Friday, September 26, 2008

Newsletter No 4 - 26th September 2008

Fair Processing Notice
Each family should have received earlier this week a “Fair Processing Notice” which explains about the data we hold on pupils in school, why we hold it and who we are allowed to pass it on to.


Newsletters on the Blog!
A reminder that our school newsletter is available online in the form of a Blog! You can access it either via the 'Newsletter' link on the website, or directly at the Blog address below. The Blog will be updated weekly with the Newsletter, as well as with other letters. There is also an RSS Feed now available from the Blog so that you can get the Newsletter delivered directly to your desktop.
You can see the Newsletter Blog here: http://stadhamptonprimaryschool.blogspot.com/

Reading Evening for Parents 24.09.2008
We were very pleased to welcome Nilifer Khan to lead this parents’ information evening. A number of parents, staff and governors attended this event and were engaged by Nilifer’s enthusiastic presentation. The presentation provided parents with a better understanding of the processes involved in learning to read, the variety of strategies which can be applied to support and develop early reading, the value of parents and children reading together and the importance of continuing to read for pleasure. For parents who were unable to attend a handout is available. If you would like one they will be available from the table outside the school office next week- please help yourself to a copy.


Favourite Story Fortnight – 29.09.2008-10.10.2008
It is not too late to “sign up” to share your favourite children’s story – please contact your child’s class teacher.


Booktime Book Packs for Pupils In Class 1
Today pupils in Reception and Year 1 will be bringing home extra heavy book bags! They each have a Booktime book pack which contains two books and some material promoting reading at home. These packs are donated by Booktrust who manage a range of programmes promoting reading for pleasure, such as Children’s Book Week. Booktime, an offshoot of Booktrust, aims to encourage parents and carers to enjoy sharing books with their children. (Further details are available on www.booktime.org.uk). We hope you enjoy sharing these books!

Harvest Festival 9.30am on Friday 3rd October
This year our Harvest Festival Service will be held in church at 9.30am on Friday 3rd October. Everyone is welcome. Non-perishable Harvest gifts, eg dried pasta, tinned beans, vegetables, soups, biscuits, chocolate, should be brought into school on the day. Pupils will then take them to church where they will form part of the Harvest display for the service there on Sunday 5th October. Harvest gifts will then be taken to The Porch, the centre in Oxford for homeless people.


Message from the PTA Committee
Music Quiz Night 3rd Oct – LAST CHANCE TO BUY TICKETS!! The tickets are selling thick and fast for the ever popular Music Quiz next week. We will pre-order the fish & chips on Tuesday so if you require food you must buy your tickets by Monday at the latest from Mrs Hopkins, Sara Wright or Catherine Roe.

Cookery Book – last minute recipes and pictures to be given to Rowena Dobson or Sarah Madry by the 30th Sept please. Simple and easy ones accepted as well as nouveau cuisine!

Little Bears News
This week Little Bears have enjoyed making bread and learning all about Harvest and how farmers collect their crops. If anyone is thinking of replacing their large upright fridge for a newer model and would be willing to donate their old, but still working fridge, to Little Bears, they would very much appreciate it.

Monday 29th September Classes 2&3 visit MOMA
Wednesday 1st October Y4, Y5, Y6 visit to Science Oxford
Thursday 2nd October Photograph orders collection am
Friday 3rd October School Harvest Service in Church at 9.30am. All welcome
PTA Music Quiz
Monday 6th October Children’s Book Week
Wednesday 8th October Mobile Library Y5 pupils go to ICC for Science lesson
Wednesday 15th October School and Little Bears Open Morning from 9.00am until 11.30am. All welcome
Monday 20th – Thursday 23rd October PGL Residential visit for Class 3 pupils Break up at 3.15pm
Friday 24th October INSET DAY – School closed for pupils
27th – 31st October October Holiday
Monday 3rd November Pupils return to school

Friday, September 19, 2008

Newsletter No 3 - 19th September 2008

Teaching Assistant Developments / Changes
We welcome Mrs Rosanna Thorp on our team as a Teaching Assistant. Mrs Thorp will be working mainly in Class 1. Mrs Wells and Mrs Hargrave will be mainly in Class 2. We are in the process of recruiting a new Teaching Assistant to work in Class 3. In the interim, Clare Hopkins continues to work as a Teaching Assistant supporting Class 3 over the next three weeks.

