We've had a lovely week at school with some very memorable moments. Year R took part in both Islamic and Christian weddings on Wednesday and even had a reception with dancing and wedding cake! Year 4 continued their interest in climate following COP26, and welcomed in Mark Sidaway to help them learn more about the weather. Year 1 have been palaeontologists and have used tools and safety equipment to search for fossils. (A big thank you to Andrew Shaddick for making this possible by mending their broken sand tray.) Finally, the whole school came together in pyjamas on Friday to raise money for Children in Need. Don't forget that you can visit the blog page for each class to read and see more on these stories. I'm delighted to announce that, with no Covid cases in school last week, we were able to move back to Stage 3 of our Covid Contingency Plan meaning that we started the week with a whole school assembly to discuss this year's Anti-bullying week slogan - One Kind Word. This assembly was then followed up in all classes with special SCARF (this is our personal, social and health education scheme) lessons as follows: YR- I am caring Y1- Unkind, tease or bully? Y2- An act of kindness Y3- Let's celebrate our differences Y4- What would I do? Y5 - Kind conversations Y6 - Respecting difference We were also able to meet together indoors this week for our weekly celebration assembly. The number of certificates given out reflect how proud the staff are of our pupils for their resilience, hard work and kindness towards each other. Remembrance SundayEarly last week, I was delighted to receive the photo above from a parent and the following email from Emma Neath, the Chair of our Local Stakeholder Board: I attended the Remembrance Day Service at South Tawton church on Sunday. There were so many children there, and although many of them were attending as Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and Brownies, the majority of the younger ones would attend South Tawton school. There was also some lovely artwork, poems etc on display. With my Community Governor hat on can I say how lovely it was seeing them all there, they made up a large part of the congregation and the service, and I was very proud of them all. They were an absolute credit to both the organisation they are in and the school. Thank you and well done to all who took part both in this service and any others. The Dartmoor LineLast Wednesday saw the first train to leave Okehampton for Exeter in 50 years, dispatched by Transport Secretary Grant Shapps. One of our pupils was lucky enough to be a part of these celebrations. Chloe represented Okehampton Brownies at the opening ceremony, and was one of the first passengers to board the train, She was given a commemorative ticket in a glass frame amongst other momentos of the day. I expect many of our pupils took the opportunity to travel on the train this weekend and I couldn't resist sharing one of the photos below which I found when looking at the new Dartmoor Line website. Dogs at drop off and pick up timesIf you bring your dog to school at drop off and pick up times, please ensure that they are always on a lead and under very close control. Please do not stand too close to any of the gates which the children use, as some children are very nervous of dogs. Many thanks. Safeguarding - NSPCC leaflets and advice for parentsHandle with care Gives advice on safe ways of holding a baby and suggests ways parents can soothe and cope with a crying baby. Home alone guide Helps parents decide when it is safe to leave their children home alone and how to choose a babysitter or childminder. Out alone Helps parents decide if a child is ready to be out on their own and gives advice on preparing them for different situations such as walking to and from school by themselves, attending sports or holiday clubs, or going out to play with friends. Positive parenting Gives advice on setting boundaries for children, building relationships with them and keeping cool when children’s behaviour is challenging. Look, Say, Sing, Play A set of resources to help parents interact with their baby, boosting child development and setting up positive behaviour as their child grows. Other helpful resources for parentsFind more information for parents on the NSPCC website:
If you need more specific information, please contact our Information Service. PTA NewsIt's not too late to join the fun on Friday at the disco, permission slips and payment in cash need to be returned to school no later than Wednesday 24th November please. Thank you for all your Christmas card orders. The deadline for orders has now passed but there are plenty of other festive fundraising activities to come… Make a Christmas Wreath Do you fancy making a beautiful Christmas wreath for your front door? We will supply you with all the things you will need and expert tuition to create a beautiful, hand crafted wreath! Friday 3rd December, £20 per wreath - but numbers are limited and going fast so if you would like to join the fun here's how... 1. Pick a style for your wreath: Rustic, Glitzy or Traditional 2. Email [email protected] to order your kit by Monday November 29th. Use the subject ‘Christmas Wreath’ 3. Your kit will be sent home with your child on Friday 3rd December (or pick up/delivery by arrangement) 4. Join us on Friday 3rd December at 8pm via Zoom! 'Get your orders in ASAP to avoid disappointment as numbers are limited!' Coloured Hampers
The colours have been drawn! There was much excitement on Friday when each class drew their colour out of the hat! Classes have their hampers and now need to fill them full of new items in their colour! You can now send in food, drink, toiletries, gifts - anything new and in that colour goes! The more creative the better! Preschool ….Pink Year R …. Blue Year 1 ….Yellow Year 2 …. Red Year 3 …. Orange Year 4 …. Gold / Silver Year 5 …. Purple Year 6 …. Green On Monday, your child will come home with books of raffle tickets to sell. To qualify for the draw and to be in with a chance to win a colourful hamper, ticket stubs and money must be returned to your child's class teacher no later than Monday 13th December 2021. Remember - the class with the most tickets sold will receive a reward! More tickets are available from the PTA or School Office. The draw for the hampers will be on Wednesday 15th December 2021. Christmas Packs These packs will be crammed full of creative crafts and festive fun and will be designed to keep your children occupied during the Christmas holidays! Look out for more details soon! Date of next meeting - Monday November 29th - all welcome! This week's newsletter is brimming full of photos of some of the special things we have done this week. Please visit each class page to see still more photos and read about what's been happening in the classes. As well as our main stories of Remembrance and COP26, on the class blog pages, you can view a video of Y2 performing an African song in music, see Y3 making volcanoes in DT, read about Y5's walk on Dartmoor as part of their English topic and learn about Y6 investigating light in science. RemembranceAt 11am on 11th November, the whole school gathered in the playground for a Remembrance assembly. We discussed the meaning of Remembrance, listened to some poems and readings from Y6, observed a one minute silence and listened to The Last Post. As ever, I was hugely impressed by and proud of our children for the consideration and respect shown throughout. Some of the children will be part of the Remembrance services in