Newsletter for week ending 27 May 2016

 

Dear Nicky Morgan

As many of you may be aware, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 SATs have been a hot topic in the media in recent weeks. Following the recent end of Key Stage 2 SATs, which all our Year 6 pupils approached admirably, I felt driven to write to Nicky Morgan, Secretary of State for Education, expressing my opinion of the tests. I also requested that the department conducts a formal review into this year’s tests, the future of SATs and primary assessment generally. I am awaiting a reply.

 

Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment Rehearsal 8^th June 2016

As part of our Key Stage 2 Sleeping Sense project with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (OAE) and Oxford University (see below) the OAE has asked that they rehearse in the school hall during the evening of Wednesday 8^th June. This is in preparation for our concert at the Sheldonian Theatre on Thursday 9^th June. They warmly welcome any families who would like to hear them play live, to come and join them from 7.00 to 8.00pm.

 

Sleeping Sense Project Concert at the Sheldonian Theatre on 9.6.2016

Our Key Stage 2 pupils (all those in Classes 2 and 3) have been participating in a project called “Sleeping Sense” which has been organised by the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and a Science Team from Oxford University. Our project culminates in a concert to be held in the Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford at 5.45pm on Thursday 9^th June, where we will be performing along with pupils from Bloxham School and Woodstock School. The concert is expected to finish at 6.30pm. Pupils in Classes 2 and 3 should have received a letter earlier this week with full details of the day. Families who have children in other classes are also welcome to attend and may like to know that the concert is free! All we would ask is that you let us know if you intend to go so that we can give the organisers an idea of numbers. Thank you.

 

Suzie Mullin talk

A reminder that Susie Mullin will be presenting her talk “Parenting Is An Interesting Journey” in school from 3:15 to 4:15pm on Wednesday 6^th July and a crèche will be available during that time. Further details can be found in our Newsletter for week ending 29^th April. After half term we will be sending out invitations and a reply slip to gain an idea of approximate numbers.

 

Forest School Fundraising

Please let Mrs Hopkins know if you are intending to come to the Supper Night on 10^th June at the Village Hall in the Church but haven’t bought tickets yet. We look forward to your support which will help to secure our continued Forest School provision. Thank you.

 

Events during Term 6

There are so many events happening in Term 6 that we would like to make you aware of/remind you about, that we are listing them below;

 

JUNE
Monday 6th		ELLI Project Assembly “Changing Cameleon” Class 3 swimming begins (6 sessions)
Wednesday 8th		Reception & Class 1 visit to Blenheim Palace Classes 2 & 3 Sleeping Sense Project rehearsal OAE rehearsal open to families 7-8pm
Thursday 9th		Sleeping Sense presentation and concert at the Sheldonian Theatre pm – Classes 2 & 3
Friday 10th		Queens 90th Birthday Celebration in School including Food with Thoughts celebration lunch. Classroom activities and whole school ‘tea’ whilst watching the ‘Happy Birthday Your Majesty’ event broadcast from Windsor Castle
Wednesday 15th		Classes 2 & 3 visit to Warwick Castle
Friday 17th		Classes 2 & 3 1 hour St John Ambulance 1 hour first aid e-lesson
Monday 20th		Start of our International Fortnight with a focus on Brazil – please let us know if you have any educational contacts or artefacts
Monday 27th		ELLI Project Assembly “Making Links Spider”
Tuesday 28th		Rio Olympics/Brazil drama workshop for Classes 2 & 3
Wednesday 29th		Rio Olympics/Brazil “Carnival” dance workshops – all classes
Thursday 30th		The “Big Sing” at ICC – Classes 2 & 3 singing a selection of songs from “Joseph & his Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat”with other partnership schools
JULY
Friday 1st		SPORTS EVENING
Tuesday 5th		Reception and Class 1 visit to Warwick Castle
Wednesday 6th		“Moving Up” Day 1
Thursday 7th		“Moving Up” Day 2
Friday 8th		“Moving Up” Day 3
Tuesday 12th		Daylight Theatre visit Stadhampton School
Friday 15th		End of Year Assembly / Last Day of School Year

 

Swimming for Class 3 Pupils

Swimming will begin for Class 3 pupils on Monday 6 June. They will have a total of 6 sessions. As always, we hope that parents will be willing to contribute £2 per swimming session towards the cost of the transport to the pool (currently £70 per journey). Cheques for swimming contrbutions should be made payable to Stadhampton Primary School please. Thank you.

  

New School Lunch Menu

A paper copy of the new school lunch menu which begins on Monday 6^th June has been sent home this week via book bags. A copy of it has also been uploaded to the school website.

