Newsletter for week ending 18 October 2013

We are very pleased to welcome Mr Andrew Ansell to Stadhampton School. Mr Ansell is a student from Oxford Brookes University,and will be working alongside Miss Shah in Class 3 for period of eight weeks.

Teachers’ Strike 17.10.2013
As you will already be aware, a number of schools locally were either fully or partially closed on Thursday 17 October due to combined union strike action by teachers. This strike action was over disputes relating to changes to pay, pensions and working conditions. These changes are significant and the concerns are that the consequences will make teaching, which is already a very challenging job, an increasingly unattractive profession – both for existing, experienced teachers and for the recruitment of high calibre new teachers.
Teaching staff at Stadhampton School all reserve the right to strike. No teacher takes strike action lightly; the prospect was given very careful consideration however, on this occasion, teaching staff elected not to go on strike. Staff will be closely following any further developments.

National School Meals Week – 4th – 8th November 2013
We are delighted to announce that Food With Thought are offering all our Reception children a free school meal during the whole of National School Meals week. Your child may order a free school meal every day or on any day(s) of their choice during that week by returning the tick sheet on the letter sent home in book bags earlier this week. Thank you.

After School Clubs
We will be sending home details of After-school clubs for next term early next week. Archery, dance, art and multiskills will continue in Term 2. The Archery after school club on Mondays was very popular this term resulting in 9 pupils being unable to have a place. Therefore a place has been reserved for the following pupils for the new club which will begin on Monday 4 November: Ollie and Max Jones, Oliver and James Lowman, Alex Igmofose, Rees Brown, Josh Matthews, Alfie Howard and Charlie Ball. Please could you let us know as soon as possible if your child does not wish to take up this place. If everyone on the ‘waiting list’ does wish to take up a place we shall only have one more space left. If anyone (aged 8 or over) would be interested in this place please let Mrs Hopkins know.


Advance Notice of Key Events and Dates
Parents’ Consultation Evenings Monday 18th November & Wednesday 20th November

Our annual Christmas productions (yet to revealed!) will take place as follows:

KS2 (Classes 2 & 3) Tuesday 10th December, both matinee and evening performances (times to be confirmed)

FS/KS1 (Reception & Class 1) Wednesday 11th December, one matinee performance only (time to be confirmed).

Tickets will be on sale shortly from the school office for all performances of the Christmas Productions. They will be priced at £2 each with all profits this year going towards the purchase of i-pads for use in the classrooms. As we have to comply with fire regulations concerning the number of people in the hall, tickets will be limited to 3 per family for the KS1/FS performance and 2 per family for each of the KS2 performances. We respectfully request that parents do not bring children who are under school age to the KS2 evening performance please.

Our annual Nativity Service is expected to take place in the village church on Wednesday 18th December at 2.15pm. Everyone is welcome to join us for this event.

Class 3 Visit to Wittenham Clumps – Report by Marcin and Naomi
“On Friday 11th October Class 3 had a trip to Wittenham Clumps. We decided to be ‘outlaws’ for the day like Robin Hood and his merry men (and women!) so had to learn to survive in the wild woods. We went off in different groups and made dens from logs and tree branches. When we finished making our den we were able to see all the others and all of them were FANTASTIC. After we had lunch we went outside and made a fire. It was really challenging because we couldn’t use matches and had to use fire strikers but it was even more challenging because it was raining! All groups managed to make a fire and were able to roast delicious marshmallows! We all thought this trip was really exciting because we were trusted to do lots of fun activities that we wouldn’t usually be able to do!”

PTA News
Following the recent AGM, the PTA has several new parent members and we would love anybody thinking of joining to come along to our next meeting. This will be on Tuesday 22nd October at 8pm in the school hall. The main aim of this meeting is to discuss any new ideas for the Winter Fair, as well as decide which old favourites we are going to include. The Winter Fair is planned for Friday 29th November from 6pm until 8pm, so please keep this date free – further details to follow after the meeting!

As ever, the PTA is a chance for parents to have their say and to help make important decisions about fundraising and how the money raised is spent. Everyone is welcome at any PTA meeting, so please do come along. Or if you would prefer to support the PTA in other ways, for example by helping at an event, then please speak to any member of the PTA. A list of PTA members is on the notice board outside Class 1.

Cake Club
Congratulations to Lorenzo Elliott who was the lucky winner of the cake last week, kindly donated by Mrs Hector. A reminder to Mrs Manzie that she is on the rota for Friday 25 October.

Plant Orders
Plant orders are scheduled to be delivered to school on Tuesday 22 October.

LITTLE BEARS NEWS:
Next week at Little Bears we will be finishing our transport topic by looking at farms and farm machinery. Little Bears last day of term is Friday 25th October returning on Monday 4th November to the topic books.

DIARY DATES:
Monday 21 October Book Fair arrives
Friday 25 October School breaks up at 3.15pm for October Holiday
Monday 4 November School resumes for the start of Term 2
Thursday 7 November Year 5 pupils visit ICC for Science, Maths & English lessons
Wednesday 13 November Mobile Library visit pm
Monday 18 November Parents Evening 4.00-7.00pm
Wednesday 20 November Parents Evening 4.00-6.00pm
Tuesday 10th December KS2 (Classes 2 & 3) - both matinee and evening performances (times to be confirmed)
Wednesday 11th December FS/KS1 (Reception & Class 1) - matinee performance only (time to be confirmed).
Wednesday 18th December Nativity Service - village church 2.15pm
Monday 23rd December One-day Sports Course at Stadhampton School for participating pupils. See notices in each classroom entrance area for more information and details of how to book.

