January 2008 Newsletter

Dear Parents,


We would like to begin by congratulating Miss Gillespie on her marriage during the half term holiday. Her married name is Mrs Penketh and we hope that she and her new husband have a very happy life together.

We have also heard that Mrs Silver has given birth to a baby girl, Savannah, and we look forward to seeing them in school very soon.

There are signs of spring around the school and we are busy practising songs for Easter. We hope that as many children as possible will enter one of our Easter competitions. The details can be found in a separate letter being sent home this week. It is always very difficult to find winners from all the excellent entries but when the teachers judge the competitions, they always choose an entry that has been made by the child, with as little adult help as possible. There are prizes for each category, in each year group. We look forward to a lovely Easter display of competition entries, in the school hall, week beginning 17th March. In addition the school staff will be donating Easter eggs for the traditional Easter egg raffle, which will also take place on Thursday 20th March.

Please be aware that the dates for the Essex schools Spring break do not coincide with Hertfordshire and London borough schools this year. Therefore, if you have older children who go to school in another county or if, as a parent, you work in the education service of another county, you will need to make arrangements to ensure that your child attends school for the correct period. Details of the date of our spring break are on the back of this newsletter.

The PTA would appreciate your help over the next few months. Sadly Mrs Copsey has had to step down as the Chair of the committee, although she will still be helping with PTA events. We would like to thank her for her hard work since taking on the role 18 months ago. They are about to organise the Quiz night later this term, a cake stall, Mr. Bounce and the Fun Day. If you are interested in helping in any way, please contact staff at the office. These events cannot run without your help and they are a vital way of raising additional funds for the school.

We hope that you all received the school development plan questionnaire and have had an opportunity to read it through and sent us your comments. School staff and governors have also been given a copy to fill in, so we will have a very good idea of what everyone thinks we are doing well and how we can improve. If you have not sent your questionnaire back to school we would appreciate receiving it, with your comments, as soon as possible.

We hope to welcome Mrs Robinson and her team from Barclays Bank on Wednesday 5th March. She will be bringing in her team of volunteers to work on the courtyard garden. The Eco committee consisting of Mrs Kemp, a pupil representative from each class, Mrs Harding, our Business Manager and Mrs Ayres and Mr Jeffreys, our school governors, have all worked really hard to plan this event. Mr. Ron Ladbury has been instrumental in preparing the project ready for the volunteers and made several important elements himself. There will be a greenhouse, a raised pond, a pergola, a story telling chair and lots of space ready to be planted up for the summer. It will be known as our Eco garden and will demonstrate a variety of ways in which the children will show that they are aware of current environmental issues.

The Scholastic Bookfair will be opening in school from Thursday 13th until Tuesday 18th March. It will be open before and after school. As usual there will be a very good choice of books for children of all ages.

Mrs James and Mrs Bailey have started their parenting workshops this half term. There are three more which you would be very welcome to attend. We are very fortunate to have some guest speakers at the next two sessions. Representatives from Epping Forest College for adult education will be at the next meeting. They will come with helpful ideas on careers and employment, particularly useful if you are thinking of re-entering the workforce. If you would like further details please contact Mrs James. Her direct line number is 01992 718297. At the following session we will have Phillipa Hyams from the new Childrens’ Centre, based in Waltham Abbey library. She is keen to meet local parents and share with you the benefits of having this service in the town centre.

Tickets are now on sale for the PTA Quiz night on Friday 14th March. If you have been before you will know how much fun it is and how well it is organised by Mrs Kemp and her team. The price includes a chicken or fish supper and costs £6 per ticket or £44 for a complete table of eight.

We would like to thank you for all your help and support this spring term. We hope you have a very enjoyable Easter.

Diary dates

Please note that Gold Award assembly dates have been provisionally booked and may be subject to change. You will receive an invitation confirming these dates nearer the time.

March

3rd Mrs Penketh’s class parents invited in to lunch all week

4th Parents’ Evening Workshop – Back to work – Epping Forest College

5th Barclays volunteers day – Eco garden

7th Mrs Penketh’s class Gold Award assembly

10th a.m .Mrs Penketh & Mrs Collins classes going to the library Mrs Kemp’s class parents invited in to lunch all week

11th Parents’ Evening Workshop – How to support your child at home

13th Scholastic Book Fair opens in school library

14th Comic Relief – Sports theme School Lunch
Mrs Kemp’s class Gold Award assembly
PTA Quiz night -7.30 in school hall

17th Easter competition entries come into school

18th Last day of the book fair
Parents’ Evening Workshop – Problem solving 19th Yr 1 – Freshwater theatre company – “The magical toy museum”

20th Results of Easter competitions & Easter assemblies

21st & 24th School closed for Good Friday & Bank Holiday Monday

28th 2.00p.m. School closes for the Spring break

Monday 14th April – School reopens for the summer term

April


14th Miss Sullivan’s class parents invited in to lunch all week

18th Miss Sullivan’s class Gold Award assembly

21st Mrs. McVie’s class parents invited in to lunch all week

23rd Yr R – Epping Forest Field Centre trip

24th Individual childrens’ school photos

25th Mrs. McVie’s class Gold Award assembly

28th Miss Wannenburg’s class parents invited in to lunch all week

29th Year 2 Freshwater theatre company “Where in the world is Baxter Bear?”




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