Weekly Blog Friday 28th November 2025
Date: 28th Nov 2025 @ 8:02am
Attendance
Every week in our Celebration Assembly, we celebrate the class who has achieved the highest attendance for that week. This week Mrs Ronan and Mrs Wood's class had the highest attendance with 99.21%. Well done Year 3!
Please see below for the attendance figures for this week. The target attendance for all children is currently set at 97%.
Nursery - 97.14%
Reception - 97.49%
Year 1 Mrs Davies - 98.52%
Year 2 Mrs Ward & Mrs Walker - 99.03%
Year 3 Mrs Ronan & Mrs Wood - 99.21%
Year 4 Mrs Parkes - 96.53%
Year 5 Mrs Pickersgill - 96.83%
Year 6 Miss Dunn - 98.07%
Celebrating fantastic attendance!
Each week, each class with 100% attendance on a particular day will receive one letter from the word MAYFLOWER to put on their classroom door. Once a class has spelt out the word MAYFLOWER, a member of the class will bring all their letters down to the office to claim their prize from our box of Awesome Attendance Activities!
Please see below where each class stands at the end of today:
Nursery - M A Y F L O W E R M A Y F L O W E R M A Y F L
Reception - M A Y F L O W E R M A Y F L O W E R
Year 1 - M A Y F L O W E R M A Y F L O W E
Year 2 - M A Y F L O W E R M A Y F L O W E R M A Y F L O W E
Year 3 - M A Y F L O W E R M A Y F L O W E R M A Y F L O W E
Year 4 - M A Y F L O W E R M A Y F L O W E R M
Year 5 - M A Y F L O W E R M A Y F L
Year 6 - M A Y F L O W E R M A Y F L O W E R M A Y F L O W E R M
This week, Reception have completed MAYFLOWER for the second time and Year 6 for the third time. Year 6 enjoyed a film this afternoon and Reception will be choosing their reward to enjoy next week. Well done!
Stars of the week
Each week in our Friday Celebration Assembly, we celebrate our stars of the week. Each class teacher chooses 2 children from their class each week who have really impressed them. Here are the children who have been chosen this week.
Nursery
Eliza is Nursery’s star of the week for showing confidence in her interactions with others. She knows what she wants to achieve and how she wants to get there, she explains her ideas articulately and can negotiate with others to help her achieve her goals.
Archie has been chosen as star of the week in Nursery because he has shown great progress in using his voice to express his needs. He is getting much better at coming to tell an adult if he spots a problem or needs help with something.
Reception
Our first star of the week has been an amazing friend this week guiding and supporting other children in phonics. She has been a fantastic role model to other children guiding them to follow our rules and routines. Well done Ivy ! 🙂
Our next star of the week has been a leader in our Christmas concert practice. He has shown others how to be brave and use a loud reading voice when telling the story. He has been enthusiastic and expressive when signing, it has been lovely to see his confidence grow this week. Well done Ralph 🙂
Year 1
This week, we have thought about how it feels to be empowered.
Felix is growing in self confidence. He knows his own mind and lets people know exactly what he wants. He is able to express his feelings and take on challenges. He always makes other children and adults smile with his enthusiasm and amazing sense of humour. It's been amazing to watch him grow in confidence. Well done, Felix.
Sophia is using all the tools she has to grow in confidence and make the right decisions. She is starting to have belief in herself and her own abilities. Having a "I can do anything" attitude has meant that she will have a go at any challenge she is given and is increasingly celebrating her success. Well done, Sophia!
Year 2
Fox has shown a wonderful sense of empowerment this week! He has tried so hard to let others speak and has encouraged his friends to have a go. He has thoughtfully taken turns with equipment and waited patiently for his go. He has been so helpful to others and made them feel valued through the kind words he's used. Not only this, but he's showed great confidence in himself, especially when performing so brilliantly in the 'Rock Steady' concert. Well done, Fox - you've impressed us all this week!
Reggie has shown a gentle yet inspiring presence in the classroom this week! In Maths, he has encouraged his friends to try their best with subtraction and has been on hand to help them succeed. He has been patient, calm and kind throughout, as well as continually rooting for them to do their best even when they've wanted to give up. Thank you for empowering others to do their best, Reggie! Well done.
Year 3
This week, we have thought about how it feels to be empowered.
Esme is determined to make changes for the better even when she finds it a challenge. She confidently wrote and delivered a speech which she gave to Year 3 and then confidently to whole school in her bid to be Head Girl. Esme accepted graciously that she was not chosen this time and it is clear that she will continue to use her voice for good for Year 3. All of Year 3 are very proud of you, Esme!
