Friday, June 29, 2012

Newsletter for week ending 29th June 2012



Thank you and Goodbye

We would like to say thank you and goodbye to Miss Farrant, Miss Wilson and Miss Parker, our three student teachers from Oxford Brookes University. All three students have been an asset to the school and have told us how much they have learnt from, and enjoyed, their placement here. We wish them all well in their future careers.

Staff Changes for September 2012
Mrs Hargrave who has been training to be a teacher whilst working as a teaching assistant over the last four years, will be leaving Stadhampton School at the end of this term to take up a teaching post in September. We wish her every success in her teaching career. If anyone would like to contribute to a leaving gift for Mrs Hargrave (which we will present at the end of year assembly on 20th July), the office will be pleased to collect. We are currently recruiting two teaching assistants for September. The interviews are being held next Tuesday; we will keep you informed of our progress.

Summer Holiday Courses – 13th -17th August
The Premier Sports Group will be running a weeks holiday course at Stadhampton School for all primary-aged pupils week commencing Monday 13th August. Further details to be confirmed before the end of term.

With the kind permission of Mr Hunter, Headteacher of Icknield Community College, Michael Hopkins will be running his own football based course at Icknield Community College in Watlington during the same week. This course is open to Years 3–7 pupils; (see attached flyer.)

Olivia Ward will also be running a Jazz and Hip Hop dance course at Icknield Community College at the same time, this course is open to Year 5 upwards; (see attached flyer.)

PTA NEWS

Olympic-Themed Cake Sale - Friday 6th July
We would be grateful for any 'Olympic' or sporty themed cakes or biscuits for the popular cake sale on Friday 6th July from 3.15pm in the covered area outside Class 1. Please bring in any cakes on the Friday morning.

In addition there will be one cake that we will be raffling off - tickets will be 20p, for a chance to win a lovely cake to take home.


PTA Sports Night BBQ & Bar - Friday 13th July
Last chance to get your tickets for a delicious burger or sausage for just £2 from our BBQ. Get your orders in by 9am Tuesday 2nd July, to ensure you don't miss out as we will order exact quantities and there will be no spares! Everybody keep your fingers crossed for a dry, if not sunny, evening.



Little Bears News
The children have been so excited to see the circus arrive on The Green this week. We have continued to enjoy our circus theme with circus skills in the garden and making circus-themed pictures. We will be practising our circus skills again next week and looking at circus animals past and present.


DIARY DATES:
Monday 9th July Olympic Torch in Oxon
Tuesday 10th July Olympic Torch in Oxon
Wednesday 11th,Thursday 12th, Friday 13th July Year 6 transition days at Icknield Community College
New Reception pupils for September join us for three taster days. “Moving up” days for all Reception –Year 5 pupils
Friday 13th July Sports Evening (weather permitting)
Friday 20th July 9.05am - Leavers assembly. Everyone welcome to attend.
1.30pm school ends
Wednesday 5th September Pupils return to school for the start of the new academic year.

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Newsletter for week ending 22nd June 2012



Big Science Event

All Class 3 pupils recently took part in the Big Science Oxford Event by conducting group investigations in school into a scientific area of their choice. Florence, Matthew Ellis, Bryce and Maisie were judged to be the winning team by a representative from the Big Science Event. They will go through to the finals event at Science Oxford Live on 28th June, where they will present their investigation to other groups and to the judges. Congratulations to our winners and we wish them good luck in the final!

Reception and Class 1 Visit to Odds Farm Park – Report by Reception pupils
“We went to Odd Farm Park on a coach and had a great day. We liked the sack ride slide. We went on a tractor ride and saw some greedy goats. We also fed some goats. We had our own lunch there too. We loved our day so much some of us fell asleep on the coach on the way home!”

Swimming in the School Pool
Please could everyone make sure that they have swimming kit (including a hat) in school each day as the school pool is now in use.

Waiting Area
Please could everyone remember to close the waiting area gates behind them as they leave the waiting area to reduce the likelihood of small children escaping when either gate is left open.
Thank you.

PTA News


We're gearing up for some busy and fun filled end of term activities and hope that you can support us.

Pampered Chef - Thursday 28th June
Tickets are still available for this evening of fun and cooking, and a bar will be available as well. If you are unable to come, you can still order Pampered Chef products, just see a member of the PTA.

Olympic Themed Cake Sale - Friday 6th July
We are holding an Olympic-themed cake sale after school on 6th July and would love to see all your Olympic inspired cake creations. There will also be a special cake that you could win in a raffle.