Community Notices

Nativity scene staying overnight during December
A regular village tradition is for a nativity scene to go round the village during the month of December, ending up in the Church on Christmas Eve for the service. A village family invites the nativity scene in overnight, lays it out in a special place in the house, says a prayer and then passes the characters onto a different family the next day. Each family takes responsibility to ensure the characters are well looked after during their visit and for taking it to the next family on the list. This year the characters have been knitted by Abby & Lawrence Wright's Grandma and are carried around in a basket. Reverend Caroline has provided the prayer you can choose to say as you settle the characters into your home.

If you would like to be part of this tradition please email Sara Wright on sarawright300@btinternet.com direct and she will put your family name down on the list. She will need to know the dates you cannot do plus your name, home address and telephone number. Sara will confirm the complete list before the end of November so you know when to expect it.

Autumn Festival, Saturday 19th October, 11am to 4pm, Earth Trust, Little Wittenham
Join the Earth Trust for a celebration of autumn and harvest! There will be plenty of outdoor and indoor activities on offer for the whole family, including storytelling, planting acorns, apple pressing, grain grinding, bug hunts, craft activities, crumpet toasting, muesli making, and milk a cow (not a real one!). Delicious hot food on offer from our hog roast, soup from the Cultivate veg van, and the Poem Tree café. For further information see www.earthtrust.org.uk or call 01865 407792.

Vacancies at Watlington Primary School:

PART-TIME MIDDAY SUPERVISOR
We are looking for a reliable person to join our lunchtime team on a Thursday and Friday from 11.30am – 1.00pm. (Total 3 hours per week). The rate of pay is £6.90 per hour. Additional hours may become available at a later date.

CLEANER
We are looking for a cleaner to join our caretaking team with immediate effect. The position is for 6 hours per work worked on Monday and Friday only from 3.15pm -6.15pm each day. The rate of pay is £6.67 per hour.

If you are interested in either of the above positions please contact Jane Fowler, School Business Manager at WATLINGTON PRIMARY SCHOOL, LOVE LANE, WATLINGTON, OXFORD. OX49 5RB.
Telephone: 01491 612474, or email office.2459@watlington.oxon.sch.uk
Employment is dependent upon a clear enhanced DRB check and satisfactory references.

Newsletter for week ending 11 October 2013

Possible Strike Action on Thursday 17 October
As you may be aware members of the NASUWT and NUT are in dispute with the Government and have voted to take strike action. The strike action in this region will be for one day and will take place on Thursday 17 October 2013. Teachers are only required to give 48 hours notice of their intention to strike and therefore all that we can do at the present time is notify parents that there is a possibility that the school may have to close. We will provide a further update when more information is known.

Open Morning
Our annual Open Morning will take place on Wednesday 16 October between 9.00 and 11.45am. Please feel free to pop in during the morning if you would like to see the school at work. We hope to have lots of visitors to the school and particularly welcome parents/carers who are currently deciding which school they will choose for their child starting school in September 2014.

Volunteers to hear readers required!
We are very grateful to a number of parents who regularly give of their time to come into school to hear pupils read. We would welcome more volunteers and if you are able to help please speak to your child’s teacher. We also welcome Mr Finbar McGaughey, a resident of the village, who volunteers to help in school on a regular basis.

Forest Schools
For some time now we have been looking into the possibility of setting up a Forest School having experienced some taster sessions led by Poppy Elliott, a fully qualified Forest Schools leader, kindly loaned to us by Little Bears. Forest Schools is “a unique way of building independence, self-esteem and a positive attitude towards learning in children and young people as they explore and experience the natural world for themselves”. It is widely recognised that Forest Schools also helps children to develop self-awareness, calculate risks, communicate better and learn the importance of working as part of a team. We are most fortunate to have been offered the use of Stadhampton River Meadows private land owned by Bob and Frances Campbell, for this purpose and that Mr Short, a member of our support staff, is willing to undertake the training to be able to deliver the Forest School educational programme. It is hoped that this will, in time, be rolled out to all year groups. We are also very grateful for the support of Mr Stephen Dawson, a School Governor who, along with the PTA, is helping to bring this plan to fruition. In order to fundraise for this project, a Musical Evening is being planned in the Church for Saturday 23rd November. We already know that Eleanor Tinlin will be playing the piano and Otis will be playing the saxophone. Further details of this event and details of how to buy tickets will be published in next week’s newsletter. Please watch this space!

Book Fair
We are holding a Children’s Book Fair in school from Monday 21st October until Friday 25 October inclusive. The Book Fair will be open from 8.30 to 9.00am each morning (starting on Tuesday 22 October) and from 3.00 until 3.30pm each afternoon (starting on Monday 21 October). Parents are welcome to come in during these times to browse for books with or without their children! The commission from sales at the fair enables us to buy books to update our individual class libraries and our non-fiction library. There are hundreds of exciting books to choose from with prices from just £1. A leaflet showing some examples of the books available and an order form was put into book bags earlier this week.