Daniel has a determination to do well in class that is increasing daily! He has a positive attitude and a real desire to do things right. He has the confidence to talk to adults about his views and he does this with excellent manners and sometimes a cheeky grin! We really appreciate how Daniel will stand up for what is right in the right way. Thank you, Daniel!
Year 4
The focus this week across school, has been on Parliament Week. The children have been learning about what parliament consists of and about the people who listen to the views of others and make decisions on their behalf. We have been learning about democracy and elections throughout school, with candidates for Head Boy and Head Girl delivering their speeches and all members of our school community voting for who they think would fulfil these roles.
Our stars of the week this week are children who empower themselves and others.
Phoebe is a shining example of empowerment. She always empowers others, encouraging them to be themselves and embracing other's with open arms. Phoebe is a wonderful friend and shows high levels of empathy at all times. Phoebe pushes herself all of the time and openly asks for help or challenge when she feels she needs it.
Oscar M empowers himself and others on a daily basis. He listens to others and advocates for everyone. He can empathise with others and has the ability to make others feel heard, even if he disagrees with their opinion. Oscar shares his own knowledge in a supportive way and helps others to achieve. This week, Oscar has shown determination and resilience in abundance.
Year 5
“Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen." Michael Jordan.
Being empowered means having the power to do something or having the confidence to try to make a change. This week, Maddie D, Harry and Rose ran in our school election for head boy / head girl. Their speeches were delivered with both confidence and passion. They were able to articulate their views effectively and displayed confidence in expressing their opinions. They should be very proud of themselves. Well done to all!!
Year 6
The focus this week across school, has been on Parliament Week. The children have been learning about what parliament consists of and about the people who listen to the views of others and make decisions on their behalf. We have been learning about democracy and elections throughout school, with candidates for Head Boy and Head Girl delivering their speeches and all members of our school community voting for who they think would fulfil these roles. We have several children in Year 6 who have embodied our key messages this week and are empowered to make a difference, and our Stars of the Week have been chosen with this in mind:
Sophia B - Sophia is always thinking of others; her class speech for Head Girl was all about listening to the views of others and actively seeking out the opinions of her peers about how school could be improved and she does this all the time. Sophia has been empowered this week to come to me to ask about a new lunchtime club that she would like to run for the children in KS2 to enjoy, and she has also advocated for other children - telling adults when something has happened to upset them and standing up for others when they don't feel confident enough to stand up for themselves.
Ariana - Ariana is always empowered to make a difference; she regularly comes to me, and other adults in school, with ideas for new clubs or ideas for how to make Bawtry Mayflower a better place. She is proactive in noticing when others need some encouragement or support and does this without being asked. She always asks me if I need anything doing and is empowered to do what she can to make things a little easier for everyone.
Headteacher Award & Shout Outs
Each week in our Celebration Assembly, Mrs Powell chooses someone who has really impressed her during the week and presents them with her Headteacher Award. Our theme for assembly and pupil voice linked to UK Parliament week and about ‘being empowered’. We thought about how we can influence change in school, and how we can make a ‘difference’ together. This week’s Superstar Award goes to this amazing Mayflower pupil who does this from the heart, thinks about the real things that matter, and tries to make the difference when she can. Well done Rose, your speech was inspiring and you really do make a difference!
My ‘shout-outs’ for giving 100% to the MAYFLOWER WAY this week go to Lucy and Evie from Year 2 and Izzy from Reception.
Makaton Sign Of The Week
The children are continuing to learn Makaton's 'Sign of the week' each week. Each Monday, the children learn the new sign for that week. We thought it would be useful to share the following week's sign with parents/carers on our Friday blog so you can get involved too if you wish. Please click on the link below to see the sign for the coming week.
https://makaton.org/TMC/News_Stories/SOTW/SOTW_Gloves.aspx
Monitoring late arrival to school
We are closely monitoring late arrivals to school and have seen a significant increase in lateness as this term has progressed. We appreciate that sometimes lateness is unavoidable for example due to a traffic accident in the local area etc; however, some children are arriving late at school on a regular basis. Late arrival at school when learning has already started is disruptive, both for the child themselves and also for the rest of the class. If there is a particular reason why your child is arriving at school late and you would like some support with this, please don't hesitate to come and speak to us.
As a general reminder, the doors to the classrooms open at 8.35am and close at 8.40am.
Emailing the school office
Please bear in mind when sending in an email that we provide a timescale of up to 48 working hours to read and provide an initial response to any emails sent in. Whilst we do endeavour to respond well within this timescale, we cannot guarantee that emails will be read on the day they are sent, depending on how busy things are in the school office.