Exciting news - the End of Term School Disco will be held on Thursday 19th July from 6pm till 7.30pm.
We know the majority of feedback came back saying that a Friday night would be the best night for a disco and that people were very excited at the idea of having a disco. However, Year 6 have had their plans for their leaving celebrations for the last Friday of term on the go for a long time, and with sports night the Friday before, we felt that this was the best compromise for a disco at the end of term. So we're going to give it a go - and if it proves popular there may be more - and on a Friday night!


We are bound by the Community Hall’s maximum numbers so will be operating a ticket system and, to enable all the children to have the opportunity to attend, would encourage parents not to stay as we will ensure that we have enough supervision. Keep an eye out for further details and how to get your tickets.

PTA Sports Night BBQ & Bar - Friday 13th July
As in previous years we will be running our popular sports night BBQ & Bar. The BBQ will be serving sausages or burgers in a bun and tickets can be purchased for £2. To enable us to order exact quantities tickets will need to be purchased by Tuesday 2nd July. Tickets are available from the School Office ANY MORNING from Friday 22 June.


Little Bears News
Little Bears have enjoyed our “clown” theme this week. They have made clown faces out of paper plates using different shapes and textured materials. They have also had their faces painted to look like real clowns! They also made some yummy clown biscuits. Our topic next week is the Ringmaster and Lion and we will be making a large Ringmaster collage for our classroom display.

DIARY DATES:
Monday 25th June Last afterschool hockey club
Wednesday 27th June Last afterschool multisports and netball club
Thursday 28th June Pampered Chef Evening
Friday 29th June Year 6 cycle test
Monday 9th July Olympic Torch in Oxon
Tuesday 10th July Olympic Torch in Oxon
Wednesday 11th,Thursday 12th, Friday 13th July Year 6 transition days at Icknield Community College
New Reception pupils for September join us for three taster days.
Friday 13th July Provisional date for Sports Evening (weather permitting)
Friday 20th July 9.05am - Leavers assembly. Everyone welcome to attend.
1.30pm school ends
Wednesday 5th September Pupils return to school for the start of the new academic year

Friday, June 15, 2012

Newsletter for week ending 15th June 2012



During June the school is focusing on the core value of Patience

Happy June Birthday to: Megan Barber, Olivia Dallimore, Betsy Elliott, Ella Gravett, Chloe Hindmarch, Zara Hopkins, James Lowman, Joshua Matthews and Georgia Valentine.

Learning Platform
We have uploaded a selection of photographs taken at our school Jubilee Party. More pictures will be uploaded as they become available. We also hope to make the cover of the Parish Magazine!

Tesco Vouchers
Final request please for any Tesco vouchers before we send off our order on Monday. Thank you for collecting these for us.

The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Celebrations
We held a very enjoyable, memorable and colourful Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebration on Friday 1st June and the rain even managed to keep away for us! We held a special assembly to mark the occasion. During the assembly we were joined by Mrs Ann Stead OBE and Mrs Edwina Humm who, on behalf of the Parish Council, presented each pupil with a Queen’s Diamond Jubilee mug. Pupils were all involved in making sandwiches, decorating cakes and biscuits, making flags and bunting in preparation for the party in the afternoon. After lunch we played a variety of traditional games, held a “best Jubilee hat” competition and, ultimately a street-style tea party outside. The occasion was enjoyed enormously by all and our thanks go to Mrs Hopkins, Mrs Wilkin and all our support staff for organising this event. Many thanks to everyone who helped with the creation of so many fantastic crowns and hats, the costumes, the cakes and biscuits for the pupils to decorate and to the parents who helped to prepare for the party in school during the morning. Thank you.

Olympic Ticket Winners
The draw for the three complimentary Olympic tickets allocated to Stadhampton School took place after school on Friday 1st June. Thank you to all families who applied for the draw; we received a total of nine applications. Congratulations to Georgia Valentine and Millie Birtles who will be accompanied by Mr Valentine. The lucky trio will be attending the athletics at the Olympic Park on 4th August and will be compiling a photographic record of their day to present in school in September. We hope they have a fantastic day!

