The weather has been absolutely relentless, yet our children have continued to come into school demonstrating our school values of Love, Courage and Community every single day. They have shown remarkable resilience, adapted to the changes we have had to make and, despite the soaring temperatures, have continued to smile, learn and support one another.

Our staff have been equally incredible. They have worked tirelessly to keep classrooms calm, children safe and learning as enjoyable as possible in extremely challenging conditions. Their commitment to our children never ceases to amaze me.

I would also like to thank all of our parents and carers for your understanding and support this week. We know that the changes to the school day have been disruptive, but every decision has been made with the safety and wellbeing of our children and staff at the heart of it. Your flexibility and kindness have been hugely appreciated.

I am not normally one to complain that it's too hot... but I must admit, even I have reached my limit this week!

A particularly huge well done must go to the children and staff who have been away on our Year 6 residential at Calshot. With Calshot also falling within the Red Weather Warning on Wednesday, the programme had to be adapted, with a few more trips to the sea than originally planned! While I'm sure this wasn't quite the adventure they expected, everyone embraced the changes with fantastic attitudes. Residentials are exhausting for staff during a normal week, so I can only imagine how physically demanding this one has been. Thank you to Mrs Blake, Miss Miles and Mrs Cavanough for giving up their time to provide such a memorable experience for our children. We are incredibly lucky to have such dedicated staff here at Bentley.

What an incredible evening BFEST was! It was wonderful to see so many families, friends and members of our community coming together to celebrate our amazing school. The atmosphere throughout the evening was fantastic, with everyone enjoying themselves and supporting one another.

As always, our children completely blew me away. Whether performing as part of a class, a small group or stepping onto the stage for a solo performance, they showed such confidence, courage and talent. Watching them shine in front of such a large audience was a real privilege and made me enormously proud.

Events like BFEST don't just happen—they take an enormous amount of planning, organisation and teamwork. My heartfelt thanks go to every single person who gave up their time to help organise, run a stall, perform, set up, clear away or support behind the scenes. It truly was a whole-school community effort.

I am also delighted to share that together we raised an incredible £3500 for our school. This is a fantastic achievement, and the money will go towards enhancing opportunities and experiences for all of our children.

Thank you, once again, for making Bentley such a special place to be. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend—hopefully with temperatures that are just a little kinder to us all!

Have a lovely weekend.

Mrs Hallett
Headteacher

HOUSEPOINTS                                                                                                      

This week’s housepoints totals will be added to next week’s.

ATTENDANCE

Governors have set the attendance target for the school at 97%. The class with the best attendance last week were Year 2, with 100%! Well done Year 2!

Attendance figures for each class for last week are below:

 

SAFEGUARDING

Child drownings increase during hot weather. Recent reports from last month’s UK heatwave suggest that over a dozen children and young people lost their lives in water-related incidents, highlighting how quickly risks can escalate when temperatures rise and more children are around water.

 

The HSCP Water Safety Toolkit for parents and carers offers simple, practical advice to help families stay safe, including:

·       Everyday risks at home – including bath time safety and garden hazards

·       Staying safe outdoors – such as the beach, around rivers and in open water

·       Practical safety advice – including the Water Safety Code and how to “Float to Live”

·       Age-specific guidance – for babies, young children, older children and teenagers

• What to do in an emergency – including simple first aid steps and where to find further support.

 

Small actions - like close supervision, choosing safe places to swim and talking regularly with children - can make a big difference.

GOLD BOOK/GOLD CARDS

Well done to those children who were in the gold book or earnt a gold card. We’re very proud of you!

	Gold book	Gold Card
Year R	Zlata	Connie, Ava
Year 1	Chester	Edward
Year 2	Lawrence	Orla
Year 3	Theo
Year 4	Bertie
Year 5	Alec
Year 6	-

 

THANK YOU…

… to Gill Thallon from Alton Tennis Club for the donation of tennis balls. We are very grateful for your generous donation.

 

ARITHMAGICIANS

Don’t forget to keep playing and earning points, which can be exchanged for rewards such as house points, extra playtime and even an ice lolly with Mrs Blake.

 

YEAR 1 TRIP TO BOCKETTS FARM

Year 1 had "the best" time at Bocketts farm last week. They got to meet and feed some of the animals, see sheep getting sheared and watch a pig race. But the best part was the tractor ride which got interrupted by the sheep crossing the road!

