Newsletter for week ending 20th December 2013

End of Term Assembly
Everyone is welcome to our end of term assembly at 9.10am on Friday. We anticipate that this is likely to generate an increased number of vehicles and consequent pressure on suitable parking spaces. We respectfully request that families consider the needs of local residents and avoid parking in Cratlands Close. School and Little Bears staff will park on the netball court, freeing up a limited number of spaces in the school car park.

Thank you!
We would like to extend our sincere thanks to parents and carers, the PTA, our Governing Body and all other members of the local community who have given us so much support in so many different ways over the last term. The lead-up to Christmas is always a particularly busy time of year and we would like to thank everyone involved for their support in helping to make all our Christmas events so successful. Special thanks to Ms Cyprien for her amazing face-painting of many pupils in our KS2 production ‘Hoodwinked’, to Mrs Burnell for decorating cakes and making lots of wonderful cookies for the Christmas party on Tuesday, to Mr and Mrs Bowerman for their help in organising the Forest Schools fundraising disco and to Mrs Dobson, Mrs Madry and Mrs Elliott for their admin support over the last few months. We are very fortunate to have so many supportive parents.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all pupils and staff for their hard work and commitment to all our events. The Christmas season may be a very busy time of year for us but it is also a very special one!
Thank you to everyone who gave a £1 on “party day” to help with the fundraising for Forest Schools. This raised £56. We will let you know how much was raised at the Forest Schools disco in our assembly on Friday.

School Nativity Service
Thank you to all families who were able to join us for this service. It is always a special occasion and this year we received many comments on how wonderful the singing was – not to mention how angelic the Reception pupils looked! It was lovely to be able to hold our service in the atmospheric setting of the Church. Thank you to Mr Manzie for providing and operating the sound system which made such a difference and to the team of mums who helped put the furniture back and sweep the floor!

School Website Additions
We have uploaded the dates of the After School Clubs in Term 3 to our website, so that parents have access to them as a reference point. We have also added a link to CEOP, whose work is crucial in the protection of children from exploitation and the promotion of online protection. Finally, we have uploaded some photographs from the Christmas productions and school Christmas Party.

Reminder about consultation on Home to School transport
We would encourage all parents to complete the questionnaire as part of the consultation using the following link to ensure that your feelings are known:

https://myconsultations.oxfordshire.gov.uk/consult.ti/transport2015/view?objectId=521987

The deadline for responding was 20th December 2013.
See article below explaining about the deadline extension. However, we would encourage all parents/carers to respond before Christmas, just in case you forget to do it!

www.oxfordtimes.co.uk/news/yourtown/oxfordshire/10883177.Activists_angry_as_county_extends_debate_on_school_bus_charges?ref=rss&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Young Mathematicians Competition
On Wednesday 27th November, Year 6 pupils Thea, Max, Owen and Ella were invited to the regional finals of the Young Mathematician competion at Explore Learning, Oxford, after successfully scoring highly enough to qualify in the first round of local finals. They had yet another tricky maths problem to work through as a team, involving swimming pools, ribbons and finding all the possibilities! The level of competition was extremely high and our pupils enjoyed the challenge and a chance to work in a different setting.

Whilst they did not score quite enough to qualify for the national final round of the competition they can all be very proud of their performance. The feedback from Explore Learning was that they 'continued to work extremely well as a team and showed great enthusiasm and focus for the task, well done!'

This is the first time we have taken part in this maths competition and we shall definitely be entering a team next year!

Primary Maths Challenge
Every year we take part in the Mathematical Association’s annual ‘Primary Maths Challenge’, a national competition, which aims to challenge children with a range of problem solving and logic-based questions.

Congratulations to Abby Wright, Ruby Dallimore, Max Lansley, Owen Cove, Ella Perring, Lola Odell and Thea Diment for competing in the Primary Maths Challenge 2013.

Here is what Abby and Ruby thought about the maths challenge “It was very hard and we struggled on some of the questions - the last five were not multiple choice so they were the hardest! However we enjoyed a chance to try some different types of questions and we felt confident enough to have a go after some practice sessions with Miss Shah. We are proud to say that every one of us got a certificate; 4 of us got silver and 3 of us got bronze!”

After School Clubs in Term 3
Spaces are still available on the Photography Course for pupils in Years 3-6 and the Cheerleading/Street Dance Club and Multisports Club which are open to all pupils. Archery and Art clubs will restart after the Easter holiday.

School Meals
A reminder that school meals cost £2 per day. Cheques for school meals should be made payable to Oxfordshire County Council please with Stadhampton Primary School written on the back of the cheque. In order to reduce administration time spent on school meals we appreciate receiving orders and payments for school meals on the first morning of each school week. Thank you.

Swimming at Berinsfield
Swimming will begin for Class 2 pupils on Monday 13th January. They will have a total of 5 sessions. As always, we hope that parents will be willing to help with the transport costs to Berinsfield with a contribution of £2 per swimming session. Thank you to the parents/carers of pupils in Class 3 who made a contribution last term. Cheques for swimming contributions should be made payable to Stadhampton Primary School, please.

PTA News
Our next PTA meeting is on Tuesday 14th January 8pm at The Crown, new members very much welcomed. We will be discussing events for next year so if you have any good ideas for different events and would like to get involved with the PTA, please do come along.

I would just like to take this opportunity to thank all the parents and staff at the school for a fantastic fundraising year and also the PTA members for all their continued hard work and support. I hope everyone has a fantastic Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Cake Club
Congratulations to Mia Gravett who was the lucky winner of last week’s cake, kindly donated by Mrs Diment. A reminder to Mrs Bourne that she is on the rota for 10th January, the first Friday back after Christmas. There are 6 weeks in the next half term, so if you would like to pay for Cake Club, the full amount will be £1.20, or if you would like to take it up to Easter £2.40. Please see Rowena Dobson.


DIARY DATES:
Monday 6 January Staff Inset Day
Tuesday 7 January Pupils return to school for the start of Term 3
Tuesday 14 January First After School – Cheer Leading/Street Dance Club
Wednesday 15 January First After School – Photography Club
Thursday 16 January First After School – Multisports Club

LITTLE BEARS NEWS:
Little Bears would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year.
We return on Tuesday 7th January 2014.
A huge thank you to everyone who came and supported our Christmas nativity on Saturday.
I think we will all agree that the Little Bears were truly amazing.


Happy Christmas from everyone at Stadhampton School!

We look forward to seeing everyone again in the New Year.

Newsletter for week ending 13th December 2013

Message from the Governing Body about Home to School Transport
As you are no doubt aware the Oxfordshire County Council (OCC) has to make significant cost savings in the forthcoming budgets. One of their proposals is to change the Home to School Transport arrangement, which would mean free travel would only be provided to the nearest school. There is an ongoing consultation and as you know, there was a consultation meeting held at Icknield Community College on Monday 2nd December with many Stadhampton parents in attendance.

We wanted to take this opportunity to recap on the potential impact for Stadhampton, Chiselhampton, Newington and other local villages.

The current proposal is that pupils will only be entitled to free transport to their nearest school, which for the majority of Stadhampton unfortunately is not our catchment school. Of concern to many parents who attended the consultation meetings is that depending on where you live in the village your nearest school could be any one of four schools: The Oxford Academy, Wallingford, Wheatley Park and Icknield – which has obvious implications for our community. There are provisions in the consultation (under A2) to prevent villages being ‘split’, however given that Icknield is technically one of the furthest schools from the village (by a matter of 0.25 to 0.5 miles) whether this will apply to Stadhampton and enable all of the village to enjoy free transport to Icknield is by no means guaranteed.

It should be noted that this is a consultation, and therefore nothing has been formally agreed as yet. We wanted to take this opportunity to provide you with all the information that is available in this regard, and encourage you to take a few minutes to respond to the consultation online before the deadline of 20 December 2013.

Where can I learn more?
There is a significant amount of detail about the consultation online:

https://myconsultations.oxfordshire.gov.uk/consult.ti/transport2015/consultationHome

There is a very active group (Oxon Schools Bus Action Group) who are challenging the proposals and their Facebook page has lots of information regarding the protests that have been occurring across the county:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Oxon-School-Bus-Action-Group/146863815505334

What can I do?
We would encourage all parents to complete the questionnaire as part of the consultation at the following link to ensure that your feelings are known:

https://myconsultations.oxfordshire.gov.uk/consult.ti/transport2015/view?objectId=521987
You will see from some of the correspondence on the Facebook site that there is strong feeling that making changes that misalign the catchment school and the school to which free transport is provided is not in anyone’s, but particularly the pupil’s best interest. The Council’s view is that savings will be achieved because parents will continue to send their children to the catchment school, however because this will be a parental choice, then in some cases free transport will not be provided.

What has the school and the Governing Body done?
In addition to responding to the consultation individually and as a Governing Body, we have been thinking what else we can do to try to raise the awareness of the issues to those on the council that may be able to influence the end result.

The Governing Body have been corresponding with the other Watlington Partnership schools in an effort to respond to the consultation as a Partnership, as this will demonstrate the broader impact that these proposals will have on Icknield and other rural communities.

A letter has been prepared to represent our views and this will be submitted to our local Councillor with a request to make sure these views are represented to OCC. We also intend to send a copy of this letter to John Howell, MP.

In addition we have been in dialogue with our local Councillor, Lorraine Lindsey-Gale, to request a meeting with her to discuss alternative strategies that would assist Stadhampton. We are hopeful to get a meeting scheduled very soon.

Next steps
Once the consultation is over a decision will be made in the New Year and this is expected to be implemented from Summer 2014. We will be closely monitoring the situation and will continue to provide feedback as more is learned through the end of the consultation.

Adopted pupils will now qualify for the Pupil Premium Grant - urgent action needed
Please see book bags for a letter about this.

