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Dear North Tawton Friends and Families,
And so we reach the end of our penultimate week of the school year! Do have a look at Dojo and the class blogs to find out about some prickly visitors, a trip to Rosemoor and meet our local celebrity; Waddle! Reports Parents should have received their child’s report this afternoon. If you have not, please let us know. We have included the attendance certificates for the year. Attendance this year has been very low. While a lot of it is due to Covid and other unavoidable illness, we do have some children with sporadic attendance and some families taking holidays during term time. Holidays are not authorised absences. We do ask families to fill out an absence request from for appointments and any planned time off so that we know where you are and do not become concerned for the safeguarding of the children. When pupils have more than ten sessions of unauthorised absence, I am required to contact families to let them know that attendance has fallen below the required level. When necessary, I may request the involvement of an education welfare officer to support improved attendance. Fines can be issues if attendance does not improve. Next year we are aiming for at least 95% attendance. Year Six SATs We finally got the results of our Year Six SATs papers! Unlike the assessments we do in other year groups which we mark ourselves, Year Six papers are sent off to be graded by external markers. You many have read in the press that many papers were not marked in time. We did not have all of ours returned by the deadline last week, but we did just in time for the reports! We are very proud of our Year Six results, well done! Each child has met their target, and some have exceeded. We are proud of their achievements and hope they continue to work hard into Year 7 and beyond. Hot Weather Warning! Please remember that all children need to come to school with a water bottle, hat and applied sunscreen. Please send them with cream to apply at playtimes if they need it. If it is too hot, we will keep the children in at playtimes or go out in small groups to the shaded areas only. Children can wear PE kits of they will would prefer. Children are not to wear jumpers! I have been encouraging a few today to take them off, and keep them off. We know some children are body conscious, and we are sensitive to this, but wearing jumpers in this hear is really not healthy. Class Photos On Monday we have class photos kindly organised by FONTS. Children will need to come to school in uniform so they look smart for the photos, but can then all change into PE kits so they are cooler once they have been photographed. We will do the photos straight away, so they are done before it gets too hot. A message from Nick Bryant – Music Tutor On Monday 11th July, the school choir gave a performance at the Town Hall at a community event to raise awareness of Wellbeing in the community. We walked down together after a warm up in the school hall and made our way onto the stage for our second performance in four days. As choir leader, I have been blown away by the enthusiasm and hard work of our 20-strong singers of all ages. After their performance I was approached by many locals in the audience who were delighted and thrilled that we had shared our music with them and it was clear we had reached many people who would not normally have the opportunity to hear the school choir sing. Every member should feel very proud of their contribution. I'd like to especially recognise our soloists Grayson, Jade, Mia, Lily-Rose and Sophie and our reception singers Louie and Ruben, but a huge well done to everyone who took part. Thank you too to Juliet and our volunteer helpers. This Monday was the last choir of the term, but I'm very much looking forward to restarting next term and welcoming any newcomers who want to give it a try. More information to follow. Nick Bryant - strings, piano and singing teacher. Uniform During the colder months, we were allowing children to wear warm clothes as windows were open to reduce covid spread. Since then, uniform has got very lax here! In September we are going to be focusing on this and cracking down! I am forewarning parents now, so you have time to get organised for September. This is our uniform policy (taken from the website) 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 white 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. 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. Farewells and celebrations Next week will be a busy and emotional one. We have lots of farewells to say next week, but also celebrations too! Please support us to keep our children calm and balanced. The hot weather and building emotions of moving on to new classes and new schools can be unsettling for adults and children. Please don’t let tempers get frayed - if there is an issue, please talk to us so we can sort it out together. Wishing you a great weekend, Keep hydrated! Tara Penny Principal Comments are closed.
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