NEWSLETTER November 2013

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Christmas is Coming! This half term is successfully under way; autumn seems to be nearly over and, with our annual Norwich Cathedral carol service less than three weeks away, many people’s thoughts are beginning to turn to the upcoming festive period. As well as the carol service, we have our Christmas dinners on the week beginning December 9th (A separate letter has gone out about this). Mrs Nudds would like to thank the twenty children from across the school that went with her to the performance of Castaways by the Rambert Dance Company at the Norwich Theatre Royal on Friday 18th October. The children were the youngest to attend this educational performance and members of the public commented on their impeccable behaviour. Mrs Nudds would also like to say a huge thank you to the parents, Mrs Butler and Mr Jones, for giving up their precious time and going along to support her. On Thursday 7th November Mr Mason had the pleasure of accompanying twenty of our talented musicians and performers to watch a performance of Humperdink’s Hansel und Gretal at the Theatre Royal. The production was being staged by Glyndebourne and this performance was aimed at giving children a positive first experience of opera. The sets were spectacular including a ‘gingerbread house’ made out of sweet treats in the form of a supermarket! Despite the opera being sung entirely in German the children were able to follow the story through the wonderful acting; most of them did not even bother to read the supertitles above the stage much! Mr Mason said that it was a pleasure to take the children; their behaviour was excellent and the joy on their faces throughout showed that it had the desired outcome. On November 15th, we had fun and raised £747.65 for Children in Need, with a non-uniform day and lots of imaginative and entertaining 10p and 20p stalls, organised and run by the Year 6 pupils. On 20th November, the Year 6 classrooms will be dramatically transformed into places designed to stimulate the children, who will be in role as Victorian newspaper journalists, reporting on Florence Nightingale’s work in Scutari hospital, a laboratory investigating the Brook Street Cholera outbreak, prison reform and the Charge of the Light Brigade. The following day, the children will use their notes to work in teams and produce newspaper front pages from 1854. Year 6 are particularly busy at the moment: a group of 15 Y6 pupils have just started a 6-week evening course at Norwich City FC’s study centre, working towards their ‘Skills Award’, accredited by the Children’s University.

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We are delighted that Mr Collins, our caretaker, has been able to return to work following major heart surgery in June. Mr Collins has confirmed his wish to retire at the end of this term, something he had planned to do before his heart attack. As a result, we have appointed a new caretaker, Mr Neil Hall, who we hope will be able to work alongside Mr Collins towards the end of this term, as Mr Collins comes to the end of a long, happy, successful and highlyvalued association with Taverham Junior School. We have appointed two new Midday supervisors, who started work at the beginning of this half term: Welcome to Mrs Suzanne Collins and Miss Nicole Payne. We have also appointed two new teaching assistants, Miss Esther James and Mrs Louise Chittock, to work as part of the Y3 and Y5 teams. Both are very familiar to the children and with the school: Mrs Chittock is one of our MSAs and regularly volunteers in class and Miss James worked here until July; we are delighted to welcome both to the staff team.

Paul Stanley Headteacher

Foodbank Harvest Festival Appeal Thank you once again to everyone who donated food items for our harvest festival appeal. We have received a certificate from Norwich Foodbank which states that we donated a total of 189kg of food; this is apparently enough to feed 27 local people in crisis, for 3 days.

POPPY APPEAL

Thank you to everyone who’s child/ren donated to the Poppy Appeal – we raised a fabulous

£57.65 SPORTING NEWS Y5 FOOTBALL The Year 5 boys’ football team have had a difficult start to the season. Having beaten White Woman Lane in their first game they had to show real character in defeat to an excellent team from Falcon Junior. The return fixture against Falcon proved the highlight of the season so far with the boys’ putting in an excellent performance but narrowly missing out on a 2

share of the points. Well done to everybody who has played in the team so far. Training continues on Tuesday nights with games starting again in the second half of Spring term. CROSS COUNTRY Our club meets on Tuesday lunchtime and is open to all children in Years 4, 5 and 6. It has been a great start to the season with about 20 children attending on a regular basis. There is plenty space for more! We are very fortunate to be able to use the grounds of Taverham Hall to train in. There have been two races so far this year. At Sprowston Junior the boys came 3rd and the girls were 4th. There were two notable performances by Kyle Moore (7th) and Charlotte Bull (2nd). The next race was held at Falcon Junior. Again the boys achieved 3rd place and the girls matched them, coming 3rd also. Not to be outdone, Kyle Moore matched Charlotte’s 2nd place. Well done to all the children and thank you to mums and dads for their support. The next race will be on Thursday 5th December at Taverham Hall.

