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.