Keep up to date with all the latest news happening in school at the moment.
KS1 Nativity – Born in a Barn
Mrs Gilman and I are being serenaded beautifully by the KS1 children as they rehearse their Nativity play. The children and teachers are putting in a lot of work to make it an enjoyable performance. The times of the performances are as follows:
Tuesday 6th December 2.00 p.m.
Wednesday 7th December 6.30 p.m. (Children in school at 6.00 p.m. please).
New Clubs starting in January 2017
Lacrosse – Years 4, 5 and 6 lunch times. The after school lacrosse club will be replaced by a lunchtime club for Years 4, 5 and 6.
Hockey – Monday after school for KS2
Football – Monday after school for KS1 with Paul Meakin
Details will follow shortly.
Judo
Judo class will commence on January 12th from 8 a.m. – 8.45 a.m. If you are interested in finding out more please contact info@iinkai-judo.co.uk
Film Night – Thursday 1st December
The school council have organised a film night on Thursday 1st December, this will be open to pupils from Year 1 to Year 6 and I have attached a letter to this Newsletter with all the details.
The Poppy Appeal
Thank you to everyone who bought a Poppy. The school raised £107.66 which was a great total.
Christmas Fair 9th December
The Christmas Fair is almost upon us and we are pleased to say that preparations are going well. It looks like it will be a fabulously festive event with lots of stalls for you to buy those Christmas treats. For the first time ever, we have asked the classes to create and run their own stalls. Please follow the link to find out more about the stalls and activities on offer. http://www.woodcote-primary.co.uk/2016/11/christmas-is-coming-on-friday-the-9th-of-december/ .
The Christmas Fair is almost upon us and we are pleased to say that preparations are going well. It looks like it will be a fabulously festive event with lots of stalls for you to buy those Christmas treats at. For the first time ever, we have asked the classes to create and run their own stalls.
*Please click on the links to see what these stalls will be selling.
Doors will be opened by Father Christmas at 5:30 via the school foyer.
(£1 per adult, kids under 16 go free)
Choirs will sing between 6 and 6:30pm
Raffle will be called at 7pm
Doors close at 7:30pm
We do hope you will all pop along and listen to the children’s choirs singing Christmas songs and carols, support their class stalls and get into the Christmas Spirit on Friday 9th December from 5:30-7:30.
School Prospectus
The new school prospectus is available for anyone who would like a copy. It looks fantastic and does the school justice with its vibrant photographs and supportive text which highlights our values and what makes us proud of our school. Copies are available in the school office.
Safeguarding
We would like to reassure parents of our continued commitment to safeguarding and we recently requested an Audit from the County to assess how we are doing. We are pleased to say that the outcome was very positive.
Children In Need
We have had a really fun day for ‘Children in Need’. Pudsey Bear danced his way through the playground and our eyes were blurred by a sea of spots. Cakes were munched and then the children ran off the extra calories with a fun run around the playground and the field. We raised a magnificent £358.55. Thank you to everyone for supporting this event
Year 5 and 6 Swimming
On Thursday 24th November years 5 and 6 will be doing a personal survival session so they will need pyjamas as well as their swimming kit.
Woodcote After School Club Vacancy
The After School Club are looking for a helper to join this popular and busy club. The hours are 3 p.m. until 6 p.m. three days a week. Play worker/NVQ level 2/3 is preferable and experience of working with children aged from 4-11. It would be an advantage if you have experience or hold certificates in Paediatric First Aid and food hygiene although training will be given to the right candidate. If you are interested please contact Sue Thorne, Susan Kew or Helen Hurst.
Aspens Lunches
The burst water pipe at Langtree school caused a bit of mayhem with our lunches but as parents you were all fantastically flexible and helped us deal with the situation without too much hassle so thank you to you all. Thankfully normal service was resumed today and chips were back, granted without the fish but sausages were an excellent substitute.
Davis Tate Christmas Colouring Competition
Davis Tate Estate Agents are running their annual Christmas colouring competition. Submissions are to be returned in advance of the Goring Christmas evening on 2nd December. The pictures go up on display in the window of the Goring Branch for the children to view in the week leading up to the night. If your child would like to enter copies of the picture are available from the school office. Davis Tate said that they always receive great submissions from Woodcote Primary School.
We have just been informed that due to unforeseen circumstances Langtree School is having to close tomorrow (Wednesday 16th November). This means that Aspens will not be able to provide our children with lunches – hot or cold.
Please could you therefore ensure that you send your child/children into school tomorrow with a packed lunch.
We will email you with further information regarding lunches for Thursday and Friday of this week.
Please bear with us. Thank you for your understanding.
click here to read more from the Langtree website regarding the closure
Our first disco of this academic year was well attended with 104 children joining in the fun over the 2 hour-long sessions.
With some super dancing, conga lines, spinning , twirling, sliding and ever-popular glow sticks, the children seemed to have a fabulous time.
Our dance off saw the children getting funky with their moves and the competition was tight.
The KS1 boys dance competition winner was won by Matthew S and the KS1 girl’s dance competition winner was won by Ava A. We hope you enjoy your prize.
The KS2 boys dance competition was won by Connor B who had some fancy moves which impressed us all and the KS2 girl’s dance competition was won by Ruby H who kept up a very energetic pace, with some groovy moves included.
Thank to our DJ, Nick and all the parents and staff who helped chaperone, set up, served drinks and cleared away. With your support ,this meant we were able to raise over £300 for the school. Thank you everyone!
Remembrance Day
The children showed respect at the village memorial to observe Remembrance Day and it was lovely to be joined by some of the parents.
