As there is a possibility that Father Christmas may have brought some new devices to children over the holiday, this is a good opportunity to review parental controls and remind children of the key messages of online safety.

With most children today having their own computers, phones, or other devices, it’s vitally important that parents know how to keep young people protected while using them. Between targeted adverts, age-inappropriate content, and other online safety concerns, it can sometimes feel overwhelming to keep on top of.

Parental controls, present on most devices and several apps, can make this job significantly easier – but a certain amount of knowledge is required to use them effectively. This online safety guide will provide you with the information you need to activate and maintain parental controls on children and young people’s devices.

Click here for the Using and Reviewing Parental Controls guide.

With any new device, the excitement of exploring what it can do, can sometimes cause children to forget the basics of online safety that they have learnt, so reminding them of the key messages and rules that they should follow to keep themselves safe whilst using their device is very important.

This guide is designed for children, to give them some top tips to protect themselves and their new device.

Click here for the Stay Safe of New Devices guide.

Whilst the Christmas period can be an exciting and fun-filled time, just as with any holiday, the changes to a child’s normal routine can have an impact on their emotional stability.  Some children will struggle with the lack of structure that comes with not going to school, getting up or going to bed later, and not having a clear sense of what each day will involve.

On top of this, many families will spend more time together over the festive period. No family is perfect and family tensions, even seemingly small ones, have a tendency to surface during long periods of time together during the holidays. Children are often acutely aware of adult tensions, and some may feel anxious about what will happen over the festive period.

Top tips for a calm Christmas

• Try to give your child individual attention, cuddles and praise, whenever you can. This will help them feel calm and secure over the busy period.
• Keep up your routine, as far as possible. Children find it reassuring if you try to keep to their normal mealtimes and bedtimes. 
• Explain what things will be different during the holiday period, such as who will be visiting, where you will be going and when you will open presents. Try to do this a day or two before the events to give your child time to process the changes and ask any questions they have.
• Try to balance fun time and quiet time.  Aim to have some time, every day for your child to quietly play or rest. 
• Avoid threats relating to Santa. It may be tempting to use Santa as a way of encouraging good behaviour but is best to avoid doing this. Young children don’t always have mature thinking skills and need to be able to link their behaviour directly with the outcome. Talk of Santa and Christmas can be too abstract for them and using these threats may make them feel anxious.
• Get out of the house. Going on walks or bike rides can help to reduce tensions.

Visit the Young Minds website to find out more tips.

On 5 December, Year 6 travelled to Blists Hill to enjoy a day of Victorian life and activities. We arrived at school to collect our sandwiches, crisps and a drink before heading off. Once we arrived, we were greeted by a police officer in Victorian costume who sang me Happy Birthday!

We got into our groups, and we had our Victorian school experience, where we learnt about the punishments, including the cane! After that, we entered the sweet shop, where lots of people spent their £10 budget and learnt about the sugar-packed boiled sweets which were very expensive, as sugar was not cheap back in the Victorian times. Next, we ventured to the candlemaker, who was making candles out of tallow.

Just before we had our lunch, we went on a visit to the chip shop, in which the chips were wrapped in newspaper. After our lunch, we learnt about the printer shop and how nearly every poster we saw in the Victorian town was printed right there in the printers!

In the gift shop, we were all spending our last minutes before departure looking at all the wonderful gifts on the shelves. As we got on the bus, we waved our goodbyes as our trip unfortunately had to come to an end!

By Jaiden, 6C

Yesterday, we held our Christmas Concert in Warwick Hall, which certainly put us all in a festive mood. The Big Choir opened the concert with the powerful song Power In Me, which they will also be singing at Young Voices in the New Year. We were treated to performances from all our ensembles, from jazz to rock, film music and traditional Christmas pieces.

In assembly this week we discussed Advent and the build up to Christmas. When asked what the boys had put on their Christmas list there was a wonderfully retro response – a BMX, some vinyl LPs and a polaroid camera. I think I probably had those on my list when I was 10 years old! I talked to the boys about the symbolic meaning behind the candles in an advent wreath and the focus on peace, love, joy and hope. The boys were asked to reflect on those people around the world whose Christmas list wouldn't include toys and games but rather friendship, happiness and an end to conflict. I challenged the boys to think about how they could spread peace, love, joy and hope this Christmas. 

Joy was certainly in abundance this week with a fantastic U10 and U11 Rugby festival on Wednesday afternoon with the boys playing with great determination, skill and team spirit. On Thursday afternoon, we witnessed a festive celebration of music at the Christmas Concert with jazz, rock, rap and classical performances from boys across the Junior School. Masterminded by Mrs Glover, the skill and enthusiasm of the boys was fantastic to see. Well done to you all! 

This week has also seen the launch of our Reverse Advent Calendar collection for the local Trussell Trust food bank. Fitting with the theme of spreading peace, love, joy and hope in the build up to Christmas, this initiative – which is being led by our school council – has had an amazing response. The front hall is full of donations, and we will continue to collect donations until the end of term. Thank you for all your support.  

John Bond 

On Tuesday, twelve Warwick pupils took on the famous Beachborough Run, a demanding cross-country course featuring farmers’ fields, streams, and even a stile! Previous winners have included Henry Pollock and our very own Mr Stapelton!

Six Junior School runners were joined by six Warwick Senior School boys, all of whom began their cross-country journeys at Warwick Junior School. The U13 team finished an impressive fourth, while the U11 team secured seventh place against strong competition.

A special mention goes to George in Year 5, who was the first Warwick Junior School runner home – a fantastic achievement on such a challenging course. Well done to all of those who took part!