Dear Parents and Guardians,

It is hard to believe that we are half way through the academic year.  The week has flown by but has been filled with the fun of learning.

The smell of pancakes filled the school at the beginning of the week and the cross curricular links were great to see.  In our Collective Worship next week, we will be reflecting on Lent and what that means to us as well as to others.

I would like to thank all families for the wonderful World Book Day efforts with dressing up.  It has been so long since we have done this and the children enjoyed being in character, sharing books with each other and hopefully inspiring each other to read and cherish the books they love.  I have added photos of some of the book covers designed by Chaffinch and Goldfinch with a Finchampstead school link, they made me smile but I am not sure if I would like them to write the stories or not!!

Mrs Dodds organised a very popular book sale for after school which was supported by Mrs Baker and Mrs Lamb. It was great to see everyone so excited to be going home with new books to read.

On Thursday a company called One Goal was in school working with Chaffinch and Goldfinch.  We are so proud that they are all now trained as Mental Health Champions.  The children spoke with confidence, knowledge and kindness during the sessions and the staff were impressed by them and especially their vocabulary.  Mental health has been a big focus for a while and it is an exciting to move provide this experience within our school.

Throughout the week we have had times of discussion and reflection about Ukraine and the devastating situation.  As you will appreciate, we will respond to any questions and discussions in a manner appropriate to the age of the children.  It is important that our values and our vision remain a focus for our children in relation to the war and helping them to understand and process the situation.  If you are looking for ways to support your child and their understanding, the following link may help.

https://www.savethechildren.net/news/ukraine-5-ways-talk-children-about-conflict-0

We also have parents who are supporting Ukraine on a practical level; we will support as a school but also thank you for what you are doing.

I look forward to seeing many of you at the learning reviews on Tuesday and Thursday evening.  On Tuesday morning we have our first in a series of coffee mornings, please email if you are able to attend and join us at drop off. head@finchampstead.wokingham.sch.uk

Once the roof is repaired, we are looking forward to returning to normal playtimes.  The children and staff have adapted well to the reduced space and we will be so grateful once we can have the whole space back.  We will however need to cancel Netball club on Monday but hopefully this will be the last one to be cancelled.

I am pleased to say that we are now able (as of Monday) to revert back to our normal arrival and dismissal times.  Children will continue to come into and out of school as they are and should do so between 8.40am and 8.50am and be collected at 3.15pm.

I do understand that this will impact traffic and congestion and I urge you to be considerate of our neighbours and their driveways.  There is plenty of parking at The Greyhound pub and even more at the Memorial hall.  We have functioned with staggered times for a long time and the lost learning this creates is a big concern to us, so whilst it may not be as easy, it is an important and positive step.

I have been visited by lots of children today to celebrate their learning.  Chaffinch have shown me their reading records and the dialogue between Mrs Gan and them is fantastic.  We also have a playscript being created as we speak by some children.

I wish you all a lovely weekend and I look forward to seeing lots of you next week to focus on the progress and learning behaviours of the children.

With kind regards

Jacquie Vanstone