Weekly Blog Friday 6th February 2026
Date: 5th Feb 2026 @ 7:30am
Attendance
Every week in our Celebration Assembly, we celebrate the class who has achieved the highest attendance for that week. This week Mrs Ward and Mrs Walker's class had the highest attendance with a fabulous 100%. Well done Year 2!
Please see below the attendance figures for this week. The target attendance for all children is currently set at 97%.
Nursery - 95.71%
Reception - 99.03%
Year 1 Mrs Davies - 97%
Year 2 Mrs Ward & Mrs Walker - 100%
Year 3 Mrs Ronan & Mrs Wood - 96.43%
Year 4 Mrs Parkes - 97.19%
Year 5 Mrs Pickersgill - 97.43%
Year 6 Miss Dunn - 95.65%
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 R M
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 F L O W
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 A Y F
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 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 R M A Y F L O W E R M A Y F L
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 E
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 Y
This week, Nursery completed MAYFLOWER for the third time and enjoyed their chosen reward this morning. 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
Rux always demonstrates excellent listening and lots of enthusiasm. She especially enjoys story times and is always ready to listen to new stories. She loves getting involved with anything new and exciting, particularly anything that is in the outside area, where she gets involved with any of the activities that the adults are leading.
Archie has been working with Miss Limb this week on sharing and turn taking with his friends. He has been really good at following the instructions that he has been given and demonstrating improved listening skills. He is becoming much more vocal and using a great deal more language to communicate his thoughts, ideas and feelings.
Reception
Our first star of the week has shown his amazing enthusiasm for dinosaurs! He has become so much more confident in speaking about them and sharing his knowledge with his friends when exploring fossils. He has enjoyed discovering new information in the books we’ve explored together over the last couple of weeks as well. He has also been a super star in phonics this week. He has tried really hard and is always so polite. It’s wonderful to see his knowledge grow each day. Fantastic job Alexander, well done 🙂
Our second star of the week has shown a fantastic attitude to learning this week (and half term) and has been amazingly kind to both his friends and the adults in our class. He always uses his manners and offers to help other children and adults if he sees they need a helping hand. He has been a real star in phonics and has taken a keen interest in the new books we’ve explored over the past few weeks. Rex is trying so hard with his writing and is beginning to use exciting new vocabulary when talking about his drawings and sharing his knowledge. We are so proud of his hard work, kindness, and enthusiasm. Well done, Rex 🙂
Year 1
This week has been story telling week in school and we have been focusing on our love of stories and books.
Isabel reads the most at home in our class (and possibly in the whole school). She reads so much that we have had to introduce new reading certificates just for her! Her love of reading is reflected in the amazing stories she writes herself. Keep up the amazing reading, Isabel.
Isaac has recently found a love of reading. Once reluctant to read at home, we are now having to send several books home a week to keep him satisfied. We are loving your enthusiasm, Isaac - keep it up!
Jessica has found comfort in books. When she feels sad about leaving mum in a morning, she will cuddle up in the reading corner with one of her favourite junior novels. This helps her to come into school more confidently and be ready for the day. Thank you for sharing the power of reading with us, Jessica.
Year 2
The focus this week has been on reading. The children have taken part in lots of activities for National Storytelling Week 2026 including working with author and illustrator Simon Murray to begin to create characters and plots. This week's Stars of the Week have been chosen for their commitment to, and love of, reading and for generally being amazing reading champions in school.
This week we are celebrating Georgia whose love of reading shines through in everything she does. She always makes time to read at home, and it’s clear how much joy and confidence she gains from it. This passion for books has had a wonderful impact on her writing — her ideas are imaginative, her vocabulary is growing, and she is increasingly confident in expressing her thoughts on paper. Georgia's dedication to reading, both in school and at home, is helping her develop into a thoughtful and creative writer, and we couldn’t be prouder of her efforts.
This week we are also celebrating Hugo and his growing enjoyment of reading - I look forward to reading with him every week. Hugo tries incredibly hard to use his phonics when reading, showing great determination and a real desire to improve. He especially loves sharing non-fiction books about animals, and his enthusiasm shines as he eagerly shares interesting facts and discoveries. It’s a joy to see his passion for learning and reading grow, and I love that he is so excited to share this special interest with me. This really makes my week!
Year 3
Esme and Freddie are both Year 3 reading super stars! They are avid readers, never missing an opportunity to read another page or chapter of their book. They read at home and at school and they are both always happy to talk about a book that they have read or recommend a book to someone else. They are always reading which is fabulous! Well done!
Year 4
When it comes to a reading super star award, I could not choose anyone but Libby! Libby reads every night and this has made a huge difference to her fluency and comprehension. Libby has grown in confidence as a reader, offering support to others. Libby is a shining example of how much of an impact reading at home has.
Sadie consistently reads at least three times a week. She loves to read and this passion for reading is evident in independent reading sessions. Sadie is confident in reading lessons and is able to articulate her understanding of what she has read.
Year 5
“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” — Dr. Seuss
Lily E - Lily reads widely both at home and in school, choosing books with enthusiasm and curiosity. Reading is something she truly enjoys, and she takes real pleasure in spending time with stories, often becoming completely absorbed in what she is reading. Well done Lily, keep it up!!
Olivia C - Olivia is a true reading champion. She reads frequently at home and in school and clearly enjoys reading. She takes pleasure in exploring books and is often engaged and focused when reading, showing a positive and consistent attitude towards it. Well done Olivia, keep it up!!
Year 6
The focus this week has been on reading, with the children discussing the importance of stories and the messages that they can portray in our 'Pupil Voice' session this week; working with author and illustrator Simon Murray to begin to create characters and plots; and culminating in enjoying dressing up as part of Fairytale Friday. This week's Stars of the Week have been chosen for their commitment to, and love of, reading and for generally being amazing reading champions in school.
