Headteacher Newsletter Issue 7
FORTNIGHTLY NEWSLETTER ISSUE 7: 15.12.17
Reception trip to Audley End Railway
On Thursday 7th December, Reception Class went on the Audley End train to visit Father Christmas. It was a magical trip and we enjoyed looking at the festive toys. The elves danced for us and Father Christmas gave us all a present. We also sat on Santa’s sleigh and posted our letters. The children were fantastic. Thank you to all our parent helpers.
School Choir sing at the Spirit of Christmas
On Saturday 9th September, the school choir led by Mrs Middleton took part in a very special concert at St Mary’s Church in Saffron Walden. There were lots of other choirs and musicians. Every member represented Clavering School brilliantly as they sang their two songs. Congratulations to Keira Shaw and Maya Parker for winning 2nd prize in the carol writing competition for their carol; “It’s a Wonderful Day”.
Christmas Fair
We would like to thank the Friends of Clavering for organising and running a very good Christmas Fair the other week. A special thank you to Rachel Betts for leading the team and to all the families who attended to support the event. Next week there will be a Christmas Shopping morning for the children as well as Christmas Entertainment after their Christmas lunch.
Christmas Plays
We have had a wonderful week of Christmas plays. The Key Stage One performance ‘A Midwife Crisis’ took place during the afternoon of 14th December. The children were fantastic. All of the children managed to learn a lot of lines for the speaking parts and words for the songs.
During the morning of the December 14th the Reception class performed a wonderful Nativity for their parents. It was a great success and the children impressed us all with all the songs and actions that they had remembered.
KS2 performed ‘Bethlehem The Musical’ over two evenings. It was an amazing performance. All year groups had a significant role within the play with a mixture of solos, speaking parts and dances. Year 6 had the larger speaking parts. The acting flowed beautifully and the solos were sung extremely well. The singing was wonderful throughout the performance.
Well done to all the children for taking part in the Christmas plays and a big thank you to all the staff. Thank you too for all your generous donations, we have just over £609 to send to the children’s ward at Addenbrookes Hospital.
The school productions will be available to buy on a DVD. Additional order forms can be collected from the school office.
Photos
A reminder that the earlybird deadline for you to receive a 10% discount on the school photos finishes on 15th December. If for any reason you have lost your original viewing instructions, Pret-a-Portrait will be more than happy to help and you can contact them directly on 0800 021 7626 or .
INSET Dates for the academic year 2018 – 2019
Schools allocate five non-pupil days for staff training:
Tuesday 4th September 2018 (extra one due to expansion)
Wednesday 5th September 2018
Friday 19th October 2018
Friday 15th February 2019
Monday 3rd June 2019
Wednesday 24th July 2019
School Admissions – Primary and Secondary – Apply Now!!
To apply quickly and easily for primary and secondary school places go online to http://www.essex.gov.uk/Education-Schools/Schools/Admissions/Pages/Apply-Online.aspx
For secondary applications – (children in year 6) apply between 12 September 2017 to 31 October 2017
Secondary Admissions booklet:
For primary applications – (child born between 1 September 2013 and 31 August 2014) apply between 13 November 2017 to 15 January 2018
Primary Admissions booklet:
An opportunity to raise funds for Clavering Primary School when shopping online:
To raise funds for Clavering Primary School before shopping online –
- please click on easyfundraising.org.uk
- then click on Friends of Clavering Primary School.
Every purchase through many websites (including Amazon and John Lewis) raises a percentage for the school.
Lost Property
Please can we ensure that all items are named. There is a lot of unclaimed and unnamed items in lost property. This will be put on display in the entrance hall during the last week of term Monday -Wednesday 18th – 20th December.
Footwear
In the interest of safety, as well as appearance, pupils should wear suitable footwear for school. Shoes should fasten securely and be plain black and low heeled with enclosed toes. Boots, sandals, sling backs and trainers are not appropriate for school. Trainers can be worn for PE.
Snow Patrol
It’s getting to that time of year again – if you would like to volunteer your services to help Mr Docking to clear the school grounds in the event of snow, please let the office know so that we can compile a list of names. We are very grateful for any offers of help, so that school can, where possible, remain open.
A special thank you to Stuart Sullivan for getting to school just after 7am on Monday to start clearing the snow!
Bad weather
In the event of severe weather conditions and possible school closure a notice will be placed on the school website.