Christmas Productions
Congratulations to all pupils on their splendid performances in the KS1 and KS2 Christmas productions this week. We received many compliments about each performance and pupils should be very proud of themselves. Thank you to school staff for preparing pupils for the performances, making and selling tickets, creating the scenery and making props, thank you to parents for helping with costumes, learning of lines and buying tickets to come along and watch. Special thanks to Sue Cyprien for helping with the face painting and to the PTA for serving refreshments on Tuesday evening. The total raised from ticket sales was £433 and this will go towards the purchase of I-pads and a storage unit. Each class will have two I-pads which will be used from the start of Term 3.

Reverend Caroline, who is also a school governor, watched both productions and sent this note which we thought we would share with you:

“It was a privilege to see both school Christmas productions, both played to a packed and enthusiastic audience. The KS2 children performed ‘Hoodwinked’, based on the story of Robin Hood; it was obvious that a large cast had worked very hard and performed with humour, skill and great comic timing, the musical parts were performed well. I especially enjoyed the confident way the cast led the audience in some good old fashioned pantomime humour, they also combined some topical and local references.


The younger children performed a traditional nativity through the narrative of a star that wouldn’t shine, again it was wonderful to see all of KS1 involved in a well rehearsed, energetic play with wonderfully sung contributions. Their enthusiasm was infectious again including some old fashioned panto humour and willing audience participation. The costumes were magnificent!


Huge thanks to all staff and pupils for such wonderful end of term productions; they can all feel justly proud for the undoubted hard work and effort; a triumph for all involved!”

Visit to Church on Monday 16th December
We would like to make families aware that all classes are planning to visit the church next Monday as part of our preparations for the Nativity Service next Wednesday.


Letters about the National Childhood Measuring Programme
The School Health Team have written to advise us that they will be in school on 10th February 2014 to measure the height and weight of children in Reception and Year 6. Letters about this have been put in book bags this week.

Mr Ansell
We say goodbye today to Mr Ansell, a PGCE student from Oxford Brookes University, who has been working with pupils in Class 3 over the last eight weeks. Mr Ansell has been a great asset to the school and we thank him for his contribution.

Reminder about next week’s events:

Monday 16 Archery ASC Final Archery session
Tuesday 17 Christmas Party afternoon Lunch as normal. Pupils may bring party clothes to change into after lunch. Optional donation of £1 towards Forest Schools fundraising. Food supplied by PTA.
No clarinets.
ASC Dance Club on as usual. The dance club are putting on a show for parents at 4pm, so please do come along to see it.
PTA wreath making evening – forms available from school office
Wednesday 18 Nativity Service Everyone welcome to join us for this event in Church which starts at 2.15pm. No art club.
Thursday 19 School Christmas lunch We hope all pupils will have school lunch today with crackers, music, etc. Staff serve pupils with their lunch. Same price as a normal school meal - £2.
Christmas Disco at 6pm to raise funds for Forest Schools. Tickets on sale priced at £3. A raffle will be held during the evening (50p a ticket).
Multisports ASC on as usual.
Friday 20 End of term assembly
Early finish Everyone welcome to attend end of term assembly at 9.05am. Lunch as normal.
School closes at 1.30pm

PTA News
Wreath making evening-Tuesday 17th, we still have a few spaces available so please fill in a form in the office to guarantee your place.

Winter Fair- we made a massive £1100 this year, which is fantastic. Thank you again to everyone for all your support.


Cake Club
Congratulations to Phoebe Watkins who was the lucky winner of last week’s cake, kindly donated by Mrs Perring. A reminder to Mrs Bowerman that she is on the rota for 20th December.

If anyone would like to donate a cake who has not already done so, we need cakes from 14 February onwards. Please see Rowena to get your name down on the rota. Don’t forget, it doesn’t have to be homemade. Bought cakes are just as well received!


DIARY DATES:
Monday 23 December One-day Sports Course at Stadhampton School for participating pupils. See notices in each classroom entrance area for more information and details of how to book.
Monday 6 January Staff Inset Day
Tuesday 7 January Pupils return to school for the start of Term 3

LITTLE BEARS NEWS:
Next week the Little Bears book is 'Twas the night before Christmas' and we will be talking about how we get ready for Christmas with our families and also making stockings.
Little Bears hope to go to the Nativity Service at Stadhampton Church on the 18th December and the last day of term is 20th December. Our Little Bears party is on Friday 20th December from 11.30 - 1pm. All Llittle Bears are welcome. We also have a very special visitor too. We return on 7th January 2014 to the topic ‘Opposites’.

Newsletter for week ending 6th December 2013

Home to School Transport Meeting at ICC on Monday 2nd December
Thank you to the high number of parents/carers and school governors who attended the consultation meeting on Monday 2nd December at Icknield Community College to find out more about the OCC proposals. The strength of feeling was evident at the meeting as to the impact that these proposals would have on both Icknield CC and the partnership schools that form its catchment area. The panel explained that the plans are focussed on achieving the OCC cost savings required, however there were a number of concerns and questions raised about the assumptions that had been included in the financial modelling.

The current proposal is that pupils will only be entitled to free transport to your nearest school, which for the majority of Stadhampton unfortunately is not our catchment school. Of concern to many parents who attended the consultation meetings is that depending on where you live in the village your nearest school could be any one of four schools: The Oxford Academy, Wallingford, Wheatley Park and Icknield – which has obvious implications for our community.

It should be stressed that the proposals at this stage will not change our catchment school which remains as Icknield Community College. However, parents may find that, although they live in the catchment area for Icknield Community College, the fact that other schools are nearer means that they would be faced with a £600 bill (per pupil) for transport if these changes are voted through. We urge parents to individually respond to the consultation, as attached to our newsletter of 22.11.2013. The School and the Governing Body are in discussions with other members of the Partnership to discuss how we can collectively respond and will keep parents updated with respect to the action that we are taking.

Cars/vans in Cratlands Close
A resident of Cratlands Close has expressed her concern this week at how difficult it can be to cross the road safely in Cratlands Close when there are so many cars/vans parked on the kerbs. We have agreement from the landlord of The Crown pub for parents/carers to use their car park at the beginning and end of the school day to drop off or collect children from school. In the interest of safety for all pupils, it would be particularly helpful if those parents/carers who drive large vehicles especially vans, could park in The Crown pub if there is not a space available in the school car park rather than obstruct the pavements and hinder the visibility of those people attempting to cross the road safely with their children. In anticipation, we thank all parents/carers for their co-operation in this matter.

Emergency Closure Procedures
If the weather is particularly bad or there are power cuts in the village and the decision is made to close the school, the information is given to parents through BBC Radio Oxford, Jack FM and Heart FM. Parents are advised to tune into these local radio stations and also check their websites if there is a possibility that the school could be closed. We will also do our best to put a message onto the school website if there is power!

Archery After School Club
We have been advised that Mr Chrisp will not be available to provide the after school archery club on Monday 9th December. Therefore the final session will take place on Monday 16th December. We apologise for the inconvenience this causes. Refunds will be issued for the missed session.

Contributions to the cost of the swimming transport
Thank you to those families in Class 3 who have already made contributions this term towards the cost of the swimming transport. The cost of the transport for 7 swimming sessions is £420 and to date we have received well below half of this cost from voluntary parental contributions. If any more parents would be willing to contribute to this cost it would be very much appreciated. If you are unsure whether you have paid or not please ask in the school office. Thank you.

Thank you
Thank you to Mr and Mrs Tuckwell who have very kindly supplied us with a beautiful Christmas tree again this year.

Play tickets
Tickets are required for all performances of the KS1 and KS2 school plays. They are on sale now from the school office priced at £2 each. All monies raised this year will go towards buying some mini I-pads for each classroom to use. Once again we are very grateful to the PTA who will be supplying refreshments at the end of the KS2 evening performance.

KS2 Costume Reminder
Thank you to those people who have already brought their costumes into school. A reminder that all costumes need to be in school by Friday 6th December, prior to the dress rehearsal on Monday 9th December.

Forest School Disco- Thursday 19th December from 6.00-7.30pm
Tickets are now on sale for the Forest School disco priced at £3 each. There will also be a raffle held on the evening and we hope that children will be able to bring along some extra money to buy a raffle ticket or two. Raffle tickets will cost 50p each and we have about fifteen prizes so far!

School Christmas Party
We are very aware of just how much we have asked of parents and carers this year and therefore the school/PTA will pay for the cost of the party food for this year’s school Christmas party on the afternoon of Tuesday 17th December.
Traditionally, pupils bring party clothes to school to change into after lunch. We do not usually make a request for a financial donation for this event however, if any families would be willing to make a £1 donation towards Forest School this would be very much appreciated.

School Christmas Lunch
We hope all pupils will join us for a special Christmas lunch with napkins and crackers on Thursday 19th December. Children will make their own special place mat in school during the morning. During lunchtime we have Christmas music playing and the staff serve the children with their lunch -it is a really fun and festive occasion which we hope all children will partipate in. The cost is the same as for a normal school meal (£2) and payment can be made at any time before the day. Thank you.

PTA Message to Parents
Winter Fair:
Thank you very much to everyone who came and supported the Winter Fair last Friday; it was a great night and the total raised will be announced in next week’s newsletter once everything has been counted and verified; special thanks to the PTA team and volunteers who helped to ‘man’ the stalls and clear up on the night.

Wreath making evening -Tuesday 17th December
There are still places available for this great evening which also raises money for the PTA. Booking forms are available from the school office. Please do think about coming if you can.

Cake Club
Congratulations to Mya Khan who was the lucky winner of last week’s cake, kindly donated by Mrs Gravett. A reminder to Mrs Diment that she is on the rota for 13th December.


