Welcome to the penultimate Newsletter of this academic year!

It's been the most beautiful summer term so far. The sun has been shining, we have managed to do more learning outside and the children have had a fun-packed month with trips, sporting events and special visitors!

Summer Prayer Space

On Wednesday 7^th June 2023, the whole school took part in our Summer Prayer Space. This is a termly event which allows the children a chance to pause, think and reflect on a particular topic.

Each activity was themed around the topic of nature and included: 

• plant a seed to remind us about deforestation and the benefit plant life has on animals and our eco-system 
• thank you sticks - the children used a different coloured piece of string to remind them of which elements of nature they are thankful for

It was a wonderful day, especially with the sun shining, and the Worship Teams hope is that everyone was reminded to take care of the wonderful world we have been given! Thank you to Miss Harling for organising!

Swifts Cooking up a storm

A few weeks ago, Year 5 made a delectable dish- spaghetti bolognaise. We brought in ingredients (plus used our class-grown greens) split up into four groups, and voilà!

After cooking, appeared before us the best dish we've ever had. It looked delicious, it tasted delicious, and overall it was an incredible experience!

Report by Ben C

Wildlife Workshop

Connie Smith, the founder of Wild About Britain, paid a visit to our school this month.

All Year Groups were able to meet Bob the Kestrel and Freddie the owl, plus a smooth snake, a hedgehog, a toad and even a baby bird which Connie had rescued on the way to visit us!

Children were able to meet the animals close up and learn all about adaptations, food chains, nocturnal animals, predator/prey and habitats.

Year 3 Trip to Haslemere Museum

It was a blazing hot Monday when Kingfishers class hiked to Haslemere Museum to extend their knowledge of Ancient Egypt!

The first activity was a little revolting as they had to mummify a stuffed dummy. They also played Egyptian games, decoded a puzzle of hieroglyphics, drew Egyptian artefacts and studied mummy x-rays.

After lunch in the sun, they got to mummify their own stuffed toy and create it a death mask. A great day was had by all - even the walk!

Report by Audrey W and Beth S

Anti-Bullying Ambassador Training

On Tuesday 20th June, some of our Year 4 and 5 children took part in Anti-Bullying Ambassador training.

The Anti-Bullying Ambassador initiative was created by the Diana Award, a charity that was founded on Diana, Princess of Wales’ belief that young people have the power to change their community, their country, and the world. They exist to empower young people to make that positive change.

The official anti-bullying training the children received will enable them to positively support someone who comes to them when they are worried about bullying. From the Autumn Term, the anti-bullying team will have regular meetings in which they will discuss strategies to promote anti-bullying throughout the school and take part in projects to raise awareness of various issues. More information on this will be shared in the Autumn Term.

Careers Fair

Last week we hosted our inaugural Careers Fair. Children had the opportunity to speak to people from a range of professions including a Veterinary Surgeon, a Game Developer and a Dance Scholar. The children were full of interesting and varied questions, showing some very real interest in possible future careers!

For those children who took away the challenge from Heart & Home Property Professionals, don't forget to send them your completed forms!

Year 5 Trip to Haslemere Museum

On Wednesday Year 5 went to Haslemere Museum and had so much fun! We performed a Greek play about Heracles and the 12 Labours. Some notable characters in the play were Cerbarus, Artemus and Hydra.

We also got to see the other sections of the museum with so much interest. Overall a fantastic day and so, so exciting!

Report by Xanthe HDC

Grayswood Bake-a-thon!

This week Miss Cole took our Year 6 Ambassadors to visit three local care homes. As part of their role as Ambassadors, the children were asked what they would like to do to ‘give back to the community’ and they suggested baking cakes for the local care homes. So on Monday the whole school spent time baking treats including shortbread, flapjack, fairy cakes, jaffa cakes, chocolate cornflake cakes and jam tarts which we then delivered the following morning.

Everyone was very welcoming and the children enjoyed chatting with the staff and residents - they even joined in with a game of ‘word ladder’! We hope the recipients enjoyed our baking!

Hedgehog Workshop

On Tuesday, children in Yrs R, 1, 2 and 5 enjoyed a visit from Graham Bowring with two rescue hedgehogs, Harry and Henry.

All aspects of the hedgehog's life were covered, including habitat, food chain, life cycle, hibernation, dangers they face, and how we can encourage them into our gardens. The children had a wonderful afternoon meeting the hedgehogs and learning about their lives.

Eco Warriors join forces with Woolmer Hill!

This week, the Eco Warriors bottle top art project was finally underway. With the help of 14 ex-Grayswood students currently at Woolmer Hill, our vision was brought to life. Through a collaborative effort, the children created a sea themed mural to highlight the issue of plastic waste in the ocean. It was such a lovely atmosphere to watch the older students with the young, and an experience enjoyed by all. Whilst waiting for paint to dry, the Woolmer Hill students took the opportunity to listen to children across the school read.

A special thank you to Sophie White for all her invaluable help with the project and for giving up her own time.

Also, a big thank you to Brewer's and Jewson's in Haslemere for their generous donations of paint and plywood! 

Good attendance is not just valuable, it's essential. Good attendance promotes good outcomes for pupils and provides them with the very best opportunity to reach their potential.

Each term, we track the attendance for each child and classes as a whole. Percentage attendance figures for June are:

Sports Day 2023

Sports Day was great! We had so much fun. First we did activities such as hurdles, basketball and football. Next was long-distance- my favourite race! After that was long-jump and vortex throwing. The penultimate activity was the sprint races, finishing up with the relay race.

After all the points were totalled up, Burns came out as the winning house.

I was awarded 'Best Sports Woman' with Edward 'Best Sports Man'!

Report by Karina B

We were incredibly proud of all the children for their efforts and it was just wonderful to see them supporting one another, cheering each other on!

Autumn Club Options

We will be sending out details on club options for the Autumn term over the coming week.

We have some exciting new club providers joining us, but we're always interested in hearing from more so please contact the school office if you have some ideas!

Hosting a party? 

Don't forget you can hire our school hall for your parties, events or clubs. It's available after school, at weekends and during the school holidays.

To find out more please contact Mrs Simpson, our School Business Manager, on sbm@grayswood.surrey.sch.uk

St Bartholomew’s and St Christopher’s churches in Haslemere are looking to attract a new person to come and join the Children and Family’s Team, to work alongside the existing team and volunteers. 

This is a paid role with considerable flexibility to work around family and school holidays.

For further information please visit the Haslemere Parish website

Those interested are invited to meet with Rector, Revd Chris Bessant for an informal chat.