Newsletter for week ending 27 March 2015

Cycle Safety Training
Cycle safety training begins on 15th May for participating pupils. There will also be sessions on 22nd May, 5th June, 19th June, 26th June. The test will be on Friday 3rd July. At present only 5 Year 6 pupils (Amy, Greg, Cora, Sophie and Betsy) have their names down for this opportunity and there have been reminders in the last two school newsletters. We are now extending this opportunity to Year 5 pupils and invite them to let Mrs Hopkins know if they would like to participate. The maximum number of pupils able to undertake the training is 8, so if more than 3 pupils would like to do it, places will be allocated on a ‘first-come, first served basis. It is essential that pupils have an appropriately sized roadworthy cycle and a cycle helmet which conforms to British Standards and fits correctly.

Swimming at Berinsfield
Swimming sessions at Berinsfield will begin for Class 2 pupils in Term 5 starting on Monday 13th April. They will have 5 sessions followed by a further session on Monday 8th June when Class 3 will be at Woodlands (£12 in total for the 6 weeks). Families who paid in full and in advance in Term 3 may deduct £2 for the session for when the coach did not appear. Please see Mrs Hopkins with any queries on payment! Thank you.

School Meals – Message from the Governing Body
At last week’s Parents Forum meeting there were a few questions about the process for allocating school meals, as on occasions some children have not received the meals that they were expecting.

As you may be aware, the school catering is outsourced to a company called Carillion, under a contract negotiated by Oxford County Council. The Governing Body has had discussions with the School Chef, Mrs Sheridan, to understand more.

By way of background, earlier this year the Government announced that there would be Universal Free School Meals for all Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 children and as a result where previously we were having approximately 25 school meals each day, that number has now doubled. You will notice that the size of the kitchen has not doubled, neither have we been able to get additional help for Mrs Sheridan as we are still deemed to be at an acceptable ratio. This is something that the school and the Governing Body are monitoring, as we recognise that Mrs Sheridan is being asked to do more and more in a limited space – and we would like to recognise that she does a fantastic job in difficult conditions.

There were a few specific points raised which we are looking to address as follows:

1) In order to speed up the serving of school meals and to prevent any confusion with what choice was made by pupils, we have purchased red and green wristbands (2 sizes). Pupils choosing the meat or fish option will be given a red band to wear by their class teacher and green bands will be given to pupils who chose the vegetarian option. Pupils will exchange their band with Mrs Sheridan at lunchtime for their chosen meal. We hope this will help to ensure that all pupils are able to have the meal they chose.

2) Certain dishes, such as gammon, were trialled on the Carillion menu, but after feedback from Mrs Sheridan and other schools this has now been removed from the menu, due to concerns re portion sizes.

3) The menu does state that there will be fresh bread each day, however Mrs Sheridan simply does not have the time or space in our kitchen to bake bread each day. However, shop bought fresh wholemeal bread for those children who would like bread to accompany their meal was made available from Tuesday 24th March.

4) On occasions it may be necessary to substitute dishes due to lack of availability, or where deliveries arrive later than scheduled. We obviously hope that this only happens in very limited cases, but Mrs Sheridan will try to ensure that there is always an appropriate vegetarian or meat alternative and we will do our best to make pupils aware of the substitution as early as possible.

We appreciate the continued feedback in this regard, and can assure all parents that the school together with Carillion and Mrs Sheridan are doing all we can to provide a varied, healthy and nutritious meal for those children that want one.

Forest School Dates for Summer 2015
A list of the Forest School dates for Terms 5 and 6 for pupils in Years 1-6 is attached to this newsletter. Please check the dates when your child/ren will need their forest school clothing in school. Separate arrangements for Reception pupils who have their sessions on the school site will be made and notified to parents after Easter. Thank you.

Scarlet Fever
We have been advised by Thames Valley Public Health England Centre that schools should be prepared for an outbreak of Scarlet Fever. The advice they have given is below:

Signs and symptoms
Scarlet fever (sometimes referred to as Scarletina) is a common childhood infection caused by Streptococcus pyogenes, or Group A streptococcus (GAS). The early symptoms of scarlet fever include sore throat, headache, fever, nausea and vomiting. After 12 to 48 hours the characteristic red, pinhead rash develops, typically first appearing on the chest and stomach, then rapidly spreading to other parts of the body, and giving the skin a sandpaper-like texture. The scarlet rash may be harder to spot on the skin of some Black and Asian people, although the 'sandpaper' feel should be present. Patients typically have flushed cheeks and pallor around the mouth. This may be accompanied by a ‘strawberry tongue’. As the child improves peeling of the skin can occur.

