Ravenscote News Engage, Enrich, Excel Autumn Term No 1 Wed 14th September 2016

Dear Parents and Carers, Welcome Back! I would like to welcome everyone back after the summer holidays. A special welcome to our new year 3 children and any children that have joined us this term. We hope your learning journey will be exciting, innovative and fulfilling! We had 2 fantastic training days last week to help us further develop our thinking, teaching and the school curriculum. We will be specifically be focusing on developing our mathematics curriculum further.

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Wed 14/9/16 Class 3C Parent Coffee Morning Wed 14/9/16 Year 3 & Year 4 Meet The Teacher at 3.30pm Thurs 15/9/16 Class 3D Parent Coffee Morning Fri 16/9/16 Class 3E Parent Coffee Morning Mon 19/9/16 Ancient Greek Week Tues 20/9/16 Prospective New Parent Talk 7pm in the hall Wed 21/9/16 Greek Dress up Day and Banquet Thurs 22/9/16 Year 4 Swimming Fri 23/9/16 Year 4 Swimming Fri 23/9/16 Class 5C Greek Dress Up Day and Banquet Mon 26/9/16 Individual School Photos being taken Tues 27/9/16 Individual School Photos being taken Wed 28/9/16 Year 4 Hooke Court Parents Info Evening at 6pm

A huge welcome to all our new staff we know your passion and positivity will inspire our children! This year we are evolving our communication, which means for this year you will receive one newsletter a month and one year group letter. All letters will be emailed and posted on the school website. We are always looking at ways to develop our communication and we would ask at the start of the year that all parents try as hard as possible to read the information we send home, this helps with the smooth running of the school. Every year I reference parking and driving around the school grounds. Please try your best to consider the neighbours but most importantly the safety of all the children on the surrounding roads. We will be posting on our website a document for residents to enable them to know when we will be holding specific events to help them understand what will be happening and when. This will be under news and events. We are so excited about this year and cannot wait to see what the children will accomplish. We believe that teaching and learning is a co-operative process between home and school so your support and help is vital for your child‘s well being. Equality and inclusion are key features of our culture and essential qualities to enable our children to understand the world around them. Whilst we may face a variety of challenges throughout the year we are committed to providing high quality learning for all. Working in partnership with you will enable your children to achieve beyond their dreams! We look forward to your children shining brightly this year! Kind regards David Harris

Thurs 29/9/16 Year 4 Swimming Fri 30/9/16 Year 4 Swimming

Thought of the Week Why fit in when you were born to stand out Dr Seuss

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Love gardening? Unfortunately, Mrs Ayre and Mrs Johnson who did an amazing job maintaining our gardens over the last few years have hung up their Ravenscote gardening gloves at the end of last year and we would like to find some volunteers to take their place. Volunteers could be parents or grandparents who are willing help maintain the Peace Garden which were are building this year. During Eco/ science week Ganesh and Elaine are returning to build our Peace garden which will be built alongside the Willow Dome. Due to the physical nature of the building of the garden mainly Year 5 and 6 pupils will be involved in the construction. This will take place on 19th and 20th of October and we require additional adult support. We are looking for volunteers who can help any morning, afternoon or even a whole day during this time. Any help will be gratefully received. If you can help in anyway please email [email protected] Thank you Mrs Cole

Dear Parents / Carers, Music Tuition We still have a couple of spaces for the following instrumental lessons. Please apply directly to the tutor as soon as possible to avoid disappointment! 1 to 1 lessons take place during school hours and we always do our best to avoid core subjects, however sometimes it cannot be avoided due to our jam-packed timetable: Classical Guitar / Bass / Electric Guitar - Mr David Beaman Email:

[email protected]

Drums - Mr Jack Bryant Email:

[email protected]

Cello / Violin - Mrs Helen Harratt Email:

[email protected]

Piano - Ms Rhiain Elliott Email:

[email protected]

Vocal coach - Ms Kim Edwards Email:

[email protected]

Let‘s make some noise!!! Musical regards, Mr V

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Library Volunteers Needed! If you have any time to spare during the school lunch hour we are in need of some parent volunteers to help with the library. Please could you email Mrs Brinicombe if you are able to assist - [email protected] . Thank you. All help is greatly appreciated.

Sports News It was great to see team GB performing so well as a at the Rio Olympics over the summer. There were lots of outstanding performances and stories to inspire our young athletes. We are delighted that team Ravenscote have received the Gold Sports Mark for the 2015-16 academic year from the Sainsbury’s School Games . This recognises the sporting commitment our pupils make to PE & Schools Sports competition. Congratulations to all our pupils and staff. www.yourschool games.com

Year 6 Transition You are invited to the Kings International College Open Evening on Thursday 13th October, between 6pm and 9pm. A presentation will be made in the Hall at 6.15pm and repeated again at 7.15pm. Staff and students will be on hand to show you our school and this will be an ideal opportunity to speak to our best ambassadors, the students. No appointment necessary. Alternatively, visit us during a working day. Every morning in September and October is an Open Morning (from 9.15am – 12.00pm). Please call 01276 683539 to make an appointment.

