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Wivelsfield News Letter
April 2013
Dear Parents and Carers
The warmer, sunny days have provided us all with renewed optimism and energy; the children are thoroughly enjoying the opportunity to work and play in our stunning outdoor environment. As we reach the end of April there is, as ever, much to celebrate and praise, and also important information to share.
Staffing
We would like to let all members of the school community know that Mr Everall will be retiring from his role as Premises Manager at the end of August. We will, of course, plan a fitting goodbye for Mr Everall; his work here at Wivelsfield is invaluable and he makes such a difference to all aspects of school life. We will be working during the summer terms to recruit a new member of the premises team to ensure that our high standards are maintained. We will write to you during term 6 to let you know how we are planning to say a very, very special ‘goodbye’
Gardens and grounds
You will have all noticed the incredible impact that the recent ‘Gardening Get-Togethers’ have had on our school grounds; we would like to take this opportunity to say a huge ‘thank you’ to all members of the school community who were able to volunteer their time and hard work. Children, parents, governors and staff formed an impressive team! Our work was ably led by Jane Lawson and Iain Parkinson; their commitment to improving the outdoor environment in order to increase opportunities and learning for all children is inspirational.
Working together
The children are all enthused about their learning this term. You will have received class newsletters and topic information from your child’s class teacher; we hope that this enables you to help support your child at home. There is a large amount of curriculum information and useful guidance available on our website. Please visit http://www.school-portal.co.uk/Grouphomepage.asp?GroupId=394339 .
If we can help you to support your child’s learning in any further ways please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Super scarecrows
A very big thank you to all members of the school community who supported the scarecrow making morning in the Robins and Owls last week. Many of you donated materials which were put to excellent use by the children and a band of enthusiastic volunteers. The results are wonderful and continue to be enjoyed by all
Sierra Leone assembly
We were visited this month by members of the church community who had recently returned from a visit to Sierra Leone. They shared images, artefacts and stories with the children about life in this part of Africa. It was very valuable for the pupils to see where the goods that we had collected had been taken; and also to see how the money that we had raised had been spent improving lives in another part of the world.
We would like to thank Sheila Blair for organising this assembly and look forward to continuing our support of the link with Sierra Leone in the future.
Football tournament
Children from Year 4, 5 and 6 represented our school with great pride at the football tournament at Newick Primary School last week. We took two mixed age teams along who competed against teams from other cluster schools; all the pupils participated brilliantly and were competitive and good spirited players. We would like to thank Mrs Rajkovic-Kimber and Mr Watts for their skilful and child centred coaching. We were very proud of both teams! A big well done to the A team who came in an excellent third position following two very tense and exhilarating matches
Wivelsfield PTA
The PTA continue to support our school in many ways; we would draw your attention to the two main PTA events this summer in the hope that you can all participate and support in some way. The London to Brighton Bike Ride refreshment stand will be running on Sunday 16th June; this is always an excellent fundraiser for the school. We will be holding our Summer Fayre on Saturday 6th July this year which we are sure will be lots of fun for us all.
The next PTA meeting will be held at school on Thursday 9th May at 7.30pm. We look forward to seeing many of you then.
Governors Open Day
‘Governors are challenging and knowledgeable about the school. They know its priorities through their first hand experiences’ (Ofsted march 2013).
We held a very successful and informative open day for governors last week; many members of the governing body visited the school to see us working and playing together. This gave the governing body an excellent chance to evaluate the work of the school. We would like to thank all members of the governing body for their invaluable commitment and hard work. We would particularly like to recognise the dedication of Marion Whear who continues to lead such a strong group;
Assessments
As we move towards the end of the year we will be making end of year assessments of all pupils to inform us of their current attainment, progress made and also important ‘next steps’ in learning.
Children in Year 2 and Year 6 will, as ever, complete statutory testing and assessments in line with national expectations. Pupils in Year 1 will again this year complete a phonics screening check in June. We will ensure that all parents have information regarding their children shared with them; if you require any further information about testing and assessments for your child please do not hesitate to contact us. We would bring your attention to the phonics screening meeting for Year 1 parents on Wednesday 15th May at 2.30pm.
Many thanks for taking the time to read this newsletter and for continuing to support our thriving school.
Yours sincerely
Mr J Rowsell
Headteacher
Dates for May:
6th Bank Holiday (School closed)
9th PTA Meeting at school – 7.30pm
13th Y6 SATs week
15th Y1 Phonics screening parents meeting 2.30pm
17th Plumpton Dance Festival – Foxes Class
21st Bowles Parents Meeting 6.00pm
22nd Year 5 Taster Day at Chailey Secondary School
23rd Year 6 Safety in Action – Newhaven Fort
24th INSET (School closed)
27th – 31st Spring break
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