Newsletter for week ending 11 July 2014

Sports Evening –tomorrow weather permitting!
Our Sports Evening is an annual school highlight. The date has been in the diary dates section of the newsletter for some time, the pupils have been practising, the PTA have all the refreshments organised, the governors are ready to adjudicate and we’re keeping our fingers crossed for a dry evening. Here are a few final reminders to ensure that we all have an enjoyable and safe evening:

Pupils should arrive at school around 6pm and no later than 6.15pm so that the races may begin promptly at 6.30pm. Please remember to bring a drink!

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 a limited amount of parking. Please be mindful of the residents of Cratlands Close and avoid obstructing 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. Please bring a folding deckchair or rug if you would like to sit down.

Finishing line: is where the judges will be waiting to award stickers, update the scoreboard, etc. It is important that everyone else keep this area clear, please.

Bar: the bar will be open from 6pm. Please support the PTA by buying your drinks from the bar.

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 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.

Should there be any need to postpone we will send an e-mail tomorrow and post a message on the home page of the school website.

THANK YOU!

Meeting with Parents of new Reception pupils
A reminder that we are holding an informal meeting with parents/carers of the new Reception pupils to provide information they need to know about the school and how things work, answer questions, etc at 2.45pm tomorrow afternoon in the School Hall. Miss Mould, (the class teacher,) Mrs Turner (Headteacher), Mrs Hopkins (Business Manager) and Helen Moss-Black (representing the PTA and a parent of this year’s Reception intake) will be present and should, hopefully, be able to answer all questions between them!

End of Year School Reports
All pupils should have received their annual reports yesterday. 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. Thank you.

Class 3 Swimming on 14.07.2014
Please could all of Class 3 bring in a pair of pyjamas for their final swimming session next Monday!

School Meal Price Increase
We have received notification this week from Food with Thought that the cost of a school meal will rise on 1st September 2014 to £2.10 a day or £10.50 per week. Cheques for school meals should be made payable to OCC please with Stadhampton School written on the back of the cheque. We politely request that orders and payments for school meals are paid for on the first morning of the school week please in order to reduce the amount of administration time spent each week on school meals documentation and on visits to the bank. Thank you for your cooperation.

Universal Free School Meals (UFSM) for Reception and Years 1 and 2
From September 2014 all pupils in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 in state-funded schools in England will be eligible for universal free school meals (UFSMs). Please inform the office when your child will be receiving a free school meal.

Free School Meals (FSM)
Under the current criteria, children who receive, or whose parents / carers receive, one or more of the following support payments :
• Equal Based JSA / ESA
• Income Support (IS)
• Income Based Jobseekers Allowance (IBJSA)
• Income-related employment and support allowance (IRESA).
• Child Tax Credit, provided they are not entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual income, as assessed by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs, that does not exceed £16,190
• Guaranteed Element of State Pension Credit
• Where a parent is entitled to Working Tax Credit run-on (the payment someone receives for a further four weeks after they stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit).
• Support under part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
are entitled to receive free school meals (FSM) irrespective of their age and the school is entitled to claim the pupil premium.

Pupil Premium
The Pupil Premium is additional funding provided to schools for supporting disadvantaged pupils to ensure they benefit from the same opportunities as all other children.
There are three categories of children who qualify for pupil premium:
• Children who are eligible for free school meals (FSM) see support list above,
• Looked-after children (LAC)
• Armed forces children (Service premium for children with parents in the Armed Forces)

If your family is eligible for the pupil premium, through one or more of the categories above, please could you let Mrs Hopkins, the School Business Manager, know, in confidence, so that we can check whether the school is able to receive this additional funding. Thank you.

Disabled Parking Bay
The first parking bay on the right as you enter the car park is marked as a designated disabled parking space although the marking has faded. During the summer break the marking should be made clearer and bigger. In the meantime could parents/carers please avoid using this parking space as it is required by a parent who is registered as disabled as well as any disabled visitors. Thank you.

Piano Tuition
Mrs Trudy Drake will be offering piano lessons during the school day on Wednesday or Thursday afternoons for any child in Class 2 or 3 next school year. (You may be aware that Mrs Drake already provides piano tuition in school and the local area). If you are interested in your children learning to play the piano in school, please contact Mrs Drake directly (mob. 07918188519) for more details. There will be several places available from September.

Commonwealth Sports Day on Wednesday 16th July
A reminder that we have organised a very special day of PE for Wednesday 16th July when we welcome three of the management team from Oxford Active into school to lead some different PE activities for all pupils. As part of this day, all pupils will have the opportunity to try archery! Please could all pupils come to school wearing their school PE kit on that day instead of school uniform. No football strips please, just normal school PE kit. Please also bring a school sweatshirt if the weather is likely to be cold and at least one extra drink.

PTA NEWS:
End of Term Disco - Thursday 17th July - please return your consent forms along with your £3 to the school office by next Wednesday 16th July.

Coffee Morning, The Crown - Wednesday 10th September - the PTA is pleased to announce a coffee morning for ALL parents on Wednesday 10th September after morning drop off. PTA members will be there to introduce themselves and it will also be a chance for parents find out about the PTA and ways in which families can support the events run during the year.

Please feel free to bring any younger siblings along - it's going to be an informal morning with a chance for all parents, old and new, to meet and catch up. We would love to see you all there.

We are holding it at The Crown where we will be providing tea/coffee and cakes.

Our next PTA meeting has changed. It is now on Tuesday 16th September, 8pm at The Crown. Everybody always welcome.

Thank you for your continued support of the PTA.

Cake Club
Congratulations to Emily Hackett, the lucky winner of last week’s cake kindly donated by Mrs Lansley. A reminder to Mrs Parkes that she is on the rota for 18 July.

As this will be the last newsletter before the summer for Cake Club, thank you to everyone who has donated a cake or entered the Club over the last school year. We have raised a fantastic £438. Thank you!

DIARY DATES:
Friday 18 July End of school year assembly at 9.05am. Everyone welcome. Following requests from parents, we will reserve some seating for Year 6 parents/carers.
School finishes at 1.30pm for the summer break.
Monday 11 – Friday 15 August Summer Sports Course at Stadhampton School. Please see posters on each classroom door and in the entrance foyer for details of how to book.
1st, 2nd September Staff INSET Days
Wednesday 3 September Start of Term 1 for all new and returning pupils

LITTLE BEARS NEWS:
Little Bears were lucky enough to have a drama class with one of our parents, Jo Hutchence . We used the book The Night Pirates (thank you Moss-Blacks for letting us borrow this) and acted out the book, and we had lots of laughs.
Little Bears would like to thank everyone who donated their time to us throughout the year, your support means so much to us.
We hope you can join us for our 10 year celebration on Friday 18th from 1.30 - 4.30pm.

Community News:
For any families who were not able to come and ‘lend a hand’ on the bus shelter last weekend, there is another chance between 10am and 2pm this Saturday, 12th July to be included in our fantastic community artwork. This opportunity is extended to EVERYONE in the community, including those with children at the school, but who do not live in Stadhampton. Please speak to Sarah Madry or Rowena Dobson for any queries.