REMEMBER TO ENTER YOUR CHILD S MEAL PREFERENCES ONLINE BEFORE MIDNIGHT ON SAT 2ND SEPTEMBER

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1 Dear Parents, We have reached the end of another busy academic year and my first as Headteacher of St James. I feel very privileged to be part of such a wonderful community and I ve really enjoyed getting to know everyone over the year, especially the children. We are already planning events for the next academic year and will have some exciting ideas to share with you next term. One is the St James vision for learning which will encapsulate what we believe great learning in our school should look like; this is something staff have already been discussing over the last few weeks. As I write I can hear the Y6 children laughing and enjoying their leaving party and this reminds me that being in school is also about times of fun too. As many of you will know, we are changing our morning arrival arrangements from September and shortly before term starts we will send out a detailed reminder of what to do. We are expecting parents to bring the children in at 8.45am and if your child is in Penguins, Owls, Robins or Kingfishers to take them to the appropriate classroom door to be received by the class TA. Children in Woodpeckers, Kestrels and Eagles class can walk into the school as before. A member of the senior leadership team (SLT) will be on duty in the playground from 8.45am 8.55am as well to ensure the children reach the classrooms. If you have an urgent issue there will be an opportunity to discuss this with the class teacher or you can speak to the SLT staff member on duty who will pass any queries on. We are certain this will have a real impact on the children s learning as it will give the staff a regular time each day to support children in a more personalised way. I would like to finish by thanking everyone for their support of the school this year. The army of parent volunteers who have helped in so many ways from weekend working parties to swimming lessons and reading. Our board of governors whose work you will have read about in their newsletter last week; the role of governor is voluntary but carries a lot of responsibility and all our governors give freely of their time and care deeply about the school. The PTA who also give up a lot of time to put on an array of events which raise a huge amount of money for our school the wonderful new smartboards being a brilliant example. The dedicated staff of St James who work extremely hard and are always tirelessly trying to make the school environment and learning the best it can be. A measure of this is the number of staff who work regularly in school during the holidays, something not common in all schools, and who are always keen to share new ideas and develop new approaches. Finally, I d like to thank the children I always feel incredibly proud when I show visitors around the school as the children are always so polite, articulate and enthusiastic. The children are always keen to do their best showing that St James can bring out the best in everyone! I wish you and your families a very happy and relaxing summer and look forward to welcoming the children back to school on Tuesday 5 th September. REMEMBER TO ENTER YOUR CHILD S MEAL PREFERENCES ONLINE BEFORE MIDNIGHT ON SAT 2ND SEPTEMBER CONTACT A GOVERNOR As part of St James Primary s drive to encourage parent and staff feedback on our school we have now set up a special address for those wishing to speak directly with any member of the St James governing body: governors@st-james-elstead.surrey.sch.uk We welcome all feedback and suggestions as we strive to make our school consistently outstanding in all that we do. Your valuable input will help us to "Bring out the Best" in our fabulous pupils. OWLS PIRATES DAY Ahoy there, my hearties! A fun day was had on Monday by one and all as Owls climbed aboard! Dressed as pirates we spent the morning on the common building pirate ships and practising our throwing (cannon balls of course!) We played pirate games at the park and had pirate stories. Thank you to all the parent helpers that came and joined in making the day a success. Part of the Godalming Confederation of schools local info & services for families

