Newsletter for week ending 26 June 2015

Guests from Hazlach, Poland
We welcomed a party of 12 guests from Hazlach, our partner school in Poland, to Stadhampton School for five days from Friday 19th to Tuesday 23rd June. You may have seen them in school during their visit. They experienced school life, family life, a tour of the village, a day in Brighton, a trip to Oxford and different groups went to explore Henley, London, Warwick Castle and even the Dorset coast! They said they had had an amazing time which they wouldn’t forget. The weather helped but the friendliness of our community, the warmth of the hospitality they received, the atmosphere and learning environment in school, along with the courteous behaviour of our pupils, impressed them and will have left a lasting impression. A huge ‘Thank You’ to all parents, pupils and staff involved in hosting and transporting and helping to organise the visit and to the PTA for providing a tasty buffet supper for all on their last evening. I believe such events are important on many different levels and they would not be possible without all your support and involvement.

Hazlach Visitors – Report by Greg, Lawrence, Thomas C and Oliver L
“A group of parents, teachers and children from Hazlach in Poland came to visit us from Friday to Tuesday. In total 12 visitors came and on Monday and Friday they came to school. On Saturday we all went to Brighton which was exciting and on Sunday we all split up and went to different places. Having guests from Poland stay in our homes was lots of fun! We had nice meals together at home and a meal with everybody together on Monday evening. Our Polish guests were very kind and gave us little presents. The experience of it all was amazing and it was sad to say goodbye.”

Cycle Safety Training – Message from the volunteers leading the training
We have one more session this Friday 26th June before the examiner visits us on Friday 3rd July. With that in mind, we are extending the session this week to start at 12.45 (those who have guitar can join us as soon as they are able), in order to prepare as best we can.

Parents/carers can also assist in preparation by taking their children out to practise and revising the theory between now and Friday 3rd July. The Highway Code book the children have been given explains each of the turns they have to do and some revision would be helpful!

‘Robotscool’
On Monday 22nd June, pupils throughout the school, as well as our Polish guest pupils, thoroughly enjoyed their class ‘Robotscool’ workshop. Each class participated in an age-differentiated workshop using and developing basic computer programming skills to enable the movement of a simple ‘robot’. The children worked in groups or teams and once the robots were ready for action they were entered into a tournament. Here is what some of the pupils in Class 3 thought about it:

Report by Tia, Sophy and Darcy
“We had a fantastic time on Monday building Sumo Robots! We had to build and programme robots in teams. There were four different roles which were manager, reporter, engineer and programmer. The programmer selected the different movements on the laptops while the engineer put together the robot. The reporter filmed and took pictures of the process while the manager made sure things ran smoothly and supported the rest of the team. We learnt lots of programming, coding and teamwork skills. We ended the day with an exciting Sumo Robot fight”!

Whole School Day of Sport on Wednesday
As part of Sports Week, Michael Hopkins, who is well known to the school and a qualified PE teacher, assisted by Jordan Piper and school support staff, led a whole school day of sport. Pupils experienced throwing the javelin, running and relay races, long jump, cricket and ball accuracy throwing skills.
Max, Oliver and James reported:
“It was great fun. We did a Mini Olympics at the end which was amazing. We really enjoyed it and didn’t even mind if we were not on the winning team!”

Citizenship Course - Report by Class 3 pupils
“On Tuesday Class 3 attended the Citizenship course at the Fire Station in Oxford. We had to learn how to behave responsibly when faced with a variety of scenarios which we may encounter in the future. These were sometimes a bit scary, sometimes exciting and always informative. We definitely learnt a lot that we will be able to put to good use to help to keep us safe throughout our lives.”

Ghana Week 29th June to 3rd July
A reminder that we have a whole-school focus on Ghana next week and this includes a number of visitors coming into school as well as a range of artefacts and resources to explore. Parents and carers are invited to the African Dance workshop demonstration and the Fair Trade stall. Further details are in the Diary Dates below.

Cancelled Guitar Lesson on Wednesday
Mr Evans had to cancel Wednesday’s guitar lesson at short notice due to a mix up with his car keys which left him without transport. He will make up for the missed lesson by teaching till the 8th of July rather than finishing on the 1st as originally planned. He apologises for any inconvenience caused.

PTA NEWS:
Sports night on Friday 10th July- Tickets are still available for this evening. priced at £2.50 for a sausage, burger or veggie, please see Anna Harries for tickets as they are limited.

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

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

Friday Cake Club
Congratulations to Lorenzo Elliott, the lucky winner of last week's cake, kindly donated by Mrs Payne. A reminder to Rachel O'Brien that she is on the rota for Friday 3 July.
We will be continuing to run Cake Club next school year, so if anyone would like to put their name down early for donating a cake please see Rowena Dobson. We will also be offering the opportunity to pay for the whole year's entry in one go - by doing so you get 4 week's free!

