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Dear North Tawton Friends and Families, We have had a fun filled last two weeks of term! Here are our highlights: Sports day After a very disappointing rain-off earlier in the month, we were finally able to have a wonderful Sports Day. The children were competitive and celebrated each other’s achievements with the spirit we have promoted and praised in our lessons and school ethos. The final scores were incredibly close, 1st place: Okement 2nd place: Taw 3rd place: Creedy 4th place: Dart There was very little difference in points between the teams and all children should be very proud of their achievements. Normandy Residential Our Year Six had a wonderful time in France! On Monday they told us all about it in an assembly. Unfortunately, they had a particularly rough ferry crossing back and many were sick, but apart from that they had a great time! They learnt all about the D-Day Landings, used their French and experienced opportunities to learn more about history and modern French life. Please see the blog here for photos and details of their adventures! https://dartmoormat.org.uk/news-type/trust-normandy-residential/ This was paid for through a grant the Trust were able to secure. Massive thanks to Madame Jordan, Mrs Underwood for organising and leading this trip and all the staff, including our Miss Radbourne, Mrs Tingle, Miss Ruby and Mrs Ware for giving their time and care to our children for the trip. Cinderella Rockerfella Our KS2 classes treated us to a wonderful performance of Cinderella – musical style. The acting, singing and comedy timing were outstanding. Such a lot of hard work and passion were put into this play, and it really paid off. The audience were highly entertained and so very proud of them all. Music Concert From Beethoven to ACDC, drumming, piano and violin solos to xylophones, claves, and of course phenomenal singing. Our children really are a talented bunch! Our music teacher Miss Boyce and our tutors have worked hard and wow, does it show! Celebration of Learning Our early Years pupils had a wonderful afternoon celebrating their learning with their families.  The Ted Hughes Centre for Outdoor Learning We are so very excited to officially open our Ted Hughes Centre for Outdoor Learning. Ted Hughes was a very famous poet and writer who lived right here in North Tawton! He used to visit our school and read his books and poems to the children here, many of our children’s families will remember him well. Mrs Hughes told us he loved to be outside, many of his poems are about animals and the natural world. When the weather was wet, he liked to sit in a shed and look out at the world. She encouraged us to be out in all weathers to notice the differences the seasons and weather. In assembly I read the children one of my favourite poems The Thought Fox and asked them to think about what it is about. We are so very grateful to Mrs Hughes kindness and generosity. This space is going to be well used and loved for many years to come. Who knows, maybe this will inspire a future Poet Laureate! A message from our Hub Principal I hope you are enjoying the end of term and engaging in some positive activities with your school communities. I was hoping to come and see you this week to say hello. I have been supporting children in another of our schools and have not been able to pop in. Sorry, this has not happened but I am very much looking forward to starting as your Hub Principal after the holidays. I am excited about the work we are all going to do together as we move into the next chapter for North Tawton Primary School. Have a lovely break over the summer. Best Wishes Lisa Paton Class News Please click on the links below for class specific news. · Sycamore Class · Hazel Class · Ash Class · Willow Class · Beech Class · Chestnut Class · Oak Class · Acorn Class Our Highlights of 2022 – 2023 In our review assembly, we all said what our highlights of the year have been. Sophie and Rebecca wrote down what the children said.  Leaver’s Assembly In our Leaver’s Assembly, we shared many laughs and tears as we said goodbye to our wonderful Year Six. It is tradition for our children to share their memories and each child receives an award for their contribution to our school. The British Legion have special awards they give as well. We also said thank you and farewell to Emma MacDonald, who has been teaching our reception class this year and to Natasha Birnie – sort of! She will be a teacher at Exbourne, but will also have a role here as she and Jason Foreman work together across the two schools as Lead Teachers. After 15 years of dedicated service, we said a very sad farewell to Nicola Shaw. She has worked with many hundreds of children here at North Tawton, she will hold a very special place in the memories of our current year six as she has been with them for the last four years and been as they put it ‘our school mum.’ The staff will miss her friendship, support and wickedly dry humour! To all our leavers, farewell and don’t be strangers! Wrap Around Care Premier Education are set to run breakfast club and after school club from September. Please make sure you have registered your interest so this can go ahead. https://forms.gle/c8FuEo4M9wsf94bj9 School Uniform Please make sure you have your orders in for school uniform for next year. And please, please, please write names in clothes! There are some brilliant, personalised stickers and stamps available online – do talk to other parents for recommendations. Thank You Thank you to all of our staff here at school and across our Trust, they really do go above and beyond to give our children the very best opportunities. From teaching the curriculum in exciting ways, looking after children when they are hurt or sad, feeding them each day, keeping our school clean and safe, to organising trips, events and workshops, I thank you. Thank you to FONTS for supporting the school by organising wonderful events for us to enjoy and raising much appreciated money to support our children. Thank you to our Governors and Trustees and our school volunteers who all play their part in giving our children the wonderful year they have had. Thank you to parents and families for working with us to nurture your children and help them thrive at school and at home. And a huge thank you to the children, they have been a pleasure to teach and always bring me joy when I am here at North Tawton. I am so very proud of their achievements this year. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday. With very best wishes, Tara Penny Principal  Dear North Tawton Friends and Families, Summer Fair Thank you to our FONTS leadership team Philippa, Vanessa, Katie and Evie for all of their hard work organising our Summer Fair! Thank you to all of the parents, staff and local community for helping set up, run stalls and activities and to set down. And of course, a huge thank you to all who came! Unfortunately, the bouncy castle was cancelled due to the high winds, but at least the rain stayed away! I know many of our children were very excited by the surprise visit from a tank and lorry! Local businesses once again generously donated their wares for our raffle. All proceeds will go towards new playground markings the children have chosen to make their play times more active and fun.  Events like these take a huge amount of work. Sourcing prizes, buying refreshments, advertising, and persuading others to get involved all takes a lot of time and effort. Volunteers were on site from 8am until 3pm on the day to make this happen. Thank you all! The Ted Hughes Centre for Outdoor Learning Have you heard about a new and exciting development in our orchard? We are so excited that we have a brand-new space to enhancing our outdoor learning environment. The official unveiling will be on Thursday 20th July. Watch this space… Calling Local Gardeners I am really keen to have a team of volunteers to keep out plants watered, our beds weeded and to help further develop our grounds. If you can commit to a few hours a week, please let me know. Rainbow Day On Friday 23rd June, all Trust schools celebrated Rainbow Day. At North Tawton, we wore rainbow-coloured clothes and in our classes and in assembly, we learnt more about diversity and acceptance. Move Up Day Last Thursday, our children spent time in their new classes with their new teachers and teaching assistants. September 2023 Staffing Nursery - Karen Tingle, Lucy Lamb and Mel Sercombe Reception – Gina Ruby, Jo Ware and Rachel Grant Year 1 – Rebecca Budiman and Abbie Luxton Year 2 – Hannah Ahmad, Sarah Keen, Lauren Bond and Gemma Cooper Year 3 – Sophie Wallis, Juliet Boyce and Jess Westcott Year 4 – Jason Foreman, Juliet Boyce and Kerry Davies Year 5 – Marnie Collins, Jo Ware, Penny Bowles and Verity Heffer Year 6 – Beth Radbourne and Verity Heffer Juliet Boyce and I will be covering teachers when they have their non contact time for planning, preparation and assessment (PPA) Sarah Keen will continue her role as SEND teacher and Jason Foreman will be our Lead teacher. Adam Newland our Hub SENDCO has visited the school and will be visiting again before the end of the school year. Sophie Maxam and Jess Nuttall are enjoying their maternity leave and we look forward to welcoming them back when they return. Our 6 children have all had transition days in their new secondary schools which they all say they have enjoyed and are very positive about. Wrap Around Care Premier Education are set to run breakfast club and after school club from September. Please make sure you have registered your interest so this can go ahead. https://forms.gle/c8FuEo4M9wsf94bj9 Awe Project On Thursday, Melissa, Gary and Rob painted benches and revitalised our rainbow memorial. Why are school staff striking, again? The National Education Union, NEU, have called their members to strike as a pay deal has not yet been met. School staff have not had a pay rise in line with inflation and schools remain underfunded. Our school will be closed on Wednesday for Nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 and closed to all classes on Friday. These decisions have not been taken lightly. Staff care deeply about our children and their end of term events; this is why we will be open Wednesday for KS2 to rehearse and later perform their play, Cinderella Rokerfella. Year Six will enjoy their adventure day with staff on Friday. NEU members who strike, are not paid. If you want to understand more, please see the NEU website. Pay up: Strike action FAQ | National Education Union (neu.org.uk) Sunny days As our sunny weather continues, please can I remind you that children need sun cream, sun hats and a bottle for water every day. They do still need to be wearing uniform, including our PE kit uniform. Thank you. Class News Please click on the links below for class specific news · Sycamore Class · Hazel Class · Ash Class · Willow Class · Beech Class · Chestnut Class · Oak Class · Acorn Class We have lots of exciting events in the next three weeks. Parents, please keep an eye on dojo so you don’t miss any information. I have a medical procedure on Thursday 6th July and will be away from work for a few days for recovery. In my absence, safeguarding concerns can be raised with Mr Foreman or Miss Keen who are both trained and know what support to get if need be. Tara Penny Principal Key Dates Monday 3rd July and Friday 7th July – Year 6 adventure days Wednesday July 5th – 5.30pm performance of Cinderella Rockefella by Y3,4,5 &6 Thursday July 6th – 1.45pm performance of Cinderella Rockafella by Y3,4,5 &6 11th July – 15th July - Y6 Residential to France Monday 17th July – Reports to parents Tuesday 18th July – Sports Day Wednesday 19th July – Music Concert 1.30pm Wednesday 19th July – Parents meetings to discuss reports Thursday 20th July – 2.15 EYFS Learning celebration and unveiling of our new outdoor centre. 21st July – Leavers Assembly Last day of Term |
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