Mrs McGuire
We will be very sorry to say goodbye to Mrs McGuire our lunchtime supervisor who is moving away from the area and who leaves the school on November 25th. Mrs McGuire has been instrumental in ensuring the smooth running of the school lunchtimes and we will really miss her. We will be advertising for a replacement lunchtime supervisor and details can be found on the Oxfordshire County Council website.
How to support your child with Phonics – A session for Foundation, Year 1 and Year 2 Parents – Thursday 17th November 3.30 p.m.
Come along to a Phonics meeting where we will be showing you how we teach Phonics to Foundation, Year 1 and Year 2 children. This will help you understand your child’s development in this area and how you can support them at home. A crèche will be available for school age siblings and the meeting will start a 3.30 p.m. and will last for about 45 minutes.
Pirate Ship Ahoy
We are excited about our new Pirate Ship and work is progressing well. The safety surface will be going down next week and until this work is completed please remind your children not to play on the structure.
FOWPS
Winter Disco
Tonight is the first whole school disco of the school year. We hope to see lots of Woodcote Primary children popping back to school for an hour of dancing. Please sign your child(ren) in as you enter via the foyer and sign out again when you leave. Foundation and KS1 from 5:30-6:30 (please collect your child by no later than 6:30 via the side gate). KS2 6:30-7:30 (please collect your child at 7:30 via the foyer). Cost: £3 per child. Children will get a drink and biscuit during the disco and be able to participate in a dance competition with a small prize for the winners.
Jingle Jog 2016
For the first time this year FOWPS have planned a fun run. With a festive Christmas theme, this fun run is for children aged 3 to11. You do not have to be a student at Woodcote Primary School to participate so please invite your friends to come along. We’d love to see your mini Santas, reindeer, elves, angels, shepherds, stars and other festive characters joining in. The entrance fee is £5 per participant payable to the school office by 5th December 2016.
Schedule of Events
Spectators can enjoy tea, coffee, hot chocolate and cold drinks and a breakfast butty or cake which will be on sale before, during and after the runs.
To register online for Jingle Jog 2016 at http://www.woodcote-primary.co.uk/2016/11/jingle-jog-testing-form/
Christmas Fair collections
A reminder that we are collecting raffle hamper goodies until the 30th of November. We are also collecting jolly jars for the jolly jar stall and bottles for our bottle tombola. These should be placed in to your child’s house crate outside the chalet.
Support your child’s house team by bringing in as many items as you can. The winning houses for these collections will be allowed to wear their own clothes to school on the day of the Christmas Fair, Friday 9th December.
Currently the Owls team is winning the jolly jar competition thanks to some very generous contributors! Can another team catch up?
The Bottle Tombola collection starts sooon so the completion is on to see which house will come out tops!
FOWPS COVER ART COMPETITION: FOWPS are running a cover art competition all this week. Please could your children draw a fun and festive Christmas themed picture on an A5 size page (in portrait orientation) and drop it in the collection box at the chalet by Friday the 18th. Please write your child’s name and class on the back of the drawing.
The winning artwork will be used as the cover of this year’s Christmas fair programme. Good luck to all entrants.
ADVERTISE YOUR BUSINESS: We are also offering A6 advertising space in the programme. If you run your own business and would like to have an advert in the programme, please email fowps@woodcote-primary.co.uk with your graphic/image and relevant information to be included, or to ask any questions regarding this venture. (Complete adverts appreciated). The cost of the advert is £10. The programmes will be sent out to everyone in the school, and be available on the door at the fair, so you should get a lot of exposure for your business.
Whitchurch Christmas Market – Sunday 4th December, 11am to 3pm
The Whitchurch-on-Thames Christmas Market will again be held at Whitchurch Primary School from 11am – 3pm on Sunday 4th December. This year we are so excited to be adding an outdoor ice skating rink for children and adults to enjoy (please email whitchurchiceskating@gmail.com to book your slot, tickets from £6). We will have Santa returning in his grotto (tickets £3 including gift and opportunity to write, decorate and post your own letter to Santa), some wonderful local craft and gift stalls and many children’s activities. We will be holding a raffle with some great prizes including dinner for two at the Crooked Billet, two premier enclosure badges for Newbury Races, a Sunday roast for four at The Elephant Hotel and lots, lots more (please email carolinejacollins@gmail.com to buy your raffle tickets). All proceeds are in aid of Whitchurch Primary School.
Some dates for your diary
| December | |
| 2nd | School Council film night |
| 6th and 7th | Year 1 and 2 Nativity |
| 8th and 9th | Foundation Christmas play |
| 9th | FOWPS Christmas Fair |
| 11th | FOWPS Jingle Jog fun run |
| 14th | Aspens Christmas lunch |
| 15th | Whole school Pantomime trip and bedtime stories |
| 16 | School Closes for the Christmas holiday |
|
On Friday 4th, Year 2 and Year 5 provided cakes for the class cake sale. The generous donations of cakes meant there was plenty for everyone to enjoy and they disappeared in next to no time. We even had some gluten free selections on offer.
Everything raised at class cake sales is split between the two classes and goes directly to the class to be spent on items they need and want for their class. This cake sale raised £52 for each class.
Well done to all who donated and to Verity, Amanda N, Carla, Andrea, Steve, Nadine, Jo and Steph for setting it all up and selling the cakes.
For the first time this year FOWPS have planned a fun run (this is not a timed event). With a festive Christmas theme, this fun run is for children aged 3 to11. You do not have to be a student at Woodcote Primary School to participate.
Please bring along your mini Santas, reindeer, elves, angels, shepherds, stars and other festive characters to join in. The entrance fee is £5 per participant payable by 9th December 2016.
Spectators can enjoy tea, coffee, hot chocolate and cold drinks and a breakfast butty or cake which will be on sale before, during and after the runs.
Please submit the form above first, then pay your registration fee of £5 before December 9th, 2016 to the school office.
