Election of Parent Governor

Mrs Helen Evans, one of our Parent Governors, is stepping down due to her work commitments and we would like to take this opportunity to thank her for all her hard work. 

I am therefore writing to give you details of the arrangements for nominations and voting for new Parent Governors.

We have one vacancy to take office from June 2013.  Enclosed with this letter is a nomination form on which four parents who have children at the school can jointly nominate another parent for election as a Parent Governor.  No parent may nominate more candidates than there are vacancies.  It is necessary for a parent Governor to have a child at the school at the time he or she is elected.  Certain people are disqualified from being Governors and these are described on the back of the nomination form. 

Completed nomination forms must be returned to school by Monday 10^th June 2013.

There is space on the nomination form for a statement of not more than 50 words by the person nominated in which they can give such details as they wish about themselves and their views.  This statement would then be included on the voting paper which will then be circulated to all parents.

The term of office is for four years whether or not the child of the elected parent remains at the school for the whole of this period.  A Parent Governor elected now will hold office until May 2017 and, like other Governors, will be eligible for re-election.

The Suffolk Education Committee would like parents to play as full a part as possible in your children’s education and, therefore, it is hoped that you will use your vote in this election.

Yours sincerely

Revd G Owen

Chair of Governors

Headteacher's letter regarding class moves and transition for September

As half term is approaching, the staff, Governors and I wanted to share with you the exciting changes which will be happening in our school during next half term in readiness for September 2013.

Having listened to suggestions and concerns of parents during this year we have decided to move the classroom bases to group year groups together in the school.  The greatest difference will be in the Foundation and Key Stage 1 areas.  These will all now be on the bottom corridor.  They will start with Nursery and end with Year 2 along one corridor.  This will help the children with access, safety, security, confidence and independence as it will only occasionally be used by Key Stage 2 children.

 We are looking forward to this corridor/area to develop its own identity within the school building.

Key Stage 2 classrooms will also move in order to create a better flow through the school.  Their area will begin with the two classrooms opposite the staff room and end with the Year 6 classrooms on the top corridor but at the end of the building.

Clearly this is a huge undertaking for our school.

The main move is due to happen after the children have left for their Summer break however during the latter part of next half term staff will begin to move resources into their new areas.

In addition to this major change and following the suggestions of some parents we have decided to change the timing of the old ‘Meet the Teacher’ session.  Traditionally, this has been in the Autumn Term after the children have been in school for two weeks.  It was felt that it would be more valuable for you to meet your child’s/ren’s new teacher before the summer holiday and for the teacher to share with you the expectations of being in their class, which you could then reinforce during the Summer holiday to help ease your child’s transition.  This meeting will now be called a ‘Transition meeting’ and they will take place in the week of the 8 July (a timetable by class will accompany your child’s/rens report).

The week following the parent ‘Transition meetings’ will be a week of transition for the children. Instead of one morning with their new teacher as has been the pattern in the past, they will have 3 sessions over 3-4 days.

We feel that these changes to our usual transition programme for our children can only benefit them.  When September finally arrives we would like to invite you during the first week to view the changes to the classrooms.

We do hope that you can support us in these positive changes for our school as I know that if we work together we can continue to make improvements to our school, which will benefit all our children.

Newsletter 39

HALF-TERMLY DINNER PAYMENT – FOR JUNE to JULY 2013

HALF-TERMLY PAYMENTS ARE TO BE MADE BY THE FIRST MONDAY FOLLOWING THE START OF EACH HALF TERM.

If you do not pay for dinners on a Monday, your child will need to bring a packed lunch

DINNER MONEY COSTS FOR SUMMER 2^nd HALF TERM (3 June – 19 July):

There are 7 full weeks this term minus 1 day for school trips (34 days)

Year 6 will only be here for 29 days (minus camp for 1 week and 1 day at the High School)

  5 days a week               34 days x £2.20          =          £74.80

  4 days a week               28 days x £2.20           =          £61.60

  3 days a week               21 days x £2.20           =          £46.20

  2 days a week               17 days x £2.20           =          £37.40

  1 day a week                 7 days x £2.20             =          £15.40

Cheques should be made payable to Suffolk County Council (SCC) with your child’s name and class WRITTEN ON THE BACK please.

ALL DINNER MONEY SHOULD BE HANDED TO THE CLASS TEACHER IN AN ENVELOPE THAT STATES:  Child’s Name + Child’s Class + Which days dinner money is for

DEADLINE FOR PAYMENT IS MONDAY 10 JUNE, PLEASE.

***** Remember you can now pay on line at www.eats-catering *****

select ‘On-Line Payment’ or follow link from School Website

MORNING ROUTINE – FOLLOW ON

We are grateful to all those families who are following our school morning routine.  Having spoken with some families we would like to clarify that from 8.30am the playground is supervised by school staff, they will be standing at either end of the playground for the safety of the children.

SCENERY REQUIRED!

Preparation for the Year 6 production of ‘Wind in the Willows’ in June is currently underway.  In order to create a wonderful stage set, we are in need of very large pieces of card that can be painted as scenery.  If you have some please can you speak to Mrs Armstrong or Mr Brook? Ideally we would want it in school straight after half term.  Thank you.