School Lunch Menus Lunch menus for the autumn term can now be found on the school website. Please go to the ―School Info‖ tab, on the drop down you will find the ―lunch menu‖ tab.

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Clubs Texts will be sent by the end of this week to inform you if your child has secured a place within a Ravenscote internally run club.

The Saturday Challenge Searching for Excellence Ltd are running a series of stimulating learning opportunities called ―The Saturday Challenge‖. There is a huge range of workshops on Saturday mornings in Fleet for children aged 7-11, covering everything from Puppetry to Creative Writing to Science! For more information, including topics and dates, see the attached flyer or visit searchingforexcellence.co.uk.

School Vacancy—Lunchtime Supervisor This appointment will be for 6.25 hours per week over 38 weeks of the year. Salary SP2 FTE £15189-15856(pro rata)) (Actual £2190.00- £2286.50) At Ravenscote Junior School we aim to create and maintain a happy, welcoming, stimulating and secure environment for all of the children in our care where they can work hard and achieve their full potential. We believe that ‗Every Child Matters‘ and pupils, staff, parents and governors strive to ensure that this is a daily reality for all of our children. The person will require lots of energy and enthusiasm, the ability to relate well to young children and work well in a team. Duties include supervision of children in dining areas, playground and classrooms.

You do not need to have any past experience but you do need to: • be someone who learns fast and is willing to take part in training • enjoy helping children play well together • be flexible and show initiative • have high aspirations for children.

We are confident that your work with us will be rewarding and that you will find our staff team supportive. Ravenscote School is committed to safeguarding and promoting welfare of children and young people. It expects all staff to share this commitment and the successful applicant will be required to undertake a DBS.

Closing Date Friday 19th September 2016 Interviews will take Week commencing 26th September 2016 For a copy of the Job Description and Application Form, please refer to the school website.

Ravenscote News Engage, Enrich, Excel School Uniform I am writing to remind our existing and new parents of the need for correct PE kit for all our PE sessions during each week. PE kit should be brought into school on a Monday and taken home on a Friday and stored in your son/daughter‘s locker at Ravenscote for the duration of the week. As the weather becomes more autumnal there will be a need for warmer outside clothing (track suits, warmer tops especially) along with an extra pair of socks for sports and rain jacket, as outside PE sessions will take place in all weathers. May I also remind you that earrings need to be removed (not taped) along with jewellery, watches and ―fit-bit‖ type devices to reduce potential injuries and loss. We are immensely proud of all of our Ravenscote pupils in the way they are dressed in their distinctive purple uniform. Our uniform remains a white shirt or blouse with either a clip-on tie or traditional knotted tie, with the top button done up. Grey trousers, shorts or skirt. Many of the girls may well wish to wear a summer dress as part of their uniform. Hair styles need to be sensible with no braids, razor patterns or step. Hair products (gels, waxes, mousse etc.) are not allowed for either boys or girls (if in doubt please discuss with us prior to visiting the hairdresser). Sensible school shoes, rather than trainers should be worn during the normal school day. Could we also ask that all PE kit and school clothing is clearly marked with waterproof indelible pen to help us return any lost property as quickly as possible. We also have a large selection of second-hand uniform with all items costing 50p – please contact our School Office colleagues for details. May I thank you in advance for your continued co-operation in ensuring that our pupils remain smart and proud of their appearance in our local community and beyond.

Parking As this is the beginning our academic year, I would like to remind existing parents and new parents of the problems linked to parking around the Ravenscote School site and to seek your co-operation. Surrey County Council Highways have designated sections of the Upper Chobham Road as double yellow line zones, to ensure the safety of Ravenscote pupils and other road users, especially at the peak periods of the day. The Upper Chobham Road also has yellow zigzag ―School Keep Clear‖ lines to prevent drop-off and pick-up in the immediate areas around the side entrance to Ravenscote, once again to help ensure pupil safety. At the main Entrance to Ravenscote on the Old Bisley Road we also have a zone marked with yellow ―School Keep Clear‖ zigzag lines to prevent illegal parking, pick-up and drop-off and to help with the visibility around the main entrance which over 400 pupils use on a daily basis. Unfortunately, we do have a few parents that still choose to ignore the statutory road markings as set out in the Highway Code. We also have a number of vehicles undertaking manoeuvres and U- turns across the main entrance to Ravenscote, which hampers and endangers staff and pupils as they attempt to enter the Ravenscote site. We have also received a number of reminders from our close neighbours about cars parked across or encroaching on private driveways and access to their properties, which have been marked by Surrey County Council Highways with continuous white road markings which should not the parked on. Once again, may I thank you for your co-operation in making Ravenscote a safer school within the local community.

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Diary Dates Friday 14th October—PTA Ice Breaker Disco (Year 3 & 4 at 5pm to 6.15pm) (Year 5 & 6 at 6.30pm to 8pm) Saturday 5th November—PTA Firework Spectacular Wednesday 23rd November—PTA Christmas Shopping—Craft Stalls