Newsletter 13th December 2024

Dear parents and carers,

Christingle

We have now totalled up all the donations for the Children’s Society. We raised £306.16 which has been donated to help with all the work carried out by this charity – thank you for your generosity in supporting this.

Ash and Willow Cake Sale

Well done to the children in Ash and Willow class who raised £58 through their cake sale. This money has been donated to the Salvation Army. Thank you to everyone who donated cakes and purchased cakes to raise this money.

T1 Rugby

Yesterday, Beech Class children attended a T1 rugby festival at Gosford Hill School. We entered three teams and they all played magnificently and represented the school exceptionally well. The results are still being compiled by Mr Gough, so will be announced in next week’s newsletter.

Willow nativity

Christmas has officially begun with our youngest children performing in their nativity play this week. I was extremely proud of all of the children for the way they sang and participated so well. Thank you to Mrs Collett, Nikki and Jenny for preparing the children for their first Dr South’s performance.

Change to the lunch menu next week

Please note that next Thursday the menu choices have changed and will be as follows:

Red: Flipper dippers

Green: Veggie sausage roll

Orange: Jacket potato with cheese and beans.

Christmas Lunch

On Wednesday, we will be enjoying our Christmas lunch and orders should have been submitted to the office.  Wednesday is also Christmas Jumper Day, so all the children are invited to wear Christmas jumpers for this event.

Nativity and Carol Service – Thursday 19th December

Everybody is invited to join us in the church next Thursday afternoon at 2.00pm when Ash Class will present their nativity.  This is a lovely way to bring the term to a close – it is good to have a moment of quiet and reflection before the real frenzy of Christmas gets going!

Reception Admission September 2024

Don’t forget that if you wish your child to come here for Reception next September, you need to apply online by Wednesday January 15th. Even if you have a child already at the school, this also applies for younger siblings.  Speak to the office staff if you need help with this. You can apply online using this link : Reception applications | Oxfordshire County Council

Clubs

Clubs officially finish this week but there will be yoga on Monday and Christmas cookery on Monday and Tuesday. General care is available on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday but not Thursday. The clubs’ letter for next term will be sent out early next week and you will then be able to book clubs for next term which will begin on the 6th January.

Christmas Bazaar

Thank you to all parents who have already brought in some gifts in preparation for the Christmas bazaar. We are still in need of donations of gifts so if you have yet to donate, we have extended the deadline for donations until Monday.  There is an item on ParentPay which will allow you to purchase tokens for the children to use to buy their shopping. Please send your child in with a bag on Wednesday in order for them to bring home their shopping safely.

Parentpay

Thank you for your help with keeping your accounts up to date. As we approach the end of the term, please could you check your ParentPay accounts and clear any outstanding items such as cookery, trips and swimming.

 

This week we congratulated:

Willow Class: All of Willow Class for their brilliant performance in their Nativity play;

Ash Class: Aria, for learning to tie her shoe laces independently; Sara, for spotting the relationships between numbers in Maths;

Oak Class: Brodie, for showing great focus while practising his shading skills in Art; Rosie, for showing positivity and resilience in her times table practice.

Beech Class: Adrina, for improved effort and output in her writing; Charlotte, for incredible creativity in her writing and for using plot twists in her work;

Cooking: Alex, for good determination and focus throughout each session.

 

Our Christian value for the term is peace.  Ask your children about the story of The Best Nest.

 

Dates for the year

17/12/2024                  Beech Class trip to the Ashmolean

18/12/2024                  Christmas lunch, Christmas jumper day and Christmas bazaar

19/12/2024                  2.00pm Carol Service and Ash Class nativity

19/12/2024                  End of term

20/12/2024                  INSET Day – school closed

 

06/01/2025                  Start of term

14/02/2025                  Soup Lunch and Talent Show

17/02/2025                  Half term week

26/02/2025                  Junior Citizen Trip Beech Class

03/03/2025                  Parent Consultations

04/03/2025                  Parent Consultations

06/03/2025                  World Book Day

14/03/2025                  Red Nose Day

04/04/2025                  2pm Easter Service

04/04/2025                  End of term

 

21/4/2025                    Bank holiday – school closed

22/04/2025                  Start of term

05/05/2025                  Early May Bank Holiday – school closed

23/05/2025                  May Day celebrations

26/05/2025                  Half term week

19/06/2025                  Sports Day

03/07/2025                  Oak and Beech production, 1.30pm and 6.00pm

07/07/2025                  Beech Residential

09/07/2025                  Ash and Willow production, 2.00pm

18/07/2025                  Leavers’ Service

18/07/2025                  End of term

21/07/2025                  INSET Day – school closed

22/07/2025                  INSET Day – school closed

Don’t forget – you can always check term dates at: https://dr-souths.co.uk/term-dates/