What a lovely, lovely day we've had today! Our Jubilee picnic was such a happy and an amazing experience. Firstly, everyone looked so amazing in their red, white and blue clothes. Secondly, the weather couldn't have been better. Thirdly, some wonderful fairies (thanks PTA and Dawn!) ensured that we arrived at school this morning to find every inch of fencing and boundary bedecked in red, white and blue bunting! Lastly, we gathered together on the playground to enjoy the most terrific picnic party. The children chose where to sit and mixed with pupils from other classes to really enjoy being part of South Tawton's wonderful friendly, family atmosphere!

Thank you to all the staff and children who helped to set up and clear away the playground. Thanks to all the parents and children who baked and provided such a delicious feast. I feel that South Tawton Primary has celebrated the Platinum Jubilee in style. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute and am so very proud of our community. 

Special thanks are also due to Mrs Watkins and Mrs Everett who made this spectacular event happen.

Please be advised that the first day back after half term (Tues 7th June) there will be a menu change to the following: 
Cheeseburger / Veggie Burger
Chips and Beans 
Followed by Frubes 

Jacket potatoes and sandwiches are available as usual.

As we sadly had to say goodbye to Mrs Horsley, we are now recruiting to find an enthusiastic and motivated replacement for her. We are looking for a teaching assistant to join us for mornings Monday to Friday each week.

Further information can be found here.  Applications close on Sunday 5th June.

The biggest event of the summer is not far away - the South Tawton School Summer Fair will be held on Friday 8th July straight after school. We've not been able to hold one for the last couple of years, so let's make this one the best one yet. Please save the date and if you would like to be involved then  please drop us a message at [email protected]. ​

​Ground Force Day Round 2!
Following the success of our ground force day we would like to spend another couple of hours finishing off some jobs, especially painting the wall which was painstakingly power washed! We received feedback that  a Saturday was difficult for people to join us so this time we will meet on Tuesday 28th June after school. 

Date of our next meeting:
Monday 13th June 8pm Via Teams. 
If you would like to join us please email [email protected]. It is always a very relaxed meeting, dogs bark, children wake up, some of us wear our PJs or are cooking or eating dinner. It really isn't formal and we always have a giggle!

A big thank you to the Merry Go Round who have raised £408.25 for us this year. If you've never visited their shop in North Tawton, it comes thorpughly recommended. More information can be seen in the picture below or by visiting their website. www.merrygoroundonline.co.uk/

The Dartmoor MAT are currently recruiting for new governors to join Local Stakeholder Boards. Please view the letter above for further information or click here to download.
​

Congratulations to Y2 who sat their SATs tests very calmly last week. We now have a small break from testing until after half term when Y1 will have their phonics screening and Y4 will have their multiplication tables check. 

This Friday, we very sadly will have to say goodbye to Mrs Horsley. Mrs Horsley has been part of the school for 11 years and will be very sadly missed. She will leave us to take on a new challenge and we wish her every success and happiness in her next role. We are currently recruiting to cover her position.

In other recruitment news, we are delighted to be welcoming Mr Liam Wilkins to join our teaching team in September. Year 4 pupils know Mr Wilkins well as he taught in Y4 in the Spring term as his student teaching placement. Mr Wilkins will be replacing Miss Chalcraft and will be job-sharing with Mrs Graham. Mr Wilkins has a special interest in the teaching of maths and is also a keen sportsman. 

Collection of children from after-school clubs.
When collecting your children from clubs, please do not park in the staff car park. This is dangerous for children walking back into school from the field. 

Parent, Leif Tarry and a friend set off for Ukraine with over 150 bags on Thursday 19th May. These bags will be delivered to Poland over the weekend to those in need and contain many items donated by South Tawton families. Thank you. Well done, Arwen and Genevieve for talking about it in this Friday’s assembly.

​little bags for Ukranian children. - YouTube

To celebrate the Queen's Jubilee, we would like to hold a whole-school tea party on Friday afternoon. As well as wearing red, white and blue for the day, the children will be invited to bring in some food to share on Friday. 

Class teachers will organise food with their own classes; the children will help decide what they would like to bring (e.g. cupcakes, crisps, cocktail sausages etc.) and bring a slip of paper home to say what they have chosen to bring in. 

On Friday, the class will bring all the food together, either as a whole class or in smaller groups, fill up their plates and head onto the playground or school field to enjoy a whole-school tea party. 
​
We also hope to make decorations and maybe some hats, during the morning, to make it colourful affair!