local churches on Sunday representing the school as well as local Brownies, Cubs, Beavers, Rainbows and Scouts groups. COP 26On Monday 8th November, we were privileged and excited to participate in a day of workshops and activities inspired by COP26. The children all took part in a number of sessions to increase their knowledge and understanding of climate change, our planet and the issues being addressed at the COP26. The science of hot and cold - Dr James Screen Where’s the coldest place on Earth (and is it colder than my ice-cream)? Will climate change make all the ice melt? What does climate change mean – how much hotter is it going to get? The youngest children experimented to see how and when ice melts (and how fast we can melt the penguin out of the ice block!) Older classes (years 2-3) also looked at the difference between melting sea ice and melting land ice. Measuring our weather and climate Climate is what we expect, weather is what we get. In this session, Dr Will Seviour, a climate scientist, set up a new South Tawton weather station (funded by the PTA) with the children. The weather station will link to an open website, so in the future, all South Tawton pupils (and friends and family, and wider community) will be able to keep a track of what the weather has been like on the school site. The Planet (led by Dr Hannah Susorney) Our planet is old. Really old! In fact, humans have only been around for a tiny amount of the time that Earth has existed. Temperatures have gone up and down over the Earth’s history. However, temperatures are changing faster now than they ever have in the past. And, the Earth’s getting hotter than it ever has before. Making decisions about our climate future (led by Dr Saffron O’Neill) What is the COP? What actually happens there? How do decisions about climate change take place, and who makes them? In this session, older pupils had the opportunity to take part in a mock COP negotiation. Each group took the role of one country, and tried and get their voice heard in the decision-making process. What difference can I make? (led by Lizz Williams / Saffron O’Neill, with pre-recorded video from Dr Chris Manktelow & Zoom to Sylvia Hayes at COP26) ‘What difference can I make?’ was a session intended to empower pupils and help them understand and explore the difference their voice can make. A worldwide study shows many young people feel intense anxiety about a climate-changed future. The sessions addressed questions such as: ‘Why is (or is) climate change important to me?’, ‘How can I respond?’, ‘What am I trying to do?’, ‘What difference can I make?’ and ‘Does my voice count?’ From all the staff and children here at South Tawton Primary, I'd like to say an enormous THANK YOU to the amazing scientists who gave their time voluntarily to make this day happen and ensure that our children have a better understanding of these issues. Governor RecruitmentParents – Your school needs YOU! There is a vacancy for one Parent governor to join the Three Hares Primaries Local Stakeholder Board. Local governors are a vital part of the Trust’s connection with schools and community and parents are an important voice within the governance structure. To qualify as a Parent governor, you must have at least one child on the school roll and must be eligible under the national governing body rules. Applications are now open, until close of business on Friday 27th November. All nominations will then be put forward to a parent vote, which will take place electronically. The nomination form must be completed in full, and can be found on the Dartmoor Multi Academy Trust website: https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=kG0HO7J4vUqeBcIPJiicRgleRjEa8rtFmqDbcaa1oYlUNDVEQkJPNktORURPQTlSVk1KM1c5NlRPMyQlQCN0PWcu For an informal chat about the role of parent governor and the responsibilities of the local stakeholder board, please contact the Chair Emma Neath: [email protected] or the Clerk to Governors: [email protected] Thank you for your interest, and we look forward to receiving your applications PTA NewsThank you for the Chromebooks We just wanted to say a huge thank you to Kieran from LOOP8 (www.loop8.co.uk) who helped source the Chromebooks which you saw in last weeks newsletter and were funded by the PTA. Christmas cardsThe super Christmas card designs your children have done have come back to us and an order form will come home with them this week. The cards are really super and a wonderful fundraiser for our school. Payment options are cash or cheque only to be returned to us in the envelope provided in exact change please. The teachers will have a folder to collect the sealed envelopes and they will tick your child's name off the list. Cheques payable to: FOSTCP (or Friends of South Tawton Primary School) Please can you write on the envelope what cards you are ordering and the total amount. We will then be entering this information onto the card order system. Orders need to be in by Thursday 18th November. Make a Christmas Wreath Do you fancy making a beautiful Christmas wreath for your front door? We will supply you with all the things you will need and expert tuition to create a beautiful, hand crafted wreath! Friday 3rd December, £20 per wreath - but numbers are limited so if you would like to join the fun here's how... 1. Pick a style for your wreath: Rustic, Glitzy or Traditional 2. Email [email protected] to order your kit by Monday November 29th. Use the subject ‘Christmas Wreath’ 3. Your kit will be sent home with your child on Friday 3rd December (or pick up/delivery by arrangement) 4. Join us on Friday 3rd December at 8pm via Zoom! 'Get your orders in ASAP to avoid disappointment as numbers are limited!' Coloured Hampers Back by popular demand - we will be organising for each class (including preschool) to pick a specific colour and we will be asking for donation in that colour! Food, drink, toiletries, gifts - anything new and in that colour goes! We will then send home some raffle tickets for you to sell to friends and family! The class with the most tickets sold will receive a reward! The draw for the hampers will be on December 19th! Christmas Packs These will be designed to keep your children occupied during the Christmas holidays! More details to follow! Date of next meeting - Monday November 29th - all welcome! Library Challenge
Covid 19 Update I don't wish to tempt fate, but I'm delighted to report that we have not had any reports of new Covid cases this week. Fingers crossed that this may continue. Tempest Photographs On Tuesday 9th November, Tempest photographers will be in school taking individual photos of all the pupils. Please ensure that your child has their school jumper or cardigan with them on Tuesday. Family group photos of siblings within school will be organised and taken within school time, but if you wish for a photo of your child with a sibling from preschool or another school, then the photographer will be available in the school hall from 8am and you are welcome to bring your children to school for a photo at this time. Please note that children may not be left at school until the usual time of 8:40. Breakfast club will run as usual on this day from the other end of the hall. Late Arrivals We currently have a lot of children arriving at school a little late. The school gates are open between 8:40 and 8:50. Registers are taken at 8:50. Please try to arrive before 8:50, but if you arrive after this time, please come straight to the school office to sign your child in. We have had some cases of children