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Dear North Tawton Friends and Families, Burns Night The 25th January is an important day for Scottish people – it’s the birthday of the great Scottish poet Robert Burns. If you have not heard of him, you may well have sung Old Lang Syne at New Year – which is probably his most famous poem. In assembly I told the children how I celebrate Burns Night with (vegetarian!) haggis, tatties and neeps! We listened to bagpipe music – not everyone’s taste, and said the Selkirk Grace which is a thanks for the food we have.  The Dogs Trust
This week Emily Mayo visited us to talk about how to be safe around dogs. She led an assembly and then a workshop in R – Y6 classes. She was really impressed by our delightful children. A message from Emily Mayo – Dogs Trust Thank you for inviting me to come into your school. The staff and children made me feel very welcome and I was really impressed by questioning, speaking skills and thoughtful responses given in the workshops. Your pupils had some great answers to my questions and I hope you all learned more about How to Behave Safely Around Dogs. Your school felt like a really happy place to be with a great and positive team. I genuinely enjoyed my days there. Please see the link to the 'Be Dog Smart Leaflet https://www.learnwithdogstrust.org.uk/safety/bedogsmart-parentsleaflet.pdf This is for all families, those with dogs and those without! The Dogs Trust believe that by educating young people about staying safe around dogs, we can really improve dog welfare for the better. Our experiences show that teaching compassion, care and respect towards animals can also enrich children’s lives in many other ways. Farewell Today we said farewell to our student teachers Marnie Collins who has been in Y6 and Charlotte Genduso who has been in Y2. They have both been a fabulous addition to our team while they have been here. We wish them all the very best in their careers ahead and thank them both for all their hard work. Industrial Action North Tawton Primary School will be closed to all pupils on Wednesday 1st February and Thursday 2nd March. If a pay deal is still not met, the NEU will launch further strikes on 15th March and 16th March. Parents and Carers, please see the email I sent today about arrangements. Class Blogs As always, please look at the class blogs to see what the pupils have been learning about this week. Sycamore Class With very best wishes, Tara Penny Principal Dear North Tawton Families,
As I am sure you have heard on the news, the teaching union NEU has called for strike action. To this end, North Tawton Primary School will be closed to all pupils on Wednesday 1st February and Thursday 2nd March. The strike is happening because of a national dispute between the unions and the government over pay, and not because of any issues at our school. If a pay deal is still not met, the NEU will launch further strikes on 15th March and 16th March. I’m sorry about the disruption to you and to your child’s education. I understand that this situation may be frustrating, and ask that all members of our school community understand that this decision has not been taken lightly by our staff and is not the outcome they wanted either. We shall provide guidance on learning activities your children can access on these days and we will provide a packed lunch for children who are in receipt of pupil premium funding the day before. If you wish to discuss this further, please speak to me, With best wishes, Tara Penny Principal Dear North Tawton Friends and Families, Chinese New Year The week in assemblies we have been learning about the upcoming Chinese New Year. The children have learnt about the traditions and celebrations associated with the new year. This year will be the Year of the Rabbit. Nursery and Reception have been copying Chinese writing, making lanterns and drawing dragons! KS1 and KS2 have thought about the characteristics of the animals the years are named after. Why not find out what animal year you were born in and see if you agree with the characteristics! Thank You
A huge thank you to Evie and David for building a fence for our pond. It is far superior to our orange plastic one, and in keeping with our outdoor theme. We have lots of plans for outside, so please do watch this space or ways you can get involved and make our outdoor learning spaces even more exciting and engaging. Roll on better weather so we can make more of our amazing outdoor areas. Audits and Support This week we have had visitors in school to help us audit and further improve our reading and maths provision and our support for those with communication and interaction needs. Our visitors were impressed with our pupils hard work, the school environment and the culture and attitude towards learning across the while school. They have helped us to recognise what we are doing well and also to make plans to make even more progress. As always, I am incredibly proud of the work we are doing here; in particular the passion our staff have for continuous improvement and the fact they keep going the extra mile to meet the needs of all of our pupils. Internet Access at Home Please can we urge parents to consider how devices are being used at home. Are you aware of what games they are playing and images they are seeing? Do your children have access to social media, and if so are you aware of what they are writing and videos they are uploading? You may find the following websites useful for help and advice supporting your child with use of the internet at home. We will of course be covering these topics as part of our learning at school too. https://www.childnet.com/parents-and-carers/ https://saferinternet.org.uk/blog/helping-your-child-with-whatsapp Class Blogs As always, please look at the class blogs to see what the pupils have been learning about this week. With very best wishes, Tara Penny Principal Dear North Tawton Friends and Families,
