The first half term of the school year is completed and the children have responded so brilliantly to all the challenges and changes that they have faced. I hope that everyone enjoys a well-deserved break and look forward to seeing all the children back in school on Monday 1st November to continue with the excellent learning and enrichment opportunities we have planned.

Last week was not without obstacles as we had our first cases among the school staff. We have everything crossed that the half term break will allow a 'circuit break' as well as giving time for those of us who are isolating to recover, complete our isolation periods and be fit and ready to return on the 1st. Unfortunately, Mr Pester from Y5 has also received a positive test result, alongside another Y5 pupil and one of our MTAs. We wish them all the best for a speedy recovery. 

I'd like to say a huge thank you to those of you who have sent best wishes and get well soon messages. They are very cheering and much appreciated.

Please do keep me updated of any more cases during the week as I need to report these to Devon County Council. 

We have a new menu for the second half of the Autumn Term. It can be viewed through the Parents' Information section of the website, or by clicking here. Allergen information will follow very soon.

​The menu has been developed by our new executive chef and runs on a two week basis. Bookings are now live through your school gateway accounts. Please ensure that your child has a booking for every day, even when this is a home packed lunch; this ensures that numbers given to the kitchen each morning are correct. 

We are very excited that we will be having a programme of activities and visitors for all classes in school on Monday 8th November. More details will follow soon, but, in the meantime, you may wish to visit St Mary's Church to view some of the pupil's artwork as detailed below:

SUPPORT & ACTION FOR COP26
Many of us in the village & church community support the purpose of COP26 (The 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference), which is to eliminate fossil fuels from our economy and thereby reduce CARBON DIOXIDE from the Earth's atmosphere. The aim of COP26 is for people to reduce their Carbon Footprint by taking such measures as e.g. using the car less, changing to electric cars, fitting solar panels, insulating their homes, installing smart meters and use heat pump technology for warming our houses in winter.
With this in mind, we are inviting people, both young and old to visit St Mary's Church in the middle of our village to see posters, prayers and pictures created by South Tawton Primary children. Feel free to bring your own ideas along, adding your ideas, thoughts and prayers for the future of our grandchildren and great grandchildren. We aim to keep this display up for the duration of the COP26 - from 31st October to 12th November. We look forward to welcoming you !

Thank you all for the hugely generous donations to Okehampton Foodbank for our Harvest Festival collection. We have collected more donations than ever before and are so proud of our school community.  The children have said 'We wanted to give people food if they can't get some themselves' William. 'It makes me feel happy to help others' Caitlin. 'I don't like beans, so I thought I could give them to someone who does' Eva.  'I had grown out of my coat and thought a family might like it as it's quite cold at Winter' Sid. 'Soup warms you up' Jack.  'We like to help others because one day we might need help, you never know' Dorothy and Martha.

Thank you so much everyone. 
Miss Peggy Chalcraft

​We hope you all enjoyed the autumn animal safari?! There were some wonderful and inventive window displays - thank you to all who took part!

Unfortunately we have had to cancel the cake sale on November 5th - hopefully we might be able to do this in 2022!

Christmas wreath making
Do you fancy making a beautiful Christmas wreath for your front door? We will supply you with all the things you will need and expert tuition to create a beautiful, hand crafted wreath! Friday 3rd December, £20 per wreath - but numbers limited so if you would like to join the fun please email [email protected] - More details to follow!

​Coloured Christmas hampers! 
Back by popular demand - we will be organising for each class (including preschool) to pick a specific colour and we will be asking for donation in that colour! Food, drink, toiletries, gifts - anything new and in that colour goes! We will then send home some raffle tickets for you to sell to friends and family! The class with the most tickets sold will receive a reward! The draw for the hampers will be on December 19th!

Christmas activity pack
These will be designed to keep your children occupied during the Christmas holidays! More details to follow!

Wow its going to be a busy half term - lots of things to look forward to!!

Date of next PTA meeting - Monday November 29th - all welcome!

Please click here to read about half term activities with OCRA

Good morning, 

Please find details of our upcoming Half Term events below. We would be very grateful if you would share these with parents, staff and students.