arriving late and without their parents which can be upsetting for them. Please accompany your children to the school gate and ensure that they are in safely before leaving them. Lunch Menus Thank you to all those of you who have given feedback on the new menu. From tomorrow, we will once more be able to offer a jacket potato each day. If you would like to change any current meal choices to jacket potatoes, please email the school office [email protected] New Play EquipmentAs you will have seen, a new climbing structure was erected on our school field just before half term. With the final adjustments made during the half term holiday, the children were finally able to start climbing. Year 3 had a fantastic time exploring the new structure and a different type of play. There were many laughs and giggles. Year 4 have also had a go this week and commented on how much fun it was. The classes will all have access to the climbing structure throughout the year and we’re sure it will make a very enjoyable addition to the school field during those summer lunchtimes. Year 6 and Year 2 also have a new addition installed on their playground; a new goal end and basketball hoop has been added and they have already had plenty of use. COP 26
Children in Need Friday 12th NovemberThis week is Radon Awareness WeekRadon surveys are quite easy to perform - it's just a matter of purchasing some radon monitors from the UK Health Security Agency, formerly Public England, and placing them in appropriate places. It could be that you've monitored for radon already. Also as it is radon awareness week I was wondering whether we could let parents know about home monitoring as well. Anyhow, I'd be glad to help out in any way I can. Useful information is at: https://www.ukradon.org/ and at: https://radonweek.co.uk/ Book WinnersYou may remember that we had a competition on Census Day where all children who had a school dinner had the chance to win a book. Congratulations to the children pictured below who were some of our winners. We hope you enjoy reading and sharing the books at home. Nicholas Bryant - Violin and Singing Teacher available Probably best known for reaching the semifinals of Britain's Got Talent 2016 with the Collaborative Orchestra I now have over 10 years experience as a piano, violin and singing teacher. I specialise in teaching the ABRSM and Trinity syllabuses and am a experienced choir leader now teaching in Chagford and North Tawton schools. I teach all ages and abilities. My students would say my lessons are fun, encouraging and that I have a caring teaching style. For violin lessons I can also help with buying or hiring of equipment. Please get in touch to book a free trial lesson. Thank you, Nick Bryant 07912 117 957 Nick has received one enquiry from a parent seeking lessons. In order to make the journey feasible, he needs at least one more pupil. He comes with excellent references from North Tawton and Chagford parents. Please contact him directly if you are interested. PTA NewsWe are thrilled to announce the PTA have funded a further 15 Chromes books. So that we have now donated a full class set! They have been delivered and are already being used and enjoyed by the children!! We have really busy term of fun things happening... SCHOOL DISCO We are so excited to be planning a school disco on Friday November 26th. 3.30 - 4.30pm: Years R, 1 and 2 4.45 - 5.45pm: Years 3 and 4 6.00 - 7.00pm: Year 5 and 6 We have had to stagger the groups and times like this due to Covid restrictions, but we hope this won't stop the children from having a great time! The tickets will be £2.50 and this include squash and crisps. We will send out further details/permission slips with the children next week. If anyone would like to volunteer to help us out with any of the sessions then please email [email protected] CHRISTMAS WREATH MAKING Do you fancy making a beautiful Christmas wreath for your front door? We will supply you with all the things you will need and expert tuition to create a beautiful, hand crafted wreath! Friday 3rd December, £20 per wreath - but numbers limited so if you would like to join the fun here's how... 1. Pick a style for your wreath: Rustic, Glitzy or Traditional 2. Email [email protected] to order your kit by Monday November 29th. Use the subject ‘Christmas Wreath’ 3. Your kit will be sent home with your child on Friday 3rd December (or pick up/delivery by arrangement) 4. Join us on Friday 3rd December at 8pm via Zoom! This was an incredibly popular event last year and spaces are limited, so BE QUICK to book your place! COLOURED HAMPERS Back by popular demand - we will be organising for each class (including preschool) to pick a specific colour and we will be asking for donation in that colour! Food, drink, toiletries, gifts - anything new and in that colour goes! We will then send home some raffle tickets for you to sell to friends and family! The class with the most tickets sold will receive a reward! The draw for the hampers will be on December 19th! CHRISTMAS PACKS These will be designed to keep your children occupied during the Christmas holidays! More details to follow! Date of next meeting - Monday November 29th - all welcome! PTA 100 ClubOctober's 100 club draw was done on the last day of half term by Year R. The winning numbers were: 86 Sarah Angel 38 Shirley Culverhouse 34 Jo Hilton Congratulations to the winners! There are still some numbers available if anyone else would like to join the 100 Club. Please email [email protected] with any queries. Coronavirus case rates in Devon continue to be above the national average, as they are across the whole south-west region, but over the past couple of weeks they have reduced and appear to be plateauing. Cases continue to be highest in the school age and working age population. To read the latest update from Devon County Council, please click here. Governor Recruitment
Happy Half Term HolidayThe first half term of the school year is completed and the children have responded so brilliantly to all the challenges and changes that they have faced. I hope that everyone enjoys a well-deserved break and look forward to seeing all the children back in school on Monday 1st November to continue with the excellent learning and enrichment opportunities we have planned. Covid19 UpdateLast week was not without obstacles as we had our first cases among the school staff. We have everything crossed that the half term break will allow a 'circuit break' as well as giving time for those of us who are isolating to recover, complete our isolation periods and be fit and ready to return on the 1st. Unfortunately, Mr Pester from Y5 has also received a positive test result, alongside another Y5 pupil and one of our MTAs. We wish them all the best for a speedy recovery. I'd like to say a huge thank you to those of you who have sent best wishes and get well soon messages. They are very cheering and much appreciated. Please do keep me updated of any more cases during the week as I need to report these to Devon County Council. New MenuWe have a new menu for the second half of the Autumn Term. It can be viewed through the Parents' Information section of the website, or by clicking here. Allergen information will follow very soon. The menu has been developed by our new executive chef and runs on a two week basis. Bookings are now live through your school gateway accounts. Please ensure that your child has a booking for every day, even when this is a home packed lunch; this ensures that numbers given to the kitchen each morning are correct. COP26We