Reading Information Evening for Parents and Favourite Story Fortnight 29th September – 10th October
A reminder that we are holding a Reading Information Evening for parents, 6.00-7.30pm on Wednesday 24th September to which you are all welcome. Nilifer Khan, a Literacy Consultant for Oxfordshire, will outline how reading is taught in school and will provide parents with information and advice on how to best support reading with children at home. To give us an idea of numbers it would be most helpful if you could complete and return the attached reply slip.

In addition parents, grandparents and governors are invited to come and read their favourite children’s story (or an extract from) during the fortnight of Monday 29th September to Friday 10th October. This coincides with Children’s Book week which is 6th –10th October. Please contact class teachers to book an appropriate time. Thank you.

Linking with Children’s Book week and our own Favourite Story Fortnight, you may like to know that Mostly Books in Abingdon are shortly to hold a series of after-school story time sessions. The first one, which is David Melling reading his new book “The Star Faced Crocodile” is at 4pm on Thursday 25th September. Further details are available from Mostly Books on 01235 525880 or www.mostlybooks.co.uk

“My” Art Project
A reminder that our “My” art project is currently on display as part of the “My” Oxfordshire Schools’ Art Exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in Oxford until 29th September. Free admission.

Visit by Fire Officer Theresa Orchard 17.09.08Theresa Orchard, Schools Liaison Officer for Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, visited school on Wednesday and gave safety talks to specific year groups. Pupils in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 had a talk based on “Get Out, Get the Fire Service Out, and Stay Out” and “Stop, Drop and Roll”. For pupils in Years 5 and 6 the focus was “Fire Safety in the Home”. Videos were shown to demonstrate how quickly fires can take hold of a room if care is not taken with candles and matches in particular. Class discussions lead to the main point of the talk, which was to stress the importance of having a fire alarm in your house.

Watlington Partnership Information Sheet
Please find a copy of the latest information sheet attached to this newsletter.

Message from the PTA Committee
Music Quiz Night 7pm, 3rd Oct - Tickets still on sale, please buy now from Mrs Hopkins, Sara Wright or Catherine Roe to ensure you get your fish & chips order!

Cookery Book - we still need lots more recipes for the book!! They do not have to be complicated or fancy, often the simple recipes work the best. Contact your neighbours and family to get those recipes in to Sarah Madry by 30th September. More details on the required format are available on the school website. For those people with no access to a computer Rowena Dobson has kindly offered to type them for you - please give them to her at the school gates.

Little Bears News
This week Little Bears picked some cooking apples from our garden and then made apple crumble with them. We also enjoyed making some junk model tractors and talked about farming- “what animals you see on a farm” and “where food comes from”. Donations of shiny paper, junk model materials and newspapers would be appreciated.

DIARY DATES:

Monday 22nd September Governors’ Meeting at 7.30pm
Wednesday 24th September Year 6 (and their parents) assembly at 2.45pm with Richard Hudson
Reading Information Evening for Parents from 6.00-7.30pm
Monday 29th September Classes 2&3 visit MOMA
Wednesday 1st October Y4, Y5, Y6 visit to Science Oxford
Friday 3rd October School Harvest Service in Church at 9.30am. All welcome
PTA Music Quiz
Monday 6th October Children’s Book week and start of Favourite Story Fortnight
Wednesday 8th October Mobile Library
Y5 pupils go to ICC for Science lesson
Wednesday 15th October School and Little Bears Open Morning from 9.00am until 11.30am. All welcome
Monday 20th – Thursday 23rd October PGL Residential visit for Class 3 pupils Break up at 3.15pm
Friday 24th October INSET DAY – School closed for pupils
27th – 31st October October Holiday
Monday 3rd November Pupils return to school

Friday, September 12, 2008

Newsletter No 2 dated 12th September 2008

Joe Johnson
Many of you will already have heard the very sad news that Joe Johnson, a former headteacher of Stadhampton Primary School from 1980 to 1989, died earlier this week. Joe had just retired as headteacher of Sandhills Primary School, Oxford. Our thoughts and deepest sympathy are with his family.


Admission to Primary Schools in September 2009

Booklets are now available from the school office if you have not yet received one from the LEA.

