Newsletter 21

1st March 2019 01983 857449 www.stfrancisventnor.co.uk

It is good to be back and I hope that you all have had a wonderful half- term break. As always we have been busy here at St Francis, with so many things happening to support the children’s learning. All week the children and staff have been finding painted stones that Miss Bushels class made, I was lucky to discover this stone that was made by Adelle that celebrates our value of courage. The year 5 and 6 children took part in a Tag rugby Tournament at Watcombe Bottom this week. We had a number of outstanding players and the team reached the semi-finals narrowly losing in extra time! The children have also had specialist cricket coaches supporting their PE lessons this week. The children in Miss Brewerton’s class were enjoying the session on Wednesday with the wonderful weather, developing their catching and throwing skills. We would like to thank a ‘Chance to Shine Cricket’ for facilitating these amazing sessions. On Thursday we had PC Pete Downing come and talk to the children regarding keeping themselves safe on line and understanding the consequences of cyber bullying. This was particularly pertinent at this current time as there have been a number of unsettling incidents online regarding the ‘MOMO challenge’. This is something that all parents need to be aware of because MOMO has been associated to multiple platforms used by children including Youtube, Kidstube, Instagram, Facebookand WhatsApp. We have sent a separate email out to all parents regarding this however if you have not received it then please come and pick up the material from the Academy’s office. Just reminder that next week is World Book Day and that we will all be dressing up as our favourite book characters. We are inviting parents into the Academy during the afternoon to promote reading and Parents are also able to dress up as their favourite characters. We do hope that you join us and we are asking for donations towards the PTA Mother’s day pop up stall. I hope that you all have a wonderful weekend Mr Augustus

Sports Round Up

Well done to the our tag rugby team who

took part in a Tag Rugby Tournament at

Ventnor Rugby Club . The team made it to

the semi-finals narrowly

losing in extra time !

Cycling/Scootering to school

Well done to Noah who had

the Golden Lock on his

his scooter this week

School Uniform

A reminder that the uniform at St Francis is:

Grey trousers/skirt/pinafore

White Polo (with logo if possible) Years R, 1, 2

White button through shirt/blouse and tie Years 3456

School Sweatshirt/Cardigan with logo

Grey socks/tights

Black School Shoes (not trainers)

PE Kit is:

White Logo T Shirt

Navy PE shorts

Plimsolls Years R, 1, 2

Trainers Years 3, 4, 5, 6

Hair longer than shoulder length should be tied up at all times and hair accessories should be

subtle (no big bows/ ribbons please).

We are proud of our school and its uniform, please help us to keep looking smart.

School Uniform

You will have noticed that the list of correct school uniform is posted on the newsletter each

week. This is because it is so important that the children look their best at all times.

I have introducing a system whereby if your child is not in school with the correct uniform on,

they will be loaned the correct item of uniform whilst parents sort a replacement. The loaned

item will then need to be checked back into school. Teachers will be vigilant on this and your

co-operation is much appreciated.

I respectfully ask that if your child wears boots to school, that they change into their school

shoes upon arrival at school and then they can change again back in to their boots for their

journey home. Shoes should be worn during the school day, not boots.

I am aware some parents have purchased new jumpers recently without logos and although I

would like every child to wear a logo jumper/cardigan, I am prepared to allow these to be used

for a while. However, after Easter I am expecting all children to wear logo jumpers/cardigans.

Thank you.

Please remember to label ALL your child’s uniform, PE kit, lunch boxes, water bottles, coats, hats and gloves as many children have complained they have lost items.

Please can you check your child’s PE Kit for a Karrimor Bright yellow and blue trainer.

The Isle of Wight Foodbank’s

monthly clothing sale is this

Saurday at their HQ in Love Lane,

Cowes. 10am –1pm. There is 50%

of all clothing.

What a busy week in Buzzards! We have only been back in school for a week and already we have

been focussing on spelling, grammar and punctuation rules such as pluralisation of nouns and the

use of the apostrophe for possession (singular and plural nouns) as well as recapping the use of all

punctuation: question marks, exclamation marks, ellipsis, colons, semi-colons, commas, dashes,

brackets and commas to indicate parenthesis and of course the important full-stop.

Reading remains a big focus this term, as always, and along with guided reading activities every

morning to develop our reading and comprehension skills, we are also getting to the point in our

class reader, Cosmic, where we find out how Liam has ended up in space! We have many theories

and predictions about this and soon we will find out…

In writing, we have been story mapping a persuasive text to learn the key features of this genre

of writing. Having studied a range of brochures for theme parks, persuasive texts have also been

our study in guided reading so that when we write our own we will be confident about which

language features we should include to make it the most irresistible persuasive writing ever!

In maths, we have been dividing fractions and looking at equivalences of fractions and decimals

and adding and subtracting decimals whilst keeping those all-important mental arithmetic skills

improving everyday. Keep learning those times tables and related division facts Buzzards so that

we are super-confident at recalling them.

Next week will be exciting as it is Book Week at school and we look forward to welcoming you into

class on World Book Day in the afternoon to share a story and enjoy some book-related activities.