MON, 25 OCT 14:00-16:00 - Winnie the Witch Stories and Craft

Okehampton Library

Drop in to enjoy a story about Winnie and Wilbur and make a paper cat to take home.
Free event. Donations welcome.
Suitable for ages 5+

No booking necessary

FRI, 29 OCT 10:00-17:30 - Halloween Badge Making
Okehampton Library

Colour in and make your own spooky badges! Drop in throughout the day.
50p per badge
Suitable for ages 5+
No booking necessary
(You may need to wait if staff are busy)

FRI, 29 OCT 16:45-17:30 - Halloween Competition & Story
Okehampton Library

Join Ellie the Library Witch for a spooky story time for older readers and be entered into a prize draw! Fancy dress strongly encouraged!
Suitable for all ages, guidance 5+
Free, donations welcome
No booking necessary

We are also hosting an escape room in November, which may be of interest. It is based on historical events and utilises interactive technology which we believe will be educational and inspiring to youngsters and adults alike: 

13-27 Nov - The Lost Librarian 
Okehampton Library 
60 minutes, 10 books, 1 Mystery.  Come and solve the mystery of The Lost Librarian, an escape room for inquisitive explorers of all ages.
(12+ guidance, younger audiences must be accompanied by an adult)
£12 per group - six people of less.
Book online:  https://librariesevolve.org.uk/the-lost-librarian

Please note venue is on first floor - if you have any access requirements contact Zoe at Evolve PRIOR to booking.  [email protected]

Thank you very much for your continued support,

Ellie Austin
Library Assistant

Okehampton Library

Over the last week, we have had a number of visitors from the academy trust central team who have spent time in classes talking to the children and meeting the staff. I have had such positive feedback from each of these about the lovely atmosphere in school, the pupils' behaviour and willingness to learn, the pride that the whole community obviously takes in the learning environment and the fantastic teaching and learning that is occurring in every lesson. I'd like to say a big thank you to all staff and children for making South Tawton such a happy and special school. 

Please click here to read exciting news about staffing changes  at Little Beacons pre-school.

To celebrate our harvest festival on Tuesday, we would welcome donations of sealed and bagged foodstuffs ideally from the list below. Any warm clean coats or blankets needing a home would also be welcome.  

At this time the Okehampton foodbank particularly welcome donations of: long-life milk, tinned tomatoes, tinned meat, tinned rice pudding.
Other really helpful sealed donations: 

• Cereal
• Tinned tomatoes
• Meatballs
• Mince and Onion
• Tinned Sausages
• Tuna
• Potatoes (tinned or powdered)
• Soup
• Baked beans
• Pasta Sauce
• Rice
• Pasta
• Milk (UHT or powdered)
• Tea bags/coffee
• Jelly
• Tinned rice pudding
• Custard
• Jam
• Fruit juice
• Sugar
• Biscuits
• Toiletries

Get Your Autumn Safari Trail Sheets Today.
 
A huge thank you to everyone who has signed up for our Autumn Safari Trail. We have a fantastic 26 volunteers putting up an animal themed window display in South Zeal, Sticklepath, Belstone and Okehampton!
 
If you would like to follow our Autumn Safari this half term, you can pick up a trail sheet this week, which features a list of all the locations you need visit to complete our safari trail. We will be selling trail sheets outside the school at pick up for just £2 – so please remember to bring some cash to pick up and look out for a member of the PTA to pick up your copy.
 
Sheets are also available from the Kings Arms pub in South Zeal, the Tors Inn in Belstone and Image Café in Okehampton. Sheets are only £2 and will help us continue to raise funds which directly help the children for South Tawton Primary School!
 
Upcoming events
There will be a Non-uniform day on Friday 22nd October. It’s only £1 to take part so let’s make the most of the last day of this half term!

​We are planning to run a Cake Sale on Friday November 5th. We would love it if you could bring in some delicious cakey donations on the morning of the sale, for the PTA to sell after school, at pick-up. These can either be baked at home or shop bought, and we’ll be putting together a fantastic selection so there will be something for everyone!
 
Next meeting
There will be a PTA meeting on Monday 18th October at 8pm held via Zoom with everyone welcome to attend. We would love to get more people involved in our meetings and events, so if you would like to help out or just hear about what we have planned for the rest of the year them please email the PTA at [email protected] and we will send you a Zoom link. We are also looking for a new secretary, so if anyone would like to volunteer, please come along to the meeting!

