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Dear North Tawton Families and Friends, Snow Days Thank you for your support and understanding last week during the school closures. I appreciate that for many of you, this will have been an inconvenience. The CEO makes the final decision as to whether to close a school – and as you can imagine, it’s not an easy one. There will always be people who disagree with the decision and many who will be significantly inconvenienced either way. The decision was made as timely as possible as the weather is so unpredictable, and it had to be a dynamic risk assessment school by school. I am personally grateful as I did not want any staff or parents to feel pressure to drive in potentially hazardous conditions. I did enjoy hearing the children tell us all about the fun they had in the snow!  Children in Need A huge Pudsey thank you for your generosity, we raised £132.20. Children in Need really is a worthy cause, and I am so please we support this each year. The children saw a clip of Paddy McGuinness completing his 300 mile bike ride in our assembly. We reflected on the fact that we had fun and wore comfy wearing pyjamas to school, he really did go above and beyond to raise money through his own incredible hard work and discomfort. We look to people like him for inspiration in our own lives.  Spring menu We received excellent feedback (pun intended!) from parents and children who sampled our Spring Menu last week at parents’ evenings. Thanks to Meredith from our Educatering Team and of course to Mandy and Nikki for preparing the food. Our school dinners really are delicious, and good value! I have at least two a week! Christmas is coming….. As it’s December 1st on Sunday… next week we can officially get Christmassy! Learning will of course be taking place, just with an added twinkle of tinsel in the background! Talking of Christmas, we have been asked to sing Christmas carols at three community events! Sunday 8th December for the turning on of the North Tawton Lights - meet at the square at 5.30pm. Please wrap up warm! Friday 13th December at FONTS Christmas Fair at the church straight after school. Sunday 15th December for the annual Christmas Carols at the church – starts at 6pm Please wear Christmas jumpers! Words for Christmas carols will be provided (ones we have learned in school)  We also have our school Carol Concert on Thursday 19th December at 10am Can you name all of the reindeer? We have been learning them for one of our songs! You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen But do you recall The most famous reindeer of all? Meet our new PCSO!  We are pleased to welcome Sean Jones, our new Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) for the North Tawton area. A PCSO plays a key role in keeping our community safe and supporting local schools, like ours with safety and wellbeing initiatives. “I’m excited to be part of this community and look forward to getting to know all of you. My goal is to support students, parents and staff and work together to create a safe and welcoming environment for everyone. Please don’t hesitate to come and talk to me if you have any questions or concerns”. The presence of a PCSO in our area not only helps to maintain security but also promotes positive relationships between young people and the police. He has been in school and met the children, and he has led assemblies about road safety. When you see him in the area, please say hello. If you need PSCO support – please contact He’ll be at Merry Go Round for a Community Drop Mon 9th December 3:00PM - 4:00PM  Well done to Sycamore and Willow for first and second places. Term Time holidays are unauthorised and can result in a fine from Devon County Council. Coats Please make sure your children have warm coats in school each day. If you have a spare coat, please consider donating to our school – we would really appreciate them for those who need them. Parking and dropping off outside school Please do not park or drop off children on the zig zag area outside school. It is incredibly dangerous. Please hold on to younger children when walking up Exeter Street. We had a near miss last week which was very upsetting for those who saw it. A Fond Farewell to Mrs Budiman Mrs Ware and Miss Ruby Please join us in thanking Mrs Budiman, Mrs Ware and Miss Ruby for all of the hard work they have given to our school and community. They are leaving at Christmas, and we will be very sad to see them go. We wish them all the very best in their new ventures. The children and the families of their current classes have already been informed. Mr Whittley and I are interviewing for class teachers today and we will share news of new staffing as soon as it is finalised. See you on Sunday for the Santa Dash! All the very best, Tara Penny Principal Lots coming up in December!
Sunday 1st December - Santa Dash Sunday 8th December – 6pm North Tawton Lights Monday 9th December – Pantomime Trip! Wednesday 11th December – Christmas Lunch and Christmas Jumper Day Thursday 12th December at 2pm - Christingle Service led by Y6 pupils at the church Friday 13th December - Christmas Market at North Tawton Church from 3.30pm Sunday 15th December – Carols at the church Tuesday 17th December at 2pm - Christmas Performances by Reception, Y1 & Year 2 Wednesday 18th December at 4pm - Christmas Performances by Reception, Y1 & Year 2 Thursday 19th December at 10am - Carols in the hall – all welcome Friday 20th December - Last day at school Monday 23 - Monday 6 January - Christmas Holidays (inclusive) January Tuesday 7th January – Back to School Wednesday 8th January at 5.30pm - Y6 Residential Parent meeting at North Tawton Dear North Tawton Families and Friends, It’s been a very busy two weeks! I was very impressed with the way in which the pupils thought about Remembrance in assembly and how they stood respectfully in silence on Armistice Day. Thank you for your generous donations to the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal. We had fun wearing odd socks on Tuesday for Anti Bullying Week and pyjamas on Friday for Children in Need. Wearing odd socks for Anti Bullying Week is metaphor to reinforce our message of accepting difference. We spoke of the role of the bystander and how it is up to all of us to stand up to prejudice, bullying and all unkind behaviour.  Children in Need is a long standing charity who do excellent work supporting children across the UK. We marvelled Paddy McGuinness and his huge feat raising an outstanding amount of money (£7,000,000 and rising!) for the charity riding a Chopper (I remember those!) 