Olympic Torch Relay Update
We have recently received news regarding the Olympic Torch Relay and you may well have seen signs at various locations along the route indicating the expected local traffic congestion and delays at that time. The nearest point the torch comes to Stadhampton is along Cuddesdon Way, Oxford at approximately 5.30pm on Monday 9th July. We have been advised by Oxford City Council that spectators will need to be in place approximately one hour before this so they can get settled and view the pre Torch procession. Prospective spectators are advised to plan their journey accordingly! Following the Torch Relay there is a Celebration Event in South Park, Oxford. For safety reasons it is a ticketed event however tickets are free of charge. Please see the Oxford City Council website for further details.

Little Bears News
The children had a fantastic time at the end of last term at the Jubilee celebrations; thank you once again to everyone at the Primary School for making the day so memorable.
Our Jubilee quilt is now on display in Little Bears for all to see.
Continuing with our Term Six theme of “The Circus” we will be making clown faces and clown biscuits next week.
Reminder that Tempest Photography will be with us from 8.15am onwards for family portraits on Friday the 22nd June.


PTA News
Pampered Chef Evening - Thursday 28th June, 7.30pm
Come and enjoy food and information about the Pampered Chef - there'll be a cookery demonstration using Pampered Chef products, a chance to win some goodies in the raffle, wine & Pimms to drink and friends to chat to.

Tickets are available for just £2 and include a glass of Pimms or wine, nibbles and samples of food prepared by our Pampered Chef Sharon Dyson. Get yours from the School Office.

School Disco
Get your dancing shoes and disco outfits ready - we're having a school disco at the end of the summer term. Watch out for more information in the coming weeks.


DIARY DATES:
Wednesday 20th June Year 5 visit to ICC for Creative Arts lesson
Monday 25th June Last afterschool hockey club
Wednesday 27th June Last afterschool multisports and netball club
Thursday 28th June Pampared Chef Evening
Friday 29th June Year 6 cycle test
Monday 9th July Olympic Torch in Oxon
Tuesday 10th July Olympic Torch in Oxon
Wednesday 11th,Thursday 12th, Friday 13th July Year 6 transition days at Icknield Community College
New Reception pupils for September join us for three taster days.
Friday 13th July Provisional date for Sports evening (weather permitting)
Friday 20th July 9.05am - Leavers assembly. Everyone welcome to attend.
1.30pm school ends
Wednesday 5th September Pupils return to school for the start of the new academic year

Friday, June 1, 2012

Newsletter for week ending 1st June 2012



Swimming at the Abbey Sports Centre
Swimming begins for Class 3 pupils on Monday 11th June. They will have 6 swimming sessions and, as always, we hope that parents are willing to contribute to the cost of the transport to the pool by paying £1 per pupil per week.

Swimming in our school pool
We are grateful to Mrs Leiper for looking after our swimming pool and for making sure it is ready for the children to swim in. We hope to have a replacement part fitted during this week to the heater but the water temperature is already 26 degrees! A bacterialogical sample has been taken for analysis and as long as the result comes back clear, we shall be able to start using the pool, weather permitting, from Monday 11th June.
ALL PUPILS, including Reception, should have swimming kit available in school each day in readiness for swimming. This should include for girls a one-piece swimming costume (no bikinis or tankinis please) and for boys a pair of tight fitting (not baggy) swimming trunks. All pupils (boys and girls) need to have their own swimming hat and, of course, a towel. Anyone with earrings must either be able to remove them for swimming (and any other form of PE) or have their own roll of micropore tape in their swimming bag to cover them. It is helpful if clothing is marked with the pupils name in case of any queries when pupils get dressed again!
Goggles are not necessary in our school pool and discouraged due to them being a possible health and safety hazard in a small pool. Chlorine levels are generally lower in our pool than in a public swimming pool and pupils will be doing very little underwater swimming.

Help Required!
Mr Freeth, our ICT governor who has also kindly looked after the school website for the last couple of years, has recently resigned from the Governing Body due to pressure of work and we would really appreciate some help in updating our school website (www.stadhampton.oxon.sch.uk) in readiness for the new academic year beginning in September. It already contains lots of useful information and we do our best to keep it up to date but we would like to see what could be done to make it even better. Does anyone know of someone with the necessary web-design skills to take this on as a project for us? We would be willing to pay a small fee for someone to do the initial setting up of the website and then would need to discuss how best to continue to update it. Please e-mail Mrs Hopkins at office.2455@stadhampton.oxon.sch.uk if you think you have the appropriate skills and the time available to be actively involved in this exciting project.