Moving On Booklet
The booklet entitled “Moving On” was distributed to all Year 6 pupils earlier this week. There is a co-ordinated admissions process in Oxfordshire with exchange of information between LAs. This means that you can apply for a place at any maintained secondary school using the application form available in the booklet or from the OCC website on www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/admissions You will also find information regarding deadline dates within the booklet.

Year 6 Assembly for Pupils and Parents
Richard Hudson, Headteacher of Icknield Community College will be visiting our school on Wednesday 24th September at 2.45pm to give a short assembly to Year 6 pupils and their parents about life at Icknield Community College. The assembly should finish by 3.15pm.

Open Morning
Stadhampton Primary School and Little Bears Pre-School would be pleased to welcome you to our joint Open Morning on Wednesday 15th October 2008.

“The Elements” textile wall-hangings
Many thanks for all the contributions of material, etc for our wall-hangings. It is not too late to bring in any more items you may have at home. We are looking forward to working with Alison Pullen next week when each class will make a start on their wall-hanging. Class 1’s will represent “earth”, Class 2’s “water” and Class 3’s “fire”.

Reading Information Evening and “Favourite Story Fortnight” 29.09.08 to 10.10.08
To link with the National Year of Reading and Children’s Book week (06-10.10.08) we are holding two events in school this term.
1. On Wednesday 24th September we are holding a Reading Information Evening for parents from 6.00-7.30pm. The session will be led by Nilifer Khan, a Literacy Consultant with Oxfordshire Education Authority, and the focus is to provide parents with information and advice to best support reading with children at home.
2. From Monday 29th September to Friday 10th October we are holding a “Favourite Story Fortnight” event and we need your help to make it a success! We are inviting parents/ grandparents/governors and members of staff to come into school and read their favourite children’s story (or an extract from) for a 5-10 minute time slot at the beginning or end of each day during that fortnight. Please contact class teachers to book an appropriate time and be prepared to reveal your chosen story – to avoid repetition!

Parents’ reading group sessions for Class 3 pupils will begin again on Wednesday 17th September at 2.40pm. We hope that the parents who were involved in this previously will be able to continue. Please let Mrs Sutton know if this is no longer possible.

Recorders
A reminder that all pupils from Years 3-6 have recorder lessons and, for Health and Safety reasons, need their own recorder. These, along with recorder books, can be bought from the school office. Recorders cost £6.50, Book One is £3.50 and Book 2 is £3. Recorder lessons usually take place on Monday afternoons and will start on Monday 22nd September.

After School Clubs
We have been very fortunate to have had Roseanne Butler, Marc Oakley and Nathan Manzie run some of our after school clubs over the last year. As this year is an important exam year for them they now need to focus on their studies and are unable to continue. We thank them for all their hard work and wish them well. Our good fortune continues and we have new junior sports leaders- Tom Howlett and Naomi Manzie who along with other ex-pupils are willing to run after school clubs during Terms 1 and 2 under the supervision of school staff. This will mean that we are able to offer Netball Club for Year 3-6 pupils and Multi-skills Club for Year 1 and Year 2 pupils on a Wednesday afternoon from 3.15pm to 4pm. In addition, Mrs Lisa Scragg (who has the appropriate checks/qualifications) has kindly offered to run a Hockey Club for Year 3-6 pupils on a Monday afternoon from 3.15pm to 4pm.
Please note that these clubs will run for 10 weeks (5 weeks either side of the October Holiday) and will start the week beginning Monday 22nd September. Due to former commitments, Mrs Scragg is only able to offer 8 weeks of club –see letter for details.
The Premier Sports after school Football Club for participating Year 3-6 pupils started this week, from 3.15pm to 4.15pm and runs until 18th December.
We are also negotiating the provision of an after-school Rugby Club in Terms 3 and 4. Further details to follow.

Named clothing for Class 1 pupils
Please could all parents of Class 1 pupils ensure that their PE kit and school uniform are clearly marked with their child’s name. We do try to ensure that pupils go home in their own clothing after a PE session but when there is a large quantity of unmarked clothing it can be difficult!

Message from the PTA Committee
Tickets are now on sale in the school office for the Music quiz on Friday 3rd October. Please do come along and show your support for the first PTA event of this academic year.