DIARY DATES:
Tuesday 30 June African Dance Workshop – presentation for parents at 14.40pm.
Wednesday 1 July Fair Trade stall after school from 15.20 to 15.50pm. All welcome!
Friday 3 July Cycling Test for participating Year 6 pupils
Monday 6 July Reception & Class 1 visit to Henley River and Rowing Museum. Permission slip and contribution required please if you have not sent in already
Tuesday 7 July Clarinet concert performed by Class 3 pupils at 2.45pm. All parents/carers welcome
Wednesday 8, Thursday 9 & Friday 10 July Moving Up days. New Reception pupils starting in September attend for 3 full days. Year 6 pupils go to ICC. All other pupils move up to the year group/class they will be in at the start of the new academic year in September. Topic letters were sent home this week.
Friday 10 July Whole School Sports Evening. Pupils arrive at 6pm. Bar open from 6pm. BBQ tickets from the PTA are on sale now and must be purchased in advance. They will not be available to purchase at the event
Tuesday 14 July Daylight Theatre performance of ‘Treasure in the Sand’ for all pupils
Wednesday 15 July Mobile Library visit – book returns only
End of Term Disco. Tickets on sale now directly from the PTA outside Class 1 each morning and afternoon.
Friday 17 July End of school year assembly and say goodbye to Year 6 pupils. Everyone welcome. 9.05am start
School finishes at 1.30pm
Tuesday 1 September INSET Day for teaching staff and Business Manager, Mrs Hopkins
Wednesday 2 September Pupils return to school for the start of Term 1.

LITTLE BEARS NEWS:
The Little Bears team would like to say huge thank you to everyone who supported our Strawberry Fair last Friday. The weather was very kind to us and fun was had by all! We will be continuing with our ‘Seaside’ and ‘Holiday’ theme this week and looking at all the fun things we like to do on holiday. We will also be making sandcastles, ice cream pictures and putting up tents in the garden!

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

Community News:
Sarah Madry & Rowena Dobson still have a few tickets remaining for Boogie Bingo on Saturday 4th July at 7pm in the Village Hall at St Johns. All money raised in aid of Sue Ryder Hospice, where Gareth spent his last few days. Price £12.50 per person (over 18s only) to include welcome drink, 4 games of Boogie Bingo and Ploughman's Supper. A reminder - please bring your own drinks and bottle openers, and reading glasses if you need them. See Row and Sarah outside school gates on Friday morning/afternoon and Monday morning/afternoon. Unfortunately no tickets can be sold on the evening of the event due to the nature of the games.

Newsletter for week ending 19th June 2015

Woodlands Residential Visit
All Class 3 pupils had the most incredible experience at Woodlands, an Oxfordshire Outdoor Education Centre near Brecon, last week. I was so impressed with them, the centre staff and the weather (!) when I visited last week. Many thanks to Miss Raval, Miss Peet, Mrs Shortman and Mrs Scragg for dedicating their time and energy to make this such a successful experience for all, and of course to all the parents and carers for entrusting us with your children all week. I could write much more about the benefits and values of this residential visit but the opinions of the children are the ones that most matter.
The children were asked to summarise their visit to Woodlands in one sentence. Here is what they said:

Oliver: It was an excellent experience and will be in my memory forever.
Leo: Woodlands is an opportunity that would be an enormous shame to miss.
Megan G: Woodlands was an unforgettable opportunity.
Alex: An unbelievable, amazing, once in a lifetime opportunity.
Zara: There are so many fantastic things to do there, you will never get bored.
Charlie B : Woodlands was great and you will definitely enjoy it.
Casey: Woodlands is a great place packed with fun like canoeing, Jungle Gym and caving.
Charlie A.: Woodlands is a place to get you off your feet!
Phoebe: Woodlands was so much fun, I had such a great time and I would definitely go again.
Darcy: Woodlands was an unforgettable, amazing experience which everybody enjoyed.
Tia: I had the most amazing experiences I have ever had.
Meg H: I loved Woodlands because the activities were terrific.
Sophy M: I had the best time of my life and nothing could top it.
Alfie: Woodlands is a once in a lifetime opportunity and it was the best week of my life.
Maggie: Woodlands is epic!
Amy: Woodlands was the best experience of my life.
Greg: The best experience EVER!
James: It was the best experience.
Hannah: Woodlands was fandabidozie!
Betsy: Woodlands was the best time of my life.
Cora: Woodlands was such a memorable experience!
Max: It was an unbelievable experience!
Emily: It was a once in a lifetime opportunity.
Sophie: It was amazing!
Georgia: Woodlands was an extravaganza and I loved it all especially when I fell off the canoe!

Class 3 are preparing a display to show some of their experiences for all to see. Some pictures have been uploaded this week onto Class 3’s section of the school website.


