It was lovely to meet so many of you on Friday at the Family BBQ.  It was a fantastic turn out, probably the delicious BBQ smell wafting through Bentley encouraged any who were undecided! Thank you for all of your well-wishes and positive thoughts – it means a lot. I cannot mention the BBQ without sending out some appreciation. Thank you to the wonderful PTFA – working locally to Bentley I have always heard rumours of how amazing the team are at raising money for the school, so it was wonderful to see them in action. Chatting to Molly (one of the wonderful co- chairs) she told me that there are a lot of exciting events planned this year – I cannot wait! Thanks also needs to be given to the wonderful Bentley staff – who, after an incredibly hot first week back, stayed to support with raising money for the school.

We have had a fantastic final week of learning for the school year and have enjoyed reminiscing about all that we have done since September.  We can’t quite believe we’ve managed to fit it all in!  Alongside all the regular learning in classrooms, we have been out on educational visits, hosted visitors to school, stayed away on residentials, taken part in a range of clubs, participated in lots of sporting events, had fun at PTFA events…the list goes on!  Most of all we have enjoyed being together as a community, giving each other courage when life is tough and looking after one another with love.  Our Christian values really have shone through this year. 

As I write this the children are all excitedly taking part in Move Up Morning where they are getting to know their new teachers and the expectations for their next year group.  This is the perfect time to reflect on achievements over the past year and set goals for the new.  Your child’s report will come home next week and I know you will all be very pleased with how much your children have achieved this academic year.  See below for the full list of staffing.

As I write this, the final preparations are being made for the Summer Fair this afternoon.  The PTFA have been working very hard behind the scenes to make this a fantastic, enjoyable event, with lots of fun activities, tasty food and terrific games to play to keep the whole family entertained.  A big thank you in advance to everyone who has volunteered to help – we can’t run these events without your support.

What a brilliant first week back it has been, culminating in our fantastic Sports Day today.  Last night we received notification of an amber heat health alert from Hampshire County Council, which meant we had to make some changes to our regular schedule of events today.  To keep everyone safe we decided to limit the long distance run to two laps only and not hold the family runtastic at the end of the morning.  All the children had a fantastic time though and amazed us with their sportsmanship, determination and team spirit.  Congratulations go to Nightingale House who were crowned the champions for 2023!

It has been lovely to see the return of the sunshine at last this week and great to see all the children enjoying their playtimes outside, especially in the woods.  Please remember to send your child to school with a named water bottle containing non-flavoured water to keep them hydrated as the weather warms up.