Sports Evening- Friday 13th July
This year our annual Sports Evening will be closely linked with the Olympics. During National Sports Week pupils will be taking part in a number of Olympic-related events in school and on Monday 25th June we will be putting the children into 5 teams for the 5 colours of the rings on the Olympic flag. These colours are red, blue, green, yellow and black. Teams will score points for the activities carried out during sports week. Pupils will remain in the same 5 teams for our Sports Evening on Friday 13th July and, for this Olympic year, the scores collected during Sports Week will be added to the scores collected during Sports Evening.

Sports Evening is one of the highlights of the school year. Most pupils attend this event and are keen to represent their team. Families will be able to buy refreshments and BBQ food as in previous years.

Families are welcome to support the event and, as in previous years, refreshments and BBQ food will be available to buy. Please let us know by Monday 18th June if your child will not be attending Sports Evening (6.15pm for 6.30 start, finishing between 7.30 and 7.45pm) through your child’s class teacher.

Your child will bring home a slip on Monday 25th June with details of their team colour. We encourage parents to borrow and lend, rather than go to the extra expense of buying a new top for one occasion. It is our tradition to keep families together in the same colour team.

Any queries please do not hesitate to contact Mrs Turner or Mrs Manzie,

Little Bears News
We return on Monday the 11th June to the theme "The Circus.” We will be learning some circus skills and making lots of circus themed artwork to go up in Little Bears. Have a great half term week and enjoy the Jubilee celebrations.



PTA News
Pampered Chef Evening - Thursday 28th June

Tickets are now available from the School Office. For just £2, which includes a glass of Pimms or wine, nibbles and food sampling, you can have a fun evening with friends.

DIARY DATES:
Monday 11th June Return to school for the start of Term 6
Wednesday 13th June Last day for completed quiz sheets to be returned to school
Wednesday 20th June Year 5 visit to ICC for Creative Arts lesson
Monday 25th June Last afterschool hockey club
Wednesday 27th June Last afterschool multisports and netball club
Friday 29th June Year 6 cycle test
Monday 9th July Olympic Torch in Oxon
Tuesday 10th July Olympic Torch in Oxon
Wednesay 11th,Thursday 12th, Friday 13th July Year 6 transition days to Icknield Community College
New Reception pupils into Foundation Stage for three taster days
Friday 13th July Provisional date for Sports evening
Friday 20th July 9.05 - Leavers assembly
1.30pm school ends
Wednesday 5th September Pupils return to school

Please find attached a flyer outlining events at the Children’s Centre in June and July.

Newsletter for week ending 25th May 2012

A Right Royal Quiz
As part of our Queen’s Diamond Jubilee festivities, Mrs Wilkins has kindly put together a Right
Royal Quiz. This is available from the school office for £1. Pupils, together with Mrs Wilkin, have
requested that any profits made from the quiz should be used to support Lunch4Learning, a local
charity that works with Ugandan primary schools to help these schools set up sustainable ways of
providing a regular midday meal and thus improve children’s attendance. Further details of
Lunch4Learning are available from the school office.
Completed quizzes need to be submitted to the school office by 3.15pm on Wednesday 13th June.
In the event of a tie, all correct entries will be put into a hat and the winner chosen at our school
assembly on Friday 15th June. There will be just one prize.

Bookfeast
Visit on 22nd May – Years 1-3 – Report by Cora and Oliver L
“At Bookfeast we saw Tony Mitten. He told us rhymes and poems and that he loves writing books.
He told us a story about Dinosaurs. After that we wrote poems about the colourful objects that we
found in the museum. This was because a naughty wizard had cast a spell over all the objects and
they disappeared! Then we wrote a poem about all the objects coming back to the museum.”
Visit on 24th May – Years 4-6 – Report by Maisie
“I really enjoyed the experience of being told all about Sally Grindley and her books. It was really
interesting and I am sure I will read some of her books and thoroughly enjoy them! I didn’t know
who Sally Grindley was before and I knew nothing about her books but now I definitely know who
she is. I think the “Canopy and Compost” exhibition looked beautiful and as I looked at it I felt
really proud of our school.”

Thank you
Many thanks to our very active PTA for organising last weekend’s Family Fun Day. The PTA works
hard to provide social events and raise money to enhance the facilties we are able to offer at
Stadhampton School. All pupils benefit from the support of the PTA and your continued support of
their events is much appreciated.

PTA NEWS
Family Fun Day
A huge thank you to everyone who donated items, helped, had fun on the puzzle trail and
supported us by attending the event - we raised £410.02. This will be put towards the cost of the
French lessons which the PTA helps to pay for.
The Junk Heap challenge was won by Buddy Halliday - watch out for his winning design on the
front cover of the June Parish Magazine. Daniel Burns, visiting his grandparents in the village,
came second, and Julian Fouquet-Burns came third. Well done to everyone - there were some
fantastic models and thanks to Reverend David Cleugh for taking on the tough task of judging the
entries.

