Newsletter for week ending 19 July 2013

We say ‘good bye and good luck’ to our Year 6 pupils who leave us at the end of this school year. We are proud of all of them and wish them every success at Icknield Community College when they begin their secondary school journey in September.

SATs Explained
We have uploaded a letter entitled ‘SATs Explained’ onto the Curriculum section of the school website to assist parents’ understanding of SATs grades.

Maths Activity Homework Booklet
Following on from the successful visit from Linda Hull, Maths Advisory teacher, earlier this term, each family has been given an Active Maths ‘out and about’ homework booklet. We hope that all children (apart from Year 6 leavers!) will be able to complete some of the tasks during the summer holidays. If you do not have a booklet please ask your child’s teacher for one.

Cycling Safety Training
Congratulations to the following children who successfully passed their cycle safety training this term: Owen Cove, Jake Day, Ollie Jones, Lola Odell, Annabel Roe, Naomi Woodwards and Abby Wright. We are very grateful to Mrs Scragg, Mrs Green, Mrs Ellis, Mrs Birtles and to Mrs Leighfield, who no longer has a child at Stadhampton School, for organising this for us. Congratulations and thanks also to Mrs Cove, who has completed her qualification and is now a fully-fledged cycle safety instructor!

School Meals
School meals from 1st September will continue to be offered at a cost of £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 the Abbey Sports Centre in Berinsfield
Class 2 will start their swimming sessions at the Abbey Sports Centre in Berinsfield on Monday 9th September. They will have 7 sessions in Term 1.

For families new to swimming sessions at Berinsfield, pupils need to bring their own swimming trunks or costume, a swimming hat and a towel on Monday mornings.

As always, we appreciate a £2 voluntary contribution towards the transportation costs. Thank you to the parents who make regular voluntary contributions towards the costs. Cheques for swimming contributions should be made payable to Stadhampton Primary School. Thank you.

Bottle Tops for the Thames Valley Air Ambulance
Thank you to everyone for collecting bottle tops for us. Mrs Leiper has let us know that she will be passing on 23kg of them during the holidays from our school collection! She has also asked us to remind parents to please wash the tops before bringing them in and that fizzy drink bottle tops unfortunately cannot be recycled. Thank you.


Sports Evening
A big thank you to everyone – pupils, parents, staff, PTA, governors, Little Bears, former pupils and extended families for making this event the special occasion that it is.

PTA News

Friday Cake Club
Daniel Ellis was the lucky winner of the cake last week, kindly donated by Anna Harries. A long way off, but a reminder to Mrs Day that she is on the rota for Friday 6th September.

Sports Night BBQ
Wow, what a great sports night. Our thanks to Kerry's Dad, Mrs Leiper, Joy Hopkins & Alan Manzie for running the BBQ and bar.

Thank you from all the PTA
Just to say a huge thank you from all the PTA to everyone who has helped and supported our fund raising efforts throughout the year. Our first meeting back is on Tuesday 17th September at 7.45pm in the school hall. Happy holidays to everyone.

LITTLE BEARS NEWS:
All the Little Bears team would like to wish everyone an enjoyable summer. We return on Wednesday 4th September to the theme ‘Buildings and Transport.’


DIARY DATES:
Wednesday 4 September Pupils return to school for the start of the new academic year
Thursday 26 September School photographs taken today

Finally, we would like to convey our thanks as we come to the end of another school year. We are always very grateful for the support of all parents. Special thanks are due to Mrs Duke for auditing the Special Purposes and Hall Accounts, to the parents who help regularly with hearing readers, help with school trips and bake cakes for a variety of purposes, to the parents and Mrs Scragg who help with cycle safety training, to those who run lunchtime and after-school clubs, to those who have helped with jobs around the school and, of course, to the PTA committee who work tirelessly to fundraise so that pupils can enjoy excellent facilities, learn French and provide us with many additional resources and opportunities. Thank you to Miss Peet who has helped in Class 1 and to Mrs Drake for playing the piano in school assemblies. Thank you also to Mrs Hawley and Mrs Wells who still regularly return to school to help us. Finally, thank you to the Governing Body who give their time freely to both support the school and challenge the staff!

We wish you all a very happy and safe summer break and look forward to welcoming those who are coming back to school on Wednesday 4th September.

Newsletter for week ending 12 July 2013

End of Year School Reports
Year 6 pupils received their annual reports and end of Key Stage 2 SATs results on Tuesday this week. All other pupils received their reports on Thursday. Please let us know if you have not received your child’s report.
We would appreciate parents/carers completing the Acknowledgement/Returns sheet and returning it to school so that we have feedback from parents on this annual report.

