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Dear North Tawton Friends and Families, Autumn is well and truly here! In assembly this week, we listened to the Vivaldi’s violin concerto Autumn and read the poem There Came a Day by Ted Hughes. We talked about the different seasons, and what we like most about Autumn. Most children said they like Halloween and Christmas, cozy nights in, fires on at home, kicking up the fallen leaves and they are hoping for snow! Talking of which, please can you ensure your children come to school with waterproof coats as we make the most of our play times, come rain or shine! (If it’s torrential, we do come in!)  Whiddon Down Festival Our Year 5 and Year 6 had a wonderful opportunity to sing with children from other schools and world class singers and musicians at the Whiddon Down Festival. Thank you to Mrs Hoole for organising this. PerriKhoo Photography Thank you to Vanessa nd Philippa for organising the individual and sibling school photos. These will be available soon. Christmas Cards! I was a bit strange designing Christmas cards last week! The sooner we do them and et them to the printer, the better commission we gain for the school! They will be available for you to buy shortly. Thank you to FONTS for organising this. Absolutely no singing of Christmas songs allowed yet! Health and Safety Matters Please can I remind parents that they should not be dropping children off outside the school on the yellow lines. I am really worried that one day we are going to have an accident. Please do not walk across the car park to the nursery. Please be mindful that there may be moving traffic, especially at lunch times. Although a bit longer, please follow the animal foot prints up the path and then left along the caterpillar! Harvest Please put some food aside for our collection for the food bank. We will take our collections to the church on Thursday 24th October. Cans and packets are warmly received by our local families. Attendance  Well done to Sycamore, Beech and Acorns for keeping above 98%
We continue to have bugs and colds doing the rounds. It is my hope that all classes percentages will rise as we progress through the year. Term Time Holidays Term time holidays are not authorised, and a fine may be issued. I, the school, and DMAT do not benefit from these fines, they are collected by the authority. Class News To find out what we have been leaning in each class, please click on the links to our latest class blogs: Sycamore Class Hazel Class Willow Class Beech Class Chestnut Class Acorn Class Support Services We all need some help at some points in our lives. Here are some useful numbers of national and local services. www.childline.org.uk 0800 1111 plus online chat facility www.youngminds.org.uk website plus text YM to 85258 for free 24/7 support www.giveusashout.org Free 24/7 mental health text support in the UK, if you are a young person struggling to cope, text SHOUT to 85258 for free, 24/7 support www.kooth.com online chat with a counsellor www.samaritans.org 0116 123 SAMARITANS, you don’t have to be suicidal to call www.papyrus-uk.org 0800 068 4141 PAPYRUS prevention of young suicide Stay Alive App – grass roots suicide prevention app www.selfinjurysupport.org.uk anyone affected by self-harming – text & phone support too www.nshn.co.uk national self-harm network, online forum supporting young people www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk supporting those with eating disorders www.spaceyouthservices.org 01837 657601 Room 13, youth centre www.mind.org.uk mental health charity www.place2be.org.uk - a children's mental health charity with over 25 years' experience working with pupils, families and staff in UK schools. https://www.youngdevon.org resource for 11 to 25 yr olds, wellbeing offered to young people and parents/carers www.lgbtqyouthdevon.org.uk Xplore - youth groups for LGBTQ+ community www.intercomtrust.org.uk - LGBTQ support www.kidscape.org.uk help & resources re bullying, for young people and parents/adults Dates for the Diary Well done to those who spotted the typo! October half term is one week Monday 28th October – Friday 1st November inclusive! October 🍂 Thursday 24 at 2pm - Harvest Service at the church 🧑🌾 Half Term - Scarecrow Trail ⭐ Monday 28 – Friday 1 November - Half term break (inclusive) November 📚 Monday 4 - Back to school December 🎅 Sunday 1 - Santa Run 🎶 Thursday 12 at 2pm - Christingle Service led by Y6 pupils at the church 🎄 Friday 13 - Christmas Market at North Tawton Church from 3.30pm 🎅 Tuesday 17 at 2pm - Christmas Performances by Reception, Y1 and Year 2 🎅Wednesday 18 at 4pm - Christmas Performances by Reception, Y1 and Year 2 🎶 Thursday 19 at 10am - Carols in the hall ⭐ Monday 23 - Monday 6 January - Christmas Holidays (inclusive) January 📚 Tuesday 7 - Back to school February ⭐ Monday 17 - Sunday 23 - Half term break (inclusive) 📚 Monday 24 - Back to school March April ⭐ Friday 4 - Monday 21 - Easter Holidays (inclusive) 📚 Tuesday 22 - Back to school May ⭐ Monday 5 - May Day Bank Holiday ⭐ Monday 26 - Sunday 1 June - Half term break (inclusive) June 📚 