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Dear North Tawton Friends and Families, This is a very short term; I can’t believe that next week is the last before the holiday! As always, there is a lot to learn and accomplish so staff and children are working hard. Year 2 have started their Standard Assessment Tasks (SATS) These are tests which we administer in school and use to inform an assessment of their understanding in reading and maths. I have been really impressed with their hard work and attitude. Keep up the hard work Year 2! Base Curriculum As I have explained before, each class teacher has a curriculum responsibility across the school. This term there has been a lot of work across the Trust developing our history, geography, and science curriculum. Miss Radbourne and Mrs Budiman have been working with colleagues from other schools in the Trust and national specialists to develop our own Dartmoor Trust Base curriculum. They have both worked incredibly hard over the year and we are very proud of our ambitious and progressive curriculum. As always, do look at the class blogs to see what each class have been learning this week. Behaviour Behaviour at our school is very good. As I walk around the school each day, I see children in class focused on their learning and being collaborative and cooperative with their peers. Like every inclusive community school, we have a few children who have plans in place to support their behaviour development. These children are supported by staff working with our SENDCO to make sure they are accessing the curriculum and making progress with specific strategies in place. This may be shorter session in class, movement breaks, 1:1 work or adapted timetables. These children are closely monitored, parents are involved in their plans and are making great progress. I am always proud to show Trust staff and prospective parents around our school as I know the children will be engaged and enjoying their learning. Over the past three weeks, we have had a few incidents of name calling and rough play between a group of KS2 children at playtime. These incidents are always followed up immediately by staff with appropriate consequences and parents are informed. I will be monitoring this closely as this needs to stop. Please support the school expectations by not allowing name calling and rough play outside school and reminding children to talk to us about issues so we can support them. Thank You! FONTS On Tuesday, a team of brave parents joined me in sorting out the resources in the FONTS cupboard. This is a storage area which goes on and on under the school! We emptied the cupboard and sorted through Christmas decorations, summer fayre games, art and crafts and some old school technology. There are a lot of great resources which needed a dust down, and equally a lot which needed to be thrown. A huge thank you to Katie Hillier, Kate Keast, Laura Dennis and Danielle Dale for the time and good humour as we sorted through the dark and musty cupboard and got soaked on our trips to the skip! Benches The children are loving the new picnic benches! A huge Thank You to R L Taylor and West Devon Fire Protection for sponsoring two of these for us. We would love more, so if you know a company who would like to sponsor a bench, please let FONTS know! Volunteers
If you would like to volunteer at school, we would really appreciate your support! Do you have a few hours a week to support with reading, gardening, running a club, or going on a trip? We will need to apply for an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check (DBS) The certificate will contain details of convictions and conditional cautions. The school will organise this with you as we will need identification and your permission to see this record. You will also need to attend a school safeguarding and code of conduct training session so that you know our procedures to ensure chid safety. More information and applications are available from the office. Breakfast Club and After School Clubs A number of parents have asked why we do not have a breakfast club in the morning, and why we do not have provision in school until 6pm. I know that this is something the school did provide in the past, but due to lack of take up, both became unfeasible. Please see your email for a questionnaire so I can assess what the need is now, and if we can make this a financially viable provision in the future. Many thanks Next week Year 2 continue their Standard Assessment Tasks (SATS) On Monday FONTS are meeting at school to plan the summer fayre. We have a storyteller visiting classes to enhance the history curriculum. We are hosting interviews for a Trust wide chaplain next Friday, so will not have a parent