Newsletter for week ending 8th May 2015

We are pleased to welcome Sophy Mercer who joined Class 3 this week. We now have 96 pupils on roll and expect to have 101 in September!

Teaching Assistant Appointment
Five candidates for a TA post were shortlisted and interviewed on Thursday. It was a unanimous decision to offer the position to Mrs Lucy Baker who is a very well qualified TA with experience in a neighbouring school where she was highly regarded. We look forward to welcoming Mrs Baker onto the staff team on Monday 11th May. Mrs Baker will predominantly work in the Reception class alongside Miss Mould and will also cover library sessions for other pupils on Thursday afternoons.

New School Meals Menu
The new school meals menu which begins on 1st June and goes though until October half –term has been uploaded onto the school website as a reference point for parents. An electronic copy of the menu is attached to this newsletter.

UNICEF Nepal Earthquake – Bring a Pound Day
To support the people of Nepal we will be participating in the UNICEF ‘Nepal Earthquake Bring a Pound Day’ campaign. If we raise £55 this could provide five families in Nepal with clean water kits. Please bring your donation to school by Friday 15th May. Our collection will be sent to UNICEF soon after the 15th May and we will, of course, let you know how much we collected in the Newsletter. In addition, the School Council will be organising a ‘Danceathon’ during the school day on Wednesday 3rd June. Details of sponsorship for this event will follow next week.

Ghana Week – 29th June -3rd July
As part of our focus on Ghana we have a number of activities already planned for this special week:
• A dance and drumming day on Tuesday 30th June, including a demonstration for parents towards the end of the school day – more details to follow.
• Fair Trade activities and an assembly followed by an after school Fair Trade stall on Wednesday 1st July.

Woodlands Residential
Thank you to those families in Class 3 who have now paid their outstanding balance for the residential visit to Woodlands in June. Please may we remind everyone else that the final balance is due by no later than 15th May 2015. Thank you.

Tests for Year 2 Pupils
Following a mention in last week’s newsletter about SATs tests, Mrs Manzie has confirmed that Year 2 pupils will have their SATs tests spread over a two-week period from Monday 11th May until Friday 22nd May. We would be grateful if parents would not make routine dental /doctor appointments for those pupils during this time. Thank you.

Clarinet Lessons
Thank you to the families who have already completed the reply slips for clarinet lessons for 2015 -16 and paid the initial deposit. The deadline date for return of forms was 1st May. We would therefore be grateful for any outstanding forms to be completed and returned to school as soon as possible for all pupils in Years 5 and 6 in the next school year. Thank you.

Swimming Voluntary Contributions
A reminder that we would still be very happy to receive ‘voluntary contributions’ towards the cost of the swimming transport to the Abbey Sports Centre in Berinsfield from any families in Class 2 who have not made a contribution as yet for this term. Thank you.

Chess Megafinals – Report by Greg
The chess megafinals was held at Spires Oxford Academy. Greg Madry, Oliver Lowman, Charlie
Austin, Lawrence Wright and Izzy Kenny took part in the tournament. We had to play six chess matches against other children from other schools.
All the chess games were held in a huge hall. There were approximately 200 children at the tournament.
We all thoroughly enjoyed the day, had a brilliant experience and will definitely go again!
We got the following points:
Charlie: 3 points
Lawrence: 3 points
Greg: 2 points
Oliver: 1.5 points
Izzy: 1.5 points
We all did well considering 4 points were needed to qualify for the next round.

PTA NEWS:
Clothes recycling is on Tuesday 19th May and bags for the collection have now been put into book-bags. This is a great opportunity to get rid of all unwanted clothes! Please use additional black sacks if needed. All money raised from recycling our old clothes goes to PTA funds. The collection will be at 9am from the school.

Family Quiz Night is being held on Friday 15th May from 6-8pm. There are only a few tickets remaining for this event which promises to be a fabulous evening for the whole family to enjoy. Tickets cost £10 for a family of up to 6 people. Please see Sue Bowerman for tickets.

A Sponsored Family Fun Run is being held on Saturday 13th June from 2-4pm. Sponsorship forms will be appearing in book-bags soon.

Our next PTA meeting is Tuesday 12th May 8pm at The Crown.

Friday Cake Club
Congratulations to Ruby Clark, the lucky winner of last week's cake, kindly donated by Ewa Klorek (Oliver Lemon's Mum). A reminder to Mrs Hackett that she is on the rota for 17th May.

DIARY DATES:
Monday 11 May SATs week – please ensure no routine appointments such as for the doctor or dentist are made for this week for Year 6 pupils and Year 2 pupils in particular. Thank you.
Tuesday 30 June African Dance Workshop – further details to follow
Friday 10th July Whole School Sports Evening – details to be confirmed

LITTLE BEARS NEWS:
Next week the Little Bears will be learning about space travel and astronauts. The children will be making a very large spaceship and some miniature flying saucers. They will also be talking and looking at astronauts who travel in space.

Community News – Message from Rowena Dobson – Flyer attached
I am hosting an evening of Boogie Bingo on 4th July at the Church (Hall) in Stadhampton on Saturday 4th July, in aid of the Sue Ryder Hospice, where Gareth spent his last few days. Please find attached the poster about it. It would be lovely to see you all there. If you need any explanation of what Boogie Bingo is I'm happy to explain!

Hot Potato Syncopators – Flyer attached
At Stadhampton Church – Saturday 9th May, 7pm for 7.30pm start
Running Time: 1 hour 15 minutes + interval
Age Suitability: All ages
Links: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9U_fMHyUPU
Why we have selected this show: Musicalablity, showmanship and comedy in equal measure = a great night out
Performances
To reserve your tickets contact Stephen Dawson on 01865 890079 or email s.dawson78@yahoo.co.uk

Sat, 09/05/2015 St John the Baptist, Stadhampton Doors open at 7pm, Show at 7.30pm
Tickets: £10, under 16s £6