Newsletter 3rd December 2021

Christmas Plans
We are looking forward to our very well ventilated and socially distanced Christmas Event next Thursday. Starting from five o'clock each of the classes will sing Christmas songs and our year Six pupils will read some Christmas poetry. The PTFA will be helping to make us all feel extra seasonal. We think the event will last around three quarters of an hour. After that we will return all children to their parents care and invite families to walk up into town with us where Santa will be in his grotto and all sorts of good things will be going on. We will hope to find a quiet spot to lead some carol singing and hope that some families will choose to join us for that. If you have friends or neighbours you think might enjoy the event please do invite them along. We would love it to be an event for the whole community.

Grotto
This year Father Christmas will be visiting Chagford as part of late night shopping on the the 9th of December. He’s setting up his Grotto at 14 The Square, next door to The Three Hares Gallery. He is looking forward to see everyone there! Don't forget to buy your tickets for the PTFAs online Christmas Raffle.

SENDCO Email
Our SENDCO, Chloe Bennett, asks that people make a note of her email cbennett@dmatschools.org.uk. Her email has recently changed and there is a risk that emails sent to the old address may not reach her.

Church of England Advent Calendar
If children are getting excited for Christmas and you'd like to create opportunities for a daily reflection on the true meaning of the festival and ideas for a daily activity, why not take a look at this online Advent Calendar from the Church of England. Each day you can click on a window to reveal a verse of scripture with a link to Christmas and a suggested activity which might be crafts, drawing, writing or musical.
Family activities Advent calendar | The Church of England

Reverse Advent Calendar
Mr Finch would like to invite you to take part in the 'Reverse Advent Calendar'. Each day during Advent I put aside a gift to donate to the food bank. Sometimes it's shampoo or shower gel, sometimes something to make life with a small baby easier - nappies, wipes or little snacks, sometimes it's a christmassy treat. I like to take these along to the food bank on the last day it's open before Christmas.
Would you like to join with me in this? Drop off any gifts to the office and we'll see they get to the food bank in time to brighten someone's Christmas Day.

Mural Project
​Over the Christmas break the amazing mural artist Anna Higgie will be working in school to create a huge artwork in the school hall. We are very, very excited indeed to see what she produces. Thanks to Ione for organising this. Check out Anna's inspirational website here.

Spare Shoes and Baggy Trousers
At Chagford Primary we are very proud that our pupils go out play in every kind of weather. We want them to have access to the outdoor spaces all the year round. At this time of year however we do have a problem with children getting very damp and muddy at playtime - they can be very uncomfortable as a result, some parents are less patient with children getting their shoes and trousers muddy each day than others and our cleaners find the mud trodden into the carpets more than a little irritating. 
For the coming weeks we would encourage children to bring a change of shoes to school which they can wear outdoors at break and lunchtime if they are wanting to play on the field. We suggest they also bring a pair of extra baggy tracksuit trousers to pull on over their uniform to save them from the worst of the mud.

Thank You!
Have you seen the new playhouse in the Foundation Unit garden? It's just amazing and the children have loved playing in it this week. A thousand thanks to Henrietta and her partner who spent most of last weekend building the house and getting ready for the children. It's a spectacular addition to the area.
Thanks also to Bella's dad who has given us the car seats we need for our play car project. Let us know if you would enjoy joining us to build a car on a pair of pallets.