Swimming Gala
Congratulations to our Year 4 pupils who won the Partnership Schools Swimming Gala at Thame Leisure Centre on Tuesday 9th June, beating Chalgrove, Ewelme, Lewknor and RAF Benson schools. Pupils took part in 4 events – Front Crawl Relay for Girls, Front Crawl Relay for Boys, ‘Pizza Delivery’, ‘Sea Horse Relay’ and a ‘Treasure Hunt’.
Ben and Will reported that “It was a bit crowded by the pool side, but we enjoyed the treasure hunt and the pizza delivery particularly! We came first out of 5 which was really good. We came back singing and enjoyed telling everyone that we came first!”

Festival of Voices 2015
Thank you to all parents who supported Stadhampton School at the Festival of Voices performance at Dorchester Abbey on Wednesday evening. It was a quite magical and spectacular event where schools from across Oxfordshire joined together to perform as a large choir. The singing was fantastic and everyone thoroughly enjoyed the wonderful experience. Well done to all our singers! Pictures of this event have been uploaded to the school website. (Thank you, Mrs Gravett).

PE Kit
Please could all pupils have their PE kit in school everyday of the week until the end of term. Next week is Sports Week and, along wth preparations for our annual Sports Evening in July, we would like to be able to be more flexible with our timetable in order to take advantage of good weather when it happens! Thank you.

Whole-School Day of Sporting Activities – Wednesday 24th June
Michael Hopkins, a qualified PE teacher, assisted by Jordan Piper, will be leading a whole-school day of sport next Wednesday. Please could ALL pupils make sure that they have their PE kit in school as well as suitable footwear for outdoor PE. Thank you.

Science Club
Apologies for the error on the Science Club letter about the date of the 2nd Science session. The date should have read Tuesday 30th June (not 28th June which is a Sunday!).

The School Pool is now ready for use!
Please could ALL pupils have their swimming kit in school from Monday 22 June as the pool is now ready for use! The onus will be on families to ensure that swimming kit is in school each day, otherwise pupils may miss out on opportunities to swim. Pupils who do not have their swimming kit in school will sit in the pool area and read when their class has their turn in the school pool. Thank you.

Final Forest School Session for Year 6 Pupils
Thank you to the Year 6 pupils who have already sent in £1.50 towards the cost of lunch and mini party for their last Forest School session on Thursday 25th June. Further contributions would be most welcome. Thank you.

Forest School Reminder for Reception Pupils
A reminder that Reception pupils will have Forest School sessions on the afternoons of Thursday 25th June and Thursday 2nd July. Please could parents ensure that pupils have suitable old clothing in school for those two dates. Thank you.

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

PTA NEWS:
Thank you to the following families who came along to the Sponsored Family Fun Run last weekend:

Austin Bowerman Fegyveres-Nagy Fulker Gravett
Hector Holmes Marshall Payne West Wiggins

What started off as quite a wet day ended up as a really enjoyable afternoon. Some of the children ran as many as 10 times around the course and certificates, medals and sweets were awarded to everyone who took part. We had lots of beautiful cakes to enjoy afterwards as well.

We haven't got a final amount of how much we raised yet but will let you know as soon as we have a total. Thank you to the committee and Mrs Manzie for giving up their time.

Sports Night BBQ Friday 10th July - tickets are on sale from Anna Harries every morning/afternoon pickup/dropoff. Tickets are limited - Burger £2.50, Sausage £2.50, Veggie £2.50.

End of term Disco - Thursday 16th July 6-7.30pm - tickets for the disco are also available from Anna Harries priced at £3 each. If any parents are able to help with the disco then please see a committee member.

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

Thank you for your continued support of the PTA.

Friday Cake Club
Congratulations to Greg Madry, a nice surprise for him on Class 3's return from Woodlands to find he had won last week's cake, kindly donated by Mrs Burnell. A reminder to Mrs Freeman that she is on the rota for Friday 26 June.

We know that it is a particularly busy time of the year so have added some detail into the events below as a reminder for everyone.

