Dear Parents and Guardians,

It has felt like a week of celebration!  I would like to thank all parents and family members who joined us for our Open evening.  The staff and I value having parents in school so much.  The French cafe was a great success and my thanks go to Mrs Wirth, Sam Lamb, Adele Baker and Merelina Martinez along with all the Goldfinch waiters and waitresses; they all did a fantastic job.

I hope you are pleased with the reports that were sent out last week and I thank you for the reply slips that have come back in; your comments and thank yous mean a great deal.

Wednesday evening felt like a key moment for me post lockdowns and restrictions.  I have been so proud of the staff and children producing the Leavers' show virtually for the past two years but on Wednesday I realised how different it is to see it 'live'.  The Year 6 children were all so happy, relaxed and proud.  They shared their talents and memories and I was blown away by it.  The Year 6 parents and Goldfinch staff, along with Mrs Gan, worked hard to prepare it and it was a real treat.  There is also something special when our leavers all head to the ballcourt at 8pm and just don't want to leave!  In case over the next 3 days we can re-live some of the show, please can Year 6 have their props and costumes in school on Tuesday.

This week we have had some staff attending ReadWriteInc. training for phonics and reading.  This is something we have waited for since the start of lockdown so it is a big step forwards for the school in regards to phonics.  In Mrs Dodds' absence, Sam Khan led a wonderful ECO club session with a group of boys.  They had a great afternoon which was valuable for each of them.

Today, we had our second transition morning which I hope will have helped the children in preparation for September.  I had the opportunity to spend the morning with Year 6 and I loved it! A short part of the morning was spent writing thank you letters.  The majority of children wrote to Mr O'Reilly which I will pass on.  I was told many years ago that if children do not engage well with sport by the end of Primary school then it is far less likely that they will do so through adulthood.  It is wonderful to see how our children feel about sport and an exciting indication of how sport will positively impact them in the future.

On that note, we finished the week with a Year 6 Rounders match with parents and what great fun it was.  Competitive but just to right level and with a win to the children!

I know there is much discussion around the heat forecast for next week.  I have reviewed and risk assessed our provision and I am confident that we can safely remain open.  There will be changes to playtimes, lunchtimes etc. 

On Monday, we will meet at church which will be cool and the walk back through the woods will be just as cool.  The rest of the day will be managed appropriately and with great care and consideration.  I will be sharing a risk assessment over the weekend with our Chair and Vice Chair of Governors to ensure all considerations have been made.  Unfortunately we do need to postpone the Chaffinch event.  Parents were due to come into school on Monday at 2.30pm and we would like to move this to Wednesday at 9am.  If the children need to bring in any props or table cloths etc. they can do this on Tuesday for set up Tuesday afternoon.  We really hope you can join us on Wednesday as this is such an important part of the learning journey the Chaffinch children have had.

With the temperatures at record levels we thought there was nothing more appropriate than 'soak the teacher'.  We are keen to purchase new art resources for September and all donations would be gratefully received.  Please send your child in with a donation of your choice for the privilege of soaking us!

The same precautions and considerations will be made on Tuesday and Wednesday. On Wednesday at 1.15pm all parents are welcome to come for our End of Year assembly ahead of our 2pm finish.  Due to the finish time, we would encourage the children to bring a packed lunch on Wednesday so we can ensure the hall is ready for a 1.15pm assembly, a cooked option is still available though.

I wish you all a lovely weekend and ahead of next week remind you to send your child with water, lotion and a hat. We are so fortunate to have so much shade within our grounds and we will make careful use of it.

In summary:

Monday - 9am church service, money sent in for soak the teacher, plus water guns if you wish!

Tuesday - Leavers' show props in school.

Wednesday - 9am Chaffinch event, 1.15pm End of year assembly.

Clubs will run but will be risk assessed and carried out accordingly, NSsport holiday club will run from Thursday.

With kind regards

Jacquie Vanstone