DIARY DATES:
Friday 6 December Singing Club performing at the Christmas Market at The Village Hall at St John’s Stadhampton at 4pm.
Tuesday 10 December KS2 (Classes 2 & 3) - both matinee and evening performances 1.45pm / 6.30pm. Tickets on sale now from the school office.
Wednesday 11 December FS/KS1 (Reception & Class 1) - matinee performance only 2.00 for 2.15pm start. Tickets on sale now from the school office.
Tuesday 17 December School Christmas Party – please donate £1 to our Forest School fund for your child to wear party clothes in the afternoon
Wednesday 18 December Nativity Service – The Village Hall at St John’s Church 2.15pm. Everyone welcome to join us for this event.
Thursday 19 December School Christmas lunch for all £2. Payment welcomed at any time now.
Disco for Forest School – tickets on sale now priced at £3 each. Raffle tickets 50p each.
Friday 20 December End of term assembly at 9.05am. Everyone welcome.
School finishes at 1.30pm – please note earlier break up time.
Monday 23 December One-day Sports Course at Stadhampton School for participating pupils. See notices in each classroom entrance area for more information and details of how to book.

LITTLE BEARS NEWS:
Next week our book of the week is the “Jolly Christmas Postman;” Little Bears post-box is in the main entrance of Little Bears and there will be a class list so we can start to post our Christmas letters. The Little Bears Nativity is on the 14th December so we will be practising all our songs ready for our performance at 2pm.

Community News:
• Flyer attached about an Allergy Support meeting
• Flyer attached about one day Sports Course here on Monday 23rd December

Newsletter for week ending 29 November 2013

Forest Schools Fundraising
Thank you to the organisers of the Music Evening, led and generously supported by Stephen Dawson, in collaboration with Bob and Frances Campbell and Sally Johnson, which was held in the Village Hall at St John’s Church on Saturday evening to raise funds for Forest Schools. The talents of pianist Eleanor Tinlin and saxophonist Otis Lawrence were amazing and a memorable evening was had by all in a very atmospheric settting. Thank you also to everyone who came along to support the evening and to those who provided raffle prizes, prepared and served food and drinks, cleared up afterwards, etc. We are particularly grateful for the support given by members of the community for this school project which helped to make the event so successful. The total raised from this event was an incredible £1739.33!! This means that we are much closer to being able to turn our plans into reality.

Forest Schools Disco
We plan to follow on from the success of the Music Evening and continue to raise funds for Forest Schools by holding a Children’s Disco in the school hall on Thursday 19th December from 6.00-7.30pm. The event will be primarily organised by Mr and Mrs Bowerman and Mrs Hopkins and tickets will be on sale shortly and available to all pupils who attend Stadhampton Primary School. Tickets will cost £3 each and will include squash and ‘nibbles’. There will also be a raffle held on the evening so we hope that children will be able to bring along some extra money to buy a raffle ticket or two. Raffle tickets will cost 50p each. Tickets for the disco will be on sale from Tuesday morning.

Unclaimed Drinks Bottles
We have a sizeable collection of unclaimed and unnamed drinks bottles which will be disposed of shortly. Please have a look at the collection in the Hall before they are thrown away. Thank you.

PTA Message to Parents

Winter Fair- THIS Friday 6-8pm
The day is finally upon us, please come and support the school, the evening should be a great event! We have a white polar bear stall, crafts, chocolate tombola, cakes, raffle and of course Father Christmas! Thank you for all your donations for this event.

The PTA committee would really appreciate any help after the event with the clearing up. Please give a hand if you possibly can.

Wreath Making Evening on Tues17th Dec 7.30
A very popular evening which is limited to just 20 people so please fill out the form which is in the office and return it to Georgina Wiggins ASAP to secure your place.

Cake Club
Congratulations to Megan Green who was the lucky winner of last week’s cake, kindly donated by Mrs Buckner. A reminder to Mrs Perring that she is on the rota for Friday 6th December.


DIARY DATES:
Friday 29 November PTA Winter Fair 6pm start
Monday 2 December Meeting at ICC about school transport consultation 7pm
Thursday 5 December Meeting of the Governing Body at 7pm
Friday 6 December Singing Club performing at the Christmas Market at The Village Hall at St John’s Stadhampton at 4pm.
Tuesday 10 December KS2 (Classes 2 & 3) - both matinee and evening performances 1.45pm / 6.30pm
Wednesday 11 December FS/KS1 (Reception & Class 1) - matinee performance only 2.15pm start
Wednesday 18 December Nativity Service – The Village Hall at St John’s Church 2.15pm
Monday 23 December One-day Sports Course at Stadhampton School for participating pupils. See notices in each classroom entrance area for more information and details of how to book.

LITTLE BEARS NEWS:
Next week at Little Bears our book of the week will be ‘Aussie Christmas’.
We will be talking about how people celebrate Christmas all over the World.
Our nativity play will be on the 14th December and more details can be found at Little Bears.
Finally, our Christmas party will be on Friday the 20th December. Please see your key person for more details.


Home to School Transport Consultation – Message from Mr Hunter, Head of ICC

Can I please just give a final reminder that, on this coming Monday (2nd December) at 7pm, we will be welcoming Ian Hudspeth (Leader of Oxfordshire County Council) and colleagues with respect to the attached consultation on Home to School transportation.

While you may not believe this is of immediate relevance to you or your children currently at the school, if either of the two options proposed are adopted, it may very well be that you are affected with:

- a potential travel cost arising in Year 11 (for current Year 7's),
- siblings not yet at the school where travel costs may arise
- ongoing sixth form/college arrangements where the anticipated costs of travel for your children are likely to rise significantly.

Please do come along to hear the presentation by the politicians and the council representatives and, as importantly, please do respond to the consultation.

A good source of information and views can be found via Facebook with the cross county pressure group Oxford Schools Bus Action Group (OSBAG) from where the following potential issues have been collated:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Oxon-School-Bus-Action-Group/146863815505334

OSBAG have given suggestions on how you may want to respond to the consultation on their page.

PRIMARY SCHOOLS: Parents may find that, although they are still in the deemed catchment area for Icknield Community College, they would be faced with a £600 bill for transport if these changes are voted through. Parents of students within our Icknield Community College catchment area are affected (particularly parents in Benson, Chinnor and Stadhampton).

SECONDARY SCHOOLS: under one option drafted within the Consultation, current year 7 would be faced with charges from the start of year 11! This would clearly affect parents who may not be able to afford to pay and are not available to drive their children to school. They would potentially be faced with having to change schools, right in the middle of their GCSEs.

For future SIXTH FORM under the new proposals, sixth formers living more than 3 miles from their nearest provision will pay the higher bus fare (currently £492), regardless of whether they opt for their catchment school or not. Currently, the rules allow students choosing their catchment sixth form to pay the cheaper fare (currently £264). This could be regarded as an unfair penalty against children who live more than 3 miles from any school, through no fault of their own, but because there simply isn't one. Children in rural villages are likely to be disproportionately hit by this change. The higher amount may also be set to increase under the proposals.

Community News:
The village are holding a Christmas Market in the new church hall on Friday 6 December, from 3pm until 8pm. All families welcome, lots of stalls including:

Hungry Hill cakes Chocsford Patchwork Beads from Benin Beyond Bubbles

Free range turkeys Flowers at Oxfordshire Felt cushions Paintings Pottery

Bogolan art Wild flower seeds Gifts in linen and other tempting and lovely things besides home-made refreshments and Christmas music.

FREE ENTRY. All welcome. Come and see how the church now looks as it's been refurbished for use as a village hall outside of church services.

Newsletter for week ending 22 November 2013

Children In Need
Thank you to everyone for your fantastic support for Children in Need last Friday. Through pupils and staff paying £1 to wear their pyjamas to school and by raffling a Pudsey and a Blush bear we raised a total of £129. We also sold 36 wristbands at a cost of £1 each so the total for Children in Need was an amazing £165!

Coats and Wellies
Please could all pupils have coats and wellies in school every day now that the weather has turned colder and wetter.

Parents’ Evenings
Thank you to parents and carers for the usual very high turn out to our recent parents’ evenings. These occasions offer important opportunities for us to work closely together in the best interests of each pupil.

Class 2 trip to Chedworth Roman Villa
Last week, as part of their History topic on Romans, Class 2 visited Chedworth Roman Villa in Gloucestershire. Chedworth is a National Trust property and they offer an excellent education programme. Our guide, who was inspiring, was also very impressed with both the behaviour and knowledge of everyone in Class 2. Thank you to Mrs Garrard for identifying a new trip venue and well done Class 2! Here are some extracts from pupils’ reports:
“Class 2 went on a trip to Chedworth Roman Villa – we had a great time. We saw loads of real Roman objects and dressed up as slaves and put on tunics and special neck tags. We found out many new things and words – lots of them in Latin! We loved it and wish we could go every fortnight!”
“First we dressed up as Roman slaves then we made some Roman medicine using mustard, lavender, bay leaves and a hint of coriander. Then we visited the baths which were very deep. In Roman times people used olive oil instead of soap and would JUMP into the bath!”
“We saw some incredible mosaics but the toilets were disgusting!”
“It was fun because we used Roman equipment to make the medicines. We visited the spring where the water for the villa came from (it’s still in good condition.)”

Did you know…caldarium = hot room, tepidarium =warm room and frigidarium = cold room!

“P.S. Please go there if you haven’t been already, Roman’s Rule!”

Extracts from reports by Darcy, Phoebe, Georgia, Zara, Ella G., Lawrence, Edison, Isabella, Max and Alex.

School Council Photography Competition
The photographs for our recent School Council Autumn Photography competition were judged on Tuesday 19th November by our TAs - a difficult task! Finally four class winners were chosen. Congratulations to Oliver Bourne (Class R), Isabel Holmes (Class 1), Juliana Browning (Class 2) and Naomi Woodwards (Class 3) who were judged to be the class winners, and thank you to all pupils who contributed. If you haven’t already seen them, the photos will be on display in the Hall between 3.00 and 3.15pm tomorrow and are well worth a look.

