Newsletters

Newsletters 2021-22 Friday 25th February No.13

Deanshanger Primary School (@DeanshangerS) | Twitter

It was so lovely to welcome back everyone on Monday, but I must admit, it is hard to believe that we have been only back one week! There have been many special events going on and entry point activities to support new topics etc, that it is hard to think that everything fitted into just five days! The children are very strong in talking about their learning and in Wednesday's assembly, they showcased this beautifully to the other year groups.

A new toilet block is currently being installed in Year 4 and this too is causing great excitement! Once complete, the builders will be moving to completely rebuild the Year 3 toilet block - both of these projects are very necessary upgrades. 

We are also forging ahead with the new well-being garden and have used some funds from the Christmas Shop, to purchase the items. If you have any wind chimes that you no longer use and are happy to donate, we would be delighted to receive them. In fact, as always, we are keen recyclers of most items so please always give us some thought before disposing of anything!  Thank you

With COVID numbers dramatically reducing (just one case today) and recognising guidance from the government, we will be reverting to previous plans as from Monday. This means that -

  • Years 5 and 6 will enter the school from the front KS2 gate and should be collected from the same one;
  • Years 3,4 5 and 6 can enter from 8.40am to 8.50am from the KS2/main gates and will go on to the top playground until the whistle is blown at 8.50am.
  • Arrangements for Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 continue as now;
  • Run a Mile in style will resume;
  • The children will be mixing as year groups outside at break time and lunchtime;
  • Volunteers are warmly encouraged to come back into school and support learning;
  • Whilst our Friday assemblies will continue for the time being on Zoom, we will be starting to meet together in the hall for other assemblies, but with smaller numbers;
  • Good ventilation, cleaning and hygiene measures will continue.

If you have any questions about our risk assessment, please don't hesitate to make contact. 

Change to school uniform policy

With immediate effect, we are adding plain black trainers with black laces and no coloured designer labels, to the footwear list (in addition to black school shoes). The reasons for this are numerous and include -

  • We want the children to be active at break and lunch times and this type of footwear is better suited to active play.  We recognise that you spend a lot of money on school shoes and understandably don't appreciate it when they get scuffed in play.
  • Wherever possible, we want our children to use the school field for play, and again trainers are better suited.
  • The government's agenda is all about tackling obesity and access to physical activity. We are currently focusing on the structure of our play and lunch times and have other plans afoot to enrich the types of play available. 
  • Many children and families like the formality of black school shoes and can continue wearing them.

We are also keen to ensure that our uniform list/policy makes it clear that reasonable adjustments are always considered in all areas of the school uniform and this includes wearing black joggy bottoms for some children.

Holiday Club 

Many of our children visit our fabulous Holiday Club during half-term, and we are extremely proud of the fun the children have while attending. As you can see from the pictures below, the activities are extensive and offer the children a chance to learn and have fun during the holidays. 

If you are interested in using our Wrap around service or Holiday Club please click on the link below for more information. Our next holiday club will be running in the first week of the Easter holidays week commencing 4th April 2022. 

For more information on Wrap Club click here!

  

  

  

  

Many thanks to Miss Mazey, Mrs. Gordon and Mrs. Jones for running such a fun week. 

Chair of Governor Updates

St Begh's Catholic Junior School - Governors

I hope you all had a good half-term and managed to survive the storms unscathed. 

Governors have had to reschedule a number of meetings for late March due to circumstances beyond our control, but we are still keeping in touch with everyday life in school.

On Wednesday, I joined a virtual assembly to hear about the areas of work different years have been studying. It was really exciting to hear about the wide range of topics being covered and the positive attitude of the pupils.

On Thursday, I joined the BNTO (Be Nice to Others) group and we talked about good and bad relationships and who you could talk to if you felt unsafe.

Next Monday, governors will be meeting to sign off on our commitment to join the Grand Union Partnership and become an Academy - we will keep you fully informed of the progress.  

As Chair can I thank both the staff and you, the parents and carers, for the questions and queries you raised and hope you saw the FAQ document on our website and were reassured by the answers.

I wanted to mention two activities that illustrate the involvement with the local community -

On February 4th the Reception children joined myself and Mrs. Atkinson for a storytelling session at our local library, it is part of an outreach programme to introduce the children to the village library and engage with them through various activities.

