Dear Parent/Carer, GOODBYE Next week we will be saying “Goodbye” to Mrs Sinclair, Miss Orriss, Mrs Taunton and Mrs Berry. We will miss them all very much and on behalf of everyone at North Town, I would like to wish them all the very best for the future. NEW STAFF UPDATE Following recent interviews, I am pleased to announce that Ms Zielinski will be taking over as the Golden Pippins class teacher from the beginning of next term. Ms Zielinski has been in school this week and will be back next week to work with the children in Golden Pippins, so please make her feel welcome as she settles into our school. A “Meet the Teacher” meeting has been organised for Tuesday 16

th December at 3.30pm in Golden Pippins classroom where parents can meet Ms Zielinski for an

informal chat. NEW BABY

Congratulations to Mrs Tolfree who is one of our Teaching Assistants and Lunchtime Supervisors, who has recently given birth to a baby boy called Emilio.

HOUSE TREAT Congratulations to Blackdown House who have won this term’s House treat. The final House point totals are below. The House treat will take place during the afternoon of Wednesday 17

th December and the children will be

enjoying a Christmas Pyjama Party. Therefore, if your child is in Blackdown House, please can they wear their pyjamas to school on Wednesday. Final House Point Totals 1

st Blackdown - 5474

2nd

Quantock - 5293 3

rd Mendip – 5240

4th

Brendon - 5231 NATIVITY PLAYS Congratulations and well done to all the Early Years children for performing so well in our Nativity Plays this week. Thank you also to all the staff for all the hard work and preparation that goes into making the performances such a success.

CHRISTMAS PARTIES The children will be enjoying their class Christmas parties on Thursday 18

th December. Children may

bring in party clothes to change into for the afternoon. We would be grateful for a contribution of 50p which should be given to your child’s class teacher in a clearly named envelope on Money Monday

Morning - 15th

December. Thank you. KEY STAGE 2 CHRISTMAS SERVICE A reminder that our Key Stage 2 Christmas Service will be held on Friday 19

th December starting at

10.00am at St James Church, Taunton. All welcome. If you have any WW1 or WW2 military uniform jackets that we could borrow for our service, we would be very grateful. Please let Mrs Locker or your child’s class teacher know. Also, if you are able to help walk the children to and from the church, please see your child’s class teacher as soon as possible. Thank you.

TOY DAY Friday 19

th December, is TOY DAY. Your child will be able to bring toys and games to school to play

with their friends on that day. Electronic games are allowed, but such items are brought entirely at the owner’s risk. School uniform must be worn on the last day.

Cont’d…….

LOST PROPERTY We have again accumulated a large amount of lost property. It will be put out on display in the playground during the last week of term. Any lost property which is not claimed will be donated to our next Rag Bags appeal or sold as second hand uniform. Please ensure all items are clearly named so that they can be returned to their owner if lost or mislaid. ON STREET PARKING IN WOOD STREET I have recently received a report that an adult was nearly knocked down by a parent reversing their car when dropping off their child to school in Wood Street. Please can all drivers take extreme care when driving and parking in the vicinity of the school grounds, as this incident could quite easily have been far more serious; especially if a child had been crossing Wood Street at the time. Please can you also ensure that you do not park or drop off your child on the yellow zigzag markings at any time. Thank you. DOGS Please note that dogs should not be left unattended and tied up on the school site. This includes the Staplegrove Road pedestrian lane entrance and outside the school gates. We have received a number of complaints about this problem. Only guide dogs and “detection” dogs are allowed on the school site. Thank you for your co-operation. PARENT FORUM MEETING AND E-MAIL ADDRESS The next Parent’s Forum Meeting will be held on Monday 19

th January 2015. If you would like anything raised

at the meeting, please send your request to the following e-mail address: NTParentsForum@educ.somerset.gov.uk. An agenda for the meeting will be sent home by Parentmail at the beginning of the spring term.

PRO COACHING AFTER SCHOOL SPORTS CLUBS – SPRING TERM Below are Pro Coaching after school sports clubs for next term. Pro Coaching has already sent home letters and you are able to book on line at www.pro-coaching.co.uk. The clubs will start week commencing Monday 12

th January and will end week commencing Monday 23

rd March

2015. The cost will be £40 for the 10 week block.

Day Club Age Group Venue Run by

Monday Gymnastics Reception age to Year 4 North Town School Pro Coaching

Tuesday Multi Sports Reception age to Year 3 North Town School Pro Coaching

Wednesday Football Reception and Year 1 age North Town School Pro Coaching

Thursday Football Year 2 age to Year 6 North Town School Pro Coaching

Friday Basketball Year 2 age to Year 6 North Town School Pro Coaching

THE CHILDREN’S CHRISTMAS JUMPER DAY Thank you to everyone who wore a Christmas jumper to school today for the Save the Children’s fundraising campaign this year. We raised a total of £200. AWARDS Congratulations to the following children who have achieved their Bronze award for receiving 50 house points – Lucca, Mia, Paddy, Abaigeal, Evie, Poppy, Lily, Emily, Lucas, Jasmine, Harry, Elias, Mackenzie, Piers, Oliver, Beth, Erin, Finlay, Rosie, Beth, Max, Philippa, Susie, Trinity, Megan,

Lauren, Izaak and Jessica. House points are awarded for good behaviour and an excellent attitude towards learning. Congratulations also to Farhan who achieved his Silver Award by attaining 75 house points. The total for Gold is 100 house points.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS Finally, as this will be the last Newsletter of the term, on behalf of the staff and Governors of North Town, I would like to wish you and your families a very Happy Christmas and New Year.

Yours sincerely

Mike Snowden Head teacher

Cont’d…..

SPORTS TEAM REPORTS – WRITTEN BY MR TEMPLETON – P.E LEADER Year 5/6 Football Tournament On Monday 1

st December we took eight Year 5/6 footballers to a tournament at Castle School. We were only

allowed to send one team to this tournament as it was the last round of pool games before the finals. North Town played very strongly against the other teams at the tournament. They won against Bishops Hull, Parkfield and Milverton and lost to Wellesley Park. These results are enough to see North Town through to the finals on Monday 12

th January at Heathfield School.

Well done to Finlay, Calum, Autumn, Lewis, Louis, Tyler, Jake and William. Many thanks to Matt Fevin for his help with looking after the team and to SASP and SCAT for organising and providing referees for the tournament.

Year 5/6 Girls Football Tournament On Monday 8

th December we took sixteen Year 5/6 girls footballers to a tournament at Kings College. This was the

final round of competitive matches and we fielded a completely different B team to our last tournament. North Town B played very strongly against the other teams at the tournament. For everyone playing it was their first tournament and a valuable experience. They lost to Milverton, St. Andrews and Wiveliscombe and drew with Staplegrove.

North Town B: Alisha, Katie, Megan R, Jessica, Millie, Teagan, Megan B and Lauren. North Town A also played four games, drawing with Bishop Henderson, St. Andrews, Cotford St. Luke and beating St. Georges. This was enough for them to retain the Tone Area Girls Football title. A brilliant effort!

North Town A: Yvie, Mia, Rowan, Lily-May, Willow, Iona, Daisy, Courtney. They will now go on to represent the school at the county finals in Bridgwater on 16

th January. Cont’d…..

Many thanks to Shane Morris for his help with looking after the team and to SASP and Kings College for organising and providing referees for the tournament. To date, twenty four girls have represented the school in football and this will hopefully inspire further interest in the after school club and links with weekend football clubs.

Girls Football - Final League Table

Played Won Drew Lost For Against Points

North Town A 8 4 4 0 6 0 20

St Andrews 8 4 3 1 5 1 19

Milverton 8 3 5 0 4 1 19

St Georges 8 4 2 2 9 4 18

Wiveliscombe 8 1 7 0 4 2 17

West Monkton 8 2 3 3 4 5 15

Bishop Henderson 8 0 7 1 0 1 15

Cotford St Luke 8 1 4 3 3 5 14

North Town B 8 0 4 4 1 7 12

Blackbrook 8 0 2 6 0 10 10

Staplegrove 4 0 3 1 0 3 7

Year 5/6 Tag Rugby Tournament On Tuesday 9

th December we entered a team into the first tag rugby tournament of the year. Tag rugby is a

relatively new sport within our school. We organised an inter house tag rugby tournament last half term which all children in Years 3-6 took part in. We took a squad of ten to the tournament organised by SASP, with refereeing support from Richard Huish College students.

North Town team: Rudy, Joe, Autumn, Flo, Jake, Trinity, Jessie, Raffey, Charlotte, Thomas. The team played incredibly well for their debut tournament beating Staplegrove A, Cotford St.Luke B and Wellesley Park and drawing with Rockwell Green. Many thanks to Andy Lees for his help and support with looking after the team. #WeareNORTHTOWN

Sports Kit

Please can all sports kit be washed and returned within one week after fixtures, as we have a very full sporting calendar.

Thank you.

Cont’d……

CHRISTMAS BAZAAR The Christmas Bazaar is taking place on Wednesday 17

th December between 5.30pm and 7.00pm in

the main school. We would appreciate donations of good quality books and toys which are in good condition brought into school next week. We would also like donations of cakes and mince pies on the day of the Bazaar. To make the Bazaar a success, we will need help to set up and run the stalls. If you are willing to help, please add your name as soon as possible to the ‘sign up’ sheet in the School Office. Thank you. Caroline Tidmarsh P.T.A Chair AUTUMN TERM 2014 EVENTS CALENDAR Please see below our updated Autumn Events Calendar:

Event Date Time Venue

Christmas Lunch Tuesday 16th December School Hours North Town

Autumn Term House Treat Wednesday 17th December School Hours North Town

PTA Christmas Fair Wednesday 17th December 5.30pm to

7.00pm North Town

Class Christmas Parties Thursday 18th December School Hours North Town

Toy Day Friday 19th December School Hours North Town

Key Stage 2 Carol Service Friday 19th December 10.00am St James’ Church

Last day of Autumn Term Friday 19th December School Hours North Town

Christmas Holidays – school closed Monday 22nd

December to Friday 2

nd January

N/A N/A

Non Pupil Day – school closed to pupils Monday 5th January 2015 N/A N/A

First day of spring term Tuesday 6th January 2015 School Hours North Town