The Courier

Dear Parents and Friends of the School

I hope you have all enjoyed a fruitful week at work and at home. We have finally broken into February, and snowdrops are appearing in the countryside and even one or two cheeky daffodils have emerged.  
 
On a wildlife theme, thanks to all those contributed to our Big Garden Birdwatch. Mrs Johnson will be collecting all of the results and sending them off to the RSPB in due course. It is a very nice way to introduce and encourage children to appreciate and learn about the wildlife around them. I'm not a full-on twitcher by any means, but I got into spotting and learning about birds at quite a young age and it's something that I have always got a lot of pleasure from. 
 
I mentioned in last week’s newsletter the good work of the Crescent Green Team and the sustainable theme has been taken up again today with our paper-free day of learning in school. This sounds like a nice and simple idea at first glance, but actually takes quite a bit of thought when it comes down to the detail. The rules have been quite strict, and children weren’t allowed to use existing exercise books. Collaboration, drama, IT, debating, singing, sharing have been some of the creative solutions. It is intended to make us all think about how reliant we are on an environmentally impactful resource like paper, and this was a strong message that hopefully the children will take from the day. 
 
There are two important events happening next week I would like to flag up. Firstly, it is Children’s World Mental Health Week, and our own children’s Wellbeing Team are providing opportunities on the playground at breaktime for us all to ‘express ourselves’ in different ways, ranging from chalking to talking to dancing or making a speech. This is the theme of this year’s event and is a message we are pleased to support. 
 
Then, on Friday, we have our World Cultures Day, with parent run sessions on the heritage and culture of India and Persia, as well as a visitor from the Bwengu Project in Malawi. We have also bought in series of workshops on Chinese New Year, and the chance to learn some Chinese Ribbon Dancing from the experts. Thanks to those parents who are getting involved, and if sharing your own cultural heritage or interest is something you might like to do in the future, panic not, as this is an event we intend to make a regular part of our school calendar.  
 
With my best wishes to you all and I hope you all enjoy a restful weekend. 

Joe Thackway
Headmaster