The Courier

Dear Parents

This has been another super busy week here in school with Christmas nativity performances, the Carol Service, and Christmas parties all coming together to give the children many events and occasions to enjoy. To add to the mix there have been fixtures for hockey and football as well as a theatre trip for the Pre-Prep children. We are all looking forward to the weekend for something of a breather and to prepare ourselves for the final shortened week of the term next Monday and Tuesday.

We are delighted to have navigated a full programme of Christmas events this year despite the growing concerns around the Omicron variant. We haven't had any confirmed COVID cases here amongst the pupils this half term, which has played a big part in our ability to run these public gatherings. We will apply the same criteria next term to all of our events as we have done up to this point, keeping a very close eye on transmission rates both within the school community and in the local area.

We have a raft of additional measures we can put in place should circumstances require it and of course we will continue to keep you informed of any key changes we may need to bring in.

We continue to prioritise the academic and social progress of the children and parents in Reception, Years 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 will receive their latest reports from the school along with the Courier this evening. I spend quite some time looking through these, giving me a clear idea of the children's progress and their relative strengths and weaknesses. I know we have said this before, but the teachers and staff here deserve enormous credit for maintaining standards over the last two years and making sure that your children receive the education you expect and they deserve.

I advise you to take the time to read the report with your child and talk through with them the targets that are in there, as well as lavishing them with the praise that they all deserve. The perception on the part of the children of a partnership between home and school is absolutely key, and we thank you for your continued support.

Another big success to celebrate last week was the Christmas bazaar, which was very well attended and enjoyed by all. I know we raised a significant amount of money through the return of this annual event so very well done to all involved.

With some milder weather forecast for the weekend I hope you are all able to get out and about with your children this weekend and that it isn’t too dominated by the dreaded Christmas shopping.

Please note that we will only be producing a mini version of the Courier next week with key details regarding the return to school on Wednesday 5 January.

Joe Thackway
Headmaster

I wrote to you earlier in the term regarding the departure of our present French teacher Madame Tatton. We are now able to announce arrangements for the teaching of modern foreign languages for the remainder of the school year. 

We undertook a rigorous recruitment process shortly before the half term break and we have now appointed Mrs Lucy Day to the post. Lucy is a highly experienced and skilful teacher of foreign languages to young people and comes to us with more than 20 years of experience. She has also lived and worked in France. 

An additional skill that Lucy brings with her is her ability to teach Spanish. This will continue to play an important part in our language delivery, such that 2/3 of the year will be spent learning French and the remaining third will be devoted to Spanish. 

Lucy however is not able to start with us until the summer term. Consequently, we have taken on the services of a modern foreign language specialist teaching agency to provide  teaching through to the summer term in accordance with our current timetable commitments. We do not know the identity of the teacher yet but are assured that he or she will be a primary trained expert who will provide consistent cover for the entirety of the term.

I know you will welcome Lucy onto the school teaching team when she arrives, and we continue to place the teaching of foreign languages very much as one of our key commitments to the children's education.