Newsletter for week ending 17 July 2015

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. The wonderful weather helped too! Thank you to everyone who bought their drinks from the PTA bar and to those who cooked and served the BBQ for us. Your hard work was very much appreciated.

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

Thank You
As always, there are many people that we need to thank as we come to the end of another school year. We are always very grateful for the support of all parents; we are extremely fortunate to have so many supportive families. Special thanks to Mrs Duke for auditing the Special Purposes and Hall Accounts again this year, to Mrs Bowerman, Mrs Dobson and Mrs Madry for their admin support, to the parents and other volunteers who regularly help with hearing readers, with school trips and bake cakes for a variety of purposes. Thank you also to the parents who helped with cycle safety training this year (and managed to get everyone through their test!), to Mrs Elliott and Mrs Gravett for leading Forest School sessions and to Mr and Mrs Burnell for running a very successful lunchtime Gardening Club. A huge thanks also to the PTA committee who work tirelessly to manage the sales of school uniform and fundraise so that pupils can enjoy excellent facilities and have many additional resources and opportunities. The PTA also contribute towards the cost of pupils learning French and the upkeep of the swimming pool. Finally, thank you to the Governing Body who give their time freely to both support the school and challenge the staff!

Swimming at Berinsfield
Swimming will begin for Class 2 pupils on Monday 7th September. They will have a total of 7 sessions. The cost of the swimming transport to Berinsfield is £65 per visit, so we are particularly grateful to receive contributions of £2 per swimming session from parents towards this cost. Cheques for swimming contributions should be made payable to Stadhampton Primary School please. Thank you.

PTA NEWS:
The PTA committee would like to thank parents/carers for their amazing support this year. We hope everyone has a great summer and look forward to seeing you all in September.

Friday Cake Club
Congratulations to Daniel Ellis, the lucky winner of last week's cake, kindly donated by Mrs Gravett. A reminder to Mrs Holmes that she is the first on the rota for the new school year – Friday 4 September.
Don't forget you can now pay for the whole of the next year if you wish. It's £7 per child if paid up front, which gives you 4 weeks free! See Rowena. Volunteers for cake donations also welcome.
Finally a massive thank you to everyone who has contributed to Cake Club this school year, either by entering or donating a cake. We have raised just over £356.00 for the PTA funds. Well done!

DIARY DATES:
Tuesday 1 September INSET Day for school staff only
Wednesday 2 September Pupils return to school for the start of Term 1.

LITTLE BEARS NEWS:
Little Bears would like to wish everyone a happy and restful summer break.

Summer Sports Courses at Stadhampton School
Michael Hopkins will be leading two sports courses here during the summer break. The courses will be on the following dates: Monday 20th July, Tuesday 21st July and Wednesday 22nd July, and also Monday 10th August, Tuesday 11th August and Wednesday 12th August. The cost is £10 per day from 9-3pm and the course is open to all pupils aged 4-11. Pupils may attend for any or all of the days. Bookings may be made directly to m.hopkins07@hotmail.com or via Mrs Hopkins in the school office. Please see attached poster.

Community News:
Rowena and Sarah would like to thank everyone who came to Boogie Bingo on Saturday 4th July, and to those who donated to the cause - we raised a phenomenal £1400 in aid of Sue Ryder Hospice in Nettlebed. The atmosphere at the Village Hall at St John's was fantastic and we hope everyone had a great evening.

Finally, we wish you all a very happy and safe summer break and look forward to welcoming back those who are returning to school on Wednesday 2nd September.

Newsletter for week ending 10 July 2015

End of School Year Reports
All parents and carers should have received their child’s end of year school reports this week. Please let us know if you have not received the report or accompanying documentation.
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.

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 send them with a drink of water or squash!

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: for insurance purposes 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) will be present and should, hopefully, be able to answer all questions between them!

