Good afternoon,

I hope you are well and have enjoyed the sunshine as much as we have in school.  There has been so much outdoor learning which is beneficial academically as well as for our wellbeing.  We are fortunate to be surrounded by different outdoor learning environments within the school site, the field and up to our church.  The first of the Year 6 groups to begin nurture sessions with Mrs Dodds to support them with transition, loved their den building and the photos say it all!

Well done to Chaffinch for having a fantastic first swimming lesson.  The staff felt very proud of them in every way!

Our Year 6 children are now building up to their SATs in a couple of weeks time.  Support at home is so important, and I am sure the children are working hard to prepare.  SATs are so valuable for children in preparing them for future exams and most specifically GCSEs.  Whilst GCSEs seem a long way off, the SATs provide a very safe, enjoyable experience of revision and formal testing that becomes so valuable at secondary school.  I know they love the breakfast and yoga each day too, not to mention the ice cream on Thursday!  Keep going Year 6 so you feel proud of your resilience, determination and hard work.

On Tuesday 5^th May, Mrs Crowe and I will be leading a Phonics meeting for Reception and Year 1 parents ahead of the Year 1 Phonics Screening in June.  We are keen to welcome you so we can share information about our teaching and learning, the screening itself and how you can support over the next month.  Please sign up to join us on 5^th May at 2.45pm in the nest.

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I wanted to update you on a staffing change which will be taking place this term.  This week we have welcomed Mr Valsan in Goldfinch.  We are grateful for the extra support he is providing for the children for this summer term.  At May half term Mr Lam will be changing his role within school and he will be working in the afternoons with a pupil.  We thank him for all his hard work in Goldfinch this year.   Mr Valsan will cover Mr Lam’s role for two weeks after half term at which point we welcome Mrs Loosley to our staff team as the LSA in Goldfinch from Monday to Thursday.  I know you will join me in thanking and welcoming all staff.  You may have seen that we are advertising for a Chaffinch LSA role, and we hope to fill this over the next couple of months ahead of a September start.

I wish you all a wonderful, long weekend and look forward to seeing you next week.

With kind regards

Jacquie Vanstone