Little Bears News
This week Little Bears have continued settling in their new members, enjoyed icing biscuits and making space pictures. Tickets for the Ball are now sold out. We would appreciate any donations of newspapers.

DIARY DATES:
Mon/Tues 15th/16th September Alison Pullen – textile artist in school working with pupils
Class 2 swimming session
Tuesday 16th September PTA meeting in school at 8pm. All welcome
Wednesday 17th September Mobile Library visit
Monday 22nd September Governors’ Meeting at 7.30pm
Wednesday 24th September Year 6 (and their parents) assembly at 2.45pm with Richard Hudson
Reading Information Evening for Parents from 6.00-7.30pm
Friday 3rd October School Harvest Service in Church at 9.30am. All welcome
PTA Music Quiz
Monday 6th October Children’s Book week and start of Favourite Story Fortnight
Wednesday 15th October School and Little Bears Open Morning from 9.00am until 11.30am. All welcome

Friday, September 5, 2008

Newsletter No 1 2008-9 Academic Year

Welcome back to everyone for the start of a new school year.


We are pleased to welcome the following new pupils into Class 1: Amy Freeman, Sophie Hector, Oliver Lowman and Edward (Ned) Pratt.

Happy AUGUST Birthday to: Amy Akers, Amelia Birtles, Rhys Brown, Oliver Perring, Amber Tomkins and Abigail Wright
Happy SEPTEMBER Birthday to: Bryce Dobson, Alice Madry, Annabel Roe, Chloe Scragg, Robbie Scragg

During the month of September we are focusing on the core value of RESPECT.

Admission to Primary Schools in September 2009
If your child was born between 1st September 2004 and 31st August 2005, you will soon need to apply for a place at school. Booklets should be sent to families automatically, but will also be available from school shortly or you may apply on-line via www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/admissions

Open Morning
Stadhampton Primary School and Little Bears Pre-School would be pleased to welcome you to our joint Open Morning on Wednesday 15th October 2008.

School Meals from September
A reminder that the cost of a school meal has risen to £1.95 per day.

Swimming at Berinsfield
Swimming will begin for Class 2 pupils on Monday 8th September. They will have 7 sessions up to the October Holiday. As always, we are grateful to receive a “voluntary contribution” of £1 per child, per swimming session towards the cost of the transport. Cash or cheques please, (kept separate from dinner money) made payable to Stadhampton Primary School.

School Photographer – Thursday 11th September
All pupils will be photographed individually and with their siblings in school. If any parent would like any additional photographs of family groups, etc please come into the hall at 8.45am and these will be taken first.

Message from the PTA Committee
The first PTA meeting of the new school year will take place on Tuesday 16th Sept at 8pm at the School. The PTA raises funds for all the children in school. Your ideas and fund-raising support are vital to ensure we can secure enough funds to provide extra opportunities for development. All parents are automatically part of the PTA and as such we encourage the regulars plus those parents who have never attended before to join this meeting to discuss fund raising ideas for the year.
If you would like to find out more about what we do or are keen to become more involved please contact Sara Wright on 07831 727764.

A reminder that we need a few more recipes for the Recipe Book. Closing date is 30.09.2008. Please speak to Sarah Madry or Helen Oakley if you need help with submitting a recipe.

Lost and Found
Two items found after Sports Evening: A black camera/video case. A ladies watch
Please call into the school office if you think either item belongs to you.

Little Bears News
We are pleased to welcome the following new children into Little Bears this term:
Isobel, Isabella, Callum, Freddy, Eleanor, Jessica, Chloe and Zara.
This week has been spent mostly settling our new children in and reminding ourselves of our routines.

Diary Dates:
Sunday 7th September
Parish Praise – St John the Baptist Church, Stadhampton at 9.30am.
Monday 8th September
Swimming at Berinsfield commences for Class 2 pupils
Thursday 11th September
School Photographer will be visiting on Thursday 11th September
After School Football Club begins for participating pupils
Mon/Tues 15th/16th September
Alison Pullen – textile artist in school working with pupils
Tuesday 16th September
PTA meeting in school at 8pm. All welcome
Wednesday 17th September
Mobile Library visit
Wednesday 15th October
School and Little Bears Open Morning – all welcome


Please find attached to this newsletter:
· A letter to parents providing more information about Post OFSTED Developments
· Flyer about Parish Praise service