Newsletter 4 Autumn Term 2021

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.

Covid19 Update

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. 

PTA News

Amazon Smile

👀 Important - Amazon users 👀

⭐️ Do you use the Amazon mobile app? ☑️
⭐️ Do you have a child/friend/relative at South Tawton Primary? ☑️
⭐️ Would you like to raise free money for the school? ☑️

AmazonSmile donates 0.5% of your purchases to your chosen charity - South Tawton Primary School

👀 BUT you need to activate this on your Amazon phone app.

Directions:

⭐️ On your Amazon phone app, go to 'SETTINGS' (Press the 3 little lines and scroll down to SETTINGS)
⭐️ Click on 'AmazonSmile'
⭐️ Search for 'South Tawton Primary School' as your chosen charity - or - click 'Turn on AmazonSmile' if you already use this on your desktop version.

That is it! You now raise free money for our school 🥳

Last year AmazonSmile only raised £5 (from £1000 of Amazon sales) for our school.

I believe that this is because many of us, myself included, didn't know we also needed to change the settings on the phone app. (How many of us use our phone instead of the desktop version?!)

Last year I spent over 5k on Amazon 🥴 BUT had I known to change the settings, it would have raised around £25 for our school, just me! Imagine how much if we involved all parents, friends and relatives! Many may not spend that much, but also there are a few other big spenders, and together we can make a huge difference.

Spread the word guys, go get that FREE money! 🥳

Vioin and Singing Lessons

Nicholas Bryant - Violin and Singing Teacher available

Probably best known for reaching the semifinals of Britain's Got Talent 2016 with the Collaborative Orchestra, I now have over 10 years experience as a piano, violin and singing teacher. 

I specialise in teaching the ABRSM and Trinity syllabuses and am a experienced choir leader now teaching in Chagford and North Tawton schools. 

I teach all ages and abilities. My students would say my lessons are fun, encouraging and that I have a caring teaching style. For violin lessons I can also help with buying or hiring of equipment. Please get in touch to book a free trial lesson. 

Thank you, 
Nick Bryant
07912 117 957

Morrisons - It's Good to Grow

FREE gardening equipment for your school

​For every £10 you spend (in store or online) at Morrisons, you’ll get a Grow Token to help our school get things we need to get gardening. Download the MyMorrisons app to start collecting Grow Tokens and choose South Tawton to receive your tokens.


https://my.morrisons.com/blog/community/good-to-grow/

Rural Craft Fair

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