Newsletter 26th May

Flourishing!
It has been a very busy and challenging term this last few weeks - for many reasons. Thank you to all our teachers, teaching assistants and other staff who have worked so hard to keep the show on the road with smiles on their faces and the childen at the heart of everything we do. What an inspiring team. Thanks also to all the parents and carers who have supported us. I loved to see the many cards and gifts that Elaine received for her birthday yesterday - a real sign of how appreciated she is by the whole community.

Year SIx have been writing about HIghwaymen for the last few weeks and presented their writing in assembly on Thursday. WOnderful, wondeful language and phrase making. Reading thier work before the assembly, I laughed till I cried. Well done Year SIx.

Cornelia played beautifully in assembly on Friday. She played with real delicasy and musicality. We were very proud of you Cornelia.

Break the Rules Day
I've been flat our today and didn't get time to take any photographs to share but, I can tell you, Break the Rules Day was a real joy. There were some great outfits, some great 'bags' and a lot of very well loved cuddly friends on show. I adored Emily's mascot 'thing', Otto's 'Puss in Boots' outfit and much much more. The Year Five's Bear Dance in assembly was one of the finest things I've seen in a long, long time.
Elaine was nearly buried under a mountain of goods for the Tombola. It will be well worth a punt at Summer Fayre!

CHAGFORD SWIMMING POOL CONCESSIONS 2023
CHAGFORD POOL LOYALTY CARD
This is aimed at rewarding local people who swim regularly. Pick up a Chagford Pool Loyalty Card at the gate (each card will be designated either adult or child). Collect a stamp for each swim and get your fifth swim free.
DISCOUNT SWIM FOR LOWER INCOME HOUSEHOLDS
If your household is in receipt of state means tested benefits, you and your family will be able to swim at half price. You will not need to fill out a form but will need to show us documentary evidence of your Benefit Status (e.g. an Award Letter for Universal Credit or Housing Benefit). This could be a screenshot from your device or a photo/scan of a paper document and will need to show your name (+ your children's names if applicable), address and the benefit you are receiving. Claims for this discount will be processed online, and will be dealt with in strict confidence, and discretion maintained when paying at the gate. Those in possession of a current Student's card or a Disabilty Living allowance will also be eligible.
If you wish to apply, please e-mail Marion at marionsymes@icloud.com attaching your evidence document, and we will then send you cards to start the season. Please note that unlike the full price cards, these are not transferable.


Gate prices 2023
Adult (18+) £5.50
Child £3.00 (under 5s are free)
GDPR regulations require us to keep all details secure. Your information will be stored securely on the Pool icloud database and deleted at the end of the 2022 season.

Benjie's Pond
A few months ago we gathered together on a frosty saturday morning to dig out a pond.
Benjie had been campaigning for months and had worked with frineds to raise the money for the pond liner. It was great to see the hole ddug and to see the lioiner go in.
After a dry, dry winter the pond filled up in spring and we are now ready to plant it up.
If you have a healthy wildlife pond in your garden, would you be able to donate a clump of floating oxygenating plants or a couiple of marginals so we can get the pond working as a habitat for minibeasts and ambhibians?
We can organise a work party for a saturday morning if there is an appetite for that or you could just drop donations off at reception and we will work with volunteers to get the pond planted up.
If, by any chance, you had a few turfs available that we could use to cover over the edges of the liner, that would be extra amazing!

Attendance
Once again, attendacne is a game of two halves.
On one hand, our attendance this week - and for the whole of the past year has been above national average. 94% across the year to date against a national average of 93%. 
On the other hand, we still have a big proportion of the school - nearly 20% - whose attendacne is causing concern. Nineteen pupils have attendacne below 90% - meaning they have missed more than half a day each week on average. This isn't just lost learning itme - it's missed lessons. If you miss the lesson when we plan our stories, it's pretty hard to catch that up and have the satisfaction of writing a brillaint story along with your class. If you were here for the first lesson when we learned how to do dividing, but missed the next lesson where we practiced it to get it stuck in our heads, then, chances are, that learning won't stick.
We are really worried about this and while we understand that families have different circumstances, we really cannot hold off from taking clearer action. We will always wnat to discuss attendance and how we can support it, but when we see children missing ten or more sessins in a half term period we will be passing this on to county for investigation and action. Action from county may include a fine.
In the graph below you can see that our attendance profile is very 'bumpy', Those very low dips you see are associated with school holidays and relate, I think, to familes taking extra holiday either side of the school break. I would remind parents and carers that, as head, I cannot statutarily authorise absence for any reason other than sickness or emergency. As mcuh as I might understand the attraction of an educational trip or an enriching experience, it is simply not withn my power to authorise this absence. I'm gratefulk to be infomred so that I know that the child is safe and that there is no concern I need to act upon but I cannot authorise it.