Friday 9th December 2016

Weekly Issue number 12

PTA Disco The children had a fantastic time at last Friday’s discos! They ran so smoothly and enabled everyone to enjoy themselves thanks to the precision-planning of our wonderful PTA members. Thank you so much to them for giving the children such a lovely start to the Christmas celebrations and thanks too to the staff who gave up some of their Friday evening to stay and help. We Three Kings – KS1 Xmas play Our Christmas entertainment continued this week with two really lovely performances of We Three Kings by our children in Years 1 & 2. The children sang and danced their way through both performances like consummate professionals even managing to continue without hesitation when props didn’t quite work the way they were intended! Very well done to all of the children and thank you to our staff teams in Year 1 & 2 who worked so hard to make sure the children could give their very best in this way. We would also like to thank Tesco who have kindly donated the mince pies enjoyed by our families at all our Festive productions this year. It was lovely to see Mrs. Vernon in the audience at our play and we are looking forward to her visiting again next week for one of the KS2 shows. Christmas At the Movies – KS2 Xmas play You will all have received the letter sent earlier this week detailing the ticketing arrangements for these shows. We had originally thought as the show was being performed three times that we would be able to avoid ticketing and restricting numbers where necessary. However, having now taken further advice from relevant LA professionals we were counselled to reconsider in the light of safeguarding expectations. Echelford are the proud winners of the Tesco Tree decoration competition

On Tuesday 6th December seven of our children went to Tesco, Ashford for the judging of a Christmas tree decoration competition that Year 5 had entered against other schools in the area. The competition was judged by the Mayor. Year 5 had worked hard to build their decorations with determination and perseverance to ensure they produced the best decorations they could. We thought all the other schools decorations were amazing but in the end we won! We were awarded a £150 Tesco voucher which we will use on supplies in Year 5. Written by Tillie Cawte 5B. Well done to Liam Deane, Danielle Green, Tillie Cawte, Haktancan Boz, Zach Owen, Faye Chownsmith and Hannah Bunce who represented the school beautifully on the visit and thank you to Miss Johnston and Mrs Bruce-Reid for accompanying them and making the visit possible. Spelthorne Schools Together Quiz

On Tuesday 29th November, we took part in the exciting Spelthorne General Knowledge Challenge at Ashford Park Primary School. We enjoyed showing off our Year 4 learning and participating in the four rounds of History, Science, Art and Geography. We were proud to represent Echelford and we hope the next Year 4s enjoy it as much as we did. Written by Adam Cadi (4P), Harrison Dobson (4B), Martyn Jones (4B) and Emily Joslin (4D). Football match against Chennestone

Last week we played football against Chennestone and we won 5-0! It was a really fun game because we kept scoring and showing our skills to each other. We played well as a team and I can’t wait for the next game. Written by Beau Muldowney (6G). Well done to all the boys who played in the match and represented Echelford so convincingly - Bobby Martin, Ethan Gold, Reggie Grimes, Rian Patel, Presley Slade, Joseph Potter and Luke Davies. Echelford Flag The eagle-eyed amongst us will have spotted our beautiful new Echelford flag flying proudly on our flagpole at the front of our school. Thank you to Mrs. Hicks and Mr. Gent for organising this for us. Shoes Years 3-6 As you will recall from our newsletter of 14th October that staff have raised a concern about the amount of learning time being lost while children change in and out of their trainers at lunchtime. In addition we have been managing some issues as a result of very expensive trainers being brought in and being lost. We had hoped that by raising this as a concern with the children that this issue would be addressed, however unfortunately this has not been the case for Years 3 to 5. From the beginning of next term, therefore, the changing of shoes into trainers will be a Year 6 privilege only as they have responded well to the challenge and can manage the transition without loss of learning time. If children in Years 3 to 5 want to change their shoes at lunchtime they must bring in named slip-on or Velcro plimsolls to change into. Please could I also ask that school shoes are clearly named? The usual labels are great 1

