Latest News
Keep up to date with all the latest news happening in school at the moment.
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2nd February 2024
Fri 02 Feb 2024Good afternoon,
What a busy week we have had! We started our Monday by meeting our new guinea pig. The children have had the chance to suggest a name today (apart from Goldfinch). On Monday I will share the new name and we will be putting the guinea pigs together. Some of Rosefinch have suggested their own name, some the name of their sibling which I thought was lovely.
Our school council have created a display about love and care which the whole school can contribute towards. These messages are lovely and so important to share within our school. We have plans to communicate some similar messages to our local community too.
Many of you are aware that Wokingham Borough Council is set to initiate a public highway improvement initiative, commencing on February 12, 2024, and anticipated to conclude by September 2024. This initiative will primarily focus on the Nine Mile Ride/Finchampstead Road roundabout and is likely to cause disruptions in the local area, leading to extended travel times and increased challenges for commuting to school for some families. I have added the link here to the Parish newsletter on our website which gives further information. I would urge you to visit the Wokingham website if you still require further information.
https://www.finchampsteadschool.org/office-updates-1/
In our staff meeting this week, the teachers were looking at English books across the school. It is always such a wonderful opportunity to look at the progress the children are making over time. One key take away from looking at progress in writing was the impact quality reading has on it. The control, creativity and use of punctuation and language can be strongly impacted by the children having a love for reading. It is a reminder to us all to share books, read in front of each other and to each other and share the experiences, journeys and emotions we can go through, all in a quality book.
We always hold great pride in our enrichment and this week has not disappointed!
A small group of Year 1 and 2 children represented the school at a non-competitive Gymnastic event at Pinewood Gymnastics Club. They had a fantastic experience.
Mrs Martinez took 4 children from Goldfinch to an Eagle House Maths Challenge. They had a great time competing with over 50 other schools and again, showing a love for each Maths challenge that came their way.
Today Mrs Pasha led Goldfinch on their Living Rainforest trip. Lots of the children were commended for their behaviour and they all came back having had a wonderful, enriching day of learning.
Goldfinch had only been back by about 15 minutes and when the football boys started their match. They were losing 1-0 at half term but the half time talk worked and they ended the match winning 6-1. We are so excited to have both our boy and girl football teams in the quarter finals. Well done Mr O'Reilly, an amazing achievement.
I feel so fortunate to work with the team of staff and governors I do and this is all enhanced by the wonderful work of FOFSA. The discos were great. The DJ does a brilliant job, all the helpers make a massive difference and the children loved it. Thank you to all involved, the children love a disco!
We have achieved so much in a week and I am pleased to wish staff and parents a lovely, restful weekend
With kind regards
Jacquie Vanstone
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26th January 2024
Fri 26 Jan 2024Good evening,
It is hard to believe we only have two weeks until half term. I have spent a little more time in classrooms this week. Seeing engagement in discussions and seeing how learning behaviours are developing is fantastic.
On Tuesday evening ahead of our Governor meeting, the governors enjoyed some time with our amazing FOFSA committee as a thank you for all they do. We celebrated the success of the Christmas fair and we also look ahead to the disco on Friday. We were very proud of the children last year for the behaviour they showed at the disco and I look forward to the fun of this one.
On Wednesday Mrs Wirth and I spent the afternoon with our School Improvement Officer. This is always supportive and it was exciting to share with her work the work we are undertaking to improve how we feedback to the children.
We have finished the week with a fantastic win for the girls. They won their football match 1-0 against Nine Mile Ride with Aizey scoring the winning goal. There was a unanimous vote for girl of the match which I don't think has happened before. Well done Briony!
We have so much going on next week with sport, a Goldfinch trip and the disco and all on top of a great week of hard work, learning and play. I am also hoping to have a little surprise for the children on Monday!
I have been pleased to see a response to my communication with the police around driving and parking, with wardens present on two different occasions. We are aware that there are traffic lights popping up in various places and thank you for the care you are showing.
I wish to finish with the wonderful news that Victoria from NSsport is expecting a baby in March. I know many parents know but I wanted to share the news with you all.
I wish you a lovely weekend and look forward to seeing you next week.
With kind regards
Jacquie Vanstone
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19th January 2024
Fri 19 Jan 2024Good afternoon,
It has been such a cold week but we have enjoyed the blue skies and sunshine. It has been a pleasure to spend time on the playground with the children with so many different games and sports being played.
