Newsletter for week ending 30 January 2015

Swimming Session on Monday 26th January
Unfortunately the coach did not arrive on Monday to take pupils to their swimming session at the Abbey Sports Centre and we were unable to find out the reason for this as no-one answered the telephone or responded to e-mails. We have now managed to speak with the company and they apologise unreservedly for their error. We now have an alternative means of communication to use which should prevent this happening again. Please accept our apologies. Contributions already made towards the cost of the transport will be carried forward to the next series of swimming sessions for Class 2 pupils.

Sports Hall Athletics for Year 5 and Year 6 Pupils
The Sports Hall athletics event has been rescheduled to take place on Friday 6th February and pupils will need to be aware that the coach will leave at 8.50am due to the roadworks in Watlington and everyone will need a packed lunch on that day. Thank you.

E-Safety
I hope all parents received our E-Safety letter which went out via bookbags earlier this week. As mentioned in the letter, pupils in Years 4, 5 and 6 will take part in an anonymous online pupil cybersafety survey, during the week of 2nd-6th February, unless you have already let us know that you do not want your child to take part in this anonymous survey. The outcome of the survey will help us refine our e-safety education provision which we will be presenting to pupils and parents on Wednesday 25th February at 2.35pm.

PTA NEWS:
Did you know the PTA has a Facebook page? It's a closed group, only accessible if you are a member.
We put lots of useful information on there eg upcoming events, reminders and other information about what's happening in the village. If you would like to join then search- stadhampton primary school PTA on Facebook, request to join then we can add you on.

Our next meeting is Tuesday 24th February 8pm at The Crown

Friday Cake Club
Congratulations to Myles Dobson, the lucky winner of last week’s cake, kindly donated Mrs Ellis. A reminder to Mrs Madry that she is on the rota for 6 February.

DIARY DATES:
Monday 2 February Governing Body meeting at 7pm
Wednesday 4 February Reception and Year 6 pupils see the school nurse for weighing and measuring
Friday 6 February Unicef Day for Change – please bring in some spare change to participate in today’s fundraising activities
Thursday 26 February Partnership 5-a-side football tournament at RAF Benson for Years 3&4 and 5&6. Letter to follow.

LITTLE BEARS NEWS:
Next week at Little Bears we will be continuing with our ‘Elmer’ theme and enjoying the book ‘Elmer's Weather’. We will look at all different types of weather and the clothes you would need for different seasons. We will also be making rain makers and wind chimes and looking at weather around the world.

Newsletter for week ending 23 January 2015

Autism Talk for Parents
A reminder that Margaret King, Autism Advisory Teacher, will be giving a talk for parents on Thursday 29th January at 9.00am. It is hoped that as many people as possible will attend this information opportunity. Children in Years 1-6 will receive talks by Margaret King on Thursday 12th February.

World Book Day – Thursday 5th March
Every year we support World Book Day and this year we are going to celebrate the event by inviting all pupils to come to school dressed as their favourite book character and bring a copy of the book with them. We have done this in the past but, having been inspired by our visit to the 26 Characters Exhibition at The Story Museum in Oxford, we would like to raise the profile of this event. The exhibition, which is on until 22nd February, is the outcome of what happened when The Story Museum asked some of Britain’s most exciting children’s authors to name their favourite story character from their own childhoods. The authors have been photographed dressed as these characters, galleries created as settings for the stories and the authors recorded reading extracts from their chosen story. The authors and characters include; Terry Pratchett as ‘Just William’, Julia and Malcolm Donaldson as ‘The Owl and the Pussy-cat’, Cressida Cowell as ‘Peter Pan’, Terry Jones as ‘Rupert Bear’, Michael Rosen as ‘Till Eulenspiegel’, Katherine Rundell as ‘a Wild Thing’, Benjamin Zephaniah as ‘Anansi the Spider’ and Holly Smale as ‘the White Witch’.
We cannot replicate all this but we would like to photograph each child in costume and create a photographic display of our own. The display will then be available for all to see at our Work Viewing Evening on Monday 23rd March and at our end of term assembly on Friday 27th March. Children will also be asked to share an extract from their book with other children in their class and be able to explain their choice of character. Should anyone be interested in further details of the 26 Characters at The Story Museum, they can be found on www.storymuseum.org.uk/whats-on/26characters

Message from Food with Thought
If you haven’t already done so, please complete the reply slip on the form sent home last week to let us know whether your child will be taking up the offer of a free meal or not (Year 3 & 4 on Monday 26 January and Year 5 & 6 on Tuesday 27 January). Thank you.