We are most grateful to Mrs Woodwards and to Mrs Dobson for their hard work and commitment to the school leading and organising many fundraising events over several years as key members of the PTA committee. I am sure that you will all join me in thanking them and will offer your support to the new PTA Chair (when elected) and to the remaining members of the PTA committee who are working very hard to make sure that fundraising and social events continue. As you can see from the ‘PTA News’ below, money raised by the PTA makes a huge difference to what we can offer in school.
With the news this week that Oxfordshire County Council has to make £90m of savings between now and 2017/18, in addition to £127m already achieved since 2010/11 and £43m planned for 2013/14, such sources of additional funding are, and will continue to be, vitaly important to a small school such as ours and we are very fortunate to have such a supportive and pro-active PTA.

PTA News

AGM
Thank you to everyone who came along to our AGM, it was lovely to see so many people there. There have been some changes as Rowena and Diana stepped down from their positions. Charlotte Hector was re-elected as Treasurer and Mel Gravett was elected as Secretary. The position of Chair has not been filled. In the short term the PTA committee will continue to run the events planned for this term, including the Winter Fair. However in the long term if we want to continue to offer our children the extras they have become used to, we will need a Chair.

Over the past year we have held some fantastic fundraising events and overall raised £5646.07 - an amazing total. The money we have raised has gone towards; part funding of £1800 for the French Teacher, leavers gifts, Christmas Party food, Daylight Theatre performance, and helping fund Class 2's trip to Sulgrave Manor. New items this year have been £500 towards the Table Tennis table - much enjoyed by the children and funds of £1689 for additional seating for the outdoor theatre area.

A huge thank you to the PTA team for all their hard work, the parents who help out at events, members of the community for their support and to everyone who willingly spends their time and money supporting the above events.

The full report from the AGM can be found on the noticeboard outside school and on the website.

Christmas Cards
Please ensure that all artwork, order forms and payment are in to the school office by 9am Monday 14th Oct for your Christmas card orders.

Friday Cake Club
Ellie Walker was the lucky winner of the cake last week, kindly donated by Mrs Ellis. A reminder to Mrs Woodwards that she is on the rota for Friday 18th October.

LITTLE BEARS NEWS:
Next week we are looking at the topic ‘emergency vehicles’, making collage fire engines and turning our home corner into a fire station .
Little Bears are having a cake sale on Friday the 18th October at 12 pm and 3 pm and any donations of cakes would be very gratefully received.
Also on Tuesday the 29th October Little Bears will be holding a Halloween-themed ‘stay and play’. Please see Debbie Bradford for more details.

One-day Sports Course at Stadhampton School
Michael Hopkins, who is well known at Stadhampton School having been our Sports Coach for a number of years, will be running a one-day holiday course here at Stadhampton School on Monday 23rd December between 9 and 3pm. All pupils of primary school age are welcome to attend. The cost will be £10 for the day. The emphasis is on having fun and will include playing a variety of sports, games and mini-tournaments. There will be Christmas-themed prizes! Bookings may be made directly with Mr Hopkins (see flyer attached) or via Mrs Hopkins in the school office.

Orders for School Photographs
Please return orders for school photographs back to school in time for their collection from school on Friday 18th October at 8am. Thank you.

Reminder -Invitation to look around our new Village Hall at St John’s this Saturday
Cake, tea, games and art from 2-6pm. This is a chance for you to come and look at this beautifully rejuvenated space that is now ours, ready to do things with. Families with children are particularly welcome as there will be a big art activity, as well as a Ji-anza competition and a “Where on earth?”, in Stadhampton, photo quiz for all of us locals. Please come and have a look. Any queries, please contact Catherine Roe on 07432 126514.


DIARY DATES:
Wednesday 16 October Open Morning 9.00-11.45am. Visitors welcome to pop in during this time to see the school at work.
Monday 21 October Book Fair arrives
Friday 25 October School breaks up at 3.15pm for October Holiday
Monday 4 November School resumes for the start of Term 2
Thursday 7 November Year 5 pupils visit ICC for Science, Maths & English lessons
Wednesday 13 November Mobile Library visit pm
Monday 18 November Parents Evening 4.00-7.00pm
Wednesday 20 November Parents Evening 4.00-6.00pm
Monday 23rd December One-day Sports Course at Stadhampton School for participating pupils. See notices in each classroom entrance area for more information and details of how to book.

• Flyer attached about the ‘Great Pink Bake Off’ at St John’s Church Hall on Thursday 24 October

Newsletter for week ending 5 October 2013

Happy OCTOBER Birthday to: Edison Buckner, Ella Fulker, Mia Gravett, Sophie Hector, Oliver Lowman, Lewis Payne, Harvey Saunders, Marcin Skwarek and Ellie Walker.

During OCTOBER we are focusing on the core value of RESPONSIBILITY

Internet Awareness
There are many wonderful advantages of the Internet but it can be a ‘mixed blessing’. Children can access inappropriate material. We have recently been made aware of some ‘challenges’ on ‘youtube’ that have been accessed by children and which have the potential to be harmful. Guidance is that ‘youtube’ is for children over the age of 13 years old and at school we have a block on such sites preventing access. We feel that sharing this information about Internet safety is important. Families should be aware that children who have unsupervised access to the Internet may be vunerable to accessing inappropriate material.