It has been lovely this week to celebrate so much learning that has been brought to me, some of the creative writing has been fantastic. Today I have been in Chaffinch with Mrs Baker and Mrs De Meyer and it is great to see how confident and happy the children are in their learning.
Yesterday I had a meeting with our Education Welfare Officer which I always find helpful. It is a time to reflect on the attendance of individuals but also to share the hard work that is going into our monitoring and supporting procedures. We have seen that parents are more willing to send their child in even if they are not 100%, knowing that if they are not well enough to be in school, we will send them home. Thank you for supporting us as the progress is beginning to show.
We have also seen an improvement in uniform this week and I thank you for this. Please can I just remind you that the winter uniform should be a white blouse or shirt not a polo t-shirt.
The term is beginning to feel very busy with events and trips being organised. Next week we have have a governors meeting and will also be having a gathering beforehand with the FOFSA committee to thank them. FOFSA held a meeting last night and the plans for the rest of the year look exciting.
I thank all the staff for their wonderful hard work and dedication and I thank parents for the support you show us. Whilst January can feel like a hard month, it is exciting to see progress and plans in action.
I wish you a lovely weekend
With kind regards
Jacquie Vanstone
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12th January 2024
Fri 12 Jan 2024Good afternoon,
This first full week back has flown by. It has been great to see the children excited by their new learning.
I have led many tours this week in the run up to the Reception 24 application deadline. Harley in Chaffinch led one of the tours with me and I was delighted to share with Mrs Gan that she said on the tour that the couple would not believe how fun Mrs Gan's singing assemblies are!
Mrs Gan is busy organising WASMA 2024. This is a Wokingham concert held at The Hexagon in Reading in March. Key Stage 2 children are invited to join and the rehearsal commitments are set out clearly for parents and children to see in advance, please ask if you would like to know more and to possibly sign up. It is a wonderful experience for the children and provides special memories for parents and staff. I can't wait, especially with the title of At the movies!
We are delighted to see the children ready to learn and engaging so positively in the classroom. I would like to remind parents that we hold high expectations in regards to our uniform and I believe this supports the children to feel proud, smart and ready. We have had a few children without ties, please ensure a tie is always worn. Some children, especially in Goldfinch, have not been wearing black leggings or tracksuit bottoms for PE. They do need to be plain black with no logos, stripes or other colours.
We also wish to reiterate that the children in Rosefinch and Bullfinch should bring in their book bag each day. With staff changing books and the children needing to use them during the school day, it is essential that each child brings this rather than a rucksack which is not necessary. We thank you for your support with this to ensure the books are kept clean and neat and to enable systems in school to work efficiently to enhance learning.
My final request would be for children not to bring in toys and things from home, there is some sharing, swapping and gifting happening which often ends in tears, especially with the younger children!
It has been a pleasure to welcome Louisa to our school. Louisa is working for NSsport running Breakfast club and joining Victoria at After school club. The children have enjoyed getting to know her and we wish her a warm welcome.
Our value this half term is friendship. I have and will continue to explore friendship with the children through discussions and Collective worship. We will be focusing on the impact a strong, positive friendship can have on our own wellbeing and achievements.
On that note, I wish you all a happy, restful weekend with friends and family
With kind regards
Jacquie Vanstone
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5th January 2024
Fri 05 Jan 2024Happy New Year!
I hope you have all had a good Christmas and New Year. It has been wonderful to welcome the children back.
The staff returned on Tuesday for two inset days. Over the two days we accessed some external training as well as training from Mrs Wirth to review and develop our Marking and Feedback policy. This session was fantastic and an opportunity to review what we currently do against up-to-date research and case studies as well as what some of our children think of the feedback methods we use. There will be more information shared with parents within the next term and we are excited to be making positive changes to support the learning and progress of the children.
It is important to us that parents feel connected to their child's learning. Curriculum information is all available on our website and I would encourage conversations at home around the new learning for this term. We have also decided to periodically send home one of your child's books for the evening/weekend to give greater sharing opportunity and the invaluable discussions that this can initiate. Ahead of us sending a book home, I will let parents know via my newsletter to avoid parents missing the opportunity as it will be vital that books are returned the next day.
I am looking forward to the term ahead and to seeing the progress the children will make.
