SHOSCOMBE CHURCH SCHOOL

Church Valley Schools Federation

Dear Mums, Dads and Carers,

Week two of this five week term! Time is flying by so quickly.

At Camerton last Friday we were pleased to have Rev. John Angle visit us as part of the SIAMS (Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools). He was able to speak to parents, governors, staff and children about their experiences in this Church of England School. He enjoyed lunch with the children and the special tour they provided at the end of the day. Thank you to all for the contributions made. The final report will not be available for a couple of weeks, however I would say that we were pleased to hear the lovely comments he made to us during the feedback after school on Friday. As always, we are looking for ways to improve our practice and look forward to reading the final report, which we will of course share.

At Wellow last Thursday we were visited by Donna Baber from Artsmark as part of the school’s submission for Artsmark Gold. Once again Donna was very impressed with all that she saw on the school sites, which reinforced the applications. We are delighted to be able to announce that both Shoscombe and St Julian’s’ Church schools are now Artsmark Gold Schools. Thanks go to Tania Rorison , Sophie Hampton, Tracy Soccorsy and Emma Symonds for all the hard work in making the applications, as well as the whole staff for their continued commitment to providing a rich, broad and balanced curriculum which inspires the children. The full reports are available – please ask in the office if you require a copy. It will of course be available on the website. It is really worth reading. The applications do not merely meet the criteria but exceed on many points

On Shoscombe site we are pleased to welcome Lou David onto the team. Lou is going to be working with Y3/4 during the mornings and Arts Nurture group too.

You will be pleased to know that Mr McNulty (class teacher Y5/6 Shoscombe site) is the proud father to Amelie who was born on 14th February 2015 weighing 8lbs 1oz.

We are sorry to say that Mr Peter Byrne, our brilliant caretaker for St Julian’s and Camerton sites is off sick. He has been soldiering on for some time now with severe pain in his hip and knee and the doctors have said he needs a good rest. We wish him speedy recovery and send him our very best wishes. In the meantime Paul Atkins, the new caretaker at Shoscombe, is helping out with some of the regular tasks. We are very grateful to him.In a fortnight’s time Shoscombe and St Julian’s will be hosting staff and children from our Comenius partner schools in Denmark, France, Ireland and Catalonia (Spain) A total of 32 children will stay with families from the 2 schools. The visiting staff and children will have the opportunity to experience life in an English school and be able to see displays of work children have produced linked to the project. They will also join our Year 5/6 children in a programme of activities and visits we have organised linked to the project aims. 

These include activities at Writhlington School including the climbing wall, a boat trip on the River Avon, and a walk along the canal in Bath followed by workshops at the Holburne museum on the history of local canals and canal art. 

Jane GascoigneAttendance

Week ending

Robins Owls Kingfishers Eagles

27/02/15

95.7% 98.3% 97.4% 96.8%

6/03/15 98.6% 99.1% 98.9% 98.4%

Africa Day

On Monday 16th March, the Equalities Team are organising an African Day! There will be a variety of activities going on and the children will take part in

these in their house teams. All children will be encouraged to dress up in mufti as an African

animal of their choice! We would be really grateful if you would send in a contribution of £1.00 per child for this. The money will be donated to an

African Charity.Many thanks,

The Equalities Team

We are proud to have received the news that we are now an Artsmark Gold school! 

As reported in the last newsletter. At the end of last term we had a visit from the validator Donna Baber, to talk through the details of our application.  She met with staff members Mrs Hampton and Mrs Rorison,  school governor John MacDonald, pupil representatives from all classes and from the school parliament to talk about the Arts at Shoscombe. Her report was extremely positive. Here are some of the comments from her report.

‘Your arts partnerships ( for example our work with Edwina Bridgeman, The Egg Theatre, The Djembe Drumming Project, John and Emma MacDonald, Vivien Ellis, The Willow Project to name but a few) are sustained, proactive, resourceful and of a very high standard for all involved’

'Your whole school community comes together to support your arts curriculum…whole school activities are mobilised and learning and development is shared and embraced by all’  'arts are embedded across the curriculum'.

‘The cultural opportunities which are offered through the Comenius Project are exceptionally strong and again of a high quality, and provide opportunities for your pupils and your staff and school to lead others in arts activities and practice whilst learning about other cultures through the arts. Your leadership of this (Comenius) project and the creative ethos you have injected into it are exemplary.’

The report also praised our commitment to providing opportunities for pupils to participate in Arts Award and Forest School, and the positive impact these programmes have on pupil progress and well being.  

Artsmark is Arts Council England’s flagship programme to enable schools and other organisations to evaluate, strengthen and celebrate their arts and cultural provision. It is delivered by Trinity College London.  Artsmark is nationally recognised as demonstrating excellence in arts and cultural provision. To be an Artsmark Gold school your commitment and excellence in Arts provision has to be exceptionally strong.

Sophie Hampton – Arts co-ordinator

Reception

Children in Reception have been learning about Belonging as part of their RE lessons. 

They have discussed belonging to their families, School and our Reception Class. Linked to this, the class has recently received a dual language ‘Guess Who’ game from the pupils who 'belong to ’the youngest class at Ecole Lafon Feline, one of our Comenius Partner schools in Bordeaux, France.

The game involves identifying children from a class photo using some French words and phrases. We have used the vocabulary we have learnt to work out who’s who in Madame Jalabert’s class. 

Now we are preparing a similar game to send back to our partners using both the French we have learnt and the English equivalent for the French children to learn.Sophie Hampton

Year 1 and 2

Pupils in Y1 and Y2 have been conducting research into an animal of their choice. They collected their information and wrote a book complete with a contents page and glossary. They also used their IT skills to design a front cover. Miss Curtis (PGCE student) has been very impressed with their enthusiasm and writing skills.

Martin Stevens

Year 3 and 4

Year 3 and 4 have been working hard to produce Chinese New Year Shadow Puppet

Shows. The children created the puppets, wrote scripts and are now writing instructions on how to create a puppet show. You will be able to view the puppets on the Comenius prezi website (Follow the

link on the school website.)

Tania Rorison

Year 5 and 6

Mr Tony Gray has been teaching Year 5 and 6 while Mr McNulty is on paternity leave. He helped them compile a book of poems based on Greek Myths with a moral message to them. The class would like to thank Mr Gray very much for his time here. They are looking forward to seeing both Mr MucNulty on Monday and pictures of new baby daughter!

Breakfast and After School Clubs

Breakfast and after school clubs are going well. Booking forms are still available for Term 4 but places are being taken up quickly so make sure you speak to Charlotte as soon as possible if you would like to take advantage of this. The children are provided with breakfast in the morning and a snack after school. There are games and activities both inside and out! If anyone’s contact details have changed, please let Charlotte know. If you would like to make use of this service, please contact:

Charlotte Burnell on 07889 062124.

Term 2 Diary Dates

10th March FoSSA meeting 7.30p.m. - 9.30 p.m.

All welcome

Thursday 11th March

Cross Country at Somervale School

Year 5 and 6

Friday 13th March

RED NOSE DAY Whole School

14th March FoSSA Quiz All welcome

16th March Africa Day – pupils to dress up as an African animal - £1 donation

Whole School

18th March Dance Umbrella Year 5 and 6

22nd March Comenius Visitors arrive

23rd March Sporting activities at Writhlington Sports Centre

Welcome meal at school

Year 6, hosting families and Comenius visitors

24th March Trip to Bath, river boat trip, workshop at Holburne Museum

Year 6, hosting families and Comenius visitors

25th March Egg Rolling and Easter Bonnet

Whole School

27th March Pupil reports to parents

Whole school

27th March Last day of term – break up for Easter

13th April Return to school

Saturday 18th April

Cheese and Cider Evening

22nd April Nigel Coles - Class Photos

All classes

Could we please remind everyone to ensure your children have the correct kit in school for activities like PE, football, badminton, swimming and Forest School.

Severe Weather information:If we get heavy snow, Jane Gascoigne will ask for the B&NES website to be updated with details of either our closure, change of school hours or a guide to the local road conditions. See below for the link.

http://www.bathnes.gov.uk/school-closures

We are, again, collecting Sainsburys’ Active Kids Vouchers. We’d be really grateful if you would bring any you are given to the lobby area where the box will be postioned. Many thanks.

GET Sported,   Multi-sport   children’s Holiday camp - Ages 5-12 years

Easter camp: Mon 30th March - Wed 1st April

 GET Sported offers high quality coaching that builds character. We offer a wide range of sports and activities including: football, tennis, uni-hoc, rugby, basketball, netball, volleyball, ultimate frisbee, badminton, dance, drama, arts and crafts….

Our mission is to help children improve their sports skills but also to develop their character through sporting activities and Christian values. We aim to provide an active caring and safe environment to help them flourish and encourage them to be who they're created to be and equipping them for life ahead.

To find out more or to book visit: www.getsported.org

Solly Coaching

EASTER CRICKET COURSE 2015

MARCH 30th – APRIL 2nd - 2PM – 5PMVenue: Hampset CC, Bloomfield Rise,Bath, BA2 2BL

Cricket for 10-13 Year oldsCOST: £45 for the 4-day courseOR individual days can be booked for £12 per dayMinimum of 2 Coaches  

About the Coach: Jon Solly, ECB full-time cricket coach, will lead the coaching for the whole programme.

DBS (CRB) cleared, First Aid Qualified, 13 Years Coaching Experience  

TROPHIES AND CERTIFIFCATES CAN BE WON 

If you have any further enquiries or to book a place

on the course, please mail jisolly@hotmail.com or

phone 07813 122160