Newsletter - December 2008 Well, the excitement is rising as we move into the last two weeks of term! This is such a special time in school and we are looking forward to squeezing in lots of fun as we prepare for Christmas. F.A.C.E.S Christmas Fair Thank you to all of the families who were able to come along and support the Christmas fair on Friday. As always, our FACES committee worked their socks off to organise this event, which was a great success. A huge thank you to the committee and all who helped to make this occasion fun for everybody. Sporting News Football Our football squad have played magnificently this half term and have enjoyed close matches against Bulmer, Richard de Clare, Holy Trinity and Gosfield. We have a match this eveningMonday 8th, against St Andrews Halstead, which will be the last occasion this term that the squad will meet. Many thanks to Mr Lawrence, Jessie Casey and Mrs Tillinghast for their time and commitment. We will continue next term to play more matches- including some for the younger KS2 children and hopefully, one for a girls team. Watch this space for news of how we get on! Tag Rugby We had a fabulous time at the Tag Rugby festival at Braintree Rugby club earlier this half term. We got stronger and stronger in each game, as our squad worked extremely well together to become more tactical in their play. We played three games, winning one, drawing one and losing one. We then played a friendly game with Bulmer, when we mixed up the teams to have the ‘Bulmengaines vs the Colners’. It was great fun! We are hoping that we can run a rugby club sometime in the new year.
Swimming We were able to take two teams to the Swimming Gala on the 19th November. Our A Team won the small school group with 18 points. The teams were made up of yr 5 and 6 pupils. They looked very smart in matching polo shirts and would have won the award for the best supporters with their Colne Engaine chant !!! Congratulations to; Sam Atkinson (Captain), Lois Tillinghast (Captain), Martha Courtauld, Tallulah Robson, Rose Barrow, James Abbott, Sam Edney, Harry Pentney, Daniel Hall, Harry Amerio, Olivia Arthey-Gasser, Megan Burgess, Lauren Burrows, Oliver Sansom, Sarah Dixon, Isobel Davidson and Alex Griffiths
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Multi skills Good luck, Lois, when you represent us at the next round of the multi sports competition tomorrow- we are so proud of you!
Gymnastics We have been really lucky to have the expertise of a gymnastics coach this half term, who has been working with Miss Mitchell’s class. The children have really enjoyed this learning experience and we hope to continue with this into next term.
Girl Guides We have been asked to let you know that as from January the Girl Guide Association will be starting a Guide Pack for girls aged 10 – 14. They will be meeting on a Thursday Evening at Earls Colne Scout Hut. For more details please contact Mandy on 220065. For more information about the brilliant opportunities that this could create for your daughters, please go to www.girlguiding.org.uk. Fundraisers for school As FACES have already advised, you can raise money for the school by going through www.schoolfunds.co.uk to purchase goods via the web. Please take this opportunity to help- it all adds up! Non-Uniform days Our non uniform day for Children in Need raised £114.73. Well done to Olivia Arthey-Gasser and Samuel Edney for organising this.
Jacob Marshall Just to let you know that Jacob Marshall is recovering well after a short spell in hospital and we hope he will be able to join us for one or two of his visits to school this term. Having spoken further with the Clic Sargent nurse, we have decided that the assembly that she is leading on 15th December will be just for the children and staff, but if you have any questions for her, please do not hesitate to call and we will put you in touch with her. Please remember- Jacob’s immune system has been weakened by the treatment he has received and it is vitally important that you let us know if your child comes into contact with either measles or chicken pox, as he will need an immediate course of medication to protect him, should he come into contact with either of these illnesses
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Donate towards a Defibrillator We will be having a collecting box in the school for the appeal launched by Jane & Michael Beckett to purchase a defibrillator for the village, which I’m sure you will agree, is a very worthwhile project in an area that is a fair distance from a hospital. If you would like to donate any amount to this cause then please use the collection box in the entrance hall, or send in a donation in a clearly marked envelope. Christmas Celebrations. Just to remind you, we have a range of activities and celebrations planned for Christmas and the fun starts this week! ‘Christmas Message Cards’. Rather than write lots of Christmas cards to deliver to friends at school, we are hoping that all of the children will take the opportunity to buy a Christmas Card Tag from the Office, to take home to make into a beautiful hand made card for everybody at school to enjoy. Each tag will cost £1 and the proceeds will go to a charity of the children’s choice. The cards can be decorated in any way- the more glittery the better- and a Christmas message added on the back. We will have a post box in the entrance hall and every day until the end of term, the cards will be shared with the whole school in assembly time. They will then be hung on the Christmas tree so that we can all continue to enjoy them. We feel that there are many benefits to this approach to sharing Christmas cards. It is of course more environmentally friendly and will raise awareness of how we can help others at Christmas through supporting charities. (It will also save families time and expense!) If children still wish to bring in cards for individual friends, they can of course, but these should be given out at playtime and should be taken home to open. They will not be delivered through the school post box. Wednesday 10th and Thursday 11th December- 2.15pm - Christmas Message Assemblies. Please indicate on the slip below if you will be able to join us on either date, to help us to make decisions about seating space. As usual there will only be two tickets available per family to be used either together or one on each day. PLEASE RETURN THE SLIP (if you haven’t already done so) By TOMORROW- TUESDAY 9TH DECEMBER Monday 15th Dec- Key Stage One Party pm Tuesday 16th Dec- We are holding our School Carol Service at the Church at 11am, which you are warmly invited to attend. We will then return to school to enjoy our Christmas dinner. A separate letter is attached regarding the dinner. Wednesday 17th Dec- Mrs Gilbey’s class Christmas Party Thursday 18th December- Mrs Jevons’ class Christmas party
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Friday 19th December- Last day of term. We shall finish in the afternoon at 2pm after a Grand Christmas Singalong for the children before they come home to enjoy the Christmas Holidays. Finally on behalf of all the staff and children, I would like to wish you all a very happy Christmas and a wonderful break with your families. We look forward to seeing you on Monday 5th January 2009. With best wishes,
Julie Winstanley Dates for your Diary Wednesday 10th December Thursday 11th December Monday 15th December Tuesday 16th December Wednesday 17th Dec Thursday 18th December Friday 19th December Monday 5th January 2009 Christmas Message Assemblies Christmas Message Assemblies Key Stage One Party Carol Service in Church 11am Christmas Dinner Mrs Gilbey’s class Christmas Party Mrs Jevons’ class Christmas party Last day of Term – School finishes 2pm First day of Spring Term
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Wednesday 10th and Thursday 11th December- 2.15pm - Christmas Message Assemblies I/We would like to attend the Christmas Message Assembly on Wednesday 10th December* - We will need 1 seat*/ 2 seats* Thursday 11th December* - We will need 1 seat*/ 2 seats* * Delete as appropriate Childs Name ………………………………………………………………………………………………. Class …………………………..
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