SATs Results – Message from the Governing Body
The KS2 SATs results are in and make pleasing reading. We have sustained our very high attainment in Literacy and improved our Mathematics attainment over last year’s results. The full results will be published in our Prospectus next year and on the Ofsted Data Dashboard.
The Staff and Governing Body would like to take this opportunity to thank our Year 6 pupils for their hard work this year, and wish them well as they take their next step.

Partnership Sports Hall Athletics Event – 05.07.2013
Class 3 competed in the annual Year 3 and 4 indoor athletics event, enjoyoying a wide range of team and individual track and field athletics. This year we came second with 131 points, Watlington being the winners with 160 points. Everyone tried their best, there was a great team spirit and several individuals really stood out as able athletes.

Guitar and Clarinet Concert – 09.07.2013
Thank you to all who attended our guitar and clarinet concert on Tuesday. Our musicians gave a fine performance which was enjoyed by all and provided inspiration to a number of our younger pupils. A collection was made at the end of the concert to support the good work of the NSPCC and we are very pleased to let you know that we raised £64.96. Thank you for your generous donations.
If you are interested in your child receiving piano or guitar lessons next school year, please ask in the office for a contact form for Mr Payne (guitars) or see Mrs Drake for piano. Clarinet lessons are only available to Years 5 and 6 through an arrangement with the County Music Service.

Consultation on the provision of home to school transport
A petition for parents to sign, if they would like to, will be available at Sports Evening on Friday.

Books for Sale at Sports Evening
We have a number of new books which were donated to the school but are not quite suitable for class libraries. However, families may wish to purchase some for children to read at home. They will be on sale at Sports Evening (next to the bar!) and may be purchased for 25p each. Mrs Hopkins, who is helping on the bar, will have a separate container to collect money in from the sale of these books.

MMR Vaccinations
Letters were sent home to each family earlier this week from Oxfordshire County Council Public Health Directorate about current outbreaks of measles.

Oxford Festival of Nature
Oxford Festival of Nature is taking place in Botley Park on 12-13 July 2013. There is an exciting range of wildlife activities taking place, including falconry, bug hunting, worm charming, wildlife talks and much more! From 1pm-5pm on the Saturday we’ll be running alongside the West Oxford Fun Day,where lots of local natural history organisations will be holding stalls and running even more wildlife activities, including giant insects with Oxford University Museum of Natural History, bird, bat and bug box building with Low Carbon West Oxford, and pond dipping with Berks Bucks & Oxon Wildlife Trust.
It’s completely free of charge, so for more details visit www.oxfordfestivalofnature.org.

Nits
Thank you to a parent for letting the school know that they had found nits in their child’s hair this week. The outbreak has been treated and we politely request that all parents/carers should check their children’s hair this weekend and treat if necessary.

PTA News

Friday Cake Club
Charlie Ball was the lucky winner of the cake last week, kindly donated by Mrs Buckner. A reminder to Mrs Sarah Green that she is on the rota for 19 July, the last day of term.

As the Cake Club has proved so popular - we will be running it again next school year, starting on Friday 6th September. The cost per child is 20p per week. The cost up to October half term will be: £1.60 per child. The cost for the whole term up to Christmas will be £3.00 per child.

We are also signing up volunteers for cake donations after the summer, please see Rowena if interested.

End of Year Disco - Thursday 18th July, 6 - 7.30pm
We need a permission slip for all children coming to the Disco. If you have not already returned your child's permission slip, please could you hand them in to Diana or Rowena before next Thursday. Spare copies are available from the office.

To keep children safe, they will need to be signed in and out of the disco by parents, via Class 1. Mini torch rings will be on sale for 50p each, you can buy them before coming into the disco outside Class 1.

AGM - Tuesday 8th October 2013
Our annual AGM is an opportunity to find out more about the PTA. At the AGM we will review the years fundraising efforts and what the money has been spent on. We also elect people to the following positions - Chair, Secretary & Treasurer.

Both Rowena Dobson (as Secretary) and Diana Woodwards (as Chair) have decided that they will not be putting themselves forward for re-election at the AGM. Therefore we are looking for people who would be interested in taking on these roles, if you would be interested in them please feel free to have a (no obligation) chat with Rowena or Diana.

LITTLE BEARS NEWS:
Next week Little Bears will be practising for our sports afternoon to start at 11am on Friday 12th July. Please could parents arrive at 10.45 for a 11am start and also bring a picnic for after the races. Little Bears finish on 19th July at 3pm and return on Wednesday 4th September when our topic will be ‘Buildings and Transport’.

