Thorney Tribune

Thorney Island CP School

Newsletter No 9

April 2017

Dear Parents, Governors and Friends, Each term appears to get busier and busier so I thought that

I would take this opportunity to bring you up to date with some upcoming events. Please ensure you

make a note of all those important dates such as Sports Day, Beach Day and visits that have been

planned. We would not want anyone to miss out!

STAR OF THE WEEK AWARDS

24 March 31 March

Barn Owl Class Joseph Graham Barn Owl Class - Lily Knight

Tegan Clark

Tawny Owl Class Isabelle Green Tawny Owl Class - Oliver Sawyer

Osprey Class Stanley Porter Osprey Class - Aarav Rana

Falcon Class Matilda Baleiveicau Falcon Class - Lewis Hatton

Kestrel Class T J Long Kestrel Class - Lilly Booth

Merlin Class Martin Rokotakala Merlin Class - Luke Stainsby

Hawk Class Arleigh Williamson Hawk Class - Liam Wheatley

Eagle Class Phoebe Crumplin Eagle Class - Ashton Starkey

National Curriculum Tests (S.A.T’s) & End of Year Assessments

There are a lot of very important assessments taking place within school across all year groups this

term and parents should avoid children missing school. Please make all appointments out of school

time and ensure children have a good breakfast and arrive at school on time. The children in Year

6 will take their End of Key Stage 2 Tests the week beginning 8th May.

Happy 60th Birthday Thorney Island School

I would just like to say a big thank you to Lt Col. Graham Taylor and RSM Martin Hughes for

helping us to re-enact the opening ceremony of the school which took place 60 years ago. The only

thing that has not changed appears to be the key to the school although the locks have!

Birthday Party

The children had a fantastic birthday party thanks to all the hard work of parents and staff. This

was a great way in which to end the term. Thank you for supplying all the food and fantastic

costumes. It was also a great opportunity to see the dance group perform.

This is what makes school memories. So many of the children had spent the week telling me what

they were going to wear and what food they were going to bring in. There was a great deal of

excitement and the weather was very kind to us.

The cake and cupcakes provided by

Mrs Williams (Aida’s and Xavier’s

mum) were amazing and enjoyed by

everyone.

The padre certainly made good use of

them in his assembly which he held at

the school on Monday 3rd April 2017

to begin the week of celebrating the

schools 60th Birthday.

Fashion Show

I am not sure who had the most fun the staff or the children! Mr Vokes and Mr Stamp were

excellent Comperes and all the children looked amazing. It was certainly a blast from the past for

those of us that could remember the decades. It is worrying how young some of our teachers are!

A big thank you goes to Mrs Moody and all the staff that were tasked with running the day. It was

certainly a great success and appreciated by all the children and school governors. Again without

your support we would not be able to hold such events.

Chichester Inter Schools Challenge

This week was the final race for the Chichester Inter Schools Challenge. It was a perfect evening

for the race and Rory Dowding, Rees Mitchell, Charlie Porter, Rhys Roberts and Luca Fung tried

exceptionally hard and gave each other great support. Congratulations to Rory Dowding who

achieved 2nd place in this race. I would like to say thank you to all the parents who brought the

children to the race and for cheering them on. The final results can be found on this link:

http://www.chichester-runners.org.uk/corporate-challenge-results

Sun Cream

As the weather hopefully starts to improve can you ensure that sun cream is applied before the

children come to school on a morning. We did have a few issues with children starting to burn at

the end of last term.

Red Nose Day – 24 March – Wear Something Funny for Money

Thank you to everyone who made a donation for Comic Relief. A massive £189.80 was raised and

will be passed to Captain Wright to support his fund raising for the charity Walk Once More. The

whole school entered into the spirit and there were some very colourful and funny outfits.

After School Clubs – Summer Term 2017

After school clubs will start again week beginning 8 May and end week beginning 3 July. Regular

attendance at after school clubs is expected. If a club is cancelled at short notice, i.e. because of

the weather, we will send a text message to inform you. The school governors are extremely

grateful that staff give up their own time to run clubs after school. Staff have listened to the

views of parents and we have tried to ensure that there are clubs for all year groups. We are

utilising our Sports Grant to bring in more sports coaches to work with the children.

