Dear Parents, Pupils, Staff and Governors,
Class Organisation for 2017/18
We will be making a change to the way in which we organise our infant classes for September. Years R and 1 will be grouped together in one class, whilst Year 2 will be in a class on their own. Years 3 and 4 and 5 and 6 will continue to be grouped as they have been previously. This will enable us to continue with the strong principles of learning that we establish in Year R into Year 1 in a better way, whilst enabling Mrs Preece and Year 2 to focus on the specific demands of the Year 2 curriculum. Miss Burton is excited about teaching the current Year R again next year and continuing to build on our already high standards.
So, to clarify, the classes will be as follows:
Willow: Years R and 1 with Miss Burton (who will be Mrs Ridley by the time we return to school in September)
Beech: Year 2 with Mrs Preece
Maple: Years 3 and 4 with Miss Yelland
Oak: Years 5 and 6 with Mrs Dabill
#AppleFEST2
#AppleFest2 will take place on the evening of Friday 21st July. We currently have plans for the following:
- Performances by the children, including a musical version of Roald Dahl’s ‘The Three Little Pigs’.
- Performances by singer/songwriter Amy Bolton and covers band ‘Off the Cuff’
- A photo booth for Year 6 leavers
- Beer tent and barbecue
I am hoping that all the children will be able to attend and contribute to making it an excellent evening of entertainment. I will confirm timings and events nearer the time, but I anticipate the evening running from 5pm onwards.
We have decided to cancel the Leaver’s Disco which was scheduled for July 14th. Instead we will be focussing on making AppleFEST as good as it can be and a memorable evening for our Year 6 pupils.
Community engagement
There will now be two non-uniform days towards the end of term. The first will be on Friday 21st July in support of the Appleshaw Village Fete, which is held on the August Bank Holiday Monday. The ‘fine’ for this will be a bottle for the bottle tombola. The second will be on Monday 24th July in aid of Guide Dogs for the Blind.
I met with Caroline Tomlinson this week who talked to me about the Historic Churches Trust and their ‘Ride and Stride’ event in September which helps to raise money to support our historic churches and chapels. We will be visiting Appleshaw Church on Friday 8th September as part of this event and raising awareness of the ride and stride event on the Saturday.
The PTA have decided to start a Thrift Shop – if you have any unwanted but good quality items of school clothing then please donate to the school office for the PTA to sell on.
Worship
This half term we are focussing on the theme of SERVICE. Today we remembered the volunteers of the RNLI and in particular the Penlee Lifeboat disaster of 1981 where all 8 crew members of the Solomon Browne Lifeboat perished trying to rescue the crew of the MV Union Star.
Last Wednesday Revd Sandra talked about ‘Pentecost’, which is the festival when Christians celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit. It is celebrated on the Sunday 50 days after Easter (the name comes from the Greek pentekoste, “fiftieth”). It is also called Whitsun, but does not necessarily coincide with the Whitsun Bank Holiday in the UK. Pentecost is regarded as the birthday of the Christian church, and the start of the church’s mission to the world.
Civic Award
Can I remind children that I would like Year 2 and Year 4 scrapbooks in this week and Year 6 scrapbooks in by June 30th. On Friday 14th July we will be having a service in the community day. I will provide more details about this in a separate letter.
Media Week
We are planning on holding a media week at the end of this term. In the last couple of years we have had weeks focussing on WW1 and the Battle of Waterloo, but School Council were keen to have a film week which we have broadened into looking at other media too. If you have some expertise you could offer, or know someone who could, then please get in touch; we will be focussing on newsprint, radio, social media and film. The week will run from Monday 17th July.
Road Safety
This week Year 2 will be working with Mrs Godwin and Ms Britten to learn about Road Safety. They will be visiting the village to find out about safe places to cross the road and how to be a good pedestrian.
Parking
Please take care in the morning when dropping pupils off at school and in the evening when collecting pupils; we have had a couple of near misses recently which have concerned staff. Please remember that the car park should not be used unless you have permission from the school office and that paths and marked crossing points should be used whenever possible. Please also take care when picking up from after-school clubs.