 

Change to the Lunch Menu on Friday 10 June

In celebration of the Queen’s 90^th birthday there will be a party menu instead of the normal school lunch for one day only. The school lunch on that day will consist of a selection of sandwiches (cheese, ham and tuna mayonnaise), mini sausages, cheese and tomato pizza bites, cherry tomatoes, carrot and cucumber sticks, jelly and ice cream or Victoria Sandwich or fruit pieces. This lunch may be eaten outdoors depending on the weather!

 

After School Clubs in Term 6

The after-school Multisports Club is now full. At the time of writing this newsletter, there are currently 6 places available for the after-school Dance Club.

 

Book Fair

Thank you to everyone who made purchases at the Book Fair last week. The total takings at the Book fair were £411.20, which enabled the school to receive £180 worth of books by way of commission for class libraries and the balance of £6.72 was given as a charity donation. The children are enjoying the new books.

 

Forest School Dates for Term 6

Due to some additional events being added to our already busy Summer Term we have made some changes to the dates for Forest School sessions after half term for some year groups, which we would like to make you aware of. The new dates are attached to this newsletter and can also be found on the school website for parents’ reference.

 

Swimming Pool

We recently thanked the PTA for their magnificent work in the swimming pool area. Mrs Shortman has been busy clearing the pool and surrounding area and preparing the pool for its annual Environmental Health test to ensure we meet water quality standards with the hope that the pool will be open for use sometime in June. Over the last few weeks Mrs Ellis and Mrs Turner have passed their RLSS National Rescue Award for swimming teachers and coaches which is a requirement for pupils to be able to use the pool, and, along with Mrs Manzie, are able to ensure that pool use can be continued. Many thanks to all!

 

PTA NEWS

Thank you to everyone who attended the family quiz. It was a great night full of fun for the whole family.

 

Queens’s 90th birthday celebrations- 18th June- the PTA are running a raffle stall at the village celebrations with all proceeds going towards the school. We are looking for donations from parents for hampers. Items such as:

Beer, Wine, chocolates, gift sets, bath sets (please check the used by dates)

Please place all donations in the PTA box in the school hall.

We will be putting raffle tickets into book bags, 5 strips per family, tickets are 50p each or £2 for a strip, Tickets will also be available to buy on the day and also from The Crown pub. We have already lined up lots of great prizes.

 

Sports Night Friday 1st July- we are looking for volunteers to help clean up after at sports night, please speak to a committee member if you are able to lend a hand.

We are also looking for people to help run the BBQ if you know anyone that would be interested then please speak to Georgina Wiggins.

 

Thank you for your continued support of the PTA. 

 

Friday Cake Club

Congratulations to Jemima O’Brien, the lucky winner of last week’s cake, kindly donated by Anna Harries.  A reminder to Roza Kozlowska that she is on the rota for 10th June, the first week back after Half Term.

 

We now have a cake for each week of the remainder of the school year, but if you would like to put your name on the rota for next year please see Rowena Dobson or Helen Payne.

 

DIARY DATES:
Monday 6 June	Start of Term 6 for staff and pupils Class 3 swimming begins
Weds 8 June	Reception and Class 1 trip
Friday 10 June (rearranged date)	Forest School fundraising supper event at the Church – please see Mrs Hopkins to book
Weds 15 June	Class 2 & Class 3 trip
Friday 1 July	Sports Evening – note earlier date than usual

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Summer Sports Course at Stadhampton School

Michael Hopkins, who is well-known to the school as a PE teacher will be leading a Summer Sports Course on Monday 8th, Tuesday 9^th and Wednesday 10^th AUGUST at Stadhampton Primary School. 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 for the day and bookings can be made directly by e-mailing m.hopkins07@hotmail.com or via Mrs Hopkins in the school office. Early booking is advised as the Easter Sports Course was very popular!

 

Community News:

• Earth Trust, Little Wittenham are holding a Summer Picnic on Sunday 5^th June from 11-4pm. More details are available at www.earthtrust.org.uk –see attached flyer.
• Charity Pub Quiz at The Crown, Stadhampton on Saturday 4 June from 7pm onwards to raise funds to provide fresh running water to a school and village in Tanzania – see attached flyer.
• BOOT SALE

Bank Holiday Monday (30^th May), 8am to 1pm

On the Green at Stadhampton

£5 per car, £10 per van   Free parking and entrance for buyers

Newsletter for week ending 20 May 2016

 

Congratulations to Ex-Pupils

We are delighted to note that some of our ex-pupils have been appointed into roles of responsibility at ICC for the start of the next academic year:

Congratulations to Rhiannon and Florence Amery who have jointly been appointed as deputy Head Girls; Ewan Madry who will be a Senior Prefect, and to Chloe Scragg, Gabriella White and Matt Green who will all be Prefects in September.

