It was our Harvest Festival yesterday and that made me think about all the people I have to thank for the smooth, safe and joyful half term that we have just had.
Thank you to the parents and carers who send their children to our school. Teaching your children is a privilege that we don't take lightly. Your trust in us to do the best we can for your children means a lot.
Thank you to all the teachers, teaching assistants, kitchen, cleaning and office staff - every day throws up challenges and every day we find a way to keep going and to do so with a smile. I honestly don't think that there can be a school in the country with a kinder, more inclusive team. Even on the days when obstacles are thrown at us, I know we'll meet the challenge as a team and put the children first.
Thank you to all those people who give time to support us - our governors, the team who care for the garden, people volunteering their time to help supervise the playground, to come in and help create our sensory garden, to do little fixing-up jobs or to walk children up to the church - I love the way this community gathers around the school to support and give us strength. You don't know how much it means.
I could go on and list more and more people - the people who drive the buses, the estates team - but I think you know what I am saying. 
A school is a community of learners and it exists within a wider community of care and support. Our school's vision 'Community, Challenge, Care' is very real to me and, reflecting on this last term, it's clear that it is truly lived by the community around this school. Thank you.

We had a beautiful time together up at the church of St Michael the Archangel on Thursday. We took time to give thanks for all we have - food certainly, but also homes, families, friendship, love and - above all - community. We enjoyed singing The Harvest Samba and Cauliflowers Fluffy together and it was wonderful to be joined by so many friends and family - we really filled the church up. Look out for the Christmas Service in a few weeks' time - I'd really like that to be another packed and joyful occasion.
Thanks to the many families who brought donations for the Chagford Eco Pantry. Please remember that this resource is available to all. You don't need to be in any particular circumstances to use it - the food has been freely given and it can be freely taken. Just pop in to reception when you are dropping off, picking up or passing by. Whether money is tight or you have just forgotten to get to the shop today, the pantry is there for you. You'll be helping us divert food from the waste stream, so we'll be grateful if you'll help out by taking items away to use.

Halloween Bake Sale
The children in Year Six have asked to run a Bake Sale after school on Monday 31st October - the day we return to school after half term. The children want to raise some funds for the PTFA to say a 'thank you' for the kind funding that helped them have their brilliant trip to Morwellham Quay a couple of weeks ago. They say that there will be a range of sweet and savoury treats available for sale at reasonable prices. If you like cakes, biscuits and buns, bring a few coins when you come to school at pick up time and hopefully we'll have a stall out for you.
Thank you for this Year Five - what a nice treat to welcome us back to school.

Celebrating the Earth - Honouring Our Ancestors
The next in the series of 'Celebrating the Earth' events which have been held regularly since the COP26 meeting in Glasgow last year is 'Honouring Our Ancestors' which takes place on Tuesday 1st November.
Year Five have learned 'The Old Lych Way' to sing at the event. A beautiful song by Chris Hoban which meditates on the path from Bellever to Lydford which used to be walked by people carrying loved ones and companions from the heart of the moor to Lydford so that they could be buried in consecrated ground. We would love to welcome as many people from the school community to join us for the event and we'd be moved if people could join in with the song - even if they just join in on the refrain (Lay me down, gently down) and the chorus. I have popped the words to the song below and you'll find a link to Show of Hands singing the song below. I would love to be joined by a great choir for this event with the children - do join us if you can.

The Old Lych Way - Chris Hoban

They'll lift me up and lay me down
(Lay me down, gently down)
Till I reach consecrated ground
(Along the old Lych Way)

On six strong shoulders I will sway
(Lay me down, gently down)
Till six feet under I'll be laid
(Along the old Lych Way)

Requiem aeternam
(Requiem aeternam)
Dona eis requiem
Along the old Lych Way

From Bellever to Lydford town
(Lay me down, gently down)
Through Sandy Ford & Conies Down
(Along the old Lych Way)

At every mile a marking stone
(Lay me down, gently down)
So they can rest their weary bones
(Along the old Lych Way)

Requiem aeternam
(Requiem aeternam)
Dona eis requiem
Along the old Lych Way

At Lydford church I'll make my end
(Lay me down, gently down)
And I'll never cross the Dart again
Along the old Lych Way

A Christian man could do no less
(Lay me down, gently down)
Than ask his friends this last request
(Along the old Lych Way)

Oh, Requiem aeternam
(Requiem aeternam)
Dona eis requiem
Along the old Lych Way

They'll lift me up and lay me down
(Lay me down, gently down)
Till I reach consecrated ground
Along the old Lych Way

Along the old Lych Way
Along the old Lych Way

The Old Lych Way - YouTube

Mini Monster Bash
Another call out for the Mini Monster Bash on Friday 4th November. Children can come dressed up in fancy dress if they choose to - or not if they prefer. There will be refreshments on sale and prizes for the best costumes and for the best decorated pumpkin. Each child must be accompanied by a responsible adult but a classroom will be set aside for adults to relax in if, for some unearthly reason, they don't want to spend two hours trapped in the hall with loud music and a hundred and fifty sugar-fuelled tots.

