We all managed to join the excursions to the swimming pool on Thursday – actually a first for me too, as due to Covid, swimming was paused last year. What a wonderful resource for the school to have on its doorstep and yet another string to the Chagford bow!

On Tuesday, the echoes of children’s singing in their collective worship in the amphitheatre with Miss Rowe, wafted through the early sunshine; spirituality was in abundance. It is an exciting prospect for the future to connect our Trust family of six church schools more closely and I have been speaking with members of the Exeter Diocese about planning ahead to one day, when times allow, to find our place within the wider CofE school family of 133 Diocesan schools.

What a delight to see the front gardens of the school bursting into leaf and flower – such a beautiful panorama for any passer-by or visitor to the school. A huge thank you to our wonderful team within the Gardening Committee who continue to work so hard to keep it looking fantastic. The children skip through the pathways at the beginning and ends of the day – just joyful!

I am sure you will join me in welcoming Mr Finch back to school on Monday 28th June. I am sure he has been very much missed by all of the children and staff. Mrs Robertson is also expected to return to school following a short period of absence on Tuesday. I know that Hawthorn class will have missed her and will be delighted to have their teacher back in front of them.
 
Mrs Underwood
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Bikeability
This week Year 6 had the opportunity to sharpen their cycling skills and earn their Bikeability Level 1 and 2 badges. Thanks to their instructor, Margitta, they learnt a huge amount about how their bikes work, how and when to change gears, how to signal their intentions to other road users, when to give-way to traffic, what road markings and signs mean and much, much more! All of the Year 6 did our school proud, had a lot of fun and Margitta was very happy with their behaviour and respect for road safety. Well done Y6! “Bikeability is fun and I learnt a lot about being safe on my bike!” – Charlotte G

Year 4, 5 and 6 Cricket Coaching
Over the course of the summer term, children in upper Key Stage 2 will receive expert cricket coaching from Chagford Cricket Club’s very own cricketing superstar, Andy Manning! Andy has shown us how to bowl, field and bat as well as play some really fun games! “It’s a lot of fun and we got a taster for what the game of cricket is really about.” – Rosie P

Personal Items and Toys
It has once again been brought to our attention that, unfortunately, we have still had a number of toys and personal items being brought into school from home, including the odd electrical device. Sadly, aside from the obvious risks of damage, loss or causing a distraction, it is also causing unnecessary fallouts and squabbles amongst the children during playtimes, which then results in the item being confiscated and causing further upset to the children. Please can we request your continued support on this matter, with regular bag checks etc, to ensure that items from home aren’t sneaking their way in and causing issues during the school day - many thanks for everyone’s help with this! 

Oak Class – Blast off…..
 
“We had an exciting start to this week in Oak Class. The children were filled with awe and their drinks bottles with air, after our exciting online session from Wonderstruck.  In the session, the wonderful Peter demonstrated how to build aeroplanes and rockets from paper and a humble straw. We used our bottles as a launcher and once our projectiles were loaded, it only took one short, swift squeeze and we were away!
The initial build process was fiddly at first but once the Oaky dokes got their basic chassis constructed, they used their new-found knowledge of the forces: thrust, lift and drag, to make slight adjustments and improve their designs.
As you can imagine, the classroom was like a pre-Covid Heathrow without an air traffic controller!
Mr Frewin tried his best but he left his ping pong bats at home and therefore had no control whatsoever. Most of his time was spent dodging supersonic straws and dishing out sticky tape so unfortunately no photos were taken. Sorry!
It was a super afternoon and fun was had by all.”
Mr Frewin and Miss Barton
 
Mask Making
Children in Hawthorn and Birch have been working hard on their Tutankhamun masks over the past few weeks with Mr Dray, and they are coming along fantastically. It has been so lovely to watch their progress and to now see the end result – superb effort! Also, a big thanks to Mr Dray for all of his hard work with this project, as I know he has provided a big helping hand along the way! 

Thank you for your support in helping us to ensure that our Chagford CE Primary children are smart and well-presented in school uniform each day.

Lost Property
We now have a number of clothing items without owners, piling up in lost property, most of which are, sadly, unnamed. It is such a shame to see so many items, quite often new, looking sad and destined for the second hand shop. It is especially difficult for us to match these up with their owners when they are unlabelled, and even trickier for the children when they are trying their best to rummage through to find something. We fully appreciate that names wear off and labels lose their sticky over time.  However, if everyone could please try to periodically check that names are still legible, this would really be appreciated. 

May I wish you all a restful weekend and we look forward to seeing you next week for another packed agenda of learning and rich opportunities for our children of Chagford.