Riverside News Issue 479 - 23.01.26 - Riverside Primary School

⭐ STAR of the Week ⭐

Leopard: Dolly A

For striving to be a Shooting Star every day this week. Dolly has really impressed us with her determination to complete the challenges in the classroom. Well done Dolly – we are very proud of you!

Zebra: Ruby J

For showing fantastic enthusiasm for learning all week! You have grown in confidence, approached new tasks with a positive attitude, and worked hard to complete lots of classroom challenges. Well done for such a brilliant effort—keep it up!

Lion: Teddy C

For always being an exemplary role model in class and for working especially hard to improve your handwriting. You make sure to form your letters correctly and keep them on the line. Well done super star!

Bear: Teddy P

For being such a helpful member of the class, always being polite and respectful and keeping the classroom tidy and organised.

Otter: Luna B

For always being so engaged with her learning and for joining in so enthusiastically. She is always the first to sit on the carpet in the morning and begin her morning work. Luna listens carefully, contributes thoughtfully, and sets a wonderful example to others. She is a fantastic role model in Otter Class – well done, Luna!

Seal: Olly G

For working so conscientiously in maths. Olly always thinks carefully about the answers he gives and has worked particularly hard this week when learning about shape, confidently identifying the properties of different shapes. Keep up the great work Olly!

Dolphin: Dolly M

For always striving to do her best. For showing kindness and tolerance in class with her peers. Thank you Dolly, keep up the good work.

Giraffe: Sophie D

For your outstanding suspense writing. You showed great effort by carefully including the features we have been learning and presenting your work with beautiful handwriting.

Turtle: Reggie R

For showing great resilience this week during all lessons. You have really worked hard, Reggie – you should be extremely proud.

Panda: Frankie B

For remarkable growth in confidence and emotional awareness, shining brightly in all areas.

Tiger: Samuel P

For excellent work in maths dealing with dividing with remainders. Well done – Keep up the hard work.

Meerkat: Freddie H

For achieving a fantastic piece of abstract art inspired by Kandinsky. You used the space on your page well and thought carefully about the placement of shapes, and I look forward to seeing you paint your final piece.

Rhino: Summer G

For an excellent suspense story, using a range of sentence types and interesting vocabulary, showing great achievement and creativity.

Kangaroo: Ruby M

For listening carefully, working hard and showing sensible behaviour in class.

Koala: Saraya B

For settling back into Koala Class as if she had never been away. She has worked hard in every lesson and shown a fantastic attitude to her learning. Well done, Saraya!

📅 UPCOMING EVENTS! 📅

Dates not shown on previous issues are added in RED!

Spring 1 2026

26-30/01/26 — Sumdog East of England Maths Contest (Year 2 – 6)

29/01/26 — Chinese New Year – Special Menu

09/02/26 — National Pizza Day – Special Menu

12/02/26 — EYFS Drop in Session

13/02/26 — Valentines Day – Special Menu

13/02/26 — Children break up today

Letters

Below are a list of letters, leaflets and posters uploaded to the website this week.

Leaflets/Posters for Parents

Letters sent this week

Parent Consultations Spring 2026 – 23.01.26

Rescheduled Year4 Art walk Parent helpers – 22.01.26

Previous letters, leaflets and posters can be found on the school website Events & Letters > Letters & Parent Meetings

Parking Concerns Around School

We kindly remind parents and carers that any parking issues in the local area can be reported directly to Chelmsford City Council. This helps ensure concerns are logged correctly and sent straight to the enforcement team.

To report a parking issue:

Visit the Chelmsford City Council website.
Click ‘Parking & Travel’ on the homepage.
Select ‘Parking Restrictions’.
Click ‘Report a Parking Issue’.

Your report will go directly to the council’s Enforcement Team, who will respond to you directly.

Thank you for helping us keep the area around the school safe for all.

Reminders

Reporting Pupil Absence

This is a reminder to all parents/carers that the correct way to report absences is to leave a message on the absence line answerphone daily. If messages are sent by email to the admin email address they will not be registered in time for the morning attendance and you may then receive a call from our attendance team.

Supervision

This is a gentle reminder that parents are responsible for supervising their children and siblings on-site before and after school. We have had a couple of incidents reported to us which were considered ‘near misses’ and children could have got hurt. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

KS1 Playground
Please do not allow children to play on the equipment either before/after school. At the end of the day, parents and children should leave the site promptly . This enables us to open up the playground for our other clubs. Thank you.

KS2 Playground
Please note that the day in KS2 does not start until 8:40am when the doors open. Children should not be left unsupervised on the playground before this time. Children should not play on the equipment. Thank you

Latest Facebook Posts

🔬♻️ This Week in Science: Exploring Everyday Materials! 🌍✨

🏊‍♀️ Celebrating a Fantastic Swimming Achievement 🏅

🇧🇷 Year 2 Celebrate Brazil Day! 🇧🇷

A Polite Reminder – Scooters and Bikes on the Way to School

We’ve had a few parents share their concerns about younger children riding scooters or small bikes at speed on the way to school, particularly along Ferry Road. In some cases, children are well ahead of their adults, and there’s a real worry that one could accidentally veer into the road before a parent is close enough to intervene.