Warm clothing for Forest School Sessions
Please could pupils have plenty of layers of warm clothing and spare socks, as well as gloves and a hat when they take part in Forest School sessions. Several children this week were feeling cold!

Sports Hall Athletics for Year 5 and Year 6 Pupils
The Sports Hall athletics event which was scheduled to take place last Friday (16th January) and which had to be postponed, due to the equipment for the event being stored at the SODC office when the fires were started, has now been rescheduled. The event will now take place on Friday 6th February and pupils will need to be aware that the coach will leave at 8.50am due to the roadworks in Watlington and everyone will need a packed lunch on that day. Thank you.

Sainsburys Active Kids Vouchers
We are once again collecting the Active Kids vouchers which Sainsburys will be issuing between Wednesday 28th January and Tuesday 5th May. Please encourage your friends and family to collect vouchers for us and post them into the box in the Hall. We are able to exchange vouchers for an exciting range of active and cooking equipment, and experiences, so that we can support and encourage children to eat well, move well and live well. Thank you.

PTA NEWS:
Please note the date of our next meeting, which is Tuesday 24th February 8 pm at The Crown. Hope to see you there!

Friday Cake Club
Congratulations to Zac Holmes, the lucky winner of last week’s cake, kindly donated by Mrs Day. A reminder to Jason Hursey that he is on the rota for Friday 30 January.

DIARY DATES:
Thursday 29 January Year 3 Forest School session
Monday 2 February Governing Body meeting at 7pm
Wednesday 4 February Reception and Year 6 pupils see the school nurse for weighing and measuring
Friday 6 February Unicef Day for Change – please bring in some spare change to participate in today’s fundraising activities

Massive cardboard boxes!
Miss Mould would like to create a pirate ship in her classroom, so if anyone has access to any very large cardboard boxes, we would appreciate them being donated to school. Thank you.

LITTLE BEARS NEWS:
Next week we will be enjoying the book ‘Elmer on Stilts’ and practicing our balancing skills on our own stilts. We will also be celebrating Australia Day and Burns Night.

Community Information:
• Flyer attached detailing a Cover Supervisor vacancy at Icknield Community College
• 4 flyers attached detailing events at the Chalgrove and Watlington Children’s Centre
• INVITATION to RAF Benson Community Primary School Annual Cross Country Event
John William Stacey Memorial Races – please see below:

The School will be hosting its 11th Annual Cross Country event on Saturday, 7th February 2015.

The event is held on the fields adjacent to the School and the races are open to all pupils in Years 1 to 6. The first race will start at 10am and registration will be from 9.30am. In previous years we have welcomed over 200 runners participating from 16 local schools.

All runners from your school are warmly invited to this event and are eligible to run in one race appropriate to their age. To qualify for points in the team event (ALL Years) you will need at least 3 pupils per race.

There is NO entry fee and the children just need to wear their PE kit and training shoes and bring a bottle of water. Other refreshments will be available for spectators and racers. The presentations will commence as soon as the results have been verified at the end of the last race.

Visitors are kindly requested not to bring dogs to the races.

We very much look forward to seeing you there.
Year Distance (M) Approximate Start Time
Approximate
1G 640 1000am
1B 640
2G 640 1015am
2B 640
3G 1100 1030am
3B 1100
4G 1100 1045am
4B 1100
5G 1300 1100am
5B 1300
6G 1700 1130am
6B 1700

All visitors will need to check-in at the RAF Guardroom before joining the event so please allow extra time for these formalities. All adults will require photo ID to enter RAF Benson, a photo card driving licence or passport is ideal. To ease traffic onto the Station we ask parents to car share where possible and also stagger their arrival times for the later age groups. Cars are to be moved from the entrance car park to one of the designated event car parks.

The normal entrance to the School Site will be closed. After collecting a vehicle pass drivers will need to enter and exit via the sign posted Temporary Gate.

Newsletter for week ending 16 January 2015

Term dates
The term and holiday dates for the new academic year beginning on 1st September 2015 have now been agreed and uploaded onto the school website for your information. An electronic copy of them is also attached to this newsletter.


Swimming at the Abbey Sports Centre
Unfortunately swimming sessions could not start at the Abbey Sport s Centre on Monday 12th January as the refurbished pool had not reached the correct temperature. Many parents have already paid in advance for this cost and this refund will be carried forward to the next set of sessions for those pupils. We expect the swimming pool to be fully operational by 19th January when Class 2 are due to swim again. For those parents who have not yet made a ‘voluntary contribution’, we are very grateful to receive a contribution from parents/carers of £2 per week towards the cost of the transport to Berinsfield. Cheques for swimming contributions should be made payable to Stadhampton Primary School please. Thank you.

