Latest News
Keep up to date with all the latest news happening in school at the moment.
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18th March 2022
Fri 18 Mar 2022Dear Parents and Guardians,
I hope you are well and that you have been able to enjoy the beautiful sunshine. It has felt like such a treat to have our playtimes and lunchtimes without coats on. As the sunny weather hopefully continues, please make sure cardigans and jumpers are clearly labelled.
As we await further assessment on the roof, we have taken the opportunity to take our Collective worship outside, we are so lucky to have the surroundings that we do.
This week I have spent a lot of time in the classrooms, I have enjoyed Art with Chaffinch, hearing Bullfinch reciting poetry and I joined Rosefinch for their Collective worship video today. I have spent most time in Goldfinch which has been such a delight to see their focus, hard work and excitement for their learning. Today Goldfinch were also reciting poems they had written about the rainforest and it was lovely to see them encouraging each other, giving positive feedback and enjoying their performances.
Thank you to all our parents who attended Learning Reviews last week. The staff enjoyed meeting with you and discussing your child's learning. We have most of our Home School Agreement documents signed and I will send home any that we are missing.
I hope you all enjoy the jokes the children have taken home today for Red nose day and we thank you for your donations. The children enjoyed making their class joke list and it has certainly sparked an interest in joke telling again which is lovely. Some children came with me to deliver the sheet to our school neighbours, hopefully spreading a little joy and laughter.
Next week will be another busy week. We have a tournament for some Chaffinch pupils and Goldfinch have their trip to The Living Rainforest. I am hopeful that I will spend just as much time in classrooms and on the playground next week as I have this week. We have a Reading University student joining us in Goldfinch next week which I know the children are looking forward to.
We are still advertising for a lunchtime controller and I know that Beehive are advertising for staff for our school. The Beehive role would be up to 4.30pm and your child could attend the club. Please be in touch if you are interested in either post.
Finally, I must mention Covid. We have had a case in Rosefinch and Goldfinch this week. The numbers within Wokingham schools has risen suddenly again and on Monday alone Wokingham primary schools had 200 cases. We must stay very cautious and please, parents or helpers, do not come into school if someone within your household has tested positive, this does not apply to siblings.
I wish you a lovely weekend, enjoy our jokes!
Jacquie Vanstone
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4th March 2022
Fri 04 Mar 2022Dear 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
