Embedded Files
Here is this week's news:
On Monday, Y4,5&6 entertained us with their Christmas Carol Concert at St Mary Magdelene Church in Church End. It was a wonderful festive event and thank you so much to everyone who helped make this so memorable. It is always such a special event.
Tuesday afternoon included a wonderful Christmas music showcase from our KS2 musicians and Aidan Pope - sadly, I was unable to be there but I heard that it was so lovely to see and hear how much the children have learnt in their individual private music lessons. If your child wishes to take up an instrument, please see Aidan's flyer further down this newsletter.
Wednesday's Christmas Lunch was a big success - thank you to our Governors and helpers who came along to help make the occasion so enjoyable.
Yesterday's Panto at The Roses Theatre was a lot of fun! The children really enjoyed themselves - oh yes they did! Thank you to the PTFA for funding the coaches, and to the staff and volunteers who came along too.
As always, we are always overwhelmed by the kind and thoughtful gifts, cakes and treats that have been sent in for us - thank you so much for your generosity. Have an amazing Christmas break everyone! See you all in 2025!
Miss Gladstone
Platinums
Platinums
Congratulations this week go to...
Mr D!!
Toby K
Leo N-S
Anna W
Austin B
Isla M
head teacher's award
head teacher's award
Huge congratulations to Vienna King who has received a special award today in recognition of her hard work and for being a good role model to others! Vienna leaves Twyning School today and so we wish her all the very best for the future!
Dates for your Diary
Dates for your Diary
6th January - INSET - School closed to children
7th January - Term begins
8th January - swimming lessons start for years 3 & 4
23rd January - Reception and Y6 height & weight (and vision for reception only) checks
24th January - Bag2School day
19th March - Cyber Security evening
25 June and 26 June - Tewkesbury School Big Step Transition days 2025
Goodbye and Good luck Mr Davies!
Goodbye and Good luck Mr Davies!
Today has been emotional for staff and children as we say our goodbyes to Mr Davies who leaves us to start his new job! His appointment as Deputy Headteacher at Twyning was the first one I made when I took over the headship and so the last 4 years has been an incredible journey for us as a leadership team. It is really hard to put into words how much he has given to our school during those 4 years and how much we will all miss him - I am sure you will agree that our children have benefited greatly from his fun teaching, calm and consistent manner and commitment to everyone he has worked with and taught.
Mr Davies, on behalf of all of us I would like to say a huge thankyou and we will miss you! On a personal level, I would like to thank you for being the most amazing deputy, "wingman" and friend - it has been a privilege working with you! All the very best of luck for your new venture - we know you will be fantastic!
vacancies
vacancies
We currently have a vacancy for a mid-day supervisor to work during lunchtimes - if you would like to join our team, please do let Miss Gladstone know.
We are also looking for someone to work some shifts at our Before and After School Club - please let Miss Gladstone know if you are interested, or email Mrs Tingle at bursar@twyning.gloucs.sch.uk .
Parent pay accounts
Parent pay accounts
Please make sure all account dinners and before and after school club balances are cleared by the year end. Many thanks.
christingle - the children's society collection
christingle - the children's society collection
Children have all been given a cardboard Christingle collection tube. If you are going to the family Christingle service at St Mary Magdalene Church, Church End, please take your filled tube along with you. The service is at 5pm on Christmas Eve. If you are going to any other Christingle service they will be happy to receive your tubes there. www.childrenssociety.org.uk/what-we-do
swimming lessons for years 3 & 4
swimming lessons for years 3 & 4
Please can we remind you that swimming lessons begin on Wednesday 8th January. Children need swimming trunks/shorts/costume plus a towel and goggles. Girls must wear a one piece costume and boys should have tight swimming shorts or short ones. Long, baggy shorts create too much drag and make it difficult to swim. If you have not yet paid, we would be grateful if you could address this as soon as possible. PE kit should be worn on swimming days.
dinner money and free school meals
dinner money and free school meals
Please note that ALL school dinner accounts should be in credit at all times. If your child is in year 3 or above you will need to ensure that they have a credit balance loaded onto their account to cover their needs.
The cost of a school dinner is now £2.71.
If you believe your child may be entitled to free school meals, please look at this link www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/education-and-learning/free-school-meals/apply-for-free-school-meals/
Menus for this term are now available from the school website - click to download or ask at the office for a printed copy. www.twyningschool.co.uk/page/school-lunches/106163
Many thanks.
bonjour little people
bonjour little people
Aurore Chatron-Michaud comes to school to teach private French classes in small groups. These lessons happen during the lunch hour. If you would like to sign your child up please see the information below and scan the QR code.
