Weekly Blog Friday 30th January 2026
Date: 28th Jan 2026 @ 10:45am
Attendance
Every week in our Celebration Assembly, we celebrate the class who has achieved the highest attendance for that week. This week Mrs Ronan/Mrs Wood's class had the highest attendance with 97.22%. Well done Year 3!
Please see below the attendance figures for this week. The target attendance for all children is currently set at 97%.
Nursery - 87.14%
Reception - 95.70%
Year 1 Mrs Davies - 96.67%
Year 2 Mrs Ward & Mrs Walker - 96.14%
Year 3 Mrs Ronan & Mrs Wood - 97.22%
Year 4 Mrs Parkes - 94.44%
Year 5 Mrs Pickersgill - 95.56%
Year 6 Miss Dunn - 94.69%
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 O W E
Reception - 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 A Y
Year 1 - 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
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 R M A Y F LO W E R M A Y
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 R M A Y F L O W E R M A Y F
Year 4 - 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
Year 5 - M A Y F L O W E R M A Y F L O W E R M
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 A Y F L O W E R M A
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
Sophie has been really engaged in our topic on dinosaurs. She has used lots of really good language and vocabulary demonstrating her knowledge and understanding effectively. She has used the small world area in an imaginative and creative way explaining and describing her play. It has been great to see Sophie so enthusiastic this week.
Eliza has been a superstar when we have been learning about 2D shapes this week. She has demonstrated great understanding about the properties of the shapes, discussing whether the sides are straight or curved, how many they have and how many corners the shape has. She was excellent at playing our mystery bag game at describing the shapes for others to guess and work out the hidden shapes herself.
Reception
Our first star of the week is someone who stands up for what is right and shows others how to make good choices every day. He uses his voice to help his friends, reminds others of our class rules, and always tries to make sure everyone is treated kindly and fairly. He is a wonderful advocate for our class, leading by example every single day. He also shows great care for the world around him whether it’s looking after our classroom, respecting nature during outdoor learning or reminding others to be gentle and thoughtful. Thank you for being such a kind and caring person Axel, well done 🙂
Our next star has shown us his wonderful cheeky smile and loving personality this week, which have truly shone. He has made so many good choices, making sure he is ready to learn and exploring new areas of provision. He has had such a positive can-do attitude to his learning this week, trying his best and having a go at everything. He has shown fantastic effort and enthusiasm in his work and it has been wonderful to see how proud he has been of what he has achieved. Well done Lockie, we are very proud of you too 🙂
Year 1
This week, we have been thinking about being an activist or an advocate. To be these things, you have to have faith in what you believe in and be brave enough to stand up for what you believe is right.
Jaycee and Sinead are both brilliant advocates for their brothers. When they can't find the words, Jaycee and Sinead quietly explain their needs. When they finds things frustrating, Jaycee and Sinead quietly step in to help. They both understand the wonderful people their brothers are and help others to see that too.
Thank you for being such wonderful advocates for your brothers, Jaycee and Sinead.
Year 2
This week’s Stars of the Week go to two children who are wonderful role models. Georgia and Evie always stand up for other children and make sure to speak to an adult when a friend is hurt or upset. They help their friends sort things out calmly and fairly, and they never ignore it when someone is struggling. This week, just like every week, they didn’t only speak up for themselves; they also spoke up on behalf of friends who were upset at playtime and made sure those friends got the support they needed. We are so proud of you both for showing such kindness, courage, and responsibility. Thank you, Georgia and Evie - we’re lucky to have you in our class.
Year 3
Joshua is an excellent friend to others. He looks out for his friends and works hard to make sure they are happy. Joshua is always great fun to play with and he includes anybody and everybody in his games. Joshua is particularly kind with his close friends and is incredibly supportive if they are upset or need support. He will always go to an adult to let them know that someone needs help and he does this with such kindness and care. Thank you for looking out for others, Joshua!
Seren is a kind and confident member of the class. If anyone needs support in class, she will help them but she will also talk to adults on someone's behalf if they need her to or go with them to support them to talk to an adult. Seren's confidence when talking to adults means that she can get her point across clearly which helps both the adults and the children she is helping. Thank you for your help and support, Seren!
Year 4
Jacob has shown determination and resilience in abundance this week. He is an advocate for both science and maths in school, always showing a positive attitude to these lessons. He shares his expertise with others and guides them confidently to achieve. During a science lesson this week, Jacob showed his knowledge of states of matter and was able to plan and conduct an effective investigation.
