Dear Parents and Carers,

I hope you are well and have had a pleasant week in the sunshine!

It has felt like a particularly busy week here at De Havilland. We have had everything from dance workshops and K'nex challenges to phonics screening and multiplication checks! I am sure we are all grateful to arrive at a weekend in the sun.

Our Year Four children were very much put through their paces at the beginning of the week when they undertook the multiplication check. This is an online assessment designed to evaluate the children's fluency in recalling multiplication facts up to 12 x 12. The check comprises 25 questions, each with a six-second time limit. I would like to praise all of the children who gave their best efforts in what is a pressurised situation, as well as the Year Four staff team who have worked so hard to prepare the children for the experience. For parents and carers with children in Years 2 and 3, I would very much encourage regular practice of times tables at home so that when your child's time comes, they are able to approach the multiplication check with confidence. 

Next week we look forward to welcoming as many of you as possible to our four sports days which are happening from Monday to Thursday. This will be the first year in quite some time that we have not had Mr. Jackson leading these events, so please can I ask those families attending to show their support and appreciation to Miss Kilby and Mr. Power (one of our own, of course!) who have organised and are leading each day. The weather is looking more than promising so please ensure your child has their water bottle in school and is prepared for the outdoors, wearing a sun hat and with sun cream applied. As you will have read in our communications, this year the children only need to wear their PE kit on the day of their sports day and Friday; on the other days, normal school uniform is expected.  

We also cannot tell you how excited we are to have one big whole school family picnic alongside our colour run next Friday afternoon! This will not only mark the end of sports week, but also celebrate De Havilland Primary School's 20th anniversary. The grounds will be awash with red, green, blue and yellow (as will the children!) and we also look forward to hosting Mrs. King for the day. 

I hope you have a lovely weekend and look forward to seeing many of you next week.

Mr. Bostock