Swimming Contributions
Thank you to the families in Class 2 who paid swimming contributions during this week.

Bottle Tops Collection for Air Ambulance
As a school we are pleased to collect bottle tops to assist with fundraising by the Thames Valley and Chiltern Air Ambulance. Mrs Leiper continues to be happy to sort through these for us but has to make a special journey to Swindon to drop them off on our behalf. The address they need to be dropped off at is Agi World, Units 1 and 2 Kembrey Park, Swindon, SN2 8UU. We understand that they may be posted into a collection box which is outside of the building. If any parent goes to Swindon occasionally and would be willing to drop them off for us, please could you let us know. Thank you.

Dolls Clothes Required!
We have recently purchased four dolls for the Foundation Stage class but sadly they don’t have any clothes. They are approximately 38cm tall – 2 boys and 2 girls. Does anyone have any unwanted dolls clothes they would be willing to donate to school or would anyone be willing to make or knit some for us? Please let us know if you can help. Thank you.

Invitation to look around our new Village Hall at St John’s Saturday 12th October 2013
Cake, tea, games and art from 2-6pm. This is a chance for you to come and look at this beautifully rejuvenated space that is now ours, ready to do things with. Families with children are particularly welcome as there will be a big art activity, as well as a Jianza competition and a “Where on earth?”, in Stadhampton, photo quiz for all of us locals. Please come and have a look - I hope to see lots of you, even if only for 5 minutes. Any queries, please contact me on 07432 126 514.

Thank you, Catherine Roe

Science Oxford Live Autumn Events
Everyone is invited to go along to the hands-on, interactive science workshops taking place on the last Saturday of each month at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History. Here is a link to their website if you would like more information about the various events http://www.scienceoxford.com/live/

Free Football Coaching for Girls
We have been asked to advertise these free football coaching sessions for girls which primarily focus on fun, fitness and team building. Details are as follows;
When - Thursdays 5.30pm to 7.15pm
Where - The Community Arena at Oxford City Football Club, Marsh Lane, Marston, Oxford, OX3 0NQ. Contact details for parents - email: peter.burden2@btinternet.com mobile; 07900832429

PTA News

AGM - Tuesday 8th October, School Hall, 8pm
Don't forget to come along and support the PTA.

Friday Cake Club
Alexander Ighofose was the lucky winner of last week’s cake, kindly donated by Mrs Burnell.
A reminder to Mrs Hector that she is on the rota for Friday 11 October.

Clothes Recycling - Friday 11th October, 9am
Last chance for a clear out over the weekend of all those unwanted old clothes, shoes, belts, bedding (no pillows or duvets), towels and cuddly toys.

Christmas Cards!!
I know it's early (maybe not quite as early as Notcutts!) but we are organising our annual Christmas cards designed by your child. You should see some lovely designs coming home with your child/children this week. If you wish you can add to this design (or even create another one!) but please refer to the guidance notes.

The first pack of 12 cards is £5.50, each additional pack of 12 cards is £4.50. You can order as many packs as you like. A pack of 12 gift tags is £2.50 (and has to be with a card order).

All completed artwork, orders and payment, need to be in by the 14th October. Any queries please see Claire Walker or Anna Harries.


LITTLE BEARS NEWS:
Next week we will be looking at travelling by sea and talking about other ways we could travel. We will also be making a big pirate ship on our climbing frame outside.
We are hopefully having a visit from a Fireman on Thursday in preparation for our emergency services topic next week.


DIARY DATES:
Wednesday 16 October Open Morning 9.00-11.45am. Visitors welcome to pop in during this time to see the school at work.
Mobile Library visit pm
Friday 11th October Bag2School collection
Monday 21 October Book Fair arrives
Friday 25 October School breaks up at 3.15pm for October Holiday
Monday 4 November School resumes for the start of Term 2
Thursday 7 November Year 5 pupils visit ICC for Science, Maths & English lessons
Wednesday 13 November Mobile Library visit pm
Monday 18 November Parents Evening 4.00-7.00pm
Wednesday 20 November Parents Evening 4.00-6.00pm

Newsletter for week ending 27 September 2013

School Photographs
We arranged for The School Photography Company (when they were in school earlier this week) to take a group photograph of our Year 6 pupils. Several parents had suggested that this would be a nice keep-sake to have. We will see what the uptake is on purchasing the photographs this year before deciding whether to repeat in future years.

Swimming Contributions
We are most grateful to and thank the families who have already contributed towards the cost of the swimming transport for Term 1 (£14). There are a number of families in Class 2 who have not yet made any contribution towards the cost of the swimming transport as well as some families from Class 3 who have already paid in advance for next term! Please do ask in the school office if you are not sure whether you have paid or not and are willing to do so.

Reception and Class 1 Autumn Walk
Some comments from pupils about their Autumn walk this week:
“I loved picking up all the things like conkers, leaves and twigs”; “we had delicious food at the Crazy Bear Farm Shop”; “it was fun doing the collages with acorns, leaves and moths!”; we all touched the lama and the deer”; “I had fun feeding the animals”; we looked at the baby piglets and they were so cute!”.

PTA News

Your PTA needs You!

