Dear Glebe Families
As we come to the end of a wonderfully busy term, I would like to wish all of our pupils, families and staff a very Happy Christmas and a healthy, happy start to 2026. This term has been filled with so many highlights, not least the amazing performances and productions we have enjoyed; the children truly shone and made us all incredibly proud. Thank you, as always, for your continued support, encouragement and partnership; it means so much to our whole school community. I hope the festive break brings you time to rest, recharge and enjoy precious moments together.
Please look at our social media pages today, as we have a special festive treat planned just for the children; keep an eye on our Facebook and Instagram pages!
We’d like to wish the very best of luck to Miss Stimpson as she takes up her well-deserved promotion with the Local Authority team for Deaf pupils. This is an exciting next step, and we know she will make a fantastic impact in her new role. We also want to wish Mrs Moore every success as she leaves us to pursue a return to a career in teaching. Both have contributed so much during their time with us, and they will be greatly missed. Thank you both for everything you have given, and best of luck in the next chapters of your journeys.
Warmest wishes for a joyful Christmas and a happy, healthy year ahead.
Warm regards
Mr Clarke
Headteacher
Certificates
A huge well done this week to:
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RBC: Elsie T & Zac H |
RS: Olive B & Piper T |
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1D: Ava H & Kane S |
1P: Henry B & Madhaani J |
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2A: Lily D & Lily V |
2N: Frankie H & Hadley B |
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3MH: Alexander T-C & Archie S |
3VB: Ayla H & Ella S |
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4A: Ifham K & Daisy F |
4L: Ben Q & Logan L |
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5R: Taylor W & Emily C |
6/5P: Heidi P & Orson S |
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6CH: Ashling M & Leo M |
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Attendance: Our school target is 97%
Year to date 94.1%
We expect pupils to be in school everyday.
We will not authorise term time absence except in exceptional circumstances and where appropriate, Essex County Council will issue fines.
Classes:
| RBC: 97.6% | 3VB: 98.3% |
| RS: 90% | 4A: 89.7% |
| 1D: 88.2% | 4L: 92.1% |
| 1P: 90.5% | 5R: 95.7% |
| 2A: 91.5% | 5/6P: 92.8% |
| 2N: 78.1% | 6CH: 97.9% |
| 3MH: 97.9% |
This week, the class with the highest attendance was 3VB with 98.3%. Well done! The attendance reward will be coming your way.
News from the Resource Base
The children in RBR have completed their hot task this week, which was to write a narrative that conveyed a strong sense of fear and/or anxiety around a character. Linked to their PSHE topic, the task was based around a bullying incident.
The children worked extremely hard to apply the skills we have been developing over the past few weeks. In particular, the focus was on showing how a character was feeling rather than simply telling the reader, using powerful verbs and well-chosen figurative language to bring emotions to life. There was a vast improvement between the initial cold task and the final hot task, with clear progress in the children’s ability to develop atmosphere and emotion in their writing.
In RBS this week, the children have been very busy and engaged in their learning. We have enjoyed reading the book How to Wash a Woolly Mammoth and completed a range of creative activities linked to the story. These tasks helped to develop the children’s comprehension skills, including retrieval, sequencing and prediction.
In maths, the children have been practising their 2s, 5s and 10s times tables and have shown great enthusiasm and growing confidence.
We finished the week with a well-earned popcorn and movie party, where the children had lots of fun designing their own popcorn cones before settling down to enjoy the film together.
It has been a lovely week of learning and creativity!
RBN this week have been showing off their knowledge and skills in instruction writing for making a Christmas card. They have shown that they can use a range of time adverbials and imperative verbs. They are developing their writing through editing using their genre checklist.
Maths has been a delight this week as we have seen the children making links between addition and subtraction. They have used estimation of answers with rounding, followed by efficient methods to calculate the answer. They are now developing the use of the inverse operation to be sure that their calculations were correct.
The Resource Base Team would like to take this opportunity to thank the children for all their hard work and the families for their support this term. We wish Miss Stimpson the best of luck on her new adventures and thank her for her work within the Resource Base. Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy new year.
News from EYFS
Reception children have had a very busy and exciting week filled with Christmas crafts, rehearsals, and of course the show itself today. The children were absolutely amazing and performed with such confidence and enthusiasm, making it a wonderful finish to a busy and festive week. Thank you for your continued support, and we wish everyone a very Happy Christmas!
Influential Figure – Marcus Rashford
Marcus Rashford is a professional footballer who also helped many children in the UK by campaigning for free school meals, showing how kindness and determination can make a positive difference.
Music Moment
Our music moment this week was Bill Withers – Lean on Me.
22 December to 2 January – Christmas holiday.
5 January – Children return to school.
6 January – NCMP Reception children height, weight and vision screening.
7 January – NCMP Reception children height, weight and vision screening.
8 January – Year 6 anti-social behaviour presentation with Essex Police.
w/c 12 January – Year 5 & 6 bikeability (group 4).
14 January – Class 3MH parent lunch.
16 January – Class 3VB parent lunch.
21 January – Dance Festival.
22 January – Young Voices Live Wicked Sing Along!
6 February – FOGP Quiz night at Sweyne Park.
12 February – Rescheduled FOGP discos.
13 February – FOGP Crazy hair day.
16 February to 20 February – Half term.
25 February – Young Voices.
5 March – World Book Day.
13 March – FOGP Mother’s Day event.
18 March – Online parents’ evening from 1.20pm to 6.30pm.
19 March – RB Colchester Zoo trip.
20 March – Red Nose Day.
23 March – Class photographs.
A huge well done to all the children who achieved 100% attendance this term! Your commitment to being in school every day is truly commendable, and we are so proud of your dedication and resilience.
Reception – Fletcher G, Amelia H, Levi H, Lucie H, Penny J, Charlotte S, Sophia W, Olive B, Layla G, Lyra G, Oliver M and Rory R.
Year 1 – Jack C, Alice F, Ava H, Reuben O, Kane S, Albie B, Harris C, Alfie E, Madeline H, Freddie K and Ariella M.
Year 2 – Henry B, Annie M, Sebastian S, Poppy A, Hadley B, Finlay S, Harley S and Harper S.
Year 3 – Jorik D, Ruby G, Max J, Seth R-M, Mercer S, Charlie W, Isabelle F, Riley H, Ethan H, Lewis H, Melissa P and Myla S.
Year 4 – Theo B, Eleanor H, Noah M, Rosie M, Kieran O, Olive W, Eliza B, Harry B, Harley C, Lara C, George F, Thomas G, Jacob P, Sidney R and Harry T.
Year 5/6 – Archie D, Henry F, Harry K, Finley K-A, Elvis S, Leora A, Sofia H, Archie H, Poppy M, Freddie O, Oliver R, Peyton S, Annabelle B, Maisie C, Emma D, Millie J, Albie M, Joshua P and Henry S.
Below are the curriculum maps for each year group, outlining the topics the children will be focusing on next term.
If you have any specific questions around the curriculum content, please contact your class teacher.
‘Becoming…’ sessions start from January at WHSG for Year 5 girls. There are still some spaces on the sessions, please head to www.ticketsource.co.uk/whsg to book your child’s space.