2 DIARY DATES MON FRI SUMMER HOLIDAY Mon INSET DAY School closed Tues School resumes 8.55am Fri Fencing demo for Y1-Y am Mon PTA meeting at The Fleece 8pm Thurs All Penguins start part-time Sat PTA Welly Wobble Mon All Penguins full-time Penguin parents coffee morning 9-10 Fri Musicworks assembly 9.15am Fri PTA Ceilidh Mon PTA The Fleece 8.00pm Wed Open Morning Class rep meeting pm Wed PTA Children s Bingo Fri School closes 3.10pm MON FRI HALF TERM HOLIDAY Mon INSET DAY SCHOOL CLOSED Tues School resumes 8.55am MON THURS Book Fair Tues Open Classrooms Thurs PTA Parents Christmas Shopping Event Mon Flu immunisation clinic YR-Y4 PTA The Fleece 8.00pm Wed Young Musicians Rodborough Fri PTA Christmas Fair Thurs School closes 2.00pm FRI WED CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY Thurs INSET DAY School closed Fri School resumes 8.55am Mon PTA The Fleece 8.00pm Sat PTA Stars In Their Eyes Mon PTA The Fleece 8.00pm Wed PTA Children s Disco Star writer This half term Robins have been studying the works of Beatrix Potter. Within this, we have re-created 'The Tale of Peter Rabbit' in our writing. This is Amy s lovely work. DELICIOUS MENU - week commencing 4 th September M = main, V = vegetarian, O = other An additional range of salads are available every day M Ham & cheese pasta bake V Sweet potato & cheese quiche O Wrap with cheese Fruit cookie M Roast pork, gravy and roast potatoes V Cauliflower cheese and roast potatoes O NO ALTERNATIVE OPTION Orange jelly and mandarins M Sweet and sour chicken with rice V Lentil bolognese with spaghetti O Jacket potato with cheese, tuna or baked beans Marmalade cake and custard M Mackerel and cheese bites and herb potatoes V Bean and cheese burrito and herb potatoes O Baguette with tuna Fruit yoghurt 2017/18 INSET DAYS FOR YOUR DIARY Mon 4 th September, Mon 30 th October 2017, Thurs 4 th January 2018, Fri 25 th May 2018, Mon 23 rd July 2018 Term dates are listed on our website. Please remember that attendance at school is a key factor in pupils future success so family holidays should be booked outside school terms. SCHOOL MEAL PRICE INCREASE There will be a slight increase in the cost of school meals from September. A daily meal will be The full cost for the term is as follows: First half term Second half term May we remind you that meals must be paid for in advance, preferably online. Individual s will be sent to you providing exact costs for the first half term. All children in Years R, 1 and 2 are still eligible for free school meals. We will assume you will stay with the same pattern of meals in September. Please contact the school office before the end of term if you would like this to change.

3 CAKES FOR BOOKS As an end of year event Y6 decided to have an impromptu British bake off. The standard of entries was extremely high and all the children (and staff) that took part are to be congratulated for their efforts. The ultimate winner was Charlotte Cook whose magnificent fruit and cream filled tower was a triumph. Emily Harker and Holly Forehead were deserving runners up. Y6 then decided that they would sell their cakes by the slice at sports day. Huge slices of cake were sold to parents and children, and in very little time an amazing was raised. This money has in turn been spent by Year 6 on a selection of restricted reads chosen by the outgoing Y6 and left for the year 6 children for many years to come. A great choice of young adult books for more adventurous readers. We are really proud of what the Y6 have achieved with this project and next year s readers will be thrilled by the new books. COOK S COOKIES' CAKE SALES Thank you to everyone for buying my cakes over the past 6 months. I raised 124 towards my Scout Jamboree trip next week to Gran Canaria. My total income was 198 but my costs were 73, giving me a profit of 124, with a donation to school. I hope that you enjoyed eating them as much as I enjoyed baking them. Thank you and good bye. Charlotte Cook KS2 TIGERS ARE LEADING THE WAY! Our KS2 Tigers have been hard at work exploring and discussing teamwork and leadership this term. They have shown great maturity and supported one another throughout the term. Not only have they taken part in lots of team games, they have also taken it in turns to lead a game each lesson. They each designed a game and were responsible for standing at the front of class, introducing it, explaining and demonstrating how it works, outlining the rules and then running the game. I have been so proud of each and every one of them. Alongside the teamwork and leadership games they have worked on their taekwondo skills and theory including some Korean language. A great term had by all! Well done and congratulations go to: Marco, Toby W, Hrothgar, Matilda