Newsletter Babushka December 2014 This year has certainly flown by and we cannot believe how quickly Christmas has come – although to the children it perhaps feels like forever! Our Christmas tree is a stunner again this year, especially with all the children’s wonderfully crafted decorations. Advent is a very special time and the past two weeks have been lovely with all the events, performances and parties. We have also been thinking lots about the significance of Christmas and the children have been very reflective. Our Year 1/2 pupils did a grand job of Babushka. This was a new story for them and they retold it perfectly. The acting was fantastic and the Mayor was certainly impressed with our Babushka, Abigail. Everyone had so much to learn and remember and again the singing was exceptional, especially the solo performances. Well done children! The children also visited the elderly residents of Arnoldfield a week or two ago and sang beautifully to them too. We hope you have a lovely, peaceful Christmas and we look forward to seeing you all again in 2015! Claire Stylianides Headteacher Whoops a Daisy Angel KS2 Christmas Service & Christmas Singalong Our Reception children put on a superb performance of Whoops-a-Daisy Angel – you would not believe that they are only 4 and 5 years old. They were such professionals, remembering all their lines and speaking really clearly, with and without the microphone. They performed their dances and actions brilliantly and the singing was absolutely superb. In the audience was the Mayor, Ian Selby. He thoroughly enjoyed the performance and said it was the best he had seen! In KS2 nothing captures the spirit of Christmas more than coming together to prepare and practise ready for our Christmas celebration events. We hope you enjoyed the traditional service of lessons and carols at St Sebastian’s church. Didn’t the choir do well singing John Rutter’s Nativity carol? All the children have worked really hard and are looking forward to sharing a selection of Christmas poems and songs on the last day of term. Please come and join in and celebrate the festive season with us! Christmas Fair & FSA Christmas Gifts It was a super afternoon at the Christmas Fair and we were pleased to see so many visitors. Thank you to the wonderful FSA and all our staff volunteers for the brilliant job they did and also to the choir who sang beautifully. Thank you for all your donations too. Overall we raised about £1000. There are some raffle prizes still to be collected. A list of raffle winners are displayed on the notice board and the Galaxy Tab was won by lucky Phoebe Beaumont in Year 5. The children were very pleased to receive the class Christmas gift from the FSA. From the money that you have helped raise, the FSA have presented each class with a brilliant box of games and activities to make wet playtimes much more fun. Thank you! the advice that their teachers give them and achieve their targets. They have produced their best work ever! Well done to Lydia Sharman, Lydia Barker, Finley Dawber, Dexter Croft, Peyton-Leigh Silverman, Maisie Williamson, Eddie Leresche-Hands, Daniel Kelly, Abi Davies, Sophie Thomas and Kieran Davidson. Infant Panto Visit Cathedral Choir Last week, Mrs Turner had the pleasure of taking a small choir to sing as part of the Diocese’s first ever Christmas Service at Lincoln Cathedral. The children worked exceptionally hard in the run up to the service and performed beautifully. They were given the opportunity to sing a coral piece by John Rutter in St Hugh’s Quire; it was quite an experience! The children represented our school wonderfully and really did us proud. Well done to all the children involved. The Infant children enjoyed a super treat when they went to see the Aladdin Pantomime at the Guildhall last week. It was great fun and everybody soon got into the mood with shouts of ‘Oh no you didn’t’ and the hissing and booing filled the theatre every time the villain took the stage. The children were fantastic, so well behaved and came away feeling very Christmassy! Christmas Card Recycling Don’t throw away your Christmas cards – recycle them and help our local sports charity. Blue Castle Waste & Energy Management are collecting all our unwanted cards and envelopes and the money raised from recycling them will go to Inspire+ and Beaumond House. Beaumond House Community Hospice provides supportive palliative care to patients with life limiting or terminal illnesses and their families. We have a collection box for card and envelopes in school until the end of January. Key Dates For Your Diaries Children of the Autumn Term Well done to all the children who have been voted by their classmates to be Child of the Term: Alfie Edwards, Lydia Sharman, Libby Golightly-Baker, Carys Davie, Marcie Morris-Page, Codi Askew, Lexi Blackman, Daniel Kelly, Jake Stinson, Charlotte Deans and Toby Farmer. Magic Pencil and Golden Pen Awards We are very proud of our writing awards display and this term’s writers have produced some fantastic pieces of work. It is clear they try really hard to take on board January 2015 Mon 5th Teacher training day th Tues 6 Pupils back in school Arts & Team Spirit week Fri 16th Music for Schools assembly Thurs 15th Large school athletics competition Wed 21st Music for Schools presentation for Parents Thurs 22nd Young Voices in Sheffield Sam Ruddock & Inspire+ Assembly February 2016 Tues 3rd Swimming Gala Sat 7th Swimarathon, 11:30am at The Meres th Tues 10 Safer Internet Day and E-safety workshop for parents Fri 13th end of term