Newsletters

Dear parents and carers,

This week in our whole school assembly, Mrs Radley spoke to the children about ‘Earth Action North Devon’ and their appeal to all schools to take part in a mass community clean up.  Our community cleans are not just about picking up litter, they are about connection with nature, connection with each other and connection with the issue itself. With plastic pollution set to triple by 2060, you can sometimes feel helpless, but community cleaning can help to spark conversations about what we buy, how we consume, and how businesses and governments can do better.

Through a meeting with our Eco team, the children across the school will take part in a mass litter pick around the village, including the field and village hall.  We are also looking at the amount of litter and recyclable paper the school is producing weekly, and the eco team will be sharing this with everyone in our weekly assemblies.  We look forward to sharing our write-up and pictures of our mass clean in next week’s newsletter.

Time Table Rock Star Morning – Friday 30^th January

We are looking forward to seeing our children come to school as HNTPS rock stars next Friday.  Across the morning, the children will be participating in a range of activities that focus on the development of counting in multiples and grouping for our younger children to quickly recall table facts and problem-solving for our older children.  We hope this will spark engagement and excitement of our TTRS platform and our children will continue to use it at home.

Reading at Home

Reading plays a big part of our day-to-day classroom practice at HNTPS.  The children enjoy having stories read aloud, taking part in whole class guided reading sessions, small group and individual reading sessions that develop key skills to support decoding, reading for meaning and inference skills.  We have sourced new reading books to support guided reading across the school and Mrs Dorrell and the librarians have decluttered and organised the library.  We encourage children to read at home daily to continue to develop and embed these skills, asking parents and carers to complete their reading record books daily.  Our Accelerated reading program allows staff to monitor the progress of every child and choose the correct level of book to stretch and challenge their reading ability.  For every 4 reads completed at home, your child/ren will be entered into our weekly draw with a chance to take home our reading basket full of great books, blanket, hot chocolate and marshmallows.  Definitely something we know children thoroughly enjoy continuing to promote our love of reading!

Research about the importance of reading for primary schools

Research indicates that reading for pleasure is crucial for children's                  development and success. Here are some key findings:

Class 4 Visit to Exeter Race Course

Just to remind all parents of children in class 4 that next Wednesday 28^th January, children in class 4 will be visiting Exeter racecourse for the day.  Children need to arrive at school for 7:45am in preparation for an 8am departure.  We plan to be back to school for the end of the school day at 3:30pm.  Any changes due to traffic will be communicated through our Facebook page and email.  Children need to come to school in full school uniform with a warm coat and bring a packed lunch with plenty of drinks to last them throughout the day.

Year 4 Times Table Club

After half-term, Mrs Dorrell will be running a timetable table club for children in year 4.  The club will provide the children with an opportunity to practice and consolidate their times-tables to 12 through interactive games and a range of activities in preparation for their Multiplication check in June.  This club will run each Monday after school from 3;30-4:30 and is free for all children to come along.  An Arbor link is now available in parent accounts to sign your child up to the club. Looking forward to seeing all our year 4’s in our first session on Monday 23^rd February.

Year 6 SATs Club

After half-term, Mrs Hopkins would like to run a SATs club for children in year 6.  This club will provide an opportunity for the children to revisit particular areas of the curriculum that have been challenging.  The children will spend time working through questions together, exploring the quickest and most effective ways to solve arithmetic questions and reading comprehension, explaining their reasoning and understanding.  This club will take place each Wednesday afternoon from 3:30-4:30pm starting after half-term.  There will be no charge for this club. An Arbor link is now available in parent accounts to sign your child up to the club.  Looking forward to seeing all our year 6 children at their first session on Wednesday 25^th February.

Book and Biscuit Session

Just to remind our parents that our next Book and Biscuit session will take place on Monday 9^th February from 2:45-3:30pm.  This will be an opportunity for the children to share what they have been learning in science this term.  We look forward to seeing you all.

Walk and Talk Session

Everyone is welcome to come along to our Walk and Talk session taking place this Monday after school drop off.  Come and meet our pastoral team who are there to offer parenting support and enjoy a well-deserved cup of tea or coffee afterwards in the staffroom.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend,

Mrs Cook

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