however they do need replacing regularly so please could your child’s shoes be checked over the holidays and replacement names added if necessary. Deadline to purchase KS1 and KS2 Christmas Production DVDs A reminder that should you wish to purchase a KS1 or KS2 Christmas production DVD payment should be received by the office no later than today for KS1 and Friday 16th December for KS2. Each DVD will cost £8. Payment can be taken in cash only. Please can we reiterate that the order deadline cannot be moved or extended under any circumstance as our manufacturer requires a particular amount of time to ensure all DVD orders are ready to be sent home with your child on the last day of term. Our recent Art Exhibition Thank you very much to everyone who kindly donated to the World Wide Education Project last week at our Art Exhibition. We are pleased to announce the final total is an amazing £300. Here is a message from Simon Devine, the charity's founder and Operational Director: 'Thank you for choosing the World Wide Education Project for your

charity, we are delighted you picked us. Thank you for sharing our vision about creating access to quality education in countries affected by poverty, disasters and conflict. Well done for raising £300 - an excellent achievement.' For more information about WWEP's important work please visit: http://www.wwep.org.uk/.

Christmas Jumper Day – Friday 16th December On Friday 16th December children are invited to wear a Christmas jumper instead of their usual school uniform jumper/cardigan to school in return for the donation of a food treat which will be donated to Manna Food Bank. The demands on Food Banks increase each year, particularly at Christmas, and this is a good way of helping our children to remember Christmas is about giving as well as receiving. The treats that could be considered are:  Box of chocolates  Biscuits  Cakes  Other Christmas themed food items that are in the supermarkets at the moment BUT NO ALCOHOL please If your child does not have a Christmas jumper, please do not worry – they can just wear a brightly coloured jumper instead (please note - no football kit or hoodies). 16th December coincides with the Cubs Centenary and we have been asked to encourage our Cubs to wear their uniform that day to school (with their school shoes, not trainers). Please note that this invitation is just for Cubs, not rainbows, brownies etc. and we would still be keen to receive donations for Manna Food Bank from our Cubs as well. Christmas Party and Christmas Jumper Afternoon – Tuesday 20th December During the afternoon of Tuesday 20th December the children will be having their Christmas Parties in their classes. These will consist of Christmas music, games, dancing and snacks. We would kindly like to ask if you could make a donation of 50p with which we will purchase some snacks and drinks for the children to enjoy during the afternoon. Children are not required to bring snacks in with them for the party. Please hand your donations in to your child’s class teacher by Monday 12th December to allow us time to gather provisions together. For their parties we ask that children bring in their Christmas jumper/brightly coloured jumper to change into in the afternoon for their party. Please note that the rest of their uniform, including black school shoes, must be worn. Change to our published meal choices rota To ensure our school meals continue to use fresh seasonal ingredients prior to the end of term as well as accommodate the planned Christmas Lunch which will take place on Friday 16th December our menu rota choices have had to change slightly for the last two weeks of this term - the new rotas can be found at the end of this newsletter for your review. Rest assured these changes will be discussed on each morning with the children so that they can continue to make an informed choice at registration time. Please note that on Friday 16th December the deli and jacket potato meal option will not be available due to our Christmas lunch. Curriculum Enrichment Clubs for the Spring Term Our list of new Curriculum Enrichment Clubs has now been sent to all families and we would like to thank you all for your participation in the new sign up scheme via our website. Club allocations will begin on Tuesday 20th December with confirmation of places sent to applicable families during the first week of the Spring Term. If you would like to apply for a club place for your child please visit our website www.echelfordprimary.co.uk and our ‘Letters & Forms’ section where you will be signposted to the online booking form. Please note the closing date for choosing clubs for your child is Monday 19th December. Any choices received after the closing date will be treated as late and will not be considered until all on time choices have been processed which may jeopardise the chance of your child being offered one of their preferred clubs. Focus on Courtesy The theme of tolerance and “seeing and thinking the best in people” was continued this week in school with a particular focus on tolerance of other beliefs and opinions which are different to our own and how we can conduct ourselves in such situations. Classes thought about specific examples they can all relate to as well as reading parables such as The Blind Men and the Elephant to help frame and lead discussions on this mature and complex issue. Broade 2

