Bulletin No 1 September 2004
Autumn Term
MEARE VILLAGE PRIMARY SCHOOL
Dear Parents, A warm welcome back to all our parents old and new. I hope you had a restful break with the children, although most of us feel it was rather too short this year. As usual, the first bulletin of the new academic year has information of importance for this term and also looks forward to the rest of the year. photographer and always presents a charming and informative presentation for the children. He th is visiting school on Friday, 10 September and the children will be able to buy copies of his photographs. They cost 80p each or two for £1.50. He also has a number of beautiful calendars for £5.00. The presentation takes place in the afternoon, so parents can come into the hall at the end of school if they wish. Alternatively, please send any money in an envelope, clearly marked. The school subsidises this visit, but asks that parents make a voluntary contribution of 50p per child for the show.
Swimming
Swimming starts for all the children on Monday, th 6 September. The coaches will leave school at the following times: Class 2 and Class 4 Class 1 and Class 3 8.40 am 9.10 am
Specialist Music Tuition
Parents will remember that last year we employed a music specialist, Mrs Karen Faulkner-Davies, to teach music to all the children. This was a great success and we had a super impromptu concert at the end of term. I am always looking for ways to improve our provision for music and this year we shall be introducing ensemble recorder playing for our Key Stage 2 children. The Year 4 children will be learning this instrument in the Autumn Term and we shall cascade the teaching throughout the year groups.
(The new Reception children in Class 1 will be informed when they will start swimming in a few weeks time) The contribution for each child towards the swimming transport for the Autumn Term is £14.00. (except for the Reception children who will be informed of the exact amount when we set the actual weeks they will be swimming this term). Please send your payment into school in a sealed envelope marked as follows:
Interactive Technology
Over the summer break, we finalised the installation of 5 Interactive Whiteboards in our class bases. This is an exciting innovation, which will provide the teachers with opportunities to present information in a visual form, which can aid many of our learners. I am sure you will get an opportunity to see how it all works at our Open Evenings.
Name: …………………… Class ……… Amount enclosed: £ …… Swimming Transport Money
Open Evenings
If paying by cheque please make it payable to 'Somerset County Council' Can I remind you that any money sent into school should always be sent in this way and with it clearly written on the envelope exactly what you are paying for. For those parents new to school, we provide 3 opportunities throughout the year to formally come into school. The first is in the Autumn Term, when the class teachers present an overview of the year and the expectations for home and school involvement. This also provides an opportunity for you to talk to your child's class teacher about settling into school. In the Spring Term, there is an appointment offered for parent (s) and child to talk to the teacher about targets for improvement. The child will have completed a self-evaluation and this is an excellent opportunity to once again work together on taking the child's
Nick Williams Bird Man
It hardly seems possible that a year has passed since Nick Williams visited us. He is a wildlife
learning forward. Teachers complete a comprehensive report in the Summer Term and, once again, parents can come and see the class teacher if they wish.
Sports Opportunities
We have again organised a Netball Coach to take an after-school club this year for year 4, 5 and 6 pupils. This will take place on Mondays from 3.20 pm - 4.20 pm and any interested children will be given a letter to take home. On Friday afternoons from 24 September, Lee, who is working under the Sport England banner and took a very successful football club for us last year, will be taking year groups across the school for agility and ball skills work.
Autumn Term Open Evening
This will take place on Monday, 18 October. Please come along to the session(s) which relate to your child. Class 1: Class 2: Class 3: Class 4: 7.00 - 7.30 pm 7.30 - 8.00 pm 8.00 - 8.30 pm 8.30 - 9.00 pm
Parking
As we will shortly be having new Reception children starting at school, may I remind all parents that the parking at the rear of the school is restricted to school and playgroup staff only. Parents may park in the village car park at the end of Muddy Lane or at the front of the school if possible.
These sessions are for parents only.
Paula Ashton
I know that parents will like to know that just before the end of term, Paula Ashton was accepted as a Leading Literacy Teacher for Somerset Education Authority. Don't panic – she is not leaving us – but it is recognition of some very special work Paula has been doing both with our school and others.
School Grounds
2004-2005 will be an important year for the School Grounds development and during the Summer Break the Wildlife Area in the corner of the field was fenced off to enable us to develop it further. A very big thank you to three dads: Robert Franks, Mark Jenkins and Paul Hembury for doing this. New Staff Three new staff members have joined our teaching assistant staff this academic year. They are Jo Franks, Kate Holland and Dawn Watts, who will all be working in the Key Stage 1 classes.
Dartmoor Wildlife Park
Members of the wildlife park will be visiting us on Friday, 15 October and bringing some interesting animals with them. The children love this visit and it provides them with interesting facts about animals and conservation. We shall remind you nearer the time, but we do ask for a voluntary contribution of £1.00 to enable us to invite them.
INSET days and Half Term
The government are trying to rationalise the school year over the whole country and this year the half-term break will be slightly longer. We break for half term on Wednesday 20 October (i.e. there is no school on the Thursday) and return to school on Monday 1 November. Other INSET days for the rest of the year are: Friday, 17 September, 2004 Monday, 20 December,2004 Tuesday, 21 December,2004 Friday, 27 May,2005 Friday, 22 July,2005
Kay Guy
Headteacher 2 September 2004