THIS WEEK AT BENTLEY...
What a brilliant Sports Day we’ve had! While it may not have been quite what we originally planned—with the Rec sadly out of action—you wouldn’t have known it from the smiles, cheers and fabulous atmosphere on our school grounds this morning.
The children’s positivity and enthusiasm were completely infectious and reminded us all that Sports Day is about so much more than location. In fact, several parents spoke to Mrs Miffling and me to say how much they preferred this version of Sports Day! Many felt more involved and loved being able to see the children more closely throughout the events—definitely something for us to reflect on when planning for next year.
A huge thank you must go to our amazing team here at Bentley. Every member of staff played a key part, from setting up the event to preparing the children so well during PE lessons. However, a special shout-out goes to Mrs Miffling, who managed to plan and deliver such a fantastic day in record time. Thank you for making it all happen!
The children truly made us proud with their energy, sportsmanship, and resilience. They showed a brilliant mix of competitive spirit and joyful fun—what a pleasure it was to watch! A huge well done to this year’s winning team: Tutu—what an achievement!
As if the week couldn’t get any more magical, we were treated to a special visit from a magician! He was absolutely fantastic, judging by the reactions, I wasn’t sure whether to watch him or the children’s delighted faces! We’re thrilled that he’ll be running a new after-school club from the autumn term—I have a feeling it’s going to be a popular one. A big thank you to Mrs Hamid for organising this exciting addition to our club line-up.
I can’t quite believe there’s now just over a week to go until the end of the school year—it’s flown by in a flash! Wishing you all a lovely weekend.
Mrs Hallett
ATTENDANCE
Governors have set the attendance target for the school at 97%. The class with the best attendance last week was Year 6 again. Well done year 6!
Attendance figures for each class for last week are below:
SAFEGUARDING – EVERYBODY’S BUSINESS
As the temperatures rise, families across Hampshire are making the most of the sunshine - whether it’s splashing in the garden paddling pool, exploring local lakes and rivers, or spending a day at the beach. It’s important to stay vigilant around water. Warmer weather is directly linked to a rise in accidental drownings, making water safety more crucial than ever. To help families enjoy the summer safely, the Hampshire Safeguarding Children Partnership has created a Water Safety Toolkit that provides advice on the Water Safety Code and signposting to other organisations that can help in educating families and children on the dangers of water. Access the toolkit at Hampshire Safeguarding Children Partnership website is here (Teach your children the Water Safety Code - Hampshire SCP).
THANK YOU…
… to the Aston family for the donations of fabulous dressing up clothes. Your generosity is very much appreciated.
VR WORKSHOPS
On Tuesday Years 3-6 had a fantastic opportunity to participate in VR workshops.
Year 5 said “Wearing the headsets made me feel like I was actually there in Ancient Egypt” (Reggie), “It felt like I was going back in time” (Harry) and “I really liked how the view was 360 degrees” (Arthur).
FRENCH DAY 2025
Monsieur Roscoe on Holiday
This year’s French Day was based on the Jim Field book Monsieur Roscoe on Holiday. Wearing red, white and blue the whole school community embraced all things French by participating in a range of diverse and exciting activities including a game of pétanque; drawing Monsieur Roscoe and a visit from Mrs Nonhebel. Speaking French was naturally an important part of the day and the children were given several opportunities to practise their French including visiting the Year 6 ‘Kiosque Croissant’ to order a croissant, asking for ‘une glace’ in Year 2 and participating in a French picnic in Year 3. Merci beaucoup to everybody for embracing French Day and to Mrs Nonhebel for delivering an exciting French lesson to everybody – it was a really great day!
