Friday 18th October 2019
Dear Parents and Carers
Despite another week of persistent and heavy rain, the children have managed to get outside for most playtimes and PE sessions – thank you for making sure they all have a waterproof coat in school each day.
There are some activities when dry weather makes for a much more pleasant experience, Forest School being one of them. Fortunately the different groups dodged most of the showers and were able to carry on with their usual programme of fun, practical activities linked to their creative curriculum work. We are delighted to let you know that we will be running a Family Forest School Day at school on Saturday 23rd November, an event designed for you to see what your children do in a typical Forest School Session, and for you to join in. More details will be shared with you soon, but it is certainly a date to put in your diaries.
Hazel Class Workshop
It was lovely to see so many family members joining the children in Hazel Class yesterday morning, honing their Design Technology skills. A wide range of fantastic vehicles were built, all showing great care and attention to detail. Well done children.
International School Award
In assembly today, I was very pleased to show the children our latest certificate, for achieving the Foundation Level of the International School Award. This is a very important accreditation to show we are successful in teaching our children about international issues and helping them learn about differences in education around the world. We have increasingly strong links with a school in Africa, and Miss Gale, working with Mrs Lucas, our chair of governors, will be developing a programme for our children to learn more about life in rural Kenya. More news on this will follow.
Tag Rugby Match
We were delighted to welcome the Tag Rugby Team from St Mary’s School, Marnhull here on Wednesday for a friendly match. As the first match of the season for both teams, everyone tried very hard and their play improved enormously during the match. Our team were clearly stronger and had a very good grasp of the rules, helping them to win with a very healthy full-time score of 10:5. Well done to all the children who played, and special thanks to our Year 2 and 3 touch judges who did a brilliant job.
Next week in school – and away
On Monday, the children in Oak Class will be going away for their residential trip to Bristol. From my discussions with them, they are certainly looking forward to the experience. The coach will be leaving school at 8:30 on Monday morning, so please make sure the children are in school by 8:20am.
With half term approaching and fewer children in school next week, we are taking the opportunity to make an early start on our next phase of refurbishment. This means that the hall will be out of action next week as a new ceiling and lights are installed, and the whole room is then redecorated. The ceiling beams in Oak Class and the corridors are also undergoing redecoration which will really make the school look smart, and our new reading room and the staffroom will also be having work done.
I am hoping a substantial amount of the work will be completed by the time we return to school on Monday, 4th November, but should it over-run, I will inform you of any changes that may need to occur. Arrangements are in place for next week for the children’s lunches, assembly and PE sessions, but there will be no Toddler Group until after half term.
Parents’ Evening
With apologies for the confusing dates on the appointment requests for parents’ evening, these will be held on the Tuesday and Wednesday of the first week back after half term. Your appointment slips will be sent home at the beginning of next week. If you haven’t yet submitted your request for an appointment, please do so on Monday.
Reminders
Don’t forget that your Christmas Card orders and the Rotary Club Shoeboxes need to be submitted by Wednesday 23rd October at the latest.
Hoping the weather forecast is right and we have a dry weekend and, for our travelling Oak Class, a dry week, too!
With best wishes
James Stanford