DIARY DATES:
Monday 15th – Friday 19th July No afterschool clubs in the final week of the school term
Tuesday 16th July Daylight Theatre performance
Thursday 18 July School disco 6 – 7.30pm
Friday 19th July Leavers assembly 09.05am
School finishes for Summer holidays at 1.30pm
Wednesday 4th September Pupils return to school for the start of the new academic year



LAST MINUTE REMINDERS TO ENSURE WE HAVE AN ENJOYABLE AND SAFE SPORTS EVENING:

PARKING – IF YOU ARE ABLE TO WALK TO SPORTS EVENING IT WOULD BE MUCH APPRECIATED AND REALLY HELP THE CONGESTION IN CRATLANDS CLOSE. THE NETBALL COURT WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR PARKING. PLEASE BE MINDFUL OF THE RESIDENTS IN CRATLANDS CLOSE AND DO NOT OBSTRUCT ACCESS IN AND OUT OF DRIVEWAYS.

SPECTATOR LINE: A LINE HAS BEEN MARKED FOR PARENTS/CARERS/VISITORS TO POSITION THEMSELVES BEHIND SO THAT PUPILS ARE ABLE TO RUN SAFELY IN THE OUTSIDE LANES.

FINISHING LINE: IS WHERE THE JUDGES WILL BE WAITING TO AWARD STICKERS, UPDATE THE SCOREBOARD, ETC. PLEASE COULD EVERYONE ELSE KEEP THIS AREA CLEAR

BAR: THE BAR WILL BE OPEN FROM 6PM

BBQ: BBQ FOOD WILL BE AVAILABLE DURING THE RACES FOR SPECTATORS WISHING TO EXCHANGE THEIR FOOD TICKETS AT THIS TIME AND AVOID THE BIG QUEUE AFTER THE RACES

PLAY EQUIPMENT: THIS AREA IS NOT AVAILABLE FOR USE DURING SPORTS EVENING

YOUNG CHILDREN: PLEASE TRY TO KEEP YOUNGER SIBLINGS AWAY FROM THE RACETRACK WHILST THE RACES ARE ON TO AVOID POTENTIAL COLLISIONS!

FOOTBALL/BALL GAMES: WE POLITELY REQUEST THAT NO BALL GAMES ARE PLAYED WHILST THE RACES ARE TAKING PLACE.

THANK YOU

Newsletter for week ending 5 July 2013

Consultation on the provision of home to school transport
An e-mail was sent on Tuesday of this week to all parents in order to provide them with an update of the action that the Governing Body of Stadhampton School have taken to respond to the Consultation Documents. Several members of our Governing Body have also been in contact directly with John Howell MP, to express our concern at the proposed changes. A copy of the letter submitted to OCC was also attached to the e-mail for further information. We understand that the closing date for responses to the consultation has been extended until 15th July 2013, so please do respond if possible.

Changes to Attendance Policy
As a result of recent changes to the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006, Headteachers may not grant any leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances (eg family bereavement and events of a similar importance). It will be impossible, therefore, to support any requests for holidays during term time. Please support us and your child(ren) by making all holiday bookings during school holidays. Thank you.

Maths Talk for Parents – 01.07.2013
A very successful talk from Mrs Linda Hull, Maths Advisory Teacher, was held in school this week for parents. Pupils explained how they tackle maths problems and investigations and there were discussions about how to get started, as well as suggestions of different ideas and strategies to use for more complicated maths questions! For those of you who were unable to attend the meeting here are a few pointers to help your child with their “Active Maths” homework:
How can you help at home?
 Help your child read and understand what is needed – where might they start?
 Asking questions to probe and secure learning – “What if...?” is a good starter.
 Encouraging your child to see links with other learning – what calculation might you use? Can you use a number line?
 Help them to learn and use mathematical language
 Encourage to explain their methods and check their answers
 Talk about the task to find out what they have learned
Further information:
 www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks1bitesize/numeracy/ (also KS2 site and many others)
 http://primarygames.co.uk
 http://nrich.maths.org/public/
 http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/maths/
 http://www.northwood.org.uk/numeracy.htm
 How to do maths so your children can too – the essential parents guide by Naomi Sani
 Maths for Mums and Dads by Rob Eastaway
 Parents Survival Guide to Maths Homework – Make sense of your kid’s maths by Andrew Brodie
 Maths booklets which are distributed annually and are uploaded on the school website

National Sports Week
Some snippets from Class 1 reports about last week’s National Sports Week:
Thomas: “On Tuesday we did skipping. I’m not that good at skipping but you can’t be good at everything you know”; Lawrence: “On Monday, Reception and Class 1 did table tennis. Thomas and I got 40 points but Lorenzo and Will E got 43. It was astonishing!”; Tillie: “On Wednesday the class was excited because Mrs Manzie told us that the older children in Class 3 were doing some games from Africa. The games were great and I cannot wait to play them again”; Edision: “ The next day we did international games with Class 3. We played three games and they were fun”; Ella: “The very next day which was Wednesday, we did a mile fun run and most of the Little Bears were supporting us when we ran past the Little Bears garden that was under the plastic cover. We had to run round our field and Little Bears garden three times. Finally we finished but Mrs Manzie said “Would you like to do another lap?” I shouted “Yes” even though I was very tired. I finally finished that and I was even more tired!”.

