No. 298 - 5 May
Dear Parents and Carers,
This week’s high point was a memorable final assembly at the juniors for Robert Cotton, our long-serving and much-loved chair of governors. As you know, he will be retiring from his role as parish priest and moving to Bristol to be closer to family later in May. We enjoyed singing his favourite school songs, including a very loud rendition of “Midnight”, a Christmas favourite. We presented him with a beautifully compiled collection of the children’s memories, their favourite Robert-stories and some wonderful artwork from children across both HT and Pewley. He was deeply moved by the occasion, and we all enjoyed celebrating his incredible contribution to life at HTPD over so many years.
We’ve also marked the coronation – explaining to the children the significance of this weekend in the nation’s history. I’m sure many of us will enjoy the pageantry of tomorrow’s ceremonies and it’s been fun to have a bit of a royal flavour to the week, complete with crown shaped biscuits for lunch today! Huge thanks to HTSC and FOPS for arranging events for our younger children last weekend, with parties for the children at Pewley and in Year 3 and 4.
Next week, Year 5 are excited to be heading off to Brenscombe Farm in Dorset for the first of this year’s residential visits. We hope that they have a lovely time together, building lasting memories and friendships, taking part in all sorts of adventurous outdoor activity, as well as having the opportunity to contrast local geography at home and away.
Meanwhile, back in school, our Year 6 children sit their statutory assessment tests (SATS) next week, along with all the other 10- and 11-year olds in England. They have been so well prepared and seem very confident – thank you to teachers and parents for all the support and encouragement to get them ready, without adding any unnecessary anxiety or stress. It’s so important for us to hold these tests lightly; we find that the children often enjoy the chance to show off what they can do, but we are determined that they represent only a small part of our curriculum and shouldn’t be the sole focus of primary education.
With another bank holiday weekend ahead, I hope that you have a lovely family time together and we’ll see you back at school on Tuesday.
With love,
Clare
Thought of the week: It’s rubbish having doubt – do you stand up for what you believe?
Whole School
Reminder that school is closed on Monday for the Coronation bank holiday.
Infant
Year R: School Nurse, 9 May
The school nurse will be visiting next Tuesday 9 May to complete the Year R screening.
Class Photo orders
The deadline for ordering class photographs is Monday 15 May. You can either order online or return your completed form to the school office.
Lunch
Menu: week 3 beginning 8 May.
FOPS News
Hi everyone,
We hope you had a lovely bank holiday. It was great to see so many people at the coronation party last Saturday; a big thank you to everyone who baked, helped out and came along to make the event such a success!
Summer Fair
The date of the summer fair is 17th June, 3pm – 6pm, so pop it in your diaries as it’s going to be lots of fun for everyone! We have already started planning and you should have received a Parentmail this week with a survey to complete. We would really appreciate your views and ideas, so if you haven’t completed the survey, here’s the link: PD Summer Fair 2023 Survey (surveymonkey.co.uk).
Joining the FOPS committee
We are looking for new members to join the FOPS committee from September, as some of the team will no longer have children at Pewley. It may seem like a big commitment, but it doesn’t have to be at all and it’s so important to have events at the school to raise money as well as to keep the lovely community feel we are so proud of. Please get in touch with your class rep if you’d like find out more about the ways you could be involved or email Sally at sallyjc78@gmail.com.
Have a lovely bank holiday weekend!
Eleanor and Sally x
Dates for the diary:
- 17th June - Summer Fair
Junior
Dates for the Diary
- Tuesday 9 May – Author Visit; please remember to pre-order the books (see ParentMail dated 24 April for details).
- Tuesday 9 – Friday 12 May – Y5 Brenscombe Farm visit
- Monday 15 – 17 May – Y3 Henley Fort visits (3S on Monday 15 May; 3AW on Tuesday 16 May; 3A on Wednesday 17 May); please complete the consent form this weekend.
- Monday 15 May - Y6 to Horseshoe Lake; please complete the consent form this weekend.
Lunch
Week 3 Menu for the week commencing 9 May.
Tempest Class Photographs
The samples and order forms were sent home yesterday. You can order online or return the order forms to the office latest by Friday 12 May.
Sports – Cancelled Clubs and fixtures
Cancelled Clubs
- Wednesday 10 May - Basketball Club
- Tuesday 16 May - Frisbee Club
Sports Fixtures
We have the annual District Sports Athletics competition in June and children from Y3, Y4, Y5 & Y6 are invited to try out for selection for the team. Please ensure your child has their PE kit with them school, including trainers. They will not be allowed to take part without them. Pick up is at 4.15 pm in the playground.
- Wednesday 10 May - Y3&Y4 District Sports tryouts. Pick up in the playground at 4.15pm
- Tuesday 16 May - Y5&Y6 District Sports tryouts. Pick up in the playground at 4.15pm
Saturday 20 May - Y4, Y5 and Y6 Wey Valley Swimming Gala. The team has been sent out on ParentMail.
Other
Sam Andrews and Kickstart Coaching are helping a charity that sponsors football teams in Uganda. They are in need of any size, used or outgrown, studded football boots. If you wish to donate a pair of football boots, please bag each pair and place them in the box that will be left in the school office. The football boots will be collected Friday 19 May. Your efforts would be most welcome.
Guildford Cathedral are hosting an Art Workshop on 27 May with Sophie Artemis (Amazing Art at HT) – there are a few places left for the workshop. Please see the attached flyer for details.