We have had a swashbuckling time this week, culminating in our pirate dressing up day.  The children's costumes and accessories looked fantastic and did the treasure chests, maps and wanted posters they created. We ended the week with a treasure hunt where we followed the clues and found our tasty treasure hidden up a tree!  ​

This week, in History, we have been thinking about our family history and ancestors. The children made their family trees at home and had a super time talking about their relatives; it was lovely to hear their discussions. ​

In Science, we are learning about Materials and it looks like pupils had fun mixing unusual combinations! ​

Attendance on Friday was at our highest for this academic year - 99%! Thank you, all! Attendance for the week was 97% and for the school year so far it stands at 95%.

We've had a lot of requests for another disco - so back by popular demand, we will be holding a summer school disco on Friday May 19th! 

The schedule will run like previous discos:
Years R, 1 and 2 - 3.30 - 4.30pm
Years 3 & 4 - 4.45 - 5.45pm
Years 5 & 6 - 6 - 7pm

£2.50 per child and this includes unlimited squash and a bag of crisps! Plus Years 3& 4 and 5&6 are allowed to bring some extra money for the tuck shop!

We do appreciate that year 2 have a school trip on that day (but finding an alternative date proved impossible) so please bear this in mind and only sign up your year 2 child if you're confident they won't be too hot and exhausted from their fun day away!!

Permission slips will be sent out with the children next week. Please return them with the money by Friday 19th at the latest!!

Bags2School
Fancy having a clear out of your cupboards?? We are holding another Bags2school donation event on Tuesday June 6th - more information to follow!

We would like all the children to make a crown. These can be made out of paper, crocheted from wool, woven from twigs, or produced in any way you choose. There are lots of ideas for homemade crowns on the internet. The only rule is that the crowns must be homemade and not bought from a shop or online. Please bring your completed crowns to school on Friday 5th May.

Many of the activities below are from series of lessons which can be found at The Oak National Academy. If your child would like to carry and and complete further lessons in the series, then they may. 

All Year R parents should have received an email from Mrs Culverhouse giving details of the activities to complete. 

English
​How to make a paper crown
Maths
​To recognise and add equal groups
Science
What is a Living Thing?

English
​To tell a recount from memory
Maths
To find one quarter of a shape
Science
What types of food do living things eat?

Please click here for your home learning.

English
To explore the four types of sentence
Maths
To recognise decimal tenths
Computing
Introducing variables

English
What is a relative clause?
What is a preposition?
Maths
Calculating angles within a shape 1 (thenational.academy)
Computing
Your computing lesson will be live in your google classrooms from Thursday morning. Don't forget to click 'turn in assignment' when you have completed each piece of work. 

The year 6 children will be working in 'SATs Bootcamp' as explained to them by Mrs Donovan.

Welcome back to the start of the summer term. Spirits have been high this week and the pupils have entered into all activities with enthusiasm after their two week rest.

Year R have started the summer term full of adventurous ideas.  They decided to become pirates and create their own treasure maps, inspired by the story 'The Treasure of Pirate Frank'.  They also had fun playing real life 'Pop Up Pirates' and balancing items on their pirates before the sea shanty song finished.  

Year 3 have started a new humanities topic of Villages, Towns and Cities and have a new book in English which links to this; it is called ‘A Walk in London’ by Salvatore Rubbino. The children have been very interested in the locations in London and have been doing their own research using the chrome books. 

The Year 4 class have had a brilliant first week back after the Easter holidays. The majority of the class started a new English topic 'How to Train your Dragon' and they have already produced some fantastic descriptions of their own dragons using effective adjectives. Year 4 were very fortunate to have OCRA visit on Thursday afternoon and the children participated in a futsal competition. The sun was shining and everyone had a fantastic time! They have also been busy producing some lovely artwork, drawing dragons and making Viking boats and artefacts to go on their working wall. 

Tuesday was an exciting day in Breakfast Club as we celebrated a big birthday for Ruth. The children showed how much they love Ruth with lots of cards and presents. 

Breakfast club has become so popular that we have increased numbers and asked Mrs Bazeley to work alongside Ruth each morning. Even with increased capacity, the club is often still full. Please note that we will be unable to accept any children who have not booked their place in advance by 8pm on the night before the place is required. 

We had a wonderful afternoon with the cross country teams at Chagford Cricket Club on Friday. This was cross country at its finest with some tricky terrain and steep hills. All of our runners put in huge efforts to produce some very gutsy performances and excellent positions. I have not yet received the results but will share them with you next week. Well done to everyone who took part, and thank you to all the drivers and supporters. 

We had another big birthday on Friday and I'm sure that Miss Barton thoroughly enjoyed wearing the birthday hat and being sung to in assembly....

Thank you! We had a wonderful week for attendance last week which hopefully heralds less bugs and illnesses for the summer term. Attendance across the school was at 97% last week in comparison with 95% so far for the school year. 

Thank you to the Oxenham Arms who donated the proceeds of their recent vintage car and motorbike rallies to our PTA!

