Newsletter for week ending 24 May 2013

Congratulations
We would like to share the great news from Icknield Community College that Daniel Green and Jessica Tombling, both former pupils of Stadhampton Primary School, have been selected as Head Boy and Head Girl for the next academic year. Kezia Lawson and Joshua Drake have also been appointed as senior prefects. We are very proud of our ex-pupils and congratulate them all.


Secondary School Transition Information
Year 6 pupils have been given some information this week about their transition to secondary school and also a letter from the Public Health Directorate about protection against measles. If you have not been given this information, please ask your child for it!


Recorders
Recorder lessons will continue for all pupils in Years 2-6 on Mondays during Term 6. All pupils require their own recorder for hygiene reasons and ideally their own recorder book. Recorders are on sale from the school office for £6.50 and books for £4.80 each (the price we pay for them).

‘Musical Showcase’ – 09.07.2013
We would like to give you advance notice of a special event on Tuesday 9th July where our clarinet players, guitar players and Year 6 will be showcasing their musical and singing talents. All families are welcome to join the audience. The event will start at 2.15pm and finish by the end of the normal school day. Further details to follow.


Swimming at Berinsfield and in the School Pool
Swimming sessions begin for Class 3 pupils at the Abbey Sports Centre from Monday 3rd June through to Monday 15th July (7 sessions). As always, we are most grateful to the parents who make a contribution towards the cost of the transport which is currently £60 per visit. The recommended contribution is £2 per child per week, (£14 in total) and cheques for swimming should be made payable to Stadhampton Primary School please.

We are grateful to Mrs Shortman and Mr Short for preparing our own school pool for use and to teaching staff who have gained the appropriate lifesaving qualifications. A water sample has been taken away for analysis and providing we get the ‘all-clear’ on that the pool will be ready for use as soon as the weather improves. Please could all pupils (Reception included) have swimming kit available in school each day for the start of Term 6. Girls should have a one-piece swimming costume, boys tight-fitting rather than baggy trunks (as these impede their swimming) and all pupils need a swimming hat and a towel. Thank you.


Multisports After School Club
We are most grateful to Michael Hopkins for leading PE lessons and after school clubs at Stadhampton School for several years. Michael has now finished university and is about to spend a couple of months travelling so is unavailable to provide after school clubs. However, he will continue to lead Holiday courses in the future at Stadhampton School. The next one is 12-16 August. There will be no multisports on Wednesday afternoons in Term 6 but Miss Mould is leading a singing club. We are aiming to offer either an art or a dance club on Wednesdays from September and we are also following up other leads with a view to providing some new clubs.

Missing sweatshirt and cardigan
Tille Moss Black in Class 1 has mislaid a school sweatshirt and a cardigan, both unfortunately unnamed, but size 28. Please could everyone check their children’s PE bags in case they are in the wrong bag?

Oxfordshire Ffennell Festival
The Oxfordshire Ffennell Festival takes place on 7/8 June at Hill End, Eynsham Road, Farmoor, Oxford, OX2 9NJ. Entry is free. Activities include science zone, eco-zone, tasty zone, art zone, history zone, cake decorating, bee keeping, lollipop factory, slimbing wall, candle making, playbus and much more. Saturday 8th June 10-5pm.

Event at Barefoot Books
There is an opportunity to join author David Calcutt and be his Merry Men on a wonderful journey through Sherwood Forest …. £6 per child or £12 per family, Sunday 26 May 2.30-3.30pm, 294 Banbury Road, Summertown, OX2 7ED.


PTA News
Friday Cake Club
Freya Clapton was the lucky winner of last week's cake, kindly donated by Miss Gardner. A reminder to Mrs Walker that she is on the rota for 7th June, the first Friday after half term.


Big Bus Opening & Summer Fair, Saturday 15th June
Bus Quizzes will be on sale this Friday for £2. Have fun testing your knowledge on all things 'buses' and enter your completed quiz to win a prize at the Fair.

Keep any eye out for details of all the competitions you could enter at the Fair and tickets for the Raffle in bookbags this week.


Preparations for our fun filled fair are well under way and we looking for your help. Are you able to provide, or help, with any of the following:
• Gazebo's or large party tents & being able to put up and take down on the day
• A half hour or hour to help run a stall on the day
• Any spare plants that we could sell on our plant stall
• Any old (clean) lego that we could use for a stall
• Any old crockery that we could put on our 'smashing' China shy!
• FILL-A-JAR with anything.... here are a few ideas - buttons, Lego, recipes, stickers, sweets, cotton wool, hair bands/clips (new), rubbers, sharpeners.....the list is endless.