If your query/message is for that particular day, please call the school office rather than emailing so that Mrs Walker and Miss Argo can ensure that your message is passed on for you.
No parking in school car parks please
Could we please remind families that there should be no parking in school car parks at any time of day. This includes drop off and collection for the breakfast and after school club please.
Reading volunteers for Reception
Mrs Fuller, our Reception teacher, would like to ask if there are any members of our school community or wider community who would like to help her with listening to our Reception children read. We do have some volunteers who come in further up the school to help with this and other tasks, but don't currently have anyone in our Reception class.
If you think this is something you or someone you know might be interested in, please pop into the school office or give us a call and we can pass your details on to Mrs Fuller so that she can provide further information on what this would entail.
HERO week
As mentioned on last week's blog, this week has been our HERO week, where we have been encouraging all children to be Here, Every day, Ready and On time. Each child who arrived on time for school every day this week was entered into a prize draw, with a chance to win a movie night hamper for the whole family to enjoy.
We are delighted to announce that the winners of our HERO week this time are Oscar and Isaac. As they are brothers we couldn't just choose one of them as our winner! Well done! We hope you and your family enjoy your movie night treats.
Christmas Chocolate Raffle
Tickets for our annual Christmas chocolate raffle will be on sale from Monday 1st December priced at £1 per strip of 5 tickets. Thank you to those who have donated items to help us to create three deluxe chocolate hampers for this raffle. If you haven't yet donated and would like to, please bring your items in over the next couple of weeks.
Flu vaccination catch up session 2nd December 2025
Next Tuesday, the Vaccination Team will be back in school to administer flu vaccinations to those children whose parents consented to the vaccine but were absent on the original flu vaccination date.
Anti-social behaviour in the community
This week, there have been reports of an off-road bike riding dangerously on the streets around school and in the wider local area. This has been reported to the police and to our contact in the local neighbourhood team. City of Doncaster Council has seized two bikes already and have asked if members of the community could please report any anti-social behaviour such as this to 101 every time there is an incident, as there is only one off-road bike team in the area and they investigate the area with the highest reports. They are also collating time stamps of incidents and street camera footage too.
With the off-road bike incidents, if the riders are being very dangerous residents are advised to call 999 to report this.
The Wardrobe Project Clothing Bank
City of Doncaster Council are launching a new initiative called The Wardrobe Project, a community clothing bank designed to support individuals and families across the city and run by the Your Place South Team and the Youth Team. The clothing bank will provide good quality preloved clothing for adults and children ages 8 plus. Their aim is to make clothing more accessible to those experiencing financial hardship, while also promoting sustainability through the reuse and recycling of garments.
If this is something that you would find useful to access, please speak to Mrs Westerman our Family Manager.
Christmas activity this weekend
Lunch Menu for week commencing 1st December 2025
Please see the menu below for next week. Mrs Stanfield, our School Cook, will continue to monitor the children's likes and dislikes and there may be changes to these menus in light of these.
Diary Dates
Please see below our current diary dates. It may be that there are dates on here that involve your child that you haven't had any information for yet. Please don't worry, information will come out in plenty of time prior to the date concerned. Dates that have been added since the last blog are shown in bold.
2025-2026 School Year
2025
Monday 1st December - raffle tickets on sale for Christmas Chocolate Raffle. Raffle tickets will also be on sale at all our Christmas events including the nativities
Tuesday 2nd December - Flu vaccination session for any children absent on the original flu vaccination date
Wednesday 3rd December - choir singing at Bawtry Residents Christmas Lunch
Monday 8th December - Key Stage 1 nativity dress rehearsal 10.30am
Tuesday 9th December - Foundation Stage nativity dress rehearsal 10am
Tuesday 9th December - Key Stage 1 nativity performance 2pm
Wednesday 10th December - Foundation Stage nativity performance 10.30am
Wednesday 10th December - Key Stage 1 nativity performance 2pm
Thursday 11th December - Foundation Stage nativity performance 10.30am
Friday 12th December - PTA Christmas Shop during the school day
Monday 15th December - some KS2 children visiting the Nourish session at the church hall - further details to follow to parents of those children involved
Tuesday 16th December - Christmas church service St Nicholas' church for Year 2 to Year 6 - walking to church straight after morning registration. All welcome to walk to church and back with us.