Our first ‘proper’ week back! Children (and staff!) are back into the routines of school and have been very enthusiastic about their new topics. This week Year 2 and Year 6 have completed assessments in English and maths help us measure individual progress and to plan teaching for the term ahead. Year 5 started their swimming sessions at Parklands in Okehampton on Thursday. They have made a very confident start. Staff have been planning visits and visitors for the spring, details to come once confirmed… Watch this space! As always, please look at the class blogs to see what the pupils have been learning about this week. Absence We had such a lot of absence last term, particularly in the last two weeks, due to unprecedented waves of illnesses. We will send a copy of your child’s attendance so you can see their current percentage. We are aiming for above 95% which I know for many is a long way off, but if we can keep illnesses away and make sure children are in school if well, then all percentages should improve over this term ahead. If your child is ill, please call the school office to inform us. Illness will be authorised, however if there is a pattern of regular days off, we will ask you about this and talk about support we and the educational welfare officer can offer. Holidays are not authorised. Term Dates The term dates for 2023 – 24 are on the website, so if you are planning holidays, please do check these so children do not miss valuable learning time. With very best wishes, Tara Penny Principal Dear North Tawton Friends and Families,
Welcome back! I wish all of our school community a happy and healthy new year! In assembly this week we thought about New Year Resolutions. Children were invited to reflect on the promises they made to themselves last year and make new ones for the year ahead. Nativity We made the decision to cancel our nativity performances in December due to high levels of sickness. Although it was very peculiar to celebrate Christmas in school on 5th and 6th January, it was a lovey start to the term! Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 performed their Strictly Come Dancing themed nativity on Thursday to the rest of the school and then after school on Thursday and Friday for their parents. Considering the disruption to rehearsals, the children were fantastic and remembered all their words, songs and dance moves. A 10 from me! Nursery entertained their families with three brilliant songs and showed pictures and writing about the Christmas story, they were really proud and confident and really made us all smile! Thank you to all the parents who came to the performances and for all the lovely comments. A reminder about Uniform, PE Kits and Jewellery Uniform We want children to feel proud of their school and wear our school uniform as it helps to give a sense of identity. Children can wear: a white or green polo shirt, a green sweatshirt or cardigan with school logo, with grey or black trousers, or grey or black shorts. A grey skirt or pinafore dress or green and white check dress. Grey or white socks or tights with black shoes. Black, low-heeled boots may also be worn in Winter/adverse weather conditions. Green baseball caps with our school logo on are also available from the office. The school keeps a stock of sweatshirts in various sizes and these can be obtained from the school office. New parents will receive a copy of the current uniform requirements with prices attached. Further copies are available from the office. PE Kit The PE kit is a house colour T shirt, black or navy shorts, white sports socks, and trainers or pumps. You can purchase a t shirt in the colour of the house they are in from School Gateway. KS2 children will have swimming lessons at the pool in Okehampton. For this they also require a swimming costume and hat. We would prefer these to be a one – piece swimsuit for girls and trunks or swimming shorts of a sensible length for boys. Swimming hats can be purchased from the school office. Please ensure that all your child’s school uniform is labelled with their name. Jewellery/Hair styles/Fashion In the interests of safety, we do not allow children to wear jewellery in school. If ears have been pierced, studs may be worn. These should be removed/taped over before swimming. We encourage children to be independent individuals, however we request parents to consider the impact of fashion on their child’s learning and social development and ask parents to ensure their children do not wear inappropriate hairstyles or fashion items to school. Long hair should be tied back for both safety and hygiene reasons. This is on our school website I am going to add to this that we can not allow children to have smart watches in school. I know quite a few children got these for Christmas, but they are not appropriate for school. Term Dates The term dates for 2023 – 24 are on the website, so if you are planning holidays, please do check these so children do not miss valuable learning time. As always, please look at the class blogs to see what the pupils have been learning about this week. With very best wishes Tara Penny Principal |
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