 

 

BOOK A TOUR FOR YEAR R 2027

SCHOOL PLACES STILL AVAILABLE!

 

NORTH 2 SOUTH SUMMER HOLIDAY CAMP

 

ALTON ARTS FESTIVAL

The Alton Arts Festival returns 3–12 July, bringing music, comedy, theatre and visual arts to Holybourne, Alton and Chawton. It’s a 10-day, multi-arts festival with something for the whole family to enjoy.

🎟️ Tickets are now on sale – explore the full programme here:
https://wegottickets.com/altonartsfestival

🌟 Family highlights

Chris Riddell (Live Event)
11th July 5pm
Enjoy a special event with award-winning illustrator and former Children’s Laureate Chris Riddell, a fantastic opportunity for young readers and budding artists.
👉 Book here: https://wegottickets.com/event/696829

Olaf Falafel’s Stupidest Super Stupid Show
5th July 2pm
Award-winning, sell-out comedy for children packed with facts, nonsense and laughs.
👉 Book here: https://wegottickets.com/event/696129

🎭 Pumpkin Pantos: Alice in Wonderland (FREE event)
4th July 2-3pm Alton Public Gardens
A colourful outdoor pantomime with music, costumes and comedy for all ages.

🎉 Party in the Park (FREE – Festival Finale)
12th July 12noon - 6pm Alton Public Gardens
The festival closes with a relaxed outdoor celebration – live music, food and community spirit. Bring a blanket and the family!

 

ECO UPDATE

Eco Council – Relove Summer Stall for Gumbi

Last Saturday at B-Fest, some members of Eco Council kindly volunteered their time to help raise money for Gumbi in Malawi where ACAN (Alton Climate Action Network) supports a community training centre (PCTC) where young people learn how to farm sustainably using permaculture.  In recent years, drought has become a real problem, so Eco Council wanted to help by raising money for a solar water pump.  Thank you to Nancy, Jemima, Lily B, Orla M, Rafe P, Alice, Dotty and Jessica for volunteering on Saturday. Also thank you for the lovely donations and to those who came and supported the stall.  We have had lovely messages from Mr Edwin – Chief of Gumbi and also James Gomani who leads the permaculture training team in Malawi.

“As Gumbi Chief in Malawi, I really want to thank all the people who organised the fund raising: the schoolchildren, Eco Council and the parents.  We are all very thankful for the donation. Thank you.” Mr Edwin, Chief of Gumbi

“It is lovely to see a primary school raising funds for our community. The young boys and girls will grow with selfless hearts and will appreciate the impact of climate change.  Let them know that Gumbi is very appreciative of their efforts and £75 is a significant amount to our community because even £1 matters to us.” James Gomani, PCTC Lead.

The Attenborough Garden

This week we have been getting ready to welcome some very special visitors to the Attenborough Garden.  Madame Jones returned to Pepperpot Herbs who, as always, were very kind and helpful. As well as finding us some more cola plants, they chose some vibrant nasturtiums to plant in a wheelbarrow.  We are also very grateful to Garthowen Garden Centre in Four Marks, who very generously donated some lovely pollinator-friendly plants for our garden.  

Hidden Treasure Hunt – a national recycling challenge

Great news!  You now have until 6^th July to recycle your unwanted tech!  Please hunt out unwanted or broken tech and electrical items at home and recycle them at Curry’s or at Farnham and Alton Recycling Centres – click here for more details.  Please note, if you are NOT dropping off your items at Currys, please take a photo when you recycle them to upload as evidence – you will be asked to upload this photo when you register – click here to register and scroll down to ‘How to register your recycling’.

Every time a family registers their recycling, our school earns a Planet Care Point and moves up the national leaderboard. Schools can win thousands of pounds in Currys’ vouchers for Microsoft tech, and families who take part are entered into prize draws to win Currys’ vouchers for Microsoft tech too. As an extra incentive Eco Council will be awarding a ‘Dolphin Award’ to those children who participate.  Pupils should bring in a photo of them recycling their tech at Curry’s or a recycling centre.  Please note only one dolphin will be awarded per child.   

Please do get involved and share with your friends and family to help us to win some Microsoft tech for our school. The campaign runs until 6^th July 2026.
Find out more and take part at: hiddentreasurehunt.org