Friday Update - 10.10.2025
Posted 10th October 2025
Miss McNamara's Message
It’s been another action-packed week at Coppice Valley! We’ve welcomed visitors and carried out writing learning walks to see writing across the school. Leaders have been really impressed with the quality and quantity of work our pupils are producing, even at this early point in the year.
We also enjoyed some incredible music workshops on Monday, followed by a fantastic hip-hop battle for our Year 5 pupils — what an experience! Our new music garden continues to be a big hit and is adding a wonderful buzz to playtimes.
Finally, an exciting update on our nursery project - works are set to begin before we break up for Christmas. We’ll be sure to keep you updated as plans progress.
New School Menu Launch – Starting After Half Term
We’re excited to introduce a refreshed school menu following the half-term break, beginning with Week 2 of our three-week cycle. Working closely with our kitchen team and catering suppliers, Hutchison Catering and Impact Food Group, we’ve developed a menu that provides nutritionally balanced meals to support pupil wellbeing and learning.
To ensure the menu meets the needs and preferences of our school community, we’ll be gathering feedback from both parents and pupils after the first full rotation. This feedback will help us evaluate the menu and make any necessary adjustments to ensure we’re offering meals that are both healthy and enjoyable for the remainder of the cycle, which runs until Easter 2026.
Thank you for your continued support — we look forward to hearing your thoughts.
The new menu is available on our website. Please note that it may be subject to change.
🌰 Nut-Free School Reminder 🌰
We’d like to remind all families that our school is a nut-free environment to help keep all children safe, especially those with severe allergies. This means no nuts or nut products should be brought into school — including popular items like Nutella, peanut butter, cereal bars containing nuts, and baked goods with nut ingredients.
Please check labels carefully when preparing snacks and lunches. Even trace amounts of nuts can pose a serious risk to some pupils.
Thank you for your continued support in keeping our school safe for everyone.
PTFA - Vote for our new chair!
The PTFA are holding their annual AGM on Wednesday 15th October, starting at 6:15pm in the school hall. Please use the main entrance where there will be a signing in sheet. If you are unable to attend the meeting or would like a silent vote, please complete the following form to vote for our new chair of the PTFA.
Important Safeguarding Notice: Children’s “Spy” Books
We want to make you aware of a recent issue affecting some popular children’s books by Andrew Cope, including the Spy Dogs, Spy Cats, and Spy Pups series.
Some editions of these books include a printed web address at the back. This link used to go to the author’s website, but the domain is no longer under his control. It has since been taken over by another party and now leads to inappropriate adult content.
The publisher, Puffin, has paused sales and distribution of the books and is working with schools, libraries, and retailers to remove copies from circulation. They have stressed that the website has no connection to the author or publisher.
What this means for you:
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If your child has any Spy Dog, Spy Cat or Spy Pups books at home, please check the back for website links and make sure they do not try to visit the site.
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It is safe for children to continue reading the stories themselves — the concern is only with the outdated link.
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We recommend talking with your child about the importance of not following web addresses in books without checking with an adult first.
We will continue to share updates from the publisher as more information becomes available.
Highlights for next week!
Beech Class
- 🎨 In Art we will be using experimental mark-making and colour inspired by the artist Alma Woodsey Thomas, we'll also be writing our own stories based on Some Dogs Do and in Science, we’ll start our first investigation to find out which material would be best to clean up a spill.
Whole School
Walk to School Day is happening next week! We encourage all families to take part by walking, cycling, or scooting to school. It’s a great way to stay active, reduce traffic, and support our eco-school values. Let’s make it a fun and green journey together! 🚶♂️🚶♀️🚲🛴
Sycamore
- We are writing our own song next week! 🎙🎵
Apple
- We have a workshop with Mind on friendships! 🧑
Autumn 1 Menu - Week 7
🍁 Outdoor Tip: Autumn Wildlife Watch! 🦊🦔
Keeping a wildlife observation log is a great way to notice seasonal changes!
- What animals can you see? A fox? A hedgehog? A squirrel? Magpies?
- What are they doing?
- Did you see them at night or in the daytime?
⭐ Attendance ⭐
Class |
% |
Oak |
95.3% |
Beech |
98.7% |
Ash |
99.7% |
Sycamore |
99.3% |
Apple |
95.8% |
Chestnut |
93.3% |
Willow |
94.3% |
Whole School |
96.6% |
Do you have a child starting school in September 2026?
Autumn 1 Key Dates
Friday 17 October - Walk to School Day
Monday 20 October - Oak Class Stay and Play 2pm
Friday 24 October - Closes for half term
Autumn 2 Key Dates
Monday 3 November - School Opens for pupils
Monday 17 November - Parent/Carer Evening
Monday 17 November - FEAST vouchers released
Tuesday 18 November - Family Breakfast
Thursday 20 November - Parent/Carer Evening
w/c Monday 8 December - EYFS/KS1 Nativity Performances (TBC)
Tuesday 9 December - Y4 Roman Trip to Murton Park
Monday 15 December - KS2 Carol Concert at St Johns Church 10am.
Friday 19 December - School Closes for Christmas Holidays
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