DIARY DATES:
Tuesday 23 June Class 3 Junior Citizen Visit – Permission slips required for all pupils if they have not already been returned
Wednesday 24 June Whole-school Day of Sporting Activities – PE kit required and outdoor footwear
Thursday 25 June Final Forest School session for Year 6 pupils – extra 30 minutes to include lunch cooked on the camp fire - £1.50 contribution required please if you have not paid already. Pupils will not need school lunch as well!
Tuesday 30 June African Dance Workshop – presentation for parents at 14.40pm.
Wednesday 1 July Fair Trade stall after school from 15.20 to 15.50pm. All welcome to shop!
Friday 3 July Cycling Test for participating Year 6 pupils
Monday 6 July Reception & Class 1 visit to Henley River and Rowing Museum. Permission slip and contribution required please if you have not sent in already
Tuesday 7 July Clarinet concert performed by Class 3 pupils at 2.45pm. All parents/carers welcome
Wednesday 8, Thursday 9 & Friday 10 July Moving Up days. New Reception pupils starting in September attend for 3 full days. Year 6 pupils go to ICC. All other pupils move up to the year group/class they will be in at the start of the new academic year in September. Topic letters will be sent home shortly
Friday 10 July Whole School Sports Evening. Pupils arrive at 6pm. Bar open from 6pm. BBQ tickets from the PTA are on sale now and must be purchased in advance. They will not be available to purchase at the event
Tuesday 14 July Daylight Theatre performance of ‘Treasure in the Sand’ for all pupils
Wednesday 15 July Mobile Library visit – book returns only
End of Term Disco. Tickets on sale now directly from the PTA
Friday 17 July End of school year assembly and say goodbye to Year 6 pupils. All welcome. 9.05am start
School finishes at 1.30pm
Tuesday 1 September INSET Day for teaching staff and Business Manager, Mrs Hopkins
Wednesday 2 September Pupils return to school for the start of Term 1.

LITTLE BEARS NEWS:
Little Bears are looking forward to the Strawberry Fair which will take place this Friday from 3pm until 5pm. All welcome.
Little Bears have been busy making a surprise for the daddy's and wish all daddy's a happy ‘Father's Day’.

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

Community News:
• Flyer attached about Summer Workshops from the Chalgrove and Watlington Children’s Centre

Newsletter for week ending 12th June 2015

Woodlands Residential Visit
This week all pupils in Class 3, accompanied by Miss Raval and Miss Peet throughout the week along with Mrs Shortman, Mrs Scragg and Mrs Turner for part of the week, having been having an amazing experience at Woodlands Outdoor Education Centre, near Glasbury on Wye. Updates have been posted onto the school website each day, however all members of the school community may like to know that the children (and adults!) have been carrying out a range of activities including mountain walking, caving and canoeing, learning about the local geography and geology as well as taking part in a wide variety of team building activities and challenges. When Mrs Turner visited on Wednesday, all Stadhampton pupils were happy and proud of their achievements! Further details of the visit will be in next week’s newsletter, following the return of the group. We are already considering our plans for a return visit in two years’ time!

Visit by Polish pupils, parents and teachers, 19th -23rd June 2015
For over ten years we have maintained close links with a school in Hazlach, southern Poland. During this time the two schools have formed a partnership which has included exchange visits for staff as well as opportunities for exchange visits for pupils accompanied by parents and teachers, our most recent visit to Hazlach being in May 2014. From Friday 19th to Tuesday 23rd June we welcome a group of 12 guests from Hazlach, 4 pupils, 4 parents and 4 members of staff including the Headteacher, to Stadhampton School. Our guests will be staying with host families and members of staff from school and the Polish children will be spending a considerable amount of time in school, experiencing school life for Stadhampton pupils. We have a number of events organised outside of school too. Amongst these, host families have organised a day trip to Brighton on Saturday 20th June. If any other families should be interested in joining us please contact Mrs Turner. Thank you.

Swimming at the Abbey Sports Centre
A reminder that swimming sessions for Class 3 pupils will begin on Monday 15th June. They will have a further 4 sessions on 22nd & 29th June, and 6th & 13th July. As always, we are most grateful to receive a ‘voluntary contribution’ towards the cost of the swimming transport of £2 per swimming session. Cheques for swimming contributions should be made payable to Stadhampton Primary School, please. Thank you.

Important information about swimming in the school pool – please get ready!
Please could ALL pupils have their swimming kit in school from Monday (15th June) ready for use in the school pool. The onus will be on families to ensure that swimming kit is in school each day, otherwise pupils may miss out on opportunities to swim. Pupils who do not have their swimming kit in school will sit in the pool area and read when their class has their turn in the school pool. Thank you.


Final Forest School Session for Year 6 Pupils
The last Forest School session for Year 6 pupils will be on Thursday 25th June. Mrs Elliott and Mrs Gravett thought that it would be nice for pupils to have their lunch at Forest School and a mini party to celebrate. Please could parents/carers send in a ‘voluntary contribution’ of £1.50 to help with the cost of the food which will be cooked on the campfire. The children will not need a packed lunch or school meal on that day as well. Please send the money in a separate envelope to the school office. Thank you.

Forest School Reminder for Reception Pupils
Reception pupils will have Forest School sessions on the afternoons of Thursday 25th June and Thursday 2nd July. Please could parents ensure that pupils have suitable old clothing in school for those two dates.

Recorders
A reminder that recorder lessons will begin on Monday 15 June for all pupils in Classes 2 and 3. Please could everyone in these classes make sure that they have their own recorder and book in school each Monday from then until the end of term. Recorders and books are available to purchase from the school office if necessary - recorders cost £6.50 and books £4.99 each (the price we pay for them). Thank you.