LITTLE BEARS NEWS:
Little Bears are returning to the topic of ‘Holidays’ on the 3rd June. We have our fingers crossed for some sunny days so that we can really enjoy this theme and practice our sports day. The actual date will be announced at the start of Term 6.
Have a great half-term break and we will look forward to seeing you all in a week’s time.


DIARY DATES:
Monday 3rd June Return to school for the start of Term 6
Thursday 6th June Year 5’s visit to ICC for Science lesson
Tuesday 11th June Reception and Class 1 visit to Science Oxford Live
Wednesday 12th June Mobile Library
Friday 14 June Pre-loved sale at Little Bears 7.30-9.30pm
Saturday 15 June Pre-loved sale continues at 10am.
Summer Fair & Bus Extravaganza 2 - 4.30pm
Tuesday 18th June Year 5’s visit to ICC for a PE lesson. Please remember to take trainers/plimsolls and PE kit.
Wednesday 10th, Thursday 11th & Friday 12th July Moving up days; Reception pupils starting in September join us in school; Year 6 pupils spend three days at ICC; all other pupils move up to the year group/class they will be in from September.
Friday 12th July EYFS/Reception meeting with parents in School Hall at 2.50pm
Sports Evening
Monday 15th – Thursday 18th July No afterschool clubs in the final week of the school term
Tuesday 16th July Daylight Theatre performance
Friday 19th July Leavers assembly 09.05am
School finishes for Summer holidays 1.30pm
Wednesday 4th September Pupils return to school for the start of the new academic year

Newsletter for week ending 17 May 2013

Swimming at the Abbey Sports Centre
As next week will be the final swimming session for Class 2 this term, we would like to thank those parents who have already made voluntary contribution towards the cost of the transport to the Abbey Sports Centre. Any further contributions would be gratefully received. Cheques for swimming should be made payable to Stadhampton Primary School please. Thank you for your continued support.
Unfortunately the pool was unavailable for use last Monday, due to a problem with the heating. We were made aware of this at short notice but were able to make use of the Sports Hall facilities enabling Class 2 pupils to access sporting experiences that are more limited in our own Hall.

School SATs
Year 6 pupils have now completed their end of KS2 SATs papers and the relief is obvious! Pupils in other year groups, from Years 2 to 5, have largely completed their tasks and tests too although some will continue to take place early next week.
Thank you to all families for ensuring that all dentist and doctors appointments etc have been avoided during this time.

Missing School Uniform
Eliza Gardner in Reception cannot find two of her named blue school cardigans. Please could everyone check to see if they have inadvertently got into the wrong bag?

PTA News
Friday Cake Club
Sophie Hector was the lucky winner of last week’s cake, kindly donated by Mrs Lowman. A reminder to Mrs Payne that she is on the rota for Friday 24 May.
As the Cake Club has been very popular, we will continue it next year, if anyone would like to volunteer to make a cake next school year(!) please see Rowena.

Bags2School
Many thank to everyone for all their contributions (over 60 bags were collected) and to those who oversaw the collection and loading. We will let you know how much was raised once we have the details from Bags2School.

Summer Fair & Bus Extravaganza - Saturday 15th June, 2 - 4.30pm
We would be grateful for the following items for some of our stalls - sweets, toys, games, books, unwanted crockery, plants, plant pots, bottles, tins, cans etc. Also, if anyone has a small paddling pool that we could borrow for the day, please see either Rowena Dobson or Tracey Valentine.

There are lots of exciting competitions to enter which will be judged at the Bus Extravaganza and Fair. Entry forms and Quiz forms can be purchased from Rowena Dobson or Tracey Valentine. Details below:

1. Bus Quiz - 25 bus-related questions that involve both general and local knowledge. Prize for the entry with the most correct entries. Price £2.50.

2. Bus Picture or Model competition - create a picture or model of a bus. It can be made with anything; paint, pencils etc, junk, Lego, K'nex... Let your imagination go wild! Entry price 50p, and the winner gets their photo on the cover of the Village Voice!

3. Cake Competitions - Two competitions - one for children and one for adults. Elaine Burnell is to be the judge! Cakes need to be at School by 2pm on Saturday 15th June. After judging the cakes will be sold on the Cake stall. Entry price 50p with a prize for each winner.

4. Miniature Garden Competition - design your own miniature garden. Get really creative. Entry price 50p.

Pond Dipping Event on 31st May
The River Thame Conservation Trust invite you to a "Pond Dipping" event on Friday 31st May 2013, between 10am and 1pm at Chiselhampton House.

Features of the morning will include Pond Dipping in the parkland with experts from The Million Ponds Project and fishing demonstrations by the River Thame.

The event is aimed at children between 8 and 11 years old and they must be accompanied by a responsible adult on the day. Please bring along a drink and snack as we will break during the morning, and wear appropriate clothing and footwear for the weather. Parking will be available using the field gate by The Coach & Horses which will be signposted.

