Monday 16th March in TRJS School Hall

3.45pm to 5pm

Families welcome (and Night Owls children welcome)

£3 entry per person - payable on ParentPay. Please pay by Monday 9th March. All money raised will go towards our new school library. Refreshments available for a donation.

Chocolate and Easter prizes for a line, two lines and full house!

• to identify a range of factors that can help me determine if a use of technology is safe and responsible, or a misuse.

• to apply this knowledge to identify uses of AI that are safe and responsible, or that are a misuse.

• how to respond if using AI makes me worried, upset or confused.

• about some of the limitations of using AI chatbots.

Children took part in activities which included:

• discussing whether uses of AI were ‘ok’, ‘not ok’ or ‘it depends’ on the context
• exploring the use of chatbots and their limitations
• giving advice to Pip in an online group chat situation

The above meeting is for any parent who may be considering applying for a place at TRJS for their child for September 2026, to help and support you as you make your final decision ahead of the deadline of 15 January 2026.

We invite you to TRJS at 2.15pm on Tuesday 18 November. We will give a short presentation about the work of the school. There will be an opportunity for you to have a tour of the school and a chance to ask any questions.

We expect that the meeting will last about 45 minutes and be finished by 3.00pm to allow parents to collect their Y2 child at the end of their school day.

There are no significant changes to recent years, so if your child has a sibling already at the juniors, then there is no requirement to attend.

To allow us to plan ahead for the meeting, please use the QR code to let us know if you will be attending.

The transition to the juniors is a big step up for any child and we aim to work with parents and make this process as smooth as possible.

We look forward to seeing you.

Children beautifully sang the hymn 'Peace is flowing like a river' which includes the verses 'Love is flowing...', 'Hope is flowing...', 'Joy is flowing...'. Rev Andy talked to us about how important each of these things are: love, joy, hope, in bringing peace and how peace can create these things in us too. 

If there is an emergency or exceptional circumstance, we ask parents to discuss this with Mr Emery.

We are part of the 'Smartphone Free Childhood' initiative and strongly encourage all parents and carers to read the information about the benefits of delaying smartphone use and signing the pact: Parent Pact Results

Under the Education Act 2011, the headteacher, and any member of staff authorised to do so by the headteacher, can search pupils and confiscate their mobile phones, computers or other devices that the authorised staff member has reasonable grounds for suspecting:

• Poses a risk to staff or pupils, and/or
• Is identified in the school rules as a banned item for which a search can be carried out, and/or
• Is evidence in relation to an offence

This evening, the eagerly anticipated disco arrived. Great excitement! When Mr Emery joined the group this afternoon, two girls asked him, “Have you brought your disco clothes?”. The reply was in the negative! Safe to say, many of the children made an effort and got their glad rags on to boogie on down.

While Miss Murfin and the disco guys danced the night away, we also had use of the games room next door, with the TRJS table tennis stars hard at work, together with a pool table, connect four and general chilling out with friends. The WML shop was open and Year 6 enjoyed buying various souvenirs.

After a long and very busy day, the weary heads retired to their dorms, used their posh en-suite facilities and we had lights out at about 9pm. The majority of children have gone to sleep very sensibly. The first night is always tricky for some of us as everything is different and we are away from home. But, well done team Year 6 TRJS for being brave, kind and excelling on day 1. Here’s hoping we get at least a few hours’ sleep!

We have been learning some different phrases that can help us to develop resilience when there is conflict and difficulties in our life.  An example would be:

I was in Reflection Time one afternoon and really upset, but then I drew a line under it and moved on to make the most of the next day.

As an addition to Little Heroes: ‘Here, Every day, Ready, On time,' we are introducing Helpful Heroes. It includes age-appropriate mindfulness activities - all continuing the fun and engaging superhero theme that children have connected with. We have a cuddly new character, ‘Helpful Bear,' a soft toy companion designed to help children share their feelings. Helpful Bear has already come in handy for some of our children who need an extra hug when they come into school. 

Here is how the attendance has been over the last two weeks:

The move into Y6 can be daunting – but it really doesn’t have to be! Being in Y6 truly is the most memorable time in your child’s primary education.

What will my child do in Year 6?

As in all other year groups, Year 6 follows statutory schemes of learning set down by the government. Children are assessed at the end of the year as to whether they have met the ‘expected’ national standard.

1. Key Stage 2 SATs - at the end of the year, pupils complete SATs  (standardised assessment tests) to determine whether they have met the ‘expected’ level in English and Maths.

2. A broad and balanced curriculum – children continue to study a wide range of subjects, which are equally as important. In Y6 History, children study the Vikings and World War 2.  Science topics include electricity, evolution and inheritance, the circulatory system, classification and light.

3. Moving on up - a big part of Y6 is preparing and being ready both academically and emotionally for the move up to high school.

Year 3 have been excited to join the excavation of Tutankhamun's tomb (a series of tables and mats making a maze of tunnels and chambers in the classroom!) to find the secret artefacts that had been hidden since they were sealed up 3000 years ago. They learnt about the job of an archaeologist, about the expedition to discover the tomb and what was found. It was quite scary going into the pitch black tomb, but very exciting and a lot of fun! Just ask Year 3 to tell you all about it. 

We then thought about our own 'wise words' that help to guide our behaviour and shape our values for how to live well. They are all scrunched up in the photo because we shared them by having a 'snowball' fight! 

