Atwood Newsletter 19th December 2025

As the term draws to a close and we look forward to the festive period and a bit of a break, it is worth taking a moment to reflect. This term has seen so much going on at Atwood. Our new reception cohort have settled brilliantly and have already made great strides in their learning. We are very proud of them all. Across the school there have been numerous trips and visitors. The children have been to the Science Museum, the Natural History Museum, Hampton Court Palace and the Victoria and Albert Museum. We have had Viking and Roman workshops and an architect came to help us build our own Crystal Palace (sort of). We’ve also had visits to help us learn about Diwali, looking after our teeth and even a visit from some owl! In other news we opened our beautiful new library and we’ve enjoyed a number of class assemblies. It has been a very productive time and we’ve managed to fit it all in as well as learning to read, developing our writing and building our mathematical understanding.

This week, the fun hasn’t stopped. We saw the last of our Christmas shows with the Year 1 and 2 Nativity on Tuesday. The children did an amazing job singing and performing beautifully. The children knew their lines and delivered them confidently in front of a big audience. We’ve also enjoyed a raucous and uplifting production of Jack and the Beanstalk. (Oh no we didn’t, Oh yes, we did!)

Our Reception children visited the Methodist church to learn about the story of Christmas and we had a visitor from another local church come to remind us in an assembly that for many people Christmas is about much more than presents and eating chocolates.

You can read more from Nursery and Reception here:

https://www.pegasusacademytrust.org/news/eyfs/atw-nursery-news-19th-december

https://www.pegasusacademytrust.org/news/eyfs/atw-reception-news-visiting-a-church-and-learning-about-the-nativity

In our Gold Award Assembly this week, we celebrated children who are showing or developing the trait of being an ‘Independent Learner’. We heard about children who are always ready to learn, really good at knowing what they need to do and are able to solve a problem without always asking for adult help. Well done to all those children who got an award.

Elsewhere throughout the school the children have been completing a variety of DT projects. Year 6 have made shadufs, Year 4 have used electrical circuits in their Barnabus Project models and there have been numerous Christmas craft activities going on. All in all, it has been a busy final week.

Many thanks to everyone who contributed to our bucket collections at our Christmas performances. We managed to raise a fantastic £643. These funds will be split between Diabetes UK, the leading charity for people living with diabetes in the UK and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA).

It is with sadness that I share the news the Miss Hancock, who has been working in Year, 1 is moving on to new challenges. We are thankful to her for the work she has down during her time at Atwood.

And finally…

All that remains is for me to wish everyone a restful Christmas break. I hope that whatever it is you are doing, you find the time to relax and recharge ready for the new year. I look forward to seeing everyone in 2026.

DATES FOR THE DIARY

Monday 5th January INSET day- School closed

Tuesday 6th January: Back to school

Tuesday 6th January: Year 1 Toy workshop

Wednesday14th January: Jade Class assembly

Wednesday14th January: Year 6 to British Museum

Friday 6th February: Museum Day

Friday 23^rd January: Pegasus Poetry Competition

Monday 26^th / Tuesday 27th January: Lavender class Whitgift project

Wednesday 28^th/ Thursday 29^th: Teal class Whitgift project

Monday 9^th February: ‘Midnight in the Toyshop’ Drama Workshop for Reception & Year 1

Friday 13^th February: Break for half term