Latest News
Keep up to date with all the latest news happening in school at the moment.
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22nd October 2021
Fri 22 Oct 2021Dear Parents and Guardians,
We began this week with the most beautiful pink sky which led us into our focus around being thankful for our world. I am sharing some responses and thank you messages from the children which I hope you enjoy.
The impact of Covid on schools is tremendous and whilst we had another positive case this week, I know we are doing all we can to keep safe. Today I am emailing out information from Wokingham regarding staying safe over half term and next week I will email with our school arrangements to keep us as safe as possible on the return to school.
This week Chaffinch had their river trip to Rushall farm. The trip was a great success and was filled with so many learning opportunities. I would like to thank the staff and volunteers for making the trip possible as well the children who represented our school beautifully.
I have enjoyed teaching Bullfinch this week. The children have been delightful and it has been lovely to be part of their class for two days. This afternoon, it was lovely to see Goldfinch at their Olympic games which looked like great fun. Rosefinch have made their fruit salads this week which I know they loved making. Such a busy week full of wonderful learning experiences. I hope the staff now have a good rest next week, it is so deserved.
I look forward to seeing you all on our return from half term on Tuesday 2nd November. We have NSsport in for the holiday club which I know many children are looking forward to and you can also book for the Monday 1st Inset activity day.
I hope you remain well and safe and please make sure you contact me as soon as possible regarding any positive Covid cases within the household. Please email head@finchampstead.wokingham.sch.uk and I will respond.
With kind regards
Jacquie Vanstone
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15th October 2021
Fri 15 Oct 2021Dear Parents and Guardians,
It has been quite a week for many of us with the burst water pipe up the road creating more road closures and Covid impacting our Goldfinch class. Luckily, I have spent a lot of time with the children this week which has made the week a pleasure. I have been in each class over the course of the week during English lessons. It is wonderful to see the consistency and progression across the school as well as strong learning behaviours throughout.
On Wednesday Reception children received their bibles at church. It was lovely to be in the church celebrating our new Reception children and formally welcoming them. The bibles are beautiful, thank you FOFSA for donating them and Mr and Mrs Fox for leading such a special service.
As you may be aware we have various interventions and group sessions going on through the week for different children. I wanted to ask if any families had Lego that they no longer need as we would like to have more in school for the Lind room (our conservatory). If you are able to donate any, please leave it in the lobby, thank you.
I would like to thank you for your support regarding Covid. Schools across Wokingham are finding this to be a very challenging time. Please ensure that if have any concerns regarding illness that could possibly be linked, to access a PCR test.
I will be monitoring my emails over the weekend and whilst I hope not to receive any, I will respond and would be grateful of any Covid updates any families may have. head@finchampstead.wokingham.sch.uk. I will also email if I need to share relevant Covid information ahead of Monday.
I wanted to inform you that Mrs Farrell will be leaving us on 5th November. Mrs Farrell has made such a wonderful contribution to our school and she will be hugely missed but she is excited about the next step in her career. I know you will join me in thanking her for all she has done and continues to do. We are advertising for an LSA role and I will keep you informed of any developments.
Finally a thank you to the children for their positive outlook, seeing their hard work, and determination alongside their kindness and sense of fun. They are living out our vision everyday.
I wish you a safe weekend.
With kind regards
Jacquie Vanstone
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8th October 2021
Fri 08 Oct 2021Dear Parents and Guardians,
I hope you are well. Today is Hello Yellow day and it was wonderful to see so much yellow in school. On Mental Health Awareness day it is so important that we encourage our children to talk so they know that they are not alone with any worries that they have. Likewise it is important that the children understand that adults have worries too and in school we do openly show how we give extra care to each other at times when we need it.
I wanted to thank so many of you for the support you have shown me for running the Virtual London Marathon. I did it for a children's mental health charity and I am delighted to have raised £1160 for something I am so passionate about.
Today is our school Founders day so we have combined celebrating our wellbeing with our sense of belonging to Finchampstead C of E. Mrs Gan and some children played as the rest of us sang 'This is the day'. It was very special and we followed it with a run. Music, singing, running and being outside together was a great way to finish a Friday.
Our Harvest service at church was a great success and I wish to thank you for your support and donations. It has been nearly 3 years since we have been into church due to renovation work and Covid. To have the whole school singing, responding and reading was fantastic and we all felt proud of all the children. Thank you Mrs Gan for working so hard to get singing back into our school, something we have really missed.