A suggested donation of £5 per child to the River Thame Conservation Trust would be gratefully received.

For enquiries and to book your child's place, please contact Stephen Dawson on 07729 902427 or email s.dawson78@yahoo.co.uk

LITTLE BEARS NEWS:
Little Bears will be enjoying the song '10 in a bed' next week - children can come dressed in PJs on Friday if they like as we end the week on a song! Don't forget a teddy bear!
Friday 24 May, 3pm, is also the last day of term. Little Bears return Monday 3 June when our topic will be 'Holidays'.
Thank you to all our parents who donated clothes to the Bags2Schools - we collected 21 bags, a terrific contribution to the school initiative.

For your diary - a Preloved Clothing sale will be taking place at Little Bears on Friday 14 June 7.30-9.30pm and Saturday 15 June 10am (the morning of the Library Bus Launch at the school). All items in good, clean condition, some never worn. All items under £20. Please see the attached poster for more information.


DIARY DATES:
Friday 24th May Break up at 3.15pm for May Holiday
Monday 3rd June Return to school for the start of Term 6
Thursday 6th June Year 5’s visit to ICC for Science lesson
Wednesday 12th June Mobile Library
Friday 14 June Pre-loved sale at Little Bears 7.30-9.30pm
Saturday 15 June Pre-loved sale continues at 10am.
Summer Fair & Bus Extravaganza 2 - 4.30pm
Tuesday 18th June Year 5’s visit to ICC for a PE lesson. Please remember to take trainers/plimsolls and PE kit.
Wednesday 10th, Thursday 11th & Friday 12th July Moving up days; Reception pupils starting in September join us in school; Year 6 pupils spend three days at ICC; all other pupils move up to the year group/class they will be in from September.

Advert for Watlington Primary School Job Vacancy
Watlington Primary School is looking for a cleaner to join the caretaking team with immediate effect. The position is for 6 hours per week working on Monday and Friday from 3.15pm – 6.15 pm. The rate of pay is £6.61 per hour. If you are interested please contact Jane Fowler, School Business Manager on 01491 612474. Appointment will be dependent upon satisfactory references and CRB clearance.

Newsletter for week ending 10 May 2013

Helping Children with Reading
A reminder that there is a talk by Amanda King, a literacy consultant working with Oxfordshire schools, on helping children with reading at 2.15pm on Monday 13 May. All parents and carers are welcome to attend.

School Website Updates
Recent uploads to the school website include a Benchmarking Report under the Governors section. This analysis enables the Governing Body to assess how this school is performing in comparison with other similar schools by considering how effectively we deploy our resources to achieve results. Also recently added are Term Dates for 2013/14 (Parents Section). In addition we have repaired the previously problematic link on After School Clubs in Term 5 and added pictures of the ‘green’ greenhouse and Woodlands visit in the Events Section.

Year 6 Visit to Dorchester Abbey - Report by Benjamin and Hannah
“When we were at Dorchester Abbey we did a “Singing Playground” workshop. This was really good fun and now we can teach our friends singing games in the playground! The Abbey was huge and our voices echoed around it. When we started singing we were surprised at how loud we were. Our instructors were full of energy. The audience helped us during the performance as our parents had to participate in singing too! We really enjoyed doing lots of hand gestures and ‘grooving!”

Sponsored Bike Ride
Mr Short is taking part in a sponsored bike ride on 12 May. He will be riding the Thames Bridges for the Stroke Association (33 miles) and has a 'JustGiving' website which parents/carers might want to have a look at:
http://www.justgiving.com/Simon-Short1

Holiday Course at Stadhampton School
Following on from the success of the Easter Holiday Course, Michael Hopkins will be leading a holiday course at Stadhampton School for one week in the main summer holidays, between 12th and 16th August. Details of the course are attached to this newsletter.

PTA News
Friday Cake Club
Amy Freeman was the lucky winner of last week’s cake, kindly donated by Mrs Drake. A reminder to Miss Gardner that she is on the rota for Friday 17 May.

Clothes Recycling - Tues 14th May, 9am
Last chance for a clear-out of all your unwanted clothes, bags, shoes, cuddly toys, bedding (not pillows or duvets). Ideally, please bring bags on the morning of 14th, but if you have to bring them the night before, please leave them in the covered area outside Class 1.

Plant Orders
Thank you to everyone who ordered plants - we raised £102.36. Plants will be delivered on Tuesday 14th May, so please collect your orders at the end of the day.


Summer Fair & Bus Extravaganza - Sat 15th June, 2 - 4.30pm
Make a note in your diary, we're holding a bus-themed, fun-filled family fair with lots of competitions, games and stalls. The bus will also be 'officially' opened, and this is your chance to see the new bus library. Watch this space for more exciting details.

