Sedbergh Primary School ‘Excellence in the heart of the community’ School Newsletter No.8 – Friday 28th June 2019

Please regularly visit our school website www.sedberghprimary.org.uk and keep an eye out for further updates on our school app.

On Monday at 5pm, we will have an open meeting to discuss School organisation for September 2019. I apologise that this meeting has been rescheduled because of my being ill. Letters came home last Friday outlining where different children will be taught next year. This meeting is another opportunity for parents to ask general questions about these changes. Please do approach me directly if you have any specific concerns or questions about learning for your child in the next academic year.

EYFS Big Build Update; So the final push is on to raise what we can before we start to finalise our development plans. Thank you again for everything you have given so far. As you know we have the following up coming events… Duck Race – 5th July at 4pm… Children’s Bingo date TBC… Sedbergh Sports on Friday 12th July followed by the Holme Howler on Saturday 13th July. If you have any further fundraising ideas it is still not too late to get in touch with the team and share your ideas. See PTFA Promise Auction notice below.

Some of our intrepid parents and staff (and some children too) have signed up to complete the Holme Howler on Saturday 13th July. This 10km obstacle course runs around the village of Holme. Teams from different organisations are encouraged to work together to get around the course and raise money for good causes. If possible, we would really appreciate your sponsorship to raise some extra funds for the EYFS Big Build. Do pop into school and speak to Mrs Scarr or Mrs Jones for more information. However, if you’re fired up and ready to join us, just click on the link below, register for the event and when asked for a team name, enter ‘Sedbergh Primary School’. We can’t wait to get muddy! https://www.holmehowler.co.uk. We will also send out the link on our app. Please collect a sponsor form from school if you wish to take part.

We also have a number of ducks still available for our ‘Duck Race’ on Friday 5th July (£1 a duck); please do pop into school if you would like to participate. Many thanks to Mr and Mrs Hoggarth for the use of their land to access the river.

Staff changes; as many of you know Janet Bowman has decided to retire from teaching in July. We will all miss Janet, she has dedicated 26 years to the children of Sedbergh. We will miss her knowledge, experience and talents. We will celebrate Janet’s career and say goodbye in a special assembly in school on Wednesday 17th

July at 2.30pm – parents are very welcome to attend.

In July we also say good bye to both Mr Thomas Young and Mrs Sharon Wilkinson. Mr Young has worked as an apprentice in school for the last 2 years and supported many children in their learning journey through our school. He has completed both his Level 2 and Level 3 apprenticeship qualifications in ‘Supporting Teaching and Learning’ whilst working for us. We are grateful for all he has done and confident that he will go on to forge a fantastic future career. Mrs Wilkinson has also been a fantastic TA working in Early Years Foundation Stage, we wish her all the best in her next steps.

Our Year 4 children enjoyed an amazing visit to Liverpool, learning about the city of different places of worship. We felt so welcome at the Al Rhama Masjid Mosque, the Anglican and Metropolitan Cathedrals. As teachers we were so impressed by the behaviour and attitude of the children; they were polite, interested and respectful at all times. So many people commented on how well behaved and positive they were. I can’t wait to go back again with next year’s Year 4 group.

Eels; we released our 50 (maybe 49) elvers into the River Rawthey at New Bridge yesterday. We have really enjoyed looking after and learning about these incredible creatures; beginning to understand more about the little things we can do to protect and conserve our local environment. Thank you to everyone who donated cakes and came in non-uniform to support our Eel project. We also want to say a massive thank you to Louisa (from the Lune Rivers Trust) and Rachael (from Yorkshire Dales National Park) for leading this project and supporting us in school. In the Autumn, the project continues; Louisa and Rachael will be back and we will welcome artist Nicky Smith back into school to help us think a little bit more about our fishy friends.

Many thanks once again to the PTFA for their fantastic support. On Friday 11th October the PTFA will hold a Promise Auction as a final event to raise funds for our Big Build Project. As in previous years, this will be a very enjoyable and memorable event. We will be asking for donations of ‘promises’ and support for the event (yet again) but hope that as ever local people and families will be able to support us. Please remember, often the best ‘promises’ are offers of time or expertise, rather than gifts or items (although those are much appreciated!) We will send out further information prior to the summer break.

Please see the PTFA Facebook page for more information about the event. As ever, your help is always appreciated. Contact Michelle Hartley our PTFA Chair with any ideas or offers of help. PTFA@sedbergh- pri.cumbria.sch.uk

Diary Dates July 2019 Monday 1st . Open meeting with parents to discuss September 2019 at 5pm Tuesday 2nd . Settlebeck transition day for Year 6 pupils Wednesday 3rd . EYFS Sports Day at 9.30am Thursday 4th . KS2 Production; 1.30pm and 6.30pm Friday 5th . Year 2 Visit to Leighton Moss (RSPB Reserve) . Big Build Duck Race on the Rawthey at 4pm Wednesday 10th . Sports Day – Juniors am, Infants pm Friday 12th . Settlebeck Drama students in school working with Oak class . Sedbergh Sports Saturday 13th . PTFA Big Build Fundraiser – ‘The Holme Howler’ Monday 15th . End of Year School Reports home Tuesday 16th . Parent Drop in Sessions – teachers available to discuss reports Wednesday 17th . 3.00pm Special Assembly for Mrs Bowman Friday 19th . Leavers’ Assembly . School finishes at 2pm for the summer break

See you all on Tuesday 3rd September 2019 for the start of the new academic year!