are very excited that we will be having a programme of activities and visitors for all classes in school on Monday 8th November. More details will follow soon, but, in the meantime, you may wish to visit St Mary's Church to view some of the pupil's artwork as detailed below: SUPPORT & ACTION FOR COP26 Many of us in the village & church community support the purpose of COP26 (The 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference), which is to eliminate fossil fuels from our economy and thereby reduce CARBON DIOXIDE from the Earth's atmosphere. The aim of COP26 is for people to reduce their Carbon Footprint by taking such measures as e.g. using the car less, changing to electric cars, fitting solar panels, insulating their homes, installing smart meters and use heat pump technology for warming our houses in winter. With this in mind, we are inviting people, both young and old to visit St Mary's Church in the middle of our village to see posters, prayers and pictures created by South Tawton Primary children. Feel free to bring your own ideas along, adding your ideas, thoughts and prayers for the future of our grandchildren and great grandchildren. We aim to keep this display up for the duration of the COP26 - from 31st October to 12th November. We look forward to welcoming you ! Thank you all for the hugely generous donations to Okehampton Foodbank for our Harvest Festival collection. We have collected more donations than ever before and are so proud of our school community. The children have said 'We wanted to give people food if they can't get some themselves' William. 'It makes me feel happy to help others' Caitlin. 'I don't like beans, so I thought I could give them to someone who does' Eva. 'I had grown out of my coat and thought a family might like it as it's quite cold at Winter' Sid. 'Soup warms you up' Jack. 'We like to help others because one day we might need help, you never know' Dorothy and Martha. Thank you so much everyone. Miss Peggy Chalcraft PTA newsWe hope you all enjoyed the autumn animal safari?! There were some wonderful and inventive window displays - thank you to all who took part! Unfortunately we have had to cancel the cake sale on November 5th - hopefully we might be able to do this in 2022! Christmas wreath making Do you fancy making a beautiful Christmas wreath for your front door? We will supply you with all the things you will need and expert tuition to create a beautiful, hand crafted wreath! Friday 3rd December, £20 per wreath - but numbers limited so if you would like to join the fun please email [email protected] - More details to follow! Coloured Christmas hampers! Back by popular demand - we will be organising for each class (including preschool) to pick a specific colour and we will be asking for donation in that colour! Food, drink, toiletries, gifts - anything new and in that colour goes! We will then send home some raffle tickets for you to sell to friends and family! The class with the most tickets sold will receive a reward! The draw for the hampers will be on December 19th! Christmas activity pack These will be designed to keep your children occupied during the Christmas holidays! More details to follow! Wow its going to be a busy half term - lots of things to look forward to!! Date of next PTA meeting - Monday November 29th - all welcome! Half Term Library ActivitiesGood morning,
Please find details of our upcoming Half Term events below. We would be very grateful if you would share these with parents, staff and students. MON, 25 OCT 14:00-16:00 - Winnie the Witch Stories and Craft Okehampton Library Drop in to enjoy a story about Winnie and Wilbur and make a paper cat to take home. Free event. Donations welcome. Suitable for ages 5+ No booking necessary FRI, 29 OCT 10:00-17:30 - Halloween Badge Making Okehampton Library Colour in and make your own spooky badges! Drop in throughout the day. 50p per badge Suitable for ages 5+ No booking necessary (You may need to wait if staff are busy) FRI, 29 OCT 16:45-17:30 - Halloween Competition & Story Okehampton Library Join Ellie the Library Witch for a spooky story time for older readers and be entered into a prize draw! Fancy dress strongly encouraged! Suitable for all ages, guidance 5+ Free, donations welcome No booking necessary We are also hosting an escape room in November, which may be of interest. It is based on historical events and utilises interactive technology which we believe will be educational and inspiring to youngsters and adults alike: 13-27 Nov - The Lost Librarian Okehampton Library 60 minutes, 10 books, 1 Mystery. Come and solve the mystery of The Lost Librarian, an escape room for inquisitive explorers of all ages. (12+ guidance, younger audiences must be accompanied by an adult) £12 per group - six people of less. Book online: https://librariesevolve.org.uk/the-lost-librarian Please note venue is on first floor - if you have any access requirements contact Zoe at Evolve PRIOR to booking. [email protected] Thank you very much for your continued support, Ellie Austin Library Assistant Okehampton Library Covid19 UpdateI'm very happy to report that there have been no new cases in school since I wrote to you last Thursday. This means that we currently have 5 children isolating across the school: 1 in Y1, 1 in Y2, 2 in Y3 and 1 in Y6. None of the children are really poorly and all will remain in isolation for ten days after their positive test. Visitors to schoolOver the last week, we have had a number of visitors from the academy trust central team who have spent time in classes talking to the children and meeting the staff. I have had such positive feedback from each of these about the lovely atmosphere in school, the pupils' behaviour and willingness to learn, the pride that the whole community obviously takes in the learning environment and the fantastic teaching and learning that is occurring in every lesson. I'd like to say a big thank you to all staff and children for making South Tawton such a happy and special school. Little Beacons Pre-school newsPlease click here to read exciting news about staffing changes at Little Beacons pre-school. Harvest Festival donations to Okehampton FoodbankTo celebrate our harvest festival on Tuesday, we would welcome donations of sealed and bagged foodstuffs ideally from the list below. Any warm clean coats or blankets needing a home would also be welcome. At this time the Okehampton foodbank particularly welcome donations of: long-life milk, tinned tomatoes, tinned meat, tinned rice pudding. Other really helpful sealed donations:
PTA NewsGet Your Autumn Safari Trail Sheets Today. A huge thank you to everyone who has signed up for our Autumn Safari Trail. We have a fantastic 26 volunteers putting up an animal themed window display in South Zeal, Sticklepath, Belstone and Okehampton! If you would like to follow our Autumn Safari this half term, you can pick up a trail sheet this week, which features a list of all the locations you need visit to complete our safari trail. We will be selling trail sheets outside the school at pick up for just £2 – so please remember to bring some cash to pick up and look out for a member of the PTA to pick up your copy. Sheets are also available from the Kings Arms pub in South Zeal, the Tors Inn in Belstone and Image Café in Okehampton. Sheets are only £2 and will help us continue to raise funds which directly help the children for South Tawton Primary School! Upcoming events There will be a Non-uniform day on Friday 22nd October. It’s only £1 to take part so let’s make the most of the last day of this half term! We are planning to run a Cake Sale on Friday November 5th. We would love it if you could bring in some delicious cakey donations on the morning of the sale, for the PTA to sell after school, at pick-up. These can either be baked at home or shop bought, and we’ll be putting together a fantastic selection so there will be something for everyone! Next meeting There will be a PTA meeting on Monday 18th October at 8pm held via Zoom with everyone welcome to attend. We would love to get more people involved in our meetings and events, so if you would like to help out or just hear about what we have planned for the rest of the year them please email the PTA at [email protected] and we will send you a Zoom link. We are also looking for a new secretary, so if anyone would like to volunteer, please come along to the meeting! Train to TeachDear Parents and Carers, Train to Teach with Dartmoor Teacher Training Partnership You may be aware that Dartmoor Multi Academy Trust run a successful teacher training programme for both primary and secondary teaching. Next year, we are running three primary teacher training programmes and training in a range of secondary subjects. If you are interested in training to teach, please visit our website where you will find information regarding all our primary and secondary teacher training programme. About Us Do you want to make the best possible start to your career in teaching? www.dartmoormat.org.uk Please feel free to email our teacher training leads if you have any questions. Sally Huxen - Primary Lead, [email protected] Phillip Ruse - Secondary Lead, [email protected] Kind regards Dartmoor Multi Academy Trust Visit us at www.dartmoormat.org.uk South Zeal Beaver Scouts1st South Zeal Beavers are hoping to recommence Beavers after half-term. We have places available for 12 new members to join our Beaver colony. Beavers meet on a Tuesday night 6-7.30pm at the Scout Hut in South Tawton. If your child is aged 6-8, and would like to be a part of the Beaver Scouts, then please get in touch using the contact details below. If your child is rising 5 this term and also interested, then please get in touch and they can be put on the waiting list until they are old enough. We hope to hold our first session of Beavers on Tuesday 2nd November, provided that we have enough young people interested in joining. So, if your child likes fun, games and activities (indoors and outdoors) with friends, please get in touch with your contact details. More information can be found here - https://www.scouts.org.uk/beavers/ Nicki Glanville | [email protected] | 07510 612205 Spencer Stallion | [email protected] | 07503 121548 Sticklepath Grey Mare Friday 29th October from 6pm in the Village Hall
Every year, Bessie the ghostly Grey Mare of local stories and song returns to Sticklepath. Children and parents have to find her and those 7 riders who treated her so badly. She returns, not on Halloween, but on the Friday before ( no problems in getting the children up for school the next day). Most of the action will take place indoors, but with covid precautions. There's night time adventure, a local story told, music, treats and the chance to celebrate Hallowtide in a more meaningful way by remembering those special to us and to this community who are no longer with us. All welcome, wherever you are from. For more details contact: [email protected] Tel: 840316 Covid19 UpdateI'm very happy to report that we have not had any new positive cases this week. We will exercise caution and remain at stage 4 for this week and then will, hopefully, be able to return to stage 3 on our contingency plan. Please continue to wear face coverings when dropping off and picking up this week. Message from Dan Morrow – Trust Leader – Trust rename Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to provide feedback on the Trust’s proposal to review its name. We value your honesty and engagement. The purpose of such consultation is to listen to all views and respond. What is clear from feedback received is that whilst the rename will be an exciting project for the entire Trust community, the focus on post-Covid recovery for our pupils is the top priority right now. We have listened. As a result, we have taken the decision to pause this project until after Easter 2022 at which point we will be able to reassess timing and plans. I’d like to assure you that the excellent ideas and suggestions you have already shared with us via our survey will be taken forward when we come back to this, and we very much looking forward to working with all of you on this at a more appropriate time. Best wishes Dan Morrow Trust Leader Wildlife Champions![]() We're very excited that we will soon begin working with the Devon Wildlife Trust and taking part in outdoor activities and projects. As part of this work, we have recruited a group of 'Wildlife Champions' who are brimming with ideas and very keen to start making a difference. Welcome to Mr PesterWe're delighted to be welcoming Mr Pester onto our teaching team with immediate effect. Mr Pester is a recently qualified teacher who will be working closely with Mrs Leslie to teach year 5 during her absence. This week, I was lucky to be in year 5 while Mrs Leslie employed some of the skills gained through our periods of remote learning and taught the children history very effectively using google classroom. PTA News
PTA 100 ClubA huge thank you to everyone who has signed up for this year's 100 Club. Your support is really appreciated. The first draw has taken place at School and the following numbers/people won 1st 91 Christine Whiteley 2nd 31 Mark Everett 3rd 81 Sarah Marvin Mary MacMillan-Scott is stepping down from running the 100 Club for the PTA and Emma Vann Jones has kindly agreed to take over from her. The PTA have also now created a dedicated email address for the 100 Club which is [email protected] and Emma can be contacted at this email address. New members are always welcome to join the 100 Club at any time throughout the year and there are still plenty of numbers available. If you or any family members are interested in joining please email Emma for further information. SUPPORT & ACTION FOR COP26![]() Many of us in the village & church community support the purpose of COP26 (The 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference), which is to eliminate fossil fuels from our economy and thereby reduce CARBON DIOXIDE from the Earth's atmosphere. The aim of COP26 is for people to reduce their Carbon Footprint by taking such measures as e.g. using the car less, changing to electric cars, fitting solar panels, insulating their homes, installing smart meters and use heat pump technology for warming our houses in winter. With this in mind, we are inviting people, both young and old to visit St Mary's Church in the middle of our village to see posters, prayers and pictures created by South Tawton Primary children. Feel free to bring your own ideas along, adding your ideas, thoughts and prayers for the future of our grandchildren and great grandchildren. We aim to keep this display up for the duration of the COP26 - from 31st October to 12th November. We look forward to welcoming you Free neurodiversity, young people's mental health and wellbeing trainingThe Aim Group are able to support South Tawton Primary School with several Free online Level 2 Accredited Courses available to parents and staff to help better understand some key issues around neurodiversity, young people's mental health and wellbeing.