Cyber ProtecTion / E-Safety event
Cyber ProtecTion / E-Safety event
Please can you all reserve this date in your diary: Wednesday 19th March 2025, 6pm - 7:30pm in the school hall
I have booked PC Williams from Cyber Intelligence, Gloucestershire Police to run an information evening for parents about safe internet use for children which I would like to urge a parent from every family to attend please. The presentation was recently shared with headteachers in Gloucestershire at a conference and it was extremely useful although at times quite hard-hitting! The Cyber Intelligence team will be able to share statistics, information and advice about how you can make your child's internet use as safe as possible. I have decided to hold a creche service in one of the classrooms so that we can support anyone who may not be able to get childcare. I will give you more information nearer the time! (Miss Gladstone)
lumi nova - free app
lumi nova - free app
This free app comes highly recommended and can help with worries and anxiety. It is specifically for 7-12 year olds experiencing mild to moderate anxiety. Scan the QR code for more info.
sickness information
sickness information
There are a lot of coughs and cold about at this time of year, as is often the case, but unless your child is really unwell (see below) we encourage you to still send them in to school. We are able to administer Calpol and antibiotics in school - forms are available from Mrs Bowen in the Office so please call in with any medication and complete one if necessary.
Please click the link below to see NHS guidelines regarding illnesses.
www.nhs.uk/live-well/is-my-child-too-ill-for-school/
Please remember to report sickness/illness daily to us via School Spider or email to Mrs Bowen on admin@twyning.gloucs.sch.uk. It is important that illness is reported to school first thing in the morning, otherwise your child's absence could be recorded as an 'unauthorised absence'. If your child is frequently absent due to illness we may ask for a doctors note as per our attendance policy.
school attendance
school attendance
Pupils must arrive in school by 8.45am on each school day. The register for the first session will be taken at 9.00am and will be kept open until 9.15am. The register for the second session will be taken at 1.05pm and will be kept open until 1.15pm.
Please click this link to view our School Attendance Policy, Absence Request forms, and other attendance documentation.
www.twyningschool.co.uk/page/attendance/101727
snacks and water bottles
snacks and water bottles
We are noticing that there are a few children who are coming to school with alternative drinks such as squash or juice in their water bottles. Please can I remind you all that our policy is for children to drink water only as part of our healthy schools status.
Can we also remind you that we encourage the following foods as suitable snack choices at break time:
Fruit, vegetables, cheese, cereal bar, fruit bar.
We do remind children not to eat crisps and chocolate at break times where possible.
Thank you so much.
communications with school
communications with school
Please click on these links to view our guides to contacting school. We have also linked relevant policies for reference.
Before and After School Care
Fees for our before and after school care facility are £3.50 for a morning session and £7 for an afternoon session.
Balances should be cleared by the end of each month at the latest. Many thanks. If you use government vouchers please email Mrs Tingle at bursar@twyning.gloucs.sch.uk to advise when you have made a payment, each time you do this.
How do I register my child?
To register for Before or After School Club, please complete and send in the booking form which can be downloaded from our website or ask Mrs Bowen for a printed copy. These forms should be returned to Mrs Bowen at admin@twyning.gloucs.sch.uk .
WELLBEING & MENTAL HEALTH
WELLBEING & MENTAL HEALTH
Please see below some useful links to a few excellent wellbeing and mental health resources and an amazing digital therapy app for children:
www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/media/mujkq12k/gcc_3002-cyp-mental-health-handout_aw-crop-large.pdf
hubofhope.co.uk/concerns?concerns=86&latitude=52.0286023&longitude=-2.1466844
Safeguarding and E-Safety
Safeguarding and E-Safety
It is important to continue to 'make a noise about bullying' and we hope that this link to the BBC's anti-bullying resources will be useful.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/curations/anti-bullying-week
We would also like to bring to your attention a helpful guide on finding the ratings of online games and social media applications. This is a universal guide for any entertainment content:
Some useful links:
If you believe your family to be eligible for Free School Meals, please click on this link:
Health and sickness information "Is my child too ill for school?"
https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/is-my-child-too-ill-for-school/
Register for School Milk:
A collection of links to find and get help in all sorts of situations from Anxiety, Health related, young persons help, depression and much more:
hubofhope.co.uk/concerns?concerns=86&latitude=52.0286023&longitude=-2.1466844
Contact
Please feel free to make contact with me via email head@twyning.gloucs.sch.uk should you need to speak to me. During evenings and weekends, I may not be able to respond to you straight away but I will make contact with you during normal working hours as soon as I can. Many thanks for all of your support.
Kindest regards
Miss L Gladstone
Headteacher
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