Please can we kindly ask all families to ensure that children stay close and ride at a safe pace when travelling to and from school. This helps to keep everyone safe – especially near busy roads.

Thank you for your understanding and continued support in keeping our school community safe.

SEN

Emotional Based School Avoidance Support

SNAP charity has compiled a short guide explaining Emotional Based School Avoidance (ESBA). The guide includes advice and resources to help parents and carers.

To find out more and access the resources, visit SNAP’s website.

Online Safety Guides

Before children have even learnt to read, most can navigate through devices to play games and watch cartoons.

Internet Matters primary school guide helps you to:

Get up to speed on popular apps and platforms like YouTube and Roblox
Learn more about risks and challenges they might face, from inappropriate content and too much screentime.
Find tips and resources to protect them from online harms

OPAL

We are excited to share that we have begun the OPAL (Outdoor Play and Learning) project to enhance the lunchtime experience even furtherfor your children. The aim is to provide more opportunities for creative and active play.

This section of the newsletter will keep you updated on our OPAL journey, including upcoming developments and ways you can get involved.

Also, if you are having a clear-out, please look out for our donation requests for resources to enhance the playground. Your contributions would be greatly appreciated!

As part of our exciting OPAL (Outdoor Play and Learning) journey, we are continuing to develop a rich and varied outdoor play experience for all our children—whatever the weather!

To help us make the most of our wonderful outdoor spaces even as the weather turns wetter and muddier, we are asking that every child brings a pair of wellies to school from September. These will be kept in school so that children can continue to enjoy outdoor play at lunchtimes and still return to lessons feeling clean, dry, and comfortable.

Thank you for your continued support as we build a happier, healthier, and more active playtime for all our children.

The OPAL Team

OPAL Play Project – Donations Wanted!

As you know, we are developing our playtimes through the OPAL (Outdoor Play and Learning) project. This exciting approach helps children develop creativity, teamwork and resilience by giving them access to a wide range of play opportunities.

To keep building on this, we’re looking for donations of the following items:

Baby clothes not dolly clothes
Ball pit balls
Sandpit toys/Spades etc
Wooden spoons/Kitchen utensils
Wood chip, wood chip, wood chip!
Suitcases
Tyres
2x working tablets (these would be used to just for the music app as we don’t have any spare)
scooters
remote control toys
medical play kits
hair rollers
bobbles clips etc

If you have any of these at home and no longer need them, please drop them off at the school office. Every little contribution helps us make playtimes even more exciting!

Dinner Menu

We are operating a two week rolling menu. The menus, ingredients and allergen lists can be viewed on our website by clicking here.

Attendance W/E: 16/01/26

	Class	%
1	Giraffe	100.00
2	Otter	99.00
3	Kangaroo	98.90
4	Tiger	97.80
5	Bear	96.40
6	Panda	96.30
7	Dolphin	96.00
8	Seal	96.00
9	Turtle	95.20
10	Koala	95.10
11	Lion	95.00
12	Zebra	92.70
13	Leopard	91.00
14	Meerkat	90.70
15	Rhino	89.60

Team Points

Makaton: Sign of the Week

We’re excited to share our ‘Sign of the Week’— Hot Chocolate

The Megacentre Community Space

Please see a list of activities that run throughout the week at the Megacentre at their new venue (78a Eastwood Road, SS7 7JP).

Please not you do not need a formal diagnosis to access any of our support.

Unless otherwise stated, sessions take place at our Community Space: 78a Eastwood Road, SS6 7JP.

Here’s a quick guide to what’s on:

Monday Mix
Exclusive soft play for SEND families – plus crafts, football, gaming room, inflatables, laser tag, and more.
Held at The Megacentre, Brook Road
No booking required.

Monday – Youth Group

Open youth group for secondary aged children, Games, Crafts & Snacks. Term time only. No booking required.

Tuesday – Punching for Purpose
Boxing-based sessions to build confidence and resilience.
5:00–5:45pm (ages 6–15)
5:45–6:30pm (ages 16+)
Suggested donation: £7
Booking required: families@megacentrerayleigh.co.uk

Wednesday – T21 Heroes (for families & children with Down Syndrome)
First Wednesday of the month: 1:00–2:30pm (under 5s)
Fortnightly sessions: 3:30–5:00pm (ages 5+) – contact us for dates

Wednesday – Midi Mix (SEND club for school-age children)
4:00–6:00pm
Activities include arts & crafts, sensory play, table football, table tennis, and outdoor games (weather permitting).

Thursday – Your Space – Youth Wellbeing Group

4:00–5:30pm

Secondary age. Referral only, please contact us if this sounds like something your child would benefit from

2nd Thursday of the Month – SEND Coffee Morning
10:00am–12:00pm
Meet other SEND parents, ask questions, and hear from guest speakers on a range of SEND topics.

4th Thursday of the Month – DLA Workshop
Support and guidance for completing Disability Living Allowance forms.

Friday – Mini Mix (Under 5s SEND Group)
A safe, welcoming non-judgemental group for families with younger children who have SEND needs – free play time, no structured activities and no music. Facilitated by experienced SEND professional.