Friday 31^st March 2023

Dear Parents,

It was lovely to see so many parents Tuesday and Thursday for our Parent Consultations.  Thank you to our wonderful house captains who escorted parents to their appointments – we had some lovely comments from parents on their behaviour and professionalism!   They make us proud every day.

Thank you to everyone who took part in the Big Wheel and Walk challenge – Thank you Mr. Slack for organising this for us.

Year 5 – Walking Home Alone

When we return to school after Easter the children in Year 5 will be able to walk home alone.  If you wish for your child to do this you will need to collect and complete a form from the office.     

Before and After School Clubs

The new Summer Term clubs will start up after Easter, week commencing Monday 24^th April.  Parents will find out shortly whether their child has secured a place in our clubs.   Please note if you do not receive a confirmatory email then unfortunately your child has NOT secured a place.

Updates from Miss Davies

We were blown away by the number of "eggstraordinary" dioramas. The time, creativity and effort put into them was "eggcellent". In fact, they were so amazing that the school council and I could not pick just one winner. Therefore, on this one occasion, all 33 entries are indeed winners and have all received a prize and a certificate. Thank you parents for all your support. It is very much appreciated as usual. 

One hundred and thirty children won an egg in the Easter raffle and these were delivered to the classrooms today. Huge thanks to the wonderful school council who sold tickets every morning at break time for 2 weeks. I would also like to say thank you to the five house captains who worked so hard escorting parents on parents afternoon. Thank you Phoebe, Maryam, Oliver, Arshman and Evelyn.

Attendance

The class with the best attendance since September is Elm in Year 3. They will receive a movie afternoon after half term. 

Sports Update from Mr. Edwards

I have attached some flyers from our partnering sports club Old Ruts. They would like to tell you about their Girls only cricket sessions as well as the ECB's All Stars and Dynamos cricket sessions they'll be hosting for boys and girls aged 5 -11. Follow

this link here to find out more. Book before the 11tgh April for your chance to win 4 tickets for the Surrey mens blast match. They will also be hosting trials for their Boys and Girls football teams aged 5 - 15. If you are interested in getting your children involved in any of these please see the flyers attached.   

Calling all basketball fans! We have teamed up with the British Basketball League (BBL) to offer our pupils and their families the opportunity to attend the Basketball Play-off Finals at The O2, London on Sunday 14th May 2023. For your chance to experience the magic of Play-off Finals Day at a special rate please see the flyer attached on how to purchase your tickets and don't forget to use the schools unique code which is on the flyer.

On Monday we entered 2 teams into the MSSP Tag Rugby Development competition. The A team attended Mr Hunter's club on Monday after school and you could tell that all the practice had really paid off. They won 4 of their 6 games and finished 3rd in their group. The B team didn't do as well as they would've liked, but Mr Bracknell and I were so impressed with how they progressed and developed after each match. 

On Wednesday, we entered a year 4 team and a year 5/6 team into the MSSP football festival. They all came back to school covered in mud, but with huge smiles on their faces. They had a few draws, lots of wins and bagged some amazing goals along the way. Well done to all the children involved in these events. Photos can be found on our website by clicking here.

News from the PTA  - Save the Date: Saturday 24^th June Summer Fair

Calling all budding gardeners and those new to the field as Grow Your Own Garden Competition is back for another season of planting, watering and grow grow growing! We welcome all fruit, veg and edible flower entries and do visit our registration website which offers some additional ideas on what and how to grow. Registration is only £2.50 and the winner gets a gift voucher to the Lower Morden Garden Centre so enter here today https://bit.ly/GYOG2023  And do remember to send us all your lovely photos along the way and at the end for us to share so social media. Registration closes 21st April  https://bit.ly/GYOG2023 

We are proud to launch our weekly PTA Noticeboard, which gives a quick weekly snapshot of all latest PTA news and upcoming events. Check it out! We also have our regular Newsletter as well with lots of great news about all the things we have done this term as well as things to come. Please see attached for both

Would you like a free and easy way to help support the PTA this break? Then why not sign up to EasyFundraising. Once you sign up, the PTA receives a percentage from your shopping.

EasyFundraising link:  www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/friendsofpoplarps/

Another free and easy way to help is to add, subscribe and like our posts on social media. This helps us so much with sponsors.

Twitter - https://twitter.com/poplarpta

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/friendsofpoplarprimary/

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/poplarprimarypta/

This year’s Summer Fair will be on Saturday 24^th June. Last year’s fair was so memorable and we are so looking forward to putting together a wonderful fair again. We need raffle prizes, silent auction items and sponsors so if you have a business or knows someone who does and happen to see them over the Easter break, why not ask them if they would be willing to help support our school. More information will be coming in the coming weeks and months so please keep an eye out in the Friday Flyer for more info. If you would like to get more involved or are able to donate, please email poplarprimarypta@gmail.com

Take part in The Big Merton Libraries Easter Hunt this Easter Half Term to win fantastic prizes!

Find the hidden letters at your local library to uncover an Easter word for your chance to win a £20 Entertainer toyshop voucher. OR, visit all our Merton Libraries and uncover all the Easter words for your chance to win a family ticket to KidZania!

• The competition will run from the 3^rdto the 15^th of April (Easter Half Term).
• Collect entry sheets from a member of staff at your local library
• To enter the prize draw, participants must borrow a minimum of one book on the day at the library and show their printout or borrowed books when submitting their entry form to a library member of staff.

For more information: Special Events 1 (merton.gov.uk)

Merton Infant Feeding Training Opportunity

London Borough of Merton is delighted to be rolling out a new breastfeeding peer support network across Merton and are looking for volunteers to join their team. They will provide training to earn a breastfeeding support qualification.  For further information please go to: https://app.betterimpact.com/PublicOrganization/e400e851-ee8c-49ef-851a-8b55c25e840e/Gvi/1238c89b-880b-42c2-9786-8d9e1fff5328/1

Quote:  “Every flower that ever bloomed went through a lot of dirt to get there” Barbara Johnson                                    

Best Wishes for the weekend and enjoy the Easter Break.

Mrs E. Spick

Head Teacher