St John the Baptist Primary School Pebmarsh Viking Invasion! Recount written by Ethan Year 3 On Monday 10th November I got up and dressed as a Viking as it was a Viking Day in school. My Viking name was Svivi When we went into the hall a Viking man introduced himself to us. He used a large map to show where the Vikings had come from and where they invaded. 25th November 2016 Dates for your diary! 26th November PTA Christmas Fair 12.00 2.00 pm Whole School Pantomime trip Thursday 8th December Next he gave us a quiz to find out what we knew about the Vikings. After break he taught us about Viking households. We learnt that the Vikings had to use a bucket in the house for a toilet and had to keep their animals inside with them in the winter months. After lunch he showed us how to make Viking coins and then we had a language lesson. We still use some Viking words today ugly, muck, skull, knife, die and cake! Then he showed us his weapons and chopped a watermelon down the middle. It splintered everywhere! We then had our own battle using the swords, shields and helmets we had made for homework. It was a super fun day I wish it was Viking Day everyday at school!
Lest we Forget At 11 o clock, on the 11th day of the 11th month, our children joined villagers in the two minute silence to remember those who fell in both World Wars. Two of our Year 6 pupils read poems they had written and twelve pupils placed crosses on the memorial to remember those villagers who unfortunately lost their lives in World War 1. All pupils then placed their poppies beside the memorial including the Key Stage 1 handmade poppies. I was extremely proud of all the children who showed great respect on this special occasion.
Football Tournament at Colchester United I was fortunate to be able to watch our newly formed football team join other Essex schools playing matches at Colchester United. The children looked fantastic in their new kit and represented the school with full Pebmarsh Polish. I was very proud! Thank you to Michael Richardson from Michael Richardson Football Academy for organising our team and arranging our participation in the event. We were the only small school there! Below is a report by Bryn and Flynn. On 22nd November Bryn, Flynn, Stanley, Dillon, George, Harrison and Tallan travelled to Colchester United s training ground to play 5-a-side football with other local schools. We represented Pebmarsh School, playing eight games. A new kit had been bought by the school for the occasion, a luminous yellow shirt, black shorts and black socks. We wore our own shin pads, thermals and boots. We only won one match but played our hardest. The first match was most definitely the hardest and the last match the easiest, and that is the one we won by 3 goals to 0. Flynn, Bryn, Dillon and Stanley all scored goals which were phenomenal! After we had played all the matches, Eddie, the Colchester United mascot, came out and we had our photographs taken with him. Our target was to have fun, play football and not to tackle badly and we definitely did that well! It was awesome to play football outside school. Thank you to Michael and the parents for taking us there!
Showing We Care Saving the Rainforest Once again a big thank you to Robin in Year 3 for raising money to help protect the tropical rainforest, the size of Wales. Last term, Robin was so concerned about the diminishing rainforest that he decided to help. He raised 180 by holding a cake sale in school and for his friends and family members. We recently received a certificate for school and I am delighted that Robin has his own special certificate to express the appreciation of the charity. Sending Our Love In A Box On Monday this week, the Year 6 School Council officers delivered our filled shoeboxes to the Samaritan Purse Operation Christmas Child depot in Halstead. The children met the volunteers and were fortunate to be given the opportunity to check the boxes ready for the long journey to Eastern Europe. Thank you to everyone who donated a filled box it will mean so much to a child less fortunate at Christmas.
