The weekly newsletter of
Malmesbury CofE Primary School Headteacher: Steve Heal BSc, PGCE, NPQH
Tetbury Hill
MALMESBURY
Wilts
SN16 9JR
01666 823514
Thursday 11th February 2016 Primary Post 156
The first six weeks of the year have passed in a flash. Suddenly the days are longer and spring is
in the air. Lent begins today and Easter will be here before we know it.
Chinese New Year was on Monday, so ‘Gong Xi Fa Cai’ and welcome to the year of the monkey. If
we show the monkey’s energy, playfulness and inquisitiveness then we’ll have a great year in school. It was a
pleasure to be involved with the celebrations: Mr Oakes and I have been cooking stir-fry. (You don’t have to
be mad to ‘wok’ here, but it helps.) I’d like to thank the staff, who go to such lengths to prepare memorable
learning experiences for the children.
There was plenty of further evidence of this on Egyptian day in Milepost 2, where I also had the pleasure of
being embalmed. After a lengthy search, my brain was located, extracted and stored in a jar in case I ever
need it again.
As we approach the holiday, ‘King for a Day’ day will keep us busy right to the end, but also give us a chance to
be thankful for everything Mrs King has done for the children of this school over so many years. She is a
dedicated, inspirational teacher and a lovely person. It is with great sadness that we say goodbye to her, but
we wish her happiness in her retirement.
A really nasty flu-like bug has been going through staff and children alike. Hopefully the holiday will stop this
in its tracks and let those who have suffered recover properly. A big thank you to staff who have covered for
others to keep the school running smoothly. Illnesses like this emphasise the importance of keeping children
off school until they are properly well again, rather than patching them up and sending them back only to pass
it on to others.
Below is some guidance on what medication we can and cannot administer in school. I hope you appreciate that
we have to follow legal and health guidance very carefully, since we are not medical professionals and the
consequences of a mistake in this area could be enormous.
SIX WEEKS AND SO MUCH HAS HAPPENED!
We cannot administer or allow in school any medicines other than those prescribed by a
doctor. Non-prescription medicines of any kind should not be in school. This includes sore
throat sprays, painkillers such as Calpol, cough sweets, decongestants and (in the summer)
non-prescription antihistamines. If a parent or carer wishes, they can come into school at
midday to administer these medicines to their child, bringing the medicine with them.
To administer prescribed medication, we must have written consent from the parent and evidence that the
medicine has been prescribed for the child (eg name and dosage on the bottle). This is only done where
administration during the school day is essential, eg insulin, long term medication for
ADHD, inhalers and antibiotics where the dose is 4 times a day. If emollients are
needed for eczema then this should also be confirmed by a doctor - there is a form
available which parents can take to their doctor and have signed if the doctor has
advised them to buy the medication over the counter.
CLARIFICATION OF THE SCHOOL’S MEDICATION POLICY
ATTENDANCE FIGURES - Our target for the year 15/16 is 96.5%+
Winning Class for Week:
w/c 4.1.16 - 100% for RBDO & PG
w/c 11.1.16 - 100% for RBDO, AB & PP
w/c 18.1.16 - No 100%
w/c 25.1.16 - No 100%
w/c 1.2.16 - No 100%
Whole School Attendance for:
Term 1:
Term 2:
Term 3:
Term 4:
Term 5:
Term 6:
95.8%
97.1%
96.3%
96.6%
96.4%
96.4%
97.2%
96.2%
14/15 15/16
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
Friday 12th Feb - Wear a crown to school day - donations to Myeloma UK
Friday 12th Feb - Last day of term 3
Monday 22nd Feb - Swimming - Y5 - AB class
Thurs 25th Feb - Y1 dress up day - pirates
Monday 29th Feb - Swimming - Y3 - RS class
Wednesday 2nd March - Class photographs
Thursday 3rd March - Book Day
Friday 4th March - Mother’s Day gift shop - Friends
Monday 7th March - Swimming - Y3 - RS class
Thursday 10th March - Reports to parents Y2-Y5
Thursday 17th March - Parent consultations - EYFS-Y5 - 5pm-7.30pm
Friday 18th March - Friends’ quiz night
Tuesday 22nd March - Parent consultations - EYFS-Y5 - 4pm-6pm
Thursday 24th March - Last day of term 4
ESSENTIAL SKILLS COACHING will be running their usual half-term club Monday 15th Feb to Thursday
18th Feb, 9am-3pm - during half term at school.
