Jen Brotherhood

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3 weeks ago
Posted on 29th Apr 2026 by

Update

We are writing to let you know that Miss Sirdefield has undergone an operation on her knee. Her recovery time is currently 6 weeks. In her absence, we have Miss Phoebe, Miss Steph and Miss Lauren who will be ensuring the children continue to be well supported in the setting. There will also be an additional member of staff at all times who will be supporting in the setting.

We wish Miss Sirdefield a speedy recovery and look forward to welcoming her back soon.

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3 months ago
Posted on 24th Feb 2026 by

World Book Day

Dear Parents and Carers,

We are excited to announce that we will be celebrating World Book Day on Thursday, 5 March 2026.

World Book Day is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate reading, inspire a love of books and encourage children to explore new stories and authors. To mark the occasion, we would like to give children the option of coming to school dressed as their favourite book character. Alternatively, children may come in pyjamas as we will be creating a relaxed, bedtime-story atmosphere to celebrate our love of reading together.

Whether your child chooses to be Harry Potter, Matilda Wormwood, The Gruffalo, Hermione Granger, or any other much-loved character from a book, we encourage creativity and imagination. Costumes can be as simple or as detailed as you like—homemade outfits are absolutely welcome!

Throughout the day, children will take part in a variety of fun activities, including story-sharing sessions, book-themed games, and opportunities to talk about their favourite stories with their friends.

If any parents wish to come into school and share any favourite childhood books with either a class or group of children, you would be most welcome.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the school office.

Thank you for your continued support. We look forward to seeing all the wonderful costumes and celebrating the joy of reading together!

Kind regards,

Mrs Evans and Mrs Brotherhood

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4 months ago
Posted on 08th Jan 2026 by

Storm Goretti

Dear parents and carers,

We have received notification from the Local Authority that they will not be operating school transport tomorrow (Friday 9th January) due to the likely disruption caused by Storm Goretti.

With this in mind, we wish to notify parents that there is a strong possibility that the school will not be able to open either. The decision to close the school is never taken lightly and will only be taken to ensure the safety of all members of our school community.

We will notify parents at the earliest opportunity if the decision to close is made (no later than 7am tomorrow).

Teachers will provide online learning resources if children are able to complete (we do appreciate that this is not always possible). A link will be sent in the morning if needed.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

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6 months ago
Posted on 02nd Dec 2025 by

Housman Update 2/12/25

Hi all,

Well, we are officially in Christmas territory with the children learning lots of Christmas songs and creating some Christmas crafts which will be placed on the Christmas tree at St Peter’s Church.

Maths

In maths, the Year 4 children continue to focus on learning their times tables. We cannot stress the importance of children being able to recall their times tables rapidly. The Year 5 children are now focusing on short multiplication and because they are proficient in their times tables, they are absolutely flying through the content!

Celebrating Differences

We continue to focus on the importance of children learning about other cultures and religions. We welcomed a representative from the Jewish community who talked to the children about their unique traditions and customs.

Homework 

A reminder that homework will be sent home on a Friday and must be returned by the following Wednesday. Please can you also ensure the children are reading regularly and completing TT Rock Stars.

Many thanks,

Housman Teaching Team

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6 months ago
Posted on 20th Nov 2025 by

Housman Update 20/11/25

Hi all,

Parent Consultations

It’s been a busy week in Housman Class with lots going on. It was great to meet with lots of parents to discuss the progress of the children. If you weren’t able to make an appointment this week then please do get in touch to arrange another suitable time.

Following feedback from parents, we have hopefully extended the time that the children can access Times Table Rock Stars. They can now play until 8.30pm.

