20th December 2017

(Letter 7)

Dear Parents / Carers

It has been very busy term, and the last two weeks have been particularly hectic. The children (and the staff!) are all ready for the holiday.

The Christmas Fair last Friday was a success – thank you very much to all of you, parents and staff, who supported this through donations, running stalls and coming along to spend some money. The children were very taken by the new, bigger bouncy castle! We bought the bouncy castle rather than keep hiring one – we used the funds raised from last year’s fair to put towards it. This way we will be able to have it at events throughout the year, and use it to keep raising money for the school.

We have been counting up the money, and so far the amount raised has totalled £945!!

Last week the children in Year 1 and Year 2 all went to Discover to see The Gruffalo, which they really enjoyed. It was an excellent performance and the children were entranced.

On Monday all of KS2 went to the pantomime at Stratford Theatre, and saw Rapunzel. It was a real success, with lots of opportunities for audience participation which they enjoyed! Thanks go to BLP, the law firm that work with us, as they helped to subsidise the tickets, making them cheaper for you.

Thank you also to all the staff who supervised – the children really enjoyed both experiences.

The Christmas assemblies this week have been lovely! A lot of hard work went into the preparations, and the children worked hard to learn lots of songs, and a lot of lines. I can tell those that practised a lot at home as their parents were singing along with them, or mouthing their words with them!

Thank you to all the staff who worked so hard to get the performances ready – particularly to Ms Dunn, Mr Buckley and Ms Tucker. All that hard work really showed.

Some dates for next term for your diaries:

ASSEMBLIES

World Religion Day – Monday 15th January Nirvana Day (Buddhist) – Wed 7th Feb

Holi (Hindu) – Wed 7th March

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Maths) Week – 22nd – 26th January

World Book Day – Thursday 1st March

Music Concert & Comic Relief – Friday 23rd March

Parents’ Evenings – March 7th; July 11th

There are a lot of events planned for next term, some familiar ones, and others that are new for us.

We are having a STEM Week at the end of January. This is focused on Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths – a chance to raise the profile of these subjects, and to talk to the children about careers in these areas.

A range of staff are already busy planning the week.

There are more parent workshops planned for next term. A Maths one on 24th January, and a Science one on 27th February. More details will be sent out nearer the time.

For those of you celebrating over the holiday, I wish you a very happy Christmas with family and friends. And to all of you, all best wishes for 2018.

We look forward to welcoming you all back, fresh and bright, on Wednesday 3rd January.

Kate McGee

Headteacher