The Foundation Stage children put on an amazing show called "A Miracle in Town". It was a beautiful traditional nativity where the characters shared

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1 In this issue Happy New Year to you all. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas break and are now looking forward to the year ahead. We had such a wonderful lead up to Christmas at school: Christmas shows, choir performing for the older residents of our community and in County Square, a trip to the church for KS2, a scrumptious Christmas lunch and a fun pantomime organised by the Friends Association. Thank you to them for their support. It was such a lovely time and enjoyed by everyone. We even had a visit once again from some very naughty Elves! I will really have to think very carefully if they will be able to visit next Christmas. They caused havoc every night in the school! The term ahead is another busy one with hopefully little disruption caused by severe weather. Please read the severe weather guidance in this newsletter and display somewhere prominent. With the New Year starting it would be great if children could arrive to school on time. The majority of our children are wonderful at this but we still have quite a few who find it difficult arriving to school on time. It is really important that they arrive for the register and the start of the school day- learning starts immediately. We blow the whistle in the morning at 8:35am so that children are in school and ready to learn by 8:40am. I appreciate how difficult it can be sometimes but please make a real effort this term. Classes receive prizes for punctuality which can be a great incentive. We have lots to look forward to this term so please make sure you read your child s termly letter when it is sent home. We also have sharing Assemblies for EYFS and KS1. Please check the website and App for dates. Page 1 Damian Green Visit Page 2 EYFS Christmas Nativity Page 3 Choir Perform to Parents Page 3 Choir Perform at County Square Page 3 Christmas Jumper Day Page 4 September 2017 Admissions Page 4 Headteacher s Tea Party Page 4 Severe Weather Planning Page 5 Year 1 & 2 Christmas Play Page 6 Year 5 Victorian Day Page 7 Christmas Dinner Page 7 Carols in Church Page 8 Diary Dates Damian Green MP visited Great Chart Primary School to meet members of the school council and to take a tour of the school. The school delegates told him what they liked about their school and asked him questions about his role as an MP. He was very impressed with the learning environment we provide for the children and how well maintained the school grounds were.

2 The Foundation Stage children put on an amazing show called "A Miracle in Town". It was a beautiful traditional nativity where the characters shared with everyone the miracle that came to Bethlehem. The children sang, danced and had plenty of fun retelling the story.

3 The Choir Club children performed a selection of songs to parents after school on Monday 5th December. Mrs High and Mrs Bilham, our music leader, took the Year 6 choir pupils to County Square on Wednesday to join in the singing of Christmas songs with other local Ashford schools. The children thoroughly enjoyed themselves and sang beautifully; we were incredibly proud of them all. As a school we raised 265. The money raised will help Save the Children give the world s forgotten children a brighter future. It could help bring essentials like healthcare, education, protection and food to the millions of children around the world who are missing out on the most basic support. Thank you to everyone that donated.

4 Congratulations to the following children for working hard and following the school rules for term 2 : Open session for parents of prospective new children for September 2017 : Tuesday 10th January Please contact the school to book your guided tour. We are holding this information session for all parents of pre-school children who may want a place at this school in September This will be a chance for you and your child to receive a guided tour of the school and to find out about everything which happens at Great Chart Primary School. You will also have a chance to speak to admissions team, EYFS teachers, senior members of staff and governors. ***Please note: last tour is at 4.30pm.*** EYFS: Esmee A, Eliza Year 1: Naomi, Amelia O Year 2: Aki, Francesca Year 3: Chloe, Phoebe, Archie P Year 4: Louis, Amelie, Jack S Year 5: Freddie, Matthew Year 6: Aaron, Evie To apply for a firm place at a Primary School for your child for September 2017, you will need to complete a special form called a Common Application Form (RCAF form for short). The application process started on Monday 7th November We strongly recommend that you apply online at Visit our website for more information. In the case of severe weather the school will always try to remain open, but on rare occasions may need to close or open slightly later. If this is the case information will be given as follows: School website- under latest news on the home page School App (you can also register for text alerts or on using this website) When a member of staff arrives at school they will answer the phone Or via local radio stations: Radio Station Frequency Website KMFM Ashford 107.6fm BBC Radio Kent 96.7/104.2fm Heart FM 103.1/102.8fm For full details please refer to the letter sent out regarding Severe Weather.

5 The show this year focused on the traditional Christmas story with a modern twist! The Bethlehem Broadcasting Company have recorded a dazzling dance show to celebrate the special occasion of Jesus birth and the cast was jam-packed with nativity celebrities. Personalities, including some funky camels and a disco star, have come together again to recall their roles in the miraculous story. It was a Christmas celebration like never before, with dance styles ranging from tango to line dancing and ballet to disco. The judges have gathered their scorecards, dancers were waiting in the wings and the audience was assembled for Lights, Camel, Action!