300 miles from Wales through North England to Scotland. We will count our donations and let you know how much we have raised for this worthy cause. The Bookery Thank you to Karen and Cathie from The Bookery in Crediton who delivered their selection of new titles kindly funded by Friends of North Tawton. They showed us the books and read the blurbs, we can’t wait to borrow them from our school library. Not only that, they also brought a car load of extra books so we could take some home! Thank you so much! Please support our local bookshops! Calling our keen singers! We have been asked to sing at two community events! Sunday 8th December for the turning on of the North Tawton Lights - meet at the square at 5.30pm Sunday 15th December for the annual Christmas Carols at the church – starts at 6pm Year Six Residential I am delighted to let you know that we have secured accommodation and transport for a Foundry Y6 residential to Cambridge. Our aim is to provide lots of exciting educational opportunities, as well as a few treats! Cambridge has a whole host of places to visit including museums, galleries, places of worship, gardens and walks and boat trips on the river. The aim will be to experience city life, compare the city to our rural Devon towns and villages, and add to the learning the children have been doing in school in history, RE and science. Also of course, a wonderful opportunity to experience time away from our familiar environment, build independence and confidence and make friendships across the schools. We will have a meeting Wednesday 8th January at 5.30pm at North Tawton to share the details and for Y6 families to ask questions. Why do we go on a Year Six residential? Residential school trips allow children to build independence, experience a different place, improve teamwork and enhance their social skills. Going with the other Foundry Y6 classes (Exbourne, South Tawton and Chagford) , not only reduces costs, it gives our classes the opportunity to meet up with other pupils their age. By interacting with their peers in a different setting, students learn to communicate more effectively, collaborate, and appreciate the value of teamwork. It helps them to build resilience, independence and problem-solving skills. Being away from home and around other children helps them to navigate unfamiliar situations and make decisions on their own. Going to a different place, such as a city, enables our pupils go to art galleries and museums and have diverse cultural experiences.  There has been a significant improvement in attendance this week, well done everyone who has been in every day. Only one class has maintained the goal of 97% well done Sycamore. It’s the time of year when we do expect a drop in attendance due to colder weather colds and we know there have been some nasty bugs around.
This is helpful advice from the NHS Is my child too ill for school? - NHS (www.nhs.uk) Holidays are unauthorised and can result in a fine from Devon County Council. Reminders Please do not park or drop off children, outside the school. It is incredibly busy and dangerous. Children need a coat every day! Please put names in jumpers! We have a growing collection of lost property by the office. Parent Forum Thank you to those who attended the parent forum. The minutes can be read here All the very best Tara Penny Principal North Tawton Parent Forum
Friday 8th November 2024 1 Welcome and Introductions Tara Penny, Principal welcomed all. As small group but great to have two parents who are new to the school attending as well as some who have attended many meetings previously, including representation from Friends of North Tawton FONTS. Two parents emailed apologies and asked for sports fixtures to be raised (later in minutes) Tara explained Anande James role as parent advocate. 2 Our Trust Three Main Aims Tara explained the three aims of the Trust for the year ahead. All staff are working toward these broad aims in very specific ways. Raise attainment - All children prepared for the next year of education with the skills and knowledge they need Eradicate gaps - Equitable provision and outcomes for our most underserved young people Drive belonging - All young people, staff, and communities feel connected, heard and valued 3 Analysis Some specifics we are focusing on at North Tawton raise attainment and eradicate gaps which parents can support at home:
Class teachers will provide advice on how to support at home in upcoming parent meetings. 4 Attendance Children do get ill, and of course we don’t want them here unwell, however we do have below average attendance levels for our Trust and national average. We track and support individual children and families where attendance is becoming a concern. We also monitor groups of pupils by demographic including SEND as nationally, these pupils tend to miss more school than others. Our motto is “If they are well enough, send them in!” We will always send children home if we are worried about their health. Holidays are unauthorised. Parents asked if work can be provided for children so they can catch up on missed work if off ill. Tara explained the challenges for staff to provide this on the specific day, but said she would raise with the staff team. Some parents said they use the White Rose (maths) links given to support 5 Split / Mixed Classes After a lot of parent unrest at the end of the year, parents attending, and ones Tara has spoken to over this half term, report class mixing has been smooth and have no concerns. Parents appreciated the class meetings early in the year and are reassured. Tara agreed that for 2025/6, parents and pupils will know the class structures and teachers in the as soon as possible for effective transition. Year 6 being a small unmixed class has been received well and parents appreciate the class having bespoke curriculum. Parents asked if this will be the case next year of if current Y4 Y5 mix will move together. Tara said she would consider this depending on pupil numbers and staffing, but agreed again that the decision will be made and communicated more timely. 6 Wrap around Care Tara has tried to organise wrap around care, but not enough families signed up to make it financially viable for the company to set up. The Trust has secured funding for breakfast club and afterschool clubs so we are going to offer again. Details to follow… 7 Parents and Community Friends of North Tawton (FONTS) have lots planned, but need help! All parents are members. Please follow FONTS on Facebook and attend their meetings. The work they do for the school is so appreciated They fund trips for classes, equipment such as our sound system and staging, books for our library, musical instruments and even small things like crackers for Christmas lunch. 8 Thoughts, Ideas, Questions Parents raised concern that there have not been any sports fixtures this year. Tara said she would follow this up. We currently don’t have a sports lead. Dojo is well received by most parents as main form of communication and for reminders. Mixed views on school having a Facebook page as not all parents use Facebook. Actions
We will be addressing these as a school team. Thank you again for your attendance and support of our school |
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