Dear parents and carers,
Girls Football Tournament
Congratulations to our Year 5/6 girls who participated in the Kidlington Partnership girls’ football tournament yesterday. They all played magnificently and were the winners of the plate competition – well done to you all!
Willow nativity
The festive season began in style this week with our youngest children performing in their nativity play. I was extremely proud of all of the children for the way they sang and participated so well. Thank you to Mrs Collett, Nikki, Jenny and Mrs Robinson for preparing the children for their first Dr South’s performance – it was a delight to watch.
St Nicholas donations
Thank you to everyone who donated gifts for the Women’s Refuge. These have been delivered in time for Christmas and they were very touched by the generosity shown by our school community.
Mini Marathon
Today is the last day to email in if you would like your child to take place in the Mini London Marathon next April. We need to register the children before the Christmas break. Thank you to everyone who has already emailed. There are still some slots available, so if you would like your child to participate in this excellent event, please email the office before the end of today.
Change to the lunch menu next week
Please note that next Wednesday the menu choices have changed and will be as follows:
Red: Fishfingers
Green: Vegetable samosas
Orange: Tuna and Sweetcorn wrap
100 Club Results
Thank you for your support for Dr South’s by buying numbers for the 100 Club.
The third draw of the year took place today and the winners are:
1st Prize (£37.50): Susan Sawyer (No. 96)
2nd Prize (£22.50): Mike Greenrod (No. 15)
3rd Prize (£15.00): Lucy Arad (No. 78)
We’ll pass on the winnings at school before the end of term. The first draw of 2026 will take place on Thursday 29 January – good luck! With best wishes for Christmas and the New Year, Mel and Rebecca.
Nativity and Carol Service – Wednesday 17th December 2pm
Everybody is invited to join us in the church next Wednesday 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!
Clubs
Clubs officially finish this week but there will be Christmas cookery and crafts on Monday and Tuesday. General care is available on Wednesday. These sessions will cost £7.50 and we will add this cost to your ParentPay account. Late care is available at £6 per session. Please email the office if your child would like to attend these clubs next week. 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 5th January.
Christmas Bazaar
Thank you to all parents who have already brought in some gifts in preparation for the Christmas bazaar. 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 Tuesday 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.
Applications for places in Reception
The application process for Reception places for children starting school in September 2026 is now open. The deadline for applications is 15 January 2026. Even if you have a child already at the school, this also applies for younger siblings. Families need to apply online via the following link: Reception applications | Oxfordshire County Council
There is a Starting School Guide on the website. National Offer Day is 16th April 2026.
This week we congratulated:
Willow Class : All of Willow Class for their fantastic performance in their nativity play;
Ash Class: Eva, for excellent writing this week and for completing a challenge task; Nina, for challenging herself when choosing vocabulary to use in her writing and for using her phonics when spelling words;
Oak Class: Ferris, for working hard in maths, getting familiar with tricky vocabulary and explaining his reasoning well; William, for working hard in class and even harder in clubs, playing football and chess with excitement and concentration.
Beech Class: Joshy, for writing a fantastic persuasive letter and working hard to include all the persuasive techniques we have learnt; Anna for excellent work on long and short division in Maths.
Our Christian value for the term is generosity. Ask your child about Sikh story of the milk and the jasmine flower.
Dates for the year
We have a church service most terms which all families are welcome to attend.
Our May Day celebrations are at the end of May and this is a whole day event for families to attend if they wish.
Sports Day is for the whole school and begins at 9am and last until approximately 1pm. Parents are welcome to watch and enjoy a picnic lunch with their child after the races if they are able to.
Term 2
16/12/2025 Christmas bazaar
17/12/2025 Christmas carol service 2pm at St Nicholas Church
18/12/2025 Inset day – school closed
Term 3
5/01/2026 Start of term
22/01/2026 FODS meeting at 7.45pm
13/2/2026 – Soup lunch and talent show – Village Hall from 1.00pm
16/2/2026 – Half term week
Term 4
2/3/2026 – Beech Class Residential to Yenworthy
13/3/2026 – World Book Day
16/3/2026 – Parents consultations
19/3/2026 – Parents consultations
21/3/2026 – FODS Quiz Night
27/3/2026 – Easter service at church 2pm at St Nicholas Church
Term 5
13/4/2026 – Start of term
4/5/2026 – May Day School closed
22/5/2026 – May Day celebrations 9.30 – 3pm approx.
25/5/2026 – Half Term week
Term 6
1/6/2026 – Start of Term
18/6/2026 – Sports Day
1/7/2026 – Ash and Willow production 1.30pm in village hall
9/7/2026 – KS2 production 1.30pm and 6pm in village hall
14/7/2026 – Ash Class picnic for parents at Jacob’s Field from 11am approx.
17/7/2026 – Leavers’ Service 1.30pm at St Nicholas Church
17/7/2026 – FODS End of Year Party
17/7/2026 – End of Term
Don’t forget – you can always check term dates at: https://dr-souths.co.uk/term-dates/