Maths Competition- Report from Max and Owen:
“On Wednesday 13th November, Max Lansley, Owen Cove, Thea Diment and Ella Perring went to the Young Mathematician maths competition (organised by Explore Learning in conjunction with the University of Cambridge). When we first arrived all the different school teams had a chance to relax in the Explore Learning Centre, which was good. When we finished relaxing we got on with lots of hard maths which was lots of fun. We had a maths problem called ’Dice trains’ to work on together which challenged us to the limit. It was quite hard but we think we did well and we worked particularly well as a team. Earlier this week we found out the results… good news - we made it to round TWO!

Keep your fingers crossed for us next Wednesday when we take part in the regional finals!”

Netball Competition – Report by Amy and Thea
“On Tuesday 12th November, seven Year 6 children formed a netball team and took part in the Partnership High Five netball tournament. The atmosphere was buzzing with nerves and excitement - everyone in our team was almost too nervous to do anything, but as the matches went on the scores got much better! We were doing quite well until the last match where we were very nervous (but excited!) But fortunately the goals kept on coming and in the end we won 5-0! We were so happy!
After that they started to announce the winners starting at 6th place! It was a great surprise when they said we were in joint 3rd place with Lewknor. But then they looked at goal difference and explained that Stadhampton had beaten Lewknor to become 3rd place winners!
We were all very proud of ourselves and our team work and our positive attitude really helped us.”

PTA Message to Parents

Winter Fair – Friday 29th November
The Winter Fair is just over a week away now, so we are in the final stages of preparation. Please see below:
Raffle - With prizes totalling over £500 this year, it is definitely worth buying some tickets if you haven't already. Please return your tickets - sold or unsold - to the office before Wednesday 27th November.

Cakes - The cake stall is crucial at the Winter Fair so all donations of cakes and biscuits etc would be most welcome. Please bring items for the cake stall to the hall before school or just after school on the day of the Winter Fair - the more the merrier and the more creative the better!

Donations - the donations for all the stalls so far have been fantastic! This is the final weekend to have a last minute sort out, so please bring any further donations in by Tuesday 26th at the latest.

Volunteers - we are still seeking volunteers for the Winter Fair to man stalls on the evening itself, so if you can help, please let a member of the PTA know.

Next PTA Meeting - the PTA is meeting on Tuesday 26th November at 8pm in the school community hall to sort through and wrap all the donations. If you would like to come along and help you will be more than welcome - please come armed with Sellotape and wrapping paper!

We would like to thank parents for the amazing support for this year’s Winter Fair and look forward to a successful and enjoyable evening next Friday.

Wreath Evening – Tuesday 17th December
The wreath making evening is returning this year and will be on Tuesday 17th December. Posters will be going up next week so if you are interested, please contact Georgina Wiggins as soon as possible, as places are limited.

The Giving Machine – Free Money for the PTA
If you are in Christmas shopping mode at the moment there is a way to raise money for the PTA at the same time, with no extra cost to you!

thegivingmachine.co.uk is a website set up to allow you to generate a sales commission to the PTA with each purchase made. It's free and easy to use and there are hundreds of participating retailers including Amazon, Next and John Lewis. So when shopping online if you access your chosen website through the giving machine site, each purchase you make will help to raise money for the school, costing you nothing extra. Please have a look online and register- there is a free app for download as well.
Cake Club
Congratulations to Joshua Hursey, who was the lucky winner of last week’s cake, kindly donated by Mr & Mrs Holmes. A reminder to Mrs Gravett that she is on the rota for Friday 29 November.

Christmas Card Fair
Pupils have been making wrapping paper, gift tags and decorative boxes which will be on sale at the Charity Christmas Card Sale at The Village Hall at St John’s Stadhampton on Saturday 23rd November from 10am to 1pm.


DIARY DATES:
Saturday 23 November Music Evening at The Village Hall at St John’s Church 7pm. Tickets £20 each. It is possible to pay on the door.
Friday 29 November PTA Winter Fair 6pm start
Monday 2 December Meeting at ICC about school transport consultation 7pm
Thursday 5 December Meeting of the Governing Body at 7pm
Friday 6 December Singing Club performing at the Christmas Market at The Village Hall at St John’s Stadhampton at 4pm.
Tuesday 10 December KS2 (Classes 2 & 3) - both matinee and evening performances (times to be confirmed)
Wednesday 11 December FS/KS1 (Reception & Class 1) - matinee performance only (time to be confirmed).
Wednesday 18 December Nativity Service – The Village Hall at St John’s Church 2.15pm
Monday 23 December One-day Sports Course at Stadhampton School for participating pupils. See notices in each classroom entrance area for more information and details of how to book.

LITTLE BEARS NEWS:
Next week at Little Bears our chosen book will be Handa’s Surprise. We will also be enjoying some exotic fruit tasting and talking about African animals. On Thursday 28th November, Zoolab will be visiting us and bringing lots of animals for us to look at and touch if we are feeling brave!

• Please find attached to this newsletter important information for parents/carers from OCC about the Home to School Transport new proposals.

Newsletter for week ending 15 November 2013

Act of Remembrance
We held our school Act of Remembrance at 11am on Monday 11th November. Prayers and poems were read by pupils in Class 3 during our assembly.

Message from the Governing Body: Home To School Transport Consultation
Oxfordshire County Council is running a new consultation on proposals to change its Home to School Transport policy following a decision in July to look again at the plans. Following extensive feedback during the summer, when the Council deferred its decision on potential changes to the Home to School Transport policy, revised proposals to reduce the range of schools to which children would qualify for free transport are now being put forward for consultation. These proposals would bring the Council's policy into line with the national statutory level, as well as with similar policies adopted by neighbouring councils. One of the proposals regarding free travel is to provide only the statutory minimum (transport to the nearest available school if it is over the age determined “statutory walking distance”). A series of Public Meetings are being held about this consultation.
The proposed changes would have significant implications for families at Stadhampton School:
- It is our understanding that the Oxford Academy is currently regarded as the closest school to Stadhampton.
- Only pupils attending the Oxford Academy who live in Stadhampton will receive free transport in spite of Icknield Community College being our catchment and partner school.

Members of our Governing Body will be attending the meeting at Icknield Community College on Monday the 2nd of December at 7pm and we actively encourage parents/carers to attend this meeting in order to have a greater understanding of the proposed changes.

Forest Schools Music Evening
Tickets are now available from the school office for the Music Evening on Saturday 23rd November at the Village Hall at St John’s Church, Stadhampton. This evening is being held to raise funds so that we may have a trained Forest Schools leader within school and all children will benefit from regular Forest Schools sessions. Tickets cost £20 each and include performances by two professional musicians, Eleanor Tinlin (piano) and Otis (saxophone) as well as refreshments and a welcome drink on arrival. Please see the attached Programme for further details about these exciting performers.
We are aware that many parents are supportive of the Forest Schools project but are unable to attend the concert due to the difficulties involved in getting babysitters on a Saturday evening or prior engagements. We would therefore be pleased to accept donations towards this project from any families who are supportive of the Forest Schools initiative but who are unable to attend the concert. Mrs Hopkins or Poppy Elliott would be pleased to accept these and add them to the funds raised at the Music Evening.

Thank you
Thank you to the parents who have kindly given up their time this week to assist with the transportation of pupils to various events during school hours. We are very grateful for your support.


Appointment times for Parents’ Evenings
Slips showing the appointment times for the two Parents’ Evenings were put into book bags earlier this week.

School Council Photography Competition
We have had an excellent turnout for the School Council 'Autumn photography' competition. We have been pleased to see entries from all four classes and they have each shown artisitic skill and a thoughtful eye! The 4 class winners will be announced in assembly on Tuesday 19th November, after the school TAs have had the difficult task of judging them...

There will be a further formal opportunity for parents and children to come and see all the fantastic entries displayed in our own photography exhibition on Friday 22nd November from 3pm until 3.30pm. Please do come to see them all; they really are stunning!

The photography competition has raised £15.50 which will go towards wet break toys/games as decided by the School Council. Hopefully this competition is one we will repeat throughout the year, with a different theme. Thank you to all who entered!

PTA News

Winter Fair
Thank you for your donations so far for the Winter Fair. We have had a great response but still need more! Pease bring your donations in and put them into the PTA box in the hall.

Raffle ticket stubs and any unsold tickets need to be handed back to the office or Georgina Wiggins by 27th November so unwanted tickets can be sold on the night. Please try to sell as many as you can – look out for a list of the fantastic prizes in book bags next week.

The PTA would like to set up a group on Facebook. It would be a ‘closed’ group which only members will be able to see, no photos or teachers names will appear, so it is totally protected. We would post upcoming events, PTA meetings, lists of items needed, anything to do with the PTA. Lots of schools already use Facebook to help advertise PTA events. As we appreciate that everyone is not on Facebook, we would still continue to send communications via book bags. Mrs Turner has given her consent to this group, in principle, providing that parents are happy with it, so please let us know if you have any concerns. Mrs Manzie and Sue Bowerman will be making lovely wrapping paper, tags and Christmas gift boxes with Class 1 for the charity Christmas Card Morning on 23rd November 10am-1pm at the Village Hall, St John’s Church. The children are designing a Christmas picture on the bottom of each box and parents may purchase them on the day, but they will be sold on a ‘first come first served’ basis. This is a great village event so please go along if you can. Thank you for your continued support of the PTA.

Cake Club
Congratulations to Sophie Hector, who was the lucky winner of last week’s cake, kindly donated by Mrs Walker. A reminder to Mrs Buckner that she is on the rota for Friday 22 November.

DIARY DATES:
Monday 18 November Parents Evening 4.00-7.00pm
Wednesday 20 November Parents Evening 4.00-6.00pm
Saturday 23 November Music Concert at the Church to raise funds for Forest Schools
Tuesday 10 December KS2 (Classes 2 & 3) - both matinee and evening performances (times to be confirmed)
Wednesday 11 December FS/KS1 (Reception & Class 1) - matinee performance only (time to be confirmed).
Wednesday 18 December Nativity Service - village church 2.15pm
Monday 23 December One-day Sports Course at Stadhampton School for participating pupils. See notices in each classroom entrance area for more information and details of how to book.

