Latest News
Keep up to date with all the latest news happening in school at the moment.
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26th April 2024
Fri 26 Apr 2024Good afternoon,
We have had such a busy week and I have had the pleasure of seeing lots of learning and proud children. I have seen Rosefinch fully engrossed in their role play and playing so well together. Bullfinch have been working incredibly hard on their writing based on the exciting bubbles they created last week. One bubble adventure finds them in Paris which sounded wonderful to me! Today Chaffinch had an art lesson with a twist which was them drawing and painting from under the table. Certainly funny to watch but I was impressed to see their final pieces and it will definitely be a lesson they remember! Goldfinch looked so confident today in tennis, they were aware of their positioning and proud of strong shots and passes. Our Year 6 children are noticeably calm and focused for their upcoming SATS. I hope this continues and they feel proud of themselves for wanting to achieve their best.
Today a group of Year 4 and 5 pupils attended a Wokingham tournament, they worked hard and had a great day. They didn't get through from the group stage due to goal difference but they played really well in the friendly matches after. Thank you Mr O'Reilly.
We have so much to look forward to next week. We have a visitor from Warren Lodge with Chaffinch on Monday afternoon. On Wednesday, we will be restarting our whole school run now the weather is slightly better and on Friday Chaffinch parents can join the children for the multisports session after school. We will send out the link to sign up on Monday. It is starting to feel almost summery and certainly ready to make the most of it.
I wish you a lovely weekend and I look forward to seeing you next week.
With kind regards
Jacquie Vanstone
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19th April 2024
Thu 18 Apr 2024Good afternoon,
It has been wonderful to welcome the children back this week. Monday morning started for me with one of the pupils saying how lovely it was to be back. We began with assemblies celebrating the wonderful redecoration work along with a focus on 'going the extra mile'.
We are so incredibly fortunate to have had the support of Cala Homes and their community pledge scheme. I have attached some photos of Bullfinch and School House. I know all the staff and tradesmen were pleased to be part of such a wonderful project and it is important for our pupils to see and value what can be achieved through giving time and expertise. We will be asking the Cala staff and contractors back into school soon for a thank you celebration and we look forward to welcoming parents as well.
We have a busy summer term planned and it is lovely to see the children outside in the sunshine. I am hoping it won't be too long before we can start running on the field again. Within school we are making plans to restart our Warren Lodge visits for Chaffinch. Our Goldfinch pupils will also support the leading of Fledgelings sessions, the church toddler group. I am also excited to share information about our Friday sports club this term. In the summer term we like to organise multisports sessions and some other team sessions for parents to participate alongside their children and siblings. I have attached a photo of the poster which is displayed around school and will be posted on Facebook. We hope you enjoy these sessions, it is wonderful to show the children the value of sport whatever our age and ability.
I love to see the hard work of the children coming together as we move through the Summer term. It is a busy and important term and I thank you all for supporting us to support the children as they continue to develop their resilience, readiness and sense of responsibility.
I wish you a lovely weekend
Jacquie Vanstone
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22nd March 2024
Fri 22 Mar 2024Good afternoon,
It really feels like Spring has sprung and we are yet again enjoying the sunshine on the playground.
Last Friday, I was very sad to miss the complete joy from our Chaffinch footballers, along with Mr O'Reilly and the school for their success, winning the Wokingham tournament. Another school commented on the amount we are represented at sport events within Wokingham along with our success rate. It is wonderful to be a small school recognised so highly.
This weekend continues with the same positivity with WASMA on Sunday. Our children will be performing throughout the performance in percussion which is always very special. Mrs Gan and Mrs Coulson have worked incredibly hard to support the children and I can't wait to see the performance.
As we head towards the end of term, I would like to say well done to our Year 6 pupils who represented the school brilliantly at the Easter Experience yesterday. This is always a lovely afternoon to learn about and celebrate the Easter story. We have further learning coming to life next week with our Chaffinch children's Viking day.
