2005 / 06 Number 22 . July 6th 2007

Dear Parents,

We are nearing the end of term. Please take special care to read this newsletter as it contains all the details of the final events of the term and lots more besides !!

Annual Reports

You should receive an envelope containing your child’s report and various enclosures today. We would really appreciate having as many completed questionnaires as possible before the end of term. These will be used as part of our School Self Evaluation In-Service day at the beginning of next term.

Staff News

Your report contains details of the arrangements for next year’s classes. All the teachers are remaining with the same year groups and the children will move on in their existing class groups.

Ailsa McKenzie

Miss McKenzie has announced that she is expecting a baby due to arrive in early January 2008. I am sure that you will all wish to join with the staff in congratulating Miss McKenzie and her partner, Brendan, on their happy and exciting news. Miss McKenzie is planning to take maternity leave from the end of Term 2 (Christmas 2007). The governors will be seeking to appoint a replacement to teach Yellow Class. Miss McKenzie expects to return in September 2008.

Adult Leaver’s 2007

Gabbie Collins

As you already know Miss Collins is leaving us to take up an appointment at a Kindergarten in Switzerland. Miss Collins is a talented teacher of young children and we have benefited from her many skills over the past five years. Those of you who have been lucky enough to have her as your child’s teacher will appreciate the high quality of the learning environment that Gabbie has provided. Although Gabbie may return we want to send her off in style !

Ann Cochrane

Ann joined us initially to support a child with special needs which she did throughout his time here. This year she has worked in a temporary capacity as Year 1‘s Teaching Assistant in order to release another member of staff to work with an individual child. This contract is now at en end and we will be saying goodbye to Ann.

Jen Morgan and John Harrington

Jen and John have been sharing a role as part time Teaching Assistants supporting another child with Special Needs who is off to the junior school from September. Therefore their contract will also come to an end. Jen has also done a fantastic job running ‘Nell’s Club for the Year 1s and I know that many of them have gained enormously in their confidence in reading and writing as a result of her hard work. John is currently a student at Bath Spa University and intends to go on to complete a P.G.C.E. and become a teacher.

End of Term Leaver’s Assembly: Tuesday July 24^th

You are invited to join us at 10am for a special assembly to say goodbye and good luck to Gabbie Collins, Ann Cochrane, John Harrington and Jen Morgan. We will be celebrating their time in school with singing, poems and presentations.

If you would like to contribute to a gift for each of them please send your donation in an envelope marked ‘Goodbye’ by Friday July 20^th at the latest

Over, Under, All Around Week

Despite the weather’s attempts to spoil it we still managed to have a great week of outdoor learning. The children really enjoyed the opportunity to spend time in the wonderful surroundings of Prior Park, learning about the history of the landscape garden and buildings and about the trees and minibeasts. We were very grateful to Katy and Matthew of the National Trust for changing their arrangements and coming to school during the worst of the rain on Monday.

Our trip to Monument Fields on Friday for our hot air balloon inflation was a great event. The children

were enthralled by being able to see the balloon inflated just for them and many got to help with the event. They just loved playing various games in the large space and we had a delicious picnic much of which was provided by Mandy, our school cook. The idea of a whole school picnic is definitely an event we will consider repeating in future years. The children and staff didn’t want to leave to come back to school.

Years 1 and 2 also enjoyed working with Gordon to make their many and various willow sculptures. I am sure many of you will have seen the spider and bird on display by the tree.

Our thanks also go to the Co-op for supplying fruit for our picnic free of charge and to New Leaf Health Foods for donating all the lovely dried fruits and seeds for us to make healthy snack pots.

Bird’s Eye View Competition

The entries for this were all so individual and different that each entrant was awarded a small prize. Congratulations to :-

Scarlett Brimble Lewis Dixon Alice Hodges Nick Kinson Alfie Kale

Gabriel Barnes Daisy Brimble Robbie Andrews Laura Seymour Matilda Wilde

Jack Weymouth Angus McDonald

Their entries are displayed in the entrance hall and a display of photos and learning from the week is on the way.

Sports Morning

Thank you for supporting our Sports Morning on Wednesday, held during the best hour of the day ! We hope you enjoyed following your child’s team and encouraging them in their efforts.

