Newsletter 6: 12^th October 2018

‘The best that I can be’

Class 5 and 6 Visit to Hatfield Palace

Year 5 and 6 spent the day at Hatfield Palace on Tuesday, travelling back to the time of Henry VIII and meeting characters from his court, including one of his guards, a musician, Catherine Parr and the Great King himself. They performed a traditional Tudor song for His Majesty and helped the Queen regain his favour by presenting him with a family portrait. They listened to stories about his life and were able to ask questions. It was a beautiful sunny day with lunch outside followed in the afternoon by a walk in Hatfield Park to see the oak tree where Queen Elizabeth I first learned that she was Queen of England.  They also got to see real tennis (a forerunner of modern tennis) being played, which was one of Henry’s favourite sports. The children were commended on their behaviour and impressive knowledge of Tudor monarchs.

Mrs McCormack

Class 3 and 4 Visit to Colchester Castle

Class 3 & 4 had a very interesting visit to Colchester Castle, which is built on the foundations of a Roman temple. We travelled back 2000 years as we entered the castle vaults and learned about the Battle of Colchester. The children impressed the guide with their knowledgeable responses to his questions. We then explored the museum gallery before having a go at building replicas of a Celtic roundhouse and a Roman villa, and investigating some historical artefacts.

Mrs Omodara.

Payment for Photographs

Please do not send cash in for photographs, as we will have to return it. The best way to pay for your photographs is directly to Sue online. If this is not possible, you can write a cheque to Imagination photography and we will give it to Sue.

School Nurse Drop-ins

Our school nurse comes into school once a month and would like to meet with any parents who have any concerns over their child’s health and wellbeing. This could be concerns over their sleeping patterns, eating habits, mental health or anything else that a health professional could give you advice on concerning your child. The nurse comes into school for 8.30am. The dates for this year are:

27^th November; 18^th December; 22^nd January; 12^th February; 19^th March; 30^th April; 21^st May; 18^th June and 16^th July.

Second Hand Uniform Sale

In the interest of saving you money and helping the environment, the Friends of Dame Tipping will be

holding 2 second hand uniform sales. They will take place on Wednesday 17^th and Thursday 18^th October, in the front playground or in the foyer (depending on the weather). If you have any uniform that your child has grown out of, please send it into school and the Friends will collect it from us.

Attendance Matters

Our new attendance officer came in this week to review our registers. School attendance is looking healthy, although there are a few children with poor attendance. Please ensure that your children are in school every day they are well enough to be in (with the exception of the 48 hours after a bout of sickness or diarrhoea). As you know, term time holidays will not be authorised and our policy states that medical evidence will be required if your child is off school before or after a school holiday. Thank you for your co-operation.

After School Care Hours

As we have had interest from more parents, After School Care will now run until 6pm on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays and until 5pm on Fridays (starting next week). If you wish to take advantage of these extended hours, please let us know. You will also need to adjust your payments on sQuid. Costs will remain at £4 until 4pm and £10 after 4pm (including a light tea at 4.30pm). If you are eligible for tax credits, you will be able to receive help with the cost.

Attendance

Reception and 1 : 93.33% ; Class 2 : 98.57% ; Class 3 and 4 : 96.21 % ; Class 5 and 6 : 99.64%

Work of the Week

Reception/Year 1- Arthur, for his fantastic Noah’s Ark painting.

Class 2- Oliver Garwood, for working hard in writing and using his sounds and his spellings.

Class 5/6- Faye Newman, for a well written brochure about Hatfield Palace.

Commendations

Reception/Year 1- Lenny Sains, for working so hard on his reading.

Class 2- The whole class, for showing how kind and considerate they can be towards on another.

Class 3/4- Freddy Parrish, for showing forgiveness to a classmate who made the wrong choice ; Caleb Chen, for excellent arithmetic work and Ben Baldwin, for his thoughtful contributions to class discussions.

Class 5/6- Michelle Onifade, for working hard, listening and doing her best and Leah Moss, for her excellent spellings work.

Achievements

Well done to Emily Murch for achieving her level 3 and level 4 trampolining awards.

Congratulations to the following children who completed the library’s Summer reading challenge : Kai Boorman, Rhys Hayes, Alicia Moran, Danielle Moran, Leah Moss, Kesiah Hughes and Poppy Whitcombe

Well done, everyone !

Dates for the Diary

Tuesday 30th October 2018- Termly Learning Conferences 2- 6.30pm

Thursday 13th December 2018- Reception, 1 and 2 Nativity

Monday 17th December 2018- Class 5 and 6 Pantomime