Then this Thursday, I joined Miss Stanley and Year 4 to share with them my experiences of Passover. They shared their learning including their menus of kosher foods they would take to a meal.

I was extremely impressed with the questions the children asked - some of them were really challenging as well as amusing.

Please have a good weekend and remember the governors are there for you as well as the school.

Mr. David Aaronson 

ChairofGovernors@deanshanger.northants.sch.uk 

We will be hosting a parents information session about our early reading and phonics programme - 'Little Wandle Letters and Sounds' on Thursday 23rd March at 6pm. This meeting will be via Zoom.  There are also some very useful videos about how sounds are pronounced and other resources. Please visit their website to find out more. Click below for more information.

For parents - littlewandlettersandsounds.org.uk

 

We are busy planning a very special day to recognise the Queen's Platinum Jubilee on Friday 27th May.  Whilst there are some incredible plans being built by the Deanshanger community, we are thrilled to be adding to these with our own special activities too.

Full details will be shared, but for now, please try to keep the date free to join us for a lunchtime street party and an afternoon talent show concert.

We will be encouraging patriotic dress and colours and of course, bunting will feature strongly! The PTA have funded special commemorative badges for the children and we will be planting more fruit trees, to create a new orchard area, as part of the Queen's Canopy. 

Don't forget that there will be no school on Friday 1st July as this is a day in lieu of the Bank Holiday falling in the school holiday.

 

Deanshanger Village Platinum Jubilee Picnic

Deanshanger Sports Club are working with the Parish Council and other partners in the village to create some events in the village over the Jubilee Weekend.  The sports club is holding a village picnic on Thursday 2nd that is open to all.  The Beacon will also be lit by the Parish Council in the evening which is national event.

Elaine at Newlife will be holding a free arts and crafts table on the day where children can colour in bunting and we will be trying to build a really long line of bunting that the children (or adults of course) have coloured in on the day.  We would like to get a head start with the bunting and was wondering if you would be interested in getting the children to do some to enable us to get it started.  

Elaine will also be building pinwheels and pom poms on the day with the children, we have purchased union jack pencils which are used as the stick for the pinwheels and that the children are able to keep. 

I am sure that the DPC will also be updating you with more information regarding the Beacon being lit.

We are hoping that this day really brings some village atmosphere to such an amazing occasion.

We are very excited to be recognising Book Week next week. Full details of our plans for the week are in the article below. Look out for your £1 voucher that will be coming home on Thursday 4th March and please encourage your child to dress as a book character on Thursday too. We recognise that some children  do not like dressing up and there is no problem if they would rather. They could perhaps design a badge, a paper tie or simply carry their favourite book.
 

Please try to join us at 2.45pm for the parade/catwalk. This will be outside on the top playground and you should enter via the KS2 gate.

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School Book Week
All Day
From 28 Feb until 04 Mar
28
February
Assessment Week for all year groups
All Day
28
February
St. David's Day acknowledged
All Day
01
March
School value of the month - Ethical
All Day
01
March
Year 6 Parent/Carer Meeting - Relationships and SATs
until 6:45pm
02
March
World Book Day
All Day
03
March
Year 3 Robin class assembly
All Day
04
March
Parent.Carer Meetings
3:30pm – 7:00pm
07
March

We were absolutely delighted to receive a five-star rating from an environmental health officer on Wednesday, as they visited for a spot check of our community fridge. This is the highest award available! Huge thanks to our large team of volunteers that keep the fridge going on a weekly basis.

We are extremely fortunate to have Mrs Gordon and her mum, Eilleen, dedicate a lot of their time to the health checks, records and cleaning of the area and to Mr Peel for keeping everything well organised.

The fridge continues to be extremely well-used with a constant supply of various food items - this is something that makes us very proud.

Please be reminded that it is open on Mondays from 8.30am - 9.30am, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 3.30pm - 4.30pm and Fridays 5.30pm - 6.30pm. 

All the items in the fridge are free of charge and prevent food waste 

Wishing you all  a wonderful weekend.

Take care,

 

Rachel Rice

head@deanshanger.northants-ecl.gov.uk