P.E. Kit

It was lovely to see so many children wearing their new P.E. Kit. In fact they have been so popular that we have had to re-order the larger T.Shirts. We are encouraging every child to have a kit. Shorts cost £3.65; T.Shirts cost £4 and the bags will be £2.75 If you would like to order kit for your child please complete the form at the end of the previous newsletter.

Zoolab Visit

Year 1 were treated to a visit from Zoolab on Thursday when they got the chance to get close to a number of creatures including a corn snake, giant millipede and tarantula !

Leavers’ Performance : Snow White and the Seven Dwarves : Oldfield Park Style !!

This year we have decided to hold two ‘leavers’ performances for Year 2 parents on Tuesday 19^th July and Friday 20^th July starting at 1.45pm in the school hall. To help us please could you indicate on the lists inside the blue doors which performance you would like to attend and how many will be coming. The children are planning to make you some special tickets so please come along and be specially entertained to mark the end of the children’s time in the infants’ school. Cold drinks will be served afterwards on the grass if fine (otherwise in the hall). There will also be a dress rehearsal on Tuesday 17^th July at 9.45 which would be more appropriate for toddlers to attend.

Leavers’ Lunch : Monday July 23^rd

This will be a special lunch for all Year 2 children. Mandy will prepare their favourite menu of pizza and chips followed by ice cream as a treat which we will serve in the school hall. We would like everyone to complete the attached form to let us know whether you require a special lunch or will be bringing sandwiches. Please return the form by Wednesday July 18^th Payment (£1.70) should be made on Monday July 23rd. It would really help us if all parents could return the form on time.

Leavers’ Party : Monday July 23^rd

The leavers’ party will follow on from the lunch during the afternoon until 4.00pm. All Year 2 children may wear ‘party’ clothes for the day but please remember that they will still need to go out to play and be doing normal activities during the morning.

The party will end in the school hall with games, refreshments and a short disco organised by the staff. Every child will leave with a memento of their time in the infants’ school.

Please pick up promptly at 4.00pm from outside the main entrance.

Year 1 Story Telling Day : Thursday 12^th July

A reminder that this special day has been planned for Year 1 children takes place next week. Please ensure that you have returned the permission form for your child. The cost of the day is being covered by the schools. All children will need a packed lunch, a full water bottle and additional non fizzy drink. School uniform is to be worn plus a coat if the weather is poor. Please make sure that your child has a named sun hat and that you apply sun cream if necessary on the day (well we can at least hope for a change in the weather!!)

After School Activities ~ Health and Safety

The After School Club have raised several concerns about what happens when children are collected from other clubs such as French, Sports and Dance, especially when the club is using the playground.

Please could all parents waiting for other clubs to finish wait on the main school entrance side of the yellow railings and NOT on the playground itself. Please shut all gates behind you. Pre school and other children need to wait with parents. Please ensure that if your child has to collect a scooter or bike that they observe the no scooting rules.

In Service Days : Term 1

We will be having two In Service Days at the beginning of Term 1 on Monday September 3^rd and Tuesday September 4^th. School will re-open for Years 1 and 2 on Wednesday September 5^th .

Oldfield Park Junior School ~ Proposed Playing Field

As those parents with children at the junior school will be aware, the lack of a playing field has been an issue for many years. However, a significant step has now been made towards the resolution of this issue. The junior school governors with the assistance of a group of parents have now submitted a planning application to the council for a playing field, on land adjacent to the school. Such a facility will not only be a great asset to the school, it will also provide opportunities for use by the wider community. The junior school wishes to encourage as many people as possible, especially parents, to support this proposal and it is obviously hoped that parents of children at the infants school would be interested in adding their support. This can be done by writing to the planning department and your local councillors. A letter from the junior school accompanies this newsletter. (The junior school would like to apologise for the spelling mistake on their paperwork.)

Community Room Working Party

The governing body is looking into the possibility of creating a community room, possibly on the site of the current outdoor classroom. This could be used to extend the number of activities we could offer children and their families, for example additional extra curricular clubs, toddler groups, internet access for parents, family learning courses, to name but a few. There is a possibility of applying for funding from B&NES but this would need to be matched by funds raised by the school. We are looking to commence a working group in the Autumn who would prepare a bid and look to secure funding from various charities etc to support the venture. Please let Mrs Claridge know if you are interested.