Gardening Club Plant Sale
Thank you to everyone who purchased plants from our recent plant sale. We are pleased to report that £38.50 was raised which will be used to buy seeds, compost and other resources for the gardening club when they need them!

Nits
Thank you to a parent of a child in Class 1 for alerting us about finding nits in their child’s hair. Please could everyone check their child’s hair this weekend and treat if necessary. The only way to really address a nits outbreak is for everyone to do this. Thank you.

Sports Night on Friday 10th July
Sports Night is one of the highlights of the school year and we expect all families to attend, if at all possible. Please let either Mrs Manzie or Mrs Hopkins know as soon as possible if your child will not be able to attend so that the teams can be balanced appropriately. Pupils will be told which team they are in for Sports Night during Sports Week (w/c 22nd June) so that they will know in plenty of time what colour T-shirt they will need to wear. Sports Night takes place in the evening rather than during the school day so that everyone can attend. It is one of the main fundraising events of the year for the PTA, as they run a bar (very reasonable prices), and a BBQ as well. Parents are asked to support the bar and the BBQ and not bring their own food or drinks please. Pupils will need to arrive at school for 6pm so that the races may begin promptly at 6.30pm. The bar is open at 6pm too! More details will be provided nearer the time but we wanted to make sure, well in advance, that all families have the date of this very special event in their diaries.

Netball Club
Due to a clash with the ‘Festival of Voices’, several pupils have not been able to take part in Netball Club. The Icknield students (and Mrs Manzie) have kindly offered to put on an extra session on Wednesday 24th June so that all Year 3-6 pupils who wish to, may join the current club attendees. The cost will be £1.50 for the extra session (for all attendees) and will finish at 4pm.


PTA NEWS:
Sponsored Family Fun Run - Saturday 13th June, 2pm-4pm. It promises to be a nice afternoon, with an obstacle course and goody bag for all the children who take part. You are also very welcome to come along just for tea/coffee and cake if you prefer. We look forward to seeing you there!

Sports Night BBQ - Friday 10th July - tickets will be on sale from Monday for our annual BBQ at Sports Night. Please buy tickets for BBQ items in advance, priced at £2.50 each for a sausage, burger or veggie option. Please see Anna Harries, who will be outside Class 1 every morning and afternoon from Monday. Please note tickets are limited.

End of Term Disco - Thursday 16th July, 6 – 7.30pm. Please note we will not be issuing tickets for the disco. If your child would like to come, please return your consent form with payment of £3 per child to Anna Harries outside Class 1 each morning and afternoon from Monday. Please look out for consent letters in book bags on Friday.

The PTA would like to thank parents for their support for all our events. Without your support we would not be able to help the school purchase the additional extras they would like to have. If you have any ideas or requests for future fundraisers, please see a committee member, a list of whom is on the notice board outside Class 1.

Our next PTA meeting is on Tuesday 7th July, 8PM at The Crown. Everyone is welcome.

Friday Cake Club
Congratulations to Jude Bradley, the lucky winner of last week's cake, kindly donated by Mrs Drake. A reminder to Mrs Payne that she is on the rota for 19th June.

DIARY DATES:
Monday 15 June Mobile Library visit
Tuesday 30 June African Dance Workshop – presentation for parents at 14.40pm.
Wednesday 1 July Fair Trade stall after school from 15.20 to 15.50pm
Friday 10th July Whole School Sports Evening

LITTLE BEARS NEWS:
Little Bears will be continuing with the ‘Holidays’ theme by looking at different ways of travelling to our holidays, making Little Bear passports and using maps and the globe to see the different countries we might visit.
On Friday 19th June Little Bears will be holding a ‘Strawberry Fayre’ in the garden starting at 3pm . All are welcome and more details are available on the posters outside of Little Bears

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

Newsletter for week ending 5th June 2015

Happy JUNE Birthday to: Freya Clapton, Will Eaton, Betsy Elliott, Ella Gravett, Alice Hindmarch, Zara Hopkins, James Lowman, Ivy Odell, Casey Price and Ellie Wiggins.

During JUNE we are focusing on the core value of HONESTY

Swimming at the Abbey Sports Centre
A reminder that Class 2 pupils will have ONE swimming session at the Abbey Sports Centre on Monday 8th June as Class 3 pupils are at Woodlands. Swimming sessions for Class 3 pupils will begin on Monday 15th June. They will have a further 4 sessions on 22nd & 29th June, and 6th & 13th July. As always, we are most grateful to receive a ‘voluntary contribution’ towards the cost of the swimming transport of £2 per swimming session. Cheques for swimming contributions should be made payable to Stadhampton Primary School, please. Thank you.

