Dear North Tawton Friends and Families,
A short week, but a busy one! As always, please look at the class blogs to see what the pupils have been learning about this week. A few reminders- Jewellery and Hair styles 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. Healthy Snacks There is nothing wrong with occasional treats at home, however, at school we are promoting healthy lifestyles to our children. Please support us by making sure that if your children bring packed lunches or snacks for break time, they are healthy choices. A number of children are coming to school with very high sugar content foods such as chocolate bars, muffins and cakes which are not appropriate. Please help us with this so we have consistency across the school. Thank you! Homework We know that some parents and children love homework, for some families it is a struggle and cause for arguments at home. On Monday I will be talking to children about our expectations, and why it is important to get into good study habits. Teachers will provide spelling and maths homework weekly. We expect every child to read daily, and for this to be recorded in their reading diary. Teachers will suggest activities to compliment topic, but this will be optional. We recommend:
Upcoming Dates FONTS and school staff have been busy organising exciting events for the coming term. Please keep an eye on Dojo and Facebook for updates. I am meeting with the staff and with Rev Spence and Mr Cutler next week to agree dates for Christmas events at school and at the church. Some dates for your diaries- Friday 23rd September – 3.45 Y6 Class Meeting and French trip meeting Tuesday 27th September – Y6 Junior Life Skills Okehampton Tuesday 4th October – flu nasal spray Friday 7 October - Usborne Book Fair Friday 14 October Dingle Dangle Scarecrow: dress up day Friday 21st October – 2.30pm R – Y6 sharing assembly –parents welcome Friday 4 November after school Fireworks Sparkler & Sweet Sale Friday 2 December Christmas Market –– after school in the hall and playground Thursday 8 December –Christmas Jumper Day (raising funds for Save the children) and Christmas dinner More dates to be published next week! With very best wishes Tara Penny Principal Dear North Tawton Friends and Families, It’s not been a great week for me, as I’ve been at home laid up with Covid ☹ However, as always, it’s been a busy and exciting week at school! Do look at the class blogs to see what the pupils have been learning about. French trip for Year 6 Pupils We are delighted to announce the details of our Year 6 residential next year to Normandy in France. We have secured funding to take all Year 6 pupils from Dartmoor Multi Academy Trust Primary Schools in the summer term. Following a rigorous and competitive application process, Mrs Jordan (Trust French Lead) and Mrs Underwood (Trust Executive Principal) received the news that all travel, accommodation and visit costs for 230 pupils and 50 staff will be covered by the government’s Turing Scheme funding. Year 6 pupils will deepen their knowledge of History, RE, Art and PSHE through a range of inspirational visits including; the Bayeux tapestry, Mont St Michel, the D-Day landing beaches and the magnificent new British Normandy Memorial. Pupils will of course also further develop their confidence to speak French through a shopping challenge at a market, as well as visits to partner schools in Normandy. This residential will also enable Year 6 pupils across the Trust to unite and develop friendships in preparation for secondary school. There are meetings planned for Y6 parents and pupils in all schools this half term. Our meeting will be on Friday 23rd September after school. If parents are unable to make the date and time of the meeting, please let us know as you may be able to join a meeting at another school. The Turing Scheme is the UK’s global programme offering opportunities in education and training across the world and enabling pupils to develop new skills and gain international experience. This year, the Turing Scheme received 513 applications, a significant increase on last year. Whilst most applications from universities were successful, Dartmoor MAT was one of only 4 schools in the South West which was awarded a grant through this highly competitive application process. FONTS
I am glad so many people attended the FONTS meeting this week. I am disappointed I couldn’t be there myself, but I have a copy of the very full minutes to read through! I am really looking forward to facilitating lots of events this year, not just to raise money (although this is much needed!) but also and more importantly to bring our community together and have shared experiences. Please watch this space for details of upcoming events. Cost of Living With the cost of living rising, it may be worth checking if you have any benefits you are not claiming. Government Benefits Calculator Check benefits and financial support you can get - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) As a school we are looking at ways to save money, and how to support all of our families. If you are struggling, please let us know so we can find sensitive ways to help. I know many of us will be watching the Queen’s funeral on Monday, so it seems inappropriate to say have a good long weekend, however, I do wish all our families, a healthy three days and I look forward to seeing you on Tuesday morning. With very best wishes, Tara Penny Principal Dear North Tawton Friends and Families,
It has been lovely to see all the smiling faces at the gate and see children settling into their new classes and routines so quickly. We have welcomed new children to our school and I have been pleased to see them make friends and settle so easily; it’s as if they have always been here. Welcome to Reverend Spence It was an honour and a privilege to attend the inauguration of our new vicar Reverend David Spence on Wednesday evening. I am looking forward to working with him and Wez Cutler to further strengthen our relationship with the church and wider community. We are meeting next week to begin our plans together. He will be introduced to the children next week. Class Meetings We have arranged for class meetings so that you can meet the teachers and find out about the year ahead. They will be straight after school. If you are not able to attend, please don’t worry, class teachers will share the information on Dojo. Reception Wednesday 14th September Y1 Friday 23rd September Y2 Friday 16th September Y3 Tuesday 20th September Y4 Thursday 15th September Y5 Wednesday 21st September Y6 Friday 23rd September Nursery children attend on different days so staff will keep parents informed as they drop off and collect. Sad news Of course, our week has ended with the sad news of the passing of our Queen, Elizabeth II. It was right and fitting to change our plans and share a memorial assembly together this morning rather than our usual end of week praise assembly. Children in Nursery and Reception held their memorial in their classes, Years 1 – 6 were in the hall together. I was so impressed with the way in which all of the children engaged with interest and respect. Year six children went to the church to hear the toll at 12pm and stood quietly taking in the moment. One child told me that they have written the date of the Queen’s passing in the book they were was gifted by her for the Jubilee, another said they will write about how they felt today so they can remember this moment when they are older. I thought these were lovely ideas. We are going to give all our children the opportunity to contribute to a memorial book if they wish to. You will have noticed we, like other schools and organisations across the country, have chosen to keep our public communication solemn for the time being out of respect as we are in this period of mourning. As always, my very best wishes to you all, Tara Penny We express our deepest sympathies for the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
Her dedication to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and to her other realms and territories is unparalleled and we thank her for her service. Our school and Trust will observe the mourning period whilst continuing to support our pupils, families and staff. I am pleased to now be able to share the report from our recent Ofsted inspection with you all. To read the report, please click here.
The first line fills me with joy. To know that children love the school and are as proud of it as I am is music to my ears! As a staff team, we are delighted that the inspector’s findings matched our own assessment of the school. We have a wonderful school of pupils who are ‘keen and enthusiastic learners’ and are ‘well mannered and polite.’ The staff team have worked hard to ensure safeguarding and provision for SEND are of a high standard and that all children are being well cared for. I am particularly pleased that the Inspector saw the work we have done across the school to promote diversity and that children are well prepared for life in modern Britain. We are working hard on making sure all of our subjects, especially history and geography are appropriately challenging for all pupils. I would like to thank all parents for their support during the inspection and throughout the year. We look forward to continuing to work with you and having lots a great events together this year ahead. I am so proud of this school. It’s not just a ‘good’ school, but a great one! Tara Penny |
Categories |