Good afternoon,

 

What a fantastic week we have had!   We began the week with parents, staff and children meeting with our Diocesan Advisor.  This was positive and helpful as we celebrate and explore our vision and values.  I would like to thank the parents who supported this process.  Our vision is 'This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.' I felt proud of the contribution the children made to discussion about the vision. I thought I would share two comments made by the children.

‘You won’t get another day the same as this one, you must make the most of it.' I truly hope our children and families live by this today and in the future.

The children also shared how they value the School Council and feel ‘we really get things done'.

 

The Chaffinch visit to Warren Lodge was wonderful yet again.  It was lovely to hear how confidently the children engaged in chat with the residents. I think the cake will be a hit every week!

 

On Tuesday a group of Goldfinch children attended a Quad kids event with Mr O'Reilly.  This is a great athletics event which takes place at Palmer park.  The children worked hard and should feel proud of how they competed.

 

We are now beginning to put transition activities in place as we head towards the end of the year.  We still have assessments going on both within school and external government tests.  Our Year 4 children have completed their Multiplication check this week and our Year Ones have completed their Phonics check. In our Staff meeting we had the pleasure of moderating Year 2 writing.  The progress the children have made is fantastic and Mrs Metcalfe shared how proud she was of each of them.  This is valuable validation of our assessments but also great for transition.

 

Mrs Dodds and Mrs Paterson enjoyed Eco club with a group of our Reception children.  They loved it and I know the next group can't wait to go next week.  We value the impact Eco club has and we have more groups planned this term.

 

This week we have been fortunate to have two fantastic visits within school. On Wednesday, Goldfinch experienced a writing workshop which they really enjoyed and found inspiring.  Today, the whole school has worked with Emma from the Three discovery team.  I popped in to see each session and the fun, creativity and engagement has been great to see.  Online safety is so important and today has been a brilliant celebration of using technology effectively whilst being safe online.  Thank you to Peter Flaws, Ben and Freya's dad, for organising this day for us.  We were pleased that one of our governors, Brian Remmington could come in to see the workshops in action.

 

I hope to see you tomorrow at The Finchampstead Village Fete 11-3pm.  Our FOFSA committee have worked so hard to plan this event and we are grateful for your support.  We don't expect sunshine but hopefully a dry day full of fun and fundraising for our school.  

 

With kind regards

Jacquie Vanstone