SEVERE WEATHER ARRANGEMENTS We

don’t want to tempt fate, but winter is almost upon us, and it is possible that we will have some snow or severe weather before the end of term or early next term. Deciding whether or not to close the school is always a difficult decision and a number of factors need to be considered, including whether members of staff living a long way from school are able to get into work, or if the school meals can be provided. Advice from the Local Authority is that schools should remain open wherever possible and we will always aim to do this. In the event of heavy snow, please listen to local radio (Heart: 102.4 FM or Radio Norfolk) to hear whether the school is closed. Details of school closures are also available on Norfolk’s schools website: www.schools.norfolk.gov.uk Please avoid ringing the school if at all possible-this blocks the phone lines and means the office staff spend all their time on the phone between 8 and 9 am. If the school is open, parents should make every effort to get their children to school.

COATS TO SCHOOL PLEASE! As the weather gets colder, can you please ensure that your child wears a coat to school, and that the coat is clearly labeled with your child’s name (along with all other items of clothing!) We try and ensure the children are outside at

breaks and lunchtimes unless the weather is particularly bad, so it’s important that all children have a coat in school, even if they’re brought to school by car. We are also developing outdoor learning, so the children are spending much more lesson time working and learning outdoors, throughout the year.

CHRISTMAS DINNERS Christmas dinners will be served in the week beginning Monday 9th December. Letters/information has already been sent home about this- please check emails and/or your child’s bag for this and respond ASAP!

FREE SCHOOL MEALS Do you Qualify? You can register your child for Free School Meals if you get any of these benefits:  Income Support  Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance  Income-related Employment and Support Allowance  Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999  The Guarantee element of State Pension Credit  Child Tax Credit, provided they are not enetitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual income (as assessed by HM Revenue & Customs) that does not exceed £16,190

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 Working Tax Credit ‘run-on’ – the payment someone may receive for a further four weeks after they stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit Pupils can also register for Free School Meals if they get any of these benefits themselves. Come and talk to Mrs Armstrong in the office if you’re unsure.

Inconsiderate Parking Once again, we have been contacted by neighbouring residents, particularly in St Edmunds Rise this time, who are unhappy and concerned about parents’ cars blocking/obstructing driveways and/or parking in a way that makes access difficult. Please could parents collecting children consider our neighbours - perhaps by parking a bit further away from school (maybe at Taverham Library) and walking the last bit of the journey? Unfortunately, due to the recent wet weather, we have had to close the overflow car park until the ground dries out a bit. Apologies for any inconvenience this may cause. Many thanks.

KEEPING YOUR CHILD SAFE ONLINE Attached is some information for parents produced by CEOP (Child Exploitation and Online Protection) which we hope you will find helpful. We plan to have a meeting for parents about the subject of internet safety early next term. More information about this will be sent out soon. 4

REMINDER We are a Nut-free school Because we have a number of children with severe (i.e. potentially lifethreatening) nut allergies, we are a nutfree school, and have been for a number of years. Please ensure that your children do not come to school with any nuts or products containing nuts (e.g. ‘Nutella’, SNICKERS or other chocolate/hazelnut spreads). Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

Coppelia School of Dance hold classes in Taverham Junior School on a Tuesday and Wednesday after school for ages 2½years up to PreCollege training. Classes include: Ballet, Modern, Tap and Gymnastic Dance. For Class times or to have a free trial class please call : 01362 692126 or email : [email protected]

POLITE REQUEST If you are raising a cheque to pay to the school please make sure that it is made payable to: Taverham Junior School

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Cornish Gould Rix Stolworthy