We will be collecting toys, games, books etc, for one of our stalls, and if you have any unwanted/chipped crockery we plan to have a ‘China Shy’ on the day too. See a member of the PTA for more details.


LITTLE BEARS NEWS:
Next week we will be enjoying the song “10 currant buns”. We will be making some play buns to act out the song and making a bakers shop.
On Tuesday the 14th it's Bags2school day so time for a clear out maybe?
Huge thank you goes to the Wilkinsons who donated a bike to the Little Bears.



DIARY DATES:
Monday 13th – Friday 17th May SATs week. Please avoid making dentist appointments etc this week. This involves all pupils in Years 2-6.
Monday 13th May 2.15-3.15 “Helping Children with Reading” talk for parents led by Mandy King
Tuesday 14th May Clothes Recycling Collection
Friday 24th May Break up at 3.15 for May Holiday
Monday 3rd June Return to school for the start of Term 6.
Thursday 6th June Year 5’s visit to ICC for Science lesson
Wednesday 12th June Mobile Library
Tuesday 18th June Year 5’s visit to ICC for a PE lesson. Please remember to take trainers/plimsolls and PE kit.

Newsletter for week ending 3rd May 2013

Happy MAY Birthday to: Billy Bowerman, Hannah Bradford, Leo Burnell, Ruby Dallimore, Lorenzo Elliott, Gene Green, Buddy Halliday, Isabel Hector, Molly Howard, Joshua Hursey, Olivia Kenny and Ella Lavene.

During MAY we are focusing on the core value of UNDERSTANDING

Greenhouse Completion!
You may have noticed that our ‘green’ greenhouse, mainly made of recycled soft drinks bottles and garden canes, has been completed and has now been installed alongside the swimming pool fence, between Flower Cottage and the school garden.
Many thanks to Mrs Tombling and her team for initiating and managing the project and to Mr Burnell for putting the construction together. Both have given up a considerable amount of time to ensure that the greenhouse project became a reality and we are very grateful. Thank you also to all families who kept us well-supplied with empty bottles for the greenhouse! The children are keen to start using it and, now that the warmer weather seems to have arrived, we look forward to gardening club growing a bountiful crop this year!

Message from the School Nurse
The School Nurse has asked us to remind parents that primary age children are entitled to free eye tests. Changes in eye sight can occur at any point during childhood but statistically more likely to occur as children reach the end of their primary school years which parents of children in Year 6, particularly, should be aware of.

Lost Rain Coat
Joshua Matthews has lost his named black raincoat with white stripes down the arms. Please could everyone check their children’s school bags this weekend in case it has got into the wrong bag. Thank you.

Holiday Course at Stadhampton School
Following on from the success of the Easter Holiday Course, Michael Hopkins will be leading a holiday course at Stadhampton School for one week in the main summer holidays, between 12th and 16th August. Details of the course are attached to this newsletter.

PTA News

Cake Club
Leo Burnell was the lucky winner of the cake last week, kindly donated by Mrs Lansley. A reminder to Mrs Lowman that she is on the rota for Friday 10 May.

PTA Meeting - Tuesday 7th May
The next PTA meeting is on Tuesday 7 May at 7.45pm at Rowena Dobson’s house (The Coppers, Cat Lane). Everyone is welcome to come along and join in discussions about our upcoming events and spending of funds.


Clothes Recycling - Tuesday 14th May, 9am
Ready for spring cleaning? You can donate all of the following - clothes, shoes, belts, sheets, duvet covers (no duvets or pillows), towels and cuddly toys. Please let any friends and neighbours know who are having a clear out, about our clothes recycling scheme.


LITTLE BEARS NEWS:
Next week we are enjoying the song ‘10 Fat Sausages Sizzling in a Pan’ and looking at counting down from 10.


DIARY DATES:
Tuesday 7th May Year 5’s visit ICC for Maths lesson
Wednesday 8th May Year 6 event at Dorchester Abbey. Letters in book bags earlier this week.
Mobile Library
Monday 13th – Friday 17th May SATs week. Please avoid making dentist appointments etc this week. This involves all pupils in Years 2-6.
Monday 13th May 2.15-3.15 “Helping Children with Reading” talk for parents led by Mandy King
Tuesday 14th May Clothes Recycling Collection
Friday 24th May Break up at 3.15 for May Holiday
Monday 3rd June Return to school for the start of Term 6.
Thursday 6th June Year 5’s visit to ICC for Science lesson
Wednesday 12th June Mobile Library
Tuesday 18th June Year 5’s visit to ICC for a PE lesson. Please remember to take trainers/plimsolls and PE kit.