Dear Parents and Carers 

I hope you have enjoyed the recent sunshine. What a difference it has made – there certainly seemed to be a spring in everyone’s step as they arrived at school each morning! 

The lovely weather provided the perfect backdrop for Year 2’s exciting geography trip, focused on habitats and microhabitats. After revisiting what habitats are, the children explored the Pewley grounds, identifying a wide range of microhabitats. We then ventured to the Holy Trinity field – a newly fenced area for the school and the first time it has been used by Year 2 – along with the adjoining woodland. The children thoroughly enjoyed comparing plants and minibeasts found in sunny areas of the field with those in the shaded woodland. It was a fantastic hands‑on learning experience that sparked lots of curiosity and enthusiasm. 

On Thursday, the Pewley Eco Team had a wonderful day at the Cathedral Eco Day. The theme for the day was wishes, hopes and repair. The children learnt about reducing CO₂, made bags from newspaper while exploring ways to reduce and recycle waste, created flowers of hope, and shared how they would like to help ‘fix’ the world. It was a fun‑filled and thought‑provoking day, and we hope to share and repeat some of these activities and discussions with the wider school community. 

The weather was less important for Year 4, who enjoyed an amazing river workshop this week when The River Wey Trust visited school with an interactive augmented reality sandbox. The children explored the water cycle and the features of a river and were able to manipulate the river’s journey by shaping the sand themselves, with the technology responding instantly to their movements. It was fascinating to watch and a memorable learning experience. 

In sporting news, last week, our Year 5 netball team competed in a tournament at Tormead. They played five games, losing only one, and finished in an impressive second place. The team played brilliantly throughout – well done to all involved! 

Thursday afternoon was a hot one for the Year 3 and 4 cross‑country event at Boxgrove. The children ran a 1.2km course and did exceptionally well in the heat. Everyone showed great determination and thoroughly enjoyed the event. Thank you, as always, to the adults who supported us – we couldn’t do it without you. We are now looking forward to next week, when it will be the infants’ turn. 

In true British style, the sunny weather doesn’t look set to last over the bank holiday weekend, but we hope you enjoy the long break. 

We look forward to seeing everyone back in school on Tuesday. 

Vicky 

Thought of the week: Are you an active listener?