Monday 2 - Back to school July ⭐ Wednesday 16 - LAST DAY OF TERM ⭐ Thursday 17 onward - Summer Holidays All the best Tara Penny Principal Dear North Tawton Families and Friends, As I teach and visit classes I am always impressed with how focused the children are on learning. This week our classes have been getting stuck in to their new history and RE topics, discovering ne books in English lessons and securing number facts in maths. Our Year six pupils have completed assessments in reading, maths and spelling, punctuation and grammar so we can target exactly what they need to learn this year. I enjoyed hearing children practicing songs for the Whiddon Down Music Festival and seeing children outside (between rain showers!) with our SAINTS coaches. In nursey, I was struck by how quickly and easily our newest school members have settled into the rhythms and routines of their early school experience. Nursey is the foundation of all we learn, and it is always a delight to be part of their hands on independent discovery. As I watched them explore their learning environment, engage with adult led activities and choose their own, I remembered this poem, by the American minister Robert Fulghum from his book All I Ever Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten (Kindergarten being the American word for nursery, from the German ‘Children’s Garden’) “All of what I really need to know about how to live, and what to do, and how to be, I learned in Kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate school mountain, but there in the sandbox at nursery school. These are the things I learned… Share everything. Play fair. Don’t hit people. Put things back where you found them. Clean up your own mess. Don’t take things that aren’t yours. Say sorry when you hurt somebody. Wash your hands before you eat. Flush. Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you. Give them to someone who feels sad. Live a balanced life. Learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day. Take a nap every afternoon. Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the plastic cup? The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that. Everything you need to know is in there somewhere. And it is still true, no matter how old you are, when you go out into the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together.” I also reflected on the advice form Roald Dahl - newer grow up, always down! Our nursery is a wonderful space! If you know people with pre school children, please encourage them to contact the school for a visit. FONTS – Friends of North Tawton At the FONTS AGM we elected a full committee: Chair – Philippa Crisp Vice Chair – Lucy Barzotelli Secretary – Becci Arscott Treasurer – Wayne Arscott Thank you to these volunteers and to those who attended to make sure they could be elected! I am delighted that FONTS will continue to run, with your support they can organise activities and events to raise money and build community. Please follow on Facebook to keep up with FONTS news. Thank You! Thank you to the Fountain Inn for choosing FONTS for the pub quiz month ad raising a much appreciated £90 Attendance  Congratulations Acorns, Beech, Willow and Sycamore for being over 98% Unfortunately, we have had some bugs doing the rounds. Hopefully our poorly children and feeling much better now. Clothing With the weather reminding us that Autumn is around the corner, please make sure children come to school every day with a jumper / cardigan and a waterproof coat! Please write names in clothes! This will help us make sure clothes are returned to the right children and reduce our collection of lost property. Congratulations Congratulations to Team NT who walked from Barnstable to Braunton (over 10 miles) on Sunday morning to raise funds for our local charity Families in Grief. Here they are at the end of the walk - still smiling! Thank you to all who sponsored them.  Dates for the diary
Dates in red are new or times have been confirmed. We will add events to this a term ahead to give parents plenty of notice to make at0rrangements to attend. September 📚 Class Meetings Monday 16 at 5pm – Parents of Y4 / Y5 Hazel Tuesday 17 at 5pm – Parents of Y6 Sycamore 🤝 Tuesday 17 at 7pm - FONTS MEETING at The White Hart, North Tawton 🎶 Thursday 19 - Whiddon Down Music Festival 📸 Friday 20 - Individual and Sibling Photographs with PerriKhoo Photography October 🍂 Thursday 24 at 2pm - Harvest Service at the church 🧑🌾 Half Term - Scarecrow Trail ⭐ Monday 28 - Sunday 3 November - Half term break (inclusive) November 📚 Monday 4 - Back to school December 🎅 Sunday 1 - Santa Run 🎶 Thursday 12 at 2pm - Christingle Service led by Y6 pupils at the church 🎄 Friday 13 - Christmas Market at North Tawton Church from 3.30pm 🎅 Tuesday 17 at 2pm - Christmas Performances by Reception, Y1 and Year 2 🎅Wednesday 18 at 4pm - Christmas Performances by Reception, Y1 and Year 2 🎶 Thursday 19 at 10am - Carols in the hall ⭐ Monday 23 - Monday 6 January - Christmas Holidays (inclusive) January 📚 Tuesday 7 - Back to school February ⭐ Monday 17 - Sunday 23 - Half term break (inclusive) 📚 