Woodland School
To make sure we get back in the habit of using our fabulous outdoor spaces, the PTFA have kindly funded sessions for each class to work with an experienced outdoor educator within our 'Woodland School' area at the back of the field. The first of these sessions will be on Friday 4th November and will go ahead whatever the weather - children will need their coats and good outdoor shoes (or, for preference, wellies).
If this session goes as well as we hope, we will try to make this a regular thing. We love our beautiful grounds and we want to get better at using them to enrich the life of every child.

Look out for our 'Stories Around the Fire' evening coming soon.  Children have been badgering Mr Finch to tell 'the donkey story' for weeks now and it's time to deliver on the promise...

Parent Evenings
A heads up that parent evenings are on November 16th and 17th. You'll be able to sign up as soon as we get back from half term. We will offer 'in person' meetings for people who can make them and telephone appointments for anyone for whom getting here in person is difficult or inconvenient.

Friday Celebration
Our daily act of worship on a Friday is our joyful Celebration Assembly. If you are passing by, or would like to see what goes on, you are welcome each and every week - just come along to the school a few minutes before three to give time to get you signed in and join us.
We always start with our 'Attitude of Gratitude' - we think of things we are grateful for in the last week and share them - pupils, teachers, parents and carers all ghet to joinin and we hear thanks for friends and family, the food we eat, games we've played, expericnes and achallenges and much more. This week there was a strong sense of thankfulness that we have got through to half term!
Next on the agenda is rewarding our #Chagford Champions - we give certifcates to childen who have lived out our school values 'Community, Challnge, Care through their actions within and beyond school in the past week. This week George was given a community champion certificate to awknowledge his representation of us at the Torquay Chess Tournament where he won the under tens competition. We said well done to people who have shown real care to others in thier class and said 'well done' to children who have taken on challenges in friendship or in acadmic work.
We usually finish with a song but this week was extra packed - we had started with a performance by three Year Four pupils on recorder. Their first ever public performance, and they made us very proud indeed. Year Five finished the afternoon off with an inspiring choral rendition of Martin Luthor King's 'I have a Dream' speech to mark the end of Black History Month. IT was passionate and heart felt and spoke volumes about their prode in themselves and the work that Ms SImpson has put in to help them riase their expectations of themselves. Well done Year Five.
Our Friay assembly is always entertaining and thought provoking - you don't need to wait until a day when one of your children is getting a certificate, just come along and join us.

Chagford Eco-Pantry
We are very happy to be hosting the new branch of the Chagford Eco Pantry in the foyer at the school.
Shops, cafes, restaurants and indivduals are donating food and other goods that would otherwise be wasted or go to landfill. These are absolutely free to take from the foyer right by Elaine's office. Just pop in when you are passing by or when you are dropping off or collecting chidlren and help us make sure this food doesn't go to waste.

Thanks to the team working on the eco-pantry who have organsied this and to the kind members of the commnity who sourced and fitted the fridge and the kitchen unit to hold the food and other donations. If you have anything to donate you can pop it straight into the pantry or give to Elaine. A volunteer from the committee will be visiting regularly to check food is of good quality and in date and to keep it tidy.

Quiet/Sacred Garden Area
One big job for this year is the creation of a quiet area of the school field where children can go if they want to spend a little time alone or sitting quietly with friends. This could be because they are dealing with big feelings, because they have something to think about, because they want to meditate or pray, because they want to take themselves from a situation they know might end up badly or just because they want a bit of alone time. This area is going to have seating and planting that gives it a variety of spaces of different shapes and sizes to be in. We hope that we can have plants with a range of fragrances and textures and beautiful foliage so that the experience of being amongst natural forms can calm the mind - or at least give us somehing to think about beyond what is going on for us in our heads.
We started this project last week when a party of parents and carers joined Mr Finch on Saturday morning to mark up the area and plant sixty lavender and rosemary bushes to create a scented hedge boundary to it.
By and large, the majority of pupoils have been very good indeed at respecting that people who go into the area do so because they want to be quiet and have some space. As the year goes on, we hope to add seating and sculptural features, paths and beds, possibly a den or two for children who need to be able to hunker down to feel safe and much more. There will be more work parties so do keep an eye out. For me, Saturday mornings feel like the right time but if there are people who would like to volunteer at another time, do let me know.