Wine and Nibbles Evening, incorporating the PTA Annual General Meeting (AGM) - 8th October 2013, 8pm, School Hall

Formal notice that the AGM of the Stadhampton Primary School PTA, will be held on the 8th October 2013. The evening will commence at 8.00pm with the PTA Annual General Meeting, followed by a Wine and Nibbles evening in the school hall. We anticipate that the AGM should last approximately 15 minutes.

The PTA plays a vital part in the school community and all parents, as members of the PTA, are invited to support the AGM. This is your chance to hear and see how the funds you have helped to raise last year have been used for the benefit of the children/students at our school.

The AGM is also an opportunity for you to elect the PTA Committee (Chair, Treasurer, Secretary), to represent the association throughout the forthcoming academic year.

We need a new Chair -
• are you passionate about your childs education and experiences at school
• have energy and enthusiasm to co-ordinate the organisation of fundraising events
• lead monthly meetings
then why not have a go - as the current Chair I can say it is hard work, but more importantly has been great fun and a very rewarding couple of years, so please talk to me (Diana) about nominating yourself to take the PTA forward.

We also need a Secretary -
• you will need to attend monthly meetings
• send out agendas for meetings and take and circulate minutes from the meetings
• deal with all admin bits the PTA involves
again please speak to Diana or Rowena to nominate yourself.

Nominations should be sent in advance of the AGM, for existing committee members willing to stand for re-election and for anyone wishing to stand as an Officer or Ordinary Committee Member, for the first time. Nomination forms are available in the PTA box in the School Office.

If you would like any further information about what is involved in being a Committee Member, please speak to Diana Woodwards.

We look forward to seeing you on 8 October 2013.

Friday Cake Club
Owen Cove was the lucky winner of last week’s cake, kindly donated by Mrs Day. A reminder to Mrs Ellis that she is on the rota for Friday 4 October.

Plant Orders - Friday 4th October
All order forms and payment need to be returned to the School Office by Friday 4th October.

Clothes Recycling - Friday 11th October
Clothes Recycling 23 October – You should have received a bag, if not please speak to Sarah Madry or collect one from the school office. You can also use black bin bags. Donations of clothes, shoes, bedding (not pillows and duvets), cuddly toys are all very welcome. The collection will take place by 9am on Friday 11th October.


LITTLE BEARS NEWS:
Next week at Little Bears we will be continuing with our transport topic and looking at land vehicles and road safety. The Little Bears will be making a crossing in the garden and talking about the rules of crossing the road.


DIARY DATES:
Monday 30 September Governing Body meeting at 7pm
Friday 4 October Harvest Festival service in school. Parents are welcome to attend.We hope that all pupils will be able to bring in a small ‘Harvest’ gift. (See last week’s newsletter).
Wednesday 9 October Open Morning 9.00-11.45am. Visitors welcome to pop in during this time to see the school at work
Mobile Library visit pm
Friday 11th October Bag2School collection
Monday 21 October Book Fair arrives
Friday 25 October School breaks up at 3.15pm for October Holiday
Monday 4 November School resumes for the start of Term 2
Thursday 7 November Year 5 pupils visit ICC for Science, Maths & English lessons
Wednesday 13 November Mobile Library visit pm
Monday 18 November Parents Evening 4.00-7.00pm
Wednesday 20 November Parents Evening 4.00-6.00pm

Newsletter for week ending 20 September 2013

School Prospectus for 2013-14
We are very proud of our new School Prospectus for this academic year which has been uploaded onto the school website this week. It has been completely revamped by the Governing Body and provides a wealth of information about the school, contains lots of photographs of activities and events from the last school year, comparative reports of KS1 and KS2 SATs tests, as well as term and holiday dates for 2013-14 academic year and lots, lots more. Please do have a look at it and use it as a reference point for what to do if your child is ill, how to find out if the school might be closed in the event of heavy snow, what to do if your child requires medicine during the school day, etc.

School Photographs
The School Photography Company will be in school on Thursday 26 September and all pupils will have their photographs taken during the morning wearing their school uniform. Each child will be photographed individually and also with any siblings in school. Families are welcome to come into the Hall before school at 8.30am to have family groups photographed together if they so wish.

Within a week or two, proof photographs will arrive at school and parents will decide whether or not they wish to purchase them. If you do not wish to purchase the photographs you do not need to return the proof pack back to school. If you do wish to purchase photographs please follow the instructions on the proof pack. The school simply collects the orders ready for the School Photography Company to collect from the School Office on a given date (this will be advised in the newsletter when known).

Recorders and Recorder Books
Recorder lessons will restart after Half Term. Recorders are available from the school office, priced at £6.50. Recorder Books 1 and 2 are also available at £4.85 each. The school makes no profit from selling these items.

Harvest Gifts
Our annual Harvest Festival will take place in the Hall at 9.05am on Friday 4th October and families are most welcome to join us. Once again we will be supporting Stepping Stones, an organisation for homeless people in Oxford, with our Harvest Gifts. We hope that each child will be able to bring a small contribution into school before our service. All Harvest gifts bought into school will be taken to the village church and put on display for the Harvest Service there on Sunday 6th October, before being taken on to Stepping Stones. Stepping Stones prefer to receive non-perishable items such as packets of pasta, tins of beans, bars of chocolate, packets of biscuits, tins of tomatoes, tins of spaghetti, etc rather than fresh produce. Thank you.