The highlight of the Spring Term for me was the outstanding performances of Oliver by years 3 and 4. Huge congratulations are due to everyone involved - both pupils and staff - for creating and producing something so very special. Thank you, all!

After a very, very wet week at school, suddenly it is the end of term, and the holiday and more spring-like weather are with us. We wish all of our families a very happy and restful Easter break. I'd also like to express my thanks and admiration for every one of the school staff who work together tirelessly to ensure the best possible support and education for our pupils. 

We look forward to welcoming all of the children back to school on Monday 17th April. There is new menu for the Summer Term which can be found here. Please book all meals, including home packed lunch, in advance. Bookings for the school bus and breakfast club are also now open for the Summer Term. 

This week, we had to say goodbye to Miss Bennett who leaves us to take up a new position as SENDCo and Assistant Principal at a school in Exeter. Miss Bennett first came to South Tawton as a temporary, newly qualified, Year 6 teacher in 2007. She's been with us ever since and will be much missed by both staff and children. She takes her son, George, with her and we wish them both every success and happiness in their new school. 

On Thursday, we took two teams of footballers to the Festival of Hope tournament at Okehampton College. It was very, very wet so sadly there are no photos. However, our teams weren't in the least bit daunted by the driving rain or surface water and played brilliantly throughout. Final results have not yet been received, but the A team won 3 of their 5 matches and drew the other two. The B team won one, drew one and lost two. Well done to everyone who took part and thank you to Dom for training the teams and accompanying us. 

Year 6 enjoyed an afternoon of Book Club with Year 7 transition ambassadors to introduce the pupils to new texts and support their transition into year 7 in September. There will be further transition opportunities for both years 5 and 6 in the summer term. 

Hello, my name is David Cottam,
I trained at the Guildhall School Of Music in London and have many years experience as a performing musician and teacher.
Children will be able to sign up for guitar lessons in school for the Summer term.
Tuition is one to one for 30 minutes each week.
I teach finger style classical guitar to children from 7 years upwards.
The rate is £18 a lesson and payment is half termly for blocks of 5 lessons. If the term is long and more than 10 lessons are received adjustments will be made at the end of each term.
Please pay for each half term in advance by BACS to Mr.David R Cottam Coop Bank a/c 78127708 Sort Code : 089300 (ref child’s name) to enrol your child for each block of 5 lessons. See agreement below.
In the event of a scheduled school activity or school closure, a lesson will not be charged for.
An absence through illness can be be made up later with an online lesson rather than incurring a loss.
Please let me know by text if your child is going to be absent and be sure to give half a term’s notice if you intend to stop lessons.
I’m happy to receive emails and answer any questions.
Please encourage lots of practice!
Best wishes
David Cottam
[email protected]
Mobile 07790 114025

Parents/Guardians need to simply follow the link below and find the correct school and day they would like to book on to.

Class for Kids Booking Link - https://saints-southwest.class4kids.co.uk/term/87

April EVENTS  
  
Easter Character Hunt - Saturday 1 – Saturday 15 April 
Look for the nine chicks hiding in the library. Find them and collect a sweet treat. 
FREE character hunt, available during library opening hours. 


Easter colouring - Saturday 1 – Saturday 15 April 
FREE, available during library opening hours. 


‘Storm In A Teapot’ from Boo to A Goose – Thursday 13 April 11:00-12:00 
This exciting show from Boo To A Goose Theatre has been created for children aged 4-10 and their families and will appeal to the whole family. Grandma Kettlepot is causing a stir at the local book club, she decides to write her own story but needs the children’s help. This accessible, multi-sensory show, with puppets and original music, will have everyone laughing and singing along with the characters. 
 
Tickets: £3 per child. One adult free with each paying ticket.  
Free for children aged 2 and under. The show will be at the Ockment Centre Hall. 
Booking in advance, from the library, is essential.  
 



Plus Regular Events
Bounce & Rhyme - Tuesdays 10:00-10:20 & 11:00-11:20   
Suitable for under 5s. FREE, no booking necessary.  
  
Baby Weigh – Tuesdays 09:30-11:30  
FREE self-weigh facilities for parents to weigh their babies, are available in a screened area within the library. This is in partnership with Devon Public Health Nursing. No booking necessary. Parents and babies welcome to stay for Bounce & Rhyme!  
  
Duplo Builders & Storytime - Wednesdays 09:30–10:15   
Suitable for under 5s. FREE, no booking necessary.  
  
Lego Builders - Saturdays 10:30–11:30   
Suitable for ages 5+. FREE, just drop in.  
  
The Secret Book Quest   
A completely FREE year-round reading challenge for 5–12-year-olds across Devon. To take part, children sign up in the library, read 50 library books at their own pace, and collect stickers to solve the secret code. Finishers will receive a certificate and a small prize.  


With kind regards

Fiona Mokandpuri
First Assistant
Okehampton Library 
0183752805 
www.librariesunlimited.org.uk
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