LITTLE BEARS NEWS:
Next week our book is ‘There was an old lady who swallowed a fly’. We will also be talking about variations in size and shape.

Newsletter for week ending 8 November 2013

During NOVEMBER we are focusing on the core value of UNITY

Happy NOVEMBER Birthday to: Juliana Browning, Beau Burnell, Amy Freeman, Alex Igmofose, Bella Jones, Max Jones, Max Lansley, Lola Odell, Ella Perring and Innis Robertson-Pinnell.

Book Fair
Thank you to everyone who supported our recent School Book Fair. Sales totalled £471.79, which enabled us to receive books to the value of £223 by way of commission for our class and reference libraries.

Free Books for Foundation Stage Pupils
Each Reception pupil should have received a free Booktime pack this week provided jointly by Booktrust and Pearson. Booktime is a national programme for reception aged children providing them with a free book pack to share and enjoy with their family and friends.

Children in Need – Friday 15th November
Friday 15th November is ‘Children in Need’ day and pupils are encouraged to pay £1 to be able to wear their pyjamas to school instead of school uniform. We shall also be holding a raffle (50p a ticket) to win a Pudsey cuddly toy and will have Children in Need wristbands on sale priced at £1.

Parents’ Consultation Evenings – Monday 18th & Wednesday 20th November
Letters giving the dates and times of consultations were put into book bags earlier this week. Appointments are offered on a ‘first-come first-served’ basis.

Forest Schools Music Evening
Tickets are now available from the school office for the Music Evening on Saturday 23rd November at the Village Hall at St John’s Church, Stadhampton. This evening is being held to raise funds so that we may have a trained Forest Schools leader within school. Tickets cost £20 each and include performances by Eleanor Tinlin (piano) and Otis (saxophone) as well as refreshments and a welcome drink on arrival.

Swimming
Thank you to the families of pupils in Class 3 who have already made contributions towards the cost of the swimming transport this term.

Thank you to the PTA
Thank you to all parents and carers for raising funds to provide additional seating in our outdoor drama area. This was installed at the beginning of the week and is already being used by pupils. It is a valuable resource which we know pupils will be able to enjoy for many years.

PTA News
Raffle tickets for this year’s Winter Fair will be in book bags this week.We have many great raffle prizes including a Champagne Tea for Two at the Crazy Bear, 2 tickets to an Oxford United home game and a golden ticket to the Roald Dahl museum.

We have received one or two donations for our white polar bear stall but still need lots more so can all parents please have a good look at home this weekend for anything which might be suitable.

Chocolate is also wanted so please go through cupboards at home and give anything you can.

Also on our wanted list are; jars filled with sweets, chocolate or anything interesting for our jingle jars stall.

Your donations make the Winter Fair the success it is and we really want to pull out all the stops to make this one the best yet! Thank you for your help and donations.

Friday Cake Club
Jack Austin was the lucky winner of the cake before half term, kindly donated by Mrs Manzie. A reminder to Mr & Mrs Holmes that they are on the rota for Friday 15th November.

If you have not already done so, and would like to pay for Cake Club up to Christmas, it is £1.40 per child. Please see Rowena. We are also still looking for families to be included on the cake donation rota. It doesn’t need to be home-baked – bought cakes are just as well received by the winners!


DIARY DATES:
Wednesday 13 November Mobile Library visit pm
Monday 18 November Parents Evening 4.00-7.00pm
Wednesday 20 November Parents Evening 4.00-6.00pm
Saturday 23 November Music Concert at the Church to raise funds for Forest Schools
Tuesday 10 December KS2 (Classes 2 & 3) - both matinee and evening performances (times to be confirmed)
Wednesday 11 December FS/KS1 (Reception & Class 1) - matinee performance only (time to be confirmed).
Wednesday 18 December Nativity Service - village church 2.15pm
Monday 23 December One-day Sports Course at Stadhampton School for participating pupils. See notices in each classroom entrance area for more information and details of how to book.

LITTLE BEARS NEWS:
Welcome back to everyone at the start of Term 2. Our topic this term is ‘Books’ and we will be looking at the book "The Tiger who came to Tea"
We are also having photos taken on Thursday 14th November from 8am in the school hall - Please see your key person if you would like to come along with siblings in the morning.
Advance warning that Little Bears nativity will be on 14th December - more details to follow.


Poppies and wristbands on sale in school. Suggested minimum donation for a wristband is £1.


Community Notice
WANTED! SOMEONE LIKE YOU!!
Do you like to make a difference? Are you a decision maker? Have you got the odd day to
spare? Yes? I need people like you to sit on school appeal panels! So, if you are
interested in taking an active part in schools admissions and exclusions we would love to
hear from you. To find out more please contact 01865 810180 or
email: schoolappeals@oxfordshire.gov.uk

Newsletter for week ending 25 October 2013

Additions to the School Website
This week we have added After School Clubs for Term 2 and the new Winter/Spring 2013-2014 School Meals menu onto our school website.

Secondary School Applications
A reminder that parents of children born between 1 September 2002 and 31 August 2003 (inclusive) need to apply for a secondary school place for their children. The closing date for on time applications is 31 October 2013. The LA has informed us that two families had not applied by the beginning of this week.

Children’s Centres – Message from Helen Rints, Children’s Centre Manager
You may have heard in the press about the proposed closures of 37 of the 44 Children’s Centre across Oxfordshire. As OCC has less money to spend it is proposed that in the future Chalgrove & Watlington Children’s Centre will be closed. In the initial proposals there are currently no plans for any Children’s Centre in the South & West of the county, with any remaining children’s centre being based in Oxford & one in Banbury. This is of course a huge blow to us as a staff team & the professional partners who we work with to support local families. If you have any strong thoughts on these proposals there will be an opportunity for you to share them through Talk Oxfordshire. Please refer to OCC website http://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/cms/content/talking-oxfordshire where dates of public meetings are advertised, plus there will also be an opportunity to respond to future public consultations. In the meantime I do want to reassure you that the staff team remain committed to continuing to run current activities & support for as long as possible.

School Meals
Thank you to the majority of parents who, as requested, pay money for school meals on the first day of the school week. In order to keep administration for school meals to a minimum, we would really appreciate it if all parents ordering school meals could remember to pay for them on the first morning of the school week. Thank you.
This week, each family should have received, via book bags, a copy of the new menu, which has also been uploaded onto the school website.

Forest Schools Music Evening
We are delighted to announce that tickets are now available from the school office for the Music Evening on Saturday 23rd November at the Village Hall at St John’s Church, Stadhampton. This evening is being organised to raise funds so that we may have a trained Forest Schools leader within school (Mr Simon Short) and all pupils will benefit from being able to participate in Forest School sessions on a regular basis. Tickets cost £20 each and include performances by Eleanor Tinlin (piano) and Otis (saxophone) as well as refreshments and a welcome drink on arrival. Many thanks to all involved in organising this exciting event.

Recorders
Recorder lessons will begin on Monday 4th November for all pupils in Years 3-6. For health reasons we ask that all pupils have their own recorder. Recorders are available from school priced at £6.50 and Book 1 and Book 2 are available at £4.95 each. School sells these items at the price they pay for them.

Swimming
Swimming lessons at the Abbey Sports Centre will begin for pupils in Class 3 on Monday 4th November. They will have 7 sessions and pupils must have their swimming kit in school each Monday. All pupils need a swimming hat. We ask that all parents contribute, if they can, towards the cost of the swimming transport and we are grateful to receive a ‘voluntary contribution’ of £2 per pupil, per week towards this cost. Cheques for swimming contributions should be made payable to Stadhampton Primary School please (£14) or £2 in cash each week is also very welcome. Thank you.

Art Day
Last Friday, we were very fortunate to have Gerri from Little Masters in school to lead an Art Day. All classes focused on Picasso and produced some lovely work. Reception and Class 1 made a Picasso face from clay. Classes 2 and 3 looked at some Picasso pictures and used paint or colouring pencils to create their own ‘Picasso style’ picture. Pupils enjoyed showing their work in a whole school assembly at the end of the day.

PTA News
Thank you to everyone who attended the PTA meeting on Tuesday night, everyone came up with some great ideas and this year’s Winter Fair is looking to be the best yet! It is that time of year, though, when we start to ask parents for donations for our many stalls, so it's time to have a sort out for some of things we are looking for:
• Bottles - any size with anything in, doesn't necessarily have to be drink could be toiletries, oils, washing up liquid, wine. It really doesn't matter.
• Toys, CDs, DVDs, cuddly toys, board games, jigsaw puzzles. Anything for our white polar bear stall!
• Our famous chocolate stall is back and we want to make it bigger then ever so any chocolate you have sitting in your cupboards, get it out ready! We also need lollipops for our lolly game if you have any to spare
Please have a good look around the house during half term and remember us when shopping!
Volunteers are crucial at all our events to help run stalls etc so if you're willing to help out this year please see a member of the PTA committee.

If any parent would like to donate a prize please see Georgina Wiggins.

Without parents support the Winter Fair wouldn't go ahead so we really need your help with donations.

Raffle tickets and reminders will be in book bags when school starts again and we want to thank all parents for their continued support.

Cake Club
Darcy Crook was the lucky winner of the cake last week, made and donated by Naomi Woodwards. A reminder to Mrs Walker that she is on the rota for Friday 8th November.