assembly, so look out for a class video update on Dojo next week! And please dress up on Friday for the (early) Jubilee! Children can wear red, white or blue, be a prince or princess, or wear fancy celebration clothes. More details from FONTS to follow. I will of course use this as an excuse to wear my tiara! Looking Forward After half term we have a lot of events to look forward to including our Festival of Hope. Week of 20th June Y6 Activity Week Tuesday 28th June 5 – 6pm Community Forum Thursday 30th June Y6 induction day at Okehampton College Friday 1st July Rainbow Day – a celebration of inclusion Week of 4th July Festival of Hope – more details after half term Thursday 7th July Sports day Friday 8th July Music Concert Saturday 9th July Summer Fayre Friday 22nd July Farewell Assembly With very best wishes Tara Penny Dear North Tawton Friends and Families, It’s been a very important week here for our Year 6 class as they sat their Standard Assessment Tests (SATS) for Reading, Maths, Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation . They have shown increased maturity over the past months and this week showed us that they can not only focus on working hard under strict test conditions, they can also support each other. Thank you to Miss Ruby, Mrs Jelly and Mrs Ware, all the staff who have taught and supported this class during their time at North Tawton, and to all of you at home for supporting them. They really did themselves, and all of us proud. What have you done today to make you feel proud? We started the week with an assembly where we considered what pride means. I asked, ‘What have you done to make you feel proud?’ This is a great question to ask your children at home, tell them what you have done that you are proud of, and what makes you proud of them. We shall be learning the Heather Small song ‘Proud’ for our Festival of Hope in July. Trying new foods We have an exciting new menu, but we have noticed few children choosing the new dishes. Mandy and I have been encouraging children to try new foods and have been introducing ‘tasters' at lunch time and break time. This week we offered Quesadillas (cheese and onion tortillas) and many ate raw peppers for the first time. Please encourage children to try new things at home, as I told them. they might be missing out on something delicious!  Absence Policy Children have missed so much school time over the past two years due to Covid 19 lockdowns and illness, we are working hard to plug gaps in learning, socialisation, and emotional wellbeing. Now we are, hopefully, over the worst of our infections rates, it is vital that children are in school every day. If your children complain of sore tummies, please send them in! Unless they are physically ill with diarrhoea or vomiting, then they really need to be here. We will always call you if they are ill in school. As far as possible, please arrange for medical appointments in the school holidays, or close to the beginning or end of the school day so as little learning time is lost as possible. Holidays in term time are not authorised. Persistent absence will be followed up with our Educational Welfare Officer and can result in a fine. If you are struggling with attendance, please let me know and we will offer support through Early Help and social care. Currently our attendance is below the average for Devon, and for our Trust. I would like to see full attendance for the final months of the school year to bring our attendance figures up and to give our children the very best opportunities to succeed as possible. Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)
The staff have taken part in very important first aid training. Please click on the link https://www.bhf.org.uk/how-you-can-help/how-to-save-a-life/how-to-do-cpr/learn-cpr-in-15-minutes It’s an online CPR refresher. It is only 15 minutes long, interactive (you have your camera on so it can monitor your CPR rate) and you get a certificate at the end! Job Opportunity We are recruiting for a Teaching Assistant to join our team. If you are, or you know someone who would be interested in applying, please direct them to the Dartmoor Multi Academy Trust website – see the link here. Vacancies - Dartmoor Multi Academy Trust (dartmoormat.org.uk) Reminder Monday 6th June, school will be closed in lieu of the Queens Jubilee Bank Holiday which falls on the Thursday before during our half term week. With very best wishes for the weekend, Tara Penny Principal Tea towels Don’t forget to order your tea towels or other products. There are lots of choices to suit all budgets, including magnets, mugs, candles, coasters and cushions. You can have your individual child or a group image. The school will receive 20% commission on all sales.