CLASS CAKE SALES
Thank you to everyone who baked/brought cakes in, sold, bought and ate in support of the class bake sales earlier on in the year. The classes have all chosen what they would like to buy with the money raised, and by Monday will have received their new resources. Below are the totals raised by each class and what they chose to buy:
Year R cake sale - £85.15 - den making kits
Year 1 cake sale - £84.40 - jigsaws, magnetic letters, magnifying glasses, tweezers pots
Year 2 cake sale - £87.80 - colouring book, origami, scratch art
Year 3 cake sale - £77.00 - board games, bubble wands, outdoor games
Year 4 cake sale - £74.60 - loom bands and outdoor games
Year 5 cake sale - £72.50 - clay, colouring pens, outdoor games
Year 6 cake sale - £66.30 - Popcorn, Donuts and icecream for Leavers evening
NORTH 2 SOUTH SUMMER CAMP
During the summer holidays (4th-6th August) Kathleen Proud and Sarah Forbes are running a holiday club here at school. Please see the poster below for more details.
EGGARS OPEN EVENTS
ALTON RUGBY CLUB – GIRLS RUGBY
Starting in September (dates to be announced), Alton Rugby Club will be running weekly training sessions on a Sunday designed to introduce and develop rugby skills in a fun, safe, and inclusive environment.
Session Times:
U10 & U11s:10:00 AM – 11:30 AM
U12 & U13+: 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM
These sessions will be delivered by Jacko, their Director of Rugby, who currently coaches the Army Women’s Rugby Team and the Hampshire U16 Girls, alongside our Age Grade Chair, Fran, who together will be bringing an exceptional level of experience and passion to our new section.
This is a fantastic opportunity for young girls to get involved in rugby, make new friends, build confidence, and become part of their growing club community.
Please spread the word to friends, schools, and families—everyone is welcome to come along and give it a try!
In addition to players, they are on the lookout for anyone who would like to help run the new girls section with us - be that coaching, team managers or emergency first aiders. If you are keen to get involved in any way, drop them a message.
If you have any questions or would like more information, feel free to contact Jacko or Fran at girlsrugby@altonrfc.club
They can’t wait to see you in September!
ECO-UPDATE
Eco Council Stall
Last Saturday our fabulous Eco Council collaborated with the children who won our pollinator garden competition on a stall at the Summer Party. They raised just under £100 for our garden which will definitely be put to good use! Thank you from the bees and butterflies to the children who gave up their time to help, to those that spent their pocket money on our stall, those that donated items for our second-hand stall and to Mrs Scott-Bromley for crocheting the brilliant bees! Eco Council will be hosting another second-hand summer stuff stall on Wednesday after school for cash donations.
Nature Guardians Club
Thank you to the children who took the time to write a letter to Madame Jones about becoming a Nature Guardian. The children will be informed next week who will be invited to join Nature Guardians Club in September.
Pollinator Garden
The latest project in our garden has been the wildlife pond which when completed will attract a huge range of wildlife to the garden. Some of the Year 6 children helped last Friday and then this week it was the turn of Eco Council to come and help. Our next and final job this term is planting wildflowers in the raised beds. After the summer holiday, the Nature Guardians will take over the garden, getting it ready to welcome wildlife and children.
Young ACAN Waste Beast Animation
On Thursday Young ACAN Waste Beast competition winners, from Year 4 and from Year 5 spent the morning at the Butts Primary School working on an exciting animation project. Together with children from other schools, they confidently recorded the dialogue and rap for the upcoming animation which aims to educate children about the issue of waste. The animation is due to be released in September – more details to follow in the Autumn Term.
PTFA
We will be holding a uniform sale after school on Tuesday 15th July. We have lots of great quality stock so come and grab a bargain! Only £1 an item!
The final Frozen Friday of the year is Friday 18th July!
Please consider being PTFA chairs next year. The three of us have done three years as chairs and are now ready to pass it on. And as lots of you know, and I can now officially say, I'm due a baby in November, so I will have my hands full!
I promise we would be handing the role over in a really good place. I've even written a handbook!
I am still willing to be a chair, as an organising/advisory role, instead of stepping down completely. But for obvious reasons, I won't be able to be reliably physically on the ground for any events. I am also very happy to not stay on in any role if someone would like to run with it! Please be our guest!
We believe it is easier and nicer to do as a group of co-chairs, but this is not necessary.
Please help us find some people. The reality is, without finding someone or people to take over, the PTFA will have to be on hold, meaning no extra fun events for the children and no extra money for the school.
