A huge well done to Year 5, whose class assembly on Fair Trade was absolutely brilliant. The children spoke with such confidence and enthusiasm, and they should be very proud of themselves. We are already looking forward to Year R’s class assembly next week – we know it will be just as special.

World Book Day is always such an exciting and special occasion in school. It was wonderful to see the children dressed as such a wide range of book characters – so much creativity on display! Well done to the staff join in the fun with their costumes, thank you to Mrs Miffling for organising all the special events. Days like these really bring reading to life and remind us all of the joy that books can bring.

 

You will have received communications about training to become a minibus driver. Our school minibuses are a vital part of the curriculum enrichment we provide here at Bentley. They allow us to offer a wide range of trips and experiences beyond the classroom while keeping costs down for families. Without our valued volunteer minibus drivers, we would need to travel by coach for every trip, which is often the most expensive part. If you are able to support us by undertaking the training, we would very much appreciate it.

Thank you to everyone who supported the PTFA Quiz Night last week and the cake sale on Friday. These events are such important ways of raising additional funds for our school. Whilst I fully appreciate that we all live in a very busy world, it would be wonderful if families could continue to support the school where possible. These events do more than raise money – they strengthen our sense of community, which is a big part of what makes Bentley so special.

Thank you, as always, for your continued support.

Vicky Hallett

Headteacher

ATTENDANCE

Governors have set the attendance target for the school at 97%. The class with the best attendance last week was Year 4 again. Well done Year 4!

Attendance figures for each class for last week are below:

 

SAFEGUARDING

Keeping Healthy – Water Bottles

Part of safeguarding our children is making sure they are healthy, hydrated and ready to learn. Each day, between 10 and 15 children visit the office to ask for a water bottle. While we do keep a small number of spare bottles for genuine emergencies, these are intended for the occasional forgotten item rather than daily use. We will be asking the office team to monitor whether there are any patterns in requests and will contact parents directly where needed. A named, filled water bottle should come into school with your child every day — staying hydrated is an important part of being healthy and ready to learn. We really appreciate your support with this.

 

GOLD BOOK/GOLD CARDS

Well done to those children who were awarded a gold card. We’re very proud of you! There was no gold book this week due to it being World Book Day today.

	Gold Cards
Year R	Jason
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3	Monty, Jemima, Finn, Oscar A
Year 4	Theo F, Seth, Kingsley, Rowen, Hugo, Edward, Owen, Caleb
Year 5
Year 6

 

ARITHMAGICIANS

Congratulations to all the pupils who took part in this year’s Arithmagicians competition — what a fantastic effort from everyone involved!

Don’t forget to keep playing Arithmagicians this week for another chance to earn points. These can be exchanged for exciting rewards, including extra playtime and a hot chocolate treat with Mrs Blake. Keep practising and good luck!

MENU CHANGE

On Tuesday 10^th March there will be a change to the red option, which will be Thai green curry. The Green option remains tomato pasta.

4:12 YOUTH GROUP

We have been made aware of an error in the recent Parish magazine. The church run youth group, 4:12, will be running in the school hall on 13^th March. The final meeting of the term will be held in the church hall at St Mary’s, Bentley on 27^th March.

ROAD SAFETY POSTER COMPETITION

With the Spring term here, the Hampshire Road Safety Team are launching the annual Walk to School Week poster competition. For this, they are asking for children to design a bright, eye-catching and informative poster on crossing the road safely.

The winning entry for this poster competition will be shared across all schools who register for Walk to School Week and will be used for any pedestrian safety campaigns.

If your child would like to take part, they should return their poster to school by Thursday 19^th March.

CATERLINK POSTER COMPETITION

We’re excited to announce another fantastic poster competition! Caterlink need help to design some vibrant foodie wall art for Caterlink.

They are inviting pupils from schools that use Caterlink to let their imaginations run wild and create an A4 page of colourful, foodie-inspired landscapes. Think broccoli trees, baguette fences, or even carrot chimneys – the more creative, the better!

What’s in it for you?

• Winning artwork will feature in Caterlink’s primary marketing.
• The winning school will receive a completed art wall, or £200 for the school, and a £20 book voucher for the pupil whose design wins.

How to enter:

• Artwork can be posted to Caterlink Competition, Hop House, Lower Green Road, Pembury, Kent, TN2 4HS or scanned and emailed to info@caterlinkltd.co.uk. (please keep the original artwork as this may be needed if you are selected a winner)
• Ensure you include the pupils name, age and school on the back of the artwork, or as the title of the picture file. They will also require the full school’s name, address, and contact so that we can contact winning entries.
• Entries must be received by 5pm on 31^st March 2026.
• Winning entries will be notified by the end of May 2026.

Caterlink can’t wait to see the amazing ideas your children come up with!

 

KOOTH MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT

Please see the following message from Kooth:

“My name is Carly, I am engagement lead for Kooth.com and I may have already engaged with some of your children before in their education setting but, I feel it is very important that parents and carers know where their children and young people can turn to if they need mental health support and what safe support we can offer them.

So, I am are offering the following 2 FREE information sessions to let you know all about our services:

Thursday, 12 March · 19:30 – 20:00pm - https://meet.google.com/qfw-ciww-nrk

Friday, 13 March · 13:00 – 13:30pm - https://meet.google.com/kkt-pqdx-hom

 

The sessions will include:

• Supporting your child during difficult times
• How to talk to your children about their feelings
• Parents/Carers Kooth FAQs

We understand that for parents & carers talking to their child about complex mental health and wellbeing issues is rarely easy. We have a lot of information about our service that you can both access here.

Please also find some ‘hints and tips’ below that might be useful and I shall look forward to seeing you at an information session.”

 

BARRACUDAS HOLIDAY CLUBS

We have been given a special code for discounted places at Barracuda’s holiday clubs for Bentley pupils, and if you book we will also receive a donation to the school! Please use the code on the flyer to benefit from this offer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

UNIFORM SHED           

Unfortunately the second-hand uniform shed is currently out of action. We will update you when it is reopened. In the meantime, second hand uniform is currently in the back of the dining hall. Please ask the office for access before or after school (as this space is used for teaching and learning at other times).

 

ECO UPDATE

Poetry Competition

Calling all Poets!  Young ACAN has an exciting competition for all the children to enter for a chance to win some fabulous prizes!  See poster for details – closing date is Friday 17^th April!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WWF My Footprint App

If you are looking for ways for your family to reduce your carbon footprint, download the free WWW My Footprint App - click here for more information. The app is a great place to get inspired with simple ways to live more sustainably.  There are challenges which all the family can get involved in from how to shop more sustainably to top tips for how to garden for wildlife.  The app also includes interesting articles, podcasts and videos about living more sustainably.

Coming Soon – Recycle your Electricals – The Hidden Treasure Hunt

Over the coming weeks the Eco Council’s Team Energy will be launching a brand new campaign for us all to get involved in, for a chance to win tech equipment for your family and our school. By having a rummage at home for old electrical equipment including cables, we can help save precious metals from being thrown away forever by ensuring that they get recycled.  If you have old electrical devices at home, please keep hold of them ready for the start of our campaign.  Thank you!

 

 

PTFA

Unfortunately, due to low ticket sales, we have made the difficult decision to cancel the Bentley Bash.

All ticket holders will be contacted directly and will receive a full refund.