If your child is being referred to CAMHS, is in the process of an EHCNA or is being supported through the school team MHST or takes part in Big Feelings this could be the workshop for you!
Please join us for a CAMHS Mental Health Support Team (MHST) Parent Workshop – Introducing ‘The Brief Incredible Years: Empowering parents to manage and understand their child’s behaviour. Part 1 & 2.
Save the date: Part 1: Tuesday 17 June 2025 from 3.00pm – 4.30pm Part 2: Tuesday 1 July 2025 from 3.00pm – 4.30pm
The workshop ‘Brief Incredible Years’ is based on the book ‘The Incredible Years’ by Caroline Webster-Stratton. This program focuses on positive parenting strategies that support emotional and social development in children. The book is available for purchase (though not required for the workshop), or through Audible and some schools may lend copies. This is a parent-only workshop.
Please let the office know if you would like to attend so that we organise staff to look after your children.
Sports Day Magic
Thank you to everyone that contributed to Wednesday’s Sports Day. The weather was beautiful and everyone had an amazing time. The children showed amazing team spirit and determination! Mrs Eaglestone added up the house points and they are as follows: – 1st place St Andrews with 2019 points – 2nd place St Patrick 1955 points – 3rd place St George 1913 points – 4th place St David 1895 points
These points will be added to the yearly total. There’s not a lot in it so keep trying hard to get as many merits as you can.
Please see the programme, at the end of this newsletter, from The Branch. They support and signpost a variety of children and adults in our community. If you are in need of support, please reach out, either through school or popping along to The Branch directly (it is just along from Sainbury’s). Emma Kennedy is available on a Monday morning from 8.30am in school. You will catch her at the school gates.
Parent Workshops at St Mary’s – creche available
Please join us for a CAMHS Mental Health Support Team (MHST) Parent Workshop – Introducing ‘The Brief Incredible Years: Empowering parents to manage and understand their child’s behaviour. Part 1 & 2.
Save the date: Part 1: Tuesday 17 June 2025 3.00pm – 4:30pm Part 2: Tuesday 1 July 2025 3.00pm – 4:30pm
The workshop ‘Brief Incredible Years’ is based on the book ‘The Incredible Years’ by Caroline Webster-Stratton. This program focuses on positive parenting strategies that support emotional and social development in children. The book is available for purchase (though not required for the workshop), or through Audible and some schools may lend copies. This is a parent-only workshop.
Please let the office know if you would like to attend so that we organise staff to look after your children.
St Mary’s Unplugged – 24 hours
A child told me the other day that he had so many sponsors. I responded with a very well done. The child told me that his parents and family didn’t think he could survive without technology for 24 hours. He said to me, ‘I can do anything I tell myself, even giving up my Xbox!’
Our FIRST platinum award winner!
Well done Ethan – 500 merits!
Multiplication and Maths End of Term Reward
Do you want your child to enjoy ice-cream and a bouncy castle treat for learning their multiplication tables? An afternoon of fun is on offer at St. Mary’s.
By the end of next term, your child will receive this reward if they:
Reception – know doubles to 10 (1+1, 2+2, 3+3 etc)
Y1 – can count in 2s, 5s and 10s
Y2 – can multiply by 2, 5 and 10
Y3 – know their 2,3,4,5,8 x tables in under 6 seconds
Y4, Y5 and Y6 – know ALL of their tables to 12 x 12 in under 6 seconds
If your child has already received a certificate, their name will already be on the treat list. If you are concerned that your child has SEN but you have been trying hard at home regularly, this will also be recognised by the class teacher as they will have had the data for TTRockstars across the year.
Year 4 in action
Year 4 have been looking at still life in art (Cezanne). They arranged their own still life, photographed it, drew it and now onto painting.
School Photos
You will have received some beautiful class photos this week. We were very lucky with the weather and were able to take them outside. Please do purchase a lovely reminder.
Piano Lessons – 9 pupils have already signed up!
Piano lessons are now available with a music teacher during school hours or lunch breaks, with rotating times each week so children do not miss the same class regularly. A fun and flexible way to build confidence and learn piano-perfect for beginners. Lessons are 20 minutes long and cost £12.50.