Annie D has really impressed me this week. She has pushed herself in maths, applying her knowledge of fractions confidently. Annie has also started to read at home and this is making a huge difference to her confidence in school. Keep it up.
Year 5
"You must be the change you wish to see in the world." — Mahatma Gandhi
Olivia Finch - Olivia is someone who always advocates for others and makes everyone feel included. She is happy to work with anyone and listens carefully before responding in a thoughtful and respectful way. Olivia encourages others to believe in themselves and celebrates their successes, acting as everyone’s cheerleader. Through her kindness and positivity, she helps create a supportive and welcoming school community.
Maddie D - Maddie is someone who always advocates for others and will stand up for what is right. When someone is treated unfairly or feels unable to speak up, she steps in and makes sure their voice is heard. Maddie often puts others before herself, offering help, kindness and support without expecting anything in return. Because of this, she helps make the school a caring and respectful place for everyone.
Year 6
This week in our assembly on Monday, children have learnt about Holocaust Memorial Day. This was followed up with our discussions in pupil voice about why it is important to recognise and challenge stereotyping and discrimination, and Year 6 had some very insightful and thought-provoking contributions during this session. Stars of the Week this week follow this theme: we have been focussing on those children, across school, who are activists and advocate for the rights of others. Year 6 Stars of the Week have been chosen with this in mind.
Savana - Savana shows tolerance and respect for all others in everything that she does. She recognises that we are all individuals with different strengths and needs and she speaks out for others when they might not be able to communicate their needs for themselves. She is very emotionally aware and is always mindful of how other people feel, often offering a kind word or encouragement when her friends need it the most.
Seth - Seth is a kind and respectful member of Year 6 who has a strong moral compass. He believes that everyone should be treated with empathy and understanding and he is an excellent role model for this in our class. He is not afraid to speak out against the treatment of others when he believes that it is not fair, and he lives and breathes this everyday - always treating others how he would like to be treated in return.
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. This week’s Superstar Award goes to a pupil who has been spotted (even on the cameras!) being an advocate for safety and for following rules in school. Frankie always walks his bike whilst on school grounds, and understands the importance of keeping others safe. Where possible, he also tries to help others see the importance of looking after others too. Well done Frankie! You are a Superstar!
My ‘shout-outs’ for giving 100% to the MAYFLOWER WAY this week go to Frankie (Y6) and Arthur (Y4). Well done!
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.
https://makaton.org/TMC/News_Stories/SOTW/SOTW_To_Cuddle.aspx
Monitoring Attendance
At Mayflower, we closely monitor attendance throughout the school year. We celebrate good attendance and provide support for those children and families whose attendance is lower than we would expect. There can be a variety of reasons for attendance to drop and each case is looked at individually by our Inclusion Team.
Letters will be sent via School Spider next week to those parents/carers whose child's attendance has remained or fallen below 90%. This level of attendance is known as persistent absence and we are required to report on this to the Local Authority.
If you receive a letter next week and would like to discuss this with Mrs Powell or another member of our Inclusion Team, please contact the school office to make an appointment.
Monitoring late arrival to school
Each week, we send a message on School Spider to those parents whose children have arrived at school after the doors have closed with a reminder of the timings of the school day. Despite this, there are several children who constantly arrive at school after the doors have closed. We appreciate that there are sometimes circumstances outside of your control whereby lateness cannot be avoided; however, persistent lateness impacts not only the child who is late but also the rest of the class.
If there is anything you wish to discuss in relation to your child's lateness if this applies to you, please don’t hesitate to speak to their class teacher, come to the school office to speak to the office staff or make an appointment to speak with Mrs Powell.
Storytelling Week
Next week is our Storytelling Week. We have lots of exciting things planned for the children to celebrate this, including a visit from Simon Murray a children's author and illustrator.
Next Friday is Fairytale Friday in school. We would like to invite the children (and staff!) to dress up as their favourite fairytale character. We are so excited to see who everyone has chosen to dress up as for the day! Please don't go out and buy something special for the day - we would ask you to utilise items of clothing that you have at home to create a costume with your child.
We look forward to celebrating and sharing all things reading and storytelling with you on next week's blog.
Plastic Tub Collection
Thank you to everyone who donated their plastic sweet/biscuit tubs to our collection. We collected enough to fill 2 bin bags, which is great. These have now been collected to take to one of the central collection points to be processed and will help to raise vital funds for MacMillan.
