22 June 2018

Dear Parents

Thank you all for your generous donations of filled jam jars and chocolate for our Summer Fayre which will be held on Friday 29 June 5pm-7pm in the school grounds. There will be a BBQ , cream tea and cakes and a bar so no need to cook tea that evening! Stalls will include tombola, bottle stall, hook a duck, football shootout and lots more for a lovely family evening. Our plea now is for the Bottle stall which has been a feature at every fayre for nearly 40 years! It is always extremely popular and the price of five tickets for a £1 has not increased in as long as I can remember! The reward for the class who collect the most bottles is an extra playtime. There is always massive competition for this, driven by some very competitive staff who in their endeavour for their children to win forget it means they have to do an extra playground duty as their reward!! Thank you again for your generosity.

The whole school trip to the Cotswold Wildlife Park is rapidly approaching, Friday 13 July, details of payments can be found on Parentpay. Final payments must be made by 6 July in order for arrangements, group lists and coaches to be finalized. Thank you to everyone who has offered to come as helpers and parent payment details have now been added to ParentPay.

On Monday of next week Year 5 will be starting a week of Bikeability which will focus on developing their cycling skills and learn how to keep safe on the roads. The children's bikes and helmets will be locked away securely inside our school hall every evening. I am sure the children will gain a lot from this activity week.

If you would like your child to participate in the Year 5 Manor Adventure or Year 6 Alton Castle Residential trips in September could you please confirm your intention via ParentPay. Final numbers must now be made to both organizations. Thank you.

Please can I ask everyone to check the calendar on the school website. Every class will be holding a Showcase Assembly over the next few weeks, the younger children's will be held in the classroom and KS2 in the school hall. Year 6 will showcase their many talents through the KS2 performance of 'Mary Poppins'. These are lovely opportunities for the children to celebrate their year's work and perform for their parents and family. We look forward to seeing you.

Well done to Year 3 who celebrated their first class Mass since receiving their First Holy Communion. It was a very special Mass of Thanksgiving shared with their families and friends.

Next Friday 29 June we celebrate the feast of SS Peter and Paul with Mass at 9.15am in the school hall. It would be lovely to see as many parents as possible join us to celebrate this feast. Please join us for tea and coffee after Mass.

As you will have seen, voting for two parent representatives on the Academy Committee is now taking place. I am extremely grateful to all three candidates who are willing to take on what is an extremely demanding role in the governance of our school. I am also indebted to Mr Andy Haynes and Mrs Joan Ball who spent the day preparing, copying and creating voting packs as well as Mr Haynes providing all the paper and envelopes. Thank you both.

I am aware that recently it has been necessary to send out a lot of correspondence to parents to read and/or sign and return. Thank you for your understanding that this is a legal requirement in the light of new government legislation. We continue to strive to limit paper use, photocopying and administrative time through our School Life app and Parent Pay. I am delighted to say that it is becoming increasingly evident that this is not only more convenient for parents but also very cost effective . We really appreciate your positive feedback and patience as new systems are established.

A reminder that on Wednesday 27 June at 6.30 pm we are holding our annual New Intake Evening for parents of children starting at St Wulstan's in September. Even if you already have a child in school it is important that you attend this meeting as this will be an opportunity to give you information and for you to ask any questions you may have. We look forward to seeing many of you then.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any concerns regarding your child be they academic, emotional or social. We wish you all an enjoyable weekend and look forward to seeing you on Monday.

KE Savage