Welcome – Miss Kirsty Ouellette has now joined us as Teacher in Year 1, Hornbeam Class. She will be covering Mrs Fletcher’s maternity leave and will work on Monday and Tuesdays each week. Many of you will have already met her at the Parent Evening meetings this week. If you wish to see Miss Ouellette regarding your child in Hornbeam, please make an appointment with her via the classroom.

 Indoor Athletics – well done to our team who showed great spirit this morning when competing at Ickneild Community College, in the area indoor athletics championships for the first time. There were 12 teams from South Oxfordshire out of 46 who started the competition earlier in the year. Although we came 11^th overall, the competition was very close and the children should be very proud of themselves. It was a wonderful learning experience for all those taking part.

 World Book Day – today your child has been given a World Book Day £1.00 voucher which is redeemable against the purchase of books at any participating book store until 27^th March 2016. During the week commencing 29^th February we will be carrying out a variety of activities in our Team groups to mark World Book Day. As part of the celebration, on Friday 4^th March, the children are invited to come to school dressed as a favourite book character. Please bring the book, from which the character is taken, to school that day.

Cross Country Championships – this event will be held tomorrow, Saturday 27^th February 2016, from 9.30am -12.30pm at Chiltern Edge School. There is a £2.00 entry fee. Arriving 30 minutes early will give parents and children time to scout out the course and give the children time to warm up. The organisers have asked that parents lift share wherever possible to reduce the inevitable traffic and parking problems. Please note no dogs are allowed on site.

(As a comparison, 1 lap of the Woodcote Cricket Field is about 400m.) The course is relatively flat, but maybe muddy therefore studded or spiked shoes would be helpful if you have them. Mrs Bodeker and Dr Sudbury would like to encourage as many children as possible to take part for the challenge and enjoyment. If the children already take part in the morning running sessions and lunch time running club, they should have no problem completing the course. There is no race for the Foundation children however last year we took some keen ones who entered the Year 1 race. Let Mrs Bodeker know if your Foundation child is interested.

Bridge Club – Mrs Carol Quinton runs a bridge club on Tuesday lunchtimes from 12.30-12.55pm. If your child would like to take part please let the office know by Tuesday morning 1^st March (an email is fine). The children learn about the game of Bridge in a simple form but also practice numeracy and memory skills, cooperation and patience while playing. The children meet up with Carol after lunch, in one of our Chalet buildings.

Sainsbury’s Active Kids – vouchers will be available in store from 27^th January – 3^rd May 2016. Please collect these for our school and bring them to the Foyer to post in the collection box or post them through our post box. Please do not staple them together. The more vouchers are collected, the more we can spend on additional resources for school. Over the years we have bought playground equipment, such as stilts and skipping ropes, and gym equipment too.

Messy Church – 2.30pm – 4.30pm on Sunday 28^th February. St. Leonard’s Church invites you to come and join in an afternoon of family fun with crafts & games, a lively 15 minute service, with tea & cakes to finish! Free admissions – donations welcome. Please note that all children must be accompanied by an adult.

Medical Appointments – whilst most parents book appointments outside of school time, occasionally there are circumstances that arise when appointments are necessary during the school day. Please bring in any documentation regarding the appointment. A copy of the letter or email detailing the dates and times are then taken and placed on the absence folder (this information is available for OFSTED inspection purposes, in order to prove the whereabouts of children who are absent from school due to medical appointments). If the appointment is by text please bring in the text message on your phone for the office staff to sign that they have seen it or email in a screen shot image of the text.