Country Dancing Club There are plenty of places in Country Dancing Club if your child is interested. The club will take place on Wednesday’s 2.50—3.50pm and is open to years 3,4,5 & 6. Please contact the office.

Our Twitter handle is @StFrancisAcad

Parents are invited in to have lunch with their child.

Tuesday 5th March —Year 5 parents

Parent menu choices are: Chicken curry with rice, creamy broccoli pasta bake,

jacket potatoes or baguette (ham, cheese or tuna). Dessert is mixed fruit crumble

& custard or fresh fruit.

This will need to be ordered and paid for 24 hours prior to the day via School

Money system or at the office.

Book and pay for a parent dinner which will cost £2.45

Well done to our pupils that have demonstrated the Academy Values and were rewarded with a

Hot Chocolate with the Principal today!

Upcoming dates

Tuesday 5th March—Year 5 parents lunch

Thursday 7th March—World Book Day (children to come to

school dressed as a book character) parents invited into

school for the afternoon for book-related activities. More

details to follow after half term.

Tuesday 12th March—year 4 parents lunch

Friday 15th March—Comic Relief

Tuesday 19th March—Year 3 parents lunch

Monday 25th March—Mother’s Day pop-up shop

Tuesday 26th March—Year 2 parents lunch

Tuesday 2nd April—Year 1 parents lunch

TRIPS

Year 4 Residential trip to Kingswood

A reminder that the trip should have

been paid in full, now. Please pay any

outstanding money today. This can be

paid online through the School Money

system.

Little Canada

A reminder that the second instalment

for the trip is due today. This can also be

paid through the School Money System.

Absences from School

If your child is absent from school, please

remember to ring the school before 9am on

the first day of your child’s absence with an

adequate reason for the absence eg

sickness, earache (rather than just stating

‘unwell’). You can leave a voice message if

the phone is not answered.

There will be NO Junior Librarian Club on

Thursday 7th March due to World Book

day.

Emails and mobiles

Please can you ensure that the school

office has your correct email and phone

numbers—remember us if you get a new

phone! Attendance this week:

Wren: 95.19%

Kingfisher: 99.57%

Chaffinch: 95.65%

Goldfinch: 96.67%

Egret: 97.58%

Cormorant: 98.94%

Heron: 88.33%

Buzzard: 96.97%

Kestrel: 87.04%

Kite: 98.58%

Whole School: 94.26%

Please remember to send in an absence note if your child has been off from school or

the absence will remain unauthorised.

Fr John has invited parents to join him for a coffee morning with Pancakes

on Tuesday 5th March ,8.30am at St Margaret’s Hall, Lowtherville Rd.

Dear Parent/Carer,

As you will already know, next week is World Book Week and the Scholastic Book Fair arrives at St

Francis on Tuesday, 4th March.

For our new parents, here is some basic information on how the Book Fair operates.

Each child will have the opportunity, during the week, to browse the Book Fair. They will be bringing

home a ’wish list’ and competition sheet. Please be aware that this wish list is just for information and

it is entirely at your discretion whether you wish to buy any books. Any purchases at the Book Fair help

the school to earn rewards, which can be used to buy new books for the school library.

The Book Fair will be based in the library and will be open from the end of the school day until 5.00pm

on Tuesday to Friday and also on Monday, 11th March. On Saturday, 9th we will be open from 10.00am

until 1.00pm. We hope this will help working parents.

Payment may be made in cash or by cheques made payable to ‘Scholastic’.

If you are unable to come to the fair, please note that key stage 1 children can bring an order and

money in an envelope to be given to their class teacher. Their books will be delivered to the classroom.

Key stage 2 children can visit the Book Fair with money during break and lunchtime. If you have any

queries please feel free to contact the school office. I look forward to meeting you during the fair.

Regards

Mrs Crossley

Library News

Mothers Day Pop Up Shop The PTA will be once again running pop-up shops for Mothers’ day (25 March) and Fathers’ day (date tba). Any donations to help towards these would be gratefully received. We will be collecting donations on World Book Day in early March but please feel free to bring items in at any time that suits you – they can be left in the office.

TERM DATES FOR 2019—2020

We will produce a calendar in the usual format in due course, but wanted parents to be aware

of the term dates for the new Academic Year 2019—2020.

Development days:

30/8/19—Children start back at school on Monday 2nd September 19

2/6/20 3/6/20 4/6/20 5/6/20

Term Start date End date

Autumn Term

30 August 2019 -20 20th December 2019

Half term

21 October- 1 November 2019

Spring Term

6 January 2020 3 April 2020

Half term

17 - 21 February 2020

Summer Term

20 April 2020 24 July 2020

Half term

25 May – 1 June 2020

What we are reading this week:

Chaffinch class are enjoying

“Lost and Found”

Egret Class are reading

“The Iron Man”

Recycling clothes and shoes

Your child will come home with a

collecting bag for any donations of

unwanted clothes and shoes. Any

donations are gratefully received and

should be put in the bag, tied up and

placed into the collection box which is

in the car park. The school then

receives money depending on how

much is collected!