Newsletter 12th January 2023

Flourishing!
I wonder if any children have come home and told you about our new 'Chagford Blessing' which we are closing every assembly and act of daily worship with. It's a short prayer which sends us out from the hall calm and peaceful and ready for the world.
Children are invited to join in with the blessing but no one is ever made to join in if they don't feel comfortable doing so. Some children like to stay quiet then join in with the 'amen' at the end. Our blessing is adapted from a blessing that the Reverend Paul likes and uses regularly so, even when he has gone, we will have a daily reminder of him. Why not ask your child if they can remember the words to our blessing?

Year Four children entertained us hugely in assembly on Wednesday. They had written and practiced their own version of 'Going to the Volcano' by Andy Stanton which they performed with great confidence and enjoyment. They made us smile and made us proud. I love 'Going to the Volcano' - it's a funny, silly rhyming book which is lots of fun for children to chant along with you but it is also a really good reminder of how we can work together as a community to challenge each other, to support each other and to care for each other - it's like a bright, colourful aide memoire for our school vision - Community - Challenge - Care.

Wildlife Champions' Bake Sale
Our brilliant school Wildlife Champions came to me and asked if they could run a Bake Sale to rasie funds to improve our grounds for wildlife. They want to raise enough money to buy a good quality pond liner so we can create a habitat for frogs, newts and water loving invertebrates. It was short notice but we put the word out and now we await the results. I wonder how much they will raise.
If you are not a big fan of cake or cake sales but you would like to donate towards the pond liner, Elaine will very happily accept donations at the school reception.

PTFA Open Meeting - all welcome
The PTFA are holding a meeting next Tuesday 17th January at 3.40pm in Mr Newland's class room.
This will be to discuss new ideas and planning of events over the next term.
The PTFA are always looking for new members so please feel free to come along.

Celebrating the Earth
Our next Celebrating the Earth event, on Tuesday 24th January, will take a focus on Health and Wellbeing - specifically the positive impact on wellbeing of being in nature.
We very much hope that a group of Chagford children will be involved to sing. 
Everyone is welcome to this event - it will be family friendly and not too long.  It starts at 5:30 and be all finished by 6:30 at the latest - the second half of the event is time for meditation and reflection, with a break beforehand so you can leave without any trouble at approximately 6:00.
We do hope that a lot of our children and their families will want to attend. It should be a lovely event.
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Farewell to Reverend Paul
I am sure that you already know that the Revd. Paul is due to leave us at the end of January to take up a position in Cambridgeshire, I am also sure that even though it is tinged with a little sadness, we will all wish him well in his new life. Paul will be officiating his last church service in Devon on Sunday 29th January at St Michael’s commencing at 9.30 am.

To ensure that everyone has an opportunity to thank him for his friendship help and guidance over the last 11 years, we will be able to say goodbye at an informal ‘bring and share’ leaving Party on Saturday 28th January in the Jubilee Hall from 5.30pm until 10.30pm. There will be a ‘pay’ bar and background music provided by a variety of local people.

We are also planning to create a ‘Memory Book’ of his time with us in Devon to which everyone is invited to contribute. To make this easy we are inviting you give us your memory of Paul whether it be a few simple words, a memory of an event, a piece of poetry, a photograph, or a mixture of these. They can be handwritten or typed but the paper should not be bigger than 25cm square and of a thickness that will allow them to be mounted into a bound book. Contributions need to be with Rosemary Bleakman ([email protected] or Roseland Parely Hill Chagford TQ13 8HZ) before Monday 23rd January 2023.

We also plan to present Paul with a significant gift that that will be a constant memory of his happy times in these parts, and we would welcome any contributions that you feel able to give.
Contributions can be made;
1. in cash or cheque, made payable to Chagford Parochial Church council and endorsed ‘Pauls Gift’ on the reverse. These should be given to Rosemary Bleakman or put, in a sealed envelope marked Paul Gift, into the donation box in the Church entrance
2. by bank transfer to Chagford Parochial Church Council, Lloyds Bank Sort Code 30-96-23, Account No 25587068. Please reference your transfer as ‘PAUL’S GIFT’, or
3. by card by following either the link below or by scanning the QR Code https://givealittle.co/campaigns/642dd67b-18e1-464d-8f7a-c155dab9bf67