Newsletter: 16th July 2021

Posted on July 16, 2021 | By Mr Cole

Leavers’ Assembly

Hopefully all parents of children in Year 6 will have received invitations to attend our Leavers’ Assembly on Friday. If dry this will be held on the Playground and families will be asked to keep socially distant from each other when seating. We know that requirements cease on Monday but do not wish to take unnecessary risks in the last 5 days of the year. If you are coming, please don’t arrive at school earlier than 9:10am, by which time all children will be in school. Entry will be via the playground gate.

If it is wet, we will need to accommodate all visitors in the Hall and the rest of the school will watch in classrooms by video link – so please keep your fingers crossed for a lovely day!

The children have worked very hard to put together a show and we think the running time of that, plus our assembly songs and presentation of awards will take the running time to appropximately one hour.

Uniform Orders

Please remember to use the following Google Form to order school uniform ahead of the Autumn Term. This will prevent you having to pay for it on ScoPay before it’s in stock. As mentioned last week, there is a general shortage of this type of clothing but In Stitches remain confident they can meet demand ready for us to give out on 6th September from the school office or during the first week of term.

Uniform Order Link

Leavers’ Lunch

We are planning to take Year 6 for their Leavers’ Lunch at Merry Harrier next Wednesday as national restrictions will have eased by then. This year school are funding the event so there is no cost to parents and children are being asked for their food orders here at school. Please note that the children will be transported in members of staff cars. Your child will obviously not need a school lunch on that day.

New Governors

We are pleased to announce that following the parent ballot, the Governing Board is once again at full compliment. Elizabeth Nisbet and Robert Wallis have both been elected and will take up their posts immediately.

Illness Reporting

Please remember that it’s vital your child’s illness is reported to the school office staff and not directly to your child’s teacher so we can ensure the correct codes and safeguarding protocols are applied. This will be very important next term when our new phone system comes online which ill allow you to report your child’s absence via a voicemail message which will be directed straight to the office computers. Thank you.

Arrangements for September

At the time of writing, we are assuming that school will revert to “normal” in terms of operation. Just to remind you, pre-Covid “normal” means:

• All children will enter and exit the site via the main gates by the car park on Old Market Drive
• Children (and parents) can enter the site from 8:40am and congregate on the playground
• Teachers will collect classes from the Playground at 8:55am. Children arriving after 8:55am will be marked as Late.
• Children will be required to bring their PE kits and have them in school at all times.
• We will be enforcing our Uniform Policy again – this includes correct shoes please. (We will of course make exceptions if ordered uniform hasn’t arrived)
• Pencil cases will once again be allowed!
• School will finish at 3:15pm. Parents will be able to collect children from around the site: Cranford and Burscott Class parents usually wait on the playground or by the kitchen; other classes by the Bike Shelter, Scout Shed or Top Path.

We will also be resuming our full Forest School offer so if you’d like to help on Forest School sessions for an afternoon or two per week, please let your child’s new teacher know.

Maths This Summer

I know that several parents would like to use the summer holidays to support additional learning for their children. Carol Vorderman is offering free online maths tuition throughout the summer holidays for primary aged children. The link to her work is here:

Woolfest

Sadly, due to continued uncertainlty around Covid, our PTA, Team Woolley, have decided to postpone Woolfest until next Summer. More details about a new date will be published in due course.

Mealtime Assistants

On Tuesday we say a very fond “goodbye” to Audrey who has been a mealtime assistant at the school for many years. We hope she will return to the school to hear readers after the summer break, but having reached a signficant birthday has decided that it’s time to leave her mealtime assistant duties to someone younger. We wish you all the best, Audrey, and thank you for everything you’ve done for the school over the years you have been with us.

On Friday, we also say a sad to say farewell to Rachel, the other half of Audrey’s mealtime assistant jobshare. With Jasmine leaving the school to move on to secondary next week, it’s a good time for her to do different things as well. Rachel has been an incredibly calm and dependable mealtime assistant and I know, like Audrey, Burscott Class will miss her enormously. We wish you all the best for the future!

As these two members of staff equal one Mealtime Assistant post, we are pleased announce that Karen Smith, Ronnie’s mum, has been appointed and will take up her new post in September.

Youth Club

Year 6 children can now attend Woolsery Youth Club’s taster sessions… please see below for details:

“Bee” creative this Summer!

The Bumblebee Conservation Trust’s West Country Buzz project is excited to launch an art competition for primary schools in North Devon. Pupils are invited to create a piece of art about bumblebees and flowers, using any medium they like such as pen, pencil, paint or textiles. The competition is open between 5^th July and 15^th September 2021.

North Devon is a hotspot for rare bumblebees including the Brown-banded carder bee (Bombus humilis). With some of the most beautiful coastline and countryside, we hope the children of North Devon will explore the great outdoors and ‘bee’ creative with their artwork on the theme of bumblebees and flowers. Many bumblebees are in decline, including our rare Brown-banded carder bee, and we hope that entrants will help us to spread the message of planting more flowers to help these and other bees.

The competition is open to North Devon primary school education pupils (age 5-11) only. There are three categories, Reception, Years 1 & 2; Years 3 & 4; and Years 5 & 6.

Winners from each category will receive flowering hedge plants and spring bulbs for the school grounds, activity sheets, flower and vegetable seeds for their class, and for themselves one of our Youth Memberships as well as Bumblebee Conservation Trust goodies including stickers, pencils and more. Entries will be shortlisted by the West Country Buzz team. The winners will then be chosen by our patron and award-winning writer, Kate Bradbury! Winners will be recognised through our social media channels and marketing material.

We look forward to seeing the entries!

Well done to these children who have received the final Headteacher Awards of the school year:

Cranford Class: Molly – always saying please and thank you; Florence – being kind to all her friends

Burscott Class: Bella – for trying her very best at ordering numbers; Cadey – for writing superb noun phrases about reptiles.

Stroxworthy Class: Emily – for an excellent set of instructions on how to walk a dog in space; Alfie Pha. for creative ideas in his information text about activities to do on another planet.

Alminstone Class: Sophie – fabulous effort and achievement in maths; Finley – always being helpful and trying his best

Ashmansworthy Class: Edwin – for exceptional bravery at Adventure International this week; Isla – for being very thoughtful and helpful on the London residential, and for bravery with her encounter with one of the Tower of London’s Ravens.

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