I ended the term celebrating that 1/3 of children have 100% attendance. We know absence for illness is unavoidable at times but we thank you for sharing our high aspiration for strong attendance in the term ahead.
I would like to remind parents of the importance of safe parking and driving near school. I was very grateful for the support shown by parents following my communication last term and thank you for your continued care and consideration this term. Please can I remind you that if you are coming to Breakfast club or picking up from NSsport, please ensure you use the pedestrian gate not the car park for safety reasons.
I wish you a lovely weekend.
With kind regards
Jacquie Vanstone
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End of the Autumn Term 2023
Fri 15 Dec 2023Good afternoon
I wish to thank you all for your thanks and Christmas wishes. We have had a wonderful term of learning and enrichment and we are proud of the children for their progress.
It was a pleasure to welcome parents in today for our end of term assembly. We have had a special week which began with the visit from the donkeys and our Carol Service. Mrs Metcalfe has made a very beautiful video which I have shared on the Video Resource page on the website. Each child was given a donkey badge for their Christmas tree; each one painted, vanished, named and dated individually with love. The lady, Sue, who leads this for us has nearly lost her sight but she is still so keen and kind to keep this tradition going in our school. Mrs Metcalfe has made the video as a thank you to Sue so she can listen to the children and hopefully see some of the photos on a large screen. Sue's generosity along with that of Mrs Metcalfe and all of the staff involved provides the perfect Christmas message which I reinforced today.
Whilst we are all ready for a lovely Christmas break, I look forward to a busy Spring term full of hard work, resilience and progress. We have worked hard this term to address concerns with attendance and support families where necessary. I am delighted to share that we have 1/3 of pupils with 100% attendance which is fantastic. As I have previously shared, the impact attendance can have on attainment is high and our focus on this area will continue in January. Thank you for your support and for working with us so positively.
The children have made Christmas very happy in school, it has been a pleasure. I wish you all a happy, healthy Christmas. On behalf of the staff and I, please accept our appreciation for the cards, gifts and treats. We are grateful and they mean a great deal.
Holiday club will be running through the holiday and on our Inset days in January which children always enjoy. NSsport are also taking bookings for parties in the new year which can be held in the hall.
Have a fabulous Christmas and Happy new year.
With kind regards
Jacquie Vanstone
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8th December 2023
Thu 07 Dec 2023Dear Parents and Guardians,
We have had such a Christmasy week; it has been wonderful. I would like to begin by congratulating all the children for their Christmas play performances. As staff, we enjoyed it and we felt proud of the children. We are always pleased to hear that you and other family members have enjoyed it too. Some children love to take to the stage but for many it creates less comfortable feelings. The progress and commitment of the children to challenge themselves has been admirable. It was great to see the children having fun together as a whole school and singing their hearts out. Thank you for all your support and that of all our staff.
After our delicious Christmas lunch, our School Council representatives proudly loaded my car to take all the donated items and money to the Crowthorne food bank. The message from the Food bank was that our children and families are wonderful! They were very grateful for our support especially at what can be a very difficult time of year for many. Thank you Mrs Dodds for leading this.
On Wednesday, Mr O'Reilly took a team of boys to a netball tournament and whilst it was incredibly cold, they played well and enjoyed the event. Our progress in sporting fixtures is amazing to see at the moment, as is having a boys' netball team for the first time.
On Thursday, our girls returned for the finals event in netball and came through in 6th place. The girls worked hard, had a lot of fun and improved so much over one afternoon.
We are ending the week with a girls' football match against Willow Bank and a 7-0 win. This means the girls have scored 20 goals in just three matches!
In addition to all of this I have shown some prospective parents around the school. It has been great to see the DT investigations, designs and plans being created and next week's learning looking just as exciting.
It is hard to know how Mrs Gan is managing to transfer her focus from Christmas play to Loddon Carol service, all within a few days. I am very excited to have the opportunity to attend the Carol service on Sunday evening to see our pupils perform alongside many other Wokingham pupils. Thank you Mrs Gan.
On Wednesday, I sent an email out regarding road safety and the importance of not stopping or parking on the zig zags. I will be monitoring the situation through to the end of term and I have contacted our community police. The safety of our children and families must come first and I thank you for your cooperation and support.
