Newsletter 9              30th April 2021

WELCOME BACK 

It is so lovely to have all of our pupils back at CG for the summer term. Children are working hard and the sun has been shining. We are looking forward to later in the term when we hope restrictions can be lifted a little. 

 

HEADTEACHER RECRUITMENT 

The recruitment process for a new Headteacher is in process.  Next week, on 6th and 7th May, interviews will take place with a panel of governors and representatives from the Local Authority and the Diocese. 

Forest School

Class 3 have enjoyed 4 weeks at Forest School, in the dry! Finishing today with a picnic lunch in the woods.  A big thank you to Mrs B and Mrs Moorhouse for all the opportunities provided to Class 3 during this time.

Class 2

7th, 14th, 21st, 28th May 

Class 1

11th, 18th 25th June and 2nd July 

Buddy Day (tbc)

9th or 16th July 

Please have your children ready for Forest School with the kit that they will need; 

Waterproof clothing/coats

Long Sleeve Shirts

Wellie Boots

 

ASSESSMENTS

During the most recent lock down, we have purchased a new assessment system. These are a series of computer based adaptive tests which children complete independently.  The system then gives us a series of data. This will then enable us to share reports with parents prior to Parents Evenings.  These data reports will be sent home to parents next week to allow you time to read them. Staff will also be able to access various reports to inform planning for teaching and learning.   

Fluffy Visitors 

On Thursday, our Class 1 children had the special treat of a visit from two Tawny Owl chicks.   Thank you to Mrs Edwards (Iris in Class 1's mum).

An absolute joy to see them.   

 

CLUBS 

Many of our pupils have been enjoying our newly restarted clubs this week which has been great to see and hear.  We hope that they have been coming home and telling you about these if they have taken part. We are not yet running our full compliment of clubs but as restrictions ease we hope to introduce more. 

Please pay for Ball Skills and Dance via Mrs Macmillan in the office. Unfortunately the honesty box for Ball Skills used in previous years did not always tally with the amount it should have contained (and very unfortunately went 'missing' altogether on one occasion!) Therefore, payments via the office are required this time in cash or cheque made out to Sports Europe.   Payments  for Premier Sport Clubs should be made straight to Premier Sport via their website please. 

Our Breakfast club has also restarted this week and currently has a few children attending.  This club is subsidised by the school to enable it to run and we are only able to do this to a certain level, so please support this club if it fits with your needs. 

 

PTFA REMINDER

Please remember to drop in your tubes for the Smartie Challenge by 5th May for a chance to win your class a prize!  

 

IMPORTANT!!! 

PARENTS EVENING 

These will take place virtually again following the same Zoom format as last time; we were really pleased with how efficiently these worked and how they facilitated great conversations with parents.  

Parents Evening for Years R, 1, 3 and 5 will be on Monday 10th May and Thursday 13th May from 4.00 - 5.30pm. 

Parents Evening for Years 2, 4 and 6 will be on Monday 17th May and Thursday 20th May from 4.00 - 5.30pm. 

Link to book will be available via Google Classroom for each class.  Each slot is limited to one sign up to avoid duplicated bookings.  If you have twins, please contact your child's teacher.  Thank you. 

We really hope that all parents are able to sign up to an appointment as it is really important that we have a conversation with parents after such a disrupted year. 

 

HEDGING 

Thank you to everybody involved in the tree planting that has taken place in the carpark this week. This was organised by Sue Webster and Jo O'Driscoll. Sue managed to obtain over 400 trees from the Woodland Trust for this planting scheme. It is hoped that in time, this will form an attractive safety barrier down the central reservation of the carpark and will also act as a valuable resource for wildlife. Children from Class 4, with the expert help of a team from Living Forest have planted a mix of  native species  that are beneficial to insects and birds. We are looking forward to watching these saplings develop into a mature hedgerow.

Big thank you to Mrs Moorhouse who helped the children and has kept it watered during this very dry month.  

LIBRARY

We have invested in a new library scanning computerised system.  In order to get this set up, we are asking if anyone has any spare time to volunteer to label some of the books in our library. If you do, please contact Miss Hopkins via email. Thank you.  We need the labelling to be completed by 11th May as this is when the representative from the library company will attend CG. 

Uniform

Please can we take a moment to remind you of the expectations for school uniform.

For girls it can now be summer purple gingham dresses or black/grey trousers and a school branded polo shirt.   For boys; school polo shirt and black/grey trousers.  PE kits for both boys and girls is branded PE shirt and black joggers or leggings with school jumpers if it remains chilly.    Please can we ask that hair is tied back and secured with purple or black hairbands.   No other accessories unless they are in school colours please.  

There are useful pictures of the uniform on the website and all branded clothing can be bought from Phillips Man in Cranbrook.