Welcome back again for the half term that we teachers imaginatively call 'Spring Two'. It's now light when I drive to work and the road through Drewsteignton and past Castle Drogo is fringed with daffodils and snowdrops. That puts a smile on my face. It's been very exciting to open a new class and to see the Year Two pupils learning all together in Yew Class with our new teacher Ms Quieroz. It's early days of course but they seem to be settling in very well and while I know their 'old' teachers are much missed I know this will prove to be the right move for the children's learning in the long run. In the short term the extra space in those rooms has instantly made both Year One and Year Two feel a great deal calmer which has helped a good number of the pupils to feel more settled. I'm sure this will continue as the change becomes more familiar. Sunflowers for Ukraine Many of our pupils have asked if we can do something for the many thousands of people who have fled the war in Ukraine. For children who may be anxious as a result of what they have seen on the news or heard grown ups talking about, one of the kindest things we can do is give them a sense of agency. A sense that they can actually do something, however small, to help with the worrying issue. After discussing this with children we would like to do things. We would like to run a bake sale after school next Friday. Families a re invited to bake biscuits, cakes or savouries and drop them off at the school office through the day on Friday. We will run the sale at the end of the school day. If the weather is kind this will be at the front of the school - if the weather is unkind we will run it in the hall with as many doors and windows open as we can muster. Next we would like to sell small packets of sunflowers, we think for a donation of a pound and invite children to sow and grow on sunflowers at home. When the sunflowers are big and strong enough to plant our we will ask children to bring their best specimen back in to school and will will create a glorious field of sunflowers at the front of the school. All money from the sale of the sunflower seeds and from the bake sale will go to the DEC fund for Ukraine. Children will be taught that sunflowers are the national flower of Ukraine and that their glorious colour reminds us that there is hope even in the darkest places. Job Vacancies in Dartmoor Multi Academy Trust Would you like to be a colleague of us within the Dartmoor Multi Academy Trust? There are now seventeen schools within the trust with two more joining soon and a wide variety of schools from tiny village schools with just a handful of pupils to large secondaries. There are jobs available at Trust level too. If you're eager for a change or just interested why not take a look? Vacancies - Dartmoor Multi Academy Trust (dartmoormat.org.uk) World Book Day A reminder that Chagford's own World Book Day is on Thursday 10th March. #Children are welcome to come to school dressed as a character from a book or as an author. We know that some children do not enjoy dressing up (my own son didn't like it at all as a younger child) so there is no pressure on children to dress up if they don't want to. We will start the day with a fun bookish assembly and then classes will be involved in lots of activities through the day which will encourage a love of reading and books. Each class will have a chance to visit the pop up book shop organised by our friends from The Bookery in Crediton. The team will introduce the children to an exciting set of age appropriate books that they may not have come across before and then the children will have a chance to browse and buy a book. Books are all priced at six pounds so much cheaper than they will be in the shops. The Bookery are also selling two books for ten pounds. Money should come into school in a sealed, named envelope and be given to the class teacher for safe keeping at the start of the day. Any parents who are nervous about their child's ability to hold on to their money for long enough to get it to the teacher are welcome to drop it off at reception. If you are able to give us exact money of six or ten pounds we can avoid children losing change! An extraordinarily generous member of the community has offered to buy the school a copy each of all the books that The Bookery brings for us to see so children can be assured that if there's a book they really want to read but they can't buy it, it will, at least, be available to read in school. Midsummer night's Dream Fundraiser Concert - May 21st On Midsummer Night in June this year Chagford Primary School will be putting on their most ambitious ever performance. A whole school adaptation of William Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'. This is going to be a big job and it's going to cost a bit more than we are likely to recoup in ticket sales so various people are working on fundraising to make sure it can go ahead. We would like to invite you to attend a concert performed by Amye Farrell & Rupert Egerton-Smith at St Michael’s to raise money for the production. This will be a great night with beautiful music, a chance to mingle with friends an, of course, an opportunity to make sure this brilliant project can go ahead. Rumours are abounding that Mr Finch will give us his acclaimed rendition of 'I know a bank where the wild thyme grows' we are unable to confirm or deny these rumours at this time. Chagford and the Environment - A Community Conversation
On Saturday March 19th, Chagford Parish Council is hosting a community conversation on what we can do to preserve and protect the beautiful natural environment in and around Chagford. The children have been asked to think about what matters to them and some of the children have been creating poems, drawings and paintings that will be on display during the event and afterwards in the Church. Our very own Benji B will be joining Rev. Paul and other Chagford residents in a live conversation on the day. The event runs from 10-12 in Jubilee Hall, go down early on the way to Run for Rosie - the children race off at 11am - and have your say, all views are welcome! All details on the flyer below. Comments are closed.
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