Newsletter No 8 / 21st October 2010

School Photographs
Thank you to the many familes who have already returned their orders for school photographs. They will be collected at 8am on Thursday 4th November so please return any further orders to school by Wednesday 3rd November.

Children in Need, Friday 19th November
Just to give some advance notice that we will be participating in the BBC Children in Need Appeal. This year’s Children in Need appeal has the motto – “Show your spots, let’s raise lots!” To support this we will have a non-uniform day on Friday 19th November which is the official Children in Need day. To take part children are expected to wear “something spotty” as part of their attire rather than normal school uniform and bring in £1 to school. We will then collect contributions at class registration time and send the proceeds to Children in Need. We are also planning other activities to take place during the day.

Christmas Productions 2010
With the number of pupils in our school having grown so significantly, providing us with so many budding actors, the traditional whole-school Christmas play has sadly become logistically impossible. As almost 50% of our pupils are in Reception or Key Stage 1, after much consideration, we have decided to put on two separate productions; one for KS2 pupils and another for KS1 and Reception Pupils. There will be two performances of the KS2 production on Wednesday 8th December, one in the afternoon and one in the evening, however, only one performance of the KS1 / Reception production during the afternoon of Friday 10th December. Further details about these productions will follow after the October Holiday.

Ancient Egypt Workshop, with Mrs Whitten – Written by Millie Birtles & Jake Day
“On Tuesday Class 2 travelled back in time to Ancient Egypt. We were looking at what life style they led. We were involved in making a mummy and the burial ceremony. We found out lots of things about their first life and the after life. All pupils were involved in giving the mummy special gifts which he would carry into the after life. Some pupils dressed up as Egypian boys, girls, men and women. All pupils enjoyed the Egypitian visit and thanked Mrs Whitten.”

Menus for Winter & Spring
You should find a copy of the new Winter & Spring Menus from Food with Thought, in bookbags, which begins on 1st November and finishes the week beginning 4th April as we break up for the Easter holidays. There is a three- week cycle of menus and the dates for the menu are at the top of each of the weeks, so that parents can easily see which week we are currently on. As soon as this new menu is available electronically from Food with Thought, we will upload it onto the Learning Platform.


Free School Meals for Reception Pupils during National School Meals Week
Thank you to those families who have returned the slip at the bottom of the letter from Food with Thought confirming that they would like to take up the offer for one week of free school meals for Reception pupils from 8th – 12th November. Only those families who return the completed slip will be eligible to have the free school meals.

P.T.A. Message
After what has been a very busy beginning to the school year, we can now all enjoy the holidays. Some of us will be getting out in the garden to plant those bulbs and flowers we ordered! Please give us any feed back you may have about the baskets, plants and bulbs you received. You may contact us and leave any comments, regarding this or other issues, using the P.T.A. email address www.stadhamptonpta@gmail.com. If everyone is happy, we will be handing out plant order forms again in the spring, as it was such a popular fund raiser. Thank you again to all who placed an order.

The Quiz Night last Friday proved to be really good fun and we have had wonderful feed back form all who attended. Ian Lansley did a sterling job as our compare for the evening - Thank you and well done. (Glad the voice just about held out!) The members of the Pudding Club have set a very high standard for future events! Nine wonderful entrants donated superb desserts, free of charge. May we say a really big “Thank You” to Sarah Green, Lucy Ellis, Elaine Burnell, Shirley Bateman, Sam Odell, Lucy Khan, Nikki Howlett, Peter Madry and Poppy Elliot’s friend! You all helped to make the evening very special and raise some extra funds for the children in the process. We are very grateful.

If the colder weather has encouraged you to have a sort out of your wardrobes, then please consider donating any clean, good quality clothes, shoes, bags etc. to the school. You should have received a recycling bag in your child’s book bag last week. Extra black bin bags are always welcome and you can include curtains, towels, soft toys and bedding. For more details about the company and what you can give, you can see their website www.bag2school.com. Both the school and Little Bears Pre-School will benefit from this fund raiser so please pass on your old flares and winkle pickers! The bags will be collected from school on Monday 1st November, which is the first day back after the holidays!

A gentle reminder, that Tracy Perring will continue to sell uniforms in Little Bears, after school every Wednesday. If you need any new items then please try and visit her before 3.30pm. We will be producing a product and price list to hand out to parents/carers, after the autumn holidays.

Finally, please make a note in your diaries that the P.T.A. will be holding a Winter Fair in the School (community) Hall on Friday 26th November at 6.00pm. This will be one of the last fundraisers of the year and we have lots of fun, new stalls planned. Please start saving bits and bobs to donate. We would be grateful for DVD’s, CDs, books, bottles and chocolates for the tombolas, good quality toys and prizes for the raffle. More information will follow after the holidays.

As always, thank you for your ongoing support. Without your donations and contributions we wouldn’t be able to offer the children those special extras!

Little Bears News
Here we are at the end of the first half term. I think I can speak for all at Little Bears new and old, that we are tired but very well settled into life at Little Bears. We have welcomed many new children over the last seven weeks and are yet to welcome a few more on our return in November. Our topic for the next seven weeks will begin with “fireworks” leading onto “shapes” followed by “Christmas” . The bulk order of glitter is on its way!

DIARY DATES:
Thursday 21st October
Term 1 finishes at 3.15pm
Monday 1st November
Term 2 starts for all pupils
PTA Clothes Collection
Swimming starts for Class 3 pupils
Wednesday 3rd November
Foundation Stage pupils and Class 1 pupils visit Blenheim Palace. Letters distributed in book bags on 14th October.
Year 5 pupils visit ICC for a “Wider World” lesson
Wednesday 10th November
Maths Masterclass at ICC for participating pupils
Mon 15th November
Parents’ Evenings – 4.30-7pm
Wednesday 17th November
Parents’ Evenings – 3.30-6pm
Friday 19th November
Children in Need Day – non-uniform, pay £1 and wear something spotty
Monday 22nd November
Governing Body meeting at 7pm
Friday 26th November
PTA Winter Fair