Here are some of our most popular subjects available:
We also have some other fantastic courses around areas such as Mental Health First Aid, Safeguarding and Prevent, Equality and Diversity, Business Admin, plus many more. All courses are accessed online within a 6-week window and are completed on a laptop or computer at the learner's home. No Exams or endpoint assessments are involved, and the courses are purely detailed Q&A based with all the information needed provided, which is available to you 24/7. Once finished you can do as many as you like, however you can just do one course at a time. The only criteria the learner must meet to be eligible, is the following:
The course is completely free, but the learning provider reserves the right to charge a drop out fee in the event a learner enrols but then drops out without providing a reason (please note this is down to the individual and will be highlighted when I call you once registered). That said, the college will grant extensions if the learner has a reason as to why they won't be able to complete it within the 6 weeks. Please note: under the college request a short zoom induction will need to be attended to ensure we get you successfully enrolled onto the correct course If you are interested in undertaking one of these free online courses, then please let Sarah Marvin know so I can send over the relevant enrolment details. In a week where rising Covid cases seem to have dominated our communications, it has been wonderful to put together the gallery above to illustrate some of the lovely activities and fantastic learning that have taken place throughout the week. The classrooms are well ventilated, hand hygiene is rigorous, indoor whole school assemblies are on pause for now, but it is very much business as usual for the classes. The staff and children continue to keep calm and carry on, and the atmosphere in school is fantastic. Thank you all. In other news, Mrs Leslie will be taking a short break from classroom teaching as she will shortly be starting treatment for cancer. With the rising numbers of Covid19 cases locally and many other coughs and colds in abundance, we feel it is best for her to concentrate on her treatment. I am sure that the whole school community will wish to join me in wishing her all the very best for a speedy recovery. Mrs Leslie will still be very much involved in school life and will be planning for her class and working closely with their temporary teacher to ensure the best experience for the children. We are currently finalising the recruitment of a temporary teacher but are delighted that Mrs Bonnett will be covering the class for the next couple of days. Covid19 UpdateWe have had a further 3 positive cases within the school over the weekend. This brings us to 8 in total over the last ten days. The new cases are in years 1 and 2, but I'm pleased to report that none of the children have anything more than mild symptoms. As communicated on Friday, we are now at Stage 4 of our contingency plan and are asking parents and carers to wear masks when dropping off and collecting children. If your child shows any symptoms of high temperature, new continuous cough or loss/change of taste or smell, please book a PCR test for them. Lateral Flow Tests are not recommended for children under 11 or for people with symptoms.
PTA NewsAmazon Smile👀 Important - Amazon users 👀 ⭐️ Do you use the Amazon mobile app? ☑️ ⭐️ Do you have a child/friend/relative at South Tawton Primary? ☑️ ⭐️ Would you like to raise free money for the school? ☑️ AmazonSmile donates 0.5% of your purchases to your chosen charity - South Tawton Primary School 👀 BUT you need to activate this on your Amazon phone app. Directions: ⭐️ On your Amazon phone app, go to 'SETTINGS' (Press the 3 little lines and scroll down to SETTINGS) ⭐️ Click on 'AmazonSmile' ⭐️ Search for 'South Tawton Primary School' as your chosen charity - or - click 'Turn on AmazonSmile' if you already use this on your desktop version. That is it! You now raise free money for our school 🥳 Last year AmazonSmile only raised £5 (from £1000 of Amazon sales) for our school. I believe that this is because many of us, myself included, didn't know we also needed to change the settings on the phone app. (How many of us use our phone instead of the desktop version?!) Last year I spent over 5k on Amazon 🥴 BUT had I known to change the settings, it would have raised around £25 for our school, just me! Imagine how much if we involved all parents, friends and relatives! Many may not spend that much, but also there are a few other big spenders, and together we can make a huge difference. Spread the word guys, go get that FREE money! 🥳 Vioin and Singing LessonsNicholas Bryant - Violin and Singing Teacher available Probably best known for reaching the semifinals of Britain's Got Talent 2016 with the Collaborative Orchestra, I now have over 10 years experience as a piano, violin and singing teacher. I specialise in teaching the ABRSM and Trinity syllabuses and am a experienced choir leader now teaching in Chagford and North Tawton schools. I teach all ages and abilities. My students would say my lessons are fun, encouraging and that I have a caring teaching style. For violin lessons I can also help with buying or hiring of equipment. Please get in touch to book a free trial lesson. Thank you, Nick Bryant 07912 117 957 Morrisons - It's Good to Grow
Rural Craft FairThe latest update from Devon County Council can be found here.