I must now share the sad news that Mrs Shepherd will be leaving us next week. I could say she is retiring but I know she is going to be busier than ever with her exciting plans. Mrs Shepherd has worked in our school for 20 years. She has shown such love, care and passion for learning throughout and I know children treasure their times of working with her. She has inspired us all and she will be missed. It has been a privilege to work with Mrs Shepherd and I look forward to her popping in often to see us.
On Thursday, parents are invited into our assembly at 9am ahead of our early finish at 2pm. Please could I also remind parents that we are looking for help on Wednesday after school to move furniture ahead of our redecoration over the holiday.
I wish you a lovely weekend and the children performing in WASMA lots of luck.
With kind regards
Jacquie Vanstone
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8th March 2024
Fri 08 Mar 2024Good afternoon,
I hope you are well. This week has flown by and I am delighted that we can finally enjoy some sunshine today.
On Tuesday afternoon, Mr O'Reilly, Ms Bardsley and Mrs Metcalfe felt very proud of our Year 2 football and netball teams. They were beautifully behaved and competed with confidence, commitment and fun. They were each delighted with their medals. Next week, Mr O'Reilly will be accompanying some of Chaffinch at football tournaments, good luck Chaffinch! As a school, we are very proud of our commitment, level of participation in events and our success within them.
It was wonderful to see the children dressed up for World Book Day. The children were full of joy and fun and I have seen some of the writing produced this week and can see how inspired the children are by what they read. It was lovely to welcome families into school to join some children in Mrs Gan's music book quiz and for reading with your children in the afternoon.
A new group started ECO club yesterday with Mrs Dodds and Sam Khan. They had a great time in so much mud!
As I have previously mentioned, we will be having some extensive redecoration work done over the Easter holiday with thanks to Cala homes. We do need to empty both Bullfinch and School House ahead of breaking up for the end of term. We would welcome any help on Wednesday 27th March from 3.15pm to 4.30pm or any amount of time you can offer. Children are welcome to stay and help but parents would remain responsible for their safety during the time. Even if you feel you could help move furniture or resources for 10 minutes, we would be very grateful. We are so excited to have this work done and thank you for your support.
I wanted to remind parents about uniform. The children are being reminded in school to make sure they have the correct uniform, this includes ties, colour of socks and having no logos on tracksuit bottoms. After Easter, we will begin sending letters home to offer support to families where the uniform is not correct. If you have any concerns, please be in touch and we will do all we can to support.
I want to finish by wishing all the adults in our lives who are mothering towards us a wonderful weekend. Enjoy your flowers!
With kind regards
Jacquie Vanstone
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1st March 2024
Fri 01 Mar 2024Good afternoon,
I hope you are well. It has been wonderful to have the opportunity to chat to so many of you this week. Learning Reviews add a lot of work and time for staff but we value the time with you and thank you for your support. We hope you found them useful, along with the report. The Spring term is always an exciting one to see progress in learning and I hope the children enjoyed showing you their books.
On Monday, I had the pleasure of attending a badminton event for a group of Chaffinch children. It was great fun and the children represented the school brilliantly. They came 3rd overall.
The sports events continued with the next matches for our girls and boys. Both matches ended 2-2 and lost on penalties. Both teams should feel so proud of how far they have come and in our eyes they deserved to win! Thank you Mr O'Reilly - this is the furthest we have ever come in Finchampstead school football history!
On Thursday, Mr and Mrs Fox come to school for a special assembly with the children. Each week Mr and Mrs Fox send an assembly video which we enjoy on a Friday. Having the 'live' version was a treat and I thank them both very much.
Next week is busy with another sports event on Tuesday and World book day on Thursday. For World book day, we would like to invite parents in at 9am for a World book day assembly/quiz. Parents can also join us at 2.45pm to come and share some books in classrooms. If you have any questions, please ask. Siblings and other family members are welcome and you are welcome to attend either or both and we understand some families may not be able to attend either. The children can come into school dressed up as a book character and we can't wait to see them in costume.
I must finish by fulfilling my promise to share the name of our new guinea pig. Moo's new friend is Barney!
I wish you all a lovely weekend, hopefully with drier weather.
With kind regards
Jacquie Vanstone
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23rd February 2024
Fri 23 Feb 2024Good evening,
I hope you are well and have had a good week. In school the week has flown by. There has definitely been a Spring buzz in the air despite all the rain and wet playtimes!
