27th February 2009

Staffing:
You will all be sorry to hear that Mrs Higgs is retiring at the end of the summer term. We will all miss her tremendously and thank her for the amazing energy and enthusiasm she has brought to school and the way she has inspired the children in her care for more years than she likes to admit to.
I know that since her husband retired last year she has been eager to join him in his life of leisure.
She is making us all green with envy in the staffroom telling us about the holidays they are planning. (And in term time too!!!)
We all wish her and her husband a very long and happy retirement.

Mrs Bird will be taking leave of absence for six weeks beginning just before the Easter holidays. Unfortunately her daughter, who has a young baby, is not well and she needs some time off to support her family.
Mrs Julie Templeman, who has completed the NVQ 2 teaching assistant course, will be taking her place as a classroom assistant in class 1 (She has already done lots of voluntary work in class 1, so she knows the children well.)
Mrs Templeman has also agreed to run Early Birds during Mrs Bird’s absence. This will be a huge relief to those families who use the facility regularly.
Can I please remind you that a booking form can be obtained from the office or downloaded from the school’s web-site.
It will be even more important to pre-book your child’s place as the numbers are limited to 9 per adult per session and of course Mrs Templeman’s 3 children will be attending the club every day.
We will always do our very best to ensure that we can respond to any emergency bookings, but ideally advanced bookings, on the form provided, give whoever is running the club the opportunity to plan interesting activities and prepare them before the children’s arrival.
At the governors meeting yesterday it was decided that an additional charge of £1.00 per session will be levied on non pre-booked places.

I am sorry to say that Mrs Collinson is not yet well enough to return to school and I am sure you will all join me and the rest of the staff in wishing her well.
The next meeting I am scheduled to have with her is towards the end of April and I will of course keep you informed. I am confident that the current staffing arrangements can be maintained for as long as necessary. I assure you that the Governors and I are committed to insuring that your children have a happy and fulfilling experience at school and that there is no disruption to their curriculum timetable or their learning opportunities. Mrs White has attended all the planning meetings regarding the year 4 trip and she is looking forward to it.

Assembly:
The children really enjoyed looking at the photographs and watching the video that Steven Nuth brought into school of the Christmas boxes being delivered to children in Sarajevo. It was really amazing to see the true joy of giving.
A really big thank you again, to all of you who supported the event.

Roman Day Class 3:
Mrs White has organised a Roman Topic day on Thursday 26th March. Please can you dress the children as Romans for a fun day of activities.

School funds:
Remember to return your bags to school on 4th march.

World Book Day:
Don’t forget to send the children dressed as a book character on 5th March.
Puffin book club leaflet – can spend Book day voucher/ claim free book.

Diary dates for your information are as follows:

School Uniform:
Remember there is a stock of second hand, good quality school uniform available from the school office. I know that it is not always possible to get new school shoes as soon as old ones ware out, but please let me know if this is the case , as you all know the home / School agreement you signed promises to comply with the schools uniform policy.

Health and Safety:
Thanks to the parish council for their hard work in organising the safety barrier at the bottom of the main pathway onto the high street

Parent’s curriculum information evening:
As you know we provide curriculum information evenings from time to time. In the past we have delivered presentations on; Internet safety, maths and calculation, spelling, sounds-write, reading, drugs and sex education. This term we are planning an evening explaining the use of ICT in school. We would be happy to cover any particular aspect you may feel would be useful so do let me know in advance of the evening so that we can plan the format of the presentation.

Lynda Clark
Headteacher