Newsletters

Friday 22nd May, 2026

Dear Parents & Carers

We reach the last half term once again.

We return in just over a week's time to what is always the busiest part of the year with many nice trips and activities ahead. 

The feedback from the children for yesterday's STEM Day was very positive. They worked well together in groups to create their own rockets and enjoyed seeing them blast off (well some anyway!). They listened well to Amanda Hartley 's assembly about exciting adaptation workshops where children explored how living things survive in different environments, before delivering an inspiring talk about her work with DNA, future STEM careers, and her book series, The DNA Detectives.

We were pleased with the efforts to walk or cycle to school in full or part this week and had high scores across the school. It was nice to celebrate the successes in school this morning. I am also pleased we are running 'learn to ride' sessions when we return. These initiatives are part of our School Travel Plan, supporting more walking and cycling & cutting down on the number of car trips to school. 

When we return, we have our first Welcome Wednesday for Year 3/4 parents. It is an opportunity to spend 30/45 minutes with your children in school at the start of the school day, supporting them with an activity. They will also be able to show you some work they are proud of. 

Looking ahead, we will be sending out information about Sports Days when we return. We will once again have sports in the morning and invite you to spend lunch with your children on the Recreation Ground. Please see below for the dates.

You will also notice a number of Friends' events next half-term with a colour run, disco and summer fair planned. We very much look forward to them all. 

Next week looks very nice,  so I hope you get to enjoy the lovely weather, 

Kind regards

Matt Walton, Headteacher 

Social Media

For a long while we used 'Twitter' to display all the wonderful things going on in school and we amassed over 1600 posts! 

We haven't used Twitter for a while and have decided to move away from Twitter (X) and use Instagram/Facebook. 

We will need to ask you again for permission to put photos on these sites as previous permission only mentioned 'Twitter'. We will be doing this over the next few weeks and hope to be fully up and running very soon. 

Walk/cycle to school

Thank you to everyone who has supported this initiative this week. We've had some high percentages of classes walking or cycling - some classes with between 80% and 90% of the class walking or cycling. 

We've given out many prizes today for posters and fantastic efforts over the week and we will be giving out more after half-term in some of the classes. 

We hope to start using the bike sheds in September again and have purchased new racks for them. 

STEM Day - Alien Day!

Yesterday, our whole-school STEM Day inspired children with a fantastic range of space-themed activities and workshops led by Dr Amanda Hartly. Pupils explored how living things adapt to survive in different conditions, even wearing creative wigs to represent different adaptations!

Dr Hartly also delivered an inspiring careers talk about her work with DNA and the many positive ways it can be used. Children enjoyed hearing about her book series, The DNA Detectives, and she kindly donated a signed copy to the school. We have also ordered the remaining books in the series for the children to enjoy in our school library.

Children then created a model solar system to explore the vast differences in planet sizes before ending the day with plenty of excitement as they built and launched rockets using vinegar and bicarbonate of soda.

It was wonderful to see everyone arrive at school dressed as aliens, and we all enjoyed a day full of creativity, curiosity, and hands-on learning.

A big thank you to Mrs Harrison and Mr Reeds for organising the event.

Year 6 STEM Racing teams in the papers again!

We were incredibly proud to see our talented Year 6 STEM Racing teams featured once again in Just Sprowston — and even more thrilled that they made the front cover for the second time!

The article celebrated the children’s fantastic achievements at the STEM Racing National Finals earlier in the year and highlighted the hard work, teamwork and dedication they have shown during the competition. It was wonderful for the teams to see their efforts recognised within the local community and to share their success with family and friends.

The children were very excited to spot themselves in the newspaper, and there was a real buzz in Salhouse when Sam brought a copy of the magazine in to show everyone. Having the opportunity to appear on the front cover again was a huge achievement and something we are all extremely proud of.

It was fantastic to see our young engineers recognised in such a positive way. Well done once again to everyone involved!

RNLI Water Safety Passport

Over the last two weeks, the children have been taking part in the RNLI Water Safety Passport programme. This interactive, curriculum-linked resource from the Royal National Lifeboat Institution helps children learn important life-saving skills for staying safe near water.

Through stories, videos, discussions and challenges, the children explored how to stay safe at the beach, rivers, lakes and other waterways. They learned the RNLI’s four key water safety messages:

• Stop and Think – recognising possible dangers near water
• Stay Together – always staying with a trusted adult or friend
• Float – learning how to float to stay calm and safe if they fall into water
• Call 999/112 – knowing how to get help in an emergency

We are incredibly proud of how thoughtfully and enthusiastically the children engaged with this important learning. These valuable skills could one day help keep them, and others, safe around water.

Click here for more information from the RNLI about water safety.

Young Carers FREE Summer activities

The Benjamin Foundation are very pleased to launch their free summer activities for Young Carers. 

Please click on the link to register your interest.

As with all of their activities, families do not need to be referred into any service. If the children are Young Carers they can attend.

Any questions, please get in touch - see details below.

They are looking forward to seeing as many Young Carers as possible.

Safeguarding at Sprowston Junior

At Sprowston Junior School we are committed to supporting all of our children to do well. We will do everything we can to ensure our children are safeguarded and protected from harm. If you have any concerns about a child at our school and feel they could be a victim of abuse or are at risk, please report your worries immediately to one of our designated staff (DSLs). DSLs can be identified by their green lanyards.