SHARE SESSION – Class RV – Thursday 23 May

Just a reminder that class RV share session is THIS Thursday – parents should please sign in at the office at 1:20pm. 

CAKE STALL – CLASSES LC & CA – Friday 24 May

On Friday remember to bring some pocket money as these two classes will be baking for the Friends end of half term cake stall in the Playground pavilion.

YEAR 6 MEET HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS – Tuesday  4 June

Mr Jeffreys (Head of Year 7) and some of the form tutors from Thomas Mills High School are coming in on Tuesday 4 June to meet the year 6 pupils individually in preparation for the move to High School in September.

 

THEME DAY – Friday 7 June

This will be an exciting day for the children.  Pupils in KS1 and Foundation will be spending the day on activities about ‘Mythical Creatures’, the theme for KS2 will be ‘Super Heroes’. 

THERE WILL BE NO PLANNED DRESSING UP FOR THIS EVENT.

SEASIDE SPECIAL LUNCH – Monday 10 June

EATs catering will be serving Oven Baked Fishy Treats, curly fries, spaghetti hula hoops and sunshine sweetcorn, followed by raspberry ripple mousse.

SUMMER TRIPS IN JUNE – Tuesday 4 & 11 June

Foundation trip to Minsmere is on the Tuesday we return (4 June) and the KS1 trip to Banham Zoo is on the following Tuesday (11 June).

CAMP MEETING FOR YEAR 6 PARENTS – Tuesday 11 June

Just a reminder that all parents of the Year 6 children going to camp should come along to an important meeting with Mr Brook on Tuesday 11 June in the school hall at 6pm.

CLASS PHOTOS – Wednesday 12 June

Please can we ask that all children bring their school sweatshirt with them on Wednesday 12 June for the class photos.  Thank you. 

ITFC CHARITABLE TRUST - HALF TERM EVENTS

They are offering all day child care provision for as little as £20 per day.  If you maybe interested in their courses please see the poster on our parent  notice board, or their website: http://www.itfccharitabletrust.org.uk/football-activities/holiday-soccer-courses.

CHARITY CHILDREN’S FUN-RUN IN AID OF E.A.C.H.

Three ex-pupils are organising a fun run for children aged 7-11 on 23 June, at Thomas Mills High School. This fun run is a charity event raising money for EACH (East Anglian Children’s Hospice).  They have St John Ambulance cover and have access to school facilities and car park.  Flyers and sponsorship forms will be handed out after half term. It is £1 entry and the times are starting at 10:00am to 12:30pm.

 REMEMBER IT IS HALF TERM NEXT WEEK SO THE

CHILDREN START BACK on Monday 3 june.

ENJOY YOUR BREAK!

Children Visit Framlingham Castle

Several classes visited Framlingham Castle this week.

Class DB are doing a local history topic featuring the creation of their own websites.

The children took their own photographs and videos during the visit.

Class DB also paid a short visit to St Michael's Church in order to see the tombs of famous Framlingham residents such as Sir Robert Hitcham - our school founder. 

Mills and Bulstrode Earn House Cricket Wins

On a cold day two good quality games of house cricket were played during Friday lunchtime.

Mills put in a much improved performance this week to beat Hitcham by 12 runs. This puts both teams on 2 wins so far.

In the other match Bulstrode beat Howard by just 2 runs in a very close finish.

This gives both teams 1 win each.

The teams will play each other again after half term.

These house matches have been excellent preparation for the inter school tournaments coming up next month.

Newsletter 38

welcome as she starts in her new position.  Mrs Wright’s mother used to be our lollipop lady too – she did the job for 20 years!

REMEMBER to wait until the Crossing Patrol tells you it is safe to cross.

HOUSE HANDWRITING

It’s congratulations to Mills who narrowly pipped Bulstrode to become our handwriting champions for 2013.  Each child was asked to produce a copied script of a poem.  Overall, the standard was extremely high, with all pupils from Year 3 – Year 6 producing a beautifully neat, joined handwriting style.

SATS & INTERNAL TESTING

We would like to remind you that children from Year 1 – 6 will undergo SATs tests and internal tests during this week and into next week.  Please can we ask that parents exit the school buildings and grounds as soon as possible after the bell goes at 8.45am.  Thank you.

WALK TO SCHOOL WEEK

Remember to walk to school all this week if at all possible – not only does it help the environment and save money, but it helps keep you fit too!

We have heard that some children have walked from Cransford – well done!

FRIENDS DISCO

Applications for tickets for Friday should have been handed in by today’s deadline.  If you have any queries regarding your ticket application please contact the friends directly – Christina Hitchcock on 07906 289 771 or tiajason@hotmail.co.uk

FOOD TECHNOLOGY LESSONS – Class NS & EM

On Thursday 23 May in the afternoon and all day on Friday 24 May classes EM & NS will be doing food technology. If there are any parents who would like to assist at any time over these 2 days, please speak to the teachers directly.  The children will be given a separate letter regarding ingredients for their session.