DIARY DATES:
Monday 4 November School resumes for the start of Term 2
Thursday 7 November Year 5 pupils visit ICC for Science, Maths & English lessons
Wednesday 13 November Mobile Library visit pm
Monday 18 November Parents Evening 4.00-7.00pm
Wednesday 20 November Parents Evening 4.00-6.00pm
Tuesday 10th December KS2 (Classes 2 & 3) - both matinee and evening performances (times to be confirmed)
Wednesday 11th December FS/KS1 (Reception & Class 1) - matinee performance only (time to be confirmed).
Wednesday 18th December Nativity Service - village church 2.15pm
Monday 23rd December One-day Sports Course at Stadhampton School for participating pupils. See notices in each classroom entrance area for more information and details of how to book.

LITTLE BEARS NEWS:
We wish everyone a great week half term holiday. Little Bears returns on Monday 4th November to the topic of "Books". Our first book is going to be ‘Meg and Mog’ and we will be having a visit from Zoo Lab who will be showing our Little Bears lots of creepy crawlies.

A huge thank you to all who supported our cake sale last Friday. The total raised will be displayed on our fundraising snake in Little Bears.

We wish everyone an enjoyable holiday break and look forward to seeing everyone back on Monday 4th November. Please be aware of local road closures scheduled for 4th/5th November especially between Stadhampton and Drayton St Leonard.

Newsletter for week ending 18 October 2013

We are very pleased to welcome Mr Andrew Ansell to Stadhampton School. Mr Ansell is a student from Oxford Brookes University,and will be working alongside Miss Shah in Class 3 for period of eight weeks.

Teachers’ Strike 17.10.2013
As you will already be aware, a number of schools locally were either fully or partially closed on Thursday 17 October due to combined union strike action by teachers. This strike action was over disputes relating to changes to pay, pensions and working conditions. These changes are significant and the concerns are that the consequences will make teaching, which is already a very challenging job, an increasingly unattractive profession – both for existing, experienced teachers and for the recruitment of high calibre new teachers.
Teaching staff at Stadhampton School all reserve the right to strike. No teacher takes strike action lightly; the prospect was given very careful consideration however, on this occasion, teaching staff elected not to go on strike. Staff will be closely following any further developments.

National School Meals Week – 4th – 8th November 2013
We are delighted to announce that Food With Thought are offering all our Reception children a free school meal during the whole of National School Meals week. Your child may order a free school meal every day or on any day(s) of their choice during that week by returning the tick sheet on the letter sent home in book bags earlier this week. Thank you.

After School Clubs
We will be sending home details of After-school clubs for next term early next week. Archery, dance, art and multiskills will continue in Term 2. The Archery after school club on Mondays was very popular this term resulting in 9 pupils being unable to have a place. Therefore a place has been reserved for the following pupils for the new club which will begin on Monday 4 November: Ollie and Max Jones, Oliver and James Lowman, Alex Igmofose, Rees Brown, Josh Matthews, Alfie Howard and Charlie Ball. Please could you let us know as soon as possible if your child does not wish to take up this place. If everyone on the ‘waiting list’ does wish to take up a place we shall only have one more space left. If anyone (aged 8 or over) would be interested in this place please let Mrs Hopkins know.


Advance Notice of Key Events and Dates
Parents’ Consultation Evenings Monday 18th November & Wednesday 20th November

Our annual Christmas productions (yet to revealed!) will take place as follows:

KS2 (Classes 2 & 3) Tuesday 10th December, both matinee and evening performances (times to be confirmed)

FS/KS1 (Reception & Class 1) Wednesday 11th December, one matinee performance only (time to be confirmed).

Tickets will be on sale shortly from the school office for all performances of the Christmas Productions. They will be priced at £2 each with all profits this year going towards the purchase of i-pads for use in the classrooms. As we have to comply with fire regulations concerning the number of people in the hall, tickets will be limited to 3 per family for the KS1/FS performance and 2 per family for each of the KS2 performances. We respectfully request that parents do not bring children who are under school age to the KS2 evening performance please.

Our annual Nativity Service is expected to take place in the village church on Wednesday 18th December at 2.15pm. Everyone is welcome to join us for this event.

Class 3 Visit to Wittenham Clumps – Report by Marcin and Naomi
“On Friday 11th October Class 3 had a trip to Wittenham Clumps. We decided to be ‘outlaws’ for the day like Robin Hood and his merry men (and women!) so had to learn to survive in the wild woods. We went off in different groups and made dens from logs and tree branches. When we finished making our den we were able to see all the others and all of them were FANTASTIC. After we had lunch we went outside and made a fire. It was really challenging because we couldn’t use matches and had to use fire strikers but it was even more challenging because it was raining! All groups managed to make a fire and were able to roast delicious marshmallows! We all thought this trip was really exciting because we were trusted to do lots of fun activities that we wouldn’t usually be able to do!”

PTA News
Following the recent AGM, the PTA has several new parent members and we would love anybody thinking of joining to come along to our next meeting. This will be on Tuesday 22nd October at 8pm in the school hall. The main aim of this meeting is to discuss any new ideas for the Winter Fair, as well as decide which old favourites we are going to include. The Winter Fair is planned for Friday 29th November from 6pm until 8pm, so please keep this date free – further details to follow after the meeting!

As ever, the PTA is a chance for parents to have their say and to help make important decisions about fundraising and how the money raised is spent. Everyone is welcome at any PTA meeting, so please do come along. Or if you would prefer to support the PTA in other ways, for example by helping at an event, then please speak to any member of the PTA. A list of PTA members is on the notice board outside Class 1.

Cake Club
Congratulations to Lorenzo Elliott who was the lucky winner of the cake last week, kindly donated by Mrs Hector. A reminder to Mrs Manzie that she is on the rota for Friday 25 October.

Plant Orders
Plant orders are scheduled to be delivered to school on Tuesday 22 October.

LITTLE BEARS NEWS:
Next week at Little Bears we will be finishing our transport topic by looking at farms and farm machinery. Little Bears last day of term is Friday 25th October returning on Monday 4th November to the topic books.

DIARY DATES:
Monday 21 October Book Fair arrives
Friday 25 October School breaks up at 3.15pm for October Holiday
Monday 4 November School resumes for the start of Term 2
Thursday 7 November Year 5 pupils visit ICC for Science, Maths & English lessons
Wednesday 13 November Mobile Library visit pm
Monday 18 November Parents Evening 4.00-7.00pm
Wednesday 20 November Parents Evening 4.00-6.00pm
Tuesday 10th December KS2 (Classes 2 & 3) - both matinee and evening performances (times to be confirmed)
Wednesday 11th December FS/KS1 (Reception & Class 1) - matinee performance only (time to be confirmed).
Wednesday 18th December Nativity Service - village church 2.15pm
Monday 23rd December One-day Sports Course at Stadhampton School for participating pupils. See notices in each classroom entrance area for more information and details of how to book.

Community Notices

Nativity scene staying overnight during December
A regular village tradition is for a nativity scene to go round the village during the month of December, ending up in the Church on Christmas Eve for the service. A village family invites the nativity scene in overnight, lays it out in a special place in the house, says a prayer and then passes the characters onto a different family the next day. Each family takes responsibility to ensure the characters are well looked after during their visit and for taking it to the next family on the list. This year the characters have been knitted by Abby & Lawrence Wright's Grandma and are carried around in a basket. Reverend Caroline has provided the prayer you can choose to say as you settle the characters into your home.

If you would like to be part of this tradition please email Sara Wright on sarawright300@btinternet.com direct and she will put your family name down on the list. She will need to know the dates you cannot do plus your name, home address and telephone number. Sara will confirm the complete list before the end of November so you know when to expect it.

Autumn Festival, Saturday 19th October, 11am to 4pm, Earth Trust, Little Wittenham
Join the Earth Trust for a celebration of autumn and harvest! There will be plenty of outdoor and indoor activities on offer for the whole family, including storytelling, planting acorns, apple pressing, grain grinding, bug hunts, craft activities, crumpet toasting, muesli making, and milk a cow (not a real one!). Delicious hot food on offer from our hog roast, soup from the Cultivate veg van, and the Poem Tree café. For further information see www.earthtrust.org.uk or call 01865 407792.

Vacancies at Watlington Primary School:

PART-TIME MIDDAY SUPERVISOR
We are looking for a reliable person to join our lunchtime team on a Thursday and Friday from 11.30am – 1.00pm. (Total 3 hours per week). The rate of pay is £6.90 per hour. Additional hours may become available at a later date.

CLEANER
We are looking for a cleaner to join our caretaking team with immediate effect. The position is for 6 hours per work worked on Monday and Friday only from 3.15pm -6.15pm each day. The rate of pay is £6.67 per hour.

If you are interested in either of the above positions please contact Jane Fowler, School Business Manager at WATLINGTON PRIMARY SCHOOL, LOVE LANE, WATLINGTON, OXFORD. OX49 5RB.
Telephone: 01491 612474, or email office.2459@watlington.oxon.sch.uk
Employment is dependent upon a clear enhanced DRB check and satisfactory references.

Newsletter for week ending 11 October 2013

Possible Strike Action on Thursday 17 October
As you may be aware members of the NASUWT and NUT are in dispute with the Government and have voted to take strike action. The strike action in this region will be for one day and will take place on Thursday 17 October 2013. Teachers are only required to give 48 hours notice of their intention to strike and therefore all that we can do at the present time is notify parents that there is a possibility that the school may have to close. We will provide a further update when more information is known.

Open Morning
Our annual Open Morning will take place on Wednesday 16 October between 9.00 and 11.45am. Please feel free to pop in during the morning if you would like to see the school at work. We hope to have lots of visitors to the school and particularly welcome parents/carers who are currently deciding which school they will choose for their child starting school in September 2014.

Volunteers to hear readers required!
We are very grateful to a number of parents who regularly give of their time to come into school to hear pupils read. We would welcome more volunteers and if you are able to help please speak to your child’s teacher. We also welcome Mr Finbar McGaughey, a resident of the village, who volunteers to help in school on a regular basis.

