Newsletter 13th January 2023

Bampton Church of England Primary School Newsletter 

13th January 2023

Dear Parents and Carers, 

We started the week with a very positive and informative Parent Forum meeting where we discussed lots of plans for the school this year.  Many thanks to the parents who attended for putting together the minutes which will be sent out to you shortly.  As well as discussing the planned sports events, trips and visits which are now laid out in the fortnightly calendar and upcoming events section below, we talked about how we can communicate better with parents and give as much information and notice as possible for events.  

I am delighted to welcome Emma to our Bampton Team.  Emma is the new administrator on Thursdays and Fridays and has already hit the ground running!  Between her and Marlene, the office will now be covered every day of the week.  

We are still looking for volunteers to come into school to listen to the children read and to support trips.  If you were interested in this, I would be happy to talk through the process with you.  I think that in the past this has been rather a lengthy procedure and although we do need to seek character references and obtain safeguarding confirmation from the Disclosure and Barring Service, we intend to reduce the amount of time this takes as far as possible.

Despite the appalling rain this week, we have managed to spend every playtime outside enjoying the fabulous grounds to the max!  This has meant that some of the children have had rather soggy feet though, so as well as making sure they have their coats, it might be a good idea to slip an extra pair of socks into their bags for their comfort, as well as a small bag to put anything wet into.  Going forwards, I am looking to see how we could store a bank of wellies at school so they can make the most of their playtimes. 

I was delighted to see such a wonderful take up of the Clubs on offer this term and would like to extend my thanks to the parents and staff who have volunteered to run these both after school and during lunchtime.  

We would like to set up some comfortable areas in school for children to access if they need a sensory break.  If you have any of the following items that you no longer need and would like to donate to the school, we would be extremely grateful.  Items include bean bags, cushions, battery fairy lights and small world toys (small figures, animals, cars etc), anything ‘sensory’ – tactile or visual, Yoga ball and Lego!

Over the next couple of weeks, I am going to start regularly monitoring our attendance data.  Research shows that there is a strong link between attendance and attainment, and as we are putting the foundations of learning into the children’s educational journey, attendance is just as important in Primary School as it is in Secondary.  Punctual attendance is essential for effective learning, promoting positive relationships and developing good attitudes to education. Good attendance is considered to be above 95%, or approximately no more than one day of absence each half term.  To put this in context: 

95% attendance is the approximately equivalent to no more than one day of absence per half term.

90% attendance means that your child has had approximately half a day off school each week – over five years this equates to missing half a school year.  

80% attendance is equivalent to missing one day of school every week.

I will be sending out letters every fortnight to inform parents if their child’s attendance has fallen below 95%.  Should attendance not improve, a follow up letter will be sent asking for a meeting to discuss what support we can put in place.  It is often surprising to parents how much school their children have missed and just having the figures in front of them, can make all the difference to understanding what this looks like in terms of missed learning. 

Should you have any questions regarding your child’s attendance or the expectations around this, please do come and speak to me. 

I wish you all a very happy and relaxing weekend.

Best wishes, 

Lully Newman

Head Teacher

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Calendar of events for the next two weeks

Dates for your diary for the year:

DIARY DATES FOR THE ACADEMIC YEAR 2022 – 23

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Here are all the learning, activities and events that has been happening in school over the past week: 

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Our School Values Focus this term. 

 Aiming High and Kindness 

Our Character Education Focus Virtues this term. 

Generosity, Curiosity, Courtesy and Determination

–——————————————————————————————————————————– C360 Cornerstones Curriculum 

Academic 

Hedgehog Class have started their new curriculum topic ‘Bright Lights, Big City’ this week. They have enjoyed using their senses to explore different items from Bampton shops to generate vocabulary for a senses poem. In Science they have been discussing seasons and making posters about the signs of winter. 

Squirrel Class have been learning about volcanoes this week. In Literacy we have been working on writing volcano shape poems using our word banks, expanded noun phrases, similies and alliteration. We look forward to sharing them in collective worship with parents and carers this week. In Maths we have been focussing on 2D and 3D shapes. We have made shapes using bands and numicon boards, counted sides and vertices and drawn lines of symmetry.