Important information about swimming in the school pool – please get ready!
Once the pool comes into use, (we will let you know in the newsletter or by e-mail when this happens) the onus will be on families to ensure that swimming kit is in school each day, otherwise pupils will miss out on opportunities to swim. Pupils who do not have their swimming kit in school will sit in the pool area and read when their class has their turn in the school pool. Thank you.

School Council ‘Danceathon’ for Nepal
We are pleased to let you know that £85 was raised for the UNICEF Nepal earthquake appeal from the Danceathon held in school this week, bringing the total raised for the people of Nepal to £131. A huge ‘Thank You’ to everyone who contributed.

Recorders
Recorder lessons will begin on Monday 15 June for all pupils in Classes 2 and 3. Please could everyone in these classes make sure that they have their own recorder and book in school each Monday from then until the end of term. Recorders and books are available to purchase from the school office if necessary - recorders cost £6.50 and books £4.99 each (the price we pay for them). Thank you.

Ghana Week 29th June to 3rd July
Each year we have a whole-school international cultural week and this year the focus is on Ghana. During the week we will explore the geography, culture and traditions of Ghana. We will also welcome several special visitors that week, providing us with extra insight. These include someone who has recently lived in Ghana, a dance company providing us with a series of African dance workshops which includes all classes and a presentation for parents (please see Diary Dates) and a Fair Trade stall (please see Diary Dates ). In addition we have obtained a number of authentic artefacts on loan from RISC in Reading. If anyone has any contacts/artefacts linking with Ghana please let Mrs Turner know. Thank you.
It should be an exciting and memorable week!

PTA NEWS:
The Sponsored Family Fun Run is next Saturday 13th June from 2-4pm in the school grounds. It promises to be a great afternoon for all the family! Please return the forms to confirm your attendance by TOMORROW please.
If anyone is able to donate any cakes or biscuits for our refreshment stall at the fun run, please speak to a committee member or bring them along on the day. Thank you.

Dates for your Diaries
Thursday 9th July - PTA Coffee Morning, 9-10am in the school hall
Friday 10th July - Sports Night BBQ, details and tickets to follow shortly
Thursday 16th July - End of Term Disco, details and tickets to follow shortly
Our next PTA meeting is this Tuesday 9th June, 8pm in The Crown and everyone is welcome.

Thank you for your continued support of the PTA.

Friday Cake Club
Congratulations to Elizabeth Marshall, the lucky winner of the last cake before Half Term. A reminder to Mrs Burnell that she is on the rota for 12 June. Entry for the final half term is 20p per week, or £1.40 to the end of the school year. Please see Rowena.

DIARY DATES:
W/C 8th June Class 3 at Woodlands
Monday 15 June Mobile Library visit
Tuesday 30 June African Dance Workshop – presentation for parents at 14.40pm.
Wednesday 1 July Fair Trade stall after school from 15.20 to 15.50pm
Friday 10th July Whole School Sports Evening

LITTLE BEARS NEWS:
Little Bears would like to welcome everyone back to Term 6.
This term we will be enjoying the topic of ‘Holidays and the Seaside’.
We have lots of holiday activities planned as well as learning about the seaside and oceans

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

Newsletter for week ending 22nd May 2015

Congratulations
Congratulations to our former pupils at Icknield Community College; Benedict Diment for being elected as Deputy-Head Boy for 2015/16 and to Ben Drake, Andrew Oakley and Chloe Brown as prefects for the year. That’s 50% of the Year 6 pupils from Stadhampton School being elected to a responsible post! We wish them all well throughout the year.

Swimming at the Abbey Sports Centre
Class 2 pupils will have ONE swimming session at the Abbey Sports Centre on Monday 8th June as Class 3 pupils are at Woodlands. Swimming sessions for Class 3 pupils will begin on Monday 15th June. They will have a further 4 sessions on 22nd & 29th June, and 6th & 13th July. As always, we are most grateful to receive a ‘voluntary contribution’ towards the cost of the swimming transport of £2 per swimming session. Cheques for swimming contributions should be made payable to Stadhampton Primary School, please. Thank you.

Important information about swimming in the school pool – please get ready!
After the May Holiday, Mrs Shortman and Mrs Singleton will be preparing our school pool for use. We will be following OCC regulations which includes having our pool inspected and water samples taken by an external company which are then sent off for analysis. A clear result must be obtained before pupils are allowed in to the pool. The school pool, once ready, will be used by all pupils throughout the school (including Reception pupils). Please could all parents now start to prepare a ‘swimming bag’ so that it is ready for use. All pupils will need a towel, swimming hat (boys and girls), boys need tight fitting (not baggy) swimming trunks and girls need a one-piece swimming costume (no bikinis or tankinis please). It is much easier if each child has their own swimming hat rather than families try to share one between them. Once the pool comes into use, (we will let you know in the newsletter or by e-mail when this happens) the onus will be on families to ensure that swimming kit is in school each day, otherwise pupils will miss out on opportunities to swim. Pupils who do not have their swimming kit in school will sit in the pool area and read when their class has their turn in the school pool. Thank you.

