Latest News
Keep up to date with all the latest news happening in school at the moment.
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28th September 2018
Fri 28 Sep 2018Dear Parents,
I cannot believe it is already the end of September, the term is already flying by. It has been a wonderful week seeing the children rehearsing their poems for our Poet tea. Mrs Dodds has led the event along with our School Council and I am looking forward to seeing many of you for a cup of tea and a cake in aid of Macmillan cancer care.
On Tuesday evening Mrs Dodds led the staff in an Outdoor Learning staff meeting. The children leaving Multisports seemed impressed to see us making a fire! As a school we are passionate about the benefits of outdoor learning; it has been great to see the enjoyment and stamina develop on the run each morning this week.
The calendar over the next few weeks is very busy with Learning Reviews next week as well as our Friday assembly; Reception parents are welcome to see their children being given their Bible. The Learning Reviews at this stage in the year are to focus on your child's learning behaviours and how your child has settled into their new class or year group; there will be no books out and appointments will all take place in the hall.
This week at football club Mr O'Reilly has chosen the football captains; well done to Imogen for the girl's team with Meg as vice captain and Jack for the boy's team with Jude as vice captain.
Wishing you an enjoyable weekend
Kind regards
Jacquie Vanstone
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21st September 2018
Fri 21 Sep 2018Dear Parents,
It has been such a blustery few days; we had our first wet playtime on Thursday after such a long time which the children enjoyed.
Following our Collective Worship on Monday I told the children about our Gold Sports Award; it was wonderful to see how proud they were of the achievement. We have now announced the 18 Sports Leaders and 8 Sports Captains; they look great in their hats and I am confident they will show commitment to the role.
This week Mr Cundy and I carried out a Health and Safety Walk whilst the children were in school. It was very pleasing to have completed so many previous actions, all being of low risk. As Governors we had our first meeting of the year; the focus on training and priorities for the next academic year were exciting to discuss as we continue to move the school forward.
I am in the process of redesigning the front of school; in the meantime I would ask for the children not to run near the cars and move between them. I am very concerned that either a child will be hurt or a car scratched. I will be speaking to individual children who continue to run in the front carpark.
On Thursday the singing teacher led our assembly and letters have gone home today regarding lessons. Our school on a Thursday afternoon is always lovely with some children visiting Summer the dog, Bullfinch have Mrs Phillips to read to and the singing lessons take place in School House.
We finished the week with a Staff V Goldfinch football match which Joshua thought would be easy; I am delighted to say that the staff won. Thank you Mr O'Reilly, Mrs Judge and Mrs Gan, we finally did it!
We have many school events coming up so please check the school calendar. We have our Poet tea, Learning Reviews, Grounds day and Founders day all coming up over the next couple of weeks. On Founders Day we will be inviting in past pupils, if you are a past pupil of Finchampstead C of E or know anyone who is please share the details from the calendar.
Lastly, Mrs Beakhouse will be out school for a while due to a knee operation. We will all miss her and wish her a successful operation and speedy recovery.
Have a great weekend
Jacquie Vanstone
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14th September 2018
Fri 14 Sep 2018Dear Parents,
It has been such a busy week in school. The children are enjoying their new topics and it has been wonderful to hear different forms of poetry throughout the school.
This week I attended Safeguarding training for September 2018 and subsequently staff have been updated. The issues and dangers surrounding social media and online safety is alarming. One of the many figures given was that 2/3 of 11-18 year olds wish social media did not exist. We are planning an event in the Spring to share our teaching and advice with families and I will pass on any information I receive which I feel parents would benefit from.
On Wednesday Mrs Wirth led a very exciting Achievement Assembly; we presented so many children with Librarian badges, School Council badges and Prefect badges. It was wonderful to see the children so proud to receive them. We also gave our first blue HOC badge of the year to Lucy. Last year's School Council did a fantastic job of promoting awareness of plastic pollution; we have asked them to carry on under the title of Eco Warriors. I am looking forward to seeing how they, under Mrs Leen's leadership, continue their campaign. We have already had our first School Council meeting and Mrs Dodds has enjoyed working with them to plan our Poet tea event!
Mrs Gan has sent home a Music Update today which I am sure you will enjoy reading, Mrs Gan works tirelessly to support and develop our music; we are incredibly lucky, thank you Mrs Gan.
Our FOFSA AGM took place on Tuesday morning. The success of FOFSA over the past two years has been outstanding and means so much to the school both financially and from a community perspective. I would like to thank everyone on the committee for their dedication, time and hard work and a special thanks to Andrea Thomas who has decided to step down as Chair. Andrea has worked calmly with great efficiency and consideration and it has been a pleasure to work alongside her. Unfortunately we have not managed to fill the role of Chair or Vice Chair yet this year; if you would like to know more please come and speak to me.
I am closing this news update with very exciting news! Today I met with our Sports Games Organiser, Gwenda Lappin, for a School Games assessment. I am delighted that she has awarded us the GOLD Schools Games Mark. This is such a wonderful achievement for our school. Sport is so important and I am pleased that we have this recognition for the excellent provision our children receive. I would like to thank Mr O'Reilly for everything he has done leading to this point. The percentages of partipants, leaders and competitors in sport has increased significantly due to his hard work and is wonderful for our school.
Wishing you a lovely weekend
Jacquie Vanstone
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7th September 2018
Fri 07 Sep 2018Dear Parents,
Welcome to the new academic year! It has been great to see the children again and also to welcome new families into our school community. The Reception children have settled in so well and with Mrs Leen absent for a couple of days, it has been a pleasure to teach them and get to the know them so quickly. The Year 6 children are being such attentive, caring and responsible buddies and I am proud of all of them.
It has been a busy Summer holiday with much work in school taking place. I would like to thank my dad for decorating the front entrance of school; it has made such a difference.
The parents and governors who helped tidy the school grounds on Bank Holiday Monday made the grounds much tidier and user friendly for the children. Mrs Dickson kindly organised a skip at no cost from R Collard Skip Hire which allowed us to clear both inside and outside of school. I would like to thank Adam Vanstone and Helen Gan for spending so much time with me tidying, moving, fixing, installing various things in school; it has been great to start the year with so much achieved. As you will see in the photos we now have beautiful class names on the doors. These have been made and framed by Beth Peat. Everyone has been commenting on how wonderful they are. We are incredibly grateful for your time and contribution to our school.
As you will have seen the garden at the front of school has been cleared; the area had become unsafe and I am pleased with the work carried out. I am working hard to decide on the best way to develop the front area and if any parents have expertise in this area I would be pleased to gain more professional advice.
Twenty children attended the NSSport Inset day on Monday and it was great to have so many families benefiting from the provision and so much fun had by the children. During the day the staff worked together focusing on our priorities in the year ahead as well as areas on our current School Development Plan. It was a pleasure to welcome Kate Guillaume to the staff and I am pleased that so many of you have already had the opportunity to meet her. The Information Evening was very well attended and I hope you found it useful.
Next week clubs will resume; Multisports clubs need to be booked via the NSSport website. We are looking forward to Chaffinch attending Warren Lodge which will also begin on Monday. Mrs Robinson has made the decision to stop running the French Club. Please let me know if you are keen for the school to find another provider. I would like to thank Mrs Robinson for the commitment and hard work over the past few years.
I wish you all a relaxing weekend and look forward to seeing you next week.
Kind regards
Jacquie Vanstone
