Headteacher Newsletter Issue 5
FORTNIGHTLY NEWSLETTER ISSUE 5: 24.11.23
Tag Rugby for Year 5
Year 5 enjoyed a sunny – but muddy!- morning at JFAN for a rugby tournament last Wednesday. We were proud of the effort and teamwork exhibited by the children and some excellent tries were scored across all the matches played. Thanks to Mrs Thomas for helping for the morning and to Mr Snelling for refereeing.
Forest School – Year R, 1 and 3
Three classes have been very fortunate to visit Forest School over the past few weeks and experience Autumn at its finest.
Mrs Thomas has been leading the sessions and has helped with Reception class while Mrs Berrett leads. The trees are looking absolutely stunning and always nod to allow us to come in and play.
Reception class were absolutely brilliant on their first visit last Friday. They listened to the important rules and had great fun exploring and making music in the wood. The dens were really popular. The class voted on their Forest School name – The Wiggly Worms – and Oscar even managed to find one! There was lots of spontaneous art work using the golden yellow leaves and some sunbathing on the comfy leaf beds. We just need to practice walking around rather than across the log circle!
Thank you to all our lovely parent volunteers for coming with us!
Please see the Friday Focus editions for more about it.
Music event at Saffron Hall
Last week, Class One and Class Two had a special trip to Saffron Hall to watch a live version of the critically acclaimed TV show, YolanDa’s Band Jam – more to follow on this event in next week’s Friday focus!
Children in Need
The school council decided that this year’s theme would be ‘Spots, stripes, patterns (or a mixture of all)’. They thought that this would enable everyone to participate using clothing they already had at home.
The children all looked fantastic and had made a great effort. We managed to raise £178.00.
Well done to everyone!
School Disco
The school disco was a great success.
The ‘Neon’ theme definitely went down well, with lots of glow sticks purchased!
The children had made requests and were delighted when their chosen songs were played. We all had great fun singing along to ‘Living on a prayer’ by Bon Jovi.
Thank you to Friends of Clavering and all the helpers who made this happen.
Year 6 Dodgeball
Year 6 went to Joyce Frankland Academy on Wednesday afternoon to complete in a dodgeball competition against 6 other schools. We entered three teams who played superbly. Each team had three matches with three games a match. We had many wins, a few draws and some losses. Overall, year 6 came third out of the seven schools competing; a fantastic result! A huge thank you to Mrs Bond and Mrs Clutterbuck for their brilliant refereeing skills.
School Admissions – Primary – Apply Now!!
To apply quickly and easily for primary school places go online to https://www.essex.gov.uk/admissions-to-essex-schools-for-the-next-school-year
Primary (Reception) places for September 2024
From 6 November 2023 you can apply online for your child’s school place https://www.essex.gov.uk/apply-for-a-primary-school-place
You must submit an application by the national closing date of 15 January 2024. Applications received after this date are considered late and will reduce your chance of being offered a place at your preferred schools. Please note even if a parent already has a sibling at the school, you still need to apply if you have a child due to start Reception next September.
Application for leave of absence for term time holidays
Guidance from the Local Authority:
“Leave of absence may only be granted by a person authorised in that behalf by the proprietor of the school. As from 1st September 2013, the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2013 amended Regulation 7 to prohibit the proprietor of a maintained school from granting leave of absence to a pupil, except where an advance application has been made by the parent with whom the pupil normally resides, and the proprietor considers that there are exceptional circumstances relating to the application.
Taking your child out of school during term time could be detrimental to your child’s educational progress. There is no entitlement to parents to take their child out of school during term time, however, you may apply to the school for leave of absence if you believe there are exceptional circumstances.
If the absence is not authorised and the holiday is taken, the case will be referred to the Education Welfare Service who may issue a Penalty Notice for £120 (or £60 if paid within 21 days) to each parent for each child taken out of school.”
Please note occasional days for birthdays and treats cannot be authorised and cheaper prices cannot be considered to be a valid reason. No leave of absence will be granted during our assessment weeks or the first week of the Autumn term. Medical appointments, if at all possible should be made outside school hours. Siblings of children attending medical appointments should remain in school.
Free School Meals Funding
You can register for Free Schools Meals Funding if you meet the criteria below.
If you have a child in Key Stage One and are receiving the free meal, which is part of the universal offer, you could be missing out on this additional funding for the school, which will support your child with their learning, if you meet the criteria below. You have to apply for this funding. If you think you meet the criteria below then please follow the guidance below and contact the school office.
https://www.gov.uk/apply-free-school-meals
Mobile Phones
This is a gentle reminder not to use mobile phones whilst on the school site.
This is part of our safe-guarding policy for all of our children.
Ooo000ooO
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
27.11.23 School Photos
27.11.23 – 1.12.23 Bikeability for Year 6
2.12.23 School Choir Spirit of Christmas event
5.12.23 Bag2School
13.12.23 KS1 dress rehearsal, KS2 dress rehearsal , KS2 evening performance yr 5 and 6 parents 6pm
14.12.23 Reception Nativity 10.00 am, KS1 performance 2pm, KS2 evening performance
yr 3 and 4 parents, 6pm
15.12.23 Tray Day
18.12.23 Friends of Clavering Christmas Shopping Morning
19.12.23 Christmas Lunch and entertainment
20.12.23 End of term
ACHIEVEMENTS
STAR OF THE WEEK
Week ending 10th November
Reception Grace A – for her outstanding reflections about Remembrance
Year One Felix – for listening super carefully in order to make improvements to his Maths work
Year Two Thea – for great idea sharing, great vocabulary and super diary writing
Year Three Willa – for writing super instructions to explain the process of mummification
Year Four Evie – for coming up with such creative ideas and rhyme for her poem
Year Five Tommie – for excellent scientific predictions and reasoning
Year Six Matilda – for always having a smile on her face, working hard and being helpful
Week ending 17th November
Reception Indie-May – for her amazing gymnastic skills and her friendship towards others
Year One Alex – for working hard in class particularly on his writing
Year Two Eva – for fantastic effort and progress in her understanding of column addition
Year Three Fraser C – for an improvement in the speed of his work and great effort in PE this week
Year Four Elise – for coming up with excellent strategies to help her learn her 9x table
Year Five Greta – for excellent philosophical thinking in RE
Year Six Teddy – for fantastic effort with the Maths practice SATs
Writer of the Week
W/E 10/11/23 | R Monty for excellent effort with his letter formation
1 Freddie for wonderful Great Fire of London writing 2 Alice for an amazing effort with handwriting in English 3 Isaac for writing fantastic instructions linked to History 4 Esmee for very well-presented science work 5 Penny for excellent independent writing and using speech marks in her Greek myth. 6 Oscar for brilliant descriptive writing |
If you have any questions at any time then please feel free to make an appointment.
Have a good weekend.
Rosalind Allsop
Headteacher