Covid19 UpdateWe currently have one confirmed positive case of Covid19 in school. I’m happy to report that the individual has not been too unwell and is already feeling better. As you will be aware, schools are no longer required to take part in contact tracing; this is now done by NHS Test and Trace. We are closely following governmental advice which can be found here. All procedures and events in school are run in line with our risk assessment and contingency plan. Many children in school currently have symptoms of a heavy cold. As ever, if your child has a high temperature, a new continuous cough or a loss of taste or smell, please take them to a testing centre for a PCR test. Children with these symptoms should remain at home until a negative test result is received. However, their siblings may attend school as long as they themselves do not have any of the symptoms. Contacting SchoolAs you may remember, the staff email addresses changed during the summer term. Please could you use the email address [email protected] or school gateway if you need to report that your child will be absent or to contact the office. Messages sent to the old email address (which does not have the .uk at the end) are no longer received. My email address is [email protected] On the subject of contact, please ensure that we have up to date contact details (phone numbers and emails) for your child. We need to have more than one point of each contact for each child and it is particularly useful to have details of a contact outside the family home. If for any reason you arrive at school when the gates are closed, please come up the ramp and ring the bell for the office. Please do not enter the school car park on foot or by car or block the entrance by parking in it. CLEAPSS PRIMARY SCIENCE CONSENT FOR THE USE OF PHOTOGRAPHSDear parents, We are very lucky to have developed a partnership with CLEAPSS Primary Science, who will be coming into school to work with some classes to trial investigative science activities. This will provide excellent enrichment in Science for the pupils. They would like consent to publish images of children or their work as detailed below. Permission to publish images of children or their work With more than 22,000 member primary schools nationwide, CLEAPSS is the nation’s leading advisory service for primary school practical work. As part of our commitment to ensuring high quality safe and exciting practical science, D&T and art we are currently trialling new resources and activities in your child’s school. The outcomes of this work will include journal articles, leaflets, other printable materials, and video clips available to our membership. These will be published on our password-protected website (www.cleapss.org.uk), and, possibly, in publicity materials and in the paper newsletter we send to schools. We are seeking permission to use photographs which include images of your child participating in educational practical work and/or copies of your child’s written materials. Such examples help bring our publications to life and play an important role in helping teachers visualise the activities we are describing. Note that we will never include the name of any individual child, and in most cases will not give the school name. If you are happy for us to include unnamed images of your child participating in school-based practical work in our publications please give consent through the payments section of your school gateway accounts. CLEAPSS has been supporting schools for over 50 years. It is a members-only, not-for-profit organisation restricted to educational establishments and suppliers, not the general public. By agreeing to let us use your child’s image and/or work you will be supporting the improvement of science, D&T and art in schools across the country. Thank you for your help. Steve Jones Director Thank you to all those of you who have already recorded your consent. If you have not yet done so, please could you give consent through the payments section of your school gateway accounts. There is no charge for this. Little Beacons PreschoolYou should all have received an email on Friday about a consultation meeting about the proposal to build a new preschool building on the school site. The meeting is on Thursday 30th at 3:45 and further details can be found here. We currently have a vacancy for a new teacher to lead our preschool. If you or anyone you know may be interested in this lovely opportunity, please find further details and an application form here. Drum LessonsWe're delighted that Ben Waring from Devon Drum School will soon be offering drumming lessons at South Tawton Primary. For further information and to contact Ben, please click here. Message from the Immunisation TeamDear parents and carers, We have had an unprecedented demand for our early community Flu vaccination clinics and these early clinics are now full. Most children and young people will be vaccinated in school as in other years and we will be visiting schools from now until January 2022. We will be arranging further community clinics for children who are clinically vulnerable or who have missed their immunisation in the school setting. As soon as we have more clinics available to book into we will send out further information to you, in the meantime please do not call into the Single Point of Access (SPA) to book a community clinic appointment. Thank you for your understanding and we will be in contact with you again as soon as there is an update. Best wishes Immunisation Team PTA NewsWe held our AGM this week and thank you to Liz Davidson and Hannah Passmore for taking on the role of Joint Chair. Plus a massive thanks to outgoing Chair Katie Wright for all her input and efforts over the past few years. We'd also like to send a huge thank you to all PTA supporters for their amazing contribution towards fundraising events over the past year. We raised over £8000 which is the highest total we've ever achieved, and that is despite Covid restrictions, home-school and many of our regular in-person events not being possible. Fantastic! In this new school year, we have already agreed to spend some of the money raised on 15 new Chromebooks at a cost of over £2200. We hope that you are able to continue to support us this coming year and can announce two fundraisers this term: - Non-uniform day Friday 22nd October for £1 donation per child. - An Autumn Safari Trail. Similar to previous Autumn and Easter trails, trail sheets will go on sale ahead of the half-term holiday, more details to follow... - This weekend is also the deadline for those who wish to sign-up to or renew their 100 Club membership - see below. PTA 100 Club - New Members Needed!