As we approach the end of term I wanted to inform you that sadly Donna Gray, our LSA and Lunchtime Controller will be leaving us at the end of next week. I know the children will be sad, as are the staff but we have been fortunate to work with her for about 10 years. We wish her happiness and look forward to her keeping in touch with school.
Next week, we had planned to hold our Carol service up at the church. Unfortunately the weather forecast is not good so we have decided to hold the service at school.
Parents are invited to the end of term assembly at 9am on Friday 15th December.
We have also shared many links to events at Church so I hope you feel well informed to enjoy all that is being organised.
It has been a pleasure to see you in school this week and I look forward to another Christmasy week next week.
With kind regards
Jacquie Vanstone
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1st December 2023
Fri 01 Dec 2023Good afternoon,
I hope you are well. I am looking forward to seeing families next week at the Christmas plays. The children are excited and always proud in their costumes. I would like to thank you for your support and know you will be in for a treat.
I have enjoyed leading many prospective parent tours this week, receiving lovely complements about our school and our children.
We finished the week with yet another football win. The girls won their match 4:0 with goals from Aizey, Bella and Florence. We have more fixtures arranged before the end of term and I thank Mr O'Reilly for organising them all. We are all proud of how well our teams are performing.
I wish you a lovely weekend. Please can I remind you that you need to bring your tickets to the afternoon and evening performances and that babies and pre-school children should only come to the dress rehearsal.
Thank you for your ongoing support and I look forward to welcoming you into school next week.
With kind regards
Jacquie Vanstone
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17th November 2023
Fri 17 Nov 2023Good afternoon,
I hope you are well. Whilst I am aware that we have had problems with our emails to gmail users, I am hoping you have all received an email this week with the diary dates for the rest of the term.
We are fully into Christmas play rehearsals and the singing is wonderful to hear. I know you will be in for a treat.
This week, we have had some Chaffinch children participating in an Athletics competition. It was a great experience and we are pleased to be taking some of Goldfinch on Monday. Mr O'Reilly also took some girls to a football tournament today. They worked hard and enjoyed the day, coming third in their group.
I have had the pleasure of leading many tours this week for prospective parents, I always feel proud showing people our school.
Finally, a big thank you to the FOFSA committee. The Christmas fair is such a busy time for them and it is exciting to see it all coming together, I know the children are getting excited and we look forward to the fair on 25th November.
I wish you a lovely weekend ahead of another busy week next week.
With kind regards
Jacquie Vanstone
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10th November 2023
Fri 10 Nov 2023Good afternoon,
We have had yet another busy week. The weather has not been kind to us and we have had a few wet playtimes and in door PE. It is important that children have a coat with them every day as we will always go outside if we can.
I have been made aware that some parents are pulling up on the zig zags. It is not a safe place to stop and should not be happening. If the road is busy there is parking at the Memorial hall as well as at the Greyhound pub.
We have had some visitors in school this week. The American visitors returned to Bullfinch. It was wonderful to watch the engagement of the children. On Tuesday, a colleague from Wokingham Learning Support spent the morning in our classrooms. She enjoyed her morning and described the children as calm and engaged.
We began today with a lovely Bible assembly for our Reception children. They were joined by their buddies and it was great to have so many parents with us. Mr and Mrs Fox are loved by us all and we are so grateful for their weekly assemblies as well as when they lead special occasions like these. The highlight for me was watching the Year 6 children with their Reception buddies, it was definitely a moment to capture. Please can I remind parents not to share photos of other pupils on social media if any were taken today.
As a school we then joined together as in Remembrance and the children wrote prayers and took time to reflect together.
We finished the week with our biggest win yet! The girls won their football match 9-1 with goals from Rose, Aizey, Lacey-mai and Briony. Florence Rose got Player of the match. This is following another success earlier in the week with our netball girls getting through to the Wokingham finals tournament later in the year. Well done to both teams.
Next week is filled with more sporting events and visitors in school on top of the wonderful learning in the classrooms.
On Monday we have a mufti day. Children can come to school in non uniform with a smellies or chocolate donation to our Christmas fair. If your child is in the athletics tournament on Monday they can wear non uniform and change to pe kit before lunchtime.
On Friday, we will be celebrating Children in Need. The children can come in with spotty accessories such as spotty hair bands, socks etc. We will collect for the charity with a bucket at each door.
I wish you a lovely weekend.
With kind regards
Jacquie Vanstone