Visit www.mychildsart.co.uk/order Username: NorthTawton Password: b9RfH9Z2 FONTS Jubilee activity ~ The Queens Corgi’s. 🐶The Queen has lost her Corgi’s in North Tawton. Your job is to find all the Corgi’s who each have a letter with them. The letters you find will spell where all the Corgi’s need to be returned. An answer sheet and map will be available from School/Post Office for £1 from Wednesday 25th May. All entries will receive a Platinum Jubilee badge and an overall winner from all entries will receive a small prize. Thinking ahead We are really looking forward to this years Summer Fete. Date TBC. We are looking for clean, good quality soft toy/teddy donations for our Teddy Tombola 🐻 🧸 If you, like most parents of children, have a stash of teddies that are no longer played with, FONTS will happily take them off your hands 😊 Please message/email FONTS or speak to a team member. Pre-loved Uniform Sale - Please visit the Friends of North Tawton School page on social media to find all of the items for sale. Everything is just £1. We are also accepting donations of any uniform in good, clean condition, with or without the school logo. Get ready for the warmer weather or prepare for September with some pre-loved uniform. Thank you for your continued support FONTS committee. Email friendsofnorthtawton@gmail.com Or message FONTS on Class Dojo Dear North Tawton Families,
With Covid restrictions easing and much better weather, it has been lovely this week to enjoy sunshiny playtimes on the field and assemblies all together. Long may both last! This week we welcomed back Lyndsay Adams and Jessica Nuthall to our staff team, both have settled in brilliantly and are enjoying being back. This is a very short half term, with the bank holiday on Monday it means we have less than 4 weeks before half term. However, we have a lot of work to do in that time! We are planning trips and a science week, and of course have new topics and learning for the children. Do check the class blogs for our latest learning and adventures and Dojo for messages from our staff. Statutory Testing This term beings the return of the Y1 phonics screening, Y2 and Year 6 standard assessment tests (SATS) also a new times table test for Y4. These tests will take place in school with as much preparation, but as little stress as possible! We do ask that you support us, as always, with homework. Learning times tables in particular is something you can easily support with at home with games and apps. As always daily reading and positive attitudes towards problem solving and study will always help you child throughout their primary education and help set them up to have good learning attitudes, independence and self-discipline. Reading every day is the most important support you can give at home. Sharing books, talking about book characters and plots as well as listening to your child read is so valuable. Labelling clothes This is the time of year that children go out to play with coats and jumpers and then take them off and leave them all over the playground and field! (We do encourage them to hang them on the fence by the trip trail!) Please can you make sure coats and jumpers are labelled! Wellies, plimsoles and PE kits too. While we will always support children to find their lost property, we really don’t have the time to time to investigate which items belong to whom. PE Kits On PE days, children are welcome to wear their PE kit to school. Please make sure this is a full school PE kit. House colour t-shirts are available. During the winter when we had windows open for ventilation, we did allow children to wear warm jumpers with their school uniform. Now it is the summer, they should be wearing their school uniform jumpers. Training Opportunities Adverse Childhood Experiences - Short Course Registration Link [DMAT]
With very best wishes Tara Penny Dear North Tawton Families,
It was great to have so many of you join us on line this afternoon to see children's work. Next term I hope to be able to hold assemblies, a Parent Forum and some school events in the flesh! Bake Sale Well done to Year 4 for organising the Bake Sale last week. They are delighted to announce that they raised £178 for the Ukrainian emergency fund. Easter Egg Competition Thank you to all the children who took part in the Easter Egg Decoration Competition. As always, the children showed their creativity through their imaginative work. The winners are: Nursery - Henry Reception - Emily Year 1 - Vittoria Year 2 - Bertie Year 3 - Rosie Year 4 - Tam Year 5 - Jade Year 6 - Harry Thank you to FONTS for organising this and buying the prizes. All children who took part received a chocolate bunny and the winners received an Easter egg. Farewell to Mrs Reynolds The week we said farewell and a huge thank you to Mrs Reynolds. She first started working at the school 19 years ago! She has had various roles in the school and most recently has been running our netball club. She will be missed! Welcome to Mrs Adams After Easter we welcome back Mrs Adams to the school office. she will be here Monday to