Chalfont St. Giles Junior School

Apri l 2008

So here we are at the end of another long and busy term. We hope you all have a good two week break from school and we wish those children and parents moving onto pastures new the very best for the future and look forward to welcoming some new arrivals after the holiday. Let’s keep our fingers crossed for a better Summer this year (or at the very least no biblical style floods during July!)

YEAR 4 PRODUCTION
Everyone who witnessed last night’s show cannot help to have been impressed by the standard and quality of the acting and singing delivered by our Year 4 children. It really was a joy to behold and the parents of all the children involved should feel very proud of their little stars. My sincere thanks to Mrs Hill, Mrs Thompson and Mrs La Motte for all their help in the run up to the show and to Miss Cato and Miss Smith for all the extra time and effort they have put in toward creating such a fantastic performance.

CHAMPIONS
Sports news is usually reserved for the back page of the news letter but it felt only right to elevate the success of our football team to the front page. Three games in three days this week was a tough schedule for the boys but it seemed to only spur them on as they dispensed Gerrards Cross with a 4-0 win followed by a hard fought 2-1 victory over Farnham Common. The winner take all final match against St Josephs looked like being a mountain too far but the team responded brilliantly with a dazzling display, with goals from Daniel Heaney, Connor Revell and a hat-trick from man-of-the-match Paul Plested in a thumping 5-0 win. The team’s 5 wins out of 6 sees them finish top of the table and finish as league champions for the first time since 2005, which given the quality of the opposition has been a tremendous achievement. The squad of 10 (Karanvir Sagoo, Hayden Beakhouse, Adam Constable, Sam McDonnell, Daniel Heaney, Robbie Murphy, Jack Taylor, Paul Plested, Scott Kilbey and Connor Revell) have shown tremendous resilience, skill and above all team spirit throughout the season and fully deserve to be crowned Champions. Well done boys and thank you to all the parents who have supported them at, and transported them to, the games this year.

NUT DAY OF ACTION
Following enquiries by several parents I would like to make it clear that our school will not be closed on Thursday 24th. Those staff who are members of the NUT, who agree in principal with the motivations behind the action, have decided that in the interests of the children the school day should not be disrupted. I hope parents will share my admiration for our teachers who once again have demonstrated their full commitment to the children of the school through their actions.

STAFFING NEWS
Tuesday’s interviews were a great success and I am pleased to inform you that we have appointed Miss Rachel Thomas to the position of classteacher starting from September. With three years experience at Lent Rise School I am sure she will prove to be another dynamic and effective member of our very strong team of teachers and the children will have the opportunity to meet her on county transfer day on July 1st later next term.

We also bid au revoir today to Mrs McNamee who departs for her maternity leave. We wish her all the best for the forthcoming new arrival and look forward to seeing her and baby fit and well in the near future. Mrs Angela Johnson will be joining the office team as cover for Mrs McNamee and we look forward to welcoming her into school on 21st April as she starts in her new role as Office and Medical Welfare Assistant.

VR TESTS
Parents of children in Years 3 to 5 should have received an envelope today with their child’s recent VR test and an explanatory letter inside. Please think carefully whether or not to share this information with your child as it does not reflect their performance in the taught curriculum. Neither is it helpful for parents or children to exchange such information or to make comparisons as we would not want any child to lose confidence as a result of a score on a single test.

Y5 OFF TO NORFOLK
Year 5 children will be departing for the Kingswood Centre in West Runton for a week of outdoor and adventurous activities and coastal studies on Monday 21st April. The 5 day trip has been eagerly anticipated by the children (and staff) and we look forward to hearing all about their exploits upon their safe return on Friday 25th. Thank you to all parents for ensuring that the final payments due were received ahead of the end of term.

CLUBS
A letter outlining the Summer term clubs has been sent out today to give you an overview of what will be on offer. There will be additional lunchtime and after school clubs added to the programme as the term progresses and we will keep you informed as to when they will be running. Please read the information on the letter carefully to ensure you understand which clubs are on offer to your child as most clubs have limits on numbers and restrictions as to which year groups can apply.

Y6 CITIZENSHIP MATTERS
As part of the citizenship award that our Year 6 children have been working toward this year they will be taking part in a community project to prepare the village for the Literary Festival celebrations to mark the 400th anniversary of John Milton’s birth. On Friday 9th May the children and staff from Year 6 will be engaging in a number of activities to help prepare the village for the influx of visitors that will occur over the weekend. Staff and parent reps will be trying to recruit other Year 6 parents to help supervise the children during the day so please keep the day free, if you are able to, to become involved in this new initiative.

LIBRARY THANKS
The improvements to the library system are nearly complete and Mrs Whiteley would like to thank all of the parents who have helped to enter the books onto the computer system over many weeks of work. Our thanks also go out to Mrs Treanor who has donated a sofa and chair to the library to help make it a more comfortable and relaxing place to read a good book. The final stage is to allocate PIN numbers and cards to all the children so that they will be able to withdraw and return books using the new system.

Back to current newsletter