Fox Class have been reading the shared text ‘Leon and the Place Between’ by Angela McAllister and Grahame Baker-Smith. We will soon be creating our own stories based on all the amazing and strange things that happen in the Place Between. In Science, we are learning about States of Matter and completing experiments to understand the differences between solids, liquids and gases.  In Maths, we are developing our understanding of multiplication and division. We are using a variety of mathematical resources to help us understand and solve problem and reasoning questions.

Stag class have been writing poetry based on the book ‘The Lost Words’ by Robert Macfarlane.  We have used poetic devices such as alliteration and rhyme and took inspiration from ferns by looking at them through a microscope!  In maths year 6 have been looking at ratio and proportion and year 5 at multiplication.

Community 

Hedgehog Class enjoyed sharing their poem with parents and carers and the rest of the school in collective worship last week. They also enjoyed seeing Rev. Kev in collective worship this week.

Squirrel Class have been really thoughtful as a class community and continue to look after each other, keep our classroom tidy and remembering our kind words.

Fox Class have been making visitors to the school feel welcome through making conversation and warm smiles.

Stag Class have been making the school community a nicer place to be by setting up games during lunchtime as playground leaders.

Character Education 

Hedgehog Class have demonstrated the character virtue of creativity in their art lessons, creating weather motifs using loose parts. 

Squirrel Class showed the character virtue of reflection and kindness on the return to school and wrote thank you letters to friends and family for Christmas presents they enjoyed receiving.

Fox Class  have demonstrated the character virtue of generosity and friendliness through being playground leaders each lunchtime.

Stag Class: Stag children have been learning shading skills in art, practising crosshatch and scribbling amongst others.

Innovation 

Fox Class have been using their super imaginations to design a swimming pool, following the same rules as our class text, ‘The Life of Riley’. 

Stag Class have been using their Chromebooks to research ferns for their literacy work.  They have also used them to produce black and white photographs.

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Inspiring Changemakers 

Our Inspiring Learners these past two weeks are: 

Destiny in Hedgehog Class

For demonstrating our school value of Respect and the character virtue of helpfulness. Destiny has been ready to learn from the moment she enters the classroom, showing amazing listening on the carpet. She is also always so helpful, wanting to keep our classroom clean and tidy.

For demonstrating our school value of Respect and the character virtue of motivation. Albert has been taking such care and pride over his learning and I have been particularly impressed with the effort he has put into his writing this week. He always wants to complete learning tasks to the best of his ability.

Imogen in Squirrel Class 

For demonstrating our character virtues of compassion and motivation.

We have chosen Imogen this week as we have been very impressed with her motivation in every aspect of our learning. In music Imogen joined in so enthusiastically with our singing and always helps Miss Johnstone remember the words. In literacy Imogen was enjoying her writing so much she wanted to finish more at break time! She thought of some lovely similies to describe a volcano and has started to write the first draft of her poem which is looking fantastic.

Jasmine in Fox Class

For demonstrating our character virtues of Friendliness and Determination . We have chosen Jasmine for her amazing effort. She has started the term really well, working hard and producing great work.  She has also been very friendly to everyone in Fox Class.  Well done Jasmine!

 Jamie in Fox Class

For demonstrating our character virtues of Curiosity and Determination . We have chosen Jamie this week for his amazing effort. He has been working hard and asking great questions to develop his understanding.  He has also been a supportive friend to everyone in Fox Class.  Well done Jamie!

Noah in Stag Class

Noah has been a star for weeks, working hard, contributing to class discussions and being helpful around the school.  He has been a model student and a great inspiration for others.

Natalia in Stag Class

Natalia has shown the character virtues of compassion and resourcefulness. Natalia impressed with her language and poetic devices use during poetry this week.

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Well done Everybody! 

Message from the School Office 

Just a polite reminder for parents and carers to ensure that all jumpers have their children’s names in please and ensure your child hasn’t accidentally picked up someone else’s jumper. Some parents have mislaid some jumpers. 

Thank you.

Please call / message the office by 2pm if you wish to change arrangements regarding the collection of children that day. Giving the office and teachers this additional time will help to ensure a smooth transition at the end of the day.

————————————————————————————————————————————————– SEND / Safeguarding Updates 

Social Media 

Click here to read information on how to keep your children safe using social media Devices and Technology 

Click here to read information on how to keep your children safe using devices and technology Family Support 

Click here for information about Family Support from Devon County Council

Download HERE