Newsletter – 8th March 2019

World Book Day

Well done to everyone who made such a great effort today to come as a World Book Day fairytale character. It was lovely to see the range of characters the children came as, and also the chatter in school about different books and stories. Thank you too if you were able to come in to school and share a book in school with your child!

Red Nose Day

Please remember that we’re celebrating Red Nose Day a day early this year as Ashmansworthy class will be out of school for most of the day on Friday. We will be doing things Red-Nose related for Comic Relief on Thursday of next week and Red Noses are on sale here at school (£1.25) each breaktime. We will also be holding a non-uniform Day with the theme Wear Something Red for 50p – this of course includes red hair, faces etc as well as red clothes. Charity Voice will also be selling Red Nose biscuits for 50p (There will be no Tasty Tuck on Friday breaktime).

London Residential

A huge well done to all of the Y5 children who went on the London Residential this year – as I posted on the Blog, the children’s behaviour was fantastic throughout the stay and the group was actually complimented in the Lyceum Theatre by the Sound Engineer who said she hadn’t seen a group so well behaved and engaged in the production – quite a compliment from such a large, school-group-friendly production as The Lion King. Now that the trip has concluded, the password protection has been lifted on the London 2019 Posts so please have a look through the children’s activities this week.

New Term’s Menu

Dave is beginning to put together ideas for next term’s Menu and he’d like the children’s help. Tonight in book bags will be a simple questionnaire asking for their ideas for future school meals – we’d really appreciate it if you could sit down with your children over the weekend and fill it out. All forms need to be back by 18th March, please.

 

Odd Socks for Down Syndrome

On 21st March, we will be holding an awareness day for Down Syndrome with the children to coincide with United Nations World Down Syndrome Day. This is not a fundraising day, purely to give us the opportunity to talk about Down Syndrome as a school. We would like all children to wear odd socks too school on that day – the brighter the better, but anything “odd” will be great. This is part of the Down Syndrome #LotsofSocks campaign. In school, we will be talking in our family groups about what Down Syndrome is, particularly so all children feel more confident when working and playing with Molly as she moves through the school.


North Devon Forum for Autistic Spectrum Conditions and ADHD

For parents with children who have either of the above conditions (either suspected or diagnosed) there is a very hardworking and active support group which runs locally. We have a copy of their March Newsletter here in the Office and can make it available for anyone who’d like to take a look. Full details of the group can be found at www.ndautism.co.uk or on Facebook at facebook.com/groups/ndfarb. There are lots of activities planned in the coming months, so it’s well worth reaching out to the group now if you’d find the group useful.


New Governors

We had two parents apply for the Parent Governor vacancy (thank you!) but as we have two spaces on the governing Board, no election is necessary. Mrs Sarah Broom will be our new Foundation Governor, subject to confirmation by ACCT, and Mrs Siobhan Brennan will be our new Parent Governor. This means the Governing Board now consists of:

  1. Tracy Buckley (Chair)
  2. Ben Trevor (Vice Chair)
  3. Steve Pennington
  4. Di Bennett
  5. Adam Symons
  6. Sue Kersey
  7. Sarah Broom
  8. Siobham Brennan
  9. Matt Cole

Mealtime Assistant Vacancy

We have a vacancy for a Mealtime Assistant as Mrs Emma Clifton will be leaving us at the end of term. The job will be 5 lunchtimes a week (6.25 hours per week) and, due to uncertainty around school funding, will be a temporary post which we anticipate being long term. If you are interested in applying, please talsk to Mrs Miles in the school Office, thanks.

Headteacher Awards

Our amazing learners this week, who have all received a Headteachers’ Award, are:

  • Cranford: Cadey – working so hard in letters and sounds; Jacob – listening so well in letters and sounds
  • Burscott: Cobain – really getting to grips with punctuation in his writing; Robert – expert knowledge in ICT, helping his friends with Google Docs!
  • Stroxworthy: Bluebelle – amazing effort in maths, Bailey – demonstrating determination with his reading comprehension, Harley – helping others before himself
  • Alminstone: Natalie – hard work and being helpful around class; Gianni – improved concentration during lessons
  • Ashmansworthy: Grace – being a great help in Sunflowers this week; Nelly – being a great help in Sunflowers this week

The Week Ahead

Parent-Teacher meetings are being held this week – please contact your child’s teacher if you’ve not yet made an appointment. Thanks.

  • Monday: Rev Jane S visiting Ashmansworthy Class re Pilgrimage RE topic
  • Tuesday: Mr Cole out PM – ACCT
  • Wednesday: Mr Davies out (am) and Miss Butler out (all day) – maths training. 
  • Thursday: Miss Butler out all day
  • Friday: Ashmansworthy Class to Village Hall for Singing Rehearsal (10am until 2:30pm)

With best wishes,
Matt Cole
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