Matthew Ellis won 9 games in the very popular Connect 4 challenge, a clear champion! Mrs
Turner picked the winners for the Puzzle Trail draw. Daniel & Matthew Ellis and Charlotte Hector
were the lucky winners.

Pampered Chef evening – Thursday 28th June
Fancy an evening of fun, food and wine - then come along to our fund raising Pampered Chef
evening. Tickets will be £2, and will include a glass of Pimms or wine, nibbles and sampling the
yummy food made. There will also be a raffle. Tickets available soon from Tracey Valentine, the
School Office or from a PTA committee member.

Olympic Torch Relay
As the Olympic Torch passes its way around the country, families may be considering when and
where to see it. The route brings the torch to Oxford during the late afternoon of Monday 9th July
and on Tuesday 10th July the torch leaves Oxford at 07.05 and travels along the Iffley Road before
moving to Abingdon (07.41), Wallingford (08.25) and Crowmarsh (08.43) and then on to Henley.
School will be open as usual both days, however we do recognise that a number of families would
like to see the torch relay for themselves. In order to provide an opportunity for this without the
need for pupils to be absent from school, we will keep our registers open until 10am on Tuesday
10th July. Further details of the relay route are available on the Olympic website.

Little Bears News
Next week at Little Bears we will be getting ready for the Jubilee celebrations by making bunting
and flags. We will also be unveiling our unique one of a kind diamond Jubilee quilt made by all of
our Little Bears on Friday.

DIARY DATES:
Friday 1st June Jubilee celebrations at school – please wear red, white and
blue!
Olympic Tickets Draw at 3.20pm
School finishes at 3.15pm
Monday 11th June Return to school for the start of Term 6
Wednesday 13th June Last day for completed quiz sheets to be returned to school
Wednesday 20th June Year 5 visit to ICC for Creative Arts lesson
Monday 25th June Last afterschool hockey club
Wednesday 27th June Last afterschool multisports and netball club
Friday 29th June Year 6 cycle test
Monday 9th July Olympic Torch in Oxon
Tuesday 10th July Olympic Torch in Oxon
Wednesay 11th,Thursday 12th,
Friday 13th July
Year 6 transition days to Icknield Community College
New Reception into Foundation Stage for three taster days
Friday 13th July Provisional date for Sports evening
Friday 20th July 9.05 - Leavers assembly
1.30pm school ends
Wednesday 5th September Pupils return to school

Newsletter for week ending 18th May 2012



We send our very best wishes for a speedy recovery to Ben Drake.

SATs Tests
Congratulations to our Year 6 pupils who have coped very well with the pressures of SATs this week. Some Year 6 pupils will be doing Level 6 tests next week. Further tests will be continuing throughout this month for pupils in Years 2-5.

University of Oxford Department of Education Research Study
During the Autumn Term, Year 5 pupils were involved in the 1st phase of a study carried out by researchers at the University of Oxford investigating aspects of writing in pupils of this age. This term a researcher will be returning to complete the 2nd phase of the study with the same pupils. This activity will take place on Monday 28th and Wednesday 30th May. There is no need to sign additional consent forms as both phases were covered in the original consent form.

Jubilee Celebration in School
Thank you to everyone who offered to make plain fairy cakes and biscuits for our Jubilee Party. We have enough volunteers now, thank you!
Don’t forget that there are prizes for each class and at Little Bears for the best hats and we would like all children to come to school dressed in red, white and blue on Friday 1st June.

PTA News

Family Fun Day - this Saturday 19th May
Come and have some crafty fun on Saturday - it's all indoors, so it doesn't matter what the weather decides to do!

Make sure you hand your completed puzzle trail in by 3pm to be in with a chance of winning a prize.

So that the children have a really good time, we need lots of the following please:
• CLEAN, SAFE and interesting junk: eggboxes, yoghurt pots, lids, cardboard containers, plastic containers, old magazines, crafty bits, plastic plant pots etc...

• We also need sweets and chocolate for the ever popular tombola

• Donations of tray bakes, cupcakes, biscuits will go down a treat at the refreshment stall.
Please bring all donations of junk (clean and safe), sweets & chocolates and cakes on Friday after school or Saturday. Thank you.