School Admissions Calling all parents of children born during the period 1st September 2012 to 31st August 2013, these children are due to start school in September 2017. For pupils due to start school in Reception in September 2017 onwards, applications can be made from 14th November 2016 until the 15th January 2017. We are currently showing lots of prospective families around our school, so if you know anyone who is due to start school, please pass on our details. New Parent Governor We are delighted to welcome Adam Clayman to our Governing Board. Adam lives in Pebmarsh and has a child in Y2. He has hit the ground running; Adam has already attended 3 meetings and is signing up for induction training! We all hope you enjoy your new role Mr Clayman! Donation from Halstead Road Runners We were absolutely delighted to receive a cheque for 350 from Halstead Road Runners last month. This was a donation towards sporting equipment. The whole school has benefited from the money. We have purchased two full size basketball hoops, twelve basketballs, a Little Tykes basketball hoop for Early Years, a variety of foam balls along with colourful spots to engage them in the PE lessons. We also purchased a box of tennis balls to be used throughout the school. This equipment has been used in PE lessons and thoroughly appreciated by all. On behalf of the school I would like to personally thank Halstead Road Runners for thinking of us.
Swimming Stars! Ethan and Lyssi have both recently brought in their swimming awards. The trophy was awarded to Ethan for being the most improved swimmer in his class, and he received the medals at a swimming competition at Halstead pool. The picture, bottom right, is Ethan with his Swimmer of the Month award! Lyssi completed Level 5 at her swimming lessons and was awarded her certificate too. Well done both of you! The Adventures of Sunshine the Bear Oh my what a lucky bear! He has a new school uniform for this academic year! tucked in!) (Note that his shirt is A meal at Prezzo s, a trip to the park, a ride on a steam train, a movie afternoon with ice-cream and a trip to the cinema with popcorn and a Slush drink! He has been learning his numbers and has had stories read to him each weekend. He has even been given a mini ipad to help him learn lots of new things. Next time you are in school, take a look at our 1966 display!
Holidays in Term Time Research shows that children who miss a lot of school or are often late, do not get the highest grades. I am pleased to announce that our attendance last year was very good and higher than our target of 97%. All holidays taken in term time are recorded as unauthorised absence. Head teachers should not grant leave of absence unless there are exceptional circumstances. The application must be made in advance and the head teacher must be satisfied that there are exceptional circumstances based on the individual facts and circumstances of the case which warrant the leave. Where a leave of absence is granted, the head teacher will determine the number of days a pupil can be away from school. A leave of absence is granted entirely at the head teacher s discretion. DFE November 2016 May I just also remind you that when pupils arrive late, they miss out on essential instructions given at the beginning of the lesson. Being 15 minutes late each day is the same as missing two weeks of school over the year. This can significantly reduce achievement, regardless of academic ability. Your child may also feel awkward arriving to the classroom when everyone else is settled. Furthermore, when one pupil arrives late, it disrupts the entire class and the teacher everyone s education is compromised. School finishes at 3.20 pm each day. Please let us know if you are going to be late. A few Reminders Please also let us know if your child/children are being collected by someone else. Water Bottles We have had several occasions recently when children have brought juice or squash to school in their water bottles. Whilst a flavoured drink is acceptable with a packed lunch, I would respectfully request that only water is used in water bottles for the main part of the day. Bottles are getting tipped over in the classrooms and then work and resources are being covered in sticky liquids. This is obviously unacceptable to all. Thank you for your cooperation. Keeping Warm Now that winter is upon us, please ensure that your child/children come to school with named coats, hats, scarves and gloves. Children will be going outside even when there is a light drizzle! Lunch Menus Please ensure that school lunch menus are in the school office no later than Friday morning. All cash needs to be in a named envelope. Please do not let your children complete the menu themselves as the paperwork is often indecipherable.
Thank you to all the parents who responded to the recent questionnaire. Please find the results below.
Christmas Reminders (Information to follow for all below) Thursday 8 th December 9am - Bury St Edmunds Theatre Royal to see Beauty and the Beast Monday 12 th December KS2 - Christmas Play 2pm Tuesday 13 th December KS2 Christmas Play 7pm Wednesday 14 th December KS1 Christmas paly 2pm Thursday 15 th December Christmas Lunch Friday 16 th December - Living Nativity - 10pm 12 (information to follow) Tuesday 20 th December - Carol Service in the Church 1.30pm - Last day of Term