Harvest Time!
Children enjoyed working with our friend Chloe to harvest the bounty of the allotment area at the back of the school - the area is currently dominated by the astonishing sunflowers we planted back in the summer but amonst the beds Chloe and her little team found marrows, tomatoes and more. What wonderful work and what a gift to have beds for planting, friends to work with and a community who supports us so our children can have these experiences.

We will be celebrating Harvest Festival at the church next Thursday at 2:00 p.m. with song, poetry and thoughts. We are calling for donations of dry and canned goods or anything you can spare to donate to the Chagford Eco Pantry. Children can bring this to school in the morning or we can bring it straight to church where I hope we will create a mighty display.

More Beautiful Books!
It is well known that MrFinch has a serious love of books so you can imagine how excited he was when the daughter of the great Shirley Hughes got in touch to offer us a collection of her mothers books for the school.
Shirley Hughes was the author and illustrator of too many books to count. She is proabably best known for the Alfie and Annie Rose stories such Alfie Gets in First, Alfie Wins a Prize and Alfie's Feet, and Dogger - the story of Dave who loses his favourite friend and Bella who does a very kind thing to get it back for him. Shirley died a few months ago and her children Clara, Ed and Nick wanted her own personal copies of her books to go to places where they would be loved by children. Mr Finch drove up to Shirley's house in Notting Hill in London to collect bags and bags of books, and posters almost as the removers were coming to empty the house that Shirley had lived for so long. I think it cheered Shirley up a bit to see her mother's books dissapearing off to a school in far away Devon.
We shared Dogger in assembly on Tuesday and there was barely a dry eye in the house when we turned the page and Bella did her famously kind thing. Thank you to Clara, Nick and Ed and another thankyou to Shirley Hughes who brought so much love and pleasure to so many of us and who, through her books, continues to do so.

Volunteering at Chagford Primary
Thank you to all the people who have offered to volunteer at the school. We have a number of DBS applications currently going through the system.  These seem to be taking longer than usual at the moment so, if you haven't heard from us, I promise it's not because we're sitting on our hands. As soon as the DBS comes through, we will be in touch and working with you to make best use of our time.
We are in great need of reading volunteers who can commit to a regular spot to hear children read and deepen their appreciation of books. An hour twice a week is enough to make a real difference to a child's life. We are also very, very keen to have people volunteering to run after school clubs. There is a lot of appetite for an art club for example - you don't have to be super arty for this - we could provide ideas for weekly art or craft projects.  You would just need to be happy to work with children and happy to have a go.
We would love to welcome volunteer lunchtime supervisors - it's a lovely way to spend an hour among the children in our beautiful grounds and it really helps us all to feel safe and secure. If you could commit to one lunchtime a week, we can build a roster and get more supervision, more fun and more community presence among the pupils.
A volunteer has come forward to run a spreadsheet of volunteering opportunities and needs to make sure we put together the people with the jobs - I would really welcome and encourage you to have a think if you can help out.

Mini Monster Bash
Don't forget that we have our 'Mini Monster Bash' Disco on November 4th. It's going to be a lot of fun. Children can dress up if they choose, and there will be prizes for the best pumpkin and best costume. Every child needs to be accompanied by a responsible adult but if the adults would prefer to hang out in a classroom than dance with the children that is fine - a space will be set aside for you!
Tickets are £2 a head and there will be refreshments on sale.

Parent Evenings
Put a note in your diary that we will be holding Parent Evenings on the 16th and 17th November. We will open booking for them straight after half term. Please always remember that if there is something that you feel you need to talk about, you are always, always welcome to get in touch to talk about it with Mr Finch or the class teacher. If there is a question or a problem, we would much rather help deal with it now than wait until a parent evening.

PTFA Coffee Morning
The PTFA are holding a coffee morning at Endecott House, Chagford on Saturday 19th November between 10am and 12pm.

We are asking for donations of children's games, toys, books and pre loved children's clothes and uniform.

