Value of the month ‘Caring’

School Dinners – This week we sent out a letter from Aspens, the school dinner provider, regarding the ability to
pre-book and pay for school lunches via their online system.  The school will continue to take payments for dinners but would ask that families stick to one method of payment – either online or payment to the school.  If you wish to order and pay for your meals online then please complete the slip on the end of the Aspens letter and return it to the office.  If your child is ill and will not require the dinner that day it can be cancelled online up to 9.15am and you will not be charged.

If you wish to continue paying through the school office please send in your payment on a Monday morning in an envelope (an old one will do) clearly marked with your child’s name and the days they require dinner that week.  You can pay for more than one week if you wish, any payment for dinners not taken will be carried forward.
Please do not send in loose money. The envelopes can be put through the letter box or given to your child’s teacher who will then send it through to the office with the dinner register.

Free School Meals –are available for children in families claiming Income Support, Income Based Jobseeker’s Allowance or Child Tax Credit.  If you think you would be entitled to free meals for your child (even if they do not usually have dinners or will only require a dinner occasionally) please ask in the school office for a form to complete so that your entitlement can be checked. It is important that we have this information since it affects school funding as we can claim extra Pupil Premium Grant which is used to help children who need more assistance in school.

Wildlife Area – The working party on Saturday achieved loads of back breaking digging with a huge amount of help from the Conservation group to whom we owe a great deal of thanks. We removed the remainder of the contents of the pond, lifted the liner, dug out some really compacted soil, re-laid the ‘underlay’ and the pond liner and then lined it again with more overlay and soil went back on top.  The pond should start filling with water ready for some planting in January /early Feb so we will have a useable area by the spring.  It doesn’t look great at the moment, some more ‘creating’ of various ‘areas of interest’ and different habitats are still to be done along with making the area where the children will be ‘dipping’ safe and durable.  We are planning two further sessions to finish the work early in the New Year and we will advise of the dates as soon as possible.

We had a huge amount of support from children and parents.  Many thanks go to Kathy Baldwin, Teigan and Charlotte Mansfield, Sam, Ian and Skye McDougall, Beth Wise, June McGinty and Iona Bielby, Catherine, Ben and Max Temple, Chris, Harry and Josie Hurst, Finlay McAuslin, Helena, Adam and Toby-Joe McBride, Steve and Samuel Bartlett.

We would like to thank Helena McBride for organising all this for us and all the hard work she has put into improving the wildlife area which will be a great asset for the children next year.

School Admissions – A reminder again that if any parents have pre-school children born between 1^st Sept 2009 and 31^st Aug 2010 who are due to start school in Sept 2014, applications for a school place must be made by 15^th January 2014.  Applications can be made online at www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/admissions but if you are not able to do this, please ask in the school office for a booklet which includes a form to complete and send to Oxfordshire Admissions Department.

New Term – Spring Term begins on Tuesday 7^th Jan.  We look forward to seeing you all then.  Hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Amy Fletcher,

Acting Headteacher

The trees are up, the baubles hung and the tinsel draped. The school is looking very festive and the anticipation is rising to fever pitch. The children are all so excited about Christmas. At the time of writing, the first of our school plays has taken place with Key Stage 1’s production of Baboushka. The songs were all sung beautifully and there were a few star performers among the actors, as you can see in the photo. Parents enjoyed every minute and some were even quite misty eyed.

Children in Need – The whole school participated in fundraising for Children in need this year with many activities on the Friday. Not least was the fact that the children came to school in their pyjamas and with their cuddly bears in tow. Money was raised through fun idea like paying for a paw print ‘tattoo’ or buying Pudsey cookies, taking their favourite bears to visit the ‘ hospital’ or entering a colouring competition which was organised by some of the girls in Year 6. The school managed to raised an amazing £450 for such a good cause and we would like to thank all children and parents for their generosity.

Cross Country – Once again years 3, 4, 5 and 6 competed again in the inter-school cross country league. The last event was held at Stoke Row and we had sterling performances from David Carr (1st), Andrew Carr (2nd ) Toby-Joe McBride(1st) and Courtney McKinnon (1st). This now puts Woodcote Primary School in second place. The final will take place in January and Woodcote will be hosting event. Any supporters would be welcome to come and cheer us on – final date to be confirmed.

