Newsletter No 6 / 3rd April 2009

Happy APRIL Birthday to: Thea Diment, Daniel Green, Jamie Lavene and Rosalind Mannering.

During April we are focusing on the “core value” of HUMILITY

Learning Platform
As we mentioned in a previous newsletter, the implementation of the Learning Platform is complex and will take time to be fully operational throughout the school. Pupils in Class 3 are already familiar with Digital Brain, the Learning Platform’s predecessor, so it is logical that they are the first to access the Learning Platform. When we come back after the Easter Break Class 3 pupils will be given their usernames and passwords and will be able to access interest spaces dedicated to class projects. These interest spaces will include Wikis and discussions as well as work to download and upload.
Thank you to the parents who have sent in their e-mail addresses this week. Please e-mail the school office at office.2455@stadhampton.oxon.sch.uk and put “Newsletter” in the subject line and your e-mail address in the body so that we can enter as many parents as possible onto the school information system.


Car Park and Children’s Safety
Thank you to the drivers who have responded to our recent reminders about driving with due vigilance and adherence to the 5mph speed limit. We currently open the school car park to parents/carers to reduce congestion in Cratlands Close. The increase in use of vehicles, however, also generates a rise in the number of pedestrians in the car park which, in turn, increases the potential risk of an accident occurring. We have recently received reports that a number of pupils are running around unaccompanied in the car park and that drivers are fearful of a serious accident happening (small children are especially hard to see). Before and after school pupils are the responsibility of parents/carers and should be kept under close supervision at all times. We are in the process of working with the LEA to change the layout of fencing to improve pedestrian safety and provide a parent/carer waiting area within the school grounds but such changes take time. In the meantime we ask that pupils are met at the pedestrian gate and those who are being transported by car are then accompanied to the car by an adult. Responsible use of the car park by all will significantly reduce the chance of a tragic accident. Thank you.

After School Club
After school club will begin on Monday 20th April for participating pupils. A Stadhampton School bag has been given to the pupils who have already signed up to the club so that they can bring clothes to change into, etc. There are several places left if anyone would still like to give it a try.

School Meals
Please find attached to this newsletter a copy of the new Spring and Summer 2009 Menu. The price of school meals remains at £1.95 and orders should be placed on MONDAY morning please for that week.

PTA News
Thank you to everyone who has brought in plant pots. Last Friday the gardening club children planted them up with sunflowers, sweet peas, and other flowers. Hoping that the weather co-operates, the plants will be available for sale at the PTA refreshment stall at the Stadhampton Car Boot Sale on May 4th, so look out for them!
Chiltern Chase – please see enclosed leaflet to register yourself as a Stadhampton Steamer.
Clothes Recycling – reminder to have a clearout over Easter ready for the clothes recycling 24 April.
Car Boot Sale 4th May – this is the event that PTA needs volunteers to help with the refreshment stall at the car boot sale. The active PTA members really struggle to cover this event and we are in real danger of it being cancelled if we cannot get additional people to help out on the day. This would be a great shame as it has the potential to raise over £500 if the weather is good. We only need you for an hour – this way we can spread the workload and ensure no-one has to be there all morning. Please let us know if you can help – we need approx 8-10 people in total to serve refreshments and direct booters to parking bays.

Sporting Success
A number of pupils participate in individual sporting activities, outside school, at a national level. Two of our current Year 6 pupils have achieved recent success in their chosen sport; Cameron Vale has recently gained a junior black belt in Karate, and is one of the youngest in the country to do so, and Kezia Lawson plays badminton at county level and recently played in the national badminton tournament for Under 11s representing Oxfordshire. She is currently one of top players for her age group in Oxfordshire and is 16th in the country. We congratulate them both.

School Council News
Thank you to everyone who made or sent in cakes earlier this week. The School Council were pleased to raise £34.90 from this event and £18.80 from the sale of puzzle pages.

Little Bears News
We have been saying goodbye to Molly Hulcup as she is joining a pre-school in Chalgrove and to Louise who starts her maternity leave today. We had great fun completing our Treasure Hunt this week and will announce next term how much we raised. We have been busy making Easter decorations. The winner of the Easter Egg Hunt was Jake Day and we raised £16.50. We would be very pleased to welcome everyone to our Coffee Morning on Thursday 9th April between 10am and 12 noon.

DIARY DATES:

Sunday 5th April Palm Sunday Praise at St John’s Church, Stadhampton – 9.30am. Leaflet attached.
Monday 20th April Term 5 starts
Swimming begins for pupils in Class 2. They will have 5 sessions, 20th, 27th April, 11th, 18th May and 1st June.
Wednesday 22nd April Mobile Library visit
Friday 24th April Black bags clothes collection
11th – 15th May SATs tests week
Wednesday 13th May Mobile Library visit
Maths lesson for Year 5 pupils at ICC
Thursday 4th June School closed for Parliamentary and County Council Elections. Please note the error on the after school football letter earlier this week – no football club on this day!