Free School Meals
Pupils whose parents/guardians are in receipt of particular support payments and meet certain criteria may be eligible to receive free school meals. The relevant support payments include:

• Income Support (IS) or Employment Support Allowance (IR) (ESA(IR)) – proof of entitlement is in the form of a Job Centre plus letter or FF260 form or letter from the Department of Work & Pensions. ESA (C) is not eligible
• Income Based Jobseekers Allowance (IBJSA) – proof of entitlement is in the form of a Job Centre plus letter.
• Support under part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 – proof of entitlement is in the form of a Home Office letter.
• Child Tax Credit, provided that Working Tax Credit is not included, and that your ‘annual income for Tax Credit purposes’ does not exceed a threshold figure. – proof of entitlement is assessed by the ‘TC602 Award Notice’
• The Guarantee element of State Pension Credit will be an additional qualifying ‘benefit’ – proof of entitlement is assessed by the ‘Pension Credit M1000 Award Notice’.
Should you feel you might qualify, please contact Mrs Hopkins, the School Business Manager (in confidence) for an application form and return this with your proof of entitlement (original up to date copies must be produced). We are unable to authorise for free school meals without the necessary paperwork.
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.

Goodbye
We said goodbye and good luck at the end of last week to Miss Sophie Peet, a PGCE student from Oxford Brookes University, who has now completed her final teaching placement with Class 3. Miss Peet had several spells at Stadhampton School during her teacher training and we wish her every success in her new teaching position starting in September.

Henley Riverboat and Rowing Museum
Class 1 and Reception pupils visited the Henley Riverboat and Rowing Museum earlier this week. Focusing on the ‘Wind in the Willows’ story, the children enjoyed songs and dances, making bags and ducks and walking through the ‘caves’ which showed models of the characters. After enjoying a picnic lunch the children looked at boats from around the world. Everyone had a fantastic time and enjoyed all of the experiences.
Quotes from some pupils in Class 1:
“There were a lot of boats. They were very interesting and fun” (Mia); “The story trail was very exciting” (Arun); “It was fun and there were lots of exciting things to see” (Emily); “It was fun when we went in the tunnel” (Laila); “I liked it when we found a place for Teddy to sleep” (Honor).

Cycle Safety Training
Congratulations to Alfie Howard, Emily Drake, Greg Madry, Cora White, Betsy Elliott, Hannah Bradford, Sophie Hector, Amy Freeman and Oliver Lowman who all passed their cycle safety training test on Friday. It is most unusual to have 100% of pupils pass first time, so many congratulations to everyone.
A huge thank you to Mrs Cove, Mrs Green, Miss Moss-Black, Mrs Madry, Mrs White and Mrs Bowerman for organising and leading these sessions for pupils. A special thank you also to the adults who provided an additional session recently on a Saturday morning!

Year 6 Leavers
If any of the Year 6 leavers (those without younger siblings in school) would like to donate their school PE T-shirts to us, they would be useful to have as spares for pupils who have forgotten their PE kit. Thank you.

Piano Tuition
After the summer holiday, piano lessons will continue to be available during the school day on Thursday afternoons for any child in Class 2 or 3. These will be given by Mrs Trudy Drake, who already provides piano tuition for some children in school. If you are interested in your child learning to play the piano, please contact Mrs Drake directly (mobile 07918188519).
Comments from Lawrence and Tia: “It’s an amazing skill to learn and you can just sit down and play a tune that everyone will enjoy. You learn a new piece every week and learn how to play ‘Happy Birthday’ so that you can play it to a family member on their birthday. Mrs Drake is patient, kind and a brilliant teacher who will help you go from grade to grade until you are outstanding!”

PTA NEWS:
Sports night BBQ and PTA bar- a selected number of BBQ tickets may still be available tomorrow evening. Please support the PTA bar which is fully stocked with beer, cider, ale, Pimms, wine and soft drinks. All money raised goes to the PTA.

End of Term Disco, Thursday 16th July 6pm-7.30pm- if you haven't already please return the consent form along with £3 to Anna Harries by Wednesday 15th. We will be holding a small raffle for the children so please bring £1 for a ticket if your child wishes to take part.

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 Mrs O'Brien. A reminder to Mrs Kenny that she is on the rota for 17 July.
You can now pay for the whole of the next year if you wish. It's £7 per child if paid up front, which gives you 4 weeks free! See Rowena Dobson. Volunteers for cake donations also welcome.