We ask that all items are in good condition and complete and we aren't able to accept cuddly toys.
If you would like to donate any of these items please drop to the school office by Tuesday 15th November or e mail Zoe Francis- [email protected] to arrange dropping directly to her.

We are also asking for donations for cakes, savouries or any other delicious bakes.
If you would like to donate any food, please drop to the office by 3.30pm on Friday 18th November or bring to Endecott House by 10am on the Saturday.

Many thanks in advance.

The PTFA Committee.

Our Plans and Priorities for this Year
Each year we create a plan for how we are going to improve our school. We try to link everything we do into this plan so we all know what we are working on and so that everyone can play a part. We call this document our AIP or Academy Improvement Plan. I wanted to tell you specifically what we are working on this year - this may be of interest or there might even be something you feel you can support us with.Our five priorities are:

• Improving the work we do with children who have a special education need. This means improving provision and making sure we do a better - much better - job of communicating with parents and carers. 
• Making our curriculum better - particularly in Science, Geography and History. We already know that children are going home and talking about what they are learning in these subjects and we like the clear progression that we are developing but we want to make these areas of curriculum irresistible - we are talking about how we can make every lesson count and add enriching experiences.
• To embed 'behaviour for learning' so that children who have been allowed to become passive learners in the classroom become really proactive and are challenged to display risk-taking, creativity, perseverance, resilience, great listening, co-operation and curiosity.
• To improve early language acquisition and speaking and listening across the school, so we have children who can listen and respond, and contribute to discussion and debate.
• To make sure everything we do as a school is imbued with our school values; Community, Challenge, Care. We want our values to be lived, not laminated, and for everyone involved in the school to know what we stand for and how what we do shows that off.

Attendance and Punctuality 
It has been another difficult week for a lot of families with the sickness bug circulating and covid in some families. You all have our sincere sympathy. As a result, our attendance has taken quite a knock. Our average for the year so far is just 94.6% which is well below the national figures - it would be terrific to see an uptick in numbers as we head towards Christmas.

Wish For Devon
Devon County Council is running a consultation on improving the county's service for children and young people in order to make it 'the best place to grow up'. They want to capture children's and adults' voices in this. Do click on the link and follow through to take part in the consultation and have your say.
​A wish for Devon - Strategic Plan

Work Party - Saturday 8th October
Tomorrow - Saturday 8th October - we will be working in the school grounds to start creating a quiet space for children who want some time at break and lunchtime to sit and think, reflect or pray. Lots of children want to run around and be active at breaktimes but, just like us adults, sometimes they need opportunities for quiet time. We want to make sure that provision is in place.
We are lucky to have wonderful, talented people in our school community who are helping us consult with children and design this to make sure it meets the needs of all the children. The project will be taking shape over the next few weeks.
This Saturday we want to plant a hedge of low-growing lavender and rosemary plants to demarcate the area and to help us all start to get a better idea in our heads of what it could become. If you are able, please come along to school at 10:00 a.m. and we will work through till 12:00. If you can come, please bring a spade and a trowel so as many of us as possible can be digging and planting.

Reading Open Mornings
It was lovely to see so many parents at the Reading Open Morning on Thursday. There were quite a few more than we had expected and, as a result, it took a while to get everyone signed in. There are a lot worse problems to have but we will figure out a way to streamline this for next time.

Parents and carers spent half an hour in class watching and joining in with their children's reading lessons. Many commented that it was really interesting to see how the teachers did it, and that it was very different to how it had been when they were at school. We focus a great deal on 'book talk' where we look at how authors (and illustrators) convey meaning. The children show great ability to talk intelligently and with some depth on this and it is always a joy to see. I hope that everyone who attended found it interesting and had thoughts to take away. Our current intention is to run one of these after Christmas and another in Summer term. If you'd like more opportunities to come in to school and see how the children are learning, just let us know.

Parent Carer Forum
On Thursday 13th October at 6:00 p.m. we will hold a parent/carer forum to give everyone involved in the school community the chance to challenge us to live up to our school values 'Community, Challenge, Care' and to consider how we can really live out those values in everything we do. We would love for as many people as possible to come along so we can hear from a really wide range of voices. The event won't last more than an hour and it will be interesting and interactive.

Harvest Festival
We will be celebrating out Harvest Festival in the church on Thursday 20th October at 2:00 p.m. There will be poetry, singing and good thoughts. Parents and carers are very welcome indeed to join us for the celebration which will be led by the Reverend Paul.