Class 3 Pond Dipping
This week Class 3 walked to Chiselhampton House where they took part in pond dipping activities led by staff from Pond Conservation: The Water Habitats Trust. Many thanks to Mr Stephen Dawson, one of our school governors, who arranged the visit, and to Mr and Mrs Rowlands who allowed us to access their ponds.
Report by Joshua and Ollie: “On Wednesday Class 3 went to Chiselhampton House to go pond dipping. Some of us held frogs and they were slimey, but we washed our hands afterwards. It was amazing how far they jump. We put water in a sieve with very small holes and then into a tray so that we could look at the mini beasts we had captured. It was very interesting and one of the best trips we have had this year.”

Sports Evening – 12 July 2013
In the last two newsletters parents/carers have received information about Sports Evening explaining the format of the evening and suggested arrival time of between 6 and 6.15pm in readiness for the races to begin promptly at 6.30pm. Tickets are now on sale for the BBQ as detailed in last week’s newsletter. A reminder that the closing date for food orders is Monday 8th July. Pupils will have been told this week which colour team they will be in so that they can wear the appropriate colour T-shirt. Bibs will be available to borrow from Mrs Manzie if pupils have not got the particular colour T-shirt required for their team. If you are not sure which team your child is in please ask Mrs Manzie. All pupils need to bring a drink. Parents need to bring folding seats/rugs to sit on. If any child will not be participating in Sports Evening please could parents let us know on Monday 8 July so that we can ensure that the teams remain evenly balanced. All we need to do now is pray for good weather! Thank you.

NSPCC Talks
On Tuesday 2nd July pupils may have come home wearing NSPCC stickers. They had all attended talks given by Mr Ian Stevens, NSPCC schools organiser for Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, on the subject of ‘Keeping Safe’. Mr Stevens was accompanied by his ‘assistant’ Buddy Bubble and told pupils in Key Stage 2 about the work and availablility of Childline.

Summer Concert
A reminder that on Tuesday 9th July we shall be holding a concert to celebrate the musical progress of the Year 5 & 6 clarinet players and the Year 3, 4, 5 and 6 guitar players. All parents/carers are welcome to attend and details of this event were circulated in a separate Summer Concert letter as well as in the newsletter dated 14 June. Thank you to the parents who have already returned the reply slip to confirm details of how many seats they require. At the end of the concert, at the children’s request, a retiring collection will be made for the NSPCC and Mr Stevens and Buddy Bubble will be present at the event. We hope you will be able to be generous with your support. It is not too late to still request seats.

Mobile Library Visit on Wednesday 10th July
The last visit of the mobile library to school will be on Wednesday 10th July. Would all pupils please ensure that they have their books in school to return to the library. Thank you.


PTA News

Friday Cake club
Tillie Moss-Black was the eventual lucky winner of the cake last week, after a number of previous winners came out of the bag, and who were happy to dip again. Thank you all for being so generous. A reminder to Anna Harries that she is on the rota for 12 July.

Sports Night BBQ - Friday 12th July
HELP - has anyone got a gas BBQ that they would be willing to lend us for Sports Night to cook approx 200 sausages/burgers? Also does anyone know of a willing volunteer from the wider community that could cook said sausages/burgers (ideally not a parent, as we try to ensure that all parents are free to watch their children race.

Don't forget to get your BBQ tickets - last orders is Monday 8th July.

End of Year Disco - Thursday 18th July
Tickets are still available at £3.50 per child. Please see Diana or Rowena with your completed permission slip.

LITTLE BEARS NEWS:
Next week with our new Little Bears visiting we will be enjoying a mini topic of “All About Me”. We will be talking about ourselves and our families and making self portraits.


DIARY DATES:
Tuesday 9 July Summer Concert
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 – races begin at 6.30pm. Pupils to arrive between 6 and 6.15pm. Bar open from 6pm until the end of the event.
Monday 15th – Friday 19th July No afterschool clubs in the final week of the school term
Tuesday 16th July Daylight Theatre performance
Thursday 18 July School disco 6 – 7.30pm
Friday 19th July Leavers assembly 09.05am
School finishes for Summer holidays at 1.30pm
Wednesday 4th September Pupils return to school for the start of the new academic year

• Flyer attached “Incredible Years” Programme promoting positive behaviours, starts on Tuesday 24 September
• Flyer attached “Become a Young Rock Detective” – Friday 26th July from 10 to 12.30 at the Earth Trust, Little Wittenham. £3 per child. Booking required.