Friday 1st May 2026

ELLINGHAM SCHOOL NEWS

Reminder : Year 1 Castle Day - Thursday 14th May. The children will each need to bring a large cardboard box and are invited to come to school dressed as Kings and Queens, knights, princesses, dragons or in other medieval themed costumes, although this is not compulsory.

DIARY DATES

Early Bird Booster Club

Monday 20th April to Thursday 21st May (Monday to Thursday)

May Bank Holiday

Monday 4th May

Year 4 South Bank Trip

Friday 8th May

Year 6 SATS Week

Monday 11th May to Thursday 14th May

Year 5 Natural History Museum Trip

Year 1 Class Assembly

Friday 15th May

Reception Bocketts Farm Trip

Tuesday 12th May

Last day of Half Term

Friday 22nd May

May Half Term

Monday 25th May to Friday 29th May

Children return

Monday 1st June

Sports Day

Monday 13th July

Toys & Squishies

We’ve noticed more children bringing toys, especially "squishies," to school lately. While some pupils use school-provided fidget toys for specific needs, personal toys are not permitted. Trading these items has also caused some upset among the children.

Please ensure toys and squishies stay at home starting Tuesday.

Any toys brought in will be held by the teacher and returned at the end of the day.

Thank you for your support.

Dear parents and carers,

I hope you have had a good week. It's always lovely to see you at the school gates in the morning as the sun continues to shine and we head into May.

I must say the highlight of my week was the Reception assembly this morning. Watching our youngest pupils stand up in front of the whole school and speak in such clear tones, remembering so many lines, and demonstrating how much they have learned about farm animals was just wonderful! They have come on so far since September in all the areas of development. It’s also clear that while they are becoming more independent, they are also a caring group of friends. I am very proud to be their headteacher!

Year 4 continued with their swimming lessons this week. Developing in swimming skills can be a challenge, but they are making wonderful progress.

Just a quick reminder that school is closed this Monday for the bank holiday weekend. I hope the weather holds out and you get a chance to relax and recharge with your families. We'll see everyone back at the gates on Tuesday!

Best wishes,

Margaret

Margaret Johonnett

Headteacher

Sporting News

London Mini Marathon: Our Children Go the Extra Mile

Last Saturday, 15 of our incredible children took to the streets for the London Mini Marathon. The atmosphere was amazing and they were cheered on every step of the way by their friends and family. It was a privilege to watch them cross the finish line and we are immensely proud of how they represented our school and lived out our school’s Olympic values throughout the event.

Friendship and Equality: They ran together and supported one another from start to finish.

Determination and Courage: They tackled the distance with bravery and persistence.

Excellence and Respect: They gave their best effort while showing great sportsmanship.

Inspiration: They set a fantastic example for the rest of the school.

We asked the children about their experience, and here is what they had to say:

"It was super busy at the start but once we started running everyone had lots of room! I loved every minute!” Matilda 5S

“It was a tiring but fun experience! I would love to do it again next year!” Fletcher 4RS

“My whole family came to watch me run! It was amazing and we got a medal too, which is now hanging in my bedroom!” Freddie W 4RS

Congratulations to all 15 children for their fantastic achievement. We are so proud of them.

TCS Mini London Marathon Slideshow

Attendance

Take part in this week’s battle for your chance to be on the leaderboard.

TTRS Battle!

Well done to 4G for coming 1st in the battle this week, closely followed by 4RS and 5CS.

A huge shout out to Imogen M, Saarthak and Marley for being the top 3 players this week!

This Week’s BRITE Box

Looking for a delicious, family-friendly dinner with minimal cleanup? Our latest Brite Box recipe is the Italian One-Pot Pasta, a hearty vegetarian dish packed with vegetables in a tomato sauce.

A5 DIGITAL - ITALIAN ONE POT PASTA.pdf

If you can help at the Summer Fair email: friendsofellingham@outlook.com or contact the school office.

We can only run these events if we have the support of volunteers - Thank you in advance.

FOE Committee members

LEARNING TOGETHER

Nursery

In nursery this week some of the children were working hard in the office, They were showing excellent pencil grip.

Reception - Assembly Success!

Cherry Class gave a fantastic assembly performance this week. The children showed great confidence as they recited their lines, performed poems, and sang with enthusiasm. Their hard work and progress were clear to see—well done to everyone for such a wonderful achievement!

Year 1 - Dragon Drama!

Year 1 fully immersed themselves into their English text ‘George and the Dragon’ this week. The children imagined they were a soldier, villager, royalty or the dragon himself and performed freeze frames of the battle. They will use their photos next week to generate dialogue for their stories.

Year 2

Year 2 continued with our UK landmarks topic and used our finger painting skills this week. We looked at work by the artist Iris Scott, who fingers paints her artwork, then carefully painted a British landmark using the same technique.

Year 3

This half term, Year 3 have been looking at sandwich making in design and technology (DT) with Mrs Sephton. As part of the project, they planned and sourced their own ingredients (thank you parents!) before the practical lesson, in which they practised their cutting and chopping skills. We hope the finished products were as tasty as they looked.

Year 4- The Science of Sound

This half term, Year 4 has been diving into the fascinating Science of Sound. Our young scientists have explored how sound waves travel and discovered the intricate ways our ears process vibrations. The excitement peaked this week as students became acoustic engineers! By building their own musical instruments, the children experimented with the physics of music. They successfully discovered how to manipulate pitch and volume through design.

Year 5

This week, Year 5 became software engineers, crafting intricate coding sequences to simulate a volcanic eruption. By logic-mapping the stages of an eruption—from seismic tremors to the final lava flow—students programmed digital animations that they "flashed" onto their micro:bits, which is a pocket-sized, programmable computer that brings code to life.

Year 6 - Maths & Science Highlights

It has been an action-packed fortnight in Year 6, as we’ve stepped away from our desks to get truly "hands-on" with our curriculum. The children are working incredibly hard in the lead-up to SATs, so it is lovely to maintain this level of creativity and practical discovery!

In Maths, we swapped textbooks for protractors, measuring angles on a giant floor sheet to master our accuracy. We also investigated vertically opposite angles using masking tape. In Science, we’ve been exploring the circulatory system by sculpting plasticine hearts and mixing pretend blood to learn exactly how components like plasma and platelets keep us healthy.

Celebration certificates

This week our value was Determination!

Safeguarding, Health & Wellbeing

The Sunflower Cafe 2026 Flyer (1).pdf

Summer 1 25_26 Parent information leaflet (002).pptx

2025_26 - Helping children series flier.docx (1).pdf

The Safeguarding Team

This is the full safeguarding team in school. They are all trained to Level 3 and everyone in the school received the annual update of Safeguarding Level 2 training at INSET. If you are worried about a child, please let one of the team know.

Contact details: 020 8397 3864 or email: office@elp.rbksch.org to request a safeguarding call back. For pupil support, contact 020 8397 3864 or email: pupilsupport@elp.rbksch.org