Newsletter 25 - w/c 20th March 2023

FOSS NEWS - BOUNCE-A-THON!

THE BIGGEST FOSS FUNDAISER OF THE YEAR. FOSS WOULD LOVE YOUR SUPPORT, PLEASE TURN TO PAGE TWO FOR MORE DETAILS

ARE YOU FOLLOWING US ON TWITTER?

For regular updates on all the exciting things we are getting up to in school, you'll need to follow us @StStephensCofE. Don't miss out!

IMPORTANT INFORMATION - PLEASE READ - THANK YOU

From Tuesday April 18th, we will be increasing the length of the school day for Reception and Key Stage 1. The school day will finish at 15:20 for these classes, five minutes later than the current timetable. This will be a permanent change to the timetable.

School Spider – we will be closing our books over the next week, it is crucial that you make all outstanding payments for trips, clubs and lunches for the dates 1st April 22 – 31st March 23 no later than Monday March 28th please.

!! We are hiring!! We are looking for an office administrator to join our wonderful team - Tuesday - Friday 8:30 - 16:00, please click here for more information - https://www.eteach.com/job/administration-officer-1319326

DATES AND REMINDERS

Wednesday 29th March - Easter Service

Friday 31st March - End of term. School closes 2.15pm

Monday 17th April - Inset Day

Tuesday 18th April - Summer term - children return to school

Wednesday 26th April - Year One trip to Hampton Court Palace (further details to follow)

Tuesday 2nd May - Year Two SATs Testing period begins

Monday 8th May - KS2 SATs Week

Wednesday 3rd May - Friday 5th May - Year Four - residential trip to Juniper Hall

Friday 26th May - Year Two trip to Miller's Ark Animals (further details to follow)

Monday 29th May - Friday 2nd June - Half Term

Tuesday 27th June - Year Five trip to Natural History Museum

THERE'S SOMETHING FISHY GOING ON IN ATTENBOROUGH CLASS ...THANKS TO FOSS

When we heard there was something fishy going on in Attenborough class we just had to send one of our roving reporters along to investigate. We were surprised to spy a fintastic new fish tank - home to new class members, Speedy, Dave, Deborah, Bob and Steve. By all accounts these new fishy friends have made themselves right at home in friendly Attenborough class. Determined to get to the seabed of the story, we asked the children and staff team why these finned fellows were making themselves so at home in Year Five. Mrs Cotton takes up the fish tail: "Henry and Arlo wrote some wonderful persuasive letters to Mrs Bachour, asking if Attenborough could have a fish tank. She gave the seal of approval and said the children in Attenborough have very sofishticated tastes. I must say, I have to agree. As FOSS gave each class teacher £100 to spend on their class, we used ours to buy a fish tank." We asked the childen of Attenborough and the staff team what they thought of their new fishy pets and we were greeted by the cheers and smiles depicted below. The children are planning to look after and care for the fish themselves under the supervision of Mrs Cotton.

STEM WEEK

Our children had a wonderful time in STEM week, carrying out some fun scientific experiments. We asked Mrs Chahil, our Science Co-ordinator, who put this exciting week's learning together for us, to update us: "The children worked on a number of projects over the week, using a variety of skills and knowledge that they have gained in Science, Computing, DT and Maths in order to create an end product. Each year group had a different focus and the children enjoyed looking at each other's work. This year, the theme was 'connections' and children had the opportunity to celebrate STEM week with experiments that explore connections related to:

Bridges and tunnels

Ice, melting and absorbing

Habitats

Human connecions and much more!"