We are keen to help our children gain insight into possible jobs they may aspire to over the course of their school career. In this way we are looking to help them understand how the skills they learn in school might support their achievement of employment goals later on. To this end, we would like to invite parents and members of the wider community to come in and talk to our Year 5s and/or 6s about their paid jobs – what qualifications they needed, what they found difficult and how they overcame it, what other skills they had to learn, how they have to conduct themselves in order to maintain their employment etc. The talk need only be about 15 minutes or so + questions from the children at the end. If you would like to help us in this project, please could you complete the slip attached and return it to the school office? We don’t have an end date in mind as we would like to build a data base of willing people and so the slips can be returned as and when convenient. Please could you also pass this invitation on to colleagues and other members of the wider community as we are keen to offer a range of opportunities to the children? Please don’t be put off at the thought of speaking to Year 5 & Year 6s(!) – you would never be left alone with the children – the teacher would be there the whole time and would manage any particular issues which might come up. Reception school applications for September 2017 start Please note that the closing date for Reception and Junior applications for September 2017 entry is 15th January 2017. Parents with children already at Echelford will still need to complete an application form for any siblings starting school next year. Surrey welcome online applications wherever possible, however parents can also request a paper application form or seek impartial help in completing an application via the Surrey Schools & Childcare Service (0300 200 1004). Full information is available on Surrey's website at www.surreycc.gov.uk/admissions. Please note that applications received after the closing date without good reason will be treated as late and will not be considered until all on time applications have been processed which may jeopardise the chance of a parent being offered one of their preferred schools for their child. Governors There are governor vacancies on our local governing bodies of both Saxon and Riverbridge Primary and we are keen to recruit members of our local communities to fill them. The commitment is three formal meetings a year + focused visits looking at particular aspects of provision and reporting insight back to myself as Executive Principal as well as the governing body. If you would like to know more about the role or are aware of someone else in the community who might be interested, please could you complete the slip attached and return it to the school office by Fri 16th December? Once we have your information we will organise a meeting with myself and one of the Directors to discuss the role and what it entails in more detail. Achievements outside of school Last Saturday Ivy Robinson (RC) completed her first ever ballet exam (Rose Award Jazz, Level Silver) and passed with 'Honours Star'. Her family are extremely proud of her and quite rightly so. Well done Ivy!

Well done to Freya Hazell (4D) who recently performed at the Make A Wish Ball at the Dorchester Hotel in London. She is now continuing to hone her performance skills in the pantomime ‘Jack & the Beanstalk’ at the Theatre Royal Windsor. We wish you every success in your panto run Freya. If your child would like to celebrate success within the school community, please inform your class teacher or the office staff of your news. PTA

Christmas Discos – Friday 2nd December The children had a great time at the disco last week and there were certainly lots of happy faces on the night. If you have any feedback for the PTA on what worked well (so we keep doing it) and what didn’t work so well (so we can stop!) please feel free to email us at [email protected]. Also a big thank you to all of you that volunteered your time to help make the event a success. You helped raise approximately £800 for the school and we couldn’t do it without you! You can see in the picture (right) one of our PTA mums leading the dance routines! Mini Christmas Fair and Raffle – Tuesday 13th December, 3:30-5pm We can’t wait to see you all at our mini Christmas Fair next Tuesday. We still urgently require donations of good quality unused gifts, toiletries, books, food and drink that the children can select as presents on the "no parents allowed" stall. Donations can be left at the school office on Mondays and Fridays only. Please email [email protected] if you are able to assist with setting up and/or running a stall, we are still looking for help in particular for the 4:30-5pm slot. Thank you. The children have also been busy making Christmas Decorations that will be available to purchase at the Fair for £1.00 each. It would be lovely to see as many parents as possible supporting their creative efforts on the day. You only have one weekend left to sell raffle tickets. Please ensure all stubs and monies are returned to the school 3

