W e e k l y L e t t e r Music is about communication... it isn't just something that maybe physically sounds good or orally sounds interesting; it's something far, far deeper than that. Evelyn Glennie 15 th October 2018 Dear Parents Last week was the Diocesan s Catholic Schools Week, a time when we look to strengthen our school/parish links by fostering the relationship between us. Personally, I believe this link has grown over the year, by us joining the parish more for Mass and in Parish events as well as the parish joining us throughout the year in our community events. It was wonderful to see so many of our pupils attend Education Sunday Mass yesterday morning a huge thank you to you. They all looked incredibly smart in their uniforms and read and sang beautifully. At St. Teresa s we consider ourselves as a family and part of the family of St. Teresa s Parish. Our Year Six pupils attended the Diocesan Mass to celebrate Catholic Schools Week as well as celebrate Bishop Peter s 50 th anniversary of his ordination. Our school contributed to the prayer bouquet, each class having created prayers, which was presented to Bishop Peter. Fr. Joseph also joined Year Six this week, who provided some very thoughtful questions to ask Fr. Joseph about his mission to be a priest. In assembly, the pupils discovered all about Evelyn Glennie, the world s foremost, and first fulltime, solo percussionist who lost her hearing at the age of twelve. She is an excellent role model for pupils to demonstrate what can be achieved with resilience. As always, our pupils had lots to celebrate themselves. Thea received Blue Peter badges for environmental and sporting activities; Charlotte, Molly, Harry, James, Maddie and Tabitha all completed their Steps to Success ladders and were presented with their rosettes for their achievements (Please come and see the rosettes on display in the reception area for yourselves as it highlights what the pupils are proud of) and lastly Charlie who has been selected for the U13 County hockey squad. A huge congratulations to all of them. Continuing along the theme of celebrating, we have to say a huge congratulations to Mrs Powell who achieved her Higher Level Teaching Assistant status this week. A huge amount of time and effort was undertaken by Mrs Powell to ensure she met the thirty three national standards to ensure success; her specialist subject being mathematics. This additional qualification is a positive benefit to all our pupils. This is Miss Kape s last week with us and we will be sad to see her go, but wish her well in her new endeavours. We look forward to welcoming Miss Barnes as Year Five teaching assistant after half term.
This Week 16 th Oct Inter-House Music Day 17 th Oct Mufti Day Year Four Norman Day D i a r y STPA Disco Party (Year One - Year Six) Details Last day of half term normal dismissal times Looking Ahead 18 th Oct HALF TERM BEGINS 31 st Oct School Open to Pupils for start of half term Secondary School Application Deadline 1 st Nov Key Stage Two Mass All Saints 10am 7 th Nov EYFS Parent Meeting "Becoming a writer" 14 th Nov Key Stage One English Meeting for parents 8.40am (EYFS Parents welcome to attend) Flu Vaccinations Reception to Year Five 15 th Nov Key Stage Two English Meeting for parents 8.40am Choir at Aylesbury Christmas Switch on with Mix 96 Details to follow 19 th Nov Road Safety Week 21 st Nov School Panto Peter Pan 24 th Nov St Teresa s Church Christmas Fayre 26 th Nov STEM Week 28 th Nov Year Five Trip Airbus Space Discovery Details to follow 1 st Dec Choir at Risborough Lights Switch on Details to follow 4 th Dec Nativity to Parents 9am (Pre-school to Year Two) 7 th Dec STPA Christmas Fayre 10 th Dec School Advent Service 6.30pm All children from Year One to Year Six 10-13 th Dec NO CLUBS this week 12 th Dec Christmas Lunch 13 th Dec School Finishes for Christmas Break 12 noon (No Clubs or Wraparound on this Day) Items in red added to the diary since the last Weekly Letter to Parents was published Dates for this academic year are all available on the school website. There you will also find copies of school policies (hard copies may be requested from the office) and details of the curriculum for each year group. N o t i c e s Activity Week Christmas Activity Week for children in Years One to Six this year will take place on Friday 14 th December until Wednesday 19 th December. Please check school bags for registration forms this week. Journey in Faith A new programme will be commencing at St Teresa s Church for anyone who would like to discover more about the Catholic faith. The programme will start on Wednesday 17 th October with an introductory session in the Clubroom - gather at 7.15pm for coffee/tea and start at 7.30pm. Come join in! Mufti Day & School Disco Wednesday Don t forget to check the STPA pages below for information about the Disco and Mufti Day. Clubs and Wraparound will take place as normal on Wednesday.
Polite Reminders Can we please remind parents and carers that in line with our safeguarding policies you must sign in at the school office. Can we also please ask that if you wish to meet with teachers before or after school can you make an appointment via the office. Changing rooms and children s toilets are strictly out of bounds to parents, again as part of our procedure to keep your children safe. Also a reminder that the school office does not open until 8.20am. As staff are preparing for the school day can we please ask that you only disturb the office before this time if it can t wait until 8.20am or you have a meeting booked with a member of staff. It has been noted how busy the church car park is, especially in the mornings. We have some allocated car parking spaces for staff, however it has become increasingly difficult to park in the spaces in the morning due to parents cars. We do not own the car park and therefore parents and carers should not be using it to drop off and collect. STEM Request During STEM week, children will be asked to help design the STEM garden. In the meantime, please could you have a rummage at home during the half term holiday and bring in any of the following items, in order for us to have lots of practical activities for the children to take part in when the STEM garden has been completed: Old, unwanted or extra hand tools (e.g. screwdrivers, spanners, hammers) Fixings (screws, nails, nuts, bolts etc) Small tool boxes/tool belts Wooden off cuts Guttering and fixings Broken electrical gadgets for children to "fix" (e.g. old clocks, computer keyboards) Old plugs with wires (e.g. cut off old appliances) 2L plastic drinks bottles Lego (any spare Lego pieces you have, does not need to be a set!) Any donations will be very gratefully received!" N E W S Thank You! A big thank you to the STPA for our new cameras. In the Creative Arts Department, Year Five have been taking side profile portraits and then making themselves look like Egyptian God and Goddesses for their Pharaohs ILP this term. Father Joseph Visit to Year Six As part of their topic on Vocation and Commitment Father Joseph was invited to school to be interviewed by Year Six. Some of the questions were quite challenging, but Father enjoyed answering them. The children found out a lot about Father Joseph's vocation to the priesthood and his ordination. Thank you very much to Father for giving up his time as the children kept him talking for a whole hour!
Reception Reception have been very busy this week. On Wednesday we visited Tesco to buy fruit for our snack and learn about the different countries that it comes from and on Friday we had an amazing trip to K & B Family Butchers in Princes Risborough. We were shown how the delicious sausages that we eat at school are made. Thank you very much Mr Clark and Mr Draper for helping us on our trips. Schools' Mass Year Six attended the annual Schools' Mass with Bishop Peter on Friday 12 October, marking both our Catholic Schools' Week in the Diocese of Northampton and also Bishop Peter's 50th anniversary of ordination. 850 children from across the Diocese attended. At the end of Mass Bishop Peter was presented with a spiritual bouquet containing prayers written by pupils from each school. It was a joyful celebration.
Year Five Condover Hall Year Five chose the following adjectives to describe their trip last week to Condover Hall:
We hope you all have an enjoyable half term! J Draper & Y Roberts Mrs J Draper & Mrs Y Roberts - Joint Head Teachers
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