6 On Thursday 8th December Year 5 took part in a Victorian day in school. The children dressed up in brilliant costumes and had a full day of Victorian lessons. It was very strict and some children found it difficult to follow the rules. They had a range of tough activities including, handwriting on chalkboards and slate, tough drill exercises and arithmetic. During playtime boys and girls had to play separately, they played with hoops and skipping ropes. During our amazing experience as a Victorian child at school we wrote on chalkboards, separately played and got the cane if we weren t careful. As a class, we started to understand the difference between our style of writing and the Victorians. We had to write the days of the week, the alphabet and our names. Although we were separated into boys and girls we all enjoyed it thoroughly Amelia Year 5

7 We had a wonderful time celebrating Christmas in school, with a delicious lunch cooked by the brilliant kitchen staff. All the children were served by the whole staff and got to pull a cracker and enjoy Christmas music whilst eating. We would like to thank all staff who helped and especially the kitchen staff who cooked for nearly 500 on that day. On Monday 19th December Key Stage 2 children went to St Mary s Church in Great Chart for the Carol Service. It was a lovely service and all children were extremely well behaved. The school choir sang Silent Night, there was a short reading by Mrs Pang and also by Aimee from Year 6. We would like to thank Canon Wilson and Reverend Aldis for such a wonderful Christmas Service. We would also like to thank Mrs Iles who played the piano through the whole service.

8 Diary Dates Tuesday 10th January 3:30-5:00pm New Parents Open Session Friday 13th January 2.15pm EYFS Sharing Assembly Tuesday 17th January 7.00pm Friends Association Meeting Friday 20th January 2.15pm Year 1 Sharing Assembly Friday 27th January 2.15pm Year 2 Sharing Assembly Wednesday 1st February 2.15pm EYFS, Y1 and Y2 Parents Taster Session Thursday 2nd February 2.15pm Y3, Y5 Parents Taster Session Friday 3rd February 2.15pm Y4, Y6 Parents Taster Session Monday 6th February 2.15pm Year 3 Parents Maths Session Thursday 9th February 2pm Year 2 Grammar and Punctuation Parents Session Friday 10th February Last Day of Term Monday 13th February Friday 17th February Half Term Monday 20th February First Day of Term Tuesday 21st February 2.15pm Year 4 Parents Maths Session Tuesday 21st February 7pm Friends Association Meeting Tuesday 28th February 3.15pm-5.45pm Year 3 and 4 Parent/Teacher Consultations Thursday 2nd March 2pm KS1 SATs Talk to parents Thursday 2nd March 6pm KS2 SATs Talk to parents Friday 3rd March 3pm-3.30pm Year 2 and 5 Classroom Open Session Monday 6th March 3.15pm-5.45pm Year 1 and 2 Parent/Teacher Consultations Tuesday 7th March pm EYFS and Year 6 Parent/Teacher Consultations Friday 10th March 3pm-3.30pm Year 1 and 6 Classroom Open Session Monday 13th March 3.15pm-5.45pm Year 3 and 4 Parent/Teacher Consultations Wednesday 15th March 3.15pm-5.45pm EYFS and Y2 Parent/Teacher Consultations Thursday 16th March 3.15pm-5.45pm Year 1 and 6 Parent/Teacher Consultations Friday 17th March 3pm-3.30pm EYFS, Year 3 and 4 Classroom Open Session Monday 20th March 2pm Year 5 and 6 Parents Maths Session Friday 31st March Last Day of Term Tuesday 18th April First Day of Term Club Cancellations Wednesday 25th January No Musical Theatre Tuesday 31st January No Art and Craft Wednesday 8th February No Musical Theatre Tuesday 7th March No Art and Craft Thursday 9th March No school clubs Tuesday 21st March No Art and Craft Up Coming Exciting Dates Wednesday 11th January Online Safety Ambassador Day W/B Monday 23rd January Science Week Monday 30th January Science Sharing Assembly Tuesday 31st January Year 1 Chinese New Year Workshop Friday 10th February Headteacher s Tea Party Monday 6th March Year 2 African Music Workshop Wednesday 8th March Year 3 Living History Roman Workshop As you are all aware, we have introduced a new catering provider for the school in September 2016, Caterlink Ltd. They would now like to invite parents to a taster session to sample some lovely dishes they have been cooking for the children. The parents will be invited at 2.15pm to the large hall. Samples of food will be available and also the catering staff will be there to answer any questions or queries you might have. The dates for these are: Foundation, Year 1 and Year 2 parents: Wednesday 1 st February pm Year 3 and Year 5 parents: Thursday 2 nd February pm Year 4 and Year 6 parents: Friday 3 rd February pm Please note the date of the session for your child s year group. We are inviting 2 people per family (this includes a pre-school child). Your children will not be present in the school hall during the tasting session and they will need to be collected as per normal at the school gate.