Advance Notice of Parents and Carers Consultation Evening Dates
Our annual Parents and Carers Consultation Evenings with teachers will take place in November as follows:

Monday 18th November: 4.00 - 7.00pm
Wednesday 20th November: 4.00 – 6.00pm

We hope that by giving advanced notice of these arrangements that parents and carers will be able to arrange to attend one or other of these dates. Slips offering appointments on a ‘first-come, first-served’ basis will be in book bags soon after the October Holiday.

Reusable Drinks Bottles
There are a number of unnamed reusable drinks bottles in the Hall. Please have a look to see if any of these belong to your child. Any unclaimed bottles will be disposed of in the next couple of weeks. Thank you.

Supporting/Helping Your Child with Maths Booklets
Maths booklets for supporting/helping your child with maths at home for each year group were put into book bags over the last few days. Please let your child’s teacher know if you did not receive one.

PTA News

Friday Cake Club
Jamie Lavene was the lucky winner of the first cake of the new term, kindly provided by Mrs Madry. A reminder to Mrs Burnell that she is on the rota for 27th September.

For those who want to pay for half a term or a whole term at a time, it is now £1.20 up to Half Term or £2.60 up to Christmas. If you would like to donate a cake please see Rowena Dobson. We have volunteers up to the first week back after Christmas, but it would be nice to fill the rota as soon as possible for as much of the year as we can. Don’t forget, it doesn’t need to be homemade.

Bags2School
Bags for recycling clothes have been sent home via book bags earlier this week. The collection date for this is Friday 11th October.


LITTLE BEARS NEWS:
Next week we will be looking at the Railways and traveling by rail. We will also be looking at how steam engines work and making our own train designs for bee bot and using shapes.


DIARY DATES:
Thursday 26 September School photographs taken today. See details in this week’s newsletter.
ICC Open Evening from 6-8pm
Monday 30 September Governing Body meeting at 7pm
Friday 4 October Harvest Festival service in school. Parents are welcome to attend.See details in this week’s newsletter.
Wednesday 9 October Open Morning 9.00-11.45am. Visitors welcome to pop in during this time to see the school at work
Mobile Library visit pm
Friday 11th October Bag2School collection
Monday 21 October Book Fair arrives
Friday 25 October School breaks up at 3.15pm for October Holiday
Monday 4 November School resumes for the start of Term 2
Thursday 7 November Year 5 pupils visit ICC for Science, Maths & English lessons
Wednesday 13 November Mobile Library visit pm
Monday 18 November Parents Evening 4.00-7.00pm
Wednesday 20 November Parents Evening 4.00-6.00pm

Newsletter for week ending 13 September 2013

Starting School in 2014
Parents of children born between 01/09/2009 and 31/08/2010 must make an application for their child to start in Reception in September 2014. Please apply on-line at www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/admissions. We have a few brochures containing application forms available from the school office, however last year over 90% of families made their application on-line. The closing date for on-time applications is 15 January 2014. Offer date is 16 April 2014.

Secondary Transfer in 2014
Parents of pupils in Year 6 should have already received a letter explaining the application process for transfer to secondary school. A few brochures are available from the school office for any families who have not received a letter. The closing date for on-time Secondary School applications is 31st October 2013. The offer date is 3 March 2014.

Application for Free School Meals
We would like to make you aware of the ‘Free School Meals’ scheme which operates in our school.

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 the School Office 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 free school meals without the necessary paperwork).
Should you be entitled to the free school meals scheme you should be aware that you have a legal duty to inform your school of any changes to your support payment. Re-application to the scheme will be required on a six monthly basis. Please make contact with Mrs Hopkins if you think you may be entitled to claim for Free School Meals even if your child does not want to have them at the present time so that the school can benefit from additional Pupil Premium funding. (The pupil premium was introduced in April 2011 and is allocated to schools to work with pupils who have been registered for free school meals at any point in the last six years (known as ‘Ever 6 FSM’).

Termly Outline Plans
Termly Outline Plans giving parents and carers an overview of the key areas of teaching and learning being covered in each class during Terms 1 and 2 have been sent home, via book bags, earlier this week. These have also been uploaded onto the school website.

School Council
The following pupils have been elected to the School Council this term: Owen Cove, Abby Wright, Sophie Hector, Oliver Lowman, James Lowman, Megan Green, Tende Amery, Tillie Moss-Black, Will Eaton and Isabella Kenny. Congratulations to them all.

Guitar Lessons
Guitar lessons begin on Friday 20th September for participating pupils. Lessons take place on Friday lunchtimes and pupils are split into two groups. There are still spaces available within the ‘new starters’ group. Forms which clarify what is offered and the guitar teacher’s contact details are available from the school office if anyone is interested in finding out more about costs, etc.

Assembly with Mr Hunter, Headteacher of Icknield Community College
As you will be aware from last week’s newsletter, ICC are holding their Open Evening on Thursday 26 September. Mr Hunter, two prefects and Mrs Howden, the school’s Business Manager, will be leading an assembly here for Class 3 pupils and their parents/carers on Wednesday 18th September at 2.30pm. This is an ideal opportunity to ask our visitors any questions you have about life at Icknield Community College, so please put the date in your diary and come along if you can.

