Dear parents and carers,

Welcome back

It was lovely to see everyone back on Monday and we hope you have all enjoyed a restful holiday. On behalf of all the staff, we would like to say thank you for the generous gifts we received for Christmas and for all the kind words in Christmas cards – these are always appreciated and bring many smiles.

ParentPay

Thank you for keeping on top of this as it really helps with the school’s cash flow and makes life much easier for the office staff. Bills for this term’s clubs and nursery fees have now been loaded for payment.  If you need to spread the cost of this, please contact the office.

Reception Admission September 2025

Don’t forget that if you wish your child to come here for Reception next September, you need to apply online by next Wednesday January 15^th. 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.

Staffing

There will be no afternoon cookery sessions this term due to a planned staff absence. The cookery after school club will still be running on a Monday. We will begin the normal curriculum cookery sessions again as soon as we can. Breakfast club and after school care will be provided as normal.

FODS Meeting – Friday 17^th January – 8.45am in the Lin Cooper Practical Skills building

The next FODS meeting will be on Friday 17th January at 8.45am (after school drop-off) in the Lin Cooper Practical Skills Building. Please do come along to hear about what we have planned this term (including the quiz, and the talent show) and to share any ideas and suggestions for other fundraising events. There will be biscuits!

Official opening of the school library

As you may know, we have refurbished the school library with funds raised by the Friends of Dr South’s through the Big Bike Ride. We will be having an official opening of the library on Friday 31^st January at 3.10pm and Dan Levy will be cutting the ribbon on behalf of the Big Bike Ride Committee. All parents are welcome to join us for this event and to have a look at our lovely new library.

Oxfordshire Music Service

Please see the attached flyer from Oxfordshire Music service who offer individual and small group lessons for guitar, strings (violin, viola, cello) and woodwind (flute, clarinet, saxophone, recorder and oboe). Please contact them directly if you are interested in these sessions.

 

This week we congratulated:

Willow Class: Louis, for being a great helper during tidy up time; Edith, for great independent writing with her lovely drawings of animals;

Ash Class: Matilda, for always giving 100% in every lesson; Odin, for increased confidence when writing his sentences;

Oak Class: William N, for showing great enthusiasm in his learning and for sharing his great ideas with the class; Henry, for a fantastic start to the new term and for working well with new partners;

Beech Class: Fred, for great creativity in his writing; Jack, for maintaining positivity when faced with tricky maths problems.

 

Our Christian value for the term is creativity.  Ask your children about the story of the wonderful Earth.

 

Dates for the year

06/01/2025                   Start of term

14/01/2025                   Youlbury meeting for parents

24/01/2025                   Year 3 and 4 trip to the Sheldonian

24/01/2025                   Oak Class Cake Sale

31/01/2025                   Official opening of the school library

07/02/2025                   Ash Class Assembly

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

15/03/2025                   FODS Quiz Night

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/