St George’s Day Parade - Emsworth

On Tuesday 25 April, the children in Hawk Class will be taking part in the St George’s Day Parade

in Emsworth. The children will leave school at 9.30am and travel into Emsworth by coach. Once

there, they will march through the village behind the soldiers and then stand in a designated area

to watch the proceedings. The children will then return to school in time for lunch. Please ensure

that on the day your child is dressed smartly in the correct school uniform. It is also advisable

that they bring a coat as we can hope for but not guarantee good weather.

Attendance – 22 children have not missed a day at school this Academic Year

42 children have not missed a day at school in the Spring Term and 21 children have improved their

attendance by more than 2% compared to the Autumn Term.

Class Attendance so far this year Position

Barn Owl Class 95.69% 7th

Tawny Owl Class 96.27% 6th

Osprey Class 97.55% 2nd

Falcon Class 96.91% 5th

Kestrel Class 97.59% 1st

Merlin Class 95.64% 8th

Hawk Class 97.15% 4th

Eagle Class 97.40% 3rd

Well done to Kestrel, Osprey, Eagle and Hawk Classes. These are the four classes on track to meet

the target set by the school governors of 97%. Our attendance is down on last term which is not

good. Some schools would be happy with this attendance rate but we are not some school. We are

one of the highest performing schools in the country and we have very high aspirations.

Whole school attendance sits at 96.82%. I am hoping that we can regain some ground lost in the

Autumn and Spring Term’s in the Summer Term. Just a few children are cause for concern and are

impacting greatly on statistics. I will be writing to these parents in the summer term if things do

not improve. Our registers are inspected by Pupil Entitlement (formerly Educational Welfare

Officer) and some children risk slipping into a category which may mean that outside agencies will

have to intervene and fines imposed.

FOTIS (Friends Of Thorney Island Primary School) – New Willow Structure

I would just like to say a big thank you to Mrs Fidler the chair of FOTIS for all her hard work

over the past few years and to thank FOTIS for paying for the new willow structure. The children

are very excited about the new tunnel and are already enjoying using the new seating on the field.

Dates for your Diary – see attached sheet

Yours sincerely

Dean Clegg

Headteacher

DIARY DATES April 2017

24 - Back to school – First day of Summer Term

25 - Hawk Class to Emsworth for St George’s Day Parade

26 - Locality Football and Netball Tournament

May 2017

1 - Bank Holiday – children do not attend school

3 - Osprey Class visit to Marwell Zoological Park

8 - 12 - National Curriculum Test Week for Year 6

8 - After School Clubs start this week

9 - Barn & Tawny Owl classes to Staunton Country Park

15 - Kestrel Class to Butser Ancient Farm

23 - Beach Day, whole school activity

26 - INSET Day – children do not attend school

29 – 2 June Half Term

June 2017

7 - Group/Class Photos

12 - 16 - Window for Year 1 Phonics Screening Check

13 - Sayers Croft Parents Information Briefing, 3.10pm

20 - New Reception Parents Welcome Meeting, 3.15pm

21 - Sports Day, 1.15pm (whole school)

22 - It’s a Thorney Knockout – whole school activity

23 - Skate School – Year 2 to 6

26 - 30 - Bikeability Cycle Training, Year 6

30 - Year 5 taster day at Bourne Community College

July 2017

3 - Last week of after school clubs

5 - Transition Day

6 - Area Sports Competition, Years 5 & 6

6 - Parents Open Evening, 3.15 – 4.30pm

12 - 14 - Sayers Croft Residential for Years 5 & 6

19 - Fun Sports Afternoon, whole school activity

20 - Thorney’s Got Talent, whole school activity

21 - Year 6 Leavers Assembly, 2.00pm

21 - End of Summer Term

INSET Days

Friday 26 May 2017

Monday 24 July 2017 & Tuesday 25 July 2017

4 September 2017: Back to school

23 – 27 October 2017: Half Term

20 December 2017: Break-up for Christmas holiday

4 January 2018: Start of Spring Term

12 – 16 February 2018: Half Term

29 March 2018: Break-up for Easter holiday

16 April 2018: Start of Summer Term

28 May – 1 June 2018: Half Term

24 July 2018: Break-up for Summer holiday

Kitchen Assistant required

In the local area

Term time only

Lunch time hours

Uniform and training supplied.

Full DBS check and 2 references will be carried out prior

to acceptance.

If you would like more information and an application

form.

Please contact;

Telephone Kerry Scott 07766923976

Or

Email: Kerry.scott@compass-group.co.uk