Little Bears News
We will be learning about the Royal Family. We shall make a family tree for them and for ourselves. We will also make crowns and tiaras, and look at some famous London landmarks and Royal Family homes. We will also be drawing and designing our own stamps.



Flyer attached with details of Summer Holiday activities at Icknield Community College. We understand that these are filling up fast!

DIARY DATES:
Tuesday 22nd May Bookfeast visit for Years 1, 2 and 3 to the Oxford Museum of Natural History
Thursday 24th May Bookfeast visit for Years 4, 5 and 6 to the Oxford Museum of Natural History
Friday 1st June Jubilee celebrations at school – please wear red, white and blue!
Olympic Tickets Draw at 3.20pm
School finishes at 3.15pm
Monday 11th June Return to school for the start of Term 6

Newsletter for week ending 11th May 2012



Students in Reception

We look forward to welcoming Miss Hannah Wilson and Miss Rebecca Parker, students at Oxford Brookes University into the Foundation Stage class for 5 weeks starting on Monday 14th May.

Final Request for Sainsbury’s and Tesco Vouchers

Thank you for collecting these for us. We would be happy to receive any vouchers you may still have so that we may now place our orders, they really do help us. The deadline is fast approaching!

Olympic Tickets
Following our recent consultation with the school community about how to allocate out three Olympics tickets fairly, we know families will be keen to know the outcome. This will take the form of a draw and an expectation that the lucky winners will make a presentation to the school about their day. The Olympic Organising Committee have clarified that, under their terms and conditions, the recipients must be at least 10 years old by 31st August 2012. This means, unfortunately, that the tickets are restricted to pupils in Years 5 and 6. Pupils in Class 3 have each received a letter about applying to take part in the draw. The tickets are for the Athletics event at the Olympic Stadium from 10am to 13.45am on Saturday 4th August. If you have not received your letter please contact the school office. Completed application forms need to be submitted to the school office by 3.15pm on Friday 25th May. The draw will take place at 3.20pm on Friday 1st June. Parents are most welcome to be present when the draw takes place in the Hall.

Water/Juice Bottles
In order to avoid confusion, it would be very helpful if all water/juice bottles which are washed and re-used could be labelled with the user’s name please. Thank you.

Class 2 Visit to Bhaktivedanta Manor Hindu Temple – Report by Ella and Max
“When we got there we were amazed at the wildlife and gardens. It turns out that George Harrison donated the huge manor to them. First we went on a bullock cart. The bulls were very strong to pull all 27 of us! We then went upstairs and had fun dressing up and pretending to have a wedding. The girls dressed up in saris, bangles and bindies. Next we had a delicious lunch including paneer curry, rice, chapatti, colourful rice crackers, chips and oat and raisin biscuits. Then the schools had spooky stories and face paints. We had a lovely time but it came to an end all too soon. We advise you to go.”

PTA News


Thank you for the bags for clothes recycling sent into school earlier this week. We shall let you know how much this raised when we receive payment for them.


Family Fun Day - Sat 19th May
We'd love any donations of sweets or chocolates that you can spare for our tombola. Please could you put any donations in the red PTA box in the hall. Thank you.

For all those who are collecting clean, safe junk for us, please keep doing so and we'd be grateful if you could hold on to it until we need it.


Puzzle Trail
Well done to those who managed to get out over the bank holiday weekend to get their puzzle trails done. The weather forcast is looking promising for Saturday this weekend, so get your puzzle trails now and enjoy the rare sunshine and have some fun.

Please remember to give your £5 to Rowena if you took a puzzle trail on an IOU basis. Thank you.


Little Bears News
Next week we will be developing the children’s awareness and understanding of the Sun and it’s effects. We will be planting Sunflower seeds and talking about how the Sun helps them grow. We will have our fingers crossed for some sunshine so we can explore evaporation.


DIARY DATES:
Monday 14th May-22nd May SATs for KS1 & KS2 pupils
Wednesday 16th May Year 5 visit to ICC for Science lesson
Saturday 19th May PTA Family Fun Day – 1.30pm start
Tuesday 22nd May Bookfeast visit for Years 1, 2 and 3 to the Oxford Museum of Natural History
Thursday 24th May Bookfeast visit for Years 4, 5 and 6 to the Oxford Museum of Natural History
Friday 1st June Jubilee celebrations at school – wear red, white and blue!
Olympic Tickets Draw at 3.20pm
School finishes at 3.15pm
Monday 11th June Return to school for the start of Term 6


Newsletter for week ending 4th May 2012



Cycle Safety Training
The following pupils have secured a place on the cycle safety training course which begins on 23rd May: Florence Amery, Ella-Mae White, Ewan Madry, Maisie Matthews, Matt Green, Megan Barber and Rhiannon Amery. This leaves three places remaining.

