Dear Parents & Guardians,

Following my newsletter on Sunday evening I am pleased that we have been able to continue as normal.  The children have been washing their hands on arrival at school and at appropriate points throughout the day.  On several occasions I have seen Mrs Williams singing 'Happy Birthday' outside the toilets!!  Attendance has remained good all week with an average of  95% .  I will continue to receive and follow advice from Public Health England and from Wokingham and I will keep you informed.  We would like to have email addresses for all families so we can prompt you if we add a news update at an unusual time, as I did this Sunday.  If you have not provided your email address, please email: finchparents@finchampstead.wokingham.sch.uk and we will add you to the mailing list.

I would like to thank Mrs Gan for attending the WASMA rehearsal on Tuesday evening. The children are working hard to learn the songs; the choir should all have a link to online resources so they can continue to learn the songs at home.  It won't be long until the WASMA performance which is always such a wonderful evening.

This week throughout the school we have been celebrating science and there has been lots of extra science in the classrooms.  We then had a science themed world book day; we began Thursday with a fantastic Mad Science assembly.  In such a short space of time the children saw, learnt and experienced so much, it was fantastic!  There will be information about this year's Mad Science after school club going out next week. 

We also delighted to welcome  Mr Snell  into school each Wednesday lunchtime.  He is working with a group of Goldfinch children to build a weather station; this is a great opportunity which the children are thoroughly enjoying.

The improvement in the weather today gives me hope that soon we may be able to start using the field again.  Next week is Sport Relief and we would like to support it with all the children donating £1 to come in a sports kit on Friday.  This could be a football kit, swimming, karate, ballet etc.  It is a great opportunity for children and staff to learn more about the sports we participate in.  We would also like to invite the children to bring in any recent sports certificates, trophies or medals they have so they can be displayed and shared with their class.

Goldfinch have had a great day at The Living Rainforest today; this not only supports prior learning but extends it further and provides wonderful memories.  I know they were delighted to see the sloth! Thank you Mrs Stangroom for organising it and all the adults who went on the trip.

I would like to finish by thanking FOFSA.  Over the next month FOFSA will be providing our school with a refurbished staff room.  We are so fortunate to have such hard working and dedicated staff and the refurbished staff room will make such a difference to staff wellbeing.  FOFSA are looking for parent support with the work so please be in touch with a committee member or the office if you are able to help.  The work will be carried out over two weekends in March.  Thank you all as it is another fantastic development for our school.

I wish you a lovely weekend and look forward to seeing you next week.

With kind regards

Jacquie Vanstone