Newsletter: 1st July 2022

Posted on July 1, 2022 | By Mr Cole

London final arrangements

For the Y5s who are in London next week, please remember to be in school at 7:30am on Tuesday so we can be away from school by 8am at the very latest. Don’t forget to bring spending money in two separate envelopes which Mrs Eavis will collect in when you arrive at school.

On Friday next week, we will run a flexible registration up to 10:30am for the children who have been on the trip, but please remember to confirm their lunch requirements before 9:15 by phoning Woolsery school (Option 4).

Height and Weight

Both Buckland Brewer and  Woolsery schools have the NHS Year 6 and Reception Height and Weight checks on  Tuesday next week. This is handled entirely by the School Nursing Team so please remember you need to have opted out of the scheme if you don’t wish your child to take part in this statistical exercise. We cannot handle consent or opt-outs in our school offices because the nurses will only follow what is on their system.

School Meals

I am sure I don’t need to tell you that the cost of food is soaring with growing inflation.  As a consequence, the Governors have resolved they have no choice but to increase the cost of school meals by ten pence per meal in September, bringing the cost to £2.40, which we believe is still a very good deal and highly competitive with other schools. Governors have asked me to alert you to the fact that they will be reviewing meal prices termly and further price rises may be needed in January and April if the cost of living continues to soar – but they will only do that if absolutely necessary. It continues to be the case that the Governors do not seek to make a profit from our school meals service but obviously need to try to cover costs as much as possible in these difficult times.

Woolsery and District Agricultural Show

Thank you to the families who have already indicated that they wish to take their children to Woolsery Show on the last Monday of term. Please remember if you’re intending to do that you need to let us know in the next 3 weeks by completing this Google form. This will enable us to register your child at the show rather than incur a day’s absence. The form can be found at: https://forms.gle/EvgSF7Pmy7Th5LD77

Parkham Strawberry Tea

Please remember that if your chld attends Parkham School and would like to enter the art exhibition, your child will need to bring their entry into school on Monday for collection by the parish church volunteers. Thanks. Full details of the Strawberry Tea, which takes place on Tuesday, are in the poster below.

Parvo Virus (Slapped Cheek Syndrome)

We currently have a few cases of Slapped Cheek Syndrome in the Partnership. If your child is unwell with an unexplained rash, runny nose and temperature, please bear this in mind. Full details about Slapped Cheeck can be found at https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/slapped-cheek-syndrome/ This isn’t an illness to be concerned about and is almost always very mild in children, but anyone who is pregnant will need to let their midwife know that it is circulating in our schools at the moment.

FOPPS Coffee Morning

Don’t forget FOPPS are holding a coffee morning on Wednesday 13th July in the Allardice Hall -everyone is welcome to come along. Thanks.

Cricket

Parkham children in Buzzards and Hawks had a great day at Somerset County Cricket Ground on Tuesday watching play and getting to understand the sport. Unlike here in northwest Devon, the rain pretty much stayed away (phew!) and most people had a great time. Chidlren from Buckland and Woolsery who wished to participate in the same scheme will be making the same journey on 20th July.

GTS Y5 Taster Day

Please remember next Friday is the Year 5 Taster Day at Great Torrington School. If you are considering sending your child to GTS, your child can attend on Friday next week. For further details, please contact GTS on 01805 623531 Ext. 358 and speak to Mrs Whiterod.

Annual Reports

Reports should be sent out next Friday to parents who live with their children and will be posted by 2nd Class mail to parents who don’t. Please contact your child’s class teacher directly if you would like an appointment before the end of term to discuss anything in the Report – all class teachers have time set aside for these meetings.

KS2 SATS results will be published during the week next week but they will not be collated by the schools in time to be included in the Reports. Therefore we have made the decision to report on all national testing separately and we expect to send these out in the middle of the following week. Here is summary of any results you might expect to find in your child’s book bag:

Sports Days

Just a reminder fo the article in last week’s Newsletter…

Sports Days for each school are almost upon us. We are so very happy to be able to open our gates and invite everyone in to share each afternoon part of Sports Day with us.

If you would like to sit during any of the Sports Days, please bring your own folding chairs as we won’t be bringing classroom chairs out on to the fields. Please also remember that all our sites, including our sports fields, are no-smoking areas and that dogs are not permitted at Sports Day (other than assistance dogs). Also, feel free to take photos of your children’s achievements at sports day but remember that any images you take must not be shared on social media (or elsewhere) without the express consent of the parents of any other child in the shot, so please crop your pictures before you post. Thank you.

At Parkham, FOPPS will be selling Cream Teas immediately afterwards form the Allardice Hall. These are £3 each including tea or coffee.

Safe Parking

Liz Rendle, oour local PCSO, has asked me to remind everyone that safe parking at drop off and pick up times is an absolute must. PCSOs are once again being deployed around schools at peak times to monitor the situation but she is particularly concerned with parking around Woolsery Schooll. now that the scaffolding on Copper Hill has been removed, I am hoping the situation has improved and we have asked MXB to ensure contractors ayt The Manor park in the MXB Staff Car Park not on the road.

Please do not re-arrange the no-parking cones which have been placed to improve the safety of your children when leaving and entering the school site.

We’re also aware that there has been an increase in construction workers’ vehicles parking by the village hall in Buckland Brewer. Please remind your children to take extra care in the village hall car park, there have been a couple of near misses recently with children appearing in the path of parking vehicles and we really don’t want to see anyone hurt. Thanks

Well done to everyone who has been awarded for showing amazing Learning Behaviours this week…

Owls: Jensen (tortoise) – being resilient with his resilient with his reading this week; Elenora (dolphin) – diving into her learning this week and having a positive attitude.

Falcons: to follow

Eagles: Oscar (spider) – Making connections in his English and writing a great dairy entry; Oakley (dolphin) – playing the upper eighth when playing reggae on ukulele.

Kestrels: to follow

Buzzards: Molly (bee) – being a supportive class mate during our swimming sessions by encouraging and helping one of her friends who was finding the task challenging. Well done Molly! ; Bronte (spider) – Bronte has been making connections and links between fractions, division and times tables and this has helped her answer the questions and solve the problems set. Good job Bronte.

Hawks: to follow

Cranford: Freddie (spider) –  some great writing this week about our trip to the woods; TJ  (spider) –  some great writing this week about our trip to the woods.

Burscott: Robyn (spider) – progress in the presentation of her writing by remembering finger spaces; Molly (dolphin) – working independently in maths

Stroxworthy: Tommy (tortoise) – For being resilient by persevering with his writing skills in English lessons; Bella (tortoise) – For being resilient  and continuing to improve her self-confidence in her English and  Maths abilites.

Alminstone: Sophie (dolphin) –  For diving into her English, writing an alternative story ending; Joseph (cat) –  for being a curious cat and asking some good questions in geography.

Ashmanworthy: Millie (dolphin) –  diving into her learning for maths on ratios; Maisie (spider) – making links and connections to her attitude to learning

---

Monday	moving up morning at Buckland Brewer Y5/6 Football Tournament (VSP Vs Hartland) Away, 3:30pm approx
Tuesday	London Residential Departs 07:30am (Y5) Strawberry Tea at Allardice Hall
Wednesday	Buzzards Swimming
Thursday	Buzzards Geography Walk in the village (am)
Friday	Hawks Forest School (am) Reports out at parents

With best wishes

Matt Cole, Headteacher

Posted in Newsletters