Jubilee Celebrations on Friday 1st June
We are looking forward to celebrating the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee at school with a big party!
Little Bears will be joining us for the celebration which will take place during the afternoon of Friday 1st June. The school will be “off timetable” all day as we will all be busy preparing for the party – making the sandwiches, decorating the cakes, making the bunting, sticking the paper chains together, blowing the balloons up etc. Mrs Hopkins is organising the event, ably assisted by Mrs Wilkin, Mrs Leiper, Mrs Hargrave and Mrs Shortman in conjunction with the staff and committee of Little Bears.

All children (and staff!) will be expected to wear red, white and blue clothing for the whole day so please start thinking about what you could wear!
There will be 5 prizes for the best hats - a winner will be chosen from each class in school and also from Little Bears.

If the weather is good we will have the party outside with tables set up on the netball court for a “street-style” party with bunting, balloons, etc. We have already purchased Union Jack (red, white and blue) paper plates, cups, tablecloths etc. If the weather is wet, we shall have to be indoors.

Mrs Wilkin will be in charge of organising some traditional games. We have lots and lots of prizes – Jubilee notebooks, pencil sets, balls, key rings, fridge magnets, etc. We shall then have afternoon tea which will include sandwiches, sausage rolls, cakes and scones with jam and cream.

We would welcome help from a few parents to make plain fairy/cup cakes which will be decorated in school during the morning by the children. Please let Mrs Hopkins know if you are willing to make any cakes for us and she will give you the Jubilee cake cases to bake them in! Thank you.

Stadhampton Village Jubilee Celebrations
We have been asked to let people know that there are still tickets available for the celebrations on the village green on Sunday 3rd June.
Tickets are for food only (meat roast, salads, vegetarian, party nibbles) and can be purchased from Suzanne White - suzanne.white11@btinternet.com or 890 880.
(Adults £7.50/Children 12-18 £2.50/Children 0-11 FREE). Tea/coffee available, please bring your own drinks otherwise.
The day will start off with a church service at 11am followed by lunch then an exhibition of Coronation and Jubilee memorabilia as well as cream teas and cakes later in the day.
All are welcome to what promises to be a fun-filled celebration of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.

The School Health Nurse Service
We have recently received a letter from Diane Smith, the School Health Nurse linked to Stadhampton School, asking us to remind everyone that the School Health Nurse is accessible to parents and carers too. The School Health Nurse Service can offer support on a wide variety of health issues, including smoking cessation, healthy eating and risky behaviours. This is provided in a variety of ways, such as one to one support, group work and by linking with PSHCE programmes in school. You can contact Diane Smith on 01491 208600.

PTA News
Clothes Recycling
Last chance for a clear out over the weekend of all those unwanted old clothes, shoes, belts, bedding (no pillows or duvets), towels and cuddly toys.

To avoid congestion on Wednesday morning, please bring all bags in after school on Tuesday 8th May. Please only bring them in on Wednesday morning if you are walking in.

Puzzle Trail
I know we've not exactly had the weather for going for a walk around the village recently, but in anticipation of sunshine, get your puzzle trail sheets now, so that if we do have a dry day you can get out there straight away and solve those clues!

Family Fun Day - Sat 19th May
If you have any chocolates/sweets you can donate for the tombola, they can be brought in now and put in the red PTA box in the school hall.

Don't forget to keep saving clean, safe, junk to bring in the week before the Fun Day. For those of you who have received lovely plants this week, when you've potted them on, could we have any spare pots for the Fun Day as well. Thank you.

End of Year Disco
Thanks to everyone who has returned the questionnaires about the possibility of holding an end of term disco. If anyone still wants to get their opinions in please return your questionnaire to school as soon as possible.

Little Bears News

We are looking at thunder, lightening and rain. We will be watching a DVD of lightening and making our own lightening pictures. We are also going to make a rain catcher and some rain sounding musical instruments.