Nits
Thank you to a parent for letting the school know that they had found nits in their child’s hair this week. The outbreak has been treated and we respectfully request that all parents/carers should check their child/ren’s hair this weekend and treat if necessary.

Children’s Photographs
Children may sometimes be photographed during their school activities. Sometimes these photographs may appear in the local press, on the school web site or on other promotional documents to publicise the work of the school. These photographs do not usually have the names of any pupils included in any text; if pupils are identified by name parent/carers permission will be sought prior to any publication. If you do not wish your child to be photographed in any such photographs please advise the Headteacher in writing.

Additions to the School Website
This week we have added the school’s Homework Policy to the ‘Policies’ section of the School website and many diary events for September through to the end of November in the ‘School Calendar’ section. The new School Prospectus for this academic year is almost completed and will be uploaded to the website shortly.

PTA News

First meeting of the year - Tuesday 17th September, 7.45pm in the School Hall.
An invitation to come along to our first meeting of the year and help us plan our year of fundraising activities. We would love to welcome any Mums and Dads to our small and friendly team, so please come and join us. If you can't get along to the meeting, you can still have your say by emailing us on: stadhamptonpta@gmail.com, or just speak to any member of the PTA. As usual we will keep you informed of activities via the newsletter, so please keep a look out for dates and information on how you can support us.


Official notice of the PTA's Annual General Meeting (AGM) - Tuesday 8th October, 8pm in the School Hall - with wine & nibbles!
Our annual AGM is an opportunity to find out more about the PTA. At the AGM we will review the years fundraising efforts and what the money has been spent on. We also elect volunteers to the following positions - Chair, Secretary & Treasurer.

Both Rowena Dobson (as Secretary) and Diana Woodwards (as Chair) will not be putting themselves forward for re-election. Therefore we are looking for people to take on these roles; if you're interested have a chat with Diana or Rowena to find out more about what they involve.

Plant Orders
Eagle eyed people may have noticed the plant order forms in the Village Voice - just to say, we will be putting order forms into book bags next week with full details.

Clothes Recycling - Friday 11th October
Bags and full details will be in book bags next week.

Friday Cake Club
Good luck to everyone who has entered - fingers crossed! A reminder to Mrs Day that she is on the rota for the 20th September.

Oxford Active Sports Coach
We work with coaches from Oxford Active and are pleased to welcome Mr Paul Smith as our new PE coach for Thursday afternoons this term.

LITTLE BEARS NEWS:
Next week we will be continuing with our ‘transport’ theme when we will be looking at air travel.
The ‘home corner’ is to become an airport and the Little Bears will be making hot air balloons.


DIARY DATES:
Wednesday 18 September Assembly with Mr Hunter, Head of ICC at 2.30pm. Class 3 parents welcome to attend.
Thursday 26 September School photographs taken today
ICC Open Evening
Monday 30 September Governing Body meeting at 7pm
Friday 4 October Harvest Festival service in school. Parents are welcome to attend.
Wednesday 9 October Open Morning 9.00-11.45am. Visitors welcome to pop in during this time to see the school at work
21 October Book Fair arrives

Attachments:
• Flyer attached about a Speech and Language Drop-In on Monday 30 September (10.15-12 noon) at Chalgrove Children’s Centre for parents who may have concerns about their child’s speech and language development.

Newsletter for week ending 6 September 2013

A warm welcome to everyone at the start of this new academic year!
We are very pleased to welcome fifteen new pupils to Stadhampton School this term: In Reception we welcome Oliver Bourne, Arun Davies, Ollie Eaton, George Evelyn, Peter Fegyveres-Nagy, Mia Gravett, Emily Hackett, Bella Jones, Nate Moss-Black, Casey Price, Harvey Saunders, Benjamin Walker and Nathaniel Watkins; in Year 5 we welcome Innis Robertson-Pinnell and in Year 6 we welcome Alexander Igmofose. We hope that they all enjoy their time at Stadhampton School.

Happy September Birthday to: Charlie Austin, Isabella Dickens, George Evelyn, Phoebe Hindmarch, Alfie Howard, Phoebe Watkins and Lawrence Wright.

During September we are focusing on the core-value of CO-OPERATION in our school assemblies and during PSHCE lessons.

International School Award
International education is a strong element within our curriculum and this has been recognised in the past by our accreditation with the British Council International School Award (ISA) which requires renewal every three years. Last July we submitted an application to the British Council to be reaccredited with the ISA; this involved submitting evidence of our international activities and an impact evaluation of these learning activities over the last three years. We are delighted to share with you the good news that our application was successful! We have been accredited for three years from 1st September 2013 – 31st August 2016. The British Council were clearly impressed with our application and an extract of the assessors comment follows:- “This shows how your whole school community has taken to, and fully embraced, internationalism. You have delivered some exciting and innovative activies such as your Anglo-Argentine Links, Lanaguage for Learning and International Sports and Games activities. These provided your students with real opportinties to learn about relevant international themes”.

