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Dear North Tawton Families, Burns Night In assembly on Monday I shared Burns Night traditions with KS1 and KS2. Robert Burns was a Scottish poet, and each year on his birthday (25th January) many Scots will eat haggis, listen to bagpipe music, recite poetry and have a good time. I have Scottish family who mark this event each year with their friends. The children heard my step mum speak in Gaelic and my dad say a traditional Burns Night prayer. Name Stories It has been great hearing children’s name stories this week. If you haven’t already, please do share these with children. Update on Squirrel section for North Tawton Scout Group from Rowena Ford Plans to open the section for the summer term are progressing well and we are now ready to open a waiting list for children who will be 4 or 5 at the start of April this year. The section will meet on a Thursday between 5 and 6pm at North Tawton Rugby club and we have a great first term planned including stream dipping and strawberry picking plus a visit to the Mid Devon Scout Camp our Beavers, Cubs and Scouts will be attending in June. However, we still need at least one additional Leader plus a number of section helpers, the more that we have, the more flexible we can be to allow for sickness, work commitments etc. Without adult leaders and helpers we cannot open the section and make the fantastic world of Scouting available to this younger age group. We would particularly welcome the involvement of grandparents and other adults, to be able to give the children a wider range of activities and experiences. In the same way that both girls and boys are welcome to become squirrels, we would like to have both men and women as leaders and helpers If you are interested in your child being placed on the waiting list and / or interested in becoming a leader or section helper, please contact Rowena Ford either by phone (01837 82019) or email ([email protected]) February Half Term Ocra have activities during the February half term holiday. Please see here for more details. https://ocrasport.org.uk/holidays/ Dates for the Diary Friday 4th Feb at 9.30am FONTS meeting Friday 11th Dress to Impress – details to follow! Friday 11th – 13th February North Tawton Art Weekend Saturday 12th February 10am – 2pm Gardening Day Monday 14th February – St Valentine’s Day doughnuts – make sure you get your orders in Friday 18th February 2pm - On Line assembly for families and last day of term Monday 28th February – return to school Sad News As you know, this week we heard the sad news that our nursery administrator Debbie Reed passed away. I did not have the pleasure of working with her, but I have heard what a fabulous colleague and friend she was. I told the children on Wednesday in assembly and I was moved by how thoughtful and considerate the children were. Thank you for your kind words, as you know many staff have known her a long time and will miss her sorely. Funeral arrangements will be published locally.  FONTS update
😋 Krispy Kreme Doughnut Sale 😋 Don't forget to pre-order your boxes of doughnuts by Tuesday 1st February, £10 for 12. Individual doughnuts will be available for sale on Monday 14th February after school for £1 per doughnut. Let’s make some dough for the school!! All money raised will go towards new cookers and cooking equipment for the children in school. The next FONTS meeting will be held via Zoom on Friday 4th February at 9.30am. A link and Agenda will be emailed to the FONTS email list. If you would like to join the meeting and are not a recipient of our usual FONTS emails please email us on [email protected] for the link. Everyone welcome, please join us and share ideas for raising money for our school 😊 Bag2school...coming soon. Now is the time to have a de-clutter of those wardrobes. This is a free fundraising collection service for all your good quality unwanted items, such as clothing, bags, shoes, bedding, curtains, towels etc. Please see bag2school.com for further info on what is accepted. Collection dates TBC. This year FONTS will also be offering a doorstep collection of bags for those who cannot get to the drop off point at school. The more bags we get, the more money the school gets 😊 Thank you for your continued support FONTS committee Email [email protected] Or message FONTS on Class Dojo Dear North Tawton Families Another week draws to an end! I’m happy to report we have had no further cases of Covid, so on Monday, God willing, our school staff and children should be out of isolation and well. I sincerely hope none of us get the virus over the weekend. Fingers crossed. We are continuing our measures in school, including staff wearing face masks in communal areas, and ask that you continue to also wear face masks at drop off and collection. Thank you! Thank you Thank you for the contributions of warm, waterproof clothes for forest school, wool and thread, and for the offers of help at our gardening day! All offers of help and donations of craft and outdoor resources will be gratefully received! Martin Luther King. Jr In assembly this week we learnt about the great peace activist Martin Luther King, Jr as it was the celebration of his birthday. Children then found out more about him in class and why he is remembered. We played the Stevie Wonder Happy Birthday video which you can see here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anWx36QPmco Names This week, Year 4 have been finding out about Hindu baby naming traditions. The children were keen to find out and share their own naming story. This is a lovely discussion for all children and families to have at home. Who chose their name? Why? Does the name have a special meaning? You can google origins and meanings of names to find out more. My name ‘Tara’ has Irish roots and is also the name of a Hindu Goddess! My mum liked the name when she saw it was the name of the house in the film Gone with the Wind and my days liked the Avengers actress Tara King! (Ask your grandparents!) Do have a discussion at home, I will be encouraging children to share their stories! Teacher Training Do you, or do you know someone who is interested in teaching? Do see out teacher training opportunities here Dates for the Diary