Forest Schools
For some time now we have been looking into the possibility of setting up a Forest School having experienced some taster sessions led by Poppy Elliott, a fully qualified Forest Schools leader, kindly loaned to us by Little Bears. Forest Schools is “a unique way of building independence, self-esteem and a positive attitude towards learning in children and young people as they explore and experience the natural world for themselves”. It is widely recognised that Forest Schools also helps children to develop self-awareness, calculate risks, communicate better and learn the importance of working as part of a team. We are most fortunate to have been offered the use of Stadhampton River Meadows private land owned by Bob and Frances Campbell, for this purpose and that Mr Short, a member of our support staff, is willing to undertake the training to be able to deliver the Forest School educational programme. It is hoped that this will, in time, be rolled out to all year groups. We are also very grateful for the support of Mr Stephen Dawson, a School Governor who, along with the PTA, is helping to bring this plan to fruition. In order to fundraise for this project, a Musical Evening is being planned in the Church for Saturday 23rd November. We already know that Eleanor Tinlin will be playing the piano and Otis will be playing the saxophone. Further details of this event and details of how to buy tickets will be published in next week’s newsletter. Please watch this space!

Book Fair
We are holding a Children’s Book Fair in school from Monday 21st October until Friday 25 October inclusive. The Book Fair will be open from 8.30 to 9.00am each morning (starting on Tuesday 22 October) and from 3.00 until 3.30pm each afternoon (starting on Monday 21 October). Parents are welcome to come in during these times to browse for books with or without their children! The commission from sales at the fair enables us to buy books to update our individual class libraries and our non-fiction library. There are hundreds of exciting books to choose from with prices from just £1. A leaflet showing some examples of the books available and an order form was put into book bags earlier this week.

We are most grateful to Mrs Woodwards and to Mrs Dobson for their hard work and commitment to the school leading and organising many fundraising events over several years as key members of the PTA committee. I am sure that you will all join me in thanking them and will offer your support to the new PTA Chair (when elected) and to the remaining members of the PTA committee who are working very hard to make sure that fundraising and social events continue. As you can see from the ‘PTA News’ below, money raised by the PTA makes a huge difference to what we can offer in school.
With the news this week that Oxfordshire County Council has to make £90m of savings between now and 2017/18, in addition to £127m already achieved since 2010/11 and £43m planned for 2013/14, such sources of additional funding are, and will continue to be, vitaly important to a small school such as ours and we are very fortunate to have such a supportive and pro-active PTA.

PTA News

AGM
Thank you to everyone who came along to our AGM, it was lovely to see so many people there. There have been some changes as Rowena and Diana stepped down from their positions. Charlotte Hector was re-elected as Treasurer and Mel Gravett was elected as Secretary. The position of Chair has not been filled. In the short term the PTA committee will continue to run the events planned for this term, including the Winter Fair. However in the long term if we want to continue to offer our children the extras they have become used to, we will need a Chair.

Over the past year we have held some fantastic fundraising events and overall raised £5646.07 - an amazing total. The money we have raised has gone towards; part funding of £1800 for the French Teacher, leavers gifts, Christmas Party food, Daylight Theatre performance, and helping fund Class 2's trip to Sulgrave Manor. New items this year have been £500 towards the Table Tennis table - much enjoyed by the children and funds of £1689 for additional seating for the outdoor theatre area.

A huge thank you to the PTA team for all their hard work, the parents who help out at events, members of the community for their support and to everyone who willingly spends their time and money supporting the above events.

The full report from the AGM can be found on the noticeboard outside school and on the website.

Christmas Cards
Please ensure that all artwork, order forms and payment are in to the school office by 9am Monday 14th Oct for your Christmas card orders.

Friday Cake Club
Ellie Walker was the lucky winner of the cake last week, kindly donated by Mrs Ellis. A reminder to Mrs Woodwards that she is on the rota for Friday 18th October.

LITTLE BEARS NEWS:
Next week we are looking at the topic ‘emergency vehicles’, making collage fire engines and turning our home corner into a fire station .
Little Bears are having a cake sale on Friday the 18th October at 12 pm and 3 pm and any donations of cakes would be very gratefully received.
Also on Tuesday the 29th October Little Bears will be holding a Halloween-themed ‘stay and play’. Please see Debbie Bradford for more details.

One-day Sports Course at Stadhampton School
Michael Hopkins, who is well known at Stadhampton School having been our Sports Coach for a number of years, will be running a one-day holiday course here at Stadhampton School on Monday 23rd December between 9 and 3pm. All pupils of primary school age are welcome to attend. The cost will be £10 for the day. The emphasis is on having fun and will include playing a variety of sports, games and mini-tournaments. There will be Christmas-themed prizes! Bookings may be made directly with Mr Hopkins (see flyer attached) or via Mrs Hopkins in the school office.

Orders for School Photographs
Please return orders for school photographs back to school in time for their collection from school on Friday 18th October at 8am. Thank you.

Reminder -Invitation to look around our new Village Hall at St John’s this Saturday
Cake, tea, games and art from 2-6pm. This is a chance for you to come and look at this beautifully rejuvenated space that is now ours, ready to do things with. Families with children are particularly welcome as there will be a big art activity, as well as a Ji-anza competition and a “Where on earth?”, in Stadhampton, photo quiz for all of us locals. Please come and have a look. Any queries, please contact Catherine Roe on 07432 126514.


DIARY DATES:
Wednesday 16 October Open Morning 9.00-11.45am. Visitors welcome to pop in during this time to see the school at work.
Monday 21 October Book Fair arrives
Friday 25 October School breaks up at 3.15pm for October Holiday
Monday 4 November School resumes for the start of Term 2
Thursday 7 November Year 5 pupils visit ICC for Science, Maths & English lessons
Wednesday 13 November Mobile Library visit pm
Monday 18 November Parents Evening 4.00-7.00pm
Wednesday 20 November Parents Evening 4.00-6.00pm
Monday 23rd December One-day Sports Course at Stadhampton School for participating pupils. See notices in each classroom entrance area for more information and details of how to book.

• Flyer attached about the ‘Great Pink Bake Off’ at St John’s Church Hall on Thursday 24 October

Newsletter for week ending 5 October 2013

Happy OCTOBER Birthday to: Edison Buckner, Ella Fulker, Mia Gravett, Sophie Hector, Oliver Lowman, Lewis Payne, Harvey Saunders, Marcin Skwarek and Ellie Walker.

During OCTOBER we are focusing on the core value of RESPONSIBILITY

Internet Awareness
There are many wonderful advantages of the Internet but it can be a ‘mixed blessing’. Children can access inappropriate material. We have recently been made aware of some ‘challenges’ on ‘youtube’ that have been accessed by children and which have the potential to be harmful. Guidance is that ‘youtube’ is for children over the age of 13 years old and at school we have a block on such sites preventing access. We feel that sharing this information about Internet safety is important. Families should be aware that children who have unsupervised access to the Internet may be vunerable to accessing inappropriate material.

Swimming Contributions
Thank you to the families in Class 2 who paid swimming contributions during this week.

Bottle Tops Collection for Air Ambulance
As a school we are pleased to collect bottle tops to assist with fundraising by the Thames Valley and Chiltern Air Ambulance. Mrs Leiper continues to be happy to sort through these for us but has to make a special journey to Swindon to drop them off on our behalf. The address they need to be dropped off at is Agi World, Units 1 and 2 Kembrey Park, Swindon, SN2 8UU. We understand that they may be posted into a collection box which is outside of the building. If any parent goes to Swindon occasionally and would be willing to drop them off for us, please could you let us know. Thank you.

Dolls Clothes Required!
We have recently purchased four dolls for the Foundation Stage class but sadly they don’t have any clothes. They are approximately 38cm tall – 2 boys and 2 girls. Does anyone have any unwanted dolls clothes they would be willing to donate to school or would anyone be willing to make or knit some for us? Please let us know if you can help. Thank you.

Invitation to look around our new Village Hall at St John’s Saturday 12th October 2013
Cake, tea, games and art from 2-6pm. This is a chance for you to come and look at this beautifully rejuvenated space that is now ours, ready to do things with. Families with children are particularly welcome as there will be a big art activity, as well as a Jianza competition and a “Where on earth?”, in Stadhampton, photo quiz for all of us locals. Please come and have a look - I hope to see lots of you, even if only for 5 minutes. Any queries, please contact me on 07432 126 514.

Thank you, Catherine Roe

Science Oxford Live Autumn Events
Everyone is invited to go along to the hands-on, interactive science workshops taking place on the last Saturday of each month at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History. Here is a link to their website if you would like more information about the various events http://www.scienceoxford.com/live/

Free Football Coaching for Girls
We have been asked to advertise these free football coaching sessions for girls which primarily focus on fun, fitness and team building. Details are as follows;
When - Thursdays 5.30pm to 7.15pm
Where - The Community Arena at Oxford City Football Club, Marsh Lane, Marston, Oxford, OX3 0NQ. Contact details for parents - email: peter.burden2@btinternet.com mobile; 07900832429

PTA News

AGM - Tuesday 8th October, School Hall, 8pm
Don't forget to come along and support the PTA.

Friday Cake Club
Alexander Ighofose was the lucky winner of last week’s cake, kindly donated by Mrs Burnell.
A reminder to Mrs Hector that she is on the rota for Friday 11 October.

Clothes Recycling - Friday 11th October, 9am
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.

Christmas Cards!!
I know it's early (maybe not quite as early as Notcutts!) but we are organising our annual Christmas cards designed by your child. You should see some lovely designs coming home with your child/children this week. If you wish you can add to this design (or even create another one!) but please refer to the guidance notes.

The first pack of 12 cards is £5.50, each additional pack of 12 cards is £4.50. You can order as many packs as you like. A pack of 12 gift tags is £2.50 (and has to be with a card order).

All completed artwork, orders and payment, need to be in by the 14th October. Any queries please see Claire Walker or Anna Harries.


