Heathlands Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, West Bergholt Parent Portal

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Friday 26th June 2026

Dear families,

Last week's Sports Day was an absolute brilliant one! The undoubted highlight being the inflatable teacher race, which had everyone in fits of laughter. A huge well done to all our children, who gave it their all, a big thank you to our wonderful PTA for the refreshments, and congratulations to Mr Minter for organising another fantastic day. Well done, too, to Daniell House on a well-deserved win!

This week has been a hot one, and I couldn't be prouder of how everyone has risen to it. We've kept things running as normally as we can, with sensible adaptations to keep everyone comfortable and safe, and the children have shown such a wonderful, cheerful attitude throughout. My heartfelt thanks to our staff for adapting so brilliantly, they really have gone above and beyond this week.

A special well done, too, to our Year 1 children for completing their Phonics Screening Check and our Year 4 children for taking on the Multiplication Tables Check. Year 2 have also been busy finishing their Secret Agent missions! I'm so proud of how hard they've all worked.

I have rejigged the format of the newsletter so that important updates have their own section, rather than being in this section. Hopefully, that makes it easier to find the information you need. The calendar and news articles are still below.

There's a busy and exciting few weeks ahead, so do have a look at the calendar below for everything coming up.

Have a lovely weekend,

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New Interactive Whiteboards

A huge thank you to everyone who has supported our PTA this year. Thanks to your generosity, we've been able to fund brand-new interactive whiteboards for every classroom, plus one in the hall. They look fantastic and are already making a real difference to teaching and learning.

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Choir

Earlier this month the choir had the honour of opening the Village Summer Fayre. They had lots of lovely compliments and performed really well. Mrs White and Mrs Hartley were so proud to be there with them. Special thanks also to Jacob in Y5 who accompanied the choir on keyboard for their performance of, " It must be Love". He was note perfect! (And the choir have already been booked for next year!)

Prayer Spaces

Last week, our children visited St Mary's Church for a series of Prayer Spaces. It was a chance to pause, reflect and explore their thoughts and feelings in a calm and welcoming setting. Each space invited the children to reflect in their own quiet way. It was wonderful to see how thoughtfully they engaged, embracing the stillness and approaching each activity with real openness and care. Many left feeling calmer, carrying a little of that peace back with them. Our thanks to St Mary's for welcoming us so warmly.

Violin Lessons at Heathlands:

It's that time of year when our year 6 leavers create space for new beginners wanting to learn an instrument!

In September our private violin teacher, Mrs Gold, has availability for new pupils to take weekly individual violin lessons in the school music room. These are rotated on a timetable so that pupils don’t miss the same classroom lessons each week.

Learning a musical instrument develops the brain in many ways as well as being lots of fun. It opens up opportunities for pupils to make friends through extra-curricular orchestral activities, develop confidence by performing in music assemblies and concerts as well as taking music exams through the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music.

Many of Mrs Gold’s pupils who began lessons here at Heathlands have gone on to win music scholarships into private secondary schools and still take lessons with her now during sixth form.

From September lessons will cost £18 each (this is a reduced rate for Heathlands pupils) and are 30 minutes long.

If you are interested in your child learning the violin please leave your child's name, class and your contact details with the school office and Mrs Gold will be in touch.

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