Riverside News Issue 480 - 30.01.26 - Riverside Primary School

⭐ STAR of the Week ⭐

Leopard: Esme-Jae H

For always striving to do her very best in all areas of learning. Esme is a happy learner who is always ready for a challenge! She is a kind and thoughtful friend and an all round superstar in Leopard class. Well done Esme – we are very proud of you!

Zebra:

For excellent contributions during carpet sessions, having the confidence to share ideas and setting a wonderful example to others. Well done superstar!

Lion: Alfie M

For being a fantastic learner all week! You have been putting your hand up to answer questions and sharing your ideas, especially in science and history lessons.
You have also been working super hard in phonics, volunteering to segment and blend tricky words in front of the whole class — what a star!

Bear: Emily T

For excellent contributions during carpet sessions, having the confidence to share ideas and setting a wonderful example to others. Well done superstar!

Otter: Alba B

For having such neat handwriting and for striving to challenge herself with her writing. Alba has worked hard to include lots of adjectives and conjunctions, making her writing more detailed and exciting.

Seal: Jaxon B

For his enthusiasm and engagement during our PE lessons this week. Jaxon enjoyed sending and receiving the ball by kicking, working well with his partner, communicating clearly and using the steps he had been shown to complete the task successfully.

Dolphin: Nellie H

For working really hard in our maths lessons on money and doing a fantastic job choosing the correct coins to find the total amount.

Giraffe: Charlie F

For excellent sketching skills in art. Your mountain sketch for our block printing was detailed and impressive. Well done!

Turtle: Robin M

For always trying her best in everything she does and showing wonderful growth in confidence during lessons.

Panda: Lily-Mae G

For being a kind and caring member of the Panda class who always puts 100% effort into everything she does.

Tiger: Nancy P

For showing growing confidence in class, through sharing ideas and taking part in class discussions. Well done Nancy keep up the good work.

Meerkat: Oliver R

For producing beautiful handwriting in English. You took your time and demonstrated clear, carefully presented written work—this is a fantastic achievement, and you should be very proud of yourself.

Rhino: Jason Z

For excellent work in computing when using a spreadsheet to successfully solve the pocket money problem, demonstrating great achieve and problem-solving skills.

Kangaroo: Robert A

For always having a super smile, working hard and behaving sensibly.

Koala: Finley J

For a really great suspense story, full of vivid descriptive detail. You built tension by hinting at danger and using the senses to create a strong atmosphere. Well done!

📅 UPCOMING EVENTS! 📅

Dates not shown on previous issues are added in RED!

Spring 1 2026

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

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

🦷✨ Special Visitor in EYFS! ✨🦷

⚽️✨ DRAW HER INTO THE GAME ✨⚽️

🚗✨ Friction in Action! ✨🚗

🏃‍♂️🦏 Rhino Class Take on Parkour! 🦏🏃‍♀️

🥋 Fantastic Day with Meridian Kung Fu! 🥋

Netball Match Report – Mixed Home Game 🏐

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.

2025 Operation Christmas Child Appeal

Thank you so much for supporting the 2025 Operation Christmas Child Appeal. Long after Christmas Day has passed, your shoebox packing, processing, and prayers are still making a global impact as children experience joy, love, and hope through gift-filled shoeboxes.

Now, the moment many of you have been waiting for…

In 2025, the global Samaritan’s Purse family packed over 12,205,900 shoebox gifts!

This includes an incredible 232,844 shoebox gifts from the UK alone!

That means over 12.2 million children experienced great joy and a heartfelt reminder that they are loved and not forgotten. And it all started with simple acts of kindness and generosity from people like you.

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: 23/01/26

	Class	%
1	Panda	99.10
2	Kangaroo	98.90
3	Bear	98.60
4	Zebra	98.00
5	Dolphin	97.30
6	Turtle	96.50
7	Tiger	95.90
8	Lion	95.00
9	Giraffe	94.80
10	Otter	94.10
11	Koala	93.80
12	Leopard	93.40
13	Rhino	91.60
14	Meerkat	90.40
15	Seal	86.30

Team Points

Makaton: Sign of the Week

We’re excited to share our ‘Sign of the Week’.

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.