BREAK IN TO SCHOOL GROUNDS – please be vigilant

There was a break-in to school grounds at the weekend and again on Monday night, causing some damage in the Reception outside space and leaving rubbish in the play-house.  

Please can we ask that if you are going past the school outside of school hours and see anyone on school grounds/property that you report it to the police by calling 101 to go through to the local police for non-emergencies.

If you can see that someone is causing criminal damage to school property then call 999 to get an emergency response.  

Please can you ask your friends and family to look out for us too. Thank you for your help with this.

MEASLES OUTBREAK

You may have heard in the media that the Government has announced a national catch up programme to increase MMR vaccination uptake amongst 10-16 year olds. This follows outbreaks of measles elsewhere in the country.

In Suffolk, we are also at risk of experiencing a measles outbreak if we do not increase the number of MMR vaccinations, particularly amongst the 10-16 age group, who may have missed their immunisations in younger years.
We are being advised to ask parents to check that the vaccination message is getting through. The most important thing is to ensure that children are protected.  If you are a parent or guardian and are unsure whether your child is fully vaccinated or received both doses of the MMR vaccine, then please check with your GP. You are strongly encouraged to arrange vaccination through GP surgeries in the next few weeks if you know that one or both vaccinations weren't completed.

Measles is a highly contagious disease, and potentially serious.

Further information:  NHS choices website (signposting parents for more information on the MMR catch -up campaign)  http://www.nhs.uk/news/2013/04April

SCOOTER MISSING

A pale green and silver JD Bug scooter has gone missing from the bike rack after school at the start of last week.  The child is very upset as the scooter was a birthday present.  If you have mistakenly taken it please can you return it to the bike rack?  Thank you.

You.N.G

Suffolk Young Enterprise finalist winners from Debenham High School who gave an assembly recently on Road Safety are inviting all pupils to come and see them at the Suffolk Show on wed 29th and Thursday 30th May (on stand 597), and Crows Hall Fayre, Debenham 19th May.  They have a new range of exclusive products.

Young Art East Anglia

The 'Magical Moment' Exhibition raised the wonderful sum of £10,000 for Cancer Research UK. This is more than they have ever raised before and they hope that as well as helping Cancer Research the children who had their work displayed at  the exhibition, or went along and saw friends' work at the Peter Pears Gallery  found it an interesting  and inspiring experience. 

Exciting House Cricket Victory for Howard

Howard won their first house cricket match for 3 years with a stunning 9 run win against a very strong Mills side. The win was largely down to their super bowling. Harvey Staff almost took a hat trick. He clean bowled 3 Mills batsman in 4 balls. Felix Grey also took 2 vital wickets in an exciting last over to seal the victory.

In the other game Hitcham made it 2 wins out of 2 with a 9 run victory against Bulstrode.

There is still a long way to go in the inter house league with another round of matches next week followed by each team playing each other again after half term.

Newsletter 37

CHARITY DAY

We are delighted to let you know that Friday’s Charity day raised over £212 for the RSPCA and we also collected over 175 tins of cat and dog food.  Do take a look on the BLOG to see photos of the event.

On Wednesday we have a representative of the RSPCA in to assembly to tell the children about their work locally and how our fundraising has helped them.

CYCLE TRAINING – 1 MORE HELPER NEEDED PLEASE

We still need 1 more adult for Thursday 6 June - please can you let office know if you are able to help. 

Remember there is NO TRAINING THIS WEEK (as previously notified) as Mr Byer is unable to run the session.

SATS & INTERNAL TESTING

We would like to advise you that children from Year 1 – 6 will undergo SATs tests and internal tests during this week and into next week.  Please can we ask that parents exit the school buildings and grounds as soon as possible after the bell goes at 8.45am.  Thank you.

PLIMSOLLS

Please can we ask that parents check the size of their children’s plimsolls regularly as we find that they get forgotten about until PE lessons when the children then complain they are too tight.

SECOND HAND SUMMER DRESSES

We have a small stock of second hand summer dresses in assorted sizes at the office.  If you would like one, please do just ask at the office - we would ask for a donation of just £2 each.

NAMES ON CHEQUES PLEASE

It really helps with the banking if you can put your child’s name & class on the back of the cheque.  When the parent’s name on the front of the cheque is different to the child’s name it can be quite a job for the office to ensure the money is matched to the correct child. 

Thank you for your help on this.

WALK TO SCHOOL WEEK – 13 to 17 May

This item will not be relevant for children who come to school by bus. 

We are keen to promote the wider health benefits of keeping active whilst also providing better promotion of road safety and sustainable travel and so we would encourage all families to walk to school this week if at all possible.

Perhaps those who normally drive into Framlingham could park on the outskirts of the town and walk in from there next week.

Please take a look at www.walktoschool.org.uk for activities, support and ideas for children and families for that week.

SPARE WOOL

Some of the items in our DT cupboard are running low, we are especially in need of any unwanted wool, so if you (or any one you know) has any balls of unwanted wool please just drop it in at the school office.  Thank you.