We began the week with a focus on Ash Wednesday and Lent and with reflection on saying sorry. Through Lent we encourage the children to be a Gus (give up something) or a Tom (take on more). The children have had act of kindness treasure hunts, surprise book giveaways for the staff and lots more. It is an exciting term to reflect on what we are proud of, what we are less proud of and how we might be able to achieve a little bit more either personally or for and with others.
On Tuesday, I attended a governor meeting and whilst we are always looking at how we can progress and move forwards, there was so much to celebrate.
We explored our personal development offer for our pupils . Mrs Gan updated governors on our Music curriculum and the extensive enrichment that goes alongside it. We also discussed many exciting development projects coming up. We are delighted to be supported by Cala homes and we are currently working with them to plan the redecorate of both School House and Bullfinch over Easter. We have more exciting projects in the pipeline but I won't share them until we secure funding!
On Tuesday evening 7 children from Goldfinch represented the school in a hockey tournament. The children played well, losing and winning 1 match and drawing the rest. The team were complimented for their team work and for how much they improved throughout the tournament, Eli getting a special mention. Well done to all of them.
I would like to congratulate Evie for being successful in an audition for a Wasma solo. This is a wonderful achievement and opportunity. We had three pupils audition and we are proud of each of them; a brave thing to do!
Next week we have our learning review meetings. Books will be available in classrooms to look at. We will have some information out in the hall and we will be asking parents to sign the Home School Agreement. We find it beneficial for children in Year 3, 4, 5 and 6 to join parents at the meeting and be part of the discussion around their learning and progress.
I would like to thank you for your continued support.
I wish you a lovely weekend
Jacquie Vanstone
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9th February 2024
Fri 09 Feb 2024Good evening,
I wanted to write a short newsletter to wish you a happy half term.
We have had a wonderful week. Our School Council have delivered positive messages of love and joy to houses within the community. It's great for the children to see what happiness they can get from showing kindness.
I began the week with a lovely email from the staff at The Living Rainforest saying that the children last week were polite, interested and knowledgeable. They said that they have school groups all the time and our children were special. Well done Goldfinch.
It has been a successful week for the gymnasts who represented the school at Pinewood gym. The Chaffinch children came 4th and Goldfinch 3rd. We are proud of them all.
Unfortunately, we have had quite a few children and staff unwell this week. I hope the half term rest helps. Holiday club will be running through the week which you can book online.
After the holiday we will release appointments for Learning Reviews. I will also send out the Home School Agreement for you to read. We will then ask parents to sign it at the Learning Reviews.
With kind regards
Jacquie Vanstone
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2nd February 2024
Fri 02 Feb 2024Good afternoon,
What a busy week we have had! We started our Monday by meeting our new guinea pig. The children have had the chance to suggest a name today (apart from Goldfinch). On Monday I will share the new name and we will be putting the guinea pigs together. Some of Rosefinch have suggested their own name, some the name of their sibling which I thought was lovely.
Our school council have created a display about love and care which the whole school can contribute towards. These messages are lovely and so important to share within our school. We have plans to communicate some similar messages to our local community too.
Many of you are aware that Wokingham Borough Council is set to initiate a public highway improvement initiative, commencing on February 12, 2024, and anticipated to conclude by September 2024. This initiative will primarily focus on the Nine Mile Ride/Finchampstead Road roundabout and is likely to cause disruptions in the local area, leading to extended travel times and increased challenges for commuting to school for some families. I have added the link here to the Parish newsletter on our website which gives further information. I would urge you to visit the Wokingham website if you still require further information.
https://www.finchampsteadschool.org/office-updates-1/
In our staff meeting this week, the teachers were looking at English books across the school. It is always such a wonderful opportunity to look at the progress the children are making over time. One key take away from looking at progress in writing was the impact quality reading has on it. The control, creativity and use of punctuation and language can be strongly impacted by the children having a love for reading. It is a reminder to us all to share books, read in front of each other and to each other and share the experiences, journeys and emotions we can go through, all in a quality book.