Parents will be notified via our school website or the Essex County Council on the ‘Emergency School Closures’ page: https://www.essex.gov.uk/education-schools/schools/dates/pages/emergency-school-closures.aspx
Please note that when the school is open in bad weather a path will be cleared to enable you to gain access to the school but care does still need to be taken.
Communication Chain
Thank you to everyone for the support this week when we had to close due to the freezing conditions.
Just as a reminder, in order for the communication chain to be effective it is important that phone calls are made as opposed to emails or texts, in order to ensure contact is made. Normally the chain will be activated the morning of the school closure as the decision is made on the day, unless for exceptional circumstances, like this week, we know of the need in advance. We will try to open where possible, hence the decision being made at the last minute, once we can assess the school site. We will endeavour to give you as much notice as possible, but as you are aware it takes some time for the communication to pass through.
Facebook can be used as a supplementary means of communication if requested to do so by a member of the leadership team but this is not part of the school process. ParentMail, the Communication Chain, the school website and the Essex link above are the school notifications.
Thank you again for your support with this process and to the office staff and senior leaders who worked very hard last Monday evening, notifying all stakeholders as soon as they were able to.
Ooo000ooO
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
13th December KS1 Dress Rehearsal 9.45am, KS2 Dress Rehearsal 2pm. KS2 performance 7pm
14th December Reception Nativity 10am, KS1 performance 2pm, KS2 performance 7pm
18th December Friends of Clavering Christmas Shopping Morning
18th December Tray Day
19th December Christmas Lunch
20th December Church Service
20th December End of term
2nd January Non pupil day – INSET
3rd January Non pupil day – INSET
4th January Spring Term begins
ACHIEVEMENTS
STAR OF THE WEEK
Week ending December 8th
Reception Florence – for her brilliant doubling – inspiring others to do more.
Year One Poppy – for great adding and subtracting in Maths this week.
Year Two Daisy – for working so hard on her fable and doing such a great job.
Year Three Isla – for her brilliant sheep acting and dancing.
Year Four Harry – for asking great questions and working hard in Science.
Year Five Keira – for consistently achieving high standards in writing.
Year Six Harry – for being quick to learn new geometry skills.
HEADTEACHER’S AWARD
For children who have achieved their personal best:
Reception:
Oscar – excellent effort and progress in all subjects
Harry – trying very hard to learn his sounds.
Year One:
Amelie – for the improvement in Maths, particularly counting in 2s, 5s and
10s
Emma – for the improvement in creative writing
Year Two:
Jack – for the hard work he has put into learning his phonics
Nathan – for the great progress in Maths
Year Three:
Aiden – for the great progress he had made in both Maths and English
India – for her descriptive writing on Oliver Twist
Year Four:
Rebecca – for the effort she has put into her topic work on Victorian children
Tom – for the effort he has put into researching facts for his topic work on Victorian children
Year Five:
Maya – for consistently high quality thoughtful writing
Bella – for the great effort and improvement in Maths
Year Six:
Sam – excellent effort, progress and achievement in both Maths and English
Amelie – thoughtful and intelligent contributions, particularly in English
‘IT DIDN’T GO UNNOTICED’ AWARD
Year 3. Especially, Joshua, Milana, George, Amber, Abigail, Aiden, Isla, for helping the Midday Assistants and Playleaders.
THE TIDIEST CLASSROOM OF THE WEEK!
Our cleaners are judging the tidiest classroom each week. The winners are announced in assembly on a Friday. The class that has won the most times at the end of a term will be awarded an afternoon with an activity of their choice or an extra playtime.
Winners:
Week beginning:
11.9.17 Class 6
2.10.17 Class R
30.10.17 Class 6
13.11.17 Class 1
27.11.17 Class R
REMINDERS:
- Please remember do NOT park at the shop for school events (eg class assemblies, school plays, Tray Day and Sports Day) only for drop off and pick up. The Fox and Hounds are more than happy to accommodate parking at all times except after 5pm. Parking at the shop prevents customers from accessing the shop.
- Swimming for this term is for year 2 Mondays. Please make sure your payments are up to date, the cost is £79.00 per term. Please make cheques payable to Clavering Primary School. Year 3 will now be swimming next term. A separate letter has been issued to these parents explaining the change.
If you have any questions at any time then please feel free to make an appointment.
Wishing you all a very happy Christmas and thank you for your ongoing support.
Rosalind Allsop
Headteacher