Newsletter 10 Spring Term 2023

Here's some of the news from across the school this week:

Little Beacons - Last week in Preschool, we enjoyed a visit from Police Officer Matt as part of our 'People Who Help Us' topic. We turned into detectives for the day on Friday and solved the mystery of the missing number 3's. We followed clues to find a naughty Scarecrow had taken them and hidden them in the Forest School! We also had lots of fun playing in our own Police Station in the role play area.

Year 3 - We are authors! This week in English, we have been writing our own versions of the story ‘A River’ by Marc Martin. The children have worked hard to think of their own mode of transport and where they would travel to. We use storyboards to plan and map out our journeys. The children have spent today writing and editing their stories. You can watch the original story below and, if you are lucky, the children may give you a sneak peak to their version!

Year R - This week we have planted three trees in our school field.  The children learnt about the differences between the Silver Birch, Hazel and Oak trees.  To accompany them, we made our own signs in the woodwork area.  We look forward to watching them grow as the children move along their journey through school.   

Year 6 have had a full set of practice tests this week which they have taken very calmly and successfully. Ten children from Year 4 took part in the Festival of Hope Indoor Athletics tournament at Holsworthy Community College - photos and results to follow. Year R and Little Beacons had a visit from an Early Years consultant who praised the good practice and children's behaviour in both settings.

The whole school wore red on Friday to raise money for Comic Relief.

Upcoming Events

Monday 20th March - Years 1-6 Pupil reports to parents
Thursday 23rd March - Festival of Hope netball tournament at Tavistock College
Friday 24th March - Tag Rugby competition at South Zeal Recreation ground
Monday 27th 4pm and Tuesday 28th March 6pm - Y3/4 performances of Oliver
Monday 27th March - 2nd round of Cross Country competition at Sleekers' Farm, Sourton.
Thursday 30th March - Festival of Hope football tournament at Okehampton College
Thursday 30th March - OCRA Futsal tournament for years 3/4
Monday 3rd April - Friday 14th April - Easter holiday
Monday 17th April 6pm - French Trip meeting for parents about the Y6 French residential at Okehampton College
Friday 21st April - 3rd and final round of Cross Country competition at Chagford Cricket Club.
​Tuesday 23rd June - Trust Rainbow Day. Details to follow

Many calendar and term dates can be found in the calendar at the bottom of our website home page.
2022 23 Term dates can be found here.
2023 24 Term dates can be found here.

Attendance Update

We seem to have been hit by a variety of illnesses this year and the whole school attendance for the year to date is a little below our target of 96%. As the days become longer, lighter and (possibly) warmer, we hope to see this figure rise. Please help your child to maximise their learning by ensuring that they are attend school every day they are well enough.

Y1-6 Reports to parents - we're hoping to send home your child's report tomorrow. Please look out for large envelopes coming home in book bags. Alongside the report will be an attendance certificate showing your child's attendance for the year so far. Later in the week, we will also be sending home letters about attendance to the parents of children whose attendance is causing concern. The purpose of these letters are to ensure that parents are aware when attendnace is dipping so that we can work together to improve this where possible. 

School Uniform

School uniform can be purchased from Schoolwear Direct, Mole Avon and Thomas Moore. The links to the uniform available at Schoolwear Direct are below. Don't forget that our PTA also sell a large range of pre-worn school uniform in great condition for just £1 per garment. 

Little Beacons
https://www.schoolweardirect.co.uk/product-category/find-my-school/little-beacons-preschool/
 
South Tawton
https://www.schoolweardirect.co.uk/product-category/find-my-school/south-tawton-primary-school/

PTA News

​Chocolate Bingo was a CRACKING evening, thanks to everyone who came along and played. It was a great turn out and wonderful to hold such a sociable event. We raised just over £400!!!!  A huge thank you to the very talented Jackie for organising and calling the bingo, keeping us all on our toes! Thank you to Kirsty, Mrs Culverhouse and Mrs Dunn for helping the evening go so smoothly. Thank you to everyone who donated eggs, raffle prizes and cakes. Finally thank you to all the children for being your usual well behaved, polite and fun selves.

 
Decorate an Easter egg competition
Eggs have been so popular we sold out last week. A fresh supply will be back with the teachers tomorrow. Decorate them however you like - let your imaginations run wild! Hand them back to your teachers by Wednesday 29th March and then Mrs Marvin and her team of judges will pick the best one from each year. The winning decorated eggs will then be displayed in South Zeal village shop window...plus the winners will win a chocolatey treat!!
 
Dates to remember….
 
Monday 17th April - Our next meeting via teams.

Tuesday 6th June - Bags to School collection
 
Thank you all for continuing to support our fundraising efforts.

Summer Term Clubs from SAINTs Southwest

Great news, our Summer Term Extra-Curricular Clubs are now available for parents to book on to!

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