 

Forest School Fundraising

Please let Mrs Hopkins know if you are intending to come to the Supper Night on 10^th June at the Village Hall in the Church but haven’t bought tickets yet. We look forward to your support which will help to secure our continued Forest School provision. Thank you.

 

Singing Club Performance for Participating Pupils

Parents/carers of pupils who attend the after school Singing Club on Wednesdays with Mrs Humphries are invited to come and listen to a selection of songs that they have been practising over this term. The performance will be on Wednesday 25^th May at 3.50pm.

 

Visit to Bhaktivedanta Manor Hindu Temple

Report by Olivia and Joshua: “On Tuesday 17^th May we went to a Hindu Temple. We went on the bullock cart and fed the cows. We found lyrics to George Harrison’s songs about Krishna hidden in the woodland gardens. Next we learnt about the gods. The three main gods are Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. We dressed up in Indian clothes and some people dressed up as the gods and their wives. We saw the ceremony in the shrine room and then we had lunch. We had curry, rice, popadoms and naan bread. Everything was really nice and yummy! At the end of the day we had the story of Lord Rama and Sita. Words cannot describe what an amazing day it was!”

 

PTA NEWS

Cake club- we are very pleased to announce that Helen Payne will be taking charge of cake club from September. Thank you very much Helen, we know you will do a fantastic job! Thank you to Rowena for all her hard work over the last few years! We are truly grateful.

 

Queens 90th birthday celebrations- 18th June- the PTA are running a raffle stall at the village celebrations with all proceeds going towards the school. We are looking for donations from parents for hampers. Items such as:

Beer, Wine, chocolates, gift sets, bath sets (please check the used by dates)

Please place all donations in the PTA box in the school hall.

We will be putting raffle tickets into book bags, 5 strips per family, tickets are 50p each or £2 for a strip, Tickets will also be available to buy on the day and also from The Crown pub. We have already lined up lots of great prizes.

 

Sports Night Friday 1st July- we are looking for volunteers to help clean up after at sports night, please speak to a committee member if you are able to lend a hand.

We are also looking for people to help run the BBQ if you know anyone that would be interested then please speak to Georgina Wiggins.

 

I hope to see lots of you at the Family Quiz this Friday, a fantastic night of fun for all the family.

 

Thank you for your continued support of the PTA. 

 

Friday Cake Club

Congratulations to Leo Burnell, the lucky winner of last week’s cake, kindly donated by Mrs Ellis.  A reminder to Mrs Burnell that she is on the rota for 27th May.

 

DIARY DATES:
Thursday 26 May	Year 7 Induction Evening at Icknield Community College for present Year 6 pupils at 7pm
Friday 27 May	School finishes at 3.15pm for May Holiday
Monday 6 June	Start of Term 6 for staff and pupils
Weds 8 June	Reception and Class 1 trip – letters to follow very shortly in book bags
Friday 10 June (rearranged date)	Forest School fundraising supper event at the Church – please see Mrs Hopkins to book
Weds 15 June	Class 2 & Class 3 trip – letters to follow shortly
Friday 1 July	Sports Evening – note earlier date than usual

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Summer Sports Course at Stadhampton School

Michael Hopkins, who is well-known to the school as a PE teacher will be leading a Summer Sports Course on Monday 8th, Tuesday 9^th and Wednesday 10^th AUGUST at Stadhampton Primary School. 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 for the day and bookings can be made directly by e-mailing m.hopkins07@hotmail.com or via Mrs Hopkins in the school office. Early booking is advised as the Easter Sports Course was very popular!

 

Community News:

Oxfordshire County Music Service in partnership with Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra are hosting a Junior String Day on 25^th May from 10-4pm and on 26 May an Intermediate String Day from 10-4pm. Both events are being held at the Centre for Music, Bayswater Road, Headington, OX3 9FF and are free of charge.

 

Newsletter for week ending 13 May 2016

 

SATs Tests

Congratulations to our Year 6 pupils who seem to have coped with their SATs very well during this week. A reminder that tests continue into next week for many other year groups.

 

Jason Hector

I’m sure that all parents, staff and governors will join me in thanking Jason Hector for the huge contribution he has made to the governing body since his appointment as a parent governor in March 2009. Jason provided the governing body with a clear lead and direction as Chair of Governors during his double term of office and played a pivotal role in driving school improvement. He has also been actively involved in the finance committee and been the link governor for science and maths. Jason stepped down as Chair of Governors in September 2015 and has decided to leave the governing body later this month. Thank you Jason for the support you have given us over the last 7 years. We appreciate it very much.

 

Message from Governing Body

Many of you will have read the news reports on academy status recently and the shift in Government thinking. The Governing Body will continue to review the situation and keep close to local conversations to ensure we can continue to assess the situation and keep parents informed what is happening.