I wanted to say what a pleasure it was to see so many of you at our Learning Reviews. Thank you for the gratitude you have shown the staff.
Next week we have school photos on Tuesday for individual photographs and school siblings. We look forward to our Bible service for Reception (joined by Year 6) on Wednesday afternoon. I will also be carrying out learning walks and meeting with our School Improvement Partner, Anne Stropforth over the course of the week.
I wish you a lovely weekend and I hope we can continue to stay well. We have one parent who has tested positive this week and we wish her well. Cases in Wokingham are increasing rapidly which is incredibly worrying for us as a school. Please be in touch as soon as possible regarding positive lateral flow tests and/or PCR tests within the household so we can work together.
A final well done to the football boys, representing our school brilliantly and playing so well. They lost 2-1 to Aldynton but should be proud of their effort. Thank you Mr O Reilly.
Jacquie Vanstone
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1st October 2021
Fri 01 Oct 2021Dear Parents and Guardians,
Another wonderful week has flown by and the sun is finally shining again.
On Monday our Year 6 began their week away at PGL Liddington. They have had a fantastic time which is hopefully one they will always remember. An enormous thank you goes to Mrs Wirth, Mrs Pasha, Mrs Hayes and Mrs Martinez for giving their time and care and fun. My appreciation also goes to Mrs Lawrence for all the paperwork that is involved in such a trip, especially in Covid times.
I have felt so proud of the Year 5s this week, they have looked after Rosefinch, carried out all the duties of our prefects and they weren't even asked to do any of it. Well done Year 5, Prefects in the making!
Mrs Gan organised a wonderful band performance from Berkshire Maestros, it was such a treat for the children and one that lifted and inspired us all. Thank you Mrs Gan. The choir also had a first session at lunch on Thursday and a great number of children attended, it feels great to have singing inside again.
Next week is a busy week which I will go through now.
We have our Learning reviews on Monday and Thursday, please come into the hall via the playground gate. I look forward to having the opportunity to chat to you there. Please remember to wear a mask and only come if you are fully well.
On Wednesday we are going to church for our Harvest service. For this we ask that parents drop off at St James' church center at the normal drop off time. We will register the children and then take them into the church. After the service we will walk all the children back to school, Goldfinch love to help their buddies so please do not worry if you have younger children. We ask for the children to bring a donation to the Crowthorne foodbank and I have added a photo here with their list. Unfortunately parents cannot join us for the service due to Covid restrictions and keeping our school and church community as safe as possible.
On Friday 8th October we will be celebrating 'Hello Yellow' by wearing yellow accessories e.g. socks, hair bands. This is to celebrate World Mental Health Day. We also wish to celebrate our school Founders day so whilst we focus on our mental health, we will also celebrate our sense of belonging to our wonderful school.
The final date I would like to highlight is for the following week. On Wednesday 13th October we would like to invite our Reception parents to join us at the church as we present the children with their bibles. Please join us for a 2.30 pm assembly if can make it. Their Year 6 buddies will be walking up to the church with Reception so we ask that Year 6 parents collect them between 3pm and 3.15pm. Any children returning to school for Beehive or NSsport will be walked back by staff.
If anyone has any questions we are more than happy to help so please just ask.
I did want to take this opportunity to clarify communication from school.
On a Friday I add a newsletter onto the website and when there are office updates, Jackie Lawrence will do the same. We work hard to keep the calendar up to date and will also use the scrolling message on the website for reminders.
Parentmail can be used for ordering uniform and lunches and we also have the facility to book Learning review meetings as we have this week.
There are two facebook pages, Finchampstead Primary School page is used by staff for reminders and celebrations of what is happening in school. Finchampstead C of E Parents All Years is for parent use for any questions, lost items and general communication.
Finally if you need to contact the school, please ring or email. The email is Finchparents@finchampstead.wokingham.sch.uk but if it is during the weekend or holiday and Covid related please email head@finchampstead.wokingham.sch.uk
I hope this clarity is helpful.
I wish you all a wonderful weekend. It is the London Marathon on Sunday and I want to wish Edward's mum and Ashton's mum the best of luck with their run as well as any other parents taking part. I will be running for a charity called Place2Be which I am really passionate about so hopefully that will be enough to spur me on. A few parents have asked about sponsoring me so I have added the link. Whilst it is important to me to support this children's mental health charity, I am also hoping it is a lesson for our children in what can be achieved (hopefully) with a huge amount of determination.
With kind regards
Jacquie Vanstone