DIARY DATES:
Tuesday 14 July Daylight Theatre performance of ‘Treasure in the Sand’ for all pupils
Wednesday 15 July Mobile Library visit – book returns only
End of Term Disco. Tickets on sale now directly from the PTA outside Class 1 each morning and afternoon.
Friday 17 July End of school year assembly and say goodbye to Year 6 pupils. Everyone welcome. 9.05am start
School finishes at 1.30pm for pupils
Tuesday 1 September INSET Day for school staff only
Wednesday 2 September Pupils return to school for the start of Term 1.

LITTLE BEARS NEWS:
It’s hard to believe that we are nearing the end of our academic year and that many of our children will be moving on to primary school. It has been a busy term with some of the Little Bears having some taster sessions with Miss Mould and practising for sports day.

Sports Day
The children have been practicing in sessions and it promises to be great fun on the day!. All parent/carers, grandparents and siblings are invited to watch our Sports Day on Friday 17th July from 11.30. Please see the Pre-school notice board for the children's teams. Children who do not attend pre-school on a Friday are invited to join in with our sports session which will also be followed by a picnic.

Summer Sports Courses at Stadhampton School
Michael Hopkins will be leading two sports courses here during the summer break. The courses will be on the following dates: Monday 20th July, Tuesday 21st July and Wednesday 22nd July, and also Monday 10th August, Tuesday 11th August and Wednesday 12th August. The cost is £10 per day from 9-3pm and the course is open to all pupils aged 4-11. Pupils may attend for any or all of the days. Bookings may be made directly to m.hopkins07@hotmail.com or via Mrs Hopkins in the school office. Please see attached poster.

Community News:
• Cover Supervisor vacancy at Icknield Community College

Newsletter for week ending 3 July 2015

Happy JULY Birthday to: Jack Austin, Georgia Day, Archie Dickens, Mya Khan, Oliver Lemon, Nate Moss-Black, Harry Waters and Nathaniel Watkins.


During JULY we are focusing on the core value of FREEDOM

Congratulations to Izzy Kenny
Many congratulations to Izzy Kenny who entered a national competition, organised by Warwick Castle, to design a model castle. Izzy came an amazing 2nd and was the only primary school pupil to be a prize winner – the rest were all KS3! Her prize is free entry for the whole school to visit Warwick Castle during the next school year! What an amazing prize; we shall be planning this opportunity into our curriculum arrangements for next year. Well done and thank you Izzy!

Sports Week – Summary for Last Week
Thank you again to Mr Hopkins and Mr Piper for a fantastic day of sport last Wednesday. All children did at least 5 hours of sport during ‘Sports Week’ which involved at least 5 different sporting activities. Well done to everyone!
Congratulations to the following pupils who did very well in our school competitions:
Ping Pong Rally: Jude and Laila; Harvey and Ben; Ella and Lewis.
Skipping: Peter (55 forwards); Olivia (65 forwards); Elizabeth (65 forwards); Billy (72 forwards); Lawrence (87 forwards); Megan G. (83 forwards); Sam (50 backwards); Lawrence (54 backwards); Megan G. (39 backwards).
Well done also to Class 2 who showcased their breadth of skipping skills with pretzels, crossovers and double pairs!

Summer Sports Menu – change of menu for Thursday 9th July
Wimbledon Special – Umpire’s Special (Tuna Pasta Bake) or Murray Margherita Tart (Cheese and Tomato Pastry) with Wimbledon Potato Wedges, Mini Corn on the Cob and Champions Salad (seasonal salad with cherry tomatoes); Strawberries and Cream or Courtside Yoghurt Pots (copy of menu attached).

Ghana Week 29th June to 3rd July
This week we had a whole-school focus on Ghana, in West Africa. Our activities have included; a West African dance workshop (see below), a visit by a local couple who have spent some time living in Ghana, a Fairtrade assembly and follow-up Fairtrade awareness game for pupils in KS2 provided by Mrs Amanda Griffin from Just Trading in Wallingford, exploring and using a variety of authentic artefacts from RISC in Reading, the use of a fabulous ‘Global Kidz’ storytelling tent, also on loan from RISC (it would be wonderful to create our own!), a variety of weaving and printing activities (based on Ghanaian traditions) in each class, and a very popular chocolate tasting session – Ghanaian of course! It has been a great week and even the weather gave us an insight into the Ghanaian climate!