office by Monday 12th (tickets can also be purchased at the fair). The fabulous prizes continue to roll in (see below)! If you have lost the original tickets and need more, please ask at the office. 1st Prize 2nd Prize 3rd Prize 4th Prize 5th Prize 6th Prize 7th Prize 8th Prize 9th Prize 10th Prize 11th Prize 12th Prize 13th Prize 14th Prize 15th Prize 16th Prize 17th Prize 18th Prize 19th Prize 20th Prize 21st Prize 22nd Prize 23rd Prize 24th Prize 25th Prize 26th Prize 27th Prize 28th Prize 29th Prize 30th Prize 31st Prize 32nd Prize 33rd Prize

£200 Afternoon Tea at Oatlands Park Hotel Weybridge £40 Meal Voucher: The Oaks Desk Top Hard Drive Headmasters Cut and Blow Dry Voucher 3x 30 Personal Training Sessions £25 Meal Voucher: Kings Head One week Family Gym Membership at Nuffield Dolce and Gabbana Perfume (Rosa Excelsa) £20 Buff Beauty and Waxing Voucher Enchanted Grotto Squires Wine Hamper Vanilla Beauty Voucher Christmas Lights and Decorations Bundle (Tom Harris) Harrods Bear Ted Bakers Gift Set Click Studio Photography Voucher worth over £200 Tower of Treats Barrett &Coe Fantastic Photography Worth over £160 A family swim Pass and Badminton court Spelthorne Leisure Centre Cadbury’s Hamper Kidabulous Voucher £10 Head Partners Voucher Ladies Gift Set (Boots) Men’s Gift Set (Boots) Jar of Sweets £5 Fernandos Voucher £5 Laura’s Nails Voucher Photo frame Bottle of wine Box of Chocolates Panettone & Jolly Discount Voucher Exquisite Biscuits

Filming of Christmas Performances As you’ll be aware we have arranged to have the Christmas productions filmed. For next week’s KS2 production you will have an opportunity to place your order (with £8 payment) at the show or please hand in £8 and details of your child’s name and class to the school office before next Friday (16th). They will be sent home the following week. Parent/Carer PTA Survey Next week all parents/carers will receive an email with a link to a very quick online survey (takes less than 5 minutes to complete). We are conscious that the PTA should reflect the whole school community so would love to hear from you about what events you and your children would like to see plus sharing your thoughts on where funds could be used. We would be very grateful if you could take the time to complete the survey as the findings will be discussed at our January PTA meeting to guide our event choices for the rest of the school year. Easy Fundraising Remember when doing your last minute Christmas shopping to use Easy Fundraising https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk Just type in Echelford on the home page! Next meeting 13th January 1:45 – 2:45 in the school community room – all welcome! External Agencies Chelsea Football Club Foundation Christmas Soccer School Soccer School to be held on Thursday 22nd and Friday 23rd December at Matthew Arnold Soccer School from 9.30am-3.00pm, ages 5-13. Cost from £30.00. Bookings can be made online at www.chelseafc.com/foundation or for more information please contact 07809 706283 or [email protected]. Learning and Behaviour celebrations Sports awards The following children have been awarded the sports star certificate this week based on their level of participation, effort, sportsmanship and general attitude. RC Isabella Haskins 2M Marjan Kojamiri 4P Ryan Jones RG Riya Sond 2S Will Bryant 5B Jack Thomson RW Freddie Cassidy 3D Oscar Saveall 5J Tallulah Vanrell-Russell 1B Riley Grace 3L Ryan Bate 5N Mateja Brunton 1M Mia Voss 3S Jamie Ackerman 6B Charlotte Newton 4

