Friday 24th October 2008

Dear Parents/Carers,
                 We are very pleased with the way that all of our new children have settled into life at Ravenstone. This has been a very busy half term for all of us and me especially: I was at the LEA’s Headteachers’ conference for three days, followed by a very sudden bereavement and then a week at school journey.
Then Ofsted today, so apologies for a very brief (and rushed) newsletter.
I am looking forward to a quieter half term.

1. HEALTHY LIVING WEEK: The week beginning 6th October was Healthy Living week which was, once again, very successful in encouraging both children and adults to adopt healthier lifestyles.
Many thanks to the PTA, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose for wonderful donations during the week.       Amy Fleming

2. BIKE IT: Although there have been some problems, we are delighted with the cycle traing for older and younger children, and the fact that more people are cycling to Ravenstone. We know there are issues to address, e.g. more racks etc but we will tackle these asap              Richard Huie
3. YAMERIGA: I never cease to be amazed by your wonderful, caring and thoughtful children: Claudia, Annabel and Edith (Y5) held a small sale during the summer holidays to raise money for Yameriga, contributing £37:11. Similarly, Rhys, Luke, Jordan, Jevontae, Nick, Ayden, Kacey, Alex, Kyle and Ryan (Y4) organised a sale of their old toys and raised £25.60 for Yameriga.

4. GOLDEN WEEKS: Our first Golden Week of this academic year has been this week. Golden Week is a special week at Ravenstone.  The children record all the work that they do during the week in their Golden Books and all make huge efforts to produce their very best work.  Teachers make sure that as much work as possible from all areas of the curriculum is recorded in the Golden Books, including a piece of story writing for Literacy and number work using the four operations in Maths.  Our Golden Books travel up with the children as they move up through the school and serve two purposes – they can be used as an assessment tool by teachers, but most importantly they act as a portfolio of a child’s very best work.  This means that children (and you as their parents) can see and celebrate their progress and achievement as their school career advances.       Ngaire Waugh

5. SCHOOL JOURNEY: We have just returned from Osmington Bay, Dorset with 54 Y6 children. This is the first time that we have been so early in the year and it was a huge success. The children (and staff) enjoyed activities such as Abseiling, Fencing, Quad bike riding, Mountain bike riding, Zip wire, Climbing, Beach walk and many others. The children have learnt a lot about teamwork, supporting each other, challenging themselves and having fun. Thanks to the PTA for supporting the trip.

6. CLUBS: Parents often ask for a list of extra curricular clubs currently running:
Music: MJ Paranzino will run the children’s choir after school on Tuesdays (70+ Y3-6) when she returns after half term. There is a Y6 Percussion club on Wednesdays, Orchestra on Thursdays. The adult choir on Tuesday evenings at 7:30pm is wonderful. All parents and friends are welcome to attend.
Football: Richard Huie and Anthony Turi run Football club on Fridays after     school for Y5/6 children.
Gymnastics: Emily Richardson and Chloe Shaw run Gym club for Y3/4 on Mondays. 20 children at a time, working towards BAGA awards and inter-school competitions.
Swimming: Sarah Austin and Laura Hurley have continued swimming club after school on Wednesdays for 20 Y4/5/6 children.
Oware: Jane Hampson and Mary Hargreaves have started Oware club lunchtimes.
Gardening: Jane Hampson runs Gardening Club on Tuesday pm. 16 Y4
Chess: Chess club continues on Monday lunchtimes under the guidance of Ewa Stevens.
Spanish Club: A new club for Y2 run by Daisy Harman and Naomi Westland.
Yoga: Sara (Reception) runs a new Yoga club for Y1 children on Mondays.
Storytelling: Mr Friday runs a new storytelling club for Y3 on Mondays.
Art: Fiona Crouch and Ruth Hine are running an Art club after school on Mondays initially for Y4/5.
Y6 Homework Club: The Year 6 Homework Club (run by Max Furnell, Jo Lynch, Mary Hargreaves, Jane Hampson and other staff) continues on Monday afternoons 3:30-4:30pm. This term we will provide additional work in English and Maths.
KS1 Puzzle club: Felicity Gray and Jessie Chowdry for 30mins Thursday pm, starting after half term.
Sports Leaders Club: Emily Richardson and Mandee Saxby will be running a club for Y6 (20 at a time) Friday after school for the children to train as accredited sports leaders.
7. PACKED LUNCH ROOM: Please can all parents/carers ensure that their children bring home their lunchboxes/bags as we still keep accumulating a rather unpleasant pile of leftover bags/boxes and items of food in the room
8. PTA QUIZ: This Friday is Quiz Nite. Make sure you get there, even if you are on your own you can join a team. Great fun for all!!
9. RAVENSTONE SINGERS CONCERT FOR DEMELZA: This Saturday 25th October the Ravenstone
10. OFSTED: We have our inspection today and are all confident we will receive a helpful and productive report. It will be circulated soon after half term. Thank you all for filling in you forms and your constant support of your children and Ravenstone

FINALLY, a reminder that we break for half term this Friday 24th October. School re-opens on MONDAY 3rd   NOVEMBER.
Enjoy half term.

 With Best Wishe

DIARY
OCTOBER 2008
27th-31st  Half term Cycle Training Y6

NOVEMBER 2008
12th   Parents Evening
27th   Y6 Secondary Transfer tests

DECEMBER 2008
16th, 17th  Foundation Stage (Nursery & Reception) performances
18th   Last day of term (Note change as next day is an Inset Day)
19th   Inset day (staff in school, but not children)

JANUARY 2009
6th    CHILDREN RETURN

FEBRUARY 2009
Half Term 13th-20th February 2009 (13th is an inset day: staff in school, but not children)

Break for Easter Friday 3rd April 2009
Summer Term starts 20th April 2009

MAY 2009
11th-15th  Key Stage 2 SATS
Half term 25th -1st June 2009

JUNE 2009
2nd  Children return

JULY 2009
Last day of term 17th July 2009