We always hold great pride in our enrichment and this week has not disappointed!
A small group of Year 1 and 2 children represented the school at a non-competitive Gymnastic event at Pinewood Gymnastics Club. They had a fantastic experience.
Mrs Martinez took 4 children from Goldfinch to an Eagle House Maths Challenge. They had a great time competing with over 50 other schools and again, showing a love for each Maths challenge that came their way.
Today Mrs Pasha led Goldfinch on their Living Rainforest trip. Lots of the children were commended for their behaviour and they all came back having had a wonderful, enriching day of learning.
Goldfinch had only been back by about 15 minutes and when the football boys started their match. They were losing 1-0 at half term but the half time talk worked and they ended the match winning 6-1. We are so excited to have both our boy and girl football teams in the quarter finals. Well done Mr O'Reilly, an amazing achievement.
I feel so fortunate to work with the team of staff and governors I do and this is all enhanced by the wonderful work of FOFSA. The discos were great. The DJ does a brilliant job, all the helpers make a massive difference and the children loved it. Thank you to all involved, the children love a disco!
We have achieved so much in a week and I am pleased to wish staff and parents a lovely, restful weekend
With kind regards
Jacquie Vanstone
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26th January 2024
Fri 26 Jan 2024Good evening,
It is hard to believe we only have two weeks until half term. I have spent a little more time in classrooms this week. Seeing engagement in discussions and seeing how learning behaviours are developing is fantastic.
On Tuesday evening ahead of our Governor meeting, the governors enjoyed some time with our amazing FOFSA committee as a thank you for all they do. We celebrated the success of the Christmas fair and we also look ahead to the disco on Friday. We were very proud of the children last year for the behaviour they showed at the disco and I look forward to the fun of this one.
On Wednesday Mrs Wirth and I spent the afternoon with our School Improvement Officer. This is always supportive and it was exciting to share with her work the work we are undertaking to improve how we feedback to the children.
We have finished the week with a fantastic win for the girls. They won their football match 1-0 against Nine Mile Ride with Aizey scoring the winning goal. There was a unanimous vote for girl of the match which I don't think has happened before. Well done Briony!
We have so much going on next week with sport, a Goldfinch trip and the disco and all on top of a great week of hard work, learning and play. I am also hoping to have a little surprise for the children on Monday!
I have been pleased to see a response to my communication with the police around driving and parking, with wardens present on two different occasions. We are aware that there are traffic lights popping up in various places and thank you for the care you are showing.
I wish to finish with the wonderful news that Victoria from NSsport is expecting a baby in March. I know many parents know but I wanted to share the news with you all.
I wish you a lovely weekend and look forward to seeing you next week.
With kind regards
Jacquie Vanstone
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19th January 2024
Fri 19 Jan 2024Good afternoon,
It has been such a cold week but we have enjoyed the blue skies and sunshine. It has been a pleasure to spend time on the playground with the children with so many different games and sports being played.
It has been lovely this week to celebrate so much learning that has been brought to me, some of the creative writing has been fantastic. Today I have been in Chaffinch with Mrs Baker and Mrs De Meyer and it is great to see how confident and happy the children are in their learning.
Yesterday I had a meeting with our Education Welfare Officer which I always find helpful. It is a time to reflect on the attendance of individuals but also to share the hard work that is going into our monitoring and supporting procedures. We have seen that parents are more willing to send their child in even if they are not 100%, knowing that if they are not well enough to be in school, we will send them home. Thank you for supporting us as the progress is beginning to show.
We have also seen an improvement in uniform this week and I thank you for this. Please can I just remind you that the winter uniform should be a white blouse or shirt not a polo t-shirt.
The term is beginning to feel very busy with events and trips being organised. Next week we have have a governors meeting and will also be having a gathering beforehand with the FOFSA committee to thank them. FOFSA held a meeting last night and the plans for the rest of the year look exciting.
I thank all the staff for their wonderful hard work and dedication and I thank parents for the support you show us. Whilst January can feel like a hard month, it is exciting to see progress and plans in action.
I wish you a lovely weekend
With kind regards
Jacquie Vanstone