Celebrate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee by coming to school on Friday 27th May dressed in patriotic colours – red, white and blue. Instead of raising money, we would love it if you could bring in donations that we can use for the Summer Fair's raffle or tombola. We have asked KS1 to bring in smellies and KS2 consumable bottles however if this isn't possible you can send your child in with the usual £1 donation. Thank you for your continued support. ​

The biggest event of the summer is not far away - the South Tawton School Summer Fair will be held on Friday 8th July straight after school. We've not been able to hold one for the last couple of years, so let's make this one the best one yet. Please save the date and if you would like to be involved then  please drop us a message at [email protected]. ​

Ground Force Day Round 2!
Following the success of our ground force day we would like to spend another couple of hours finishing off some jobs, especially painting the wall which was painstakingly power washed! We received feedback that  a Saturday was difficult for people to join us so this time we will meet on Tuesday 28th June after school. 

Date of our next meeting:
Monday 13th June 8pm Via Teams. 
If you would like to join us please email [email protected]. It is always a very relaxed meeting, dogs bark, children wake up, some of us wear our PJs or are cooking or eating dinner. It really isn't formal and we always have a giggle!

What a super day KS1 had visiting the Northcott Theatre to see Fantastically Great Women Who Changed The World! In addition to looking forward to the show, the children were so excited to ride on the coach; for some children it was their first ever coach journey. The musical was brilliant and it has been lovely to hear the children singing some of the songs in school this week. Even an unexpected breakdown didn’t dampen the children's spirits and the fun continued outside of the theatre in the sunshine! 

The children's behaviour throughout was exemplary - so much so that teachers from other schools complimented them on this. Well done, KS1!

The children from years 4 and 5 had an incredible three days and two nights at PGL Barton Hall. Staff report that the children were amazing. They tried new activities, pushed themselves out of their comfort zones and learnt new skills. They also worked together well as teams to face and overcome challenges. We hope that all the children enjoyed their residential as much as the staff did.

A huge well done to Y6 who completed their SATs week cheerfully and calmly. After a week of hard work, they celebrated on Friday with a day at Okehampton YHA where they took part in a variety of adventurous activities. They rounded off the day with a lovely evening BBQ back at school. Over the next term, the Y6 pupils will now be concentrating on becoming the best writers they can be, putting on an end of year performance and looking forward to their Jersey residential at the end of June. 

Before Covid happened, we encouraged children who wished to give out sweets to their classmates on their birthdays to bring in home baking instead. We are now seeing an increase in children  bringing in sweets again. For reasons of both healthy eating and limiting single use plastics, we will no longer be allowing sweets to be distributed. If you would like your child to bring in something for their classmates, please consider a healthy baked snack instead. Please do not feel obliged to have to provide anything. 

Thursday 19th May is Census day. We really would like to encourage the children to take part in this and have a school meal,  so we will be changing the menu to a Census Celebration menu. Please book as usual through school gateway and contact the office if you would like to change an existing menu choice for that day.

Census Day Celebration Menu
Main: Cheese Burger 
Veggi : Veggi Burger  
Sandwiches :Cheese , Ham or Tuna Mayo 
All the above will be served with Chips, Beans and Tomato Ketchup
Dessert : Celebration Rainbow cake 

There will be no Jacket Potatoes on this day.

Dates to remember:

Our next meeting is this Monday 16th May at 8pm via teams. If you would like to join us and don't already receive the teams link please email us at [email protected] 

Red, White And Blue Day Friday 27th May 

Celebrate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee by coming to school on Friday 27th May dressed in patriotic colours – red, white and blue. Instead of raising money, we would love it if you could bring in donations that we can use for Summer Fair for the raffle or tombola. Please can Key Stage 1 bring in smellies and Key Stage 2 bring in bottles. 

Summer Fair Friday 8th July straight after school. 

​A huge well done to Year 6 for completing their SATs this week. We were delighted to fund breakfast each morning to keep any tummies from rumbling during such a busy week!

JOIN THE ADVENTURE!
1st South Zeal are looking for more leaders to join our team to help us to deliver scouting in our community.

We’ve had a surge of interest and new joiners since lockdown and need more adult help in all our sections – Beavers, Cubs and Scouts

Please get in touch if you’d like to be part of the team – there are lots of ways you can help.

BEAVER SPACES AVAILABLE! For young people aged between 6 and 8 years old.
With the older Beavers having moved up to Cubs we have spaces available for new Beavers to join.