Dear Parents and Carers,
 
Train to Teach with Dartmoor Teacher Training Partnership
 
You may be aware that Dartmoor Multi Academy Trust run a successful teacher training programme for both primary and secondary teaching. Next year, we are running three primary teacher training programmes and training in a range of secondary subjects. If you are interested in training to teach, please visit our website where you will find information regarding all our primary and secondary teacher training programme. 

About Us
Do you want to make the best possible start to your career in teaching?
www.dartmoormat.org.uk
Please feel free to email our teacher training leads if you have any questions.
Sally Huxen - Primary Lead, [email protected]
Phillip Ruse - Secondary Lead, [email protected]
 
Kind regards 
Dartmoor Multi Academy Trust

Visit us at www.dartmoormat.org.uk  ​

1st South Zeal Beavers are hoping to recommence Beavers after half-term. We have places available for 12 new members to join our Beaver colony. Beavers meet on a Tuesday night 6-7.30pm at the Scout Hut in South Tawton.

If your child is aged 6-8, and would like to be a part of the Beaver Scouts, then please get in touch using the contact details below. If your child is rising 5 this term and also interested, then please get in touch and they can be put on the waiting list until they are old enough.

We hope to hold our first session of Beavers on Tuesday 2nd November, provided that we have enough young people interested in joining. So, if your child likes fun, games and activities (indoors and outdoors) with friends, please get in touch with your contact details.

More information can be found here - https://www.scouts.org.uk/beavers/

Nicki Glanville | [email protected] | 07510 612205
Spencer Stallion | [email protected] | 07503 121548

Sticklepath Grey Mare Friday 29th October from 6pm in the Village Hall

Every year, Bessie the ghostly Grey Mare of local stories and song returns to Sticklepath. Children and parents have to find her and those 7 riders who treated her so badly. She returns, not on Halloween, but on the Friday before ( no problems in getting the children up for school the next day). Most of the action will take place indoors, but with covid precautions.
There's night time adventure, a local story told, music, treats and the chance to celebrate Hallowtide in a more meaningful way by remembering those special to us and to this community who are no longer with us.
All welcome, wherever you are from.
For more details contact:     [email protected]       Tel: 840316

I'm very happy to report that we have not had any new positive cases this week. We will exercise caution and remain at stage 4 for this week and then will, hopefully, be able to return to stage 3 on our contingency plan.  Please continue to wear face coverings when dropping off and picking up this week. 

Message from Dan Morrow – Trust Leader – Trust rename
Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to provide feedback on the Trust’s proposal to review its name. We value your honesty and engagement. The purpose of such consultation is to listen to all views and respond.

What is clear from feedback received is that whilst the rename will be an exciting project for the entire Trust community, the focus on post-Covid recovery for our pupils is the top priority right now. We have listened. As a result, we have taken the decision to pause this project until after Easter 2022 at which point we will be able to reassess timing and plans. I’d like to assure you that the excellent ideas and suggestions you have already shared with us via our survey will be taken forward when we come back to this, and we very much looking forward to working with all of you on this at a more appropriate time.

Best wishes

Dan Morrow
Trust Leader

​We're very excited that we will soon begin working with the Devon Wildlife Trust and taking part in outdoor activities and projects. As part of this work, we have recruited a group of 'Wildlife Champions' who are brimming with ideas and very keen to start making a difference. 

We're delighted to be welcoming Mr Pester onto our teaching team with immediate effect. Mr Pester is a recently qualified teacher who will be working closely with Mrs Leslie to teach year 5 during her absence. This week, I was lucky to be in year 5 while Mrs Leslie employed some of the skills gained through our periods of remote learning  and taught the children history very effectively using google classroom. 

A huge thank you to everyone who has signed up for this year's 100 Club. Your support is really appreciated.  The first draw has taken place at School and the following numbers/people won

1st     91   Christine Whiteley
2nd    31   Mark Everett
3rd     81   Sarah Marvin

Mary MacMillan-Scott is stepping down from running the 100 Club for the PTA and Emma Vann Jones has kindly agreed to take over from her. The PTA have also now created a dedicated email address for the 100 Club which is [email protected]  and Emma can be contacted at this email address.

New members are always welcome to join the 100 Club at any time throughout the year and there are still plenty of numbers available.  If you or any family members are interested in joining please email Emma for further information.

