Dear Parents

I hope you have had a lovely half term. We are looking forward to welcoming the children back tomorrow. 

As we head into the Christmas half term, things will inevitably feel very different this year.  We are not going to be able to do many of the traditional events that we enjoy so much, such as Christmas plays, winter concerts and the Christmas pantomime.  We will however make sure the children continue to celebrate the lead up to Christmas.  We will be having our Christmas tree and although we do not use the Hall for whole school events, the children can come as a class to enjoy Christmas stories around the tree. The children will be making decorations, learning more about the Christmas story and understanding the importance of giving. Our final Christingle assembly will take place in classrooms. We are hoping to share some of our Christmas preparations via the website so you are also able to feel part of what we are doing.

Christmas Card Orders

I hope you have managed to order products through the Cauliflower website if you wished to.  Please remember that the paperwork MUST be returned to school tomorrow if you want your order to go through.  The school has to send the original artwork off and this is being collected first thing on Wednesday morning.  Please bring the paperwork to the office after dropping the children off rather than leaving it in bookbags where it can get forgotten.  

Coronavirus Update

West Sussex County Council have asked Headteachers to send out the attached letter.  This is to explain the current situation for schools around our duty to close bubbles when there is a confirmed case of coronavirus. Some schools have found that parents can be quite unpleasant to admin staff and senior leaders when this happens.  I would like to thank all of our parents who were very understanding when the closure of one of our bubbles was necessary. Although I cannot guarantee this will never happen again, I am pleased to confirm that no further cases were identified following our positive case. This helps us to feel confident that our protocols are working to reduce risk. I would also like to thank Badger parents for their support and praise for the online learning the school provided.  This feedback is very useful.

Harvest and Turning Tides

Thank you to everyone who brought in £1.00 for MUFTI at the end of the half term.  We have raised £162.00 for turning tides.  We know this will help them to buy the food they need to support people.

School Development Plan

Each year the school focuses on some key improvements/developments.  Our Curriculum Design is based around our four Cornerstones: The Power of Talk, Growth Mindset, Broadening Horizons and Love of the Natural World. This year we will be focusing on the following areas that will further strengthen our Curriculum Design and Cornerstones:

Metacognition – This develops the children’s language for learning and helps them to understand how they learn and how to improve.  (The Power of Talk, Growth Mindset)

Maths Mastery – This will be our second year of working with the Maths Hub to ensure the children embrace challenge and can apply their learning to problem solving. (Growth Mindset, Broadening Horizons)

Challenging Environments in Early Years – Reception are further developing the environment as children’s skills grow.  This enables them to take their new skills effectively into their play and self-initiated learning

We will update parents throughout the year to let you know how these developments are going.

Please find attached the next Key Stage One Newsletter.

 

With thanks

Theresa Alford

Dates for your diary

Tuesday 3rd and Wednesday 4th November - parent consultations for Badger and Reception classes - please remember that these meetings are via phone and not face to face. 

Monday 9^th November – individual school photos (please note, the company are not offering sibling photos this year)

Friday 13^th November – MUFTI for children in need (wear something spotty) £1.00

Monday 16^th November - Flu Vaccinations