Please contact Matt for more information on 07859 794621. Leaflets are now available in school.
The children in the EYFS have been
enjoying learning about Chinese New
Year celebrations and have made a wide
variety of colourful lanterns, puppets
and enjoyed making a large scale dragon
for a class dragon dance.
Mr Heal helped us with a Chinese
cooking demonstration and we enjoyed
learning all about the delicious
ingredients and aromas from the
cooking. Mrs Driver's class enjoyed
sharing a Chinese song and Miss Chu's
class entertained us with a creative
Dragon Dance.
We look forward to completing the term
with a parade of our beautiful lanterns.
We wish you all a very happy Chinese
New Year.
HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!
‘WALK LIKE AN EGYPTIAN!’
On Wednesday Year 2 and Year 3 had a
fantastic Egyptian day wearing amazing
costumes.
The day started with a Year 2 assembly to
families, showing artefacts, mummification
and a sing song! There were open classrooms
where children proudly shared their hard
work this term to families and other children.
During the day Year 3 wrote with hieroglyphs,
did Egyptian maths and enjoyed a very
interesting talk about Egypt and looked at
beautiful artefacts, ending the day tasting
some Egyptian fruits.
Well done everyone and thank you to parents/
carers for the wonderful costumes.
On the 9th February 2016, Milepost 3 started their exit point for the holiday show. Firstly we had to
manoeuvre into six different classes and go into teams, we then switched our heads on to holiday mode
because we were going to become travel agents.
At first we were ‘blind as mice’ but quickly we got into action researching about our chosen countries,
immediately we started typing like mad, keynotes coming out of our ears. Quickly the day ran out and we had
to pack our bags but the next day was coming fast.
The next day, 10th February, was a heads down day as this was the last time we had until the parents came.
Suddenly out of nowhere, a big hurdle came, we had to make an advert! Now with that thrown at us we were
worrying our socks off but it all turned out alright! All of a sudden we had half an hour and it became rush
o'clock.
On Thursday, we arrived back at school for the final day of the exit point! Our teacher and us, quickly did the
register and we hopped back into our continents ready for our ‘customers’. They came in like a tsunami, there
were so many. However, we succeeded in communicating to parents our knowledge of the chosen holiday
destinations. It was the best exit point EVER! We are looking forward to finding out which were the winning
teams in assembly tomorrow!
by Freddie and Leonie (class RBDO)
As a staff we would like to say a huge thank you to
over 60 parents, grandparents and carers who visited
our travel agency today. There is nothing like a real
purpose to fuel a child’s enthusiasm when
investigating a question. We are really proud of the
commitment your children showed over a sustained
period of time, to generate well informed holidays,
packed full of information. In addition, watching the
children go the extra mile this morning; arriving to
school armed with cowboy hats, flags and even
canapés of crispy duck! The collaborative groups
crossed the year groups fostering great
relationships and developing role models within our
ever-engaging, creative and diligent pupils. What a
super morning! Thank you.
THE HOLIDAY SHOW!
Calling all ladies - starting Wednesday 24th February at 9am from at rear of
Co-op by Malmesbury Football Club. Mayhem outdoor fitness session. All
abilities very welcome, whole body approach with a different take on fitness.
Limited spaces available. For more information get in contact with Stacie on:
Tel: 07900034308
Email: [email protected]
Thank you to all who kindly donated coats for the Country Coats 2 Syria campaign. The local team have collected
nearly 3,000 coats for the CC2S campaign. The first batch were shipped in mid January and have hopefully already
been distributed to the schools and camps in Syria. The next shipment is due to leave next
week. Syria Relief are very appreciative of all your help.
Please follow the link below for more information:
http://www.countrycoats2syria.org.uk/
COUNTRY COATS 2 SYRIA
TEMPORARY JOB VACANCY
Due to a planned absence it is likely we will need some cover for approx 3 weeks from 11th April.
There will be 2 opportunities available:
Kitchen Assistant - Mon-Fri, 10am-1pm approx.
Cleaner - Mon-Fri, 3.15pm–7pm approx.
Please contact Tina Osborne for an informal discussion on 01666-823514 (please note the school will
be closed for half term), or email on [email protected].
DON’T FORGET
TOMORROW IS
‘WEAR A CROWN DAY’
- DONATIONS FOR
MYELOMA UK
