Latest News
Keep up to date with all the latest news happening in school at the moment.
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26th May 2023
Fri 26 May 2023Dear Parents and Guardians,
This week has been such a celebration. We have celebrated our new ballcourts and trim trail along with our supportive community. We have celebrated sporting successes in both PE testing and in a netball tournament tonight. Most importantly we have celebrated our learning and it has been a pleasure to see such resilience, stamina and enjoyment across the curriculum.
On Wednesday, we proudly opened our new ball court and trim trail. This was an opportunity to thank the Diocese, the Parish Council, Wokingham united charities and Fofsa for their contributions. Mr Cundy cut the ribbon and our Vice Chair of governors, Nigel Kennington also joined us. Thank you to those who came.
Our Year 2 children have completed their SATS booklets over the month and have worked so hard and with enjoyment. Their smiles were even bigger when they had lots of treats on Wednesday including an ice lolly on the field.
Today, 10 girls played in a netball tournament and played so well. They have 2 weeks of preparation! We were the only school to take two teams and we were proud of all of them. I can see a netball team developing next year and maybe even a parent team (let me know if you are interested).
Before I wish you all a happy half term, I wanted to mention an event we are planning for 13th June. We are organising a Colour run for the children which will be to raise money for charity. I will share more information immediately after half term but I thought the children would be excited to know now. The Colours used are soluble so should wash off easily and on the day the children can wear light clothing to make the experience even more fun!
Thank you all for your support. I thank all the staff too and wish them and you a good break. We have had such a busy half term and I know next term will be just as memorable.
With kind regards
Jacquie Vanstone
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19th May 2023
Fri 19 May 2023Dear Parents and Guardians,
We have had a great week of learning with the sun shining to make it even better. It was perfect weather for our Year 6 to enjoy their Bikeability sessions. This is such important learning and I felt proud of them all. The instructors said that they were a pleasure to work with and that comments were made by the public of how polite and considerate they were, great ambassadors for our school.
Some Year 1s and 2s represented the school at a Multiskills event at Radstock Primary School on Thursday. The children committed to each event and had a great time. Thank you Mrs Paterson for joining me with the children.
Today a team of Year 5 and 1 Year 4 attended a football tournament. They were in a hard group against much larger schools. They played so well as a team and got to the final. Sadly, they lost in the final 2-1. Thank you Mr O'Reilly for providing such a great day of football for them. We are definitely getting closer to a win!
Bullfinch children and parents enjoyed the sports club tonight and managed to avoid the rain. It is so lovely to see parents and children coming together in sport and we are delighted so many could join in.
On Thursday some families, staff and governors joined Mrs Dodds and I for a 7am Ascension day walk. It a beautiful way to start the day. We had a lovely walk, tasty breakfast and even got to see the flag being raised on the church to mark Ascension day, the day when Christians mark Jesus rising up to heaven.
When you add the use of the new ballcourts, the trim trail, use of playground equipment, planting and with Eco club going off site, I think it may have been our sportiest week yet! All of these experiences and achievements fit on top of our normal learning which is an incredible achievement and I thank all staff for this. It has been such a pleasure to see the learning in the classrooms and I have enjoyed working with some Year 2 children on their reading this week.
Next week, we will be officially opening our ballcourts and trim trail. We will hold a 9am assembly on Wednesday for Heart of the Community followed by refreshments and then the opening. You are all welcome to join us.
I wish you a wonderful weekend.
Jacquie Vanstone
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12th May 2023
Fri 12 May 2023Good afternoon,
I want to begin this newsletter with a message of congratulations to our Year 6. There has been reports in the press of children becoming very distressed during the SATs tests which is upsetting to read. Our pupils have worked with focus and determination and have kept smiling. The staff do a fantastic job of keeping everyone calm and I thank them for everything they have done. I wish Year 6 a very relaxed and happy weekend and the staff too!
Next week, Year 6 have Bikeability. In previous communication we have asked for bikes to come into school along the Goldfinch side but the instructors would like the bikes on the playground to inspect first thing on Tuesday. Please bring them along the Rosefinch path.
Please can Rosefinch and Bullfinch walk carefully in the mornings especially as there will be bikes around next week.