If your child would be interested in this, please leave a message at the office for Mrs English.
Sports day is next Wednesday 11 June 2025
All parents are welcome to attend from 9.30am until 12.30pm.
Every child will compete in some sporting events to gain house points before doing two individual races which will start about 11.00am.
At 12.00 noon you are invited to eat lunch with your child on the field so please bring your blankets and your picnics!
The Friends have kindly arranged for some refreshments to be available for purchasing throughout the morning. We would prefer card payments for this or small change.
I look forward to seeing lots of you there and we may even get time for Parents races!
Please make sure your child has full PE kit in school on Wednesday that includes trainers and their coloured house T-shirt and a water bottle. If it is set to be hot, please apply sun cream before school and provide a sun hat.
We were visited by our local MP today to discuss our plans for the new nursery. Mr. Woodcock was very impressed with our school and development ideas. If you know anyone coming to the area or considering a school for their child we would be more than happy to show them around St. Mary’s.
School Photos
We thought we’d try something different today so class photos were taken outside, on the school field. We have such beautiful school grounds. I’m sure they will look lovely when they are produced.
Piano Lessons
Piano lessons are now available with a music teacher during school hours or lunch breaks, with rotating times each week so children do not miss the same class regularly. A fun and flexible way to build confidence and learn piano-perfect for beginners. Lessons are 20 minutes long and cost £12.50.
If your child would be interested in this, please leave a message at the office for Mrs English.
iRock Thursday 10 July at 9.30am
We are inviting parents and carers of those children that have just started their iRock sessions to come along to a small concert, where the children would like to show you what they have been learning. If any other parents were thinking of signing their child up for next year, please join us too.
Multiplication and Maths End of Term Reward
Do you want your child to enjoy ice-cream and a bouncy castle treat for learning their multiplication tables? An afternoon of fun is on offer at St. Mary’s.
By the end of next term, your child will receive this reward if they:
Reception – know doubles to 10 (1+1, 2+2, 3+3 etc)
Y1 – can count in 2s, 5s and 10s
Y2 – can multiply by 2, 5 and 10
Y3 – know their 2,3,4,5,8 x tables in under 6 seconds
Y4, Y5 and Y6 – know ALL of their tables to 12 x 12 in under 6 seconds.
If your child has already received a certificate, their name will already be on the treat list. If you are concerned that your child has SEN but you have been trying hard at home regularly, this will also be recognised by the class teacher as they will have had the data for TTRockstars across the year.
St Mary’s Unplugged – 24 hours
A child told me the other day that he had so many sponsors. I responded with a very well done. The child told me that his parents and family didn’t think he could survive without technology for 24 hours. He said to me, ‘I can do anything I tell myself, even giving up my Xbox!’
So, who else is taking up the challenge? It doesn’t have to be a lot of money but the fact you complete the challenge is so important.
Athletics achievements
Our athletics team were fantastic on Wednesday. They all competed in the 75m sprint, 300m run, long jump and howler throw.
We unfortunately didn’t win overall but we had some amazing performances, notably from Annabel, Ellie, Alfie Lee and Ethan for coming first in their long jump event! Every child in our team managed to come 1st, 2nd or 3rd in at least one event!
Mr Buzzard and Mrs Eaglestone were very proud. Thank you for representing St Mary’s so brilliantly!
Attendance
Thank you to all those parents who supported us this week in bringing their child to school on time. Even with all of the mayhem at the beginning of the week, the lates this week has reduced significantly. If you received a letter last week, we will be monitoring this on a weekly basis.
Class with overall best attendance
EYFS – 99.05%
Overall school attendance
95.14%
Unauthorised attendance
2.62%
Staff changes
Miss Gardner will be leaving us at the end of the summer term to fulfil her dream of being able to walk to work. I would like to thank Miss Gardner for her lovely whole school events at the Church and her fabulous face painting on VE day. We wish her all the best with her new adventure.
With Miss Gardner leaving us, we will be recruiting for a new class teacher. Please find more information on the DFE and OCC jobs website.
We are also recruiting 3 teaching assistants. We are able to offer two permanent and one temporary contract. If you or anyone you know is interested in this position, please contact me for an informal chat. You would be joining a happy, motivated team who work hard to give the children of St Mary’s the best every day.
