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Butcombe Newsletter

Dr Wendy Bowring, the Headmistress of Clifton College's Butcombe Pre-Preparatory and Nursery School, writes a regular newsletter for parents and friends of the school.

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Newsletter 15

Dear Parents,

It has been a hive of industry at Butcombe this week! Year 1 brought their bicycles and scooters in to school yesterday as part of their topic on wheels, and Year 2 attended a mediaeval banquet as part of their Knights and Castles topic. Mrs Spratling’s class have turned their classroom into a castle, and Year 3 girls are gearing up for the Butcombe Netball Tournament at BB tomorrow, as well as the inter-school Mini-Triathlon next Friday. The teachers are up to their eyes in writing reports - it’s all go here!

Amidst it all, there are a few things to tell you of and remind you about.

Sports Relief Mile

On Friday 19th March, the children of Butcombe will be raising money for Sports Relief by running a mile around the playground. Each class will have an opportunity to run for one mile, either as a class, in relay, or individually if they are feeling energetic! Year 3 are already taking part in their Triathlon in the afternoon, so that will be their ‘mile’ – we think they will be doing enough already! All the children are invited to come to school on that day dressed as their favourite sports star, or in ‘sporty’ clothes, in return for a minimum £1 contribution to the Sports Relief charity. Apologies to Year 2 children who because of Forest School that day, will have to come to school in Forest School kit rather than sporty clothes.

Parking at the Zoo

On Monday afternoon, 15th March, the Pre are hosting a Mathematical Challenge which means the zoo car park will be particularly full that afternoon. I thought I’d just bring this to your attention so that you are forewarned that parking may be difficult on that day.

The Playground

Our Nursery children have worked extremely hard this week planting bulbs and seedlings in various places in our grounds. During break times, our staff are very conscientious about supervising the children so they do not play near the beds and pots. After school yesterday, when they children had gone home, the nursery staff were dismayed to find that many of their bulbs and seedlings had either been pulled up or squashed under foot. If your children are staying to play in the playground after school, please, please supervise them well so that no further damage happens.

May I also remind you that they playground is open for the exclusive use of Butcombe children until 4.30 p.m., after which the Pre children are able to use it. The spider frame is designed for children aged four to eight years, so young nursery children and older siblings in the Pre should not use it. There should be no bicycles or scooters used in the playground after school, and no ice creams purchased from the van outside should be brought into the playground. All children staying to play must be closely supervised by their parents, and your help in ensuring the playground remains safe for all children is greatly appreciated.

Class Sizes

I have been asked by a group of parents to restate what our maximum class size should be, as I understand they have seen children on ‘taster days’ and assumed they have joined the class they have visited. This is a case of two plus two making five.

This is the time of year when children visit for ‘taster days’. As ever, the maximum number I recruit per class is sixteen children. The staff and I feel this is the ideal size – large enough not to be just a large group (where the social dynamic is quite different) but small enough to provide individual attention for each child. Occasionally I am obliged to take a seventeenth child when a family has been admitted by one of the other schools – this is something I tell every parent when they come to visit.

If you have any concerns about this or any other matter, please do come and ask me directly.

End of Term

Once again there is some confusion about when the Butcombe term ends, because our term dates are not the same as those for the Pre and Upper School. The term ends at 3.30 p.m. on Friday 26th March, and the new term commences at 8.30 a.m. on Tuesday 20th April.

Have an enjoyable weekend – Mums put your feet up on Sunday!

With best wishes,

12 March 2010

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