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Citizenship Awards October – 15th November 2013

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Daisy Ellie Samira Megan

25 Eva Charlotte Ben Jacob Rossi Evie Ria Lucy Jack Abigail Joshua Josh Macy Jacob Evie

Martell Canham Oliver-King Green Willis Kirk Umbrani Wilson Bowler North Knights Taylor Guyton Kay Atkinson

3F 3N 3PM 4L 4LP 4F 4P 5LH 5PH 5S 5M 6L 6M 6H 6J

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Eve Tamzin Joe Alice

Carey Catchpole Tillett Childs

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PE Awards October – 15th November 2013 WHOLE WHOLE UEA

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Fox Forder Mirza Tarelli

CLASS CLASS CLIMBERS

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Achievement Awards October – 15th November 2013 Harlie Sophie Keira Tigan Chloe Leah Sam Eleanor Owen Lauryn Darcy Kyle Ellen Joe Harry Max

Campbell Gale Moniz Howard Sayers Knight Barnard Ketteringham Nye Head Tomlinson Twiddy De-Abreu Piggott Wilson Threadwell

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Daniel Jacob Olivia Layla Laura Alfie Jessica Laura Natasha Millie-Beth Owen Jamie Alana Charlie Macey

Sampford Thompson McKay Fox Angus Easter Chadwick Howard Holm Mintey Willcox Fox Boyd Dobbs Utting

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D I A R Y

D A T E S

November 2013 Wed 20.11.13 & Thurs 21.11.13: Year 6 Victorian newspaper day December 2013 Wed 04.12.13: School Christmas Carol service, Norwich Cathedral (7.30pm) Mon 09.12.13-Thurs 12.12.13: Christmas Dinners Fri 13.12.13: PTFA Cake / DVD / Game sale Mon 16.12.13: Y3 Performance - 6pm Tues 17.12.13: Y3 Performance – 1:45pm Wed 18.12.13: PTFA discos Fri 20.12.13: Last day of term February 2014 Mon 03.02.14: Parents’ evening (3-6pm) Thurs 06.02.14: Parents’ evening (4-7pm) Thurs 13.02.14: PTFA Valentine’s discos Mon 24.02.14-Fri 28.02.14: Book Week March 2014 Tue 25.03.14: ‘Cake Concert’ Wed 26.03.14-Fri 27.03.14: Y6 residential trip to Caythorpe Court May 2014 Mon 12.05.14-Fri 16.05.14: SATs Week (National Tests for Y6 pupils) June 2014 Tues 17.06.14: Music Concert Mon 23.06.14: Sports Day (Y3/4) Tues 24.06.14: Sports Day (Y5/6) Wed 25.06.14: New Y3 intake Parents’ evening Thurs 26.06.14: School closed for staff training July 2014 Fri 04.07.14: PTFA barbecue Fri 11.07.13: THS Induction day and TJS class transfer day Tues 15.07.14: Open Evening for existing parents Wed 16.07.14 & Thurs 17.07.14: Year 6 Leavers’ performances Tues 22.07.14: Y6 leavers’ awards presentation; Tues 22.07.14: Y6 leavers’ disco & barbecue; PTFA disco for Y3/4/5 Wed 23.07.14: Y6 leavers’ breakfast.

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TERM DATES 2013 -2014 Autumn Term 2013 Begins on Thursday 5 September and ends on Friday 20th December HALF TERM CLOSING: Monday 28th October - Friday 1st November th

STAFF TRAINING DAYS:

3rd and 4th September 2013

Spring Term 2014 Begins on Tuesday 7th January and ends on Friday April 4th 2014 HALF TERM CLOSING: Monday 17th February - Friday 21st February 2014 STAFF TRAINING DAY: 6th January 2014 Summer Term 2014 Begins on Wednesday 23rd April and ends on Wednesday 23rd July HALF TERM CLOSING: Monday 26th May – Friday 30th May STAFF TRAINING DAY 26th June 2014 The school will also be closed on Monday 5th May (May Day Bank Holiday)

IMPORTANT NOTE:Dates for Staff Training Days may need to be altered. Notice will be given if this proves to be necessary.

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