School Council ‘Danceathon’
A reminder that the School Council are holding a ‘Danceathon’ to help raise money for the Nepal Earthquake appeal on Wednesday 3rd June. All children participating in the half an hour ‘Danceathon’ are asked to bring in a donation or alternatively seek sponsorship to raise money. Sponsorship forms are available from Miss Mould, if anyone would like one. All monies raised will be sent to the UNICEF Nepal appeal.
We collected £46 from the ‘UNICEF Bring a Pound Day.’ Thank you to everyone who contributed to this collection.


School Meals Menu
A reminder that we switch to the new Bronze Summer Menu on our return to school after the May Holiday (please find it attached to this Newsletter). It has already been uploaded to the School Website.

Class Trips this week:
On Wednesday the 20th May, Class 3 went on a fantastic school trip to Ewelme Park Estate – report by James, Alex and Leo
We had lots of fun and had a brilliant day. In the morning, we were taken round the farm by Philip. We were taken into the fields and we learnt lots about the different crops and what they were used for. We then went down to the stables and we learnt about horses, we took part in a quiz and it became competitive as the prize for the winning team was a horse shoe!! Everyone loved stroking Max the horse who was rather cuddly!
After that the estate owner Michael took us on a history trail and we learnt about Henry VIII’s connection with Ewelme Park.
Cathy taught us about Red Kites - how they build nests, hunt for prey and protect their babies all at once (now we know how parents feel!)
We spent the afternoon on a tractor with Ian the gamekeeper and his dog! He taught us about trees and we were shown a newly dug pond with tadpoles swimming around. We had a lovely time at Ewelme Park Estate and we are grateful we had the opportunity to go.

On Tuesday 19th May, Class 2 visited Sulgrave Manor - Report by Ellie W & Ella G
When we got there we got straight in to our Tudor costumes for the day. We acted out Henry VIII and his six wives. We then learnt about Tudor instruments. The English bagpipe was very interesting.
After lunch, we went outside and saw the blacksmith’s (where he works and sleeps and his family sleeps). We saw the front of the house belonging to Lawrence Washington. In the Dining Room, we found out that locked in the salt cupboard were spices, salt and sugar. In the kitchen the bottom of the bread was covered in ashes so the poor people got the nickname “upper crust”! The bed chamber was amazing because it had curtains for privacy and heat.

PLANT SALE – TOMORROW at 3.15pm
The Gardening Club will have a stall outside school at 3.15pm tomorrow for the sale of their surplus plants. Donations would be welcomed in order to help with the cost of buying potting compost, seeds, etc. Thank you.

PTA NEWS:
The sponsored Family Fun Run is on Saturday 13th June from 2-4pm and sponsorship forms have been put into book-bags. If you are taking part please return the slip at the bottom of the letter to the office by Friday 5th June. Please speak to a committee member if you have any questions.

A PTA coffee morning will be held on Thursday 9th July between 9-10am in the school hall. We are delighted to be holding another coffee morning and all parents/carers are invited to come along. If you are interested in joining the PTA committee, members will be on hand to answer any questions you may have. New reception class and other new parents are also invited so it will be a good chance for them to get to know a few faces before September. We hope to see you there.


The Giving Machine
This is a great opportunity to raise extra money for the school without costing you anymore, please read the link below or visitthegivingmachine.co.uk to sign up, our cause is stadhampton primary school, an easy way to raise extra money without costing you a penny
https://www.thegivingmachine.co.uk/cms/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Acrobat-Document2.pdf

Dates for your diaries:
Sports Night is on Friday 10th July and the End of Term Disco is on Thursday 16th July.

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 Mrs Hackett. A reminder to Mrs Drake that she is on the rota for 5 June, the first Friday after half term.

DIARY DATES:
Monday 1 June INSET DAY – Teachers and Mrs Hopkins only in school
Tuesday 2 June Pupils return to school for the start of Term 6
Wednesday 3 June First ‘Buddying’ session for Y6 pupils after school
W/C 8th June Class 3 at Woodlands
Monday 15 June Mobile Library visit
Tuesday 30 June African Dance Workshop
Friday 10th July Whole School Sports Evening

LITTLE BEARS NEWS:
The Little Bears have enjoyed exploring the topic of ‘Space’ and creating lots of wonderful spaceships. Our favourite was definitely the life-size craft which we enjoyed decorating.
Little Bears hope everyone enjoys the half term break. We return on Monday 1 June to the topic of ‘Seasides and Holidays’.