Infection control advice
In schools and nurseries it is recognised that infections can be spread through direct physical contact between children and staff and through shared contact with surfaces such as table tops, taps, toys and handles. During periods of high incidence of scarlet fever there may also be an increase in outbreaks in schools, nurseries and other child care settings.

As per national Guidance on Infection Control in Schools and other Child Care Settings, children and adults with suspected scarlet fever should be excluded from nursery / school / work for 24 hours after the commencement of appropriate 10 day course of antibiotic treatment. Good hygiene practice such as hand washing remains the most important step in preventing and controlling spread of infection.

PTA NEWS:
What a busy week we have had! The Kids Bingo on Friday evening was a huge success! Thank you to the committee and to Mrs Manzie for their hard work. On Saturday we had our fish and chip supper and disco evening at The Crown. Thank you to everyone who came along. We raised an impressive £230 and had a great evening too! Finally, we held the Easter Egg Raffle on Wednesday after school and raised a fantastic £49.
Thank you to all parents for their generous donations of assorted bottles and Easter eggs. We are very lucky to have such a generous school community.

Our next PTA meeting is Tuesday 14th April 8pm at The Crown, please come along, everybody welcome

Thank you for your continued support of the PTA

Friday Cake Club
Congratulations to Tia Khan, the lucky winner of last week's cake, kindly donated by Rachel Moritz, Arun's mum. A reminder to Mrs Hutchence that she is on the rota for Friday 17 April, the first Friday after the Easter Holiday.

If you would like to pay for a few weeks at a time after Easter, the price is £1.20 per child up to May Half Term, or if £2.60 per child to the end of the school year.

There are 4 gaps left at the end of the year for cake donations. Please see Rowena Dobson if you would be willing to donate a cake.

DIARY DATES:
Monday 13 April Pupils return to school for the start of Term 5
Vision screening for Reception pupils
Wednesday 15 April Mobile Library visit
Thursday 16 April Forest School for Year 3 pupils
Wednesday 22 April Shakespeare Workshop – more details to follow
Thursday 23 April Forest School for Year 3 pupils
Monday 27 April Governing Body meeting at 7pm
Thursday 30 April Forest School for Year 4 pupils

LITTLE BEARS NEWS:
Everyone at Little Bears would like to wish you a peaceful and restful Easter break.
We return to Term 5 on 13th April to the topic of Space.

Community News
Michael Hopkins will be leading an 3-day Easter Sports Course at Stadhampton School on Monday 30 March, Tuesday 31 March & Wednesday 1 April. The course runs from 9-3pm each day and is open to all pupils (not necessarily just Stadhampton School) aged 4-11. The cost is £10 per day and bookings can be made directly by e-mailing m.hopkins07@hotmail.com or via Mrs Hopkins in the school office. Late bookings are still possible!

Stadhampton Youth Club Continues...Yes We're Open in the School Hols!

Wednesday, 1st April
19.30 - 21.00 School Years 5 to 8
Due to Volunteer availability we are running one combined session for both age groups.

Wednesday 15th April is the next regular session and these will continue on the first and third Wednesdays of the month @Village Hall at St Johns.

Sessions run as follows; make sure you’re...
• sticking to the School Year groups (approx. ages are a guide)
• arriving and being collected at the right time
18.30 – 19.30 – School Years 5 & 6 (approx. ages 9 to 11)
19.45 – 20.45 – School Years 7 & 8 (approx. ages 11 to 13)

Subs £1.50/week

Before attending, a Membership Form, signed by a parent, needs to be completed and handed to the Club/ Session Leader (available on the door or by emailing the address below). *If you have friends to stay, they are welcome - they just need to be in the right School Year/at the right Session and have a Membership Form completed by a parent*.

Have Your Say...
After Easter, we will undertake a survey to capture feedback from young people coming along to the sessions as well as parents/carers.

There is always the opportunity to feedback your thoughts (suggestion box at Youth Club) or by email.

Volunteers/Parent Helpers
Of course we need more volunteers; both adults and older youngsters, from the local community to ensure these sessions can continue to run.
*We are hoping to run training sessions in First Aid and Safeguarding in April (if we have enough people) - please contact us ASAP for more information or to request a DBS (formerly known as CRB) form*.

Forgotten What's On When?
There is an auto reply message linked to our email address - email and you'll receive a message with the most up-to date details of our next sessions on it!

stadhamptonyouthclub@gmail.com

Happy EASTER from everyone at Stadhampton School!