Autism Talk for Parents
Margaret King, Autism Advisory Teacher, will be giving a talk for parents on Thursday 29th January at 9.00am. It is hoped that as many people as possible will attend this information opportunity. Please check book bags for letters with further information. Children in Years 1-6 will receive talks by Margaret King on Thursday 12th February.

Message from Food with Thought
The launch of Universal Infant Free School Meals for all Key Stage 1 children has been very successful across the county. Uptake is good and many more children are now benefiting from a nutritious, healthy meal in school. One of our aims at Food with Thought is to work with schools in increasing the school meal update for Key Stage 2 children.
With this in mind, we at Food with Thought will be providing a complimentary school meal for all Key Stage 2 children during the week commencing Monday 26th January. (Years 3 & 4 on Monday 26th January and Years 5 & 6 on Tuesday 27th January).

PLEASE COMPLETE THE REPLY SLIP ON THE FORM SENT HOME EARLIER THIS WEEK IN BOOK BAGS TO LET US KNOW WHETHER YOUR CHILD WILL BE TAKING UP THE OFFER OF A FREE MEAL OR NOT. Thank you.

UNICEF Day for Change – Friday 6th February 2015
Each year we support Unicef Day for Change which this year is focusing on protecting children caught in emergencies, such as the recent Phillipines typhoon and the Syria conflict. Whenever or wherever disaster strikes, Unicef responds rapidly to deliver life-saving food, medicine and water so children in danger get the help they need. During the week leading up to Friday 6th February our pupils will learn, and reflect, on what life is like for children caught up in such emergencies and will be encouraged to bring in any spare change on Friday 6th February to form our collection for Day for Change. To quote Unicef, “your fundraising efforts and donations will make a huge difference to the most vulnerable children around the world”. We will be happy to collect all contributions! Thank you.

PTA NEWS:
Thank you to everyone who attended the PTA meeting on Tuesday evening, we have some great events planned over the next few months.

Our next PTA meeting is on Tuesday 24th February.

Thank you for your continued support of the PTA

Friday Cake Club
Congratulations to Charlie Ball, the lucky winner of last week’s cake, kindly donated by Mrs O’Brien. A reminder to Mrs Ellis that she is on the rota for Friday 23 January.

DIARY DATES:
Monday 12 January Swimming sessions begin for Class 2 pupils
Tuesday 13 January Science Club begins for participating pupils
Thursday 15 January Year 1 Forest School session
Tuesday 20 January Booster maths sessions begin for participating pupils
Thursday 22 January Year 2 Forest School session
Thursday 29 January Year 3 Forest School session
Monday 2 February Governing Body meeting at 7pm
Wednesday 4 February Reception and Year 6 pupils see the school nurse for weighing and measuring (letters distributed before the Christmas Holiday)

LITTLE BEARS NEWS:
The Little Bears are enjoying our topic ‘Elmer the Patchwork Elephant’ making and designing their own patchwork elephants and colouring by numbers. Next week we hope to make a life size collaged Elmer the Elephant! We will also be experimenting with marbling inks and looking at our own reflections to make some self portraits.
Little Bears would like to say a huge ‘thank you’ to the Dickens family for donating a much loved book and also the Moss-Black family for some wonderful puzzles, toys and books - thank you from all of us.

Newsletter for week ending 9 January 2015

Welcome back to everyone and a Happy New Year!

Happy JANUARY Birthday to: Elizabeth Bowerman, Thomas Cove, Myles Dobson, Oliver Eaton, Peter Fegyveres-Nagy, Megan Green, Isabella Kenny, Tia Khan, Benjamin West, Thomas West and Honor White.

During JANUARY we are focusing on the core value of FRIENDSHIP

Complaints from Parents
We have received several complaints this week from parents and children who walk to school and get splashed from puddles of rain water as some parents/carers drive too fast in Cratlands Close. We really appreciate the fact that many families try to ease the congestion in Cratlands Close by walking to school and it is unfair that they then get soaked by other parents who are driving past them. We would ask everyone to please show consideration to the people who are walking and observe the 5mph speed limit in the school access area. Thank you.