LITTLE BEARS NEWS:
Next week we will be looking at travelling by sea and talking about other ways we could travel. We will also be making a big pirate ship on our climbing frame outside.
We are hopefully having a visit from a Fireman on Thursday in preparation for our emergency services topic next week.


DIARY DATES:
Wednesday 16 October Open Morning 9.00-11.45am. Visitors welcome to pop in during this time to see the school at work.
Mobile Library visit pm
Friday 11th October Bag2School collection
Monday 21 October Book Fair arrives
Friday 25 October School breaks up at 3.15pm for October Holiday
Monday 4 November School resumes for the start of Term 2
Thursday 7 November Year 5 pupils visit ICC for Science, Maths & English lessons
Wednesday 13 November Mobile Library visit pm
Monday 18 November Parents Evening 4.00-7.00pm
Wednesday 20 November Parents Evening 4.00-6.00pm

Newsletter for week ending 27 September 2013

School Photographs
We arranged for The School Photography Company (when they were in school earlier this week) to take a group photograph of our Year 6 pupils. Several parents had suggested that this would be a nice keep-sake to have. We will see what the uptake is on purchasing the photographs this year before deciding whether to repeat in future years.

Swimming Contributions
We are most grateful to and thank the families who have already contributed towards the cost of the swimming transport for Term 1 (£14). There are a number of families in Class 2 who have not yet made any contribution towards the cost of the swimming transport as well as some families from Class 3 who have already paid in advance for next term! Please do ask in the school office if you are not sure whether you have paid or not and are willing to do so.

Reception and Class 1 Autumn Walk
Some comments from pupils about their Autumn walk this week:
“I loved picking up all the things like conkers, leaves and twigs”; “we had delicious food at the Crazy Bear Farm Shop”; “it was fun doing the collages with acorns, leaves and moths!”; we all touched the lama and the deer”; “I had fun feeding the animals”; we looked at the baby piglets and they were so cute!”.

PTA News

Your PTA needs You!

Wine and Nibbles Evening, incorporating the PTA Annual General Meeting (AGM) - 8th October 2013, 8pm, School Hall

Formal notice that the AGM of the Stadhampton Primary School PTA, will be held on the 8th October 2013. The evening will commence at 8.00pm with the PTA Annual General Meeting, followed by a Wine and Nibbles evening in the school hall. We anticipate that the AGM should last approximately 15 minutes.

The PTA plays a vital part in the school community and all parents, as members of the PTA, are invited to support the AGM. This is your chance to hear and see how the funds you have helped to raise last year have been used for the benefit of the children/students at our school.

The AGM is also an opportunity for you to elect the PTA Committee (Chair, Treasurer, Secretary), to represent the association throughout the forthcoming academic year.

We need a new Chair -
• are you passionate about your childs education and experiences at school
• have energy and enthusiasm to co-ordinate the organisation of fundraising events
• lead monthly meetings
then why not have a go - as the current Chair I can say it is hard work, but more importantly has been great fun and a very rewarding couple of years, so please talk to me (Diana) about nominating yourself to take the PTA forward.

We also need a Secretary -
• you will need to attend monthly meetings
• send out agendas for meetings and take and circulate minutes from the meetings
• deal with all admin bits the PTA involves
again please speak to Diana or Rowena to nominate yourself.

Nominations should be sent in advance of the AGM, for existing committee members willing to stand for re-election and for anyone wishing to stand as an Officer or Ordinary Committee Member, for the first time. Nomination forms are available in the PTA box in the School Office.

If you would like any further information about what is involved in being a Committee Member, please speak to Diana Woodwards.

We look forward to seeing you on 8 October 2013.

Friday Cake Club
Owen Cove was the lucky winner of last week’s cake, kindly donated by Mrs Day. A reminder to Mrs Ellis that she is on the rota for Friday 4 October.

Plant Orders - Friday 4th October
All order forms and payment need to be returned to the School Office by Friday 4th October.

Clothes Recycling - Friday 11th October
Clothes Recycling 23 October – You should have received a bag, if not please speak to Sarah Madry or collect one from the school office. You can also use black bin bags. Donations of clothes, shoes, bedding (not pillows and duvets), cuddly toys are all very welcome. The collection will take place by 9am on Friday 11th October.


LITTLE BEARS NEWS:
Next week at Little Bears we will be continuing with our transport topic and looking at land vehicles and road safety. The Little Bears will be making a crossing in the garden and talking about the rules of crossing the road.


DIARY DATES:
Monday 30 September Governing Body meeting at 7pm
Friday 4 October Harvest Festival service in school. Parents are welcome to attend.We hope that all pupils will be able to bring in a small ‘Harvest’ gift. (See last week’s newsletter).
Wednesday 9 October Open Morning 9.00-11.45am. Visitors welcome to pop in during this time to see the school at work
Mobile Library visit pm
Friday 11th October Bag2School collection
Monday 21 October Book Fair arrives
Friday 25 October School breaks up at 3.15pm for October Holiday
Monday 4 November School resumes for the start of Term 2
Thursday 7 November Year 5 pupils visit ICC for Science, Maths & English lessons
Wednesday 13 November Mobile Library visit pm
Monday 18 November Parents Evening 4.00-7.00pm
Wednesday 20 November Parents Evening 4.00-6.00pm

Newsletter for week ending 20 September 2013

School Prospectus for 2013-14
We are very proud of our new School Prospectus for this academic year which has been uploaded onto the school website this week. It has been completely revamped by the Governing Body and provides a wealth of information about the school, contains lots of photographs of activities and events from the last school year, comparative reports of KS1 and KS2 SATs tests, as well as term and holiday dates for 2013-14 academic year and lots, lots more. Please do have a look at it and use it as a reference point for what to do if your child is ill, how to find out if the school might be closed in the event of heavy snow, what to do if your child requires medicine during the school day, etc.

School Photographs
The School Photography Company will be in school on Thursday 26 September and all pupils will have their photographs taken during the morning wearing their school uniform. Each child will be photographed individually and also with any siblings in school. Families are welcome to come into the Hall before school at 8.30am to have family groups photographed together if they so wish.

Within a week or two, proof photographs will arrive at school and parents will decide whether or not they wish to purchase them. If you do not wish to purchase the photographs you do not need to return the proof pack back to school. If you do wish to purchase photographs please follow the instructions on the proof pack. The school simply collects the orders ready for the School Photography Company to collect from the School Office on a given date (this will be advised in the newsletter when known).

Recorders and Recorder Books
Recorder lessons will restart after Half Term. Recorders are available from the school office, priced at £6.50. Recorder Books 1 and 2 are also available at £4.85 each. The school makes no profit from selling these items.

Harvest Gifts
Our annual Harvest Festival will take place in the Hall at 9.05am on Friday 4th October and families are most welcome to join us. Once again we will be supporting Stepping Stones, an organisation for homeless people in Oxford, with our Harvest Gifts. We hope that each child will be able to bring a small contribution into school before our service. All Harvest gifts bought into school will be taken to the village church and put on display for the Harvest Service there on Sunday 6th October, before being taken on to Stepping Stones. Stepping Stones prefer to receive non-perishable items such as packets of pasta, tins of beans, bars of chocolate, packets of biscuits, tins of tomatoes, tins of spaghetti, etc rather than fresh produce. Thank you.

Advance Notice of Parents and Carers Consultation Evening Dates
Our annual Parents and Carers Consultation Evenings with teachers will take place in November as follows:

Monday 18th November: 4.00 - 7.00pm
Wednesday 20th November: 4.00 – 6.00pm

We hope that by giving advanced notice of these arrangements that parents and carers will be able to arrange to attend one or other of these dates. Slips offering appointments on a ‘first-come, first-served’ basis will be in book bags soon after the October Holiday.

Reusable Drinks Bottles
There are a number of unnamed reusable drinks bottles in the Hall. Please have a look to see if any of these belong to your child. Any unclaimed bottles will be disposed of in the next couple of weeks. Thank you.

Supporting/Helping Your Child with Maths Booklets
Maths booklets for supporting/helping your child with maths at home for each year group were put into book bags over the last few days. Please let your child’s teacher know if you did not receive one.

PTA News

Friday Cake Club
Jamie Lavene was the lucky winner of the first cake of the new term, kindly provided by Mrs Madry. A reminder to Mrs Burnell that she is on the rota for 27th September.

For those who want to pay for half a term or a whole term at a time, it is now £1.20 up to Half Term or £2.60 up to Christmas. If you would like to donate a cake please see Rowena Dobson. We have volunteers up to the first week back after Christmas, but it would be nice to fill the rota as soon as possible for as much of the year as we can. Don’t forget, it doesn’t need to be homemade.

Bags2School
Bags for recycling clothes have been sent home via book bags earlier this week. The collection date for this is Friday 11th October.


LITTLE BEARS NEWS:
Next week we will be looking at the Railways and traveling by rail. We will also be looking at how steam engines work and making our own train designs for bee bot and using shapes.


DIARY DATES:
Thursday 26 September School photographs taken today. See details in this week’s newsletter.
ICC Open Evening from 6-8pm
Monday 30 September Governing Body meeting at 7pm
Friday 4 October Harvest Festival service in school. Parents are welcome to attend.See details in this week’s newsletter.
Wednesday 9 October Open Morning 9.00-11.45am. Visitors welcome to pop in during this time to see the school at work
Mobile Library visit pm
Friday 11th October Bag2School collection
Monday 21 October Book Fair arrives
Friday 25 October School breaks up at 3.15pm for October Holiday
Monday 4 November School resumes for the start of Term 2
Thursday 7 November Year 5 pupils visit ICC for Science, Maths & English lessons
Wednesday 13 November Mobile Library visit pm
Monday 18 November Parents Evening 4.00-7.00pm
Wednesday 20 November Parents Evening 4.00-6.00pm