Returning Books

It is vital that all reading , bedtime and library books are returned to school by Friday 20^th July.

Please have a really good look for any books that belong to us and send them back in.

We need to stock check and ‘weed out’ worn out titles.

Now is also a good time to check that your child’s book bag is in good order for September.

Read With Me

All reception parents (Red and Green Classes) were lent a book called ‘Read With Me.’ We now need these to be returned so that they can be used by next year’s YR parents. All the books were numbered so we will be chasing them up !!

Sainsburys Active Kids

The total number of tokens collected was just under 20,000 which has enabled us to send off for lots of things to improve active play for all the children. We have particularly looked at improving the reception play areas. So thank you to everyone who has collected the tokens for us and also to Mrs Owen, Mrs Pristo and Mrs Newman who have counted all 20,000 tokens up – no mean feat !!

Walk to School ~ June 2007

Red Class : 73% Purple Class : 76%

Green Class : 74% Blue Class : 75%

Yellow Class : 62% Orange Class : 75%

Summer Play Scheme

A scheme is running at St Martin’s Garden Children’s Centre, Odd Down from Wednesday 25^th July to Friday 31^st August, 8am to 6pm for children aged 2 to 11 years. The cost is £18 per day for over 3’s and £3.75 per hour for under 3s. Both indoor and outdoor play spaces are available and varied activities such as arts, crafts, sports, games and music will be provided by qualified, experienced staff. There will be space and time for quieter activties and for children to be with their friends and make new ones. For more information contact Carole on 01225 396002.

Bath City Farm Summer Family Fundays

These will run on Wednesdays from 1^st to 29th August, 11.30am to 2.30pm.

All activities suitable for the very young as well as the young at heart ! To find out more see the poster on the notice board or contact Abby on 481269.

Summer Reading Challenge at your local library.

During the summer holiday B&NES libraries will be participating in the Summer Reading Challenge which is entitled ‘The Big Wild Read’ . This years scheme encourages children to get involved with nature and care for the environment. The children will be able to collect ‘tree tokens’ for each book they read which will contribute to the planting of new trees. The challenge will be launched on Saturday July 14^th and run until Saturday September 29^th.

Each child who joins will receive a Big Wild read Folder in which to put stickers and if they read 6 books they will receive a medal and certificate. There will also be workshops and storytimes at libraries in the area and an interactive website www.bigwildread.org.uk

To encourage children at our school to participate Lynne Hamer , the children’s librarian will be visiting each class next week.

I apologise for such a long missive and all the extra bits and pieces. I hope to see you all at tomorrow’s summer fair. Remember the time is 2pm to 4pm. Fingers crossed for dry weather as I’m sure it will be a great event.

Yours sincerely,

Jo Claridge

Headteacher

Dates for the rest of term

Saturday July 7^th School Summer Fair 12noon to 2pm

Thursday July 12^th Y1 Story Telling day at Prior Park

Y2 Trip to Weston Super Mare

Tuesday July 17^th Leavers’ Performance Dress Rehearsal 9.45am

Thursday July 19^th Leavers’ Performance 1.45 pm

Friday July 20^th Leavers’ Performance 1.45 pm

Monday July 23^rd Leavers’ lunch and party

Tuesday July 24^th Special Assembly at 9.30am.

Wednesday July 25^th Last day of term.

IN SERVICE DAYS : September 06

A reminder that the first two days of Term 1 , Monday 3^rd September and Tuesday 4^th September will be in service days. School will re open to Years 1 and 2 on Wednesday September 5^th.

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Leavers’ Lunch

Year 2 Leaver’s Lunch : Monday July 23^rd

I would like my child

_____________________(name)_________________(class)

to have the Y2 Leaver’s Lunch

Please note the meal

to bring a packed lunch will be suitable for vegetarians.

I will send £1.70 on Monday July 23^rd .

Signed ______________________ parent / carer

Please return to the class teacher by Wednesday 18^th July .