Newsletter 18th November

Theatre Alibi - the Parcel

Huge thanks to the PTFA who funded and organised our visit from Theatre Alibi today. The children came into the ahll to see a huge package addressed to 'Chagford Primary School' and over the next hour were astonished to see what was in the parcel and what came out of it.
This is what the blurb said...
"A giant mysterious parcel has just arrived and, as if that isn’t exciting enough, it soon becomes clear that two people live inside it! They travel around the world, deciding where to go by placing their finger on a map and posting themselves there. They have breathtaking stories to share of magnificent travels, friendships made and the many marvels of the postal service. But how did they come to live in this parcel? Why have they posted themselves here? And where are they off to next?
Come along and meet this intriguing pair, they’ll even show you around their astonishing little home. From the outside it may look like a regular package, but once opened it transforms into something quite wondrous, and full of surprises…"

Children were invited to write to the two characters who live in that mysterious box - I'm told that each and every letter gets a response. So, if your child would like to take up this opportunaity, please address letters to;

Kit and Tobin
c/o Mrs Edgell
Emmanuel Hall
Emmanuel Road
Exeter
EX4 1EJ

Children laughed and laughed and also thought a bit. What a wonderful opportunity to experience something right out of the ordinary. We are so grateful that the PTFA help us to offer our pupils such a range of rich experiences.

UPCOMING EVENTS
Parents' Evening - Wednesday 23rd November and Thursday 1st December
School Photos - Thursday 1st December
PTFA Coffee Morning - Saturday 19th November 10:00 - 12:00 a.m.
PTFA Christmas Fayre - Saturday 10th December 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Nativity Play - Wednesday 14th December 2:30 p.m.
Carol Concert - Thursday 15th December 5:00 p.m.
End of Term - Friday 16th December

Helpful Holidays Calendar Competition

The children have been absolutely agog to hear the winners of the Helpful Holidays Calendar COmpettition. This was going to be announced in assembly this afternoon but I'm rather glad we didn't - the children would probably have popped with excitement.  Anyway - the waiting is over - here are the winners...

​January – Satori Diffey, age 7, Chagford Church of England Primary School

February – Lottie Broughton, age 6, Chagford Church of England Primary School

March – Leo Davis, age 6, Chagford Church of England Primary School

April – Tabitha Stevens, age 7, Chagford Church of England Primary School

May – Evangeline Warner de Paula, age 7, Chagford Church of England Primary School

June – Sam Chambers, Chagford Church of England Primary School

July – Matilda Rowe, age 8, Chagford Church of England Primary School

August – Louis Lawrence, age 7, Chagford Church of England Primary School

September – Frida Lawrence, age 9, Chagford Church of England Primary School

October – Faye Thomas, age 9, Chagford Church of England Primary School

November – Charlie Goudge, age 10, Chagford Church of England Primary School

December – Benjamin Chambers, Chagford Church of England Primary School

Linocut Squirrel by Charlie Goudge

Worms
There has been an outbreak of worms in Key Stage One. This is an irritating but entirely treatable condition. We encourage children to wash and sanitise their hands throughout the day but we would advise every parent to be vigilant.  This information comes from the NHS website.
ThreadwormsThreadworms (pinworms) are tiny worms in your poo. They're common in children and spread easily. You can treat them without seeing a GP.
Check if it's threadwormsYou can spot worms in your poo. They look like pieces of white thread.
You might also see them around your child's bottom. The worms usually come out at night while your child is sleeping
Other symptoms can include:

• extreme itching around the anus or vagina, particularly at night
• irritability and waking up during the night

Less common signs of worms include:

• weight loss
• wetting the bed
• irritated skin around the anus

You can buy medicine (mebendazole) for threadworms from pharmacies. This is usually a chewable tablet or liquid you swallow.
Treat everyone in your household, even if they do not have symptoms.
Tell the pharmacist if you need to treat a child under 2, or if you're pregnant or breastfeeding. Treatment might not be suitable and you may need to speak to a GP.

Attendance
Attendance is creeping back up again after quite a dip in the last few weeks. Today we had 96.4% attendacne which I regard as being 'not quite good enough'. As I've shared before, I would expect attendance in a primary school to be at or above 97% in the absence of serious factors.
There have been some bugs going around making children poorly and, of course, if a child is ill, especially if there has been dihorrea or vomiting involved, we really don't want them to be at school to pass it on to others. As parents, you are the ones who need to make the call and we respect your choices. I would just encourage you to help children come to school if you think the case is 'borderline', so often we see children perk up soon after they arrive at school and it has to be better for them to be at school learning with friends than frowsting on the sofa feeling sorry for themselves. And, of course, if they do take a turn ofr the worse and really do need to be at home, we can always call you. 

Another factor that has been knocking attendance in the last few weeks has been unauthorised absence. As a head teacher there is no statutory way that I can authorise termtime holidays or visits. This is not about the school, the trist or the county - it is law. We are grateful that you inform us about holidays that you choose to take in term time because that means that we know where your child is, and we do not have immediate safeguarding concerns, but it will still be marked down as an unauthorised absence and may add towards trigger points where it raises concerns.

When you are at your child's parents evening, do ask for your child's current attendacne percentage - you may be surprised how much a day here and a day there might add up to a significant amount of absence. Children with higher attendance do better at school.

REAL PE

We were privileged to have a day this week with the fantastic trainers from REAL PE.
REAL PE is a scheme that takes a really fresh look at physical education - focussing less on traditional sports and more on creativity, social and personal aspects, health and fitness and applying physical learning.  It's a really great addition to our teaching which seems to really work for a lot of children, especially some who have been feeling left out or turned off by a focus on football, netball, rugby and other games. On Thursday we hosted a trainer from the organisation who gavce every class a model lesson so that teachers could observe and adapt their teaching. Each class had a ball, learning new games, new activities and new ways to learn in PE. Thanks to Mr Frewin for organising this.