1SB Amelia Clements Todd 4B Sophia White 6G Joseph Brewer 2L Will Cassidy 4D Ella Adams 6R Hannah Wallis Echelford Authors The following children have been celebrated this week for their writing. Their work has been displayed prominently within school. RC Freya Borthwick 2M Filip Strzelecki-Kistella 4P Kiernan Taylor RG Ecrin Bakay 2S Tia Dale-Hillier 5B George Chalcraft RW Sonny Roberts 3D James Adams 5J Max Burdfield 1B Maisie Owen 3L Scarlett Rubidge 5N Abigail Bye 1M Callum Turner 3S Amelia Cheshire 6B Theodora Dogaru 1SB Alfie Julian 4B Olivia Robinson 6G Erin Murray 2L Jamie Williams 4D Shaan Sond 6R Lucy Ellis Maths masters We congratulate all of our Mathematics Masters certificate winners. RC Hadley Collins 2M Bobby Fairminer 4P Nya Gibson RG Isabelle Humphreys 2S Ava Pallett 5B Jodie Edwards RW Zachary Fisher 3D Justin Labarte 5J Marcus Irvin 1B Caleb Kemp 3L Nelly Kolarikova 5N Faye Chownsmith 1M Sophie Cawte 3S Henry Gardner 6B Ethan Gold 1SB Dani Krastev 4B Ruby Bird 6G Raman Chhokar 2L Sam McKenna 4D Holly Cornwell & Rose Parsons 6R Ashwini Arunagiri Gold Leaf Achievers Special congratulations to Tillie Cawte, Zach Owen, George Chalcraft, Sharaf Anver, Connie Bird, Lola Underwood, Jack Ager, Ruby Bird, Perdy Adaway, Chloe Burton, Beau Bragger, Ryan Perou-Gray, Shaan Randhawa, Ghavan Wahda, Ayyan Kashif, Charlotte Neighbour, Mark Devlin, Lana McEvoy, Ellouise Hancock, Ruby Clark, Erin Mills, Laura Rokosz, Matthew Voyce, Krzysztof Karas, George Knell, Ellie Beard, Raman Chhokar, Parminder Dhillon, Alfie Szepel-Lukowski, Rylee Marshall, Mya Cully, Ryan Domsalla, Dani Krastev, Phoebe Sutton Hall, Ananyaa Basin, Sophia Shipp, Scott Domsalla, Skye Wood, Daisy Dobson, Charlie Daisley, Teah Kamara, Olivia Robinson, Ruby Bird, Chloe Burton, Jenson Miles, Jimmy Aldridge, Jamie Williams, Faye Chownsmith, Ruby Allen, Lewis Toomey Wright, Hannah Davies, Emily Long, Taylor Chatterton, Holly Fox, Cameron Twitchen, Alfie Davis, Jack Mulligan, Jack Thomson, Jaziah Emoh, Alfie Blatchford, Henry Huckerby and Dixie Muldowney who have all received a gold leaf this week.

Mrs M. E. McCarthy Executive Principal Dates for 2016 - 2017 Date Weds 14th December Thurs 15th December Thurs 15th December Fri 16th December Wednesday 21st December Tuesday 3rd January Tues 10th January Fri 13th January Fri 13th January Mon 23rd – Fri 27th January Fri 27th January Thu 2nd February Weds 8th February Thursday 9th February Friday 10th February Mon 13th – Fri 17th February Mon 20th February Thursday 2nd March Monday 6th – Friday 10th March Monday 20th – Friday 24th March

Time

Event December 7.00pm Years 3-6 Xmas concert 2.00pm Years 3-6 Xmas concert 7.00pm Years 3-6 Xmas concert Lunch Xmas lunch 1.45pm End of term January Children return to school 9.30am Open Morning for prospective parents Sept 2017 2.00pm-3.00pm PTA Meeting PTA Year 1 Cake Sale Science & PE Curriculum week 6.30pm Year 3 sleepover February Safer internet day 7.00pm-8.00pm PTA Meeting PTA Year 2 Cake Sale INSET Day Half Term Book Fair March World Book Day Year 5 PGL residential trip Maths & Computing curriculum week 5