 

Book Fair

A reminder that we shall be holding a Book Fair in the school hall from the afternoon of Monday 16^th May until the morning of Friday 20^th May. The Book Fair will be open each morning from 8.30am and then again in the afternoon from 3pm until 3.30pm. School earns commission from the sales of books which enables us to choose free books to update our classroom libraries and non-fiction library. Thank you for your support.

 

Swimming 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.

 

Forest School Fundraising

Bookings are now being taken for the Supper Night on Friday 10^th June from 7.30 to 11.30pm at the Village Hall at St John’s Church Stadhampton. Tickets cost £12.50 and include a buffet and desserts. Bring your own drinks! We have only sold a few tickets so far but believe that there are people who intend to come. We hope that it will be viable to continue with the event as we know how much all children enjoy their Forest School sessions but there are associated running costs, (lots of hot chocolate, chocolate biscuits and marshmallows purchased for the children to enjoy, inspection of trees and the carrying out of work identified as needing to be done – latest invoice for this just received @ £804) and we have already paid the hire cost of the Village Hall. Please let Mrs Hopkins know if you are intending to come but haven’t bought tickets yet. We look forward to your support which will help to secure our continued Forest School provision. Thank you.

 

Clarinet Deposits

A reminder that deposits for Clarinet lessons for current Year 4 pupils who will be Year 5 in September were required by Friday 6^th May (letter sent to all Year 4 pupils on 27 April 2016 and a copy is on the school website.) Cheques to be made payable to OCC please. Thank you to those families who have already paid a deposit.

 

ELLI Project

Our next character to be introduced in the ongoing ELLI Project is ‘Creative Unicorn’. We are looking forward to exploring the aspects of thinking and learning involved in this area and letting the creative juices flow!

 

PTA NEWS

Cake Club- as mentioned in previous newsletters, we are still  looking for someone to take on cake club, you don't have to be on the committee you would just need to be available on Friday mornings. Rowena is very happy to show whoever takes it over the ropes and to fully support them. Unless we get a volunteer to take it on we will unfortunately have to stop cake club, which none of us want to do. Please speak to a committee member if you are interested in taking this on.

 

Family Quiz Night- Friday 20th May 6pm- tickets are on sale for this fun evening, a family ticket is £10, there is a fully stocked bar, pizza and hotdogs for sale and a fantastic quiz for all the family to enjoy. Please see Georgina Wiggins for tickets.

 

Queen’s celebration- Saturday 18th June- the PTA are supporting the Queen’s birthday celebration and are holding a raffle on the day at the village summer fete. We are asking for donations from parents for hampers that we hope to raffle off. All the money raised from the raffle will go to the PTA and we have cancelled our summer fete to support this event. Please start putting donations in the PTA box in the hall.

 

Thank you for your continued support of the PTA. 

 

Friday Cake Club

Congratulations to Ivy Odell, the lucky winner of last week’s cake, kindly donated by Mrs Holmes.  A reminder to Anna Harries that she is on the rota for 20th May.

 

DIARY DATES:
Monday 16 May	Book Fair in school
Tuesday 17 May	Class 2 Trip
Friday 20 May	PTA Family Quiz Evening
Thursday 26 May	Year 7 Induction Evening at Icknield Community College for present Year 6 pupils at 7pm
Friday 27 May	School finishes at 3.15pm for May Holiday
Monday 6 June	Start of Term 6 for staff and pupils
Friday 10 June (rearranged date)	Forest School fundraising supper event at the Church – please see Mrs Hopkins to book
Friday 1 July	Sports Evening – note earlier date than usual

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Summer Sports Course at Stadhampton School

Michael Hopkins, who is well-known to the school as a PE teacher will be leading a Summer Sports Course on Monday 8th, Tuesday 9^th and Wednesday 10^th AUGUST at Stadhampton Primary School. 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 for the day and bookings can be made directly by e-mailing m.hopkins07@hotmail.com or via Mrs Hopkins in the school office. Early booking is advised as the Easter Sports Course was very popular!

 

 

Community News:

SAVE THE DATE -  Queen's 90th Birthday - Saturday 18 June 2016, 2pm onwards

 

We will be holding a village tea party in June to celebrate the Queen's 90th Birthday, as well as those of members of the local community also reaching their 90th year - we'd like include anyone 80+, (please contact Sue White if you'd like to include someone at the birthday table  01865 890880). 

 

The Brook Race will go ahead - thank you to the Hopkins family for returning one of the shields for this event - there will be three races; men, ladies and 11-16 year olds with medals for 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the latter race. 

 

More information will follow in these newsletters, the Village Voice and on the village website stadhampton.org - and if you'd like to be involved then please contact Sue on the number above. Thank you.  We'll keep updating you over the new few weeks but for now please make a note in your diaries.