Thursday and Mrs Cassels will be here Fridays. As always, please contact the school office with reasons for absence, urgent messages and general enquiries. Dojo Dojo is a wonderful communication tool; however, I do need to remind parents that teachers do not check Dojo while they are teaching. Urgent messages must go to the school office. I have instructed teachers not to read and reply to messages in the evenings, at the weekend or in the holidays. I take their well being very seriously and want them to switch off and have time for themselves and their families. I hope you agree and support this. Dinner Menu The catering team are delighted that they have been given a new lunch time menu to cook for our children. We really hope that the children enjoy the new dishes. We will be asking them and letting you know! Job Opportunity We have a vacancy for a mealtime assistant 12.00pm to 1.30pm Monday to Friday (Term Time Only) 7.5 hours per week. The successful applicant will need to supervise, assist and encourage the children with the daily meals and undertake playground duty promoting positive relationships and play. For more details and to apply, please see the DMAT Website Vacancies - Dartmoor Multi Academy Trust (dartmoormat.org.uk) Hatherleigh Cricket Club would like to invite you to their open evening on 22nd April from 5:30pm onwards. We have cricket for all ages! If you are 5-8 years old, you can come and join our softball cricket All Stars on Saturday morning between 9:30am and 10:30am. You can sign up, following this link here: https://ecb.clubspark.uk/AllStars/BookCourse/1c3ec643-a312-401a-8b01-4053e0e248a3 If you are 8-11 years old, you can come and join our softball cricket Dynamos on Friday evening between 5:30pm and 6:30pm. You can sign up for Dynamos, by following this link here: https://ecb.clubspark.uk/Dynamos/BookCourse/25f56ecd-fbd2-4a96-a7d1-f24a418d6956 Also on Friday evenings between 5:30pm and 6:30pm is hardball cricket training for Primary School age children and our newly formed women’s softball team training as well. On Mondays between 5:30pm and 6:30pm we run girls only softball cricket. We are a family friendly club who welcome all to our training. You will get a warm welcome with the bar open and food being served. If you would like anymore details, please contact Alex on hathjuniors@gmail.com Wishing you all a very happy Easter! See you on Monday 25th April rested, revitalised and ready for the Summer term! With vey best wishes, Tara Penny Pre-loved Uniform Sale - Please visit the Friends of North Tawton School page on social media to find all of the items for sale. Everything is just £1. We are also accepting donations of any uniform in good, clean condition, with or without the school logo. Easter Egg competition Don’t forget to get your Easter eggs decorated and returned to school, with your £1, by next Wednesday (6th) for judging. Prizes and treats for entering will be given out at school. All eggs will then be displayed around the town for everyone to see. SeaMoor Lotto Did you know you can support our school by playing a weekly lottery? It’s £1 a ticket and 50% of that will go straight to the school. If you buy tickets before 23rd April you could win a £1000 B&Q voucher! Simply go to seamoorlotto.co.uk and search for FONTS to support the cause. New FONTS website Ever wondered who FONTS are and what we do? We now have a brand new website up and running where you can find out all about us and what we’re planning to raise funds for our school. Everyone is welcome to get involved, the more the merrier 😊 We are found here www.crispva.wixsite.com/wearefonts Thank you for your continued support FONTS committee. Email friendsofnorthtawton@gmail.com Or message FONTS on Class Dojo re to edit. Dear North Tawton Families,
It’s been another busy week at North Tawton. Spring has Sprung! In Monday’s assembly we welcomed Spring with Vivaldi ‘s beautiful violin concerto and talked about what we all enjoy about the season. Vivaldi - Spring - YouTube We agreed that the season is reflected in the uplifting, bright and happy music. Learning I have really enjoyed visiting classes and observing teaching and learning this week. Our teachers are working very hard to plan and deliver engaging lessons, and our children are showing excellent learning behaviour and making great progress. I am looking forward to visiting more lessons next week to complete this round of monitoring. Do see our class blogs for weekly updates of class learning and news.
Summer Term Target Setting Summer target setting reports will be shared with you early next week in preparation for the coming term. We will be reviewing these at the end of the year and sharing progress reports. Next week Don’t forget to send in your children’s Easter egg designs in by Wednesday. We will have another on line sharing assembly on Friday at 2pm. Thank You! Thank you to FONTS for the lovely staffroom treats and card. This was very much appreciated by the staff team. With very best wishes, Tara Penny |
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