Tuesday 16th December - Christmas Dinner Day
Tuesday 16th December - Christmas Jumper Day
Wednesday 17th December - Inclusion Open Morning - places to be pre-booked
Wednesday 17th December - panto in school
Wednesday 17th December - Carols round the tree and Christmas Market
Thursday 18th December - Christmas Party clothes/non-uniform for our last day at school
Thursday 18th December - Christmas Party Day including party food for lunch
Thursday 18th December - last day at school before Christmas holidays
Thursday 18th December - Christmas Chocolate raffle being drawn during the school day
Friday 19th December - Training Day - school closed to pupils
Monday 22nd December to Friday 2nd January - Christmas holidays
2026
Monday 5th January - Training Day - school closed to pupils
Tuesday 6th January - first day back after Christmas holidays
Thursday 15th January - closing date for applications for Reception for September 2026
Monday 19th January - Year 1 Road Safety presentation
Tuesday 27th January - Inclusion Open Morning - places to be pre-booked
Tuesday 10th February - Choir perform at Young Voices concert at Sheffield Utilita Arena - further details to follow
Wednesday 11th February - non-uniform day - no donations requested
Wednesday 11th February - PTA discos - Nursery, Reception, Year 1 & Year 2 3.10pm to 3.50pm (Nursery & Reception parents to stay at the disco with their children). Years 3 to 6 4pm to 4.45pm
Friday 13th February - last day at school before half term
Monday 16th February to Friday 20th February - half term
Monday 23rd February - first day back after half term
Tuesday 24th February - Inclusion Open Morning - places to be pre-booked
Wednesday 11th March - Reception visit to Boston Park Farm - parents to drop off and collect from Boston Park Farm
Friday 13th March - PTA Gifts for a loved one shop during the school day
Wednesday 18th March - Rocksteady concert 2pm - for those taking part in Rocksteady sessions
Monday 23rd March - Year 6 visit to Crucial Crew
Tuesday 24th March - Inclusion Open Morning - places to be pre-booked
Wednesday 25th March - PTA Easter Egg Hunt during the school day
Friday 27th March - last day at school before Easter holidays
Monday 30th March to Friday 10th April - Easter holidays
Monday 13th April - first day back after Easter holidays
Wednesday 15th April to Friday 17th April - Year 5 residential to Dearne Valley PGL
Tuesday 28th April - Inclusion Open Morning - places to be pre-booked
Monday 4th May - bank holiday - school closed
Monday 11th May to Thursday 14th May - Year 6 SATs
Wednesday 13th May - non-uniform day - no donations requested
Wednesday 13th May - PTA discos - Nursery, Reception, Year 1 & Year 2 3.10pm to 3.50pm (Nursery & Reception parents to stay at the disco with their children). Years 3 to 6 4pm to 4.45pm
Monday 18th May - Year 1 visit to Austerfield Study Centre
Tuesday 19th May - Inclusion Open Morning - places to be pre-booked
Tuesday 19th May - Year 3 parents meeting for Austerfield residential
Wednesday 20th May to Friday 22nd May - Year 6 London residential
Friday 22nd May - last day at school before half term
Monday 25th May to Friday 29th May - half term
Monday 1st June - Training Day - school closed
Tuesday 2nd June - first day back after half term
Tuesday 2nd June to Friday 12th June - Year 4 multiplication checks
Wednesday 3rd June - class photos
Monday 8th June to Friday 12th June - Key Stage 1 Phonics screening week
Tuesday 9th June to Wednesday 10th June - Year 3 residential to Austerfield Study Centre
Friday 12th June - Reception visit to Boston Park Farm - parents to drop off and collect from Boston Park Farm
Monday 15th June to Sunday 26th June - Bawtry Festival
Wednesday 17th June - choir taking part in Sing Out concert
Thursday 18th June - Sports Day - times to be confirmed
Friday 19th June - PTA Gifts for a loved one shop during the school day
Wednesday 24th June - Rocksteady & Guitar/Woodwind/Brass concert 2pm - for those taking part in Rocksteady sessions and/or music lessons with Doncaster Music Service
Wednesday 24th June - PTA Summer Fair
Monday 29th June to Wednesday 1st July - Year 4 Hollowford residential
Tuesday 30th June - Inclusion Open Morning - places to be pre-booked
Monday 6th July - Year 6 transition evening at The Hayfield School for parents and children
Tuesday 7th July to Wednesday 8th July - The Hayfield School transition days
Tuesday 7th July to Wednesday 8th July - Queen Elizabeth's High School Gainsborough transition days
Tuesday 7th July to Thursday 9th July - XP Secondary School transition days
Wednesday 8th July - New Parents Evening at Queen Elizabeth's High School Gainsborough
Wednesday 15th July - PTA Colour Run
Friday 17th July - last day at school before Summer holidays
Monday 20th July - Training Day - school closed to pupils
2026-2027 School Year
2026
Wednesday 30th September - individual/sibling photos
