Dear Parents
Today is the last day of this half term. Please remember that Monday 1st and Tuesday 2nd June are TD days and children come back to school Wednesday 3rd June.
Residential Trips Thank you so much to our wonderful staff who agree to run these residential trips each year. It is an enormous responsibility – on duty for 24 hours a day for the duration of the trip – and many schools no longer offer residential trips because of the demands it makes on staff. We are very fortunate to have such commitment amongst our staff who give so generously of their time to ensure that our children have the best possible experience of school. We know that children learn a huge amount about courage, resilience, independence, team work and leadership on these trips and that these life skills will stand them in good stead when they are older.
Collaboration with other schools Our school works in an informal collaboration network with two other excellent Church of England schools, Woodford Valley Primary and Holy Trinity in Calne. Both are academies and both headteachers and I meet regularly to ensure that standards across all three schools continue to rise in all areas of the curriculum with a programme of mutual support. We shall be running a joint Pilgrimage Day for KS2 children on Thursday 4th June, with some of our children going to their schools and some of theirs coming to ours for the day. It promises to be a delightful day, with lots of learning and fun. If your child is in Year 3 or Year 4 please check to see whether you have a permission slip for them to travel to the other schools and if you have, please return this on 3rd June.
The Hammerman Project We were delighted to be invited to take part in a project based on the work of Alf Williams, a blacksmith in the Swindon steam engine factory, who was also a poet. The project involves taking some of the old folk songs that he collected from around Wiltshire in the early part of last century, and helping our children set these old songs to their own music. (Alf Williams did not record any of the tunes of the folk songs he collected). A great start has been made by the children in Silbury and Avebury classes, with some lovely tunes already having been composed and some great art work produced to support the songs.
Parent Portal Your children’s reports will be published on the Parent Portal. Please make sure that you can log in successfully so that you can access their reports which will be published by Friday 3rd July. If you have lost your password, let us know and we will reset it. If your child is moving on to Lavington School, they will retain the same Parent Portal and login details.
Handbells If your child is performing with the hand bells group at Edington Fair on Saturday 6th June, please ensure that they meet Mrs Heath at the fair at 2pm ready to perform. It would be lovely if lots of people came to support our hand bell players. My thanks to Mrs Heath for giving up her Saturday afternoon to run this concert.
Links with Lavington School We have been delighted with the outreach from Lavington School provided by the new Headteacher there and her senior leadership team. We have had input from their Year 8 students who wanted to find out what younger children enjoy in a story, we have their BTec students making science equipment for our Science garden in front of the Art Centre, we have had science and sporting fixtures hosted by Lavington, and some good transition work for our Year 6 leavers. We have also been offered the use of their facilities as long as their own students are not using them and we are considering how best to use this offer. Our teachers will also attend a joint staff meeting with the staff of Lavington where there will be a professional discussion on how to continue to improve teaching and learning across the cluster in both primary and secondary phases.
Upcoming events
Last day of Half term Friday 22nd May
Back to school Wednesday 3rd June
Pilgrimage day with other schools Thursday 4th June
Class and team photos (not individuals) Tuesday 9th June
French Concert Wednesday 1st July at 10.45am
Reports on Parent Portal Friday 3rd July
Sports Day Wednesday 8th July at 9.15, then picnic on field
Shakespeare show by our children Thursday 9th July at 2.30pm
Music Concert Tuesday 14th July 5.00pm
Parents’ AGM with Governors Wednesday 15th July at 6.00pm
Leavers’ Assembly Monday 20th July at 2.00pm
Last day of term Tuesday 21st July
Pupil Premium If you are in receipt of one of the benefits outlined below, the school is able to claim £1,300 for each child eligible. This is the Pupil Premium funding. If we receive Pupil Premium funding for your child, we will be able (at the discretion of the school and in line with the relevant legislation) to subsidise your child for school trips, music lessons and fees for other activities arranged through the school. We do ask you, therefore, to register for this funding using the relevant form. This application form will also allow you to claim free school meals for your children in KS2 (Years 3 to 6). All children in the Infants will receive Free School Meals anyway, so there is a different application form for the Pupil Premium funding for children in the Infants. Forms are available at the office and online on the Parent Portal. The benefits which allow you to claim Free School Meals and allow the school to claim the Pupil Premium funding are:
| Income Support |
| Income-based Job Seekers Allowance (NOT contribution based JSA) |
| Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (NOT contribution based ESA) |
| Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 – National Asylum Seekers Support (NASS) |
| The guarantee element of State Pension Credit |
| Child Tax Credit (you must NOT be entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual income (as assessed by HM Revenue & Customs) that does not exceed £16,190 (April 2012) |
| Working Tax Credit ‘run-on’ – the payment you receive for a further four weeks after you stop qualifying for working tax credit. |
Best wishes
Mercedes Henning
PFA News
The PFA are beginning to gear up for the summer fayre on Friday 19th June and we are starting our plea for donations of bottles, teddys and ”U” and “PG” rated DVDs and games. Please leave them in reception. Thank you!
We also wanted to offer parents /guardians the opportunity to run an independent stall at the fayre as they were such a success at Christmas. This would be in return for a £5 “pitch fee” and a raffle prize donation. If you are interested please email gemmaeackerman@hotmail.com.
Come and take part in the Children’s Dance Competition on Saturday 20th June at the Great Cheverell Summer Fete, all are welcome – individuals or groups. Entry forms can be found in School reception.