Article 8
You have the right to an identity – an official record of who you are. No one should take this away from you.
Attendance Winners November
Well done Mrs Cartwright’s class, who won the attendance award for November with an amazing 98.56% attendance! They can wear their own clothes to school on Monday 4th December.
Yr 2 Learning
On Wednesday 22nd November, Year 2, were continuing their work around The Gunpowder Plot of 1605. They discovered that some of the plotters escaped all the way to Kingswinford and Wall Heath, and some of them were arrested or killed at Holbeache House. They then worked out that a lot of the road names on Chaterfield’s Estate were named after people connected with the plot, so they decided to investigate. The children had a wonderful time using their historical enquiry skills to link road names to the plotters! They could not believe that such an important part of our national history had repercussions so close to our school. We hope they have enjoyed telling you all about it!
Poppy Appeal 2023
Thank you for supporting the poppy appeal, we raised a huge £800.66. Your support is a lifeline for thousands of serving and ex-serving personnel and their families. The Royal British Legion is working hard to support the most vulnerable in our society, be it older veterans that we care for, those who suffer from social isolation, or those who are simply overwhelmed by the challenges associated with the cost-of-living crisis. Thank you, this is amazing!!
Friday 17th November –Children In Need
Thank you for supporting this worthy cause – we raised £338. This is fantastic news for a worthy charity!
Samaritan’s Purse Shoebox appeal 2023
A huge thank you to those families who sent a shoebox filled with gifts. They are now on their way to those children, who without your generosity, would not receive anything this Christmas time.
Christmas Activities Thank you for booking the Christmas activities online. Please bear with us and we will be issuing tickets etc very soon.
Unfortunately, any activities that have not been booked and paid will no longer be accepted, as all orders have been placed.
Christmas Post Box 2023
The Christmas post box will be in the library from Friday 1st December. A plea - could children please write surnames and classes on the envelope otherwise they become impossible to give to the right people! We will be unable to issue class lists for GDPR reasons.
Thursday 7th December 2023 – St Mary’s Church Carol Service Yr 1 – Yr 6
All children to wear winter uniform – including ties, jumpers and cardigans.
Arrangements for Safe Dismissal from the Church
Thursday Morning Performance:
At the end of the service all parents will be asked to leave the church before we take the children back to school.
Thursday Afternoon Performance: Year 1 and Year 2 will be dismissed from the church hall doors. Please leave by the main entrance. Do not congregate around the door as we need to see who the children are being received by.
KS2 Children will be collected from the pews one class at a time. Please remain seated until your child’s class is called. Any children not being collected by an adult will return to school with their teacher. After school club will still take place—children can return to school with their teacher.
We will be asking for donations at the end of each performance. We will be keeping some towards activities for the children and making a donation to the Church.
Forthcoming Dates
Thursday 7th December – Year 1 - Year 6 Christmas Church Service. (see above for details)
Friday 8th December – Christmas Jumper Day. Wear a Christmas Jumper and donate £1 to Save the Children via School Money.
Friday 8th December – Christmas Breakfast – Year 1 – Year 6 only.
Monday 11th December – Nursery and Reception visit to Arise Church Grotto
Thursday 14th December – Nursery/Reception Christmas Workshop and Singalong. Dress as a traditional character, adult’s too, should you wish.
Friday 15th December PM – HSA treat for children – watching The Polar Express and being given a hot chocolate and cookie. Children can come dressed in their pyjama’s and dressing gown, should they wish. If not, they should come dressed in their uniform.
Friday 15th December – Year 5/6 Music Club will be singing at Morrison’s 1.20pm-2.00pm Children who are part of Music Club can come dressed in their pyjamas but bring their uniform to change before we sing at Morrison’s.
Friday 15th December – School Council Book Sale – 3.30pm in the hall. Collect your child at the usual time.
Monday 18th December – Year 5/6 Music Club will be singing at Oaklands Nursing Home during the afternoon.
Tuesday 19th December – Blanford Babies Christmas Party – The Hub – 9am-10am
Tuesday 19th December – Christmas Lunch
Wednesday 20th December – Santa’s Grotto.
Friday 22nd December – End of term treat
We are extremely proud of the behaviour of our children here at Blanford Mere. The children are a credit to themselves, the school and their families. As part of our behaviour policy (which can be found on our website), at the end of each term, we celebrate this excellent behaviour across the school with an 'End of Term Treat'.
This End of Term Treat will take place on Friday 22nd December, from 1pm-2:30pm. This will be our 'Games Afternoon', where children can bring in their favourite games to play with their friends. These may be board games, or electronic devices.
If your child is bringing in a board game, responsibility lies with the child for ensuring all pieces are kept safe and returned home.
Similarly, if your child is bringing an electronic device to use during this afternoon, please read the following notes.
- Devices with a camera function cannot be brought into school (for example - phones, tablets).
- Devices will not be permitted to connect to our Wifi, and therefore only games with offline functions can be played.
- Children must only access games that are PEGI age rated appropriate for them. Any children found to be playing a game that is rated above their age, will have the device taken in by their teacher and returned at the end of the day.
- Children will be reminded and asked to use their devices sensibly. However, school take no responsibility for any damage or breakages caused to electronic devices, or any other personal belongings, during the afternoon.
As per the Behaviour Policy, some children may lose/have lost their End of Term Treat. Children and parents will have been spoken to about this in person, before the above date. Full details of this can be found in the Behaviour Policy, which can be located on our website.
Friday 22nd December – School closes for Christmas Break.
Monday 8th January 2024 – Children return to school at the usual time.
Have a good weekend and wrap up warm!
Mrs Crook and Miss Stanton