E-Safety
Children are more ‘tech-savvy’ than ever but may not have the experience and discernment necessary to stay safe on-line. We have added a link to a ‘Parents Guide to Internet Safety’ on our school website under the ‘About Us’ Links Section, which we hope may be useful. On Friday, we are also distributing, via bookbags, a hard copy e-safety information sheet compiled by the UK Safer Internet Centre which we hope you will also find helpful.

Topics/Areas of Study
Termly Outline Plans giving parents and carers an overview of the key areas of teaching and learning in each class have been uploaded onto the school website. If anyone would like a paper copy please ask in the school office for one.

Forest School Dates
The dates of the Forest School sessions were given to parents in the last school newsletter dated 12th December 2014. The dates have also now been uploaded onto the school website so that parents can ensure that their child comes into school with the appropriate clothing and footwear to change into.

Swimming at the Abbey Sports Centre
Swimming lessons at the Abbey Sports Centre will begin on Monday 12th January for Class 2 pupils. They will have 5 sessions in total on Monday 12th, 19th, 26th January and 2nd, 9th February. As always, we are very grateful to receive a ‘voluntary contribution’ from parents/carers of £2 per week towards the cost of the transport to Berinsfield. Cheques for swimming contributions should be made payable to Stadhampton Primary School please. Thank you.

PTA NEWS:

We hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Year.

Cake club- if any parent/carer is interested in signing up to make a cake for cake club then please see Rowena Dobson who would be happy to put you on the rota. If your child would like to go into the draw to stand a chance of winning a donated cake, the cost is 20p a week and the winner gets drawn in Friday’s assembly. All monies raised go to PTA funds.

PTA meeting Tuesday 13th January, at The Crown 8pm- It’s a new year with lots of exciting events to plan. We are always looking for new members to come and support the committee and hope to see you there.

Thank you for your continued support of the PTA.


Friday Cake Club
Congratulations to Nate Moss-Black, the lucky winner of the last cake before Christmas, kindly donated by Mrs Burnell. A reminder to Mrs Marshall that she is on the rota for 16 January.

DIARY DATES:
Monday 12 January Swimming sessions begin for Class 2 pupils
Tuesday 13 January Science Club begins for participating pupils
Thursday 15 January Year 1 Forest School session
Tuesday 20 January Booster maths sessions begin for participating pupils
Thursday 22 January Year 2 Forest School session
Thursday 29 January Year 3 Forest School session
Monday 2 February Governing Body meeting at 7pm
Wednesday 4 February Reception and Year 6 pupils see the school nurse for weighing and measuring (letters distributed before the Christmas Holiday)

LITTLE BEARS NEWS:
Little Bears would like to wish everyone a happy new year and a big welcome back to Term 3. This term our topic is Elmer the Patchwork Elephant and we have lots of exciting colourful mini topics coming up within this topic as well as learning all about elephants in the wild.

Community News:
1. Flyer attached from Oxford City Football Club about the Recruitment of Girl Players – New Under 9s and 10s
2. A new Oasis (Oxfordshire Autism Society) coffee and chat support group is starting in Tetsworth Village hall on the second Wednesday of each month from 9.30 till 11am. Any parents with children with autism, SPD, developmental delay, aspergers or related conditions are welcome to come along to meet like-minded parents who are facing the same challenges as themselves. The group is a place to relax, have a coffee and chat with others. It is very informal and everyone is welcome. They will be meeting in the front meeting room of the hall which is on the main A40 that goes through Tetsworth.
3. Flyer from the Watlington and Chalgrove Children’s Centre about WEBSTER-STRATTON “INCREDIBLE YEARS” PROGRAMME starting on 13 January.

Newsletter for week ending 12 December 2014

This will be the last newsletter for 2014!

Christmas Productions
Congratulations to all pupils on their fantastic performances in the KS1 and KS2 Christmas productions this week. We received many compliments about each performance and pupils should be very proud of themselves. Thank you to school staff for preparing pupils for the performances, creating the scenery, making props and organising the music and the lighting; thank you to parents for helping with costumes, learning of lines and buying tickets to come along and watch. Special thanks also to Mrs Bowerman, Miss Moss-Black and Mrs Wilkin for helping with the face painting, Mrs White for helping with rehearsals and to the PTA for serving refreshments on Tuesday evening. The total raised from ticket sales was an amazing £460 which, this year, will be donated to MacMillan Cancer Support.

School Meals Menu
Food with Thought have written to us about the menu which was introduced just over three weeks ago and report that it has met with mixed reviews. There were two or three dishes which attracted particular comment. As a result of this review, a number of changes have been made and families should have received a paper copy of the revised menu this week in book bags. The menu is also available for download on the Primary School page of the Food with Thought website http://www.foodwiththought.org.uk/primary/ or on our school website.

