Ashbrooke House Newsletter
January 2016
A Happy New Year to you all!
WELCOME
We welcome four new children to our school this term. Danillo, Leonardo and
Riel Farinha have joined Classes 3, 1 and Nursery. Lacey Widdows has also joined
our Nursery Class. We wish them all a happy and successful time with us at
Ashbrooke.
STUDENT TEACHER
We also welcome Mr. Daniel Lyford, a final year student from the University of
the West of England. He will be working with Mrs. Kryvoblocki and Class 4 this
term.
TOYS IN SCHOOL
Some of the younger children often bring in a small toy to play with during lunch
time play. This doesn’t usually present any problem. However, concerns have
been raised recently about children bringing ‘collectable’ items such as cards
into school. There have been instances of children being asked to give away
cards to others or to swap them. We have decided that cards and other
collectable items should no longer be brought into school, in order to prevent
any upset or trouble. If you have any concerns about this issue please see Miss
Wallington.
THANK YOU
We have raised a magnificent £400 to send to the Jiwan Jyoti orphanage in
Nepal. The school choir sang in the High Street for late night Christmas shoppers
and raised £150. Special thanks to the younger brothers and sisters of choir
members who shook the collection buckets! A further £250 was generously
donated by parents and friends after the Christmas performances.
Our collection for Save the Children on the last day of term raised £68.50.
WESTON FIRE FIGHTERS VISIT
A team of fire fighters visited Reception, Class 1 and 2 this week. The children
were shown the safety clothing worn by the fire fighters and some had the
opportunity to try on a fire fighter’s helmet! They talked to the children about
the different kinds of emergencies that they are called upon to deal with. The
children were instructed on what to do if their clothes caught fire. The children
were asked to check if they had smoke alarms at home and to know their home
address if they ever needed to call on the emergency services.
SHROVE TUESDAY – Tuesday 9th February
On Pancake Day the PTA will be organising a sponsored Pancake flip. More
details will follow in the next edition of the PTA SAY.
ASHBROOKE’S GOT TALENT 2016
Our annual showcase of musical and thespian talent will be taking place a little
earlier in the year than usual. Children from Classes 1-6 will be performing
instrumental solos, songs, poems and other items for parents, family and friends
on Thursday 11th February at 6.00pm in Clarence Park Baptist Church.
FARM TO FORK
Various classes visited Tescos throughout last year for the ‘Farm to Fork’
initiative. On Friday 12th February Class 3 will be going to the store to investigate
Healthy Eating.
TABLE TOP SALE
Mrs. Unwin and Elizabeth from Class 4 are supporting a fund raising project in
The Gambia. They visited this African country last term and were able to donate
mosquito nets to many families in need. Money was raised for this in school
with a Pyjama Day. There will be a table top sale for the project on Saturday
20th February at Victoria Methodist Church to raise money for a toilet block, as
they are currently using a hole in the ground. If anyone could donate a toy or
book for the sale, Mrs. Unwin would be very grateful. Please bring any
donations to the school office so that they can be passed on to her.
HEALTHY LUNCHBOXES
Staff have noticed that some children have packets of sweets included in their
lunchboxes. We try to encourage the children to eat healthily and to have a
balance of food groups represented in their lunchboxes. We also teach them
the importance of dental health. Please ensure that your child has a drink with
their lunch. Please support us with this!
WAITING AFTER SCHOOL
When waiting outside the school in an afternoon please can you ensure your
children are waiting with you, not running around.
DRAMA WORKSHOP
These workshops are very popular with the children. Reception, Class 1 and 2
will be having a Superheroes workshop on Friday 26th February. The theme is
‘Saving the Planet’.
WORLD BOOK DAY
World Book Day is on Thursday 3rd March. More information will follow about
the theme for the day.
LIFE IN THE FREEZER
Reception, Class 1 and 2 are keen to construct an igloo at the end of their topic
this half term. They need 700 empty and clean 4pt plastic milk containers! If
you could help us with this please send them into school.
CLASS 5 PAINTPALS
Miss James and Class 5 will be visiting Innisfree Nursing Home on Monday 7th
March. The children visited in November and enjoyed the experience, these are
some of the things the children said – ‘We were paired with an old person and
painted reindeers using our hands, we had fun.’; ‘ I liked working with my
partner, designing a picture.’; ‘I liked it when they greeted us’; I really enjoyed
working with my person, Elaine, I also liked the chocolate they gave us.’; ‘ I had
fun, I am excited about going again.’
GOBLIN COMBE
Children in Classes 3 and 4 will be having a night away and two days of action
packed adventure at The Goblin Combe Outdoor Education Centre on Thursday
10th and Friday 11th March. More details to follow.
SCHOOL TRIPS
We are arranging some topic based trips for individual classes this year, so we
have decided not to have an expensive whole school trip in the summer, instead
we will all go to the beach or park.
PARENTS’ EVENINGS
Parents’ Evenings will be held on Wednesday 16th and Thursday 17th March.
Appointment times will be sent out nearer the time.
CONGRATULATIONS
Congratulations to the following Class 6 pupils who took music exams at the end
of last term. Aya Keating passed her Grade 1 Piano exam and Amelia Briffitt
passed her Grade 3 Singing exam with Merit.
HOUSE POINT CHAMPIONS NOVEMBER/DECEMBER
Reception Aimee Pereira and Isabella Vann
Class 1
Isabella Whiting and Nikodem Jesionowski
Class 2
Daniel Johannsen
Class 3
Ava Cookeson and Dominiqe Pelican
Class 4
Elsie Cooke and James Powell
Class 5
Myles Bliss and Scarlett Johannsen
Class 6
Victoria Lawrence and Warren Gifford
HALF TERM
School will be closed for half term from Monday 15th to Friday 19th February.