Report by Alex Robinson:
“Mrs Turner had planned for us a very special day of African dancing and singing with Gaspar from the Ivory Coast and Niiboy from Ghana. Niiboy had an amazing African drum and played fantastic tunes for the dances which Gaspar taught us. We all had a very enjoyable time and performed in front of some parents and our teachers at the end of the day. Finally, we finished the day with parents and teachers performing a dance for us to watch! We all enjoyed our fantastic day and thank you to Gaspar and Niiboy and to Mrs Turner for organising the day”.

Festival of Voices
Families who were involved in this inspiring event may remember that a collection was made each evening for Save the Children. On Wednesday, the evening Stadhampton attended, a total of £518.93 was collected and the collection from the whole week raised £2656.62. Thank you to all.

Head Lice
We are grateful to a parent for letting us know that they have treated their children for head lice this week. Please could everyone check their own children’s hair this weekend and treat if necessary.

PTA NEWS:
Sports night on Friday 10th July- Tickets are still available for this evening at present, priced at £2.50 for a sausage, burger or veggie, please see Anna Harries for tickets as they are limited. No more orders will be taken once the limit has been reached.

End of term disco on Thursday 16th July 6-7.30pm- Tickets are priced at £3.00 each, please see Anna Harries who is outside Class 1 every morning and afternoon pickup/drop off. If any parents can help on the evening please let a committee member know.

Our next PTA meeting is Tuesday 7th July 8pm at The Crown.

Friday Cake Club
Congratulations to Jemima O'Brien, the lucky winner of last week's cake, kindly donated by Mrs Freeman. A reminder to Mrs Gravett that she is on the rota on 10th July.

DIARY DATES:
Monday 6 July Reception & Class 1 visit to Henley River and Rowing Museum. Permission slip and contribution required please if you have not sent in already
Tuesday 7 July Clarinet concert performed by Class 3 pupils at 2.45pm. All parents/carers welcome
Wednesday 8, Thursday 9 & Friday 10 July Moving Up days. New Reception pupils starting in September attend for 3 full days. Year 6 pupils go to ICC. All other pupils move up to the year group/class they will be in at the start of the new academic year in September. Topic letters were sent home last week.
Friday 10 July Whole School Sports Evening. Pupils arrive at 6pm. Bar open from 6pm. BBQ tickets from the PTA are on sale now and must be purchased in advance. They will not be available to purchase at the event itself.
Tuesday 14 July Daylight Theatre performance of ‘Treasure in the Sand’ for all pupils
Wednesday 15 July Mobile Library visit – book returns only
End of Term Disco. Tickets on sale now directly from the PTA outside Class 1 each morning and afternoon.
Friday 17 July End of school year assembly and say goodbye to Year 6 pupils. Everyone welcome. 9.05am start
School finishes at 1.30pm
Tuesday 1 September INSET Day for school staff only
Wednesday 2 September Pupils return to school for the start of Term 1.

LITTLE BEARS NEWS:
Next week some of our Little Bears will be going up to ‘big school’ to enjoy the transition days. We will also be welcoming some new little ones and enjoying a mini topic "All About Me".

Summer Sports Courses at Stadhampton School
Michael Hopkins will be leading two sports courses here during the summer break. The courses will be on the following dates: Monday 20th July, Tuesday 21st July and Wednesday 22nd July, and also Monday 10th August, Tuesday 11th August and Wednesday 12th August. The cost is £10 per day from 9-3pm and the course is open to all pupils aged 4-11. Pupils may attend for any or all of the days. Bookings may be made directly to m.hopkins07@hotmail.com or via Mrs Hopkins in the school office. Please see attached poster.

Community News:
• Poster attached about the Stadhampton Youth Club Family BBQ and Games event on 15th July
• Poster attached of Summer Update from Stadhampton Youth Club