Mrs Dodds and I invite you to join us on Thursday morning to walk at 7am up to church for a pastry breakfast before returning for the day. We will leave school at 7am and here is the link to sign up to join us for our Ascension day walk.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1VkGyGSQdqjYYAD3M-oXs25bWkuvPafP3vVCynFYgMPA/edit#gid=0
Monday 15th will be the deadline for Heart of the Community letters/photos to be sent into school for the following week's assembly. If your child has or would like to do something to help in the community, we would love to know so we can celebrate it in our assembly on 24th May.
The children are all in colour teams and for sports day we ask for children to come into school with their red PE shorts and their correct coloured t-shirt. Staff will have a list of the teams from Tuesday so if you are unsure of your child's team, please ask your child's class teachers. We understand that these t-shirts are not worn frequently and we plan to use them more in the next academic year. We have reviewed options to avoid this request but we are committed to using the t-shirts on sports day, in the run to sports day and for other team learning days. Any t-shirt is fine as long as it is plain and the correct colour. Thank you for your support.
It has been such a busy week and a short one but one filled with lovely moments. On Tuesday I joined Chaffinch on a Secret geographer trail. It was rather muddy but a pleasure to be outside learning with the children. Seeing Goldfinch in Art was a true highlight, again all outside creating art with nature. I have also had the opportunity to spend time in Rosefinch and Bullfinch and have been so impressed by their portraits, their writing and their reading.
We finished the week with a Chaffinch parent and child football tournament. We were delighted to see so many parents keen to join in. It did become a little too competitive and as a result we have decided to amend two of the future events. The 23rd June should be Goldfinch football but it will be a multisports event and on the 30th June Chaffinch hockey will now be changed to a multisports event. I would like to thank Mr O'Reilly for organising it and the leaders for helping. It is great to join together through sport and we hope these changes keep it safe and positive for all.
I wish you a lovely weekend, the sun is meant to be shining.
With kind regards
Jaquie Vanstone
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6th May 2023
Sat 06 May 2023Dear Parents,
This week has been so busy and all squeezed into four days!
We continue our work supporting parents to improve attendance. We have created a parent guide with information on late arrivals, absences and on the procedures to follow. This includes a new email address for parents to use to report absence. The guide will be sent out ahead of Tuesday and will be monitored by our Attendance team.
It was lovely to see the Eco club group of children so excited on Thursday, they had a great session. Mrs Dodds returned in time to join Mrs Guillaume and I for the Phonics meeting. The meeting was led brilliantly by Mrs Guillaume and it is was wonderful to share what we are doing, why and how this is transferring into the great progress we are seeing. Your support at home is invaluable. We have uploaded the slides to the website and we managed to record the session. A link is also on the website on the parent support page. If you would like to discuss phonics further, please contact Mrs Guillaume to arrange a meeting.
Celebrating the King's Coronation was an absolute pleasure. The children had so much fun, ate a lot of scones and behaved beautifully. On Friday, we opened the new ballcourts and next week we will be able to use the trimtrail. There are a few finishing touches needed but we are delighted. Saying that the children were excited to be in the ballcourts is an understatement!
Fofsa have kindly given children, staff and governors a commemorative bookmark in celebration of the King's coronation. It is such a wonderful gift, thank you.
As part of the coronation long weekend, King Charles is encouraging us to engage support for our community. We are aware that some families may join in and we thought we would hold an Achievement assembly on 24th May at 9am. We will hold it primarily as a Heart of the Community assembly. If your child does any acts to help the community (even if they differ from the published lists, we would love to recognise them in our assembly). Please send in photos by Monday 15th May. Parents are invited to our assembly which may possibly follow with the opening of the ballcourt but this is yet to be confirmed.
On Thursday 18th May it is Ascension day, a day Christians celebrate Jesus ascending to Heaven. Mrs Dodds and I will be walking from school up to church at 7am (the earliest time that we felt was realistic). We invite you and your children to join us and when we reach church we will have a pastry breakfast before returning to school for the day. This is something we have wanted to do for many years so we thought we would finally go ahead and see if anyone would like to join us. More information will follow as well as a provisional sign up sheet.
Finally, I wanted to send a message to our Year 6 children who will begin their SATs tests on Tuesday. The children have been so well supported and are ready for their tests. Mrs Wirth has an amazing way of actually making the week quite enjoyable, starting each day with yoga and and and extra breakfast treat and Mrs Pasha has a games treat planned for the end of the week. I am sure the children are using the long weekend for final revision which is great but also try to include a lot of fresh air and relaxation.
I wish you a lovely weekend.
Jacquie Vanstone