Thursday 27th January 6pm Y6 SATs Meeting Friday 4th Feb at 9.30am FONTS meeting Saturday 12th February 10am – 2pm Gardening Day Monday 14th February – St Valentine’s Day – watch this space for something special! Friday 18th February 2pm - On Line assembly for families and last day of term Monday 28th February – return to school With very best wishes for the weekend, Tara Penny Dear North Tawton Families, This week in assembly we have been thinking about what North Tawton might look like in the future. Please discuss this at home, our children have wonderful ideas, even if some are a bit wild, for example making all the houses out of sweets! Increased public transport and additional amenities while retaining the rural look and feel of the town was a common theme. Some children considered environmental issues and thought of ways to reduce pollution while others focused on the look of the town with colourful houses and more trees. Please encourage your children to discuss this and create their own pictures for the North Tawton Art Weekend. If you live in North Tawton, please display your entries in your window 11 – 13th February, if not, bring them to school and we will display them here. I have received two already! Winners and runners up will be displayed in the Ruth Smith Gallery!  Covid Update
Please see the latest Covid isolation guidance emailed and on our website Covid Update 14.1.22 Clubs It is fabulous that so many children have joined our one or more of our clubs after school. If your children haven’t, please consider this as a way for them to pursue interests, gain new skills and hobbies, and make friendships across the year groups. It’s also an extra hour for you! Clubs cost £1 per session and are free to those in receipt of Pupil Premium. We will have some more opportunities next term. Donations to school We would really appreciate any donations of the following -
Gardening Day Miss Prince and I are planning a volunteer gardening day on Saturday 12th February, 10 – 2pm We would love a team of volunteers to help us
We would need you to bring your own tools but we will provide refreshments. Please email me if you are able to come. [email protected] Local Environmental meeting Did any of our family members attend the North Tawton environmental meeting on Wednesday? Please let me know as I would love to make contact with the group. With very best wishes for the weekend, Tara Penny There is a vacancy for one Parent governor to join the Local Stakeholder Board at Three Hares.
Local governors are a vital part of the Dartmoor Multi Academy Trust’s connection with schools and community, and Parents are an important voice within the governance structure. To qualify as a Parent governor, you must have at least one child on the roll at any school within the Three Hares hub, and must be eligible under the national governing body rules. Nominations are now open, until close of business on Friday 27th January 2022. All nominations will then be put forward to a parent vote, which will take place electronically. The nomination form must be completed in full, and can be obtained by emailing the Clerk to Governors: [email protected] For an informal chat about the role of parent governor and the responsibilities of the local stakeholder board, please contact the Chair Emma Neath: [email protected] or the Clerk to Governors: [email protected] Thank you for your interest, and we look forward to receiving your applications Dear North Tawton families, Welcome back, and a very Happy New Year to all of our North Tawton families. The weather has certainly turned with a very cold and wet start to the new year. Please do make sure children have waterproof coats as we do go outside, even in the drizzle! Please do make sure children wrap up warm with vests, and warm socks or tights. It’s cold in classrooms with the windows open so warm jumpers are encouraged, even if not school colours. Covid Update Two children and one member of our staff had Covid over Christmas – all are on the mend and are back or due back next week. Unfortunately three children have tested positive and are away today from Reception, Year 5 and Year 2. The reporting and isolating guidance has changed, please keep an eye on emails and the school website updates. https://www.ntcps.co.uk/covid19.html We continue our measures as outlined in my email this week. EYFS Veranda Our covered outdoor area is finished! We are so excited about it! A huge thank you to FONTS who raised money over a number of years to help fund this project. We have started using it already, but will have an official grand opening very soon… Clubs
Clubs are filling up so please see which ones are still available. As in the Autumn Term, clubs are 3.30 – 4.30. They cost £1 per session, and are free for pupils who have free school meals. We limit the numbers so we have staff to child ratios and resources. Some are specifically for particular age groups or children. This term we have: Construction Club, Girls Football and Fitness, STEM, Sewing, Netball, Story Club, Yoga & Mindfulness, Gardening and Saints Sports. We will have new clubs each term. Home Discussion This week in assembly, we talked about the Roman God Janus who looks backwards and forwards. We looked back at highlights and achievements from 2021 and made new year resolutions for 2022 You may want to discuss this at home. What were your family highlights of 2021? What family resolutions can you make together for 2022? Flu Immunisations Please check your email regarding flu immunisations taking place at school on the 14th January. Have a lovely weekend All the best Tara Penny  Welcome back everyone! Please see Covid Update emailed yesterday.
The Spring term clubs are now live, please book on in the normal way. |
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