Sophia B, Oliver B, Jayden and Oliwia - these children have shown commitment and dedication to their reading all year, not just this term. They are avid readers and never miss an opportunity to read during the school day. They read regularly at home and can talk confidently and enthusiastically about the books that they have read, inspiring me, and their peers, to read more and to find that love of reading that might have been forgotton about. You really are reading champions!
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. We have had a wonderful day celebrating the end of storytelling week with Fairytale Friday! It was lovely to see so many fairytale characters brought to life by the children today in assembly and in their story sessions with the adults this afternoon. My superstar award today goes to an avid reader who inspires others in her class to read too. There’s not a day goes by where she doesn’t read to an adult and the impact of this is coming through fantastically in her writing. Well done Isabel C (who is already on our diamond reading award challenge!) what a reading champion and a champion for reading you are!
My ‘shout-outs’ for giving 100% to the MAYFLOWER WAY this week go to Uzayr (Rec), Rex (Rec), Isabel (Y1), Darcy (Y2) and Katie (Y6). 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_Sport.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.
We were scheduled to send letters out to parents/carers this 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. Due to the issues with our emails, these will be sent next week once the email issue is resolved.
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.
Email issue
We are currently experiencing IT issues and are not receiving emails. We cannot specify at this time when this will be resolved, therefore please contact the school by phone on 01302 710721 until further notice. The office now has access to School Spider, but the other staff currently don't. This means that only general and urgent messages will be sent until the email issue is resolved.
As always, if you do need to contact school you can call the office and Mrs Walker and Miss Argo will either answer your query or forward it on to the most appropriate member of staff for you.
We will provide a further update as soon as we can. Thank you for bearing with us during this time. Your patience is very much appreciated.
Parking around school
We have had a couple of complaints this week regarding parking around school. One was regarding a local resident being unable to leave their drive due to one of our parents parking inconsiderately. We appreciate that parking in the streets around school isn't easy; however, we would ask that you park safely and considerately please to avoid any further complaints. We always ask that any complaints are passed on to the local Council so they are logged.
When parking directly outside school, please ensure that you do not park on the zigzag areas. These are there for a reason and ensure that children can cross the road safely.
On the subject of parking, could we please remind parents that they should not be parking in the school car parks at any time. There are some parents who drop off and pick up their children from wraparound care and also some of our Nursery parents who park in the lower car park. Individual messages are now being sent to those concerned.
We would appreciate your support with these issues going forward please.
Storytelling Week
This week, we have been really immersing ourselves in storytelling. There has been a reading club available for the children every lunchtime. Yesterday, we had a visit by the author and illustrator Simon Murray. Simon is the creator of Icky Doo Dah, a mischievous and fun loving creature who loves to cause chaos and havoc! Each class joined Simon for a workshop, were inspired by Simon's illustrations and worked with him to learn how to draw Icky Doo Dah step by step. Their finished drawings were all amazing and the children had a fantastic time. Thank you Simon!
Today has been Fairytale Friday in school. Lots of the children (and staff!) dressed up as their favourite fairytale characters and shared their favourite fairytales and books with their friends and classmates. It is fantastic how many different stories were shared throughout school.
Photos from this week's events are on our Instagram page.
Step into the NHS
We have had a couple of volunteers for our Step into the NHS sessions. If you or someone you know plays a valuable role in the NHS and would like to speak to our children about it, please get in touch with the school office.
As a reminder, 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
If you have returned your child's slip and £1 payment for the PTA discos next Wednesday, just a quick reminder of the details. The discos 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 - Reception parents, please collect your child from the usual gate and then make your way round to the lower hall via the school office)
Years 3, 4, 5 & 6 4:00 p.m. - 4:45 p.m.
We cannot accept any late slips, so if your child hasn't returned their slip and £1, they won't be able to attend the disco this time.
Non-uniform day Wednesday 11th February
To coincide with our PTA discos, we will be having a non-uniform day next Wednesday. This will enable the children to already be in their own clothes for the disco; this is particularly useful for our younger children, so they don't have to get changed out of their uniform at the end of the school day. This will be a regular occurance on the days of the PTA discos.
We are not asking for any donations for this non-uniform day.
Are you looking for some part-time work?
City of Doncaster Council are currently looking for a part-time cleaner to join the team here at Bawtry Mayflower. For further information please contact Ian Taylor, Metro Clean Manager, on the details he has provided below.
Congratulations!
Lilly and Olivia, both in Year 5, along with Lilly's older sister Gracie took part in another Taekwondo competition recently. Gracie, a former Mayflower pupil, came away with a gold medal for what was a very good technical match. Lilly secured a silver medal in a very entertaining match. Finally Olivia won 2 gold medals; in her first match, Olivia beat a black belt!
Congratulations to all 3 girls. Since taking up the sport, they have all worked incredibly hard and shown real commitment and dedication to their training and competitions. Their technical ability and confidence just grows with each competition and their team spirit shines through in their support for each other and the rest of their team-mates. Well done girls.
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Ralphy from Reception and his big sister Blu-Belle, who is in Year 3, were both awarded their Stage 1 swimming certificates recently. They both love their swimming lessons and it is clear from the photos below how proud they are of themselves for receiving these certificates. Well done Ralphy and Blu-Belle - keep up the hard work and we look forward to sharing your next certificates on a future blog.
Lunch Menu for week commencing 9th 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 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
Monday 9th February - Year 1 Let's write: Traditional Tales workshop with Doncaster Museum
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
Thursday 12th February - Nursery & Reception Debutots workshop in school
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
