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Butcombe Newsletter Issue 19

18 June 2008

Dear Parents

It has been a very busy time at school, with sports days, school reports and making plans for the next academic year. On top of that, Ofsted told us ten days ago that they were coming in to inspect the Foundation Stage (Nursery and Reception) over three days during the following week! As usual, I am not able to divulge their findings until the full report is received, but suffice to say that we may well be celebrating once the report arrives! I hope to be able to send you the report before the end of term.

Dance Awards

Some of our children have recently taken the British Theatre Dance Association Performance Awards, they have all done extremely well. I am delighted to publish the results below:

Mufti Day for 'New Beginnings Children's Home', Friday 27th June

We are holding a Mufti Day (non-uniform day) on Friday 27th June in support of the charity 'New Beginnings Childrens' Home' in Albania. Mrs Spratling is one of a small team of adults who will be painting and decorating the home over the summer holidays. The team are financing their own flights and accommodation, but are raising money for decorating materials, a computer and software for the children and kitchen equipment. Any extra funds will go towards the running costs of the home.

The 'vision' of the home is to provide an alternative to the state-run institutions by providing a small family-type home where more personal attention is given to each child. For the privilege of coming to school in home clothes, we are asking that the children bring in £1 or £2 (or more if you wish) which Mrs Spratling will put to very good use! Many thanks in advance for supporting this project.

Fruity Friday

Thank you for supporting Fruity Friday. We made a donation of £157.10 to the World Cancer Research Fund.

Swimming Galas

A reminder that we are holding two swimming galas, for Y2 at 2.00 p.m. on Friday 27 June, and for Y3 at 2.00 p.m. on Tuesday, 1 July, which parents are very welcome to attend.

Year 3 Leavers' Assembly — Change of Date!

We are sorry that we have had to change the date of the Leavers' Assembly from the penultimate day of term to the very last day, Friday 4th July at 10.00 a.m. in the BMH. All Year 3 parents are very welcome — bring lots of tissues!

Uniform

May I make a gentle reminder that children should not wear trainers to school, and socks should be worn with sandals as well as shoes. If you are about to purchase sandals, we recommend that the toes are covered in order to avoid any accidents on the apparatus, as have happened in the past. My final reminder is that girls should wear only blue or black hair bands, slides or bobbles, and not 'Barbie pink' or other bright colours that are beginning to creep in. Many thanks for your help over this.

After School Care

We are experiencing an unprecedented demand for After School Care (ASC) at the moment, and Mrs Purnell is having to tell people on a daily basis that there is no space to accommodate their children. Our ASC facility is registered with Ofsted to cater for 40 children, and we are unable to go over this figure. Some parents are booking ASC every evening, but only using it when they need to, which results in many parents who need to use it but who are unable to. It has been suggested that a fee is charged for parents who book ASC but who do not use it, not because of the financial gain, but as a means to deter block booking that is not really needed. I am personally reluctant to go down this route as I prefer to explain the problem to parents in the expectation that those concerned will stop block booking, but it may be that this will be the way forward. There are just over two weeks of term left, and we shall monitor the number of children who are booked in to ASC but who do not turn up, and hope that the problems we are experiencing disappear. We would be very grateful for your help over this matter.

I hope to see you around school as we continue with our Information Evenings and Parents Evenings over the next few weeks.

With best wishes,

18 June 2008

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