Dear Parents and Carers,
This is the final newsletter of this half term and it seems only moments since the end of the Summer holidays because we have packed so much into a few weeks!
Mossy Crow and her crew visited us for a whole school immersion into how we need to forget our phones and get back to nature, Year 6 went to Tiverton High School for a tennis skills morning, Squirrel Class visited Tiverton Museum to find out about shopping habits from the past, Giles King-Smith came in to speak to us about his father Dick King-Smith and his books, author and historian Andrew Powell- Thomas has been coming in to work with Stag Class on creating a book about the two world wars and those men from Bampton who lost their lives fighting in them and Justin from Devon Drumming has been coming in weekly to teach all the children in the school how to play the Djembe drums!
Next week, Fox Class are visiting Cheddar Gorge, Year 5 children will be on Bikeability and we welcome back Akulah from shebasoulensemble who will be working with KS2 children and supporting their cultural awareness for Black History Month.
Our peripatetic music teachers - Arwen Lewis (Recorder, Flute, Ukulele and violin), Mandy Grant (piano and keyboard) and Justin Fellowes (Drum kit drumming and Djembe's) have been coming in all term to enrich the children's musical experience and I am delighted that they will be performing for the children in school to show them just what is possible to play on their instruments.
We will also be holding our Harvest Festival on Thursday at 2.00pm in the Church to which I hope you will all come. Donations for CHAT such as tinned and dried food are most welcome and we will start collecting this week.
During half term we are excited to be performing our Djembe drumming skills at Bampton Fair on 31st October at 2.00pm. If you haven't already, please could you let us know if your child will be available for this? The children will be leading the performance (with some assistance from Justin) and will then invite you to try the drums out! It would be lovely to have as much support as we did last year for the dancing. The PTFA will be working hard to provide refreshments during the day and I am sure would welcome any offers of help. Do please get in touch with Anna Edwards.
After half term, I will be teaching Year 4 in Otter Class every morning. We are delighted to welcome back Gabbie Chant until Christmas to cover some of my current teaching commitments for two days per week. Mrs Chant will be in school on Wednesdays and Fridays and will teach across the school.
Finally, I would like to say a special thank you to all the staff who have considerably diversified their roles to ensure the school continues to run smoothly while we have been so short staffed. They have gone above and beyond and everything has been done with a smile and a laugh. They are a fabulous staff team and I continue to feel very privileged to lead them.
Have a wonderful half term - see you on 31st for some drumming!!
Attendance
Please see below this weeks attendance percentages for each class
| Hedgehog Class | 94.6% |
| Squirrel Class | 92.4% |
| Fox Class | 94.6% |
| Stag Class | 91.7% |
A reminder that breakfast club can be booked via the school app and is open every day of the week from 8 am.
After School Clubs
Monday |
Choir Club run by Mr Narramore for KS1 & KS2 - Book via the school app |
Tuesday |
No Clubs |
Wednesday |
PE skills and drill run by Mr McCutcheon for KS2 - Book via the school app |
Thursday |
No Clubs |
Friday |
Woodland School run by Mrs Newman R, KS1, KS - Book via the school app |
- 21st October - Reception vision screening
- 21st October - Fox Class trip to Cheddar Gorge
- 21st - 22nd - October Year 5 bikeability
- 24th October - Harvest festival 2pm- 3pm in the church
- 25th October - Non pupil day
- 28th October - 1st November Half term
- 4th November - Return to school
- WB 11th November - Parents evenings
- 15th November - Children in Need
| Results coming soon | ||
Here are this week’s Times Table Rockstars, Superstars! We would like everyone to celebrate our top scorers and those who have made amazing efforts. All staff have been so impressed with children’s enthusiasm and determination to improve their times tables knowledge. If your child’s name is mentioned in the newsletter, then there is a 3 house point reward! Your child has a Times Table Rockstar login, which can be used at home too.
Good luck everyone!
Fieldmice and Hedgehog Class:
Hedgehog and Field mice children have been learning all about Autumn and Harvest festival. We have been hammering pumpkins, making spiced playdough and tasting aromatic porridge as part of our lessons. Hedgehogs have been blending sounds into words using magnetic boards and some of them are actually reading words in books!
