Pupils to collect raffle ticket-- if they have walked - either from home or from a road set away from the school.
The winners to receive vouchers for Noah's Cycle Shop

See attached letters
First letter - information about buying a copy of Karl Nova's book
Second letter - permission slip and payment for visit

Dear Parent/Carers,

Re:Maths Curriculum Evening

TheYr 3/4 team and I would like to invite you to our Curriculum Evening on

Wednesday 15^thJanuary from 6.00-7:00pm in the School Hall.

Our aim on this occasion is to provideparents with a better insight into how children learn at our school. OurCurriculum Evening will be about maths.On this occasion parents will be invited to pair up with their own children andexperience a typical maths lesson directly. Please put aside any trepidationyou may have at such a prospect—the session will aim to be fun and supportive!

There is a big focus this year on maths. Inthe last couple of years the curriculum has changed and expectations have beenraised. We have been trying to approach this challenge in a realistic andsensible manner. Last year our main aim was to develop a more positive mindsettowards maths for all our pupils—this work is ongoing and includes presentingthe children with interesting challenges during which children can exploretheir own ideas and methods. This year we are overhauling the rest of ourpractice. Children are now taught in their classes using some new methods(inspired by teaching in Shanghai) which are both very supportive and thorough.Our aim is to ensure all pupils leave primary school feeling positive aboutmaths; with both a really solid base of skills and knowledge as well as thesense that maths is an exciting, creative subject to explore. We are aiming todeliver on the higher expectations of our children without putting addedpressure on them.

We hope that by sharing this session withyou, you will gain a better insight to not only what is going on in your child’sclassroom but into the expectations of the current curriculum. We are intent ondelivering more curriculum evenings and we will be organising  further evenings for KS1 parents and forReception parents in the coming months. 

Please let usknow if you will be attending this event by returning the slip below. We willaim for a maximum of 30 pupils with 30 adult partners for the lesson itself butif numbers are higher, we would like everyone else to come and observe.

Kind regards

N Moss(Headteacher)

Name of child: ……………………………………………..

I will be attending the Year 3/4 curriculumevening with my child on the Wednesday 15^th January.  I will require _______(up to 2) spaces

Signed:

We have organised a visit to The Living Rainforest near Newbury. The aim of the day is to enrich our study of the Amazon Rainforest.  Pupils will experience the wonders ofrainforest plants and animals.  They willfind out about how rainforest plants grow and how we use resources from therainforest.  The day will include a tour ledby the Living Rainforest staff.

The trip willtake place on Thursday 16^thJanuary 2020.  We will travel bycoach, leaving school at 8:30am and will be back by 3:15pm.  On the day of the trip, your child will needto come to school in school uniform. They will also need a packed lunch, a snack and a drink.  If your child receives free school meals andyou would like to order a packed lunch for them, please arrange this throughthe office.  Children will also requiretheir coats.

The cost of theLiving Rainforest visit, which has been kindly subsidised by the PTA, is £13.  Your child will not be denied a place on thevisit if you decline to make a payment, however, the school cannot proceed withthe visit unless there are sufficient voluntary contributions for it to befinanced.  Please return the slip belowwith the money in an envelope with your child’s name on it to the office by Friday10^th January 2020.   We would be very grateful for some parents to accompany us on thetrip.  Please also indicate on the replyslip if you are able to accompany us.

Dear Parents / Carers

It’s time for Young Voices again!

If you haven’t yet heard of it, Young Voices (.co.uk) is a series of huge choral performances in arenas across the country, with many choirs joining together - the total number at each concert is between 5,000 and 8,000 children. It’s a spectacular event. The choir will get to sing a variety of songs with professional singers and dancers; there are tickets available for parents and friends to come and listen too. Our concert is on Tuesday 21st January 2020 at the Genting Arena, Birmingham.

The school is happy to cover the cost of the children attending the concert itself, but we do need to ask for payment to cover the cost of the coach to and from Birmingham. We are planning to book two coaches: one for children and staff, and one for parents. The exact cost of this hasn’t yet been calculated but we will let you know as soon as we have a clear idea of numbers.

It will be a long but exciting day: the children will leave school by coach at the end of the morning to arrive in Birmingham by 1.30pm. There will be a rehearsal in the afternoon for all the choirs together, followed by the performance, which is at 7.00pm – a packed lunch as well as packed tea will be required, with plenty of drinks. At 9.15pm we will return to Minchinhampton, arriving back at approximately 11.30pm.

The parents’ coach will leave school at around 4.00 p.m. and arrive at the Genting Arena by 6.45pm. Departure will be immediately after the concert and will arrive back at school at the same time as the children.

The price of the parents’ ticket is £20.00, in addition to the cost of the coach which will be calculated once we know the numbers of people on board. All parent bookings will be on a first-come-first-served basis. Due to the popularity of this event, initial requests for tickets will be limited to 2 per family (*please see note attached). If you do miss out, unfortunately we will not be able to book further tickets, but you may be able to book directly yourselves, and we can supply details. Please don’t send in money until we have the exact numbers.

The children will need to wear a white t-shirt and black trousers for the concert. If you would like your child to have an event t-shirt, please also complete the attached form and return it to the school office together with the payment of £12.00. The price also includes a small torch, a wrist band and access to a secure online music room full of practise videos. Cheques should be made payable to Minchinhampton C of E Primary Academy.

Wearing a Young Voices T-shirt is not compulsory but most children wear them. They are of course allowed to wear a PLAIN white t-shirt if they do not want a Young Voices one. Please make sure that you have put clearly on the form the size(s) you require.

Please complete and return the attached slip/s as soon as possible – no later than Friday 4th October – and see myself or come to the office if you have any queries.

Many thanks

Mr J Weinberger