Forest School during Terms 3 and 4
As you will know from the school newsletter dated 7 November, Mr Short is leaving Stadhampton School at the end of term as he and his family are relocating to Cambridgeshire. We wish Mr Short well in the future and will be saying ‘goodbye’ to him during our End of Term Assembly next Friday. Mr Short has been instrumental in establishing our Forest School sessions and we are indebted to him. We are delighted to have secured staffing to enable Forest School sessions to continue for all pupils at Stadhampton School. We are grateful for the continued commitment of Mrs Poppy Elliott and Mrs Mel Gravett who will be organising the sessions and to Mr Montgomery who will be the dedicated member of school staff accompanying the sessions. Poppy Elliott is fully qualified as a Forest School leader (Level 3) and Mrs Gravett has completed a Level 1 course. During the school year Mrs Gravett and Mr Montgomery are aiming to undertake further appropriate training. Forest School sessions will continue to take place on Thursday mornings for pupils in Years 1 to 6, and for next term are as follows:

15 January Year 1 22 January Year 2
29 January Year 3 5 February Year 3
12 February Year 4 26 February Year 4
5 March Year 5 12 March Year 5
19 March Year 6 26 March Year 6

Dates for pupils in Reception will be agreed and circulated in the new year.
Forest School sessions are expected to take place in all weathers, unless the conditions are considered a Health and Safety risk. Please ensure your child has appropriate clothing for their session – i.e. warm clothes, including a warm coat, hat or hood and gloves, wellies or boots with thick socks and water proofs. Thank you.

School Vision Screening for Foundation Stage Pupils
We are still waiting to be advised of the new date for the vision testing and will let you know as soon as we receive notification of it.

Swimming at Berinsfield Pool
Swimming lessons at the Abbey Sports Centre will begin on Monday 12th January for Class 2 pupils. They will have 5 sessions in total on Monday 12th, 19th, 26th January and 2nd, 9th February. As always, we are very grateful to receive a ‘voluntary contribution’ from parents/carers of £2 per week towards the cost of the transport to Berinsfield. Cheques for swimming contributions should be made payable to Stadhampton Primary School please. Thank you.

Christmas Forest School Disco
Tickets for the School Disco on Thursday 18th December (6pm start) are on sale priced at £3 each. Pupils may like to bring 50p or more to buy raffle tickets which will be drawn on the night. There are at least 25 prizes! The disco will finish promptly at 7.15pm. Please could parents note the new finishing time and ensure that pupils are collected promptly at 7.15pm so that Zumba can start as normal afterwards. Thank you.

Class Postboxes
As usual, class postboxes for Christmas cards to school pupils/staff will be set up in the Hall and these will be available from Monday 15 December.

PTA NEWS:
Wreath evening Tuesday 16th December 7.30-10 - sold out! Thank you to everyone who has bought tickets.

Cake club- Are you willing to make a cake for the cake club? If you are please speak to Rowena Dobson about putting your name on the rota. A list of names and dates are on the noticeboard in the waiting area.

Winter Fair- A huge thank you to everyone for supporting this very popular evening, where we raised over £1100 on the night.

Would you like to join the PTA committee? We are always looking for new volunteers to help plan events and fundraising ideas or maybe you would be willing to help at the events? If this is something that interests you, please speak to a PTA committee member.

Our next PTA meeting is Tuesday 13th January 8pm at The Crown, Stadhampton.

Thank you for your continued support of the PTA this year

Friday Cake Club
Congratulations to Sam Sundberg, the lucky winner of last week’s cake, kindly donated by Mrs Hutchence. A reminder to Mrs Burnell that she is on the rota for 19 December, the last day of term.

After School Clubs for Term 3
Letters were given out this week to pupils in Classes 1, 2 and 3 about the After School Clubs beginning in January 2015 (Term 3). The dates, times and costs of these clubs have also been uploaded to the ‘Parents Section’ of the school website as a reference point.


