Newsletter – 7th February 2020

Dear Families,
Another busy week here at Chagford!

Storytelling Workshops
This week is National Storytelling Week. On Thursday our very special visitor, Merrick (a professional storyteller) led the children in the art of telling stories. Everybody had a wonderful time developing skills and enjoying the ancient art of telling stories without a book! Ask your children to tell you the story of Grannie and the Pumpkin – it’s a corker!

Year 6 Rotary Quiz
Alfie, Hettie, Hugo and Will represented the school at the annual Rotary Quiz at North Tawton School. There were six rounds: Maths; English; General Knowledge; Science; Geography & History and a Picture Round. The team worked together brilliantly. Congratulations to our team who came 3rd – Well done! 

Volunteers Safeguarding Training
Thank you to those who attended the safeguarding training for volunteers. I heard some positive feedback from many of you, which I will pass on to Jane Lake, who ran the training. Children’s safety and wellbeing is top priority here at Chagford. We appreciate you giving up your time to support the school in this important area.

Children’s mental health week
This week is Children’s mental health awareness week. Place 2B have some great resources on their website. There theme this year is Find your Brave. 
www.childrensmentalhealthweek.org.uk/parents-and-carers/
Here are a few simple ways you can encourage your child to Find their Brave.

1. Remind your child that bravery comes in many forms and everyone is different. What’s brave for them might not feel brave to someone else.
2. Chat with your child about a time when you’ve had to Find your Brave. It might have been something big or small.
3. Praise your child when they Find their Brave. Maybe they’ve kept going at learning a new skill or tried something outside of their comfort zone which boosted their confidence.
4. Point out examples of bravery in books and films to your child and talk about how trying out different ways of being brave will help them feel good.
5. Reassure your child that not feeling brave is OK too and that there are times when it might be more difficult to be brave. 

Nits
They’re back! Please do not be embarrassed if you or your children have nits, I’m afraid head lice are part and parcel of primary school life! Please do the usual checks and treatments to help get rid of them.  https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/head-lice-and-nits/  Thank you.

Absence
If your child is off sick, please ensure that you ring the office by 9.00am (tel. 01647 432412) on each morning they are off. Can we also please request that if you have any messages regarding pick up, that these are rung through before 3.00pm so that we have time to run messages to classes before pick up time! Philippa is not always able to pick up the phone so please do leave a message if there is no answer. Thank you. 

Bake Sale – Wednesday 12th February
Oak Class have decided to raise money for their heroes, Hospice Care. The class would like to run a French themed bake sale and Bric-A-Brac sale. This will be on Wednesday 12th at 3.30pm in Miss Green’s classroom. Please bring your contributions to Oak Class by the morning of the 12th. Many thanks, Oak Class

PTFA meeting – Wednesday 12th February 9.00am at school. All welcome, we will be having a discussion about finance.

Hero Showcase Assembly – Thursday 13th February
Don’t forget our Hero Showcase Assembly next week! Thursday 13th February 2.30 – 3.30pm at the school. As previously, each class will showcase some of their learning so you do not just see your own children, but what has been learnt across the school. Many parents have said they really like this format.

Coronavirus – Advice for all early years providers, schools and further education providers
The government is closely monitoring the spread of the Coronavirus and is taking action at home and abroad. The overall risk of Coronavirus to the UK remains moderate. However we understand that people may be concerned where there are children, students or staff returning from or visiting China. You should not be unduly worried about the possibility of your children catching the Coronavirus. There is no reason why your children should not continue to attend their early years, school or further education setting as normal.

We recognise that some families or children may be planning to travel to China during the forthcoming half term period. If so, please refer to the FCO’s latest travel advice via the link. https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus

With very best wishes,
​
Miss Tara Penny