Please contact us to find out more
[email protected]

The Devon SEND 0-25 team have received a call from Ofsted informing them that they will be conducting a re-inspection of the SEND provision on 23rd - 25th May 2022.  The re-visit will be led by an Ofsted HMI who will be accompanied by a CQC inspector.

As part of the inspection a survey needs to be circulated to parents and we have been asked to share the survey link with parents of children who have special educational needs.
 
https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/DevonCountyCouncilRe-visitLASEND/
 
The survey will open at 12 noon on Monday 16 May 2022 and close at 12 noon on Friday 20 May 2022. ​

Cricket camps are a lot of fun and sell out quickly.

Qualified and experienced coaches deliver 5 hours of cricket related fun and games.

Hard balls camps include Bola machines, speed guns and match scenario challenges. Suitable for all who consider themselves able to participate in this environment. Groups split by ability to ensure all are safe and engaged.

Soft ball camps are perfect for those new to cricket or enjoying All Stars or Dynamos at their clubs.  


June 3, Friday
Registration from 11.40
Camp runs from 12.00 - 5.00
Tavistock CC
Hard ball


July 25, Monday
Registration from 11.40
Camp runs from 12.00 - 5.00
Tavistock CC
Soft ball


August 5, Friday
Registration from 10.00
Camp runs from 10.30.- 3.30
Tavistock CC
Hard ball


August 8, Monday
Registration from 11.40
Camp runs from 12.00 - 5.00
Tavistock CC
Soft ball


August 19, Friday
Registration from 10.00
Camp runs from 10.30.- 3.30
Tavistock CC
Hard ball


August 22, Monday
Registration from 11.40
Camp runs from 12.00 - 5.00
Tavistock CC
Soft ball


August 25, Thursday
Registration from 10.00
Camp runs from 10.30.- 3.30
Tavistock CC
Hard ball

To book your place please email [email protected]

Best wishes
Brenden
brendenworthcricket.com

Dear Parents and Carers

It sounds like everyone had a fun evening around the camp fire last night, they slept well and have enjoyed another day of activities at PGL today. The children have been fantastic and, by the sounds of it, they have been conquering and achieving amazing things. I think they are all excited for the 'end of residential' disco tonight. 

We're looking forward to seeing them back at school tomorrow and hearing all about their trip. 
Enjoy your evening. 
Years 4/5 Staff (at school and on residential!)

Dear Parents & Carers,
After arriving safely, pupils (and staff) have enjoyed a fun afternoon in sunny Torquay. 

We will email again tomorrow with updated photos. 

Enjoy your evening. 

Year 4 /5 Staff 

We're loving the summer term and the opportunity for lots of learning and play outside. The weather looks good for this week too, so please ensure that you child has a sun hat in school with them at all times.

Tomorrow, the Y4 and Y5 children begin our first residential visit since summer 2019 and we hope that they all have an absolutely brilliant time! We hope to able to report back on some of the adventurous activities they'll be completing this time next week. 

Good luck to our Y6 children who will have their first SATs paper tomorrow. They have absolutely nothing to worry about as they're fully prepared and should now just enjoy showing off all that they have learnt. 

The sharp-eyed amongst you will have spotted that a new structure has appeared on the school field over the Easter holidays. Ruth, Ali and Miss Chalcraft - plus helpers, enjoyed the Easter holiday sunshine and built it using willow donated by RHS Rosemoor and collected by Ali. Thank you to all involved in this lovely project - we thoroughly look forward to seeing it sending out leaves and growing into a living, green shelter. 

Summer Fair
The biggest event of the summer is not far away - the South Tawton School Summer Fair will be held on Friday 8th July straight after school. We've not been able to hold one for the last couple of years, so let's make this one the best one yet. Please save the date and if you would like to be involved then come along to our next meeting on Monday 16th May where we'll be starting to plan all the fun!! If you can't make to meeting but would still like to help out please drop us a message at [email protected]. 

Red, White And Blue Day

Celebrate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee by coming to school on Friday 27th May dressed in patriotic colours – red, white and blue. Instead of raising money, we would love it if you could bring in donations that we can use for Summer Fair for the raffle or tombola. Please can Key Stage 1 bring in smellies and Key Stage 2 bring in bottles. 

​Date of Next Meeting

Monday 16th 8pm via Teams. If you'd like to get involved, please email us at [email protected].

Whether you currently use childcare or not, your voice counts. The answers you give in this short survey will help the early years and childcare team at Devon County Council to plan and make sure that there is enough childcare available in Devon.
Even if you have participated in previous surveys, it is important to get your views now, so we can look at changes to childcare demands over time.
Take part at devon.cc/parents-childcare-survey