DIARY DATES:
Tuesday 16 December Nativity Performance at St John’s Church from 2pm (2.15pm start). Everyone is welcome to join us for this special service.
PTA Wreath Making Evening. Tickets are £15 each.
Wednesday 17 December School Christmas Party at 1.30pm. School/packed lunch required as normal. School & PTA will supply party food, drink & prizes. Children may bring party clothes to change into after lunch if they wish.
Thursday 18 December Whole-school Christmas Lunch. £2.10 and free for pupils in Reception, Class 1 and for those who are able to claim a Free School Meal. We hope all pupils will join in this very special lunch and are happy to accommodate requests such as ‘no gravy’ or sprouts! Please see Mrs Hopkins, who is in charge of the special requests!!
Forest School disco – 6.00-7.15pm. Tickets on sale now as well as raffle tickets @50p each
Friday 19 December End of term assembly. Everyone is welcome to join us for this event.
School finishes at 1.30pm.
Monday 22 December & Tuesday 23 December Two day Christmas Sports Course at Stadhampton School led by Michael Hopkins and supported by Jordan Piper. Please see attached flyer for details.
Monday 5 January INSET Day – teaching staff and Mrs Hopkins only
Tuesday 6 January Pupils return to school for the start of Term 3


LITTLE BEARS NEWS:
The Little Bears are busy preparing for their Christmas nativity which will take place at Stadhampton Church on Saturday from 11am. The Little Bears are all welcome to come to our Christmas party on Tuesday 16th December from 1pm where a special someone will be taking time out of his busy schedule to visit us!
The last day of term is Friday 19th December at 3pm and we return on Tuesday 6th January 2015!
Wishing you a wonderful Christmas break and New Year. May your Christmas be Happy and Bright!!

Community News:
• Please find attached 4 flyers from the Chalgrove and Watlington Children’s Centre.

We wish you all a very Happy Christmas and fulfilling New Year! We look forward to seeing everyone on 6th January.

Newsletter for week ending 5 December 2014

Happy DECEMBER Birthday to: Ruby Clark, Arun Davies, Thomas Dover, Emily Hackett
and Elizabeth Marshall.

During DECEMBER we are focusing on the core value of CARING

Annual Questionnaire for Parents/Carers from the Governing Body
Thank you to everyone who has completed and returned the recent questionnaire from the Governing Body. The responses will be summarised by the Governing Body, who will provide an evaluation of the findings for parents in a school newsletter, after the Christmas Holiday.

Registering your child for Free School Meals
Did you know that registering your child for Free School Meals, even if they would receive them anyway or don’t take them up, means that our school gets extra money from the Government? You can register your child if you get any of these benefits: Income Support, Income-based Job Seekers Allowance, Income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Child Tax Credit (provided you are not entitled to Working Tax Credit), Working Tax Credit ‘run-on’, the guaranteed element of State Pension Credit , Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 and Universal Credit. Please talk to Mrs Hopkins in confidence if you are not sure. For every child registered, the school receives £1300 of extra funding which will benefit all pupils.

E-Safety Information
We recently distributed e-safety information to parents and carers. If you have not received a copy of this, please contact your child’s class teacher. Thank you.

Pupils from 1974
Last week we had the pleasure of welcoming two former pupils of Stadhampton Primary School ‘back to school’ after 40 years! They were given a guided tour of the school, were entertained by the children singing a selection of songs from the Christmas productions and were treated to tea and cakes. Pupils were given an opportunity to ask our guests about the school 40 years ago and our guests asked current pupils about the school now. It was fascinating to discover which things had changed and which were largely similar – some items of furniture were recognised as being ‘original’! We were able to build up a good picture of school life in 1974 and are grateful to our guests, Mr Stuart Green and Mrs Rachel Mannering (nee Walker), for finding the time to join us.

School Vision Screening for Foundation Stage Pupils
We are still waiting to be advised of the new date for the vision testing and will let you know as soon as we receive notification of it.


Christmas Productions
KS2 pupils should arrive at 6pm to be ready for the evening performance on Tuesday 9th December to start promptly at 6.30pm. A reminder that tickets for all performances of the school plays are on sale from the school office. Profits from ticket sales are being donated to MacMillan Cancer Support this year. The netball court will be opened up to provide additional parking for the evening performance and the PTA will be serving refreshments afterwards.

Christmas Forest School Disco
Ooops! We have realised that there is also a Zumba class scheduled for the evening of Thursday 18th December. The school disco can still go ahead, but we must finish at 7.15pm (instead of 7.30pm). Please could parents note the new finishing time and ensure that pupils are collected promptly so that Zumba can start as normal at 7.30pm. Thank you.

Class Postboxes
As usual, class postboxes for Christmas cards to school pupils/staff will be set up in the Hall and these will be available from Monday 15 December.

PTA NEWS:
A huge thank you to everyone who supported the Winter Fair last Friday – whether you came along, donated items, helped on one of the stalls or stayed to clear up, it was very much appreciated. A big thank you to all PTA committee members who did a great job organising everything and in particular to Sue Bowerman, Melanie Gravett and Anna Harries for overseeing things.