Friday 24th March Tuesday 28th March Wednesday 29th March Friday 31st March Friday 31st March Tuesday 18th April Friday 21st April Thursday 4th May Wednesday 17th – Friday 19th May Monday 22nd - Friday 26th May Friday 26th May Mon 29th May – Fri 2nd June Monday 12th – Friday 16th June Tuesday 20th June Monday 26th – Friday 30th June Friday 30th June Tuesday 11th July Wednesday 12th July Monday 17th Monday 17th Tuesday 18th Tuesday 18th Weds 19th – Fri 21st Weds 19th – Fri 21st July

PTA Year 3 Cake Sale Parent Consultations Parent Consultations Headteacher Assembly End of term April Children return to school PTA Year 4 Cake Sale May Polling Day Year 4 Bushcraft residential History curriculum week PTA Year 5 Cake Sale Half term June Year 6 Kingswood residential 9.15am & 1.15pm Infants & Juniors Sports Day PSHE/RE Curriculum week PTA Year 6 Cake Sale July TIMES TBC Year 6 production TIMES TBC Year 6 production 9.15-10.15am Headteacher Assembly 6.30-8.30pm Leavers Disco 9.15-10.15am Leavers Assembly 1.45pm End of term INSET Days INSET Days 4.30pm-8.00pm 3.30-6.00pm 9.00-9.30am 1.45pm

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Governors – expression of interest

I would like to find out more about becoming a governor for (please indicate)

 Saxon Primary Riverbridge Primary I don’t mind which school Name

________________________________________________________________________

Telephone

____________________________________________________

Address

________________________________________________________________________

Signed

______________________________________________________date_______________________

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Bright Futures

Name____________________________________________________________________________ Paid role/job_______________________________________________________________________ Telephone _____________________________________ Address _______________________________________________________________________________________ Best times/days to come into school________________________________________________________________

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Revised meal options for weeks beginning 12th December and 19th December w/c 12/12/16

Monday th 12 Dec

Tuesday th 13 Dec

Wednesday th 14 Dec

Thursday th 15 Dec

Main Course

Pork sausages with mashed potato & gravy

Tuna & tomato pasta bake

Lightly battered fish with chips

Cottage pie

Vegetarian

Cheese & tomato pizza with sweet potato wedges

Mild quorn korma with rice

Vegetable fingers with chips

Vegetarian meatballs with spaghetti & tomato sauce

Deli

Sandwiches with a selection of fillings

Sandwiches with a selection of fillings

Sandwiches with a selection of fillings

w/c 19/12/16

Monday th 19 Dec

Wednesday st 21 Dec

Main Course

Chicken pizza with potato wedges Cheese & tomato pizza with sweet potato wedges Sandwiches with a selection of fillings

Tuesday th 20 Dec Roast Chicken, roast potatoes, vegetables & gravy Cheese flan, roast potatoes, vegetables & gravy Sandwiches with a selection of fillings

A selection of fillings

A selection of fillings

Jacket potato Dessert

Vegetarian Deli Jacket potato Dessert

Friday th 16 Dec Roast Turkey, pigs in blankets, roast potatoes, vegetables, sage & onion stuffing & gravy Roasted Vegetables & Cheddar Strudel with roast potatoes, vegetables, sage & onion stuffing & gravy Not available on this day Not available on this day

Sandwiches with a selection of fillings A selection of A selection of fillings A selection of fillings A selection of fillings fillings Apple & cinnamon Marble cake with Iced lemon sponge Fruity Wednesday Chocolate Log strudel with custard custard Available daily: wholemeal bread, seasonal fresh vegetables, fresh crisp salad & seasonal fresh fruit/yoghurt Thursday

Friday

Cod fish fingers with chips Veggie fingers with chips Sandwiches with a selection of fillings A selection of fillings

Apple & forest fruit Shortcake Biscuit Fruity Wednesday crumble with custard Available daily: wholemeal bread, seasonal fresh vegetables, fresh crisp salad & seasonal fresh fruit/yoghurt

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