The Carswell

Times 24th January 2020

Chrysalis class were very lucky to have Sensei Jordan and Sensei Scott from Can Do Martial Arts join us

for a complimentary taster session on Tuesday morning. We had lots of fun counting in Japanese to 10

as well as playing games such as the get up and go game. We even learnt how to sit and stand like a

black belt! We showed off our agility and dynamics by jumping hurdles and running through the lad-

ders. The children thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Thank you to Ben and Virginia Richardson for offer-

ing such a wonderful experience.

It was Year 1 Peacock classes Knights and Castles immersion day on Wednesday. The day began with a virtual tour of a castle

to find out all the many jobs that went on. They then learnt the ‘Hairy scary Castle’ poem using instruments as accompani-

ment . The afternoon saw our brave knights having a banquet and entertaining each other with jester jokes, songs and danc-

ing. Hey nonny nonny and what a lot of japes!

Mrs Busby, our dance teacher, put Reception class through

their paces this week with a rigorous and exciting dance les-

son.

They practiced moving in unison, controlling their arms to

make sweeps and much more before making sure their mus-

cles were fully warmed down. As you can see they are still

rehearsing stretches!

I’ll look forward to seeing them putting this learning into

practice when doing the Big Dance at our summer festival

(formerly our summer fair).

Thank you Miss Busby and well done Wood White!

Carswell Coffee Morning

Welcome you to Carswell with Rachael Higgs (Senco) and Zoe Rutty (Home

School Link Worker).

Come and join us for a drink, biscuit, fruit and a friendly chat!

Date for next term – Spring

Wednesday 29th January from 9-10am

Noel, in Gatekeeper came to see me this

week to show me his Maya mask. As you

can see, he put a lot of effort into it and

made sure it had a sinister , other-worldly

feel to it.

I love it when pupils come to show me

work they are proud of, it shows me how

dedicated our children are to improving

their learning! Good work Noel!

Please note we will add to and update this constantly and strive to give you dates as far in advance as we

can

Start of Term 3 Monday 6th January Term starts at 8.45am

FOCS Film Night Year 1-6 Date to TBC Carswell School Hall

Family Links Parenting Course Wednesday 15th January at 6:30pm –

8:30pm Carswell School - Palace

FOCS second hand children's

clothes sale

Friday 24th January 2.30 pm At school— room TBC

FOCS second hand children's

clothes sale

Friday 31st January 2.30 pm At school— room TBC

Primary School Applications

Deadline Wednesday 15th January 2020 N/A

Parents Vision Afternoon Thursday 23rd January 2020 at 3—3.45

pm School hall

School nurse (weight and

height reception and yr 6) Thursday 6th February 2020 Carswell School

Swallowtail Viking Experience

Day Thursday 27th February 2020 Carswell School

End of Term 3 Friday 14th February 2020 Term ends at 3.05pm

Start of Term 4 Monday 24th February 2020 Term starts at 8.45am

FOCS Committee Meeting TBC

Year 6 SATs Meeting Monday 2nd March 2020 at 3pm Year 6 Classroom

Farmer Gows (Woodwhite) Tuesday 3rd March 2020 Farmer Gows

World Book Day Thursday 5th March 2020 Carswell School

FOCS quiz night Friday 6th March 2020 at 7pm School Hall

FOCS Coffee Morning TBC

FOCS Committee Meeting TBC

Learning Reviews with Parents

at school Tuesday 24th March Carswell school in classrooms

Learning Reviews with Parents

Dalton Barracks Wednesday 25th March Dalton Barracks

Tempest – Class Photos Thursday 26th March 2020 Carswell School

Easter Disco Thursday 26th March 2020 School hall

iRock assembly for parents with

children in iRock club Friday 3rd April 2020 time 9.15 am School hall

End of term 4 Friday 3rd April 2020 Term ends at 1.15pm

Governors met for the first time in 2020 on Monday of this week. Mr

Crandon delivered his headteacher's report and spoke about how

the school has continued to respond to the recommendations made

in the most recent Ofsted inspection. The results of the annual staff

welfare survey were discussed and feedback was given by those gov-

ernors who had attended a recent meeting with local MP Layla Mo-

ran at which the current state of school finances was the main item

on the agenda. Governors also reviewed various school policies, in-

cluding the Home Learning Policy - this has been updated following

feedback in the last parental survey and is designed to give parents

more control and choice over the amount and type of homework

their children complete. If you would like to read the policy in full, it

is available on the school website.

Dear Parents and Carers,

Another week, another dollar (not sure if that’s the expression…). I’ve had a chance to join some children-run clubs this week and am impressed that there are so many, how well-organised they are and how passionate our children are about subjects such as coding, anime (a type of Japanese comic art) and cartoons.

I’m hoping to find the time to join comic club to show them some of my favourite comics, such as Silver Surfer, vintage Batman and Gon (Japanese manga comic about a baby dinosaur) soon. I just have to remember to bring them in!

Speaking of clubs, we have two more sessions left of the chess club run by Radley college boys on Mondays. The numbers have been dwindling so if you’d like your child to attend these last two sessions, do get in touch with me or the of-fice. The dates are: 3rd Feb and 10th Feb and it runs from 3.05 pm until 4pm.

The staff had training this week to improve our knowledge of children with com-plex needs. It was very useful as the trainer has worked for years teaching chil-dren with complex needs and she had some great tips to ensure all of our children are offered an education that takes into account their differences. We also had the snack bag out, very handy to motivate staff after a long day teaching.

Thank you to all who attended our Vision afternoon on Thursday. I went through our vision, which is and has always been to give our children a rigorous academic education balanced with opportunities that encourage creativity and wonder and that immerse them in projects that prepare them for making a difference, to them-selves and the world, in the future. Quite a mouthful!

I’ll be wiring a piece for next week’s Carswell Times about the tweaks and chang-es being made here but for more information please see our website and search for ‘Vison, values and ethos’ under the ‘Our School’ menu.

Please pop into our (not school uniform) pre-loved children’s clothes sale next Friday (31st January). It is the second one and there will be many bargains!

Have a lovely weekend one and all,

Mr Crandon

Art work by Lily S and Evie V