Combe Martin School Newsletter – 10th October 2022
Dear Parents and Carers,
I can’t believe there are only two weeks left until half term, time certainly has
flown by! As the weather has turned, please ensure that your child comes to
school with a school cardigan, jumper or hoodie every day, including PE days and
don’t forget a warm waterproof coat! We are arranging another uniform swap
shop at the end of term so please keep hold of any outgrown uniform.
It’s Harvest Time!
Our Harvest Festival at St Peters is fast approaching. Due to limited space in the church, we are only inviting parents and carers on the day but so that everyone has the opportunity to celebrate with us, this week we will be holding a Community Harvest Assembly in the school hall on Wednesday 12th at 2.30 for any extended family and community members who would like to join us and hear the children sing.
This year, we are collecting any items that your family
is kind enough to donate for the Northern Devon
Foodbank in Ilfracombe. We will be putting boxes in
each class and another in the reception area to collect
the donations up until Tuesday the 18th. Thank you to
Anne Lewis who has been in to visit us and share how vital the work of this charity is. As well as collecting donations, our school is also a place for people to receive help from the foodbank, so if you or someone you know is in need of support, don’t hesitate to get in touch. We are here to help.
Parent Consultations
This week, class teachers will be sharing their availability for our parent consultation week straight after half term. Don’t forget to book yourself a slot!
Key dates this term:
Wednesday 12th Oct 2.30-3pm – Community Harvest Assembly in the School Hall for members of the community and extended family.
Tuesday 18th Oct 1.30 – Harvest Service at St Peters. Parents and Carers.
Friday 21st Oct – Non Pupil Day w/c 24th Oct – Half Term Break
w/c 31st Oct – Parent Evenings
Thursday 1st Dec – KS1 Christmas Productions, 2-3pm & 5.30-6.30pm
Wednesday 7th Dec, Christmas Service at St Peters, 1.30-2.30
Monday 12th – Tiddlers Nativity, 2-3pm
Tuesday 13th – Carols and Mince Pies for the Community, 2.30-3pm
Friday 16th Dec – Christmas Dinner More Dates to follow!
Thank you
We are lucky to have a special volunteer called Ros Whatley on our team who has
been volunteering in Jellyfish Class, reading with the children and leading art
sessions for a number of years. Thank you Ros for your hard work and dedication.
Here are some wonderful Kandinsky inspired pictures they have created and we
look forward to sharing their next masterpieces with you all!
Another thank you to our PTFA and Ilfracombe Rotary Club for funding an author visit
through Appledore Book Festival from John Townsend.
Thank you also to Reverend Mark Ruoff from St Peters for coming in to lead his first
assembly with us all about our focus virtue, Gratitude
PTFA Fundraising
With Christmas approaching, if you and your family and friends are shopping
on Amazon, please log in through ‘Amazon Smile’ and select ‘Friends of
Combe Martin School.’ Amazon will then donate money to the school every
time you shop! Please find instructions at the bottom of this letter.
Community News
I was lucky enough to be involved in the first Community Play Areas Committee meeting this weekend. It was great to see so many people there, coming up with ideas to fundraise. I look forward to sharing this with our School Councillors so they can start work on how the school can get involved!
Class Updates
Starfish Class: Mrs Swift
In maths this week, we read the book ‘A Squash and a Squeeze’ and then used different resources to compare amounts. We finished the week by testing whether we could fit all of the reception children into one of our outdoor trays. It was so much fun and definitely a squash and a squeeze!
Jellyfish: Miss Lewis
We have been learning about bees and have written descriptive sentences as well as all about why they are important. Y1 have been comparing numbers and working with number lines and our Y2s have started 'Tough 10' challenges - 10 questions to get their Maths brains working! We have seen
lots of enthusiastic mathematicians - enjoying learning and using different resources! We have also been historians and biologists, learning all about an Inspiring Changemaker, Neil Armstrong and how animals can be grouped.
Dolphins: Miss Challacombe
Dolphin’s got the chance to hear, John Townsend, an inspiring author and speaker in a special assembly this week, further encouraging our love of reading and hopefully Inspiring a few budding authors. He was very entertaining too!
Puffins: Mrs Railston
On Thursday morning Puffins were really excited to have a live online assembly from Google and Parent Zone all about how to Be Internet Legends and stay safe when we are online. This is really important for the children to know about, especially as they get older and have access to their own devices. We learnt all about the Legends Code – to be Sharp, Alert, Secure, Kind and Brave when we are online.
Seals: Mr Guyler
Seals have been learning all about journalistic writing and improving their mathematical skills in the 4 main opperations. In a very tasty science experiment, we used sweets to demonstrate the processes of osmosis and diffusion in the body!
In each newsletter we will post an idea for a way to encourage your children to
read at home and some book recommendations!
Helping with Reading at Home:
Concentrate on reading quality (it isn’t all about reading lots!) Don’t worry too
much about the ‘what’ and ‘how’ of reading each day. Books are great—but
leaflets, comics, recipes and instructions on a webpage can all be great too. Following a recipe to make some cupcakes is valuable reading. Be on the lookout for reading, wherever it is!
Book Recommendations from Mrs Railston
'The Nothing to See Here Hotel' by Steven Butler. A story set in a hotel for magical creatures which follows what happens when the difficult guest Prince Grogbah arrives to stay!
'The Girls' and 'The Boys' by Lauren Ace. Beautiful books which show how
friendships can last a lifetime.
Amazon Wishlist: https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/1NWKDEAVG1TJH/ref=nav_wishlist_lists_3
We hope you all have a lovely couple of weeks in the lead up to half term!
Warmest regards,
Dee Seddon
Headteacher
Instructions for Amazon Smile
First, go to the Amazon Smile website :- https://smile.amazon.co.uk
Instead of the normal www.amazon.co.uk logo, you should see the following logo :
Unless you were already logged into Amazon before opening the Amazon Smile
page, you will now be asked to Sign in - just use your usual Amazon login details.
On the next page, under where it says ‘Pick your own charitable organisation:’,
enter :- Friends of Combe Martin School.
Finally, on the following page where you see our charity name, click the Select button.
We thank you in advance for your support.
Friends of Combe Martin School
Click here for information about Family Support from Devon County Council.
Download HERE