Watch this space for details of how much we raised!

Wreath Evening – Tuesday 16th December – 7.30pm – if you would like to come along to the Wreath Evening please see a PTA committee member as soon as possible. Tickets are £15 each.

Our next PTA meeting will be Tuesday 13th January, 8pm, The Crown.

Friday Cake Club
Congratulations to Mrs Hopkins, the lucky winner of last week’s cake, kindly donated by Harriet Fletcher. A reminder to Melanie Saunders that she is on the rota for Friday 12 December.


DIARY DATES:
Sunday 7 December Christingle Service at 9.30am at St John the Baptist Church, Stadhampton
Tuesday 9 December KS2 Christmas Play performances at 1.45pm & 6.30pm – tickets now on sale.
Wednesday 10 December KS1 & FS Christmas Play performance at 2.15pm – tickets on sale.
Mobile Library
Tuesday 16 December Nativity Performance at St John’s Church from 2pm (2.15pm start). Everyone is welcome to join us for this special service.
PTA Wreath Making Evening. Tickets are £15 each.
Wednesday 17 December School Christmas Party at 1.30pm. School/packed lunch required as normal. School & PTA will supply party food, drink & prizes. Children may bring party clothes to change into after lunch if they wish.
Thursday 18 December Whole-school Christmas Lunch. £2.10 and free for pupils in Reception, Class 1 and for those who are able to claim a Free School Meal. We hope all pupils will join in this very special lunch.
Forest School disco – 6.00-7.15pm. Tickets on sale now as well as raffle tickets @50p each
Friday 19 December End of term assembly. Everyone is welcome to join us for this event.
School finishes at 1.30pm.
Monday 22 December & Tuesday 23 December Two day Christmas Sports Course at Stadhampton School led by Michael Hopkins and supported by Jordan Piper. Please see attached flyer for details.
Monday 5 January INSET Day – teaching staff and Mrs Hopkins only
Tuesday 6 January Pupils return to school for the start of Term 3


LITTLE BEARS NEWS:
The Little Bears are busy practising their preschool play which will take place in the Church on Saturday 13th December. With the children’ current interest in maps, we will be looking where Santa lives and how different countries celebrate Christmas.

Community News:
• Flyer attached about the Opening Party of the new Youth Club

Newsletter for week ending 28 November 2014

Annual Questionnaire for Parents/Carers from the Governing Body
Thank you to those families who have already completed and returned the Annual Questionnaire from the Governing Body. We hope that as many families as possible will take a few minutes to complete the questionnaire and return it to school by the deadline of Friday 5th December. Thank you.

Staff Appointments
Following interviews this week, we are very pleased to announce that Mrs Lucy Ellis and Mrs Sarah Singleton will be joining our staff team in January, as new part-time teaching assistants.

School Vision Screening for Foundation Stage Pupils
Letters were sent home earlier this week to families of Reception pupils from the Oxfordshire Orthoptic Service to let them know about a routine screening eye test which was scheduled to take place at school on Friday 12th December 2014. Since the letters were distributed, we have received notification that this will now take place on a different day. We hope to receive confirmation of the new date shortly and apologise for any confusion.

Christmas Productions
A reminder that tickets for all performances of the school plays are now on sale from the school office. The netball court will be opened up to provide additional parking for the evening performance on Tuesday 9th December.

Activities/events for week commencing Monday 15 December

Thursday 18 December at 12 noon


Whole-school Christmas lunch

(Payment for the Christmas Lunch may be made at any time before the 18 December)


With crackers and napkins. Cost is £2.10. Children will make their place mat in the morning and be served by staff. We hope that all children will have a school meal instead of a packed lunch please! The Christmas lunch menu is:
Cranberry Roasted Turkey or Creamy Vegetable Kiev served with a chipolata or vegetarian sausage and a Yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes, glazed carrots, brussel sprouts and peas with vegetarian gravy. Dessert is Santa Claus Ice Cream and a cherry shortbread biscuit.
Christmas Disco to raise funds for the continuance of Forest Schools from 6pm to 7.30pm Mr & Mrs Bowerman & Mrs Hopkins Tickets are now on sale for £3 each which includes snacks and drinks. Raffle tickets are also on sale in advance or on the door, to win prizes which will be drawn at the event, priced at 50p each.