K, Ella, Daisy P, Issy, Daisy R, Jasmine. KS1 TIGERS WHAT A TEAM! Our KS1 Tigers have also been exploring and discussing teamwork and leadership this term. They have worked hard at supporting each other throughout the team games and celebrated each others success (even if they were a little sad when they didn t win themselves). Alongside the teamwork and leadership games they have worked on their taekwondo skills and theory including some Korean language. Well done and congratulations to: Bella T, George R, Toby C, Evie W, Archie C, Jake Tantram, Joshua Tubbs, Alfie Anstey, Jamie Webber, Sebastian Dando, Jenna Pullen, Tobias Cabral-Tero, Hannah M. If you are interested in your child attending one of our Tigers sessions or would like more information, please contact Suzy Blade at tigersclubs@gmail.com

4 HOUSEPOINTS Emerald 124 Amber 116 Sapphire 90 Ruby 84 Emerald win the final weekly housepoints this term with 124. But who wins this term? The termly total is Ruby 1150 Emerald 1137 Amber 1013 Sapphire 980 which sees Ruby marginally winning the term! A very close result however. But it s time for the total of the whole year overall the result is Ruby 2766 Amber 2637 Sapphire 2611 Emerald 2567 Meaning that Ruby are this year s ultimate winners! Can they do the same next year? We look forward to finding out! QUADKIDS Sadly missing school Sports Day, on Thursday afternoon, Olivia Munden (Y6) took her place on the Waverley Team at Surrey Sports Park for the inaugural QuadKids Competition at the Active Surrey Summer Sports Finals. Livi loves her athletics; she is a member of the young athletes club in Godalming and the St James athletics club. Her goal is to be good enough to win Olympic medals! She came second in her 75m sprint, second in 600m and first in long jump. She also made a good show in the standing vortex throw. She came second overall in the girls events. Livi s contribution helped Waverley to second place in this new competition which included 11 teams totalling 50 boys and 50 girls. A fantastic achievement. Well done Olivia, we are very proud of you! JIMMY THE GEO-GNOME This is Jimmy the Geo-Gnome. He loves to travel and see new places. Every child in the school has received their own Jimmy to take home with them over the summer holidays. During the summer break, we want you to take pictures of Jimmy in different places. It could be local locations like Elstead and within Surrey or Jimmy might travel across the UK or go somewhere abroad. The more unusual the picture the better. There will be a prize for the best picture in September. There are a number of ways to send Mrs Tooley your picture. You can: Upload your picture on to the Jimmy the Gnome page on DB Primary Mrs Tooley the picture through your DB Primary Bring the photo in to Mrs Tooley in September. Remember to tell her the location you have taken the picture in, your name and house. Have a great summer and happy geo-gnoming! GIRLS FOOTBALL AT CHURT Andrew Hall is introducing Girls Football at Churt Juniors Football Club. The sessions will take place at Waverley Abbey School, Tilford (GU10 2AE) on Sunday mornings between 10am - 11am for the u8s and u9s. For the u10s and u11s, the sessions are from 11am - 12pm. The first session takes place on 2nd July, and the sessions will run throughout the Summer holidays. Costs Playing football is unbelievable value for money especially compared to other sporting activities. The costs will be as follows, depending on how long you want to sign up for: 1. One-off sessions; 3 per session. 2. Sessions from 2nd July to 27th August inclusive: Sessions from 2nd July to 31st December 2017: Sessions from September to 31 December 2017: 30. Eligibility You will be able to play, even if you are registered with another club. Matches He will arrange for friendly matches to take place against other girl teams every 3 to 4 weeks. After Christmas, depending on numbers and interest, it is likely that he will join a league so that matches can take place more regularly. When this happens, the cost of playing will be slightly higher. If you would like to carry on playing, please Andrew.hall.football@btinternet.com or barry@internetgolfstore.co.uk so that they can let you have the form that needs completing. Andrew and Barry are working together to get more girls into sport especially football. Elstead Sharks are keen to get some more Under 11 girls for next season and Andrew is not trying to compete with the Sharks, just helping the girls to play more sport.

