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Dear North Tawton Families, What a busy and exciting last few weeks we have had together! The children really enjoyed making kites and flying them for Rainbow Day. We celebrated being ‘Different Together’ by sharing books about inclusion and diversity and talked about our kites all being different and flying together in the wind. FONTS put on a wonderful Fontsfest. This was a brave change from the norm and was very much enjoyed by all who came. The live music and a bar brought a festival vibe to a sunny day of circus skills, sports games and just chilling and chatting. No one went hungry with a BBQ, crepes and lollies available. We enjoyed meeting and learning about birds of prey, were decorated with henna and hair braiding. There were opportunities for exploring art and craft skills and painting pottery, and a raffle of wonderful prizes donated by families and local businesses. And our hard core footballers (children and adults) enjoyed playing football all day! Our Sports Day was an Olympic event, literally! We had an opening and closing ceremony and children took part in a whole day of events: team activities and field events in the morning, and the track events in the afternoon. FONTS donated ice poles which were a refreshing treat after all the physical exertion! Huge thanks to Miss Collins who led on organising this, and to all the staff, volunteers and our coach Mrs Jordan for making it run so smoothly! Year 5 and Year 6 put on a wonderful production of Aladdin Trouble. I was so impressed at how brave and talented our pupils are. Thank you to all the parents who attended the Early Years Celebration of Learning and our Year Six Leavers Assembly. Our children really deserve to be celebrated for their hard work and progress. Class Changes After my email and our meeting on Monday to explain why classes need to be mixed next year, and many individual conversations since, I know some families are not happy with the changes. School leaders will monitor this closely in the Autumn term to ensure pupils settle and make progress. We will revisit this as new children join and look flexibly at class grouping as the school roll changes. We endeavour to be more timely in our communication and clearer in explaining reasons for changes. Next Year We will have more opportunities for parents to attend workshops, assemblies and events throughout the year. We will have a list of dates for the term ahead so parents can plan to attend with future notice. Attendance After a low start to the year, attendance rose at North Tawton and was above national in the first half of the summer term. Our final average across the whole year was 93.4% The national average for this year was 94.2%. Term time holidays are not authorised and can incur fines from Devon County Council. Well done to all pupils who had higher than 94% and especially to our 100%ers! Thank you to parents for supporting us in this, it really makes a difference to pupil outcomes. Staff News This week we said a sad farewell to Mrs Ahmad and to Miss Radbourne. Both will be greatly missed. We also wished good luck to Mrs Bridgeman, Mrs Sterrett and Miss Wallis all of whom are due babies this summer! North Tawton Staff are a very hard working team who go above and beyond for our school community. Our pupils are very lucky to have a team around them who really do care for them and do their very best to encourage them to grow and develop. I am very blessed to have such supportive colleagues who make my job a pleasure. Tin Can Collection The results are in! I am delighted to tell you that along with other local schools we have collected 367kg of cans and raised £242.22 for Families in Grief. Mike is able to 'gift aid' to a total of £300. Huge thanks to all families who donated their recycling, and to Mike Clark and the Rotary Club in Hatherleigh for organising this. We hope to do more in the new year to support this important charity. This is what our 367kg of aluminium looked like once baled!  A message from Miss Paton – our Hub Principal This first year as the Foundry Hub of Schools has flown by and the end of term has been filled with so many amazing events and special moments. I feel so privileged to be able to visit all the schools to see and enjoy the spectacular occasions to mark the end of the year and to witness our communities coming together. The children have been involved in many enriching events, performances and trips and ultimately those are the memories that will remain with them forever. All of the staff have worked incredibly hard across the year but especially in recent weeks so a huge thank you to each and every one of them. Each school in Foundry is unique in its character and feel but all embody our values of ambition, cooperation and transformation. I have relished spending time with and teaching the children in our schools from nursery right up to Year 6 and will take away many fond memories. As a leader in any capacity the true driving force of all your work is those treasured moments and conversations with the children which can range from pet Guinea pigs to debates about the Treaty of Versailles! So thank you to all the children at South Tawton, North Tawton, Chagford and Exbourne and good luck for the future. Best Wishes Miss Paton With very best wishes for the summer holiday, Tara Penny Principal NORTH TAWTON SCHOOL LANDS CHARITY CAN WE HELP YOU? HAVE YOU JUST FINISHED A LEVELS? ARE YOU GOING TO UNIVERSITY OR COLLEGE? ARE YOU JUST STARTING AN APPRENTICESHIP? This Trust has a small income which can be applied in promoting the education, including social and physical training, of boys and girls resident in the Parish of North Tawton. Small grants can be made towards expenses of students going to University, College or taking apprenticeships etc. We have already helped many young people of this Parish. Applications should be made in writing to: Clerk to the Trustees North Tawton School Lands Charity 3 Letheren’s Meadow North Tawton EX20 2FQ And should state the name, age and address of the applicant, and give details of the type of education/apprenticeship they are pursuing. Applications must be sent before the 24th August 2024. Applicants will be advised if a grant has been awarded as soon as possible after that date. It is emphasized that these grants are small and are made entirely at the discretion of the Trustees. We look forward to receiving your applications and, hopefully, helping your future.         Comments are closed.
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