We were first accredited with the International School Award in 2003 and, through reaccredition processes, have held it continuously since then. We understand that we are one of only a small number of schools in the UK to have achieved this, which reflects some of the special attributes of Stadhampton School. Our commitment to international education continues; our established links with schools in Argentina and Poland continue and we thank them for their contribution towards our award. We are currently planning collaborative activities with these schools for this year and are also pursuing other opportunities to further develop the international dimension to our curriculum, including funded opportunities available through the British Council.

Changes to Attendance Policy
We would like to remind parents and carers of the recent changes to the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations as was mentioned in our newsletter of 5th July 2013. As from 1st September 2013 it became law across the country that no holiday in term time will be considered as authorised absence from school. Therefore, we will be unable to authorise any requests for holidays during term time; any such absence will be unauthorised. Authorisation for absence can now only be given in exceptional circumstances such as bereavement or serious family emergencies and for a very limited duration.
Holiday request forms are no longer available and any requests for absence due to exceptional circumstances during term time will now need to be made directly with Mrs Turner. An appointment will need to be made to discuss the request – parents will need to be aware that authorisation may not be granted. Requests for absence will be reviewed on a case by case basis.

Registration takes place each morning and afternoon and, as for all Local Authority schools, our data is accessable by the Local Authority at any time. Unauthorised absence is, by law, regarded as truancy which the County Attendance and Engagement Team may pursue.

We thank the many families who always make their holiday bookings during school holidays. For further information families may refer to the County Attendance and Engagement Team who can be contacted on 01865 323513. Information is also available on the intranet at www.oxfordshire.gov.uk

School Meals
School meals from 1st September will continue to be offered at a cost of £2 per day. Cheques for school meals should be made payable to Oxfordshire County Council please, with Stadhampton Primary School written on the back of the cheque. In order to reduce administration time spent on school meals we appreciate receiving orders and payments for school meals on the first morning of each school week. Thank you.

Swimming at the Abbey Sports Centre in Berinsfield
Class 2 will start their swimming sessions at the Abbey Sports Centre in Berinsfield on Monday 9th September. They will have 7 sessions in Term 1. A letter explaining all about our swimming sessions at The Abbey Sports Centre was sent out to families in Classes 2 and 3 earlier this week. Please check book bags!
For families new to swimming sessions at Berinsfield, pupils need to bring their own swimming trunks or costume, a swimming hat and a towel on Monday mornings.
As always, we appreciate a £2 voluntary contribution towards the transportation costs. Thank you to the parents who make regular voluntary contributions towards the costs. Cheques for swimming contributions should be made payable to Stadhampton Primary School. Thank you.

The BFG Storytelling
'On Wednesday 4th September pupils thoroughly enjoyed a special performance of Roald Dahl’s ‘The BFG’ – the perfect start to a new school year! Next Friday is Roald Dahl Day and this was therefore an excellent opportunity to share one of his most popular works.

Anthony Pedley, an actor from the original stage production of The BFG, brought the character of the BFG, Sophie, the nasty giants and even the Queen to life. He used some exciting props to bring the tale to life – we particularly liked the giant ‘snozzcumber’ and the flashing 'Frobscottle' bottle! The humour of the story came out clearly, judging by the laughter echoing around the hall, from the youngest in Reception to the children in Year 6. Anthony was an inspiring storyteller who will remain in the minds of both the children and staff for a long time!

For pupils who were familiar with the book, this was a very pleasant reminder of the tale and there was a feeling of “I’d like to re-read this!” from several children. For the children whom the story was new it was an exciting introduction to Roald Dahl which will hopefully lead to many pupils reading more of his stories.'

Class 3 report from Abby and Alex: “On 4th September, our first day back at school we were surprised to find out that an actor was coming to school to do a production of the BFG. We think we speak for all the children when we say it was hilarious and great fun to watch. Some of the props were used in the original production of the BFG in the West End. One of our personal favourites about this was when the BFG ‘whizzpopped’ all the way through the amazing production! Overall everyone (including the adults) enjoyed the experience!

PTA News
Friday Cake Club
Millie Birtles won the last cake in the Friday Cake Club before the summer holidays, which she shared with the other Year 6 leavers at their camping party. Thank you to Mrs S Green for kindly donating it. A reminder to Mrs Madry that she is on the rota for 14 September.

If your child would like to take part in Friday Cake Club please bring in 20p on Fridays and see Rowena Dobson at the school gates before school. You can also pay up front for half a term or a term at a time. Cost per child up to half term would be £1.60, and from September to Christmas would be £3.00.

LITTLE BEARS NEWS:
Welcome back to everyone at Little Bears. Our new Little Bears are settling very well.
Our topic for Term 1 is ‘transport’ and we will be starting with buses by making collage buses, a bus stop and enjoying lots of music sessions.


DIARY DATES:
Wednesday 4 September Pupils return to school for the start of the new academic year
Thursday 26 September School photographs taken today
Monday 30 September Governing Body meeting at 7pm

• Attachment: Flyer about Oxfordshire’s Children Read-a-Thon on Saturday 14 September 11-4pm at Milton Manor, Abingdon
• Attachment: Flyer about Icknield Community College Open Evening on 26 September
• Two attachments detailing events at the Chalgrove and Watlington Chilsdren’s Centre
• Notification of a speaker at the WI meeting in the school hall on Tuesday 10th September at 7.30pm about Autism. Anyone is welcome to attend this talk