Monday 24 - Back to school March April ⭐ Friday 4 - Monday 21 - Easter Holidays (inclusive) 📚 Tuesday 22 - Back to school May ⭐ Monday 5 - May Day Bank Holiday ⭐ Monday 26 - Sunday 1 June - Half term break (inclusive) June 📚 Monday 2 - Back to school July ⭐ Wednesday 16 - LAST DAY OF TERM ⭐ Thursday 17 onward - Summer Holidays Wishing you all a great week ahead Tara Penny Principal  Dear North Tawton Friends and Families, Welcome back to school everyone! And a very warm welcome to our new families. We have had a very smooth start to the year. It’s been great to welcome the children, hear their news and see them settle so quickly into their new classes and school routines. Our new Nursery children had a staggered start so they could become familiar with the setting, we look forward to welcoming back the full group next week. We also welcome back our SAINTS sport coaches who provide top notch lessons for our children. They will be in touch regarding after school clubs. Role Models In assembly we shared stories from the Olympics and Paralympics and looked to these athletes for inspiration about how we can be ready for the term ahead. We agreed that high attendance and being on time, active listening, trying our best and having courage and perseverance will all help us to be the best that we can be. Start of the day Gates open at 8.40am and learning starts at 8.45. Please make every effort to be on time as the ensures a smooth start to the day. We keep the gate open for our bus arrivals but aim to close at 8.50am. Communication If you need to report a pupil absence, please either telephone the school or email on each day of absence, this is to bring all schools in the DMAT in line with reporting absence. Communication will be going out through Arbor in the future, if you haven’t downloaded the app yet and need an activation email sent to you, please let us know. School Meals Please remember to book school dinners in advance. If you are not sure if you qualify for Free School Meals even if you currently are in KS1 please apply. You have nothing to lose and your child and the school benefit. Jewellery and Hairstyles 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. Watches are allowed, but not ones with access to internet, games, or phones. Healthy snacks We are a healthy eating school and as such expect snacks to be sent in that are healthy. These can include, fruit, carrot/cucumber sticks. Please visit the NHS better health page Healthier snacks – Food facts – Healthier Families – NHS (www.nhs.uk) for some ideas. Internet safety We promote the safe, responsible and positive use of digital technology through the school curriculum, assemblies and school displays. The UK Safer Internet Centre – a partnership of three leading charities; Childnet, the South West Grid for Learning and the Internet Watch Foundation – provide resources for children, schools and families, and tools for getting involved at www.saferinternetday.org.uk. Innocent searches online can lead to not so innocent results. But parental controls can help keep your child safe. The NSPCC website has step by step instructions for setting up parental controls. Please see our website for links and advice. Technology changes and develops all the time so is important that we keep up to date with the best ways to keep our children safe. If you have questions to ask or would like us to share more information about internet safety or any other safeguarding matters, please do not hesitate to let us know. Social Media The use of WhatsApp and messenger has become an increasing concern. Staff spend a lot of time in school responding to issues which have occurred outside of school on social media negatively impacting on friendship issues, mental health and learning. Please be aware of your child’s internet access and behaviour online. Parent Code of Conduct I would like to remind all parents and carers that if you have an issue or concern, please speak to staff with respect and consideration. We are here to do the very best for your children and work with you if concerns arise. The policy can be read on the website. Class meetings These are for parents to find out more about the class routines, find out about the curriculum, how to support at home, ask questions and meet other parents. Wednesday 11th September at 5pm – Parents of R, Y1 and Y2 Chestnut and Beech Thursday 12th September at 3.30pm – Parents of Y3 / Y4 Willow Monday 16th September at 5pm – Parents of Y4 / Y5 Hazel Tuesday 17th September at 5pm – Parents of Y6 Sycamore Some upcoming events to make sure are in you diary Thursday 19th September - Whiddon Down Music Festival Thursday 24th October 2pm - Harvest Service at the church Thursday 12th December 10am - Christingle Service led by Y6 pupils (venue to be confirmed) Tuesday 17th December 2pm and Wednesday 18th December 4pm - Christmas Performances by Reception, Y1 and Year 2 Thursday 19th December 10am - Carols in the hall Please keep an eye on Dojo for details. We are planning a whole school panto trip! All the best Tara Penny   |
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