Christmas Market – with a revised formula for what was the Christmas Fayre, the FOWPS Christmas Market took place on Friday evening 29th November. The children were able to visit Santa in his very special grotto, to buy quality but affordable presents for Mum & Dad and there were lots of lovely stalls. Mulled wine and mince pies were available in abundance. The school was able to raise close to £1700 which will be used to but learning aids and equipment for the children. A big ‘Thank you’ to FOWPS from the school for another great event.

Poetry Please – Early in December, 2 year six children were invited (with children from other schools) to participate in a poetry workshop held at Checkendon Primary School. Jack Botham and Andrew Carr participated and were involved in learning about all different types of poetry and then writing their own poems, one about the Sea and one about feelings. As an added bonus, the boys got to meet Steve Backshall (of Deadly 60 fame) who happened to be visiting at the same time.

Anti Bullying Week – A very busy week for the children where they learnt about anger management, attended ‘The Power of One’ anti bullying show – a skit based production providing an overview of the bullying process, and the ‘Bullying STOPS here’ Cyber Anti-Bullying show among many other activities. All our Children have now signed a pledge to tackle any bullying that may occur: ‘I will not bully others’, ‘I will not stand by while others are bullied’, ‘I will report and deal with bullying whenever I see it’.

Our anti bullying week culminated in the grand opening of our ‘Snug’ which provides a space to offer playground support, counselling for individual children or for groups of children and a ‘safe’ place to retreat should the need arise.

We would like to wish all our parents and children a very Happy 2014

Christmas Productions – A reminder that the Infants (Oak, Hornbeam and Beech classes) Christmas Production will take place next Wednesday 11^th December at 2pm.  Please note that tickets are not required for this performance but that parents will not be allowed in until the doors open at 1.30pm.  Please do not arrive too early.

There will be a dress rehearsal on Monday 9^th December at 2pm for this Production but parents will not be allowed in until 1.45pm.  Parents are welcome to attend this if they are unable to attend the actual production and we would also ask if you have pre-school children that you bring them to this dress rehearsal rather than the performance on

11^th December.  On both occasions the children will be available to collect from their classrooms after they have changed.  Please use the side gate as normal.  A collection will be made at the end of each of these performances which will go towards the development of our wildlife area.

Siblings Nativities – I am sorry to say that we will not be able to authorise absence for children to attend other Christmas Productions where their brothers or sisters are performing.  Regulations passed by the Government in 2013 abolished the right of Headteachers to authorise up to 10 days of absence a year. Under current legislation, schools are now only allowed to authorise leave of absence for any reason if satisfied that exceptional circumstances exist. Therefore any absence except for sickness or exceptional circumstances will be classed as ‘Unauthorised Absence’.

School Admissions – If any parents have pre-school children born between 1^st September 2009 and 31^st August 2010, who will be due to start school in September 2014, application for a school place must be made by
15^th January.  Applications can be made online  at www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/admissions but if you are not able to do this, please ask in the school office for a booklet which includes a form to complete and send to Oxfordshire Admissions Department.

Weeding and Wading in the Wildlife Area – We are still looking for volunteers to help with clearing and re-building the wildlife area tomorrow 7^th and 14^th December.  If you are able to volunteer for an hour or two between 10am and 4pm please email: helena.adams07@gmail.com

Cross Country Event – The next primary school cross country event will take place at Chiltern Edge School this  Saturday 7^th December starting from 10am (depending on year group)  Further details from Kevin Nutt on 01189 721500 or email knutt@chilternedge.oxon.sch.uk

Christingle Service – St. Leonard’s Church will be holding their Christingle Service on Sunday 15^thDecember starting at 4pm.  This candlelit service is for all the family and every child will receive their very own Christingle.

End of Term – This term will end on Friday 20^th December at the earlier time of 1pm.  The new Spring Term will begin on Tuesday 7^th January.