for September, so could we please ask that all books - library and reading books - are back in school by Friday 4th July.
We will not be sending any more books out this year, but please continue to read your own loved books at home.
Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) summer programme
This summer, children and young people who receive benefits-related free school meals can take part in free, fun and creative activities as part of Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme.
The sessions, funded by the Department for Education, include:
Musical-themed dance workshops
Crafts
Sports camps
Outdoor adventure sessions
Farm experiences.
New for 2025, HAF is offering junior lifeguard training, kayaking, water polo, and graffiti workshops.
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New Link |
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HAF summer providers | [docx 18KB] |
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Letter to parents via schools Summer 2025 | [docx 5MB] |
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Summer 2025 Governor Survey to parents and carers of Pollington-Balne Primary School
A big thank you to all those parents who completed our autumn term survey - your responses were really helpful and we hope we have taken on board feedback. The governors would now be really appreciative if as many parents as possible (whether you have responded previously or not) could complete this summer term survey. Thanks in advance!
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Summer Term Survey |
| Parent survey |
PTA
End of year bike ride. Friday 18 July
Thank you to everyone for your support and a round of applause to the PTA committee for organising so many wonderful events.
Reminders
As we experience hot and sunny weather, we kindly ask that parents ensure sunscreen is applied to children before arriving at school. Additionally, please provide a clearly named sun hat for each child to protect them from the sun. It is also essential that every child brings their water bottle to school so that they can stay hydrated throughout the day in the classrooms. Thank you for your cooperation.
School breaks for the summer holidays on the 18th July 2025
Diary Dates for July - Please find all current July diary dates heading.
School Opens for 25/26 year on the 2nd September 2025
Stay cool this summer: public health advice
During this latest spell of warm weather and ahead of the peak summer months and school holidays, it is a good time to think about family and loved ones that might need some help to stay cool and safe.
For some of us, especially older people, young children and those with underlying health conditions such as respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, the summer heat can bring real health risks.
We all know the drill when it comes to having sun hats, water and sunscreen (use at least factor 30 sunscreen with at least four-star UVA) at the ready when out and about, but it is worth knowing the signs of heat exhaustion and heatstroke and what to do if someone did become unwell.
Heat exhaustion does not usually need emergency medical help if you can cool down within 30 minutes. If it turns into heatstroke, it needs to be treated as an emergency.
Signs of heat exhaustion include tiredness, dizziness, headache, feeling sick or being sick, heat rash and excessive sweating, as well as a higher temperature and feeling very thirsty.
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Public Health |
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NHS |
| Heat exhaustion and heatstroke |
ERYC Adult Education
The ERYC Adult Learning Centres are holding an open day for adult learners. The Goole Open Day takes place on Tuesday 1 July, anytime from 2pm - 7pm. We look forward to welcoming you to our centres. If you have questions regarding the events please see our website or contact us.
Thank you,
The Adult Learning Team
Adult Learning Goole
Adult Learning Centre, Pasture Road, Goole
DN14 6DP
01482 392844
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ERYC Adult Learning |
| Adult learning website |
Support from ERYC on building healthy relationships and understanding in families.
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Relationships Matter |
| EYRC support for families in conflict |
Advice on risk to children of glycerol in slush ice drinks
Last week, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) Board issued advice that slush ice drinks containing glycerol are not suitable for children under seven.
This update takes a more precautionary approach than the initial risk assessment conducted in 2023, which was based on average body weight. As children’s weights vary, body weight has been converted to age to provide more practical advice for parents and businesses.
Slush ice drinks can contain glycerol as a substitute for sugar to prevent them from freezing solid.
Consumed at high levels, glycerol can cause very low blood sugar levels and unconsciousness in young children.
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NHS Healthier families |
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FSA up date advice |
| Slush Ice Risk to Children |
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19-6-25 - FSA updates advice on risk to children of glycerol in slush ice drinks 1 | [pdf 14KB] |
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