Once the recruitment of all staff has been made, classes and their teaching assistants will be announced.
School Lunches
Thank you to those parents and carers who completed the school lunch questionnaire last week. We listened very carefully to your responses. The process of school and packed lunches have not changed for a number of years. The school has also been subsidising those families who pay for their meals for many years too. However, this has had a detrimental effect on the choice of meals on offer. I stated in a previous letter that we will be increasing our charges from September. We have just been informed that our current provider will now make this change after half term. However, we feel this is too short notice and will continue to subsidise this increase as well.
From September, we will be looking at a different company, who will provide us with a range of choices that you will be able to pre-book. The increased choice, quality and ease of booking will come at an increased cost and we will unfortunately be unable to subsidise this.
We will keep you informed about all of this next term and thank you for your continued support.
Parent Workshops at St Mary’s – creche available
Please join us for a CAMHS Mental Health Support Team (MHST) Parent Workshop – Introducing ‘The Brief Incredible Years: Empowering parents to manage and understand their child’s behaviour. Part 1 & 2.
Save the date: Part 1: Tuesday 17 June 2025 from 3.00pm – 4:30pm Part 2: Tuesday 1 July 2025 from 3.00pm – 4:30pm
The workshop ‘Brief Incredible Years’ is based on the book ‘The Incredible Years’ by Caroline WebsterStratton. This program focuses on positive parenting strategies that support emotional and social development in children. The book is available for purchase (though not required for the workshop), or through Audible and some schools may lend copies. This is a parent-only workshop.
Please let the office know if you would like to attend so that we organise staff to look after your children.
Thank you to everyone who contributed to our celebration last week. We raised a fantastic £2,432.00.
The children have already told us what they would like to do with the money. Thank you to the PTA for organising the tombola and raffle.
We had a fantastic afternoon. Our school neighbours wrote us letters and email to state how much they also enjoyed the singing and general feeling over their garden fences!
Multiplication and Maths End of Term Reward
Do you want your child to enjoy ice-cream and a bouncy castle treat for learning their multiplication tables? An afternoon of fun is on offer at St Mary’s.
By the end of next term, your child will receive this reward if they:
Reception – know doubles to 10 (1+1, 2+2, 3+3 etc)
Y1 – can count in 2s, 5s and 10s
Y2 – can multiply by 2, 5 and 10
Y3 – know their 2,3,4,5,8 x tables in under 6 seconds
Y4, Y5 and Y6 – know ALL of their tables to 12 x 12 in under 6 seconds
If your child has already received a certificate, their name will already be on the treat list. If you are concerned that your child has SEN but you have been trying hard at home regularly, this will also be recognised by the class teacher as they will have had the data for TTRockstars across the year.
St Mary’s Unplugged – 24 hours
Next week you will find a sponsorship form for our St Mary’s Unplugged. The School Council decided that on Friday 27June 2025 from 8.00am until Saturday 28June at 8.00am, that your child has NO access to any technology – TV, Ipads, Xbox, phones etc. Your child will be sponsored from people they know for giving up this technology for 24 hours. The school council would like to raise money for some outdoor equipment.
Ponding dipping in reception
Acorn Class have been pond-dipping. They found lots of creatures living in and around the pond but were delighted to find at least 8 newts. This shows that our pond is a very healthy environment. Acorn Class have done lots of fact finding about newts and are loving this week’s text ‘Bog Baby’. We are so lucky to have such a fantastic resource within our school grounds.
Attendance Update
Attendance has significantly improved across all classes lately. In fact, the children who are frequently late or absent in Year 6 showed that they could attend on time last week so please ensure your child does so until the end of term.
You are all aware that term-time holidays are now not allowed. If you do intend to take a holiday, please make sure you have completed a form. It is unlikely to be authorised unless there are extenuating circumstances, but we do appreciate families who support us and follow school procedures.
Tickets will be available to purchase on ParentMail.
Our Summer Fair, last year, was a great success and raised £1600 to go towards our outdoor classroom. To make it even easier this year, we are going to put our ticket sales on ParentMail.
£5 = 10 tickