Our Gardening Club took full advantage of the Spring weather today and headed out to the front of school with our Gardening Club Leaders, Mrs D'Aoust and Mrs Fraser. They did a fantastic job of some weeding in the borders and tidying up the Hydrangea near the notice board.
Kenya Presentation
Following on from their recent trip to Kenya, Mrs Jesse and Miss Hall welcomed parents to school this afternoon to see a presentation of their time at Mitoto Primary School, as well as try Chi Tea and Mendazi's (Kenyan Doughnuts).
Storytime
On Thursday afternoon Robin Class and Mr King enjoyed storytime in our library with Mrs Smith.
Bags of Support - Thursday 22nd March
Please hold on to your donations of unwanted clothes and textiles and bring them into school on the morning of Thursday 22nd March. Bags will be sent home soon but bin bags are fine to use too! Thank you.
World Book Day Reminder - Wednesday 7th March
Don't forget it is World Book Day - prizes for the best costumes. We can't wait!
The book fair will also be open tomorrow for one time. If you didn't get a chance to purchase a book last week, please come along. There are some fantastic books at great prices.
School closed
The school will remain closed today.
Again, apologies for the inconvenience.
Stay safe.
School closed
Having arrived at school and assessed the condition of school, school transport issues and road disruption and the likelihood of conditions worsening. We have taken the decision to close the school. As per our letter yesterday, we will be closed tomorrow as conditions will not have improved. World Book Day will be postponed until next Wednesday.
Apologies for this inconvenience.
Mr King
Robin Class visit to the Village Pond
Robin Class took a quick visit to the Village Pond this morning to see how frozen it is. They were wrapped up really warmly and enjoyed their experience.
Year 6 Wool Request
Year 6 are making Maya Gods' Eyes and we are running out of wool. If anyone has any they could donate, we would be really grateful. The brighter, the better but we really aren't fussy! By Monday 5th March if at all possible! Thank you.
SPaG Workshop today
Please remember to come along to our SPaG workshop today. There will be sessions running consecutively as follows:
2pm - 2.30pm - Year R, Year 1 & Year 2
2.30pm - 3.00pm - Year 3, Year 4
3.00pm - 3.30pm - Year 5, Year 6
Families are welcome to arrive at 1.45pm for tea, coffee and biscuits in the hall. Parents will be able to stay for all three sessions if they would like to. Alternatively, if they would like to come to a specific session only, please arrive at the time stated above.
We look forward to seeing you.
Snow!
We've thoroughly embraced the snow today! While on the chilly side, children all wrapped up and managed to enjoy their play time outside. More snow is on the way and while we are don't intend to close school (and certainly don't want to!), we want families to be familiar with our procedures.
Why might we close because of weather?
Essentially, it comes down to safety. Normally, even in snow it is safe to open school. Pathways can be cleared and the school heated. It is the logistics of people getting to and from school that often causes the issues.
A significant number of children come on the coach. It may not be possible for the bus to get to our children and bring them to school. They may be able to transport children to school, but then not be able to take them home in the afternoon.
An additional element is that our staff come from a very wide area and the weather conditions where they live may be different to school's and it is not safe or practical for them to travel to school.
If there are not enough staff able to come to school, we would have to close.
What will school do?
Firstly, we will consult with the coach companies that bring children to school. If there is a disruption to their service, we will notify parents of this. If the coaches are not running, school may still be open. If the coaches aren't running in the morning, please ensure that you have the means of transporting your children home at the end of the school day. Where necessary, parents would be able to collect their children early.
If a coach company contacts us during the day to inform us that they will not be able to operate an afternoon service we will contact parents as soon as possible. This will be done via school comms email and text message. Children will be kept at school until a suitable adult is available to take them home.
What if school needs to close?
If we do make the decision to close school, we will making it as early in the morning as possible. We will inform parents and carers via school comms email and text message. We will also be putting a "We are closed" statement on our website. We will also be informing West Sussex County Council who will be updating their schools' information page. If you do not receive a text message or email, please assume school is open.
If you are in doubt, please phone the school office. Please note though that if school is closed, it may be that we don't have enough people to field calls as well as manage the school - if you are unable to get through, please try again.
Hopefully, none of this will be necessary. But if you do have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact either the school office or myself.
Warmest wishes,
Mr King
Our playground project
So thrilled to share with you our amazing new playground installation which is due in time for the Summer term. We cannot wait!
Year 2 Update
Following on from Miss Yorston's departure, Mrs Howe will now be teaching in Year 2 on Thursday afternoons (whilst Year 3 are enjoying Forest School). Mrs Stemp will be teaching Year 2 on a Friday morning and they will continue with their own Forest School sessions on Friday afternoons as usual.
Year 4-5 Cloakroom relocation
For our Year 4 & Year 5 children, your cloakroom has been relocated! We hope this will mean children will lose less property - please keep it tidy!
This has also given us additional learning space within our school which will be ready soon. We'll keep you posted.
Our pheasant chicks have hatched!
As part of our Year 1 science topic 'What animals would Little Red Riding Hood find in the wood?' Squirrel Class have had an incubator in the classroom. Three of the 21 eggs have now hatched and we have Jeremy, Barry and Norman living in our classroom. The children are very excited to meet the new arrivals and were thrilled to watch Norman hatch on Tuesday afternoon.
