Dear Parents and Carers,
BIG FUNDING NEWS!
Further to an application to the Foyle Foundation for funding towards our new look library, specifically books, we are thrilled to announce that the Foundation has awarded the school with a grant of £4,000. This funding has only been secured through the efforts of Mrs Wattridge and Miss Buxton, so my whole-hearted thanks goes to both. We will keep you informed of how the funding is being spent, to support our children.
Thanks to a day of very hard bag packing at Waitrose, the Gillingham Army Cadet troop have raised a staggering £600 for the school. This will be spent on guided reading books to support those children who are on the Read Write Inc spelling programme, as well as the newly purchased library software – Librasoft. The software will support the cataloguing and lending of books, including our newly purchased and donated books. It will also allow our librarians to feel ‘the part’! All pupils will be issued with a library card in the coming weeks.
THIS WEEK
World Book Day
Thank you for all the support given to pupils, allowing them to take a full part in World Book Day. We saw some wonderful costumes and props. We hope you enjoyed participating with your child in either the reading a story in school, bed time story reading, or the book swap.
Ready, Steady, Read
Many thanks to all who have participated in this event, and who have sponsored and given money. Monies are being collected by Mrs Pike, so if there are still some outstanding, please would you ensure these are delivered to the office. The Usborne representative will be collecting money on Monday 11th March. The total of which will determine the amount Usborne will match. We will of course let you know how much has been raised in next weeks newsletter.
Lego Club
This week’s Lego Club competition was to build a butterfly. Our two winners for the week, following independent adjudication due to a tie break in pupil voting, are Noah and Henry. Congratulations to both constructors!
Due to the popularity of the club, you will be aware that a second session is now available and running on a Wednesday. There are still a few spaces left, and this is open from Year 1 – Year 5 pupils at a cost of £3.99 + VAT per session. Please book online if interested – www.kidswithbricks.com .
Each week our competition winning build is photographed and entered into a national competition. Please see the attached information on how to vote for Stower Provost’s weekly winning build. You never know, we might have a National Lego Champion in our midst.
Summer dates are also available for both sessions, and can be booked from 1st April.
Assembly
Our Monday assembly this week focused on Go Green Week which runs from 8th – 14th March. Children were asked:
What they believed to be the biggest treats to the world currently and what puts our environment in the most danger? We discussed how plastic is one of the biggest threats to our environment and wildlife. The children were fascinated to learn if we weighed all the plastic we make every year in elephants, this would equate to 30 million, and if all those elephants stood in a line, it would stretch more than five times around our planet! Pupils came up with some great ideas as to how we can reduce the amount of plastic that threatens our environment and wildlife.
PTFA NEWS
School Disco
The PTFA will be running a school disco on Wednesday 27th March. As with the last disco, Hazel and Beech children will boogie away from 3.30- 4.15, while Chestnut and Oak pupils will be provided with classroom-based activities. At 4.15 younger pupils may be collected or enjoy classroom-based activities, with KS2 pupils dancing away from 4.15 – 5pm. Snacks and drinks will be provided for all pupils. The cost of the disco is £2 per child, to be paid on collection. Pupils should enter the school through the main entrance, and be collected (and pay) from the hall and exit through usual pick up gate, to avoid confusion over who has and has not been collected.
Easter Art competition
The PTFA are running an Easter Art competition. The challenge is to design an Easter themed piece of artwork or creation. This could be a hat, painting or model. Entries to be in by 18th March. Cost per entry £1.
OTHER NEWS
Gillingham Detachment Needs You!
Volunteers, known as Cadet Force Adult Volunteers (or CFAV) don’t have to have had any military or cadet experience. Full training is given at a pace that suits the volunteer. The Force only ask that CFAV commit to a minimum of just 2 hours each week to help run their local detachment once they are trained. For more details of how can get involved, please see that attached flyer.
Village Quiz
Challenge your brain with quizmaster Jack Whitehead and have some fun! The village are holding a quiz night on Friday 15th March in Stour Provost Village Hall. 7.00pm for a 7.30pm start. £8 each person to include a warming supper but please bring your own drinks. Make a table of up to 8 or just rock up on the night and join a table.
Please contact Jo Hartgill on 01747 838216 or email johartgill@gmail.com to book a place by Monday 11th March.
A future date for the diary – A Nearly New Sale
A nearly new sale is being held at Stourton Memorial Hall on Sunday 23rd June, 10 – 3.30pm.
CLASS NEWS
Oak
This week, Oak Class has been consolidating new French vocabulary about healthy and unhealthy food and drink. In Computing, we have been creating databases on J2E and learning to group and sort records in different ways. We have been continuing to develop our communication skills in PE when carrying out partner balances and lifts. Next week, we are learning about living a healthy lifestyle and keeping fit in French, and in Computing we will develop our search techniques to answer questions about data. (Ms Gardiner)
Chestnut
This week, the children have been finishing writing about Flood by Alvaro F Villa. Next week, they will be writing their own versions of the story. In topic, the children used lines of latitude and longitude to locate volcanoes on a world map. The students completed their final experiment in their science topic about magnets. They tested the strength of different magnets and presented their results in bar graphs. (Ms Babiy)
Beech
This week, Beech class have been continuing to explore different countries to be able to write their own non-chronological report, much like the one we have been looking at in class. In maths, the children have been learning the difference between capacity and volume and putting that into practice.
In other learning areas, the children investigated the effects of coastal erosion with an experiment to see the impact of sea defences. In PSHE, Beech class have been looking at medicines and how we can use them safely as well as key dos and don’ts. Starting to look at vocabulary surrounding weddings and what marriage is has been our focus in RE this week. (Mrs Whelan)
Hazel
This week has been a very busy week in Hazel class. FS2 have visited pre-school for a Road Safety visit by Emma from Dorset Police. We had a wonderful World Book day, the children thoroughly loved sharing their books and talking about their costumes.
In Science, Year 1 have been learning about the Beaufort Scale, which is used to measure wind. We have our own team of meteorologists monitoring the weather! In Geography, Year 1 have been learning about the Great Fire of London as part of their work on landmarks.
In UtW, FS2 have been investigating seeds and growing, using the story of Jack and the Beanstalk. They have written planting instructions to help the giant grow more beanstalks, and written captions to match the story of Jasper’s Beanstalk. The have worked incredibly hard using their phonics to support their writing. (Miss Buxton)
Diary dates (dates in red have been added this week)
| 8th Mar | PTFA Easter Art Competition starts – entries £1 | |
| 19th Mar | 15.20 | PTFA Easter Art Competition entries to be in. |
| 20th Mar | 07.45 – 20.30 | Year 6 London Theatre trip |
| 27th Mar | 15.30 – 17.00 | PTFA Disco |
| 28th Mar | 15.20 | End of term |
| 22nd July 2024 | INSET DAY | |
| 23rd July 2024 | INSET DAY |
Best wishes