Many of us in the village & church community support the purpose of COP26 (The 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference), which is to eliminate fossil fuels from our economy and thereby reduce CARBON DIOXIDE from the Earth's atmosphere. The aim of COP26 is for people to reduce their Carbon Footprint by taking such measures as e.g. using the car less, changing to electric cars, fitting solar panels, insulating their homes, installing smart meters and use heat pump technology for warming our houses in winter.
With this in mind, we are inviting people, both young and old to visit St Mary's Church in the middle of our village to see posters, prayers and pictures created by South Tawton Primary children. Feel free to bring your own ideas along, adding your ideas, thoughts and prayers for the future of our grandchildren and great grandchildren. We aim to keep this display up for the duration of the COP26 - from 31st October to 12th November. We look forward to welcoming you ​

The Aim Group are able to support South Tawton Primary School with several Free online Level 2 Accredited Courses available to parents and staff to help better understand some key issues around neurodiversity, young people's mental health and wellbeing. 
 
Here are some of our most popular subjects available:

• Adverse Childhood Experiences (tailored to understand how separation, divorce and death in a family can influence a child's mental health)
• Understanding Specific Learning Difficulties (understand characteristics of ADHD, ADD, Dyslexia & Dyscalculia, importance of early diagnosis, assessment methods available to diagnose learning difficulties)
• Understanding Autism (learn how individuals process sensory information, understand characteristics, understand conditions, learn how speech, language and communication differ in people with Autism)
• Understanding Behaviour That Challenges (supporting positive behaviour, effective communication & how to manage challenging behaviour)
• Understanding Children and Young Peoples Mental Health (Understand factors which may affect Young Peoples mental health, the impact that they have and how to support them with these issues)
  

​
We also have some other fantastic courses around areas such as Mental Health First Aid, Safeguarding and Prevent, Equality and Diversity, Business Admin, plus many more.

All courses are accessed online within a 6-week window and are completed on a laptop or computer at the learner's home. No Exams or endpoint assessments are involved, and the courses are purely detailed Q&A based with all the information needed provided, which is available to you 24/7. Once finished you can do as many as you like, however you can just do one course at a time. 
  The only criteria the learner must meet to be eligible, is the following:  

• Aged 19 or over on or before 31st August 2020    

• Have lived in the UK/EU for 3+ years    
• Not already on a Government funded course (Apprenticeship for example)    

  
The course is completely free, but the learning provider reserves the right to charge a drop out fee in the event a learner enrols but then drops out without providing a reason (please note this is down to the individual and will be highlighted when I call you once registered). That said, the college will grant extensions if the learner has a reason as to why they won't be able to complete it within the 6 weeks. 

Please note: under the college request a short zoom induction will need to be attended to ensure we get you successfully enrolled onto the correct course
 
If you are interested in undertaking one of these free online courses, then please let Sarah Marvin know so I can send over the relevant enrolment details.

In a week where rising Covid cases seem to have dominated our communications, it has been wonderful to put together the gallery above to illustrate some of the lovely activities and fantastic learning that have taken place throughout the week. The classrooms are well ventilated, hand hygiene is rigorous, indoor whole school assemblies are on pause for now, but it is very much business as usual for the classes. The staff and children continue to keep calm and carry on, and the atmosphere in school is fantastic. Thank you all.

In other news, Mrs Leslie will be taking a short break from classroom teaching as she will shortly be starting treatment for cancer. With the rising numbers of Covid19 cases locally and many other coughs and colds in abundance, we feel it is best for her to concentrate on her treatment. I am sure that the whole school community will wish to join me in wishing her all the very best for a speedy recovery. Mrs Leslie will still be very much involved in school life and will be planning for her class and working closely with their temporary teacher to ensure the best experience for the children. We are currently finalising the recruitment of a temporary teacher but are delighted that Mrs Bonnett will be covering the class for the next couple of days.

We have had a further 3 positive cases within the school over the weekend. This brings us to 8 in total over the last ten days. The new cases are in years 1 and 2, but I'm pleased to report that none of the children have anything more than mild symptoms. As communicated on Friday, we are now at Stage  4 of our contingency plan and are asking parents and carers to wear masks when dropping off and collecting children. 

If your child shows any symptoms of high temperature, new continuous cough or loss/change of taste or smell, please book a PCR test for them. Lateral Flow Tests are not recommended for children under 11 or for people with symptoms. 

The latest update from Devon County Council can be found here.