Newsletter 21st April

Flourishing!
Wow! What a brillaint afternoon we had at the Cross Country Competition.
The children showed a great, great attitude and every one of them made us proud. I've been taking children on trips and fixtures for over twenty years and I don't think I've ever been as proud of a group of children as I was this afternoon.
We took twenty-three of the children from Years three to six compete on a cross country course laid out around the cricket pitch and up the side of Meldon. It was wonderful to watch them streaming up the hill and thrilling to see them coming back and to spot our children amongst the sea of different coloured t-shirts. We competed against four other schools.

In the Year Three and Four Race Chagfrod Champion Seth streaked away from the pack before they had got half way around the cricket pitch and I wondered if he could possibly hold on to his lead. I shouldn't have worried - he didn't hold the lead - he increased it until, some way out from home, he passed the pacemaker and got to the finish maybe two hundred metres ahead of the next finisher. 
In the Year Five and SIx race it was Max's turn to shine. He left the field holding a comfortable third place but looking like he could probably run forever.  He took the lead soon after and held it for the majority of the race. IN the final stages a keen pupilo from South Tawton started to gain quickly and we worried he would be taken just yards from the finsih - but once Max spotted the attacker he effortlessly shifted gear and romped home.

Other children who impressed me include Tabitha who ran so hard she nearly tore her lings out but never gave up, Rupert who put in the most extraordinary sprint to keep his place as he came into the final straight, finding new legs that I wouldn't have known he had at the start, Beth who carried on despite a remarkable nose bleed and Evan who took part in a thrilling battle in the closing stages of the race that only finsihed in the funnel.

When the organisers have worked out all the maths we will be able to tell you how we scored in the competion overall, and I think we have done very well, but it won't make me even a tiny bit prouder of the children, their attitude and their guts - I simply couldn't be any prouder.

​Special thanks to Chloe and James for coming along to support us at this event.

Coronation Party
We shall be celebrating the coronation next Friday May 5th with a Grand Party on the field.
The PTFA have purchased a 'Make a Crown' kit for each child so that we can all look suitably regal and a small keepsake for them to keep. We will be calling out for party food so we can recreate the great street parties of our youth (am I the only one with great memories of the SIlver Jubilee in 1977?).
The PTFA will be meeting to discuss this, amongst other things, on Monday after school. Do come along and get involved so we can make this an event for children to remember for many years to come.

Fantastic Mr Fox - July 5th, 6th, 7th.
Our school production this year is Fantastic Mr Fox. There will be performances on July 5th, 6th and 7th. There will be afternoon performances each day and an evening performance on the Thursday.
Every child in the school will be involved in the show; acting, singing, dancing or working behind the scenes if they do not have an appetite for performance.
We hope to have a really joyful performance full of music, fun and colour. I'm so excited!
Nearer to the time we will be looking for parents and carers to help us create costumes, strim and cliip the amphitheatre back into shape, build set, sell tickets and sell refreshments. There will be lots of ways to get involved.

Extra Hands for a Garden Blitz needed - Wednesday 26 April and Wednesday 10 May.
The sun is out, the birds are singing and the insects are buzzing. It’s time to get the school garden in hand! The garden gang would love extra pairs of hands to help on Wednesdays 26 April and 10 May from drop-off to 10.30/11am. It’s a lovely way to get to know what’s planted and help make a quick and visible difference to the school that everyone can enjoy as things start to bloom. You can turn up on either day and no further commitment is required. If you can, please text Gemma on 07465 692565 so we can have an idea of numbers. Thank you!

Rags2riches4schools - PLEASE RETURN BAGS ON MONDAY 24th APRIL
We have signed up to the rags2riches4schools recycling scheme, to help others around the world benefit from our good quality unwanted clothes and shoes. 
We get 40p for every kilo we collect of reusable items and would be most grateful if you could help us with this challenge at home.
A rags2riches4schools bag should have been given to every child last term.
Any additional bag(s) may also be used if needed. Please see the bottom of this letter for what can be donated.

Bag(s) can be returned to the school by next Monday 24th April. (We cannot accept donations after this date.)
if you’re unable to make a donation this time then please return the bag so it can be reused.
Any questions regarding this please e mail Zoe Francis directly [email protected]
Please help us to help others and raise much needed funds for our school!

Morning Routine
We have changed our morning routine and have already seen improvements in attendance and punctuality - thank you to every family who have been working extra hard to get children to school on time so the day gets off to a flying start.

The gate is opened at 8:40 a.m. Children come into school and come into classes from 8:45 with the intention that we take the register at 8:50. Children arriving after this time are marked as 'late' in the register.  The gate is locked at 9:00 and any remianing pupils should enter through the front of the school where Elaine will mark them in.

Over the past week we have had consitently high attendance and really improved punctuality. Children are getting into school more promptly and the day's learning is kicking off more effectively. Our attendance for the past seven days is over 97% - back to pre-pandemic levels and I am absolutely delighted to see it.

PE Kit
To save time and bother in the school day, children can attend school in thier PE kit on days that their class has a scheduled PE lesson. That means that on Monday when we employ a coach to take each class for a lesson the whole school will be in PE kit. Eachclass has oe more PE lesson in the week - your child will know or ask the class teacher for a reminder. By taking away the time changing at the beginning and end of each PE klesson, classes are getting up to twenty minutes more time having fun and being active in their PE lessons.

PTFA meeting.
The next PTFA meeting will be next Tuesday 25th April at 3.40pm in Mrs Armstrong's class.

This will be to discuss the King's Coronation and events for the new term. We hope to see as many of you there as possible.

PTFA Easter Bingo.
A huge thank you to everyone that came to the Easter Bingo, we were totally overwhelmed by the amount of support and generosity from everyone.
A special thanks goes to Lily d'Apice who made and sold her Bingo beany balls and donated some of her takings to the PTFA!
We made a total profit of £677.52!

Your School Lottery.
Our School Lottery has been a real success so far.
We have had 5 winners so far within the school community.
Thank you to everyone who has already bought tickets, it is drawn every Saturday at 8pm so it's not too late to enter. 
It's an excellent way of raising money for the school as well as being in with a chance to win some money for yourself! 
Just go to www.yourschoollottery.co.uk and search for Chagford CofE Primary school.