Friday 25th November 2016 NEWSLETTER 6

Dear Parents and Carers,

This week we have said farewell to Mrs Gledhill, one of our most experienced Teaching Assistants after sixteen years’ service. She will be greatly missed by us all and we thank her for all she has done for the children and staff at the school.

Many thanks for your generosity in supporting the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal and for your donations of gifts for Amelia’s Rainbow. So far we have collected over eighty gifts for needy children. (Last day for collection is the 5th December). We also collected £115.03 for the Children in Need appeal.

Special Assemblies My thanks to Chris Brockway (Christchurch Baptist Church) and Stephen Gilham for their support this term in providing assemblies for the children.

Congratulations to the following children for receiving Fabulous Friday Stickers: Year 1 Year 2 Week ending 11th November 2016 Week ending 11th November 2016

Hedgehogs: Emma, Sidney, Nyle & Ben Kingfishers: Teigan, Star, Neesan & Harvey Squirrels: Sienna, Alfie & Presley Woodpeckers: Finnley, Isabella & Aldo Foxes: Ethan, Luke, Darcey & Nightingales: Sophia & Poppy J. Rabbits: Harry & Jessica Kestrels: Sam & Austin

Week ending18th November 2016 Week ending 18th November 2016

Hedgehogs: Sofia, George, Sasha & Alice Kingfishers: Gus & Ruby Squirrels: Elena & Lily Woodpeckers: Emma & Jack Foxes: Cerys & Chloe Nightingales: Abigail & Jake T. Rabbits: Emily & Mark Kestrels: Grace, Archie,

Pantomime Fun! The brilliant Treehouse Theatre are returning to perform ‘Never Never Land’, a prequel to Peter Pan full of swashbuckling action, music and fairy dust. To cover the cost of this performance we are asking for donations of £2 per child. If you have not already done so, please complete the slip below and return with your donation in a named envelope so that we can ensure this visit will go ahead for all our children. PTFA Events

Mufti Day – Friday 2nd December The theme for the day is ‘CHRISTMAS’ so your child can come to school in a Christmas outfit or simply wearing red and green colours (but please, no tinsel!). In return we ask for donations of the following:-

Foundation - Cakes (home-made are always the best!) Year One - Chocolates or bags of sweets Year Two - Hamper items (e.g. wine, jam, biscuits, chutney etc) (please ensure all items are within ‘use by’ dates)

URGENT PLEA! Lots of help is needed all day on this Friday so please help if you can. We need to get Santa’s Grotto ready for his arrival on Saturday, set out stalls etc.

Christmas Fair – Saturday 3rd December 12pm to 2:30pm We look forward to seeing you all at this year’s Christmas Fair, which is always a lovely family day out and gets the festive season off to a great start. As with previous years, we will need lots of help beforehand (setting up), during (running stalls) and after the fair (clearing up), so please let us know if you can help with any of these tasks. We have a relatively new PTFA Team this year and they really will be very grateful for all the support you can give – many hands make light work (and new friends) Thank you.

Our thanks, as always, to Mr Ashenden for providing the Christmas tree this year.

Surprise Santa One of our favourite Christmas activities is taking place on Tuesday 6th December and Wednesday 7th December. If you would like your child/ren to buy a surprise gift for mum, dad, grandma, or grandad – then just send £1.50 per gift in a named envelope on one of these days and they will be able to choose from a wide selection of presents. The gifts come home pre-wrapped so the children can put them under the Christmas tree ready for Christmas Day.

Please note the gifts are only for adults and are not suitable for children or pets!

My thanks to the PTFA who organise this event. We do need volunteers to escort pupils to and from our Surprise Santa shop in the school library and help children select their gifts. If you would like to help during either of these days please get in contact with a member of the PTFA directly or through the school office.

The final PTFA Meeting this term is on Tuesday 13th December at 7pm at the school.

Party Day This takes place on the last day of term – Friday 16th December. We ask that the children come to school in party clothes as the day is full of special activities (but do bear in mind that they will still be going out to play so they will still need coats and sensible shoes).

To clarify what will be happening in each year group regarding lunch – please note that:-

Children receiving a free packed lunch will still be provided with one but this will be kept in the fridge and sent home at the end of the day. Instead for lunch we would like donations of party food – lists will be put up on the classroom doors. If your child has any allergies – please let the class teacher know and if necessary provide ‘special food’ that is labelled for them specifically.

My thanks to the staff for organising such an enjoyable day for the children. A final reminder of our Christmas celebrations - please do join us if you can:-

Saturday 3rd December - School Christmas Fair 12 - 2:30pm Tuesday 6th & Wednesday 7th December - Surprise Santa – Helpers needed for the Surprises shop please Monday 12th December - Foundation Christmas Assemblies:- 9:30am Seahorses & 11:30am Turtles Tuesday 13th December - Foundation Christmas Assemblies:- 9:30am Dolphins & 11:30am Starfish Wednesday 14th December - Year One Christmas Performances:- 9:30am Hedgehogs and Squirrels 1:45pm Rabbits and Foxes Thursday 15th December - Year Two Christmas Sing-along 5:30 – 6:30pm Friday 16th December - Party Day (last day of term)

School Nurse Drop-in Session The next visit will be on Wednesday 30th November from 8:50am. Please pop in for an informal chat with Mrs Phillips if you have any queries.

Permanent and Casual Cleaners Required Would you be interested in being a school cleaner on a permanent or casual basis (and be able to step in at short notice to cover illness/absence)? The hours would be 3pm to 5pm or 5:30pm on weekdays only for both roles. For further information or to apply, please contact Mrs Johnson in the school office.

Congested Streets To try to help reduce congestion and improve road safety around the schools we ask that parents, at drop off and pick up time, use a one way system for cars - moving up Clarendon from Barrack Road to Fairmile and down Portfield from Fairmile to Barrack Road. We also ask that parents walk with their children along the pavements and supervise them closely. Thank you.

Lost Property Please come in to school before the end of term and look through our lost property tub for any missing items, as this will be emptied before we return to school in January.

Yours sincerely,

Mrs JS Ashenden Headteacher

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‘Never Never Land’ Pantomime performed by Treehouse Theatre

To cover the cost of this performance we are asking for donations of £2. Please complete the details below and return with money in a named envelope.

Child’s name: ______Class Name: ______I do / do not enclose a voluntary contribution of £2 towards the cost of this performance.