5 SPORTS DAY St James pupils, proudly adorned in their house colours, took to the field for a day of track and field fun and games last Thursday. The morning s multi skills activities based around the key skills of agility, balance and co-ordination, saw all children winning points for jumping, throwing, running and great teamwork and support. The newly introduced team talk station enabled the teams to have a drink, fresh watermelon and a biscuit whilst discussing tactics. Before lunch, our KS2 competed in the hurdle races before the greatly anticipated relays. Such good time was made, that Y2 and Y1 also had a chance to run a relay. With only limited practice Y1 gave us one of the enduring memories of the day as, having handed over their batons, each runners caught in the moment forgot to stop running so, by the final leg, a rainbow coloured comet s tail of runners followed the final leg home cheered on by all a fabulous sight! The weather was perfect as we welcomed so many parents and friends to join their children on the field for lunch. The afternoon gave our children chance to run in their class sprint races before entertaining the crowds with their novelty races. There was an eclectic mix of old and new races: egg & spoon, beach relay, water, three legged and balloon all made an appearance. Thank you to Mrs Duke and Mr Gardner for organising the day. So many parents have relayed their favourable comments so succinctly put by Michael and Penny Vaughan (Tia and Harvey's grandparents). This is just to say how much we enjoyed sports day, as the children obviously did too! It had a lovely atmosphere - enthusiastic yet relaxed - and it was perfect to start off with a picnic! Thank you. Sports Day Winners 2017 were Ruby House. Congratulations Ruby! DISTRICT SPORTS Last Tuesday, St James sent a team of 45 KS2 children to Charterhouse School for our annual District Sports event. This is a closely contested competition with five other schools from across the area competing in a series of track and field events. Our girls team came a clear second. The boys came fourth but, with only 5 points separating second and fifth place, the results were very close. St James Primary came second overall a fantastic result equalling our best ever. A special mention and well done to our champions who were presented with their certificates in our sports celebration assembly. Y3 Y4 Y5 Y6 Zoe C girls long jump Harry M 60m sprint Archie B standing throw Teagan H 75m sprint A & long Jump Daisy R 75m sprint B & joint long jump Zach K 75m sprint Joe B 60m hurdles Zach, Alfie, Joe B, George L 4x100m relay Livi M 75m sprint, 60m hurdles and long jump with an amazing 4.4m jump! We also cheered the seven competitors and three relay teams who came second in their events. Thank you to all the parents and friends who came to support us; it creates a fabulous atmosphere. Thanks also go to our three former students, Mark, Toby and Peter who joined us as part of their Yr10 work experience and enjoyed a fun relay with parents. A special thank you and well done to our children who lined the track to cheer along and support their friends. You were noticed and appreciated. Finally, a very special thank you to Sue Holden and Carol Mantel, who gave up so much of their time helping Mrs Duke trial all 120 KS2 children, building up skills in school athletics by running two further training sessions at Charterhouse and selecting our students, ensuring they were best placed and fully prepared to bring out their best. NEW SPORTS AWARD PRESENTED In our sports celebration assembly, a new sports award was introduced to the children. This award is in recognition of always representing St James with outstanding effort and commitment, whilst demonstrating our sporting values of self belief, respect, resilience and teamwork. The choice was so difficult but following long debate Mrs Duke and Mrs Elliott agreed that these 2 children participated in clubs with enthusiasm and enjoyment and always gave 100% whenever they represented St James. Winners of the St James Bringing Out the Best in Sport Award 2017 Girls- Teagan H Y5 Boys - Robert I Y4 Congratulations to you both!

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