Squirrel Class:
certainly have been critical thinkers this week in maths. We have been using the symbols < > and = to compare numbers and making these numbers on our Rekenreks. In History we have been learning terms that historians use such as ‘timeline’ and ‘chronological order’ and discussing events in our past. It has been fantastic to see progress in reading this week with many children reaching even further up our reading chart and many almost at the moon.
Fox Class:
In Maths, the children have been mastering the art of rounding to the nearest 10, 100, and 1000. Their confidence is building, and it’s wonderful to see their progress. In English, we are using what the children have learnt about the Stone Age and the pupils are starting to plan their non-chronological reports. In Science, we have been exploring nutritional information, emphasising the significance of a balanced diet and the various nutrients our bodies need to thrive. Meanwhile, in History, we are wrapping up our Stone Age studies and eagerly anticipating our visit to see a wax version of Cheddar Man! Lastly, the whole school is buzzing with excitement for the upcoming multiplication competition, and our children are giving their all to win for their house. Let’s keep up the fantastic effort!
Stag Class:
In Stag class this week we have been finishing our philosophy topic where we have explored why some people choose to be religious and others don't. This has required some deep thinking and consideration of the point of view of other people. Stag class have been great at debating this and asking lots of deep questions whilst also suggesting some answers to these. We have also learnt to write balanced arguments to show that we have taken account of both sides of a debate before forming our own opinions from what we have learnt.
Hedgehog
Ivy in Hedgehog Class
For showing the character virtues of resilience and motivation. Ivy has such a great sense of humour and infectious smile that she cheers everyone up in class. Well done Ivy, keep it up!
Kellan in Hedgehog Class
Kellan has been a star in phonics, knowing all 25 sounds taught so far, and also wowing with his letter formation. I’m sure it will be no time at all before he is reading books. Well done Kellan!
Squirrels
Harry in Squirrel Class
For demonstrating the character virtue of critical thinking. This week we have been impressed by how he continued to work so hard in all subjects. Harry learns his spellings each week and usually scores 9s and 10s, he reads every night and has made it to the moon in our reading chart and in maths he gets 10 out of 10 most mornings in his Tough Tens! Well done Harry.
Jesse in Squirrel Class
For demonstrating the character virtue of determination. This week in phonics we wrote a retelling of The Gingerbread Man in the past tense from the point of view of Seth! We have been so impressed with Jesse’s contributions in class, his vocabulary throughout his story and his accuracy in spelling. Well done Jesse.
Foxes
Joseph in Fox Class
Joseph has shown the character virtues of determination. Joseph tries very hard in subjects. Keep up the good work Joseph.
Bobby in Fox Class
For demonstrating the character virtues of determination and motivation in his work. He has made a noticeable change to his work ethic and has been making better choices.
Maggie in Fox Class
For showing the character virtues of helpfulness and volunteering. Maggie is always willing to help the people around her and often asks me if I need any help. Thank you Maggie!
Stags
Imogen in Stag Class
Imogen has been making fantastic and determined progress with her reading. So far this term she has read an astonishing 20 books and completed accelerated reader quizzes on all of them. That is truly a record to be proud of
Rosie in Stag Class
This week, and throughout this term, Rosie has been impressing teachers throughout the school with her excellent attitude. She is incredibly kind and helpful, both in class and with the younger children around the school, and her effort towards her work has been fantastic. Well done Rosie, you are standing out for all the right reasons!
Well done Everybody
The PTFA is made up of parents, carers, teachers, and friends of Bampton School with a shared interest in raising funds for equipment, resources, and activities to enhance the children’s learning experience.
We meet monthly to discuss how we as a school community can develop and improve school facilities and students’ opportunities, through planning fundraising events such as Bingo events, the Christmas Community Evening, Easter Extravaganza etc.
We welcome new and old members and are hoping for more support in the coming months.
If you can help in any way, or would like more information on the work we do then please contact bamptonptfa@gmail.com or look out for meeting dates on the school website, posters around the school or for notes in your child’s book bag.