We talked about protected characteristics: Religion and belief is one of the 9 characteristics protected by the Equality Act 2010 and to remember that we all have our own beliefs and that it is important to respect these beliefs.

This child friendly programme is aligned with the curriculum and consists of age appropriate virtual assemblies and supporting classroom based activities which we have reviewed. The content is delivered in an engaging and interactive way with the help of the NSPCC mascot Buddy. If parents would like to know more about the Speak out. Stay safe. programme visit www.nspcc.org.uk/speakout.

You can see our ambition for each subject on our 'Subject on a Page' documents in the 'Our Learning' tab of the school website. Every subject also has a clear Curriculum Intent statement and action plan to achieve this.

We wish all our families and everyone in our school community a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. 

A huge well done to: 1 st Place – Elsie B Y3 2 nd Place – Lily B Y4 3 rd Place – Scarlett F and Olive H Y6. 

On Monday, we had Rev Andy talk to us about this special time of year, which is called Advent, and Christians believe prepares the way for the birth of Jesus. 

The first round saw Y3 battle Y4. The atmosphere in the room was electric as both groups tried their best to take top spot in lower school. At the end of the 35 minutes, and after a tough battle, it was Year 4 who emerged victorious with a total of 24,582 points. Year 3 also did themselves proud with 16,807 points - a fabulous result.

Next up were Y5 and Y6. The winner of this heat would go on to play Y4 in the final. Both groups were feeling confident going into the contest and they gave their all. There could only be one winner though and, at the end of the session, it was Y6 who secured their place in the final with a score of 33,791 vs 25,814 for Year 5.

The final lasted for just 20 minutes and was very hotly contested between Y4 and Y6 with everyone wanting to win. It was incredibly close with the top spot changing a number of times during the battle. However, at the finish, it was Y6 who took first place with a total of 21,188 compared to Year 4’s 19,131. This was such a close result and everyone should be really proud of their efforts.

Children in school will continue with some work started last July on ‘Brain Breaks’ and what we can do to help ourselves if we are feeling dysregulated or ‘wobbly’. Look out for more information about this in next week’s newsletter. At TRJS we are committed to supporting our children’s mental health and wellbeing. If you would like any information about this or have any questions, or ideas for how we can further develop this, please contact Mrs K-D skerrdelworth@thomasrussell-junior.staffs.sch.uk

The new Y3 children have coped very well with the big step up to the juniors. They have been settled, listened well and shown a great attitude to learning. It is so lovely to see their smiling faces. Year 4, 5 and 6 are responding brilliantly to the new, exciting challenges that the new year brings. Keep going guys, we will achieve amazing things if we work together. Here’s a poem:

We are Better Together

The halls are busy, the kids are tall. The day is bustling, and I feel small.

So much to do, so much to learn, Sometimes it makes my brain feel the burn.

One day at a time, one foot in front of the other, We will excel, if we support each other.

Thursday's picnic and TRJS Fest was an absolute triumph with so much fun being had by every child and member of staff. The bouncy castle, slide, ice cream van, outdoor disco, sports and party games kept us laughing and sharing together all afternoon. What a perfect way to round off the year. 

And finally, a huge thank you to Mrs Sharpe. Thank you for all the messages, cards, presents and thanks she received over the last few weeks - a wonderful way to honour her 19 years of unswervingly dedicated and inspirational service at our school. We all want to say 'Goodbye' and wish her good luck on her new beginning too. 

We have a wide range of peripatetic music lessons - violin, cello, saxophone, flute, clarinet, keyboard, guitar. If your child is interested in these, please enquire at the school office or email questions@thomasrussell-junior.staffs.sch.uk. 

Well done to our winners! What could you do so that you could be in line to win the next Big Award?

At the end of the project, we will collect all of the money you have raised and put it towards more classroom iPads for our school. 

Participation in this project is not compulsory - it is an entirely voluntary home learning project. However, we hope that it is something that will capture the children’s imagination and ignite entrepreneurial sparks, as well as being a different and fun approach to raising some funds for school. It is also a great way of building the children’s understanding of finance and budgeting. 

What happens at the end of the project? The project runs from now until 5^th June.  Financial Awareness Week is 12^th – 16^th June.  It would be really superb for us to be able to share the children’s hard work on their projects.  We’d love to create a display so would be grateful if parents could send in any photographs, completed project diaries, accounting sheets or even presentations about the different business ventures the children have undertaken.  These will be shared by the children in classes during the week 12^th – 16^th June.

We will have a special Awards assembly on Friday 23^rd June where we will share some of the projects with the whole school, announce total funds raised and present children with their certificates. Every child who participates in the project will receive a certificate and be entered into a prize draw. 

We will be awarding individual prizes such as:

Most Inventive Project; Profitable Business Prize; Best Business Presentation; TRJS Junior Entrepreneur 2023

We will also award group prizes such as:

Highest Fund Raising Year Group; Finest Joint Company Initiative

There will be a range of prizes for the above awards, including vouchers for activities such as cinema trips, family days out and passes for activities e.g tobogganing or craft sessions. We will be asking families to return any money raised via Parent Pay during May and up to 5^th June.  For joint companies, please return the amount raised via one Parent Pay account, listing all children involved in the initiative.