Newsletter No 1

Dear Parents

Welcome back! I hope you all had a wonderful summer break and enjoyed the time with your children.

Over the holidays, we have had the school painted. Beech and Willow Classes are now much brighter, cleaner and even more welcoming than before, which, I’m sure you’ll agree makes the school a much more inviting place for the children to work.

Some sad news is that Mrs Branch will not be returning to school this half-term. Mrs Branch has been signed off on sick leave until the end of term and we are not yet sure when she will be returning to school. She is currently resting at home and we wish her a speedy recovery from her illness. In Oak Class Mr Richard Losasso will be sharing the class teaching responsibilities with Mrs Porter until November and I know he will do an excellent job and the children like him very much, having worked with him regularly in the past.

A variety of extra-curricular clubs will be running after school, beginning from the week commencing 11^th September. These will include football for both infants and juniors. Tuesday football club will continue for Years 2, 3 and 4, beginning next week. Netball club will take place on Wednesdays. Other clubs on offer to the children are Art, Choir and Gardening. Dates and times for these clubs will be sent out shortly. For football and netball, please complete the attached permission slips.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those staff and parents that volunteer to run school clubs. It really makes the children’s school lives so much richer. If you have a particular talent that you would like to share with the children, please call in at school, we would love to have more parents working alongside us.

Music lessons are still on offer at the school. Currently guitar, piano and flute lessons are available. Please call in at the office for more details.

Volunteer helpers are warmly welcomed in all the classes in the school. I am sure many of you are keen to become more involved with school life. If you are interested in helping at school please speak to either myself, or any of the teachers and we would be more than happy to have your help in the classroom (this is, of course, subject to police clearance). For those of you that want desperately to help, but would prefer to avoid working with children J then the PTFA may be just what you are looking for. Speak to any member of school staff and we will happily point you in the right direction.

Oak and Willow Classes will be swimming this year. Willow will be swimming this half-term. Swimming will take place on Thursday mornings, beginning Thursday 7^th September. Please fill in and return the attached consent form, along with swimming money to the office as soon as possible if your child is in Willow Class. Last year we subsidised well in excess of £1000 worth of trips, visitors and swimming. In order to maintain this level of subsidy it is important that all swimming money is paid in full and as soon as possible. Any families in receipt of income support and needing assistance with paying for swimming (or other trips) should contact the Mrs Kneebone with the relevant paperwork.

Please can you label all of your children’s clothes. Stitch in names are possibly the best as they don’t rub off as the year progresses, unlike biro or markers which can fade after several washes.

For PE it is important that children are all wearing appropriate kit, details of school PE uniform can be found in the school prospectus or in the school office. Please can you make sure that your children have their PE kits in school this week so that we can get cracking with PE from the very beginning of term!

Quite a number of children have come back from the holidays with wild and wacky hair, which although is great fun, is not really suitable for school. Please could hair be toned down at the next cut, thank you!

I am sorry to report that the school has suffered vandalism over the holiday period. Several windows were smashed, signs have been damaged and the school maypole, which is an original maypole was badly damaged. These incidents have all occurred in the early evening and have begun with teenagers trespassing on the field and progressing further into the school site. Should you see anyone on school premises that you don’t think should be there, please telephone the local police on 0845 456 7000 as they are aware of the situation and your call will help to create an evidence log. It is sad that anyone would feel the need to damage school property as the money taken for making repairs all comes from the same budgets used to buy equipment and pay for trips for the youngest members of our community.

Dates for your diary

September

12^th – Art Day (whole school)

12^th – Guitar lessons resume

13^th – Piano lessons resume (now on Wednesdays)

25^th – Expert Year 6 Mathematicians going to Westfield for an enrichment afternoon.

October

4^th – Harvest Festival (11:00am at St Mary’s Church)

5^th – Barnabus Live (Bible workshops and spiritual activity day)

10^th – Book Fair

17^th – Parents’ Evening (early – 3:30-5:30pm)

18^th – Parents’ Evening (late – 4:30-6:30pm)

19^th – NO Swimming for Oak or Willow on this Thursday

23^rd – Half term begins (for two weeks – second week is cheaper for holidays!)

November

6^th – Return to school

December

14^th - Christmas Nativity (2pm and 6pm)

20^th – Storybox Theatre in School and last day of term

Looking ahead

March 6^th – Parents’ Evening (early – 3:30-5:30pm)

March 7^th - Parents’ Evening (late – 4:30-6:30pm)

April 16^th – 20^th – Oak and Willow Class Camp at Kilve Court

June 21^st – Sports’ Day (25^th June is reserve date)

Harvest Festival will be on Wednesday 4^th October at 11am. The school will be having a service in the church, to which all are welcome. This year we will be donating tinned and bottled groceries to the church who will distribute it throughout the village. Parents are invited back to school after the service for tea and biscuits and a chance to chat to the staff and look at children’s work.

There will be a plate for donations both at church and at school in aid of the Piers Simon Appeal. In this way the school community will be able to help those at home and farther afield.

Kilve Court Camp will be taking place for Oak and Willow Class from 16^th -20^th April. The cost is again likely to be in the region of £120-£140 (still extremely good value though) and anyone wishing to start making payments early may like to know that Mrs Kneebone has created Kilve Tuesdays….Anyone wishing to make payments towards the cost of camp will be able to do so every Tuesday between now and April and reminders will go on the notice-board in the playground. It is a fantastic week, if you are unsure please speak to some parents of our older children – They all want to go back, which speaks for itself!

A huge volume of slips and forms has been sent home with this letter. These are the regular consent forms for internet use, photography, local walks and the home-school agreement. Please would you ensure that all of these are signed and returned by Monday 11^th September. Thank you. (Reception parents have had these forms already, but if they are still in a kitchen drawer, please send them in to school! J )

And finally… please remember that my door is always open. If there are any issues that you want to discuss, just drop in. We are aiming to make this year the best yet for Chilthorne Domer Church School.

Yours faithfully

Stewart Biddles