Newsletters

Who will win the attendance Oscar?

You may have seen that the UK government has announced new social media age restrictions for children under 16. As you know, [School] places student safety and wellbeing above all else, and like many schools we have been increasingly concerned about the effects of social media on young people. We welcome this change, but we know parents and students will have questions. Smartphone Free Childhood has published a clear guide for parents explaining what the changes mean for your child. As always, we are committed to working in partnership with our whole school community, and we look forward to doing so as we navigate these changes, and the positive opportunities they bring for young people.

 The pressure to comply will sit with the platforms, not with children, parents or teachers, and schools' role is unchanged: to keep young people safe and to keep talking with them openly. 

Teachers and school leaders will often become aware of underage accounts before anyone else. 

There will be mixed reactions and a period of adjustment. Some students might feel real worry and a sense of something being taken away. These feelings shouldn’t be simply dismissed. Habits built around constant online connection take time to rewire, and schools can frame this as a normal, temporary adjustment that will lead to greater benefits.

There is an empowering message here for young people. Their time is the most valuable thing they have, and how they spend it will shape the people they become. 

Primary schools have a vital part to play too, reinforcing the delay norm early so fewer children arrive at secondary school with a smartphone already in hand.

No single lever changes everything alone, and a strong smartphone policy is one of the most powerful pieces a school can put in place.

More information can be found here: https://www.smartphonefreechildhood.org/resources-for-parents

and if you haven't already signed the pact please do!

https://www.smartphonefreechildhood.org/parent-pact

Robins : Oscar H

Kingfishers : Bay, Bodhi

Herons : Flora

Kestrels : Archie, Jack

Hello everyone, we have some really exciting events coming up towards the end of term.

Drumroll please.... on Weds 8^th and Thurs 9^th July we have two very special performances of The Lion King by our talented juniors.  Although this isn't strictly a FOSS event we have put the tickets on classlist to make it easy for everyone. As Mrs Hines said, these are at the bargain price of £5 for adults and free for children! We're also looking for a couple of volunteers to help man the bar.

Here are the links, which also work for people outside school eg grandparents:

Weds 8^th July - performance 1 https://app.classlist.com/events/#/events/view/1470600770

Thurs 9^th July - performance 2 https://app.classlist.com/events/#/events/view/1486600778

And as if that wasn't exciting enough, on Friday 10^th July we are holding our famous Colour Run after school. This is an absolute highlight of the year for all the kids. The event starts with a massive water fight and then the kids do laps of the school field getting covered in coloured powder. They get very colourful and they love it!! Its also a great opportunity for us to say goodbye to our lovely Year 6s. Tickets are £3 per child and Year 6s go free! Tickets will be available on Classlist very soon and we'll also be looking for lots of volunteers to throw powder and run ice cream and drinks stalls.

Sadly these will be my last events as Chair of FOSS (although I will do fireworks!). We are still looking for someone to be the new Chair. It is genuinely a great role - you organise fun, easy events that the kids love, while making money which all goes straight back to school to fund resources for our children. Win win! And you'll never be doing it alone - there's Rob the Treasurer and a great network of FOSS class reps and other volunteers to help you out. Please do chat to me after school one day if you have any questions.

Just in case you didn't know, FOSS paid for the recent visit by the UK's tallest man (which had the kids talking for days!), funds school trips, the wonderful outdoor classroom and wildlife garden, sports day equipment and much more.  

Thanks for reading!

Tamar

Petersfield Youth Theatre News

Our Summer Holiday Activity offers a week full of fun and creative activities for children currently aged 5 to School Year 8.

Those taking part will have the opportunity to rotate through 4 workshops each day, including theatre games, improvisation, singing, dancing, storytelling, craft and making music. It is a perfect way to spend a week of the Summer Holidays!

Monday 17 – Friday 21 August
10am-3pm

Open to aged 5 – current school year 8

All details on our website www.pyt.org.uk