Twyning School - Newsletter 21.03.2025

Here is this week's news:

How lovely to see everyone looking bright in red and colourful clothing for Comic Relief! We have raised £140 for this great cause. Thank you to you all for your generous donations.

The first round in the annual inter-schools wildlife quiz was held on Tuesday. Our team were absolutely amazing - it was very close, but they managed to come home with a well deserved win against Churcham School. Well done to Josh, Leo NS, Maisie and Eliza for being such great ambassadors for our school. The next round will be held here against Hartpury Primary School and we wish our team the best of luck as they progress onwards!

On Wednesday we hosted the Cyber-Protection Evening in the school hall - those of you who came would agree that it was a very insightful, interesting and thought provoking event. Sadly there is limited information to send on to those who were unable to attend as the majority of it was discussion alongside the slides, but I would like to draw your attention to the following website: https://www.internetmatters.org/

A reminder that there is NO swimming for years 3 and 4 next Wednesday and the last lesson will be on Wednesday 2nd April.

Good news! We have had one parent step forward to become our PTFA Treasurer - thank you so much! However, we still need a Chair and hopefully a Secretary in order to form a PTFA for next year otherwise it will sadly cease. We know there are plenty of people who offer to help at events such as discos but we need organisers please. This will have a huge impact on our children if the committee has to fold because it will mean there will be no more discos, Christmas fairs, pantomime trips etc. They do a huge amount of fundraising and we are so grateful to them. If you think that you can help, please do let us know.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend.

Miss Gladstone

Platinums

Congratulations this week go to...

Violet V

Bethan F

Eliza S

Henry R

Prudence C

Sammie R

Dates for your Diary

25th March - Rabbits Class visit from 'The Animal Man'

27th March - SATS information evening (Year 6 children and parents)

31st March - Bag 2 School Day

14th - 25th April - Easter Holidays

28th April - INSET DAY - school closed

5th May - Bank Holiday - school closed

26th May - 30th May - Half Term holiday

4th June - Squirrels and Foxes trip to SS Great Britain

11th June - "Biker Night" on the green. PTFA/School providing refreshments from 5:15/30pm

19th June - Bag 2 School day

25 June and 26 June - Tewkesbury School Big Step Transition days 2025

11th July - Year 5 trip to Tewkesbury Medieval Festival Schools Day

18th July - Last day of term

twyning's got talent!

Auditions are going well! Finalists will be informed next week. The final will be held in the school hall on the evening of Thursday 10th April. All are welcome to come along and watch the show - tickets will be available soon. From what I've seen so far it's going to be a great evening!

concert in aid of our school

Please see the poster above for further details of how to book tickets to the fund raising concert next Saturday 29th March. Paul Dorkings and Will Parkinson have kindly agreed to donate their share of the profits to our School, and we are very grateful for this. Please show your support by buying a ticket and attending this Charity Gig. You will also be supporting The Cure Parkinson's Trust.

Parent pay accounts

Please can everyone make sure all school dinners accounts are in credit at all times. Many thanks.

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

PTFA NEWS - UPDATE!

As you all know, our PTFA Committee are stepping down this year. Without a new committee forming, our PTFA will have to fold. We have had one parent step forward to be Treasurer but we will still need a Chair and also preferably a Secretary in order to continue as a PTFA. Please have a think and put your name forward if you can - the existing chair and treasurer are willing to give a full handover and offer any assistance that you may need. Please see the posters in the PTFA noticeboard on the playground, or come and see me or Mrs Bowen if you are interested in forming a new committee and/or volunteering as a committee member. Email admin@twyning.gloucs.sch.uk .

swimming lessons

A reminder that there is no swimming on the 26th March due to the Feet First dance festival. If your child does not have swimming lessons outside school, we would highly advise that they do so, if possible. School lessons alone cannot get them to a proficient standard. Tewkesbury Academy has a comprehensive lesson programme with consistent staff (including Karen and Jo who have taught our children over the last few years). Please see the flyer below.

snacks and 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.

easter football courses

Easter holiday football courses are now available to book, run by Cheltenham Town Community Trust, the official charity of Cheltenham Town Football Club . These sessions provide an affordable and engaging holiday activity for children of all abilities, helping to support parents by offering a structured option during the school break.

Football Fun Sessions (Mixed)

Ages 5-12
9.00am - 3.00pm
Cost: £14 per day

Girls Only Courses

Ages 6-13
9:00am - 3.00pm
Cost: £14 per day

Bookings can be made here: https://officialsoccerschools.co.uk/cheltenhamtownfc/

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 .

Some useful links:

Keeping children safe online: www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/health-and-social-care/children-young-people-and-families/keeping-your-child-safe-online/

Safeguarding and E Safety: www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/curations/anti-bullying-week

Gaming and social media : www.askaboutgames.com/pegi-age-ratings#:~:text=Essentially,%20the%20PEGI%20rating%20on,deemed%20suitable%20for%20adults%20only.

If you believe your family to be eligible for Free School Meals, please click on this link: https://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/education-and-learning/school-transport-and-free-school-meals/apply-for-free-school-meals/

Health and sickness information "Is my child too ill for school?" https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/is-my-child-too-ill-for-school/

Please click this link to view our School Attendance Policy, Absence Request forms, and other attendance documentation. www.twyningschool.co.uk/page/attendance/101727

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

school dinners - price increase from 1st april

We have been advised of a price increase for school dinners with effect from 1st April. The cost of a school dinner will rise from £2.71 to £2.85. Of course, if you qualify and have registered for Pupil Premium your child will receive free school meals throughout their time here at Twyning School. See this link to check if you qualify www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/education-and-learning/school-transport-and-free-school-meals/apply-for-free-school-meals/

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.

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:

luminova.app/gloucestershire

www.onyourmindglos.nhs.uk/

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

communications with school

Please click on these links to view our guides to contacting school. We have also linked relevant policies for reference.

communications with school

guide to contacting school

communications policy

parent code of conduct

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

Page updated

Report abuse