Autumn 2 Newsletter
Dear Parents and Carers,
We hope you had a restful half-term break and are ready for the busy and exciting weeks ahead as we move into Autumn 2 and the inevitably hectic run-up to Christmas! We’ve included future dates for the whole of the term, as we know how busy things become in December – more specific details will follow nearer the time.
Key Dates for your diary: -
November
Wed 5th Nov 9.30am – Tour for new parents
Thurs 6th Nov PTA Firework Night - 7pm
Mon 10th - 13th Nov Book Fair in hall after school. (Until 4pm.)
Wed 12th Nov Hands on History Visitor to Y1 -Toys through the Ages.
Fri 14th Nov Children in Need Day (More details following shortly from School Council)
Tues 18th Nov Parents’ evening 3.20pm-5.00pm
Wed 19th Nov Parents’ evening 3.20pm-7.00pm
Thurs 20th Nov Y5 Visit to St James’ Church for Remembrance
Thurs 20th Nov Northern School of Arts Dance Fest. at Yeadon Town Hall 3.00-7.30pm (Y5/6)
Friday 28th Nov Y4 Christmas Rewind event at Lister Hill Baptist Church
Fri 28th Nov Non-uniform day (in exchange for ‘Christmas Fair’ tombola prizes!)
December
Tues 2nd Dec Y5 WW2 theme day
Wed 3rd Dec PTA Christmas Fair 3.05 – 4.30pm
Tues 9th Dec 9.30am – KS1 production for parents
Tues 9th Dec Y5/6 Carol service at St. James’ Church 1.30pm
Wed 10th Dec 1.30pm – KS1 production for parents
Wed 10th Dec Choir to Central Chapel
Thurs 11th Dec KS2 Christmas assembly 9.30am
Mon 15th Dec Reception Christmas Sing-along 9.15am
Mon 15th Dec Reception party in hall (pm)
Tues 16th Dec Y5/6 party in hall (pm)
Wed 17th Dec Y3/4 party in hall (pm)
Wed 17th Dec Nursery Festive Celebration (in Nursery pm)
Thurs 18th Dec Y1/2 party in hall (pm)
Thurs 18th Dec Christmas dinner day
Fri 19th Dec Nursery party (am) in Nursery
Fri 19th Dec Broadgate Christmas jumper day (in aid of St. Gemma’s Hospice)
Fri 19th Dec School closes for Christmas holiday 3.05pm
Mon 5th Jan School opens 8.35am (Nursery and Reception 8.40am)
But firstly…
- Can we start by saying a huge thank you for all your support during our harvest celebrations. It was lovely to see so many of you at the assemblies and we were truly touched by the generosity of your donations, which will make a real difference to those in need.
- The new PTA funded play frame continues to be a huge hit. It is so well-loved that it’s timetabled to within an inch of its life – testimony to how much joy it is bringing to playtimes. Thank you once again to everyone who helped make this possible.
- Thank you as well to our lovely Y6 ambassadors - their Reception/Y6 buddy letters written before the start of term have proved to be a great success. The children have formed lovely connections, and it has been heart-warming to see the Y6s taking their roles as buddies so seriously and with such care.
- Y4 enjoyed their energetic skipping workshops that combined fitness, fun and teamwork – and left everyone smiling (and a little out of breath!).
- Y6 also enjoyed two fantastic full-day Shakespeare workshops, which brought the Bard’s words to life in a truly engaging way.
- Thanks also to Rev. Jonathan Cain (governor) for hosting Y1/Y2 visits to St James’ Church and for later reporting that the children behaved beautifully and were a credit to the school as they learned more about the Christian faith and baptised a Teddy!
- Prickly Pigs Hedgehog Sanctuary returned to Reception and Nursery and were able to personally thank last year’s superstar fundraisers (Mia and Cora) for masterminding Broadgate’s involvement with their charity.
- At the end of term, we said goodbye (temporarily) to Miss White, our lovely SEND teaching assistant, and we wish her all the very best as her maternity leave begins.
Reception 2026 Open Day
We were thrilled (to be overwhelmed) by the sheer number of prospective parent visitors we had in school for our October Open Day. Consequently, we intend to hold a repeat opportunity on Wednesday 5th Nov. at 9.30am. All prospective new parents are welcome. Please spread the word to anyone looking for a school place in September 2026. Many thanks in advance.
Poppies on Sale
As we approach Remembrance Day on 11th November, our Year 6 House Captains will be selling poppies at school this week. All donations will go to the Royal British Legion in support of our Armed Forces community. If your child would like to buy a poppy, please send them to school with a small donation.
Autumn Term Parents’ Evenings
Parents’ evenings will be held on Tuesday 18th November (3.20pm – 5pm) and Wednesday 19th November (3.20pm-7pm). This is a valuable opportunity for you to speak to the class teacher and to hear how your child is getting on and how best to support them. Appointments should be booked through the online booking system on Ping. Please make every effort to attend and join with us in celebrating your child’s progress and discussing next steps.
Parent Governor Election
Following an election in the final weeks of last term, we are pleased to announce that Tessa Burnard and Laura Brown have been appointed as Parent Representatives on Broadgate’s governing body. We warmly welcome them to the team and look forward to their valuable contributions and commitment to supporting our school community.
Scholastic Book Fair Returns
After the huge success of last summer term’s Book Fair, which raised over £670 for our reading initiatives, we are delighted to be working with Scholastic once again. The Fair will run after school in the main hall from Monday 10th to Thursday 13th Nov. A sincere thank you to volunteer parent, Laura Brown, for her hard work in making this event possible for our children. Please come along and browse the wide selection of books on offer.
KS1 Christmas Production
Our Year 1 and Year 2 pupils are excited to present their annual festive production to parents this December. Please note that, this year, both performances will take place during the school day.
In recent years, many children have found evening performances challenging and some have been unable to return to school for them. Even though we acknowledge that daytime performances may be more difficult for some families to attend, we hope this change will ensure a more enjoyable and relaxed experience for our young performers. Thank you for your understanding.
Parking outside school
We have received another complaint from a neighbour about inconsiderate parking near the school. Please could we remind everyone not to park on driveways or on the zig zag lines. Parking control officers have been in attendance recently and issued fines and we understand that these visits will continue. Thank you for helping us keep our school community safe and considerate.
Leeds City Council Parental Consultation
All schools have been asked to inform parents that Leeds City Council is running a public consultation on the 2027/28 admission policy for Leeds community and voluntary controlled schools. You can share your views until 1st December. Find out more at www.leeds.gov.uk/SchoolAdmissionsConsultations
A Fond Farewell to Mr. Donnison
We are very sad to say a fond farewell to Mr. Donnison, our wonderfully talented and enthusiastic Y3 teacher, who is greatly admired by colleagues and adored by children and parents alike. Ben is leaving us at Christmas for very special personal reasons, as he and his wife are about to become adoptive parents. In his typically thoughtful way, he has chosen to take some time off to focus entirely upon bonding meaningfully with his new family. We wish the Donnison family every happiness as this exciting new chapter unfolds and Ben knows the door will always be open here at Broadgate whenever he would like to return.
From January, we are delighted to welcome Miss Phoebe McNamara to the Broadgate teaching team. Miss McNamara is an experienced Y3 teacher with a strong passion for music and drama, and we look forward to working with her in the new year.
And finally…
As always, thank you for your continued support and enthusiasm. Everything we achieve here at school is strengthened by our home school partnership. We are especially excited to welcome you into school for the many events and opportunities ahead during another vibrant half-term of fun, learning and community in the run-up to Christmas
Warm regards,
Sarah Qualtrough