Dear Parents/friends/Guardians 13^th January 2006

Happy New Year and welcome back to school for the spring term! Also, a particular welcome to the new children in Pearl and the Nursery!

Class Colour Day

We will be holding a Colour Fundraising Day on Friday 10^th February. Children in each class will be able to wear clothes in their class colour (as listed below) for a nominal £1 donation. This is a regular event each term, in co-operation with the PTA, to raise funds for each class in turn and we hope the children will find it fun. Thank you for your support.

Pearl: white

Sapphire: blue

Emerald: green

Ruby: red

Amethyst: purple

Diamond: white/sparkly

Nursery: children to dress in their favourite colour

Cameras

We are hoping to purchase a digital camera for each year group in order to record more art work, practical activities etc. If anyone knows of anywhere we can buy 4 cheaply, please could you let us know. Thank you.

Holiday Requests

Please remember that you should submit holiday request forms to the office at least one month in advance. Processing of these forms may take some time.

Assemblies

A number of assembly dates have been changed. Please see diary dates in bold at the end of this newsletter.

Police Visit

Our local beat officers – PC Mark Turner and PC Mark Neill, visited the school this week. The children thoroughly enjoyed their visit and we look forward to seeing them around the village!

Chalfont St Giles Police Surgery

On Thursday 26^th January from 1.30pm to 3pm in the Reading Room, High Street, Chalfont St Giles. This is a chance for you to come and speak privately to your local Police Officers about any complaints, queries or worries that may concern you.

Crocodiles

We are in danger of losing our walk to school crocodiles as although we have children wishing to walk we haven't enough adults to escort them. There are many reasons why this would be a great shame. The crocodiles are now well established, the children know exactly what to do, they are extremely well behaved and the walk is really enjoyable. We get to know our neighbours better and the children arrive at school invigorated and ready to learn. The life-long health benefits are obvious, not least in making walking a part of everyday life for our children. (This is not the case for many children.) Some of the adults we have lost are now walking every day with their own children and so we feel this is a success of the scheme.

There are financial benefits as well. Our crocodiles have helped Donna Westall gain the school a Level 3 status in travel planning. We have been awarded a silver medal for this and if we keep it all going for another year we get a gold award and with that we can apply for more grants for capital projects. We have already been given money for the wet weather shelter which has been extremely well used.

If you are interested in joining us on Kings Rd or Bottrells Lane please get in touch. The Lagger crocodile has unfortunately already had to stop. It is also possible for people who live outside the village to drive to Cape Fish, park there and join us. We walk on Mondays and Thursdays. The escorts go on one of the days but the children go both days giving the adults extra time one morning per week. Training for the escorts takes about an hour and is usually in Amersham although it can be done here if we have enough people. Everyone needs to be CRB checked.

Thank you - Alison Robinson

Numeracy Lesson

Don’t forget that Mrs English will be taking a Numeracy lesson on Tuesday 24^th January from 9.15 – 9.45, in Ruby classroom. This session is intended for parents who would like to understand more about the processes children use in solving mathematical problems. Mrs English will be giving out a hand-out afterwards, but please feel free to make notes during the session.

Building work

Building work is due to start on the cottage on Monday 23^rd January. This should take about a month and will involve the construction of a new staircase, so that the upper floors are accessible by the children. A new toilet is also being installed which should make life easier for those parents involved in Library and cooking! Unfortunately this means we will be unable to use any of the rooms in the cottage during this time. Therefore, please could you order any uniform you might need before the 23^rd January, as the only items on sale during this period will be sweatshirts/cardigans.

Nestlé Book Tokens

Remember to keep sending in the Nestlé book tokens. They do not need to be sent off till the end of March, so please keep them coming in!

PTA Uniform Sale

There will be second hand uniform sales on Thursday 19^th January after school and on Friday 20^th January in the morning after pick-up.

Dates for your Diary (amendments/additions in bold)

20^th January previous Diamond assembly date no longer applicable

24^th January Numeracy Lesson in Ruby class (for parents) 9.15 – 9.45am

25^th January 7.30pm – Clerked GB meeting in staffroom

26^th January Class mums meeting in Memorial Hall 10.30 – 11.30

27^th January previous Amethyst assembly date no longer applicable

1^st February Perform workshops for Infants

2^nd February Perform workshops for Infants

3^rd February Ruby Assembly in Memorial Hall

8^th February Infant Parents Evening – 5.30 – 8.00

9^th February Infant Parents Evening – 3.30 – 6.00

10^th February Class Colour Fundraising Day

School closes for half-term 3.15pm

20^th February School re-opens

24^th February Emerald Assembly in Memorial Hall

2^nd March World Book Day – children can dress up as their favourite book character

3^rd March Diamond Assembly in Memorial Hall

8^th March Public Open Day

9^th March Nursery open day for existing parents

16^th March Induction for new Reception children in April – 9.30

17^th March Amethyst Assembly in Memorial Hall

23^rd March Nursery Consultation Day for parents of children about to start Reception in April

24^th March Foundation Stage Assembly (Pearl and Nursery AM)

22^nd March Foundation Stage Assembly (Sapphire and Nursery PM)

28^th March Easter Service at St Giles Church – 9.15

29^th March Last day of term for Nursery

30^th/31^st March Nursery visits to new parents

31^st March Term finishes - 2.00pm

18^th April Term starts (except Nursery)

New Nursery children visit

19^th April Nursery start

26^th April Perform workshops for Infants

5^th May Ruby Assembly in Memorial Hall

12^th May Emerald Assembly in Memorial Hall

22^nd May Arts Week

26^th May Foundation Stage Assembly (Pearl Class)

School closes for half-term 3.15pm

5^th June Training Day

6^th June School re-opens

16^th June Foundation Stage Assembly (Sapphire Class)

24^th June Strawberry Fayre

29^th June Nursery open day for existing parents

Infant Sports Day – 10.30

30^th June Foundation Stage Assembly (Nursery AM)

4^th July Induction day for Y2 to Juniors and new Reception children/all children visit new classes

5^th July Foundation Stage Assembly (Nursery PM)

Infant parents evening – 5.30 – 8.00

7^th July Reserve Infant Sports Day – 10.30

Reports out

10^th July Nursery Consultation Day for parents of children about to start Reception in September

13^th July Leavers Assembly for Y2 parents – 9.30

14^th July Nursery Sports day – 10.30

18^th July Flower Festival at St Giles Church – 9.15

19^th July Last day of term for Nursery

20^th/21^st July Nursery visits to new parents

21^st July End of term - 2.00pm

Yours Sincerely

Mrs K. Whittington

Headteacher

A copy of this letter is available on our website 'www.csg-school.co.uk'

Please remember to walk to school if possible, and not to park in School Lane or Staff car park.

'Our school is a happy, caring place where we work together to learn and succeed by doing our best'