Dear parents and carers,
Islip Big Bike Ride 2026
A huge thank you to all the children, families and staff who helped to make this year’s Islip Big Bike Ride such a success. Well done to the children (and parents!) who took part – many of whom rode further on Sunday than they ever have before – and thank you for the fantastic sponsorship they secured.
More than 100 volunteers from across the community came together to support the ride, marshalling, cooking, serving food and supervising the bouncy castle. It really was a team effort. The Bike Ride was also a fundraising triumph, with the total raised for Dr South’s and St Nicholas to be confirmed soon. Watch this space!
Preparations for May Day – Friday 22 May 2026
Thank you very much for your generous donations for the tombola and toy and book stalls this morning. If you have anything else you would like to contribute, please bring it to the school office by Tuesday 19 May.
Class reps will be getting in touch next week with information about the different ways you can help with May Day. It is always a wonderful event, and it would not be possible without your generous support. We will be looking for offers of food – including nut-free cakes, salads and quiches – as well as volunteers to help on the day. This will include setting up the playground before school, serving refreshments and lunches, running stalls in the afternoon and clearing up.
Thank you in advance for helping to make May Day a special day for the whole school community.
The Bannister Mile
Today in our celebration assembly, we were delighted to present ten children with a medal for taking part in the Bannister mile which commemorates Roger Bannister’s historic first sub four minute mile with races from Christchurch to the Iffley Road Track. Well done to Max C, Tom, Charlie, Rhys, Reggie, Benji, William, Carey, James and Alice for completing this race.
Changes to lunch menu
On Thursday 21st May, there will be a change to the lunch menu for this day. Options on the day will be:
Red: Fishfingers and chips
Green: Veggie sausage roll
Orange: Veggie pasta salad
There will also be a change to the current menu on Week 3 Tuesdays when sweet sour veggie noodles will be replaced by teriyaki noodles as the green option.
Year 6 Assessments (SATS)
Next week is assessment week for Year 6 which marks the final formal assessment of academic learning before the children head to secondary school. We wish all the children well, whilst remembering that they each have different gifts and are all unique individuals to be treasured in their own right. We are very fortunate at Dr South’s that the children have the opportunity to enjoy a very rich and varied curriculum as well as the chance to excel at the academic curriculum.
Morning Birdsong event with Islip Wildlife and Conservation Group
The Islip Wildlife and Conservation Group are inviting interested children to an early morning birdsong event. It will be at the Millennium Wood (next to Jacobs Field where the children go for Forest School) starting at 7.30 on Sunday 10th May. There will be a short introduction about the birds we might hear, 20 minutes or so of listening and identifying and then a simple breakfast snack and chat about what we heard. Mrs Jaggard from Dr South’s will be involved along with one or two supporters from the IWCG.
If your child is interested, please contact Emily Cohen: emilycbcohen@gmail.com ASAP as places is limited.
Oak assembly – Friday 15th May 2.30pm
Oak Class will be leading our celebration assembly on Friday 15th May and parents are welcome to come and see what the children have been learning this term. Please come to the school reception for 2.25pm and we will let you into the hall.
ParentPay
A gentle reminder to check your ParentPay accounts to ensure that any outstanding balances for meals and/or clubs have all been paid.
Sun Cream and Hats
We are beginning to enjoy some warmer weather. Please ensure that your child has a water bottle and hat each day. During periods of intense sunshine, it is good to protect your child using sun cream. Many products on the market use coconut oil as a base, and as we have children in school with severe anaphylaxis, we need to ask you not to send such products to school. If you wish to use nut-based products, please apply them at home, but if you wish to send a (named) bottle of sun cream into school, please ensure it is nut free. Suitable products can be found here:
https://www.childsfarm.com/products/childs-farm-50-spf-sun-lotion-cream-unfragranced
https://www.sunsense.co.uk/product/sunsense-kids-spf50/
This week we congratulated:
Willow Class : Freya, for excellent dancing when practicing for May Day; Margot, for fabulous independent sentences when writing this week;
Ash Class: Isla, for increased confidence when writing independent sentences to create a lovely story; Raphael, for working hard to apply new structures in his independent writing to produce a beautiful story;
Oak Class: Samuel, for inspiring others in Literacy by editing beautiful sentences into even greater creations; Leo, for showing great effort in maths, mastering how to read analogue and digital clocks effortlessly;
Beech Class: Mav, for always being polite and well- behaved and being a role model for his peers; Alice, for beautiful behaviour, amazing effort and a caring, compassionate attitude every day.
Our Christian value for the term is respect. Ask your children about the story of Daniel and the lions.
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 5
15/5/2026 Oak Class assembly 2.30pm
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/