Newsletter for week ending 15th May 2015

We are pleased to welcome Mrs Baker who joined the staff team at Stadhampton School this week.

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.

URGENT Request for help with Cycle Safety Training
Unfortunately there were no offers of help from our Newsletter request on 24th April about help with cycle safety training for our Year 6 pupils, so we are repeating the request in the hope that one or two parents will now offer help. The current band of volunteers can manage the first session on Friday as this session will only take place in the school grounds and in Cratlands Close, but there is now an URGENT need for more help when pupils go out onto the main road next week:

Cycle Safety Training will be taking place for nine Year 6 pupils on the following dates: 15th, 22nd May, 5th, 19th, 26th June and 3rd July. We already have in place a small group of experienced leaders of this activity but we urgently need to recruit one or two more volunteers to help when pupils go out on the busy main road to practise. Please let Mrs Hopkins know if you could help with this training or would like more information about what is required. Thank you.

Host Families for Polish guests 19th -23rd June
Thank you to the families who have generously offered to be host families for our Polish guests next month. We now have enough hosts. We are now planning the itinerary which will include opportunities for non-host families to be involved if they wish. Further details to follow.

Change to School Meals Menu for Tuesday 19th May
Food with Thought have decided to change the school meals menu for Tuesday 19th May to a ‘May Madness’ menu. The choices for that day only will be Chicken Sausages and Chips or Veggie Sausages and Chips, with baked beans or sweetcorn and tomato ketchup. The pudding will be either Strawberry Ice Cream or Seasonal Fruit Platter. The flyer from Food with Thought is on display outside the serving hatch as a reminder.

School Council ‘Danceathon’
The School Council are holding a ‘Danceathon’ to help raise money for the Nepal Earthquake appeal. This will be held on Wednesday 3rd June during assembly. All children participating in the half an hour ‘Danceathon’ are asked to bring in a donation or alternatively seek sponsorship to raise money. Sponsorship forms are available from Miss Mould, if anyone would like one. All monies raised will be sent to UNICEF so that they can use it to help support the people and communities who have been affected by the earthquake. Thank you.


Clarinet Lessons for Term 6
Pupils in Class 3 will not have their usual clarinet lesson on the 2nd June or the 23rd June as the clarinet teacher will not be available on those dates. Class 3 will also be away at Woodlands on 9th June. However pupils will still receive at least the 30 lessons they signed up for as all of the missed lessons will be added back on later in the term.
Parents are invited to a clarinet performance by Class 3 pupils on Tuesday 7th July at 2.45pm.

PTA NEWS:
The Family Quiz Night is this Friday from 6 -10pm. It promises to be a fun filled evening for all the family. A few tickets are still available from Sue Bowerman priced at £10 for a family ticket, with lots of questions for the children to answer. Hope to see you there!

Clothes Recycling collection is on Tuesday 19th May at 9am. This is a great opportunity to get rid of all unwanted clothes. Please use additional black sacks if needed. All money raised from recycling our old clothes goes to PTA funds.

Sponsored family fun run, Saturday 13th June 2-4pm sponsorship forms will be appearing in book-bags next week.

Dates for your diaries:
Sports Night is on Friday 10th July and End of Term Disco is on Thursday 16th July.

The giving machine
This is a great opportunity to raise extra money for the school without costing you anymore, please read the link below or visit thegivingmachine.co.uk to sign up, our cause is Stadhampton Primary School, an easy way to raise extra money without costing you a penny.
https://www.thegivingmachine.co.uk/cms/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Acrobat-Document2.pdf

Thank you for your continued support of the PTA.

Friday Cake Club
Congratulations to Beau Burnell, the lucky winner of last week’s cake, kindly donated by Annett Fegyveres. A reminder to Mrs Bradley that she is on the rota for 22 May.

DIARY DATES:
Friday 15 May PTA Event – Family Fun Quiz
Tuesday 19 May PTA Clothes Recycling Collection at 9am
Sulgrave Manor visit for Class 2
Wednesday 20 May Ewelme Estate visit for Class 3
Thursday 21 May Bookfeast visit for Class 1
Year 6 Forest School session
Friday 22 May Cycle Safety Training for participating Year 6 pupils
Break up for the May Holiday at 3.15pm
Monday 1 June INSET DAY – Teachers and Mrs Hopkins only in school
Tuesday 2 June Pupils return to school for the start of Term 6
Tuesday 30 June African Dance Workshop – further details to follow
Friday 10th July Whole School Sports Evening – details to be confirmed


LITTLE BEARS NEWS:
Thank you to everyone who supported our recent Ladies Supper Night. I think we would all agree that the evening was a huge success!
The Little Bears will be making some junk model spaceships. Next week our book of the week will be ‘Are the Aliens Coming?’

Community News
• Attachment – Flyer from Little Masters – Workshop Offer

Newsletter for week ending 8th May 2015

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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