DIARY DATES:
Monday 7th May Bank Holiday – school closed
Tuesday 8th May Clothes Recycling bags accepted today (preferably in the afternoon if possible)
Wednesday 9th May Clothes Recycling Collection at 9am
Class 2 visit to Bhaktivedanta Manor – 9am departure. Please arrive at school promptly.
Friday 11th May Class 3 visit to The Earth Trust, Little Wittenham
Monday 14th May-22nd May SATs for KS1 & KS2 pupils
Wednesday 16th May Year 5 visit to ICC for Science lesson
Saturday 19th May PTA Family Fun Day – 1.30pm start
Friday 1st June Jubilee celebrations at school
Olympic Tickets Draw at 3.20pm
School finishes at 3.15pm
Monday 11th June Return to school for the start of Term 6

Flyer attached from Extended Services: Let’s Get Healthy with Henry

Newsletter for week ending 27th April 2012



Cycle Safety Training
We are very grateful to Mrs Green, Mrs Scragg and Mrs Birtles for once again agreeing to oversee our Cycling Safety Training. Initially Y6 pupils are being offered this opportunity, as the parent volunteers prefer to work with a small group. We realise that not all pupils will be available to participate in each training session but feel that attendance on at least 4 out of 5 training sessions will be sufficient. The sessions will be held in the afternoons and will commence on Wednesdays 23rd, 30 th May and 13th, 20 th and 27th June. The test date will be Friday 29th June. Each pupil will need a roadworthy bicycle (front and rear brakes and reflectors) and a cycle helmet, which fits properly. Please let Mrs Hopkins know as soon as possible if you would like to book a place.

PGCE Student
We look forward to welcoming Jennifer Farrant, an Oxford Brookes PGCE student, into school on Monday 30th April. Miss Farrant will be mainly working alongside Miss Shah in Class 3 as part of her final 8-week teaching practice.

Wednesday 9th May
Class 2 are going on a trip early in the morning (9am departure) on Wednesday 9th May and the coach will be parked in the car park. Clearly there will be additional congestion with families dropping pupils and clothes recycling bags off that morning. We will therefore suggest that if at all possible, clothes recycling bags are dropped at school on the afternoon of Tuesday 8th May. It would also be helpful if families who are able to walk to school, do so on that morning. Thank you.

PTA News

Puzzle Trail
Enjoy a walk in the spring sunshine (and showers!) solving clues and finding answers. Hand your completed puzzle trail sheet in by 3pm on 19th May at the Family Fun day to be in with a chance of winning one of these fabulous prizes:

Adult winner - a champagne tea for two at the Crazy Bear.
Child winner - a family fun session at Berinsfield swimming pool.

Trail sheets are now available for £5 from the school office or Rowena Dobson.

Family Fun Day - Saturday 19th May

We can reveal the following activities will be available:

Facepainting
Sweet Tombola - donations of sweets and chocolates needed please
Make your own pen holder - please can we have any (clean) round cardboard containers (eg Bisto gravy granules)
Decorate and plant your own plant pot - we need small plastic plant pots, crafty bits, stickers, childrens or other magazines please
Decorate a glass jar - glass jam jars (clean) needed please
Junk Heap challange - we need LOTS of (clean and safe) things like: eggboxes, cardboard tubes (not toilet rolls), plastic containers, yogurt pots, cardboard boxes and so on.
Refreshments - any donations of home made tray bakes, cupcakes and biscuits gratefully received.

If you could start collecting these items ready to bring into school the week of the family fun day we would appreciate it.

Music Magpie
Thanks to everyone who helped us collect just over 250 CDs - we have a fantastic school sports kit, with our school logo, on the way to us. This will replace the worn out old kit, and will be used when our children represent our school in sporting events.

Little Bears News
Continuing with our topic of “Weather”, we will be exploring wind. We will be looking at windmills and making our own. We will also be making kites to fly and looking at how high winds help boats on the sea.


DIARY DATES:
Tuesday 1st May Cookery club starts for participating Year 2 pupils. Currently two spaces remaining.
Wednesday 2nd May Year 5 pupils visit ICC for a maths lesson
Monday 7th May Bank Holiday – school closed
Tuesday 8th May Clothes Recycling bags accepted today (preferably in the afternoon if possible)
Wednesday 9th May Clothes Recycling Collection at 9am
Class 2 visit to Bhaktivedanta Manor – 9am departure. Please arrive at school promptly.
Monday 14th May-22nd May SATs for KS1 & KS2 pupils
Wednesday 16th May Year 5 visit to ICC for Science lesson
Saturday 19th May PTA Family Fun Day – 1.30pm start
Friday 1st June Jubilee celebrations at school
School finishes at 3.15pm
Monday 11th June Return to school for the start of Term 6