Head's Newsletter

Dear Parents/Carers,

As we come to the end of our first half term, I thought I would send a quick letter to share some of our achievements this year.

As this has been the first half term as a JTMAT school, significant changes have been taking place in school, particularly in the office, which may not be evident for parents. Mrs Tilley and Mrs Jones have been learning many new systems and processes, which will in turn help school run even more smoothly. Next half term, Mrs Jones will be absent for an extended period and I'm pleased to share that we have appointed Mrs Sophie Semple to cover this absence. Mrs Semple lives in the village and knows the school well, her own children having attended. We offer her a very warm welcome and look forward to her joining the team. 

It has also been an extremely busy half term for our football team. As you may know, last year, our team were highly successful and made us very proud. Several of those players left for High School and so there were significant changes in the squad. The players had very high expectations of themselves, though, and so far this term we have seen some astronomical wins. Just as importantly, the players have conducted themselves excellently and been great ambassadors for the school. 

We have seen great attendance in our extra-curricular clubs this half term. Sporting clubs including football, netball and dance have been lively and enjoyable, and we've been pleased in the number of children taking part. Next half term, we will be looking at making swaps to give even better opportunities for KS1 pupils. Lower KS2 Mathmagicians have been fabulous and we have spent some very enjoyable lunchtimes devising our "dungeons and dragon" inspired board games. We still have room for additional children who want to learn musical instruments. If you have a child who wants to learn piano, singing, violin, or a woodwind instrument, please do drop me an email so we can arrange a trial session. As part of our commitment to children's cultural education, if you are in receipt of benefits-related Free School Meals, we will cover the cost of your child's music lessons.

School Council have been extremely helpful this half term, completing a site walkaround to identify areas they think could benefit from improvement/repair. They spotted a few things we adults hadn't, so we look forward to acting on these in the near future.

We are looking forward to the Library fundraising to get fully underway next half term. Many parents have kindly offered support in things such as bake sales. We will be extremely grateful to accept these offers and teachers will be in touch after the holidays. As it stands, through the JustGiving page and private donations, we have already received over £1000, which is a fabulous start. This amount will pay for the removal of the sink and the re-location of the boiler, in order that the corner can be used as a teaching/intervention zone. (Once we get the boring bits safely out the way, we can focus on the exciting bits the children can contribute to, such as choosing furniture and books!)

Finally, I would like to say a big "thank you" to all of you adults who play a part in success and happiness of our school community. Whether you're a parent, a governor, a PTFA member, a grandparent or anything in between, we appreciate your support and positivity. We hope you have a wonderful, restful half term and that the children are able to get outside for some fun and fresh air. 

Wish best wishes,

Eleanor Wilson

Headteacher