If anybody would like to join this year's 100 Club, there is still time and there are plenty of numbers left. For the cost of £12 a year i.e. £1 per month, members are allocated a number between 1-100 that is entered into a monthly draw with three cash prizes to be won. The more members of the 100 Club, the higher the cash prizes and the greater the money raised for PTA funds. The Club is open to all parents, grandparents, carers, staff and friends of the School in the wider community. If you would like to join the 100 Club, please complete the sign up form attached to this newsletter and then email the completed form to [email protected]. The £12 annual subscription fee should be paid by direct bank transfer to the PTA bank account, details of which can be found on the sign up form. The first draw is due to be carried out at School at the end of September, so please can all subscriptions be paid as soon as possible. A big thank you in advance for your support of our School's PTA. The sign up form can be found here Dear Stakeholder,
Proposal to build a 30 place nursery unit for Little Beacons at South Tawton Primary School We are writing to let you know that we are in the process of preparing a planning application for the construction of a nursery unit within the grounds of our primary school. Before submitting our application, we would like to invite you to a drop-in session at the school to explain our proposal in more detail and share our plans with you. We have linked a brief document explaining the rationale for this proposal, but if you have further questions, there will be an opportunity for you to ask these at the drop-in session. The drop in session for stakeholders has been arranged on: 30th September from 3:45 – 6:00pm South Tawton Primary School Hall Visitors and interested parties can drop in at any point during the session to view the plans and to ask questions. More information and initial pictures can be found here. We look forward to hearing your views. Yours sincerely, Sarah Marvin and Shirley Culverhouse The Autumn Term is now in full swing. Beautiful displays of children's work are appearing around the school and singing and laughter is frequently heard across the site. The new year R children had their first experience of getting changed for PE and managed brilliantly. Year 1 are studying the human body in science, year 2 made music and year 3 found a dragon's egg on the school field. Have a look at the class blog pages for more details and photos and to learn what the older children have been doing this week as well. in other news, we still have some copies of our amazing Lockdown Recipe Book for sale. If you would like to purchase one of these, please contact the office on 01837 840242 or email [email protected] Medicines in School We are only able to administer medicines to children in school if we have a signed form from parents or guardians requesting that we do so. The form can be found in the Parents section of the newsletter here. If you need your child to receive medicine during the school day, please ensure that you fill in and bring in the form with the medicine. Uniform On the whole, the children are looking extremely smart and are all in correct uniform. However, there are one or two children wearing jumpers that are not navy and some shoes that are not black. Similarly, in P.E. lessons, whilst the vast majority of children are wearing white T-shirts with black or navy shorts, one or two are really standing out in coloured T-shirts. Please help your child to feel a part of their class groups and the school by following the uniform guidelines. Harvest FestivalThis year, for our Harvest Festival, we will be supporting Okehampton Foodbank. Donation collection days will be announced soon. Please find below a list of what is needed to help those in need. Any questions, please email [email protected] Thank you. At this time the Okehampton foodbank particularly welcome donations of long-life milk, tinned tomatoes, tinned meat, tinned rice pudding. Other really helpful donations are as follows: (sealed please; not opened)
School MealsWe encourage all children to have a healthy and nutritional meal at lunchtime and a snack during morning break. Research shows that children who have a nutritionally balanced meal (rather than one that has too much sugar and fat) are better able to concentrate in lessons. We also encourage children to keep hydrated during the school day, preferably with water or other drinks without additives or added sugar. All meals prepared at a maintained school must comply with the government Standards for school food in England. Free school meals All children in reception, year 1 and year 2 at state schools in England automatically get free school meals. However, parents and guardians are encouraged to apply for free school meals when they enrol their child in school, as this can help their child’s school to attract additional ‘pupil premium‘ funding to support learning. From year 3 onwards, children whose parents are getting any of the following are entitled to free school meals:
How to apply Apply through the Devon Citizens Portal. This is the quickest and easiest way to apply and will result in you getting an instant decision. Alternatively, call the Education Helpline on 0345 155 1019. If you think you may be eligible for free school meals, please apply even if your child is in years R, 1 or 2. Breakfast Club now open on Fridays
PTA AGMThe PTA raised over £8000 last year and this money goes towards paying for equipment and events to enhance our children's school experience. We couldn't do this without your help and support! The PTA are having their AGM on Monday 20th September at 8pm. This will be held virtually on Zoom so if you would like to attend, please email [email protected] and we will send you the link. Please come along as we can't run without your support! Also, Katie will be standing down as chair so, if anyone is interested in becoming chair or a general volunteer, please do get in touch for for more information! Thank you Hannah Healthy Start Scheme – for eligible families with children under 4 and pregnant women Get a Healthy Start! - scheme for eligible families with children under 4 and pregnant women Devon Public Health are running a promotional initiative to raise awareness of the government’s national Healthy Start scheme, which provides eligible pregnant women and families with children under 4 with financial support towards fruit & veg, pulses, cows’ milk, and infant formula, as well as free vitamins. The Get a Healthy Start! promotion will provide the following, for FREE to eligible residents in the Devon County Council area: Box of seasonal fresh fruit and vegetables; booklet containing recipes, information on Healthy Start, and signposting; Healthy Start vitamins; fun 10 minute shake-up games for children; breastfeeding support information. Boxes can be ordered directly by families themselves from devon.cc/getahealthystart and will be delivered in October. Eligibility will be assessed by the sign-up form. More information about the initiative, including eligibility and how to order can be found here or in the attached document. Orders are being taken until 24th September or until all boxes are allocated. Only 50% of eligible families currently receive Healthy Start – please promote and share this information with families to help more get the support they are entitled to! For any enquiries please contact Ruby ([email protected]) or Harriet ([email protected]) in the Public Health Team Okehampton LibraryThe LIBRARY
It’s easy and free to use your library You can borrow books, take part in activities and use our computers or Wi-Fi. It's free to become a member of the library, either join online or by visiting staff in the library. · A huge range of stories from the classics through to popular series, the latest bestsellers, and graphic novels within our Junior and Teen library. · Easy Reads for children learning or struggling to read. · Information books to help with learning, homework and hobbies/interests · All of these books are free to borrow and reserving of stock is free for children. · We have stories on CD's which are free to borrow and films and TV programmes on DVD which may be hired by adults. Our online resources We have a range of free resources that all library members can access online: · A large selection of eBooks to download or stream on Libby. Ranging from junior ‘beginner reads’ for children learning through to read to teen reads. · A range of eAudiobooks to download or stream via BorrowBox and Libby. · A selection of eMagazines and eNewspapers are available on Libby · Online reference resources at Devon Libraries. Book Amnesty 8 September – 8 October Got an overdue book on your conscience? 📚 Couldn't face returning that DVD after losing it down the back of the sofa three years ago? Return your horribly overdue items to your library during our Book Amnesty, and your fine will be waived, no questions asked Saturday 2nd October ~ Okehampton Fun Palace 09:30-12:00 Fun Palaces is a national campaign to put culture in the heart of local communities. It is an annual weekend of action - arts, science, craft, tech, digital, heritage and sports. We are offering a creative community morning of free taster activities. If you would like to take part, sharing a skill or learning a new one, please contact Okehampton Library. Current activities include ukulele and patchwork. For more info about Fun Palaces visit their website. funpalaces.co.uk For more information from the library, please click here. |
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