Here is this week's news:
Thank you all for bringing in gifts for the secret wrapping room for the Christmas Fair - these are safely stored away until the 7th December!
Raffle tickets will be on sale all next week - there are a number of prizes to be won in our Christmas Raffle, including breakfast vouchers, tutoring vouchers, a care care kit, beauty items and mini hampers. Tickets are £1 each and can be bought from the office at any time, and during our Christmas Fair.
On Saturday 7th December it is our School Christmas fair which will be open from 12:00 until 3pm - Please come along! Father Christmas will be visiting his grotto in the Meadow Room. Grotto tickets will be on sale all week; children were given order forms to bring home this week. Please let us have your orders by Thursday - tickets will be handed to the children and will be in their book bags.
On Wednesday, our Foxes and Squirrels children will be performing their violins, recorder and samba drums to parents and families in the hall at 2:30pm - please come along from 2:15pm.
Thank you to those who purchased books at our book fair this week! Because of your purchases, we have been awarded £276.62 book credit for school! This is amazing - thank you. Thank you also to Mrs Allard for helping Mrs Bowen run the book fair.
Last week's Christmas newsletter challenge - I decided to be extra-kind and award all entries a little prize! Thank you to those who entered! The tiny Christmas tree emoji was hiding in the 'drinks and snacks' section - thank you to all of you who emailed so promptly - it is reassuring that our communications are working for you.
Finally, please see attached some information about Governance at Twyning. As we near the end of term, this feels like a good opportunity to thank our governors for their ongoing dedication and commitment - it really is appreciated and we are lucky to have such a strong team who are prepared to volunteer so much of their time for our school community.
Miss Gladstone.
Congratulations this week go to...
Poppy A-T
Jack N-S
Naomi G
Poppy Y
Reuben F
Anna W
4th December - 2:30pm in the hall - Musical afternoon for Squirrels and Foxes parents.
7th December - School Christmas Fair 12-3pm
11th December - Nativity 2pm - Rabbits, Squirrels and Foxes
11th December - PTFA meeting in school 7.30pm - all welcome!
12th December - Nativity 9.30am - Rabbits, Squirrels and Foxes
16th December - Year 4, 5 & 6 Christmas Carol Service at Church End Church 6pm
17th December - 2:30pm - Music concert Y4,5&6 children who learn with Aidan Pope
18th December - School Christmas Lunch
19th December - Cinderella Panto at The Roses Theatre, Tewkesbury
20th December - Break up for Christmas Holidays
23rd January - Reception and Y6 height & weight (and vision for reception only) checks
24th January - Bag2School day
25 June and 26 June - Tewkesbury School Big Step Transition days 2025
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)
We have only had 3 entries! Please get involved with this fun fundraiser for our Christmas Fair if you can! There will be prizes for the the best decorated and most creative jars! Come and collect an empty jar from the office if you need one.
Please can I ask parents not to allow children to play tag games on the playground in the mornings so that we can avoid any accidents before school. The playground is a busy place in the mornings and if we can keep it as calm as possible that will help the children to have a smooth transition into school. Thanks.
On Wednesday 4th December, Foxes and Squirrels Classes would like to show their families what they have been learning in their group recorder, samba drum and violin lessons. They will be performing a mini-concert in the hall at 2:30pm on Wednesday 4th December. Please come along from 2:15 if you are able!
On Tuesday, eight year 3 and 4 children took part in the first part of the Tewkesbury and District League. We played four of the nine teams, and will play the remaining teams in the Spring. The team had some tough games against Carrant Brook and Tirlebrook, but played superbly against Ashchurch to finish with a 1-1 draw. The goal, into the top corner by Lucas, was superb and worthy of any Premier league player! The last game against Mitton was very even but unfortunately the end result was 1-0 to Mitton. The team played with immense effort and were a credit to the school. Well done to Jesse, Joe, Isla, Lachlan, Lucas, Jacob, Charlie and William B.
If you have any Christmas jumpers/dresses/tunics that your children have outgrown, please could you consider donating them to school. The PTFA want to have a rail of pre-loved christmas clothes available for sale/donations at the Christmas Fair. Our school Christmas Dinner is on 18th December and pupils are invited to wear festive jumpers/outfits for this.
Bentley has been in school for 2 days this week - I did tell him that he had VERY big paws to fill if he wants to be as successful as Peggy! And guess what.... he was an absolute success! He met lots of children (thanks for the returned forms), helped Mrs Bowen in the office and he even fulfilled his role as therapy dog after a couple of unfortunate playtime incidents! He was very proud of himself and earned a couple of treats! He will be back next week for a couple more days.
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.
If your child is registered for and receives the pupil premium or free school meals (this is not the same as universal free school meals, received by all infant aged children), you are now able to book HAF activities through the link below, from the 18th November.
https://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/education-and-learning/holiday-activities-and-food-programme/
You will need to make sure you are HAF ready by registering to the Children’s Activity Booking system (CABS) and making sure all of your account information is up to date.
If you are not registered for pupil premium/free school meals and want to see if you are eligible, please click this link www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/education-and-learning/free-school-meals/apply-for-free-school-meals/
Young Gloucestershire
T: 01452 501008 ext. 501
M: 07757730844
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.
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.
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
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.
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 .
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
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