We will be collecting donations for the new Chagford Eco Pantry Project - we would especially welcome dry goods such as dried pasta, lentils, cereals and so on, and canned goods such as chopped tomatoes, beans, and fruit etc. Donations can be dropped off at the school reception or brought to school by children.

Volunteering at Chagford Primary
After a long hiatus due to the pandemic, we are very pleased to be welcoming volunteers back into school. Some really useful roles that volunteers can play to support the children include - reading volunteers, lunch and breaktime supervision, library volunteers, classroom assistants,  we have capacity to welcome people in many roles. We'd also love to hear from people in the community who would like to offer or support a club after school.
We help all volunteers to get their DBS safeguarding clearance sorted before they start. We know that a lot of people have been really keen to offer help and it has been disappointing when Covid regulations have knocked that generosity back - we hope that this time we won't hit any further snags and we'll be able to welcome you in to play a part in your community school.

From the Three Hares Local Stakeholder Board 
This week, we would like to introduce James Warner.  James, who has seen two generations passing through Chagford Primary (sorry James!) is the most experienced governor on our LSB, having been a member of the Board in its various guises for about eight years. He is the Safeguarding Lead, and this role is key to understanding the effectiveness of safeguarding for everyone in the schools. He has to understand the requirements of safeguarding guidance and legislation and is ‘confident in his challenge to executive leaders on strategies for monitoring and improving the behaviour and safety of pupils.'  He supports the work of the Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSLs), reports back to the LSB about how effective safeguarding is, and ensures that the school is compliant with statutory guidance, with all the appropriate policies in place and reviewed in a timely way.  He also checks whether there is a consistency in safeguarding across the whole school (approach and reporting), and ensures that there are effective systems in place to keep vulnerable children safe.

It is an extremely important role, and with his impending retirement from the Board (having served two full terms), we are seeking to replace him.  If you have an interest in exploring this governor role further, please do contact me or Liz (details below).

We have recently welcomed a couple of new governors to the LSB and will introduce you to them, once all the mandatory training has been completed.  All governors annually revisit their training needs to identify any gaps that could be filled.  For example, we have all recently ensured our Safeguarding Young People, The Prevent Duty, and Data Protection training is up to date. 
​
We are looking forward to seeing you all at our impending Community Forums, and the principals of each school will let you know when those are to be held.  Parent voice is incredibly important to the schools, so please do try and attend if you are able!  It is an important opportunity to let your voice be heard.

Mel & Liz
[email protected]
[email protected]

Mini Monster Bash
The PTFA is organising a 'Mini Monster Bash' disco for the children on November 4th.
Children are welcome to dress up if they would like to. There will be a prize for best costume and for the best decorated pumpkin.
Tickets are £2 - children should have brought home a letter with a reply slip but you can pop into reception if that is easier.
We ask that every child is accompanied by an adult but we will make a classroom available if you'd rather sit somewhere quiet than dance to the music with the children!

Absence Requests
We have noticed an increase in the number of parents requesting periods of absence for children. It seems have risen sharply from last year which concerns us. We understand that money is becoming tighter and that it's possible to save some money by taking flights or making bookings in term time but we really do urge you to consider whether this is best for your child.
Our teaching is organised in sequences, and very few lessons stand alone. So, for example, if your child misses the day when we plan our stories, they are at a disadvantage when they come to write them. If they attended school on the day that the stories are planned but don't get to write them, they won't have the satisfaction of completing that task along with their classmates. In maths, they can be at a real disadvantage if we are working through a sequence on, for example, division, and they miss the lesson where we move from the concrete example to the abstract representation. Of course the teacher will try to catch them up but it's a significant blow and can result in a gap that isn't easy to fill.
What we are saying here is that 'missing just one day' may not sound like much but the effect can be more like taking a link out of  a chain.
Government and county protocols are clear that we, as a school or as a trust, can not authorise absence for family holidays. Those absences are always recorded as 'unauthorised' and, when a certain threshold is crossed this results in formal letters being issued. This works purely by protocol and the letters are in no way meant personally - nonetheless we know that no one wants to receive a letter like this.
Where attendance is becoming problematic, we will always look to have a conversation before progressing to any form of action or involvement of additional services. We do take this seriously as we want every child to succeed and to reach their potential.
Thank you for letting us know when children are going to be away as it means we don't have concerns about the child's safety - it's really supportive to know why children are away when they aren't attending school.