Step into the NHS
Do you, or someone you know, play a valuable role in the NHS?
During the week of 9th -13th March, we are joining a national campaign called ‘Step into the NHS’ which showcases the amazing work done by so many to spark curiosity and inspire the next generation of NHS professionals. This is part of a developing career’s programme in school. We would love the children to hear directly from anyone who could share stories (or even share interesting pictures, items or equipment) about what your role involves and how / why you decided to do the job that you/they do. These would be short interactive sessions with a class / or mini presentations to a group etc. If you would like further information or can offer dates / times for that week please contact the school office by Friday 13th February. We can’t wait to see who we get to hear from!
PTA Discos Wednesday 11th February
Our PTA are holding their discos for this term on Wednesday 11th February. These will take place in the Lower School Hall. The times are as follows:-
Nursery, Reception, Year 1 & Year 2 3:10 p.m. - 3:50 p.m.
(Nursery and Reception parents to stay at the disco with their child please)
Years 3, 4, 5 & 6 4:00 p.m. - 4:45 p.m.
Letters will be coming home with the children at the beginning of next week. Admission is £1. If you would like your child to attend the disco, please complete the slip at the bottom of the letter and return to your child’s teacher together with £1 by next Friday, 6th February at the latest. We cannot accept any late reply slips.
Please complete one slip per child if you have more than one child in school.
Free Parenting Talk
Lunch Menu for week commencing 2nd February 2026
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
2026
Monday 2nd February to Friday 6th February - Storytelling Week
Thursday 5th February - Simon Murray, children's author and illustrator in school
Friday 6th February - Fairytale Friday - dress up as your favourite fairytale character
Monday 9th February to Sunday 15th February - Children's Mental Health Week - the theme this year is belonging
Monday 9th February - Year 6 parents meeting for London residential 3.10pm in the Year 6 classroom. Please wait on the upper playground for a member of staff to let you in to our upper building
Tuesday 10th February - Choir perform at Young Voices concert at Sheffield Utilita Arena
Tuesday 10th February - Internet Safety Day 2026
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 - Nursery & Reception 'share a book' sessions for parents/carers in our lower library area - Nursery 11.20am, Reception 2.50pm
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
Monday 23rd February - if anyone would like to donate any chocolate for our Easter chocolate raffle, donations can be brought in from today please
Tuesday 24th February - Inclusion Open Morning - places to be pre-booked
Monday 2nd March - tickets for Easter Chocolate Raffle on sale from today, priced at £1 per strip of 5 tickets
Monday 2nd March - Workshops - Dance Today - Pinocchio
Tuesday 3rd March - Spelling Bee at Hill House - parents of children who will be taking part will be contacted
Tuesday 3rd March & Wednesday 4th March - Breakfast with a book - places to be booked in advance - further details to follow
Friday 6th March - World Book Day - pyjama day
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
Tuesday 17th March - Easter church service at St Nichola's church - Years 1 to 6 setting off from school straight after morning registration. If you would like to walk to and from church with us and enjoy the service, please let your child's teacher know
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
Thursday 26th March - Nursery/Reception Easter Crafts session - from morning drop off until 10am in the Foundation classroom
Friday 27th March - Miss Hill in for extra guitar lesson to make up for previous missed lesson
Friday 27th March - 'YouTube in a Day' biosphere project - Yr6 / Phil Sheppard
Friday 27th March - Easter raffle to be drawn this morning during celebration assembly
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
Thursday 16th April - Year 6 SATs meeting 3.10pm in Year 6 classroom. Please wait on the upper playground for a member of staff to let you in to our upper building
Monday 27th April - Year 5 class assembly 10.15am - parents/carers invited. Please ensure you arrive at school ready for the assembly to start at 10.15am please
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
Tuesday 16th June - Rail safety workshops with Volker Rail
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
Monday 22nd June - Year 3 class assembly 10.15am - parents/carers invited. Please ensure you arrive at school ready for the assembly to start at 10.15am please
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 8th July - move up day - children move to their new classes for the day to spend the day with their new teacher
Monday 13th July - Year 4 class assembly 10.15am - parents/carers invited. Please ensure you arrive at school ready for the assembly to start at 10.15am please
Wednesday 15th July - PTA Colour Run
Friday 17th July - Year 6 leavers assembly AM - breakfast and then assembly
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
2027
Wednesday 2nd June 2027 - class photos