Knitted Nativity Characters travelling round the village
If anyone is interested in having the knitted nativity scene visit their home for a night during December please email Sara Wright direct with your details. You do not have to be religious to have them, its just a Christmas tradition for villagers. They start on the 1st December and end up at the 5pm Christmas Eve service in the Church. If interested please email sarawright300@btinternet.com before 1st December. Thank you.

PTA NEWS:
Winter Fair - THIS FRIDAY - 6-8pm in the school hall - there will be a lucky dip, jingle jars, chocolate and toy tombolas, nail painting, tattoos, games, crafts, books, refreshments, cakes and......Father Christmas! All profits go to the PTA, so please come along and show your support. The netball court will be opened up to provide additional parking for the Winter Fair. Please show consideration to the residents of Cratlands Close when parking this evening by not obstructing access to their properties. Thank you.

We still need volunteers for the night and for helping to clear up afterwards, so please see Sue Bowerman or Anna Harries if you are able to help.

Wreath Evening - Tuesday 16th December - 7.30pm in the school hall - only a few spaces are left for this event, so please see a committee member if you would like to come along.

We are on Facebook so for up to date info and reminders; please search for Stadhampton Primary School PTA group. It is a closed group but we will add you if you send a request. It's a great way to keep up to speed with everything that's going on.

Our next PTA meeting is Tuesday 13th January, 8pm, The Crown.

Thank you for your continued support of the PTA.

Friday Cake Club
Congratulations to Phoebe Hindmarch, the lucky winner of last week’s cake, kindly donated by Mrs Freeman. A reminder to Mrs Hutchence that she is on the rota for Friday 5 December.

DIARY DATES:
Tuesday 9 December KS2 Christmas Play performances at 1.45pm & 6.30pm – tickets now on sale with profits going to MacMillan Cancer Support
Wednesday 10 December KS1 & FS Christmas Play performance at 2.15pm – tickets now on sale with profits going to MacMillan Cancer Support
Mobile Library
Tuesday 16 December Nativity Performance at St John’s Church from 2pm (2.15pm start). Everyone is welcome to join us for this special service.
PTA Wreath Making Evening. Tickets £15 each.
Wednesday 17 December School Christmas Party at 1.30pm. School/packed lunch required as normal. School & PTA will supply party food, drink & prizes. Children may bring party clothes to change into after lunch if they wish.
Thursday 18 December Forest School disco – 6.00-7.30pm. Tickets on sale now as well as raffle tickets @50p each
Friday 19 December End of term assembly. Everyone is welcome to join us for this.
School finishes at 1.30pm.
Monday 22 December & Tuesday 23 December Two day Christmas Sports Course at Stadhampton School led by Michael Hopkins and supported by Jordan Piper. Please see attached flyer for details.
Monday 5 January INSET Day – teaching staff and Mrs Hopkins only
Tuesday 6 January Pupils return to school for the start of Term 3


LITTLE BEARS NEWS:
The Little Bears team would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who helped and donated towards our Gruffalo Winter Walk.
We are starting to get ready for our Christmas play with lots of practice this week. We will also continue to explore our topic of light and dark and will be investigating colours and colour mixing.

Community News:
Natural Christmas at the Earth Trust on Sunday 7th December, 10am-2pm
Re-use, recycle, make and bake this Christmas! Pop along to the Earth Trust Centre (OX14 4QZ) on Sunday 7th December and learn how to make traditional, natural decorations. We’ve got a range of activities to suit all ages, including: popcorn garlands (£1), willow and wool starts (£1), stick Christmas tree table decorations (£1), log reindeers (£5), and festive wreaths (£12). There’ll be stalls selling local gifts, a present hunt, guided walk and the opportunity to meet Father Christmas; plus Poem Tree Cafe will open for light refreshments. Earth Trust Christmas Trees will also be on sale. Free entry and parking; activities start at £1. There is more information about this and other events on our website: www.earthtrust.org.uk.

Discover and Play: Forest School for All on Sunday 4th January, 10am-12pm
Drop in for a FREE morning of Forest School fun with the Earth Trust (OX14 4QZ)! Forest School offers hands-on learning in a natural environment, so come and enjoy playing and discovering in our woodland. Free thanks to funding from Trust for Oxfordshire’s Environment. No need to book. There is more information about this and other events on our website: www.earthtrust.org.uk.

Reading of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe – family event at The Story Museum on Sunday 30th November
Hear C.S. Lewis’s classic The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe read aloud for free in one day. There will be breaks for refreshments, and themed food will be available. Please see http://www.storymuseum.org.uk/whats-on/?date=11/30/2014 for further information.