Newsletter 37: 20th July 2015

‘The best that I can be’

Dear parents/ carers,

It’s hard to believe that we’re coming to the end of my first year as Headteacher of Dame Tipping C of E Primary School. I would like to thank all of you for your support, encouragement and input. It is clear to me that you, as parents, are very passionate about our school and I hope that over the coming years we can work together to make Dame Tipping all that we want it to be.

Stubbers

Years 5 and 6 had a wonderful time at Stubbers last week. The children were an absolute credit to the school. Members of staff in the shop particularly commented on how polite and well behaved they were. It was lovely to see the children rise to the challenge of staying away from home and in some cases to overcome fear of heights, the dark and water in order to take part in the activities.

I would like to say a huge thank you to Mrs. Hood, Mrs. Buckley, Mr. Brown and Miss Davies, who all gave up their time to stay with us for the 2 nights.

The Lion King

The school has been treated to an outstanding performance of ‘The Lion King’ by class 3 this morning and the parents will have a chance to enjoy it this afternoon. A huge thank you to Mrs. McCormack for all her hard work on the show.

Lost Property

All lost property will be displayed in the small playground from 1.30pm today. Please check if any of your child’s items are there and take them home with you. Thank you.

Tipping’s Got Talent

Please send your children in with £1 on Tuesday 21st July, as they will need this to vote for their favourite act. All proceeds will go to the Pageant charity.

Next Year’s Class Names

Next Year, the class names will be matched to the year groups, which will hopefully be less confusing! They will be: Reception- Miss North, Class 1 and 2- Mrs. McCormack, Class 3 and 4- Mr. Evans and Class 5 and 6- Mrs. Fletcher and Mrs. Waters.

Friends of Dame Tipping

I would like to thank the Friends of Dame Tipping for all their hard work this year. They are currently researching how the money can be used to improve the outdoor area for the benefit of all the children. The Friends have also agreed to subsidise the Christmas Pantomime and Theatre trip, so that all children will be able to go to the theatre by coach. The cost per child will be a total of £12, rather than £18. The Friends are always looking for new members, so please look out for the dates of meetings on this newsletter and check out their Facebook page.

Learning for Next Year

Next year we will be following a ‘Connected Curriculum’, which we make meaningful links between different subjects and will have a different focus each half term (for example a Science, History or Design Technology focus).

In case you would like to start doing a little research over the holidays (this is not compulsory), the first half term’s topics are as follows: Reception- ‘All about me’; Class 1 and 2- ‘Why do we play with different toys as we grow older?’; Class 3 and 4-‘How does Electricity Work?’; Class 5 and 6- ‘Fairground’. More details will follow at the beginning of term on our website and at our beginning of term meetings for parents.

Attendance

We had a really good week for attendance last week:

Class 1: 99.33%, Class 2: 97.24%, Class 3: 98.67%, Class 4: 98.67%

Well done, everyone!

Gold Book

Congratulations to Bradley Allen-Guinane, Hermione McCormack, Michelle Onifade, Jack Robinson and Lou-Lou French, who all earned their place in the Gold Book for their excellent classroom learning behaviour.

Headteacher’s Award

This week’s award goes to Tiegan Allen-Guinane for living up to our school motto : ‘The best that I can be.’ Well done, Tiegan.

Grow>Cook>Eat Summer Programme at Bedfords Park

Places are still available on this course which starts on Tuesday 28th July. Visit their website for more info or inquire directly via info@bedfordswalledgarden.org or call Kirsty 078 645 645 04

Music Tuition

We will be starting music tuition in September as we had a really good response.

More details to follow.

Record Breakers Summer Reading Challenge

Don’t forget to sign up for the Summer Reading Challenge at your local library.

Free School Meals

If your child is in Year 3 next year, they will no longer be entitled to free school meals, unless you are entitled to pupil premium. Please call this number to see if you are entitled: 01708 433929. The school also benefits greatly from pupil premium funding, so please do check. Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 children will still receive free school meals,

Church service tomorrow

Please join us for our leavers’ service at the church at 1.30pm tomorrow. If you are not able to join us for the service, please make sure that you are there to collect your child between 2.15 and 2.30pm. We will be bringing any children who have not been collected back to the school at promptly at 2.30pm, so please do not be late.

And finally…

Firstly, I would like to thank you for all the lovely cards and gifts I received this week. It is very kind of you to think of me. I would also like to say goodbye to all our Year 6 children, who will be greatly missed. I know that they will be very successful in their secondary schools. Goodbye also to Mrs. French and Mr. Drury. We wish them every happiness in the future. It really has been an absolute privilege to work with your children this year and I wish you all a happy, safe holiday.

Dates for the diary:

  • Wednesday 22nd July- Leavers’ church service-1.30pm at St. John the Evangelist followed by family picnic-2.30pm (at the school)
  • Thursday 3rd September 2015- Return to school after the Summer Holidays

Mrs. Kathryn Waters