Curriculum Update

In English, we have been looking at how to correctly punctuate direct speech using inverted commas. Children wrote a short piece of dialogue between two of the characters in our book, ‘Nen and the Lonely Fisherman’, then practised punctuating it correctly. They have already demonstrated excellent progress with this and will continue to work on this in the coming weeks.
In Science, having learnt about the circulatory system, we are now looking at factors in our lives that can affect it, both positively and negatively. We started with the effect of diet and spent time looking at traffic light nutrition labels on food packaging. These show us the levels of salt, sugar and saturated fat in different food products in a clear, easy-to-understand way. Children were surprised that some foods contained much higher levels of salt, sugar or saturated fat than they expected – for example, many breakfast cereals have high salt levels! Children decided if they would change any future eating / shopping habits based on our findings so apologies if you get any unexpected requests or comments next time you go shopping! This week, we talked about legal and illegal drugs and their impact on the body. In the next couple of weeks, we will look at the impact of smoking and alcohol on the body. We have had some excellent discussions and the children have raised lots of interesting questions and hopefully some misconceptions have been addressed, e.g. thinking that ALL drugs are bad for us (when, in fact, many drugs help us when used correctly).
Assessments
Next week the children will be completing assessments. We try and make the experience as ‘stress-free’ as possible for the children but understand that some children can become a little anxious. Please do speak to a member of staff if you (or they!) have any concerns.
We hope you all have a great weekend.
Housman Teaching Team
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7 months ago
Posted on 07th Nov 2025 by

Remembrance Day

We are really fortunate that members of the Royal Irish Regiment will be joining us on Tuesday 11th November for a short Remembrance Service in school for the children. As part of the service, we will be joined by the Piper who will be leading the children outside on the playground to observe the two- minute silence. If you wish to join us for the two-minute silence then you would be very welcome.

It is a time that allows the children to remember and honour the sacrifices made by all those who have served our country. We are also very mindful that we have a number of children in school who have a parent who is either serving or has served in the Armed Forces so this is a particularly poignant day for us here.

We ask that those parents/carers/grandparents who wish to join us arrive at school no later than 10.50am. We will be serving teas and coffees afterwards.

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7 months ago
Posted on 05th Nov 2025 by

Housman Class Update

Welcome back to the new half-term. We hope you had a lovely break.

Times Table Rockstars

We are very excited to be able to launch Times Table Rockstars for all the children in Housman Class. We know that the Year 5 pupils are already familiar with this resource and have been a big help in supporting the Year 4 pupils to get started. Your child will be coming home with their username and password today.

https://ttrockstars.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/TTRS-Parent-Guide.pdf

Why is multiplication important?

Much like building a house, you need a strong foundation to build math skills that will withstand the test of time. Along with addition and subtraction, basic multiplication and division is one of those foundational skill sets that need to be secure before moving on to more complex math lessons. Developing math skills from a young age is crucial, as it supports logical thinking and problem-solving abilities. It’s not uncommon for children who are missing this strong foundational knowledge to begin struggling right around the time they are learning long division.

Teaching multiplication effectively and emphasising the concept and its value prepares students for more complex math tasks in the future. This is particularly important in primary school, where mastering basic multiplication lays the groundwork for understanding more complicated equations and concepts. Recognising the importance of this foundational skill can significantly boost a child’s confidence in their education and overall mathematical ability.

Multiplication Tables Check

The multiplication tables check (MTC) is statutory for all year 4 pupils.
The purpose of the MTC is to determine whether pupils can recall their times tables fluently, which is essential for future success in mathematics. This assessment takes place in June each year. It will really support your child if they can practise their times tables as much as possible- just 10 minutes a night can make all the difference.

We are confident that we will have a class of times tables whizz kids!

Any issues, please don’t hesitate to speak with a member of staff.

Housman Teaching Team

 

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7 months ago
Posted on 23rd Oct 2025 by

Housman Update 23/10/25

We have finally reached the end of what feels like a very long half-term! We are so incredibly proud of all the children in the class and the brilliant work produced.

Below are some links to some fun and engaging activities which will support the learning the children have been completing over the term:

Click here to access rounding games

Click here to access colour theory activities

We hope you have a really wonderful and restful half-term.

Thank you for your ongoing support.

Housman Teaching Team

 

 

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Tel: 01630 638332

E-mail: admin@stokeontern.shropshire.sch.uk

SENDCO Email: admin@stokeontern.shropshire.sch.uk

Stoke-on-Tern Primary School
Rosehill Road,
Stoke Heath,
Market Drayton,
Shropshire,
TF9 2LF

Headteachers: Mrs Jenny Brotherhood and Mrs Theresa Evans
School Business Manager: Mrs. Julia Kenworthy

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