Dear St Matthew's Parents and Carers of our Wonderful Year 4 Children, 

I'm delighted to remind you of an exciting opportunity we have coming up this week that I believe will be of real interest to our Year 4 families. If you missed this on our calendar of events, please let the office staff know, we can repeat this vital meeting again in a few weeks. 

On Wednesday 4th March at 3:15pm, we are hosting a Multiplication Timetable Check Meeting for parents, and I would like to take this moment to explain why this initiative matters so much to us here at St Matthew's.

The multiplication tables are a fundamental building block of mathematics. When children have secure knowledge of their times tables, it opens doors to so many other areas of learning. It boosts their confidence, accelerates their progress in division, fractions, and algebra, and ultimately gives them the mathematical fluency they need to tackle more complex problem-solving with ease. It's not simply about memorisation – it's about developing automaticity so that children can access higher-order mathematical thinking without being held back by recall difficulties.

This Wednesday's meeting is designed to bring parents into our world and help you understand exactly what we're working towards with the children. We want to share the strategies we're using in class, show you the resources available to support learning at home, and give you a real sense of where each child is in their journey towards mastering their times tables. It's also a wonderful opportunity for you to ask questions and understand how you can best support your child's learning in this crucial area.

As you know, at St Matthew's we believe that partnership between school and home is absolutely vital. When parents understand what we're doing and why we're doing it, when you can see the methods we're using and feel equipped to reinforce learning at home, that's when real progress happens. Children thrive when they see the adults around them working together with a shared purpose. I would encourage all parents of Year 4 children to attend if you possibly can. This isn't about adding pressure or creating anxiety – quite the opposite. It's about empowering you with knowledge and practical strategies so that you can support your child in a way that feels manageable and positive. We know that every child progresses at their own pace, and this meeting will help you understand your child's individual starting point and what success looks like for them.

I very much look forward to seeing you all on Wednesday. If you have any questions beforehand or are unable to attend but would like further information, please do get in touch with the office. 

Many thanks in advance for your support, 

Miss Lynton

Super First Week Back, St Matthew’s!:

What a wonderful start to the half term it has been at St Matthew's! I wanted to take a moment to celebrate some of the brilliant things that have been happening across our school and to express my gratitude to those who go the extra mile to make our community such a special place.

Our Year 5 and Year 3 children have had another fabulous week in the swimming pool. It's truly inspiring to see them continue to let their light shine as they progress with their swimming skills and confidence in the water. The dedication and enthusiasm they show week after week is a testament to their wonderful attitudes towards learning and trying new things.

Behind the scenes, we have someone who deserves a very special mention. Mr T, our fantastic cover site manager, has been absolutely tireless during the half term break. He has cleaned every single school carpet and jet washed our paths and outdoor school equipment, transforming the appearance of our grounds. But that's not all – Mr T also kindly decorated the EYFS play house at home, and it now looks absolutely fantastic in the Woodlands classroom. His continuous hard work and commitment to maintaining our school environment is truly invaluable, and I cannot thank him enough for everything he does for St Matthew's.

I would also like to extend a huge thank you to Lois and Robin's dad, who has generously brought us some fantastic furniture for our Rainbow Room. It's through the kindness and generosity of our families that we are able to create such welcoming and nurturing spaces for our children. Donations like these make a real difference to the learning environments we provide.

Star of the Week

As always, we look forward to hearing all about the special achievements of our children in our Star of the Week Assembly. Listening to each of our wonderful teachers speak so highly of a child in their class, who has let their light shine so brightly it has impacted on everyone’s week, is why this assembly is the best way to end the week! Please see the attached table to see which children have been awarded this special recognition this week.

Home Achievements

We had another remarkable child who have shared her achievements with us this morning. Jorgie-Mai from Year 5 brought in her medal and certificate for gymnastic to share with us. Jorgie-Mai is an absolute inspiration to us all demonstrating exactly what it means to work hard, believe in yourself, and keep striving for excellence. We can see she is letting her light shine so brightly with her talents and we cannot wait to see what the future holds for her.

House Points

Malala

3130

Mandela

3687

Pankhurst

3427

Turing

3620

 Another huge congratulations to Mandela House for winning this week's house points! We were all amazed that you have managed to win for a few weeks in a row now! The team spirit across the school is absolutely amazing. You never know, we may have another house win next week as it is still a very close competition. It looks like Turing are thinking more ‘team’ is the dream and are getting increasingly close! Amazing work, everyone.

Attendance

We celebrated our highest attending class in assembly this week, which was Year 3 again this week! As you all know, the goal is to get our classes to 97% - 100%, as you can see, we are getting so close now, with four classes on target! Well done, everyone! Come on St Matthew’s, let’s see if we can get all classes to 97%, that would be just amazing!

We are still classed as a cause for concern with our attendance. Looking at this week's attendance you can see why. Our Persistent Absences continues to be such a big worry for us. Please support us by having your child in every day. One or two days absence can really knock the children's confidence. Let's keep letting our children's light shine brightly together! 

Special News 

As we look ahead, I'm delighted to remind our school community about an exciting celebration coming up on Thursday 5th March – World Book Day! Throughout the day, we will be exploring how stories help us learn about important values. Each class will focus on a different book that highlights one of our school values:

• Respect - characters who learn empathy or fairness
• Kindness - helpers, friends or caring heroes
• Aspiration - dreamers, inventors and explorers
• Perseverance - characters who never give up

This is such a special occasion in our school calendar, and we look forward to sharing the magic of stories and reading with all our children. It's a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the power of books and imagination, and I hope our families will get involved in making it a memorable day. 

Health and Safety

Before I finish our weekly news, I do need to remind parents about our car park. We have received a number of concerns about parking on the school carpark during drop off times, and I would be grateful if families could refrain from parking there. This helps us to keep our school grounds safe and accessible for everyone, and we really appreciate your cooperation and understanding on this matter.

Have a great weekend everyone,

Miss Lynton

We are excited to celebrate World Book Day next Thursday on 5th March.

This year, our theme will be 'Books that Build Character'.

Throughout the day, we will be exploring how stories help us learn about important values. Each class will focus on a different book that highlights one of our school values:

• Respect - characters who learn empathy or fairness
• Kindness - helpers, friends or caring heroes
• Aspiration - dreamers, inventors and explorers
• Perseverance - characters who never give up

Please see the attached letter for further details.

Kind regards,

Miss Tyrer

Please find attached our St Matthew's Family News for Spring 1 and our Celebration Slides from this morning! 

Have a fantastic half term everyone, stay safe and enjoy the rest! 

See you on the gates at 8:40am on the 23rd February 2026 

Best wishes,

Miss Lynton

Dear Parents and Carers,

Safer Internet Day 2026 – Exploring the safe and responsible use of AI

Yesterday, our school joined others nationwide to celebrate Safer Internet Day 2026, the largest global online safety campaign. This year's theme, ‘Smart tech, safe choices – Exploring the safe and responsible use of AI,’ focuses on teaching children and young people the skills to use AI technology safely and responsibly, and highlights available support.

From voice assistants, to chatbots, to algorithms, AI technology is playing an increasingly large role in all our lives. It is important that we find time to discuss these tools and the impact they can have on our own and our families’ online experiences, including:

• the news and content we see,

• the way we work, including using AI for homework or studies,

• and the risk of misuse of AI, for example to create realistic scams or non-consensual nude images.

We encourage you to join us in celebrating by continuing the conversation about AI technology at home. Here are some helpful resources:

• You can complete the UK Safer Internet Centre’s interactive quizzes with your child.

• Read the UK Safer Internet Centre’s tops tips for parents and carers here.

• You can share the UK Safer Internet Centre’s top tips for children and young people with your child.

You may also like to use one of these prompts to start a conversation with your child:

• What’s your favourite thing to do online?

• Have you ever used an AI tool? How did it make you feel?

• What do you like about AI technology?

• Do you have any worries about AI technology? 

• What advice would you give to your friends about using AI?

• Who would you talk to if you saw something worrying online?

• What more can I do to help you feel safe online?

A key part of protecting children and young people from online harms is through preventative education. By talking about this in school and at home, we can all work towards keeping children safe when they are online. Celebrating Safer Internet Day is a great opportunity for you to re-emphasise the online safety messages we deliver throughout the year. 

If you have any concerns or questions about keeping your child safe online, please do get in touch with your child’s class teacher or myself and Miss Tyrer, as our Designated Safeguarding Leads,

Many thanks as always, 

Miss Lynton

The Y6 children will find out if they have their secondary school of choice.

Preparation meeting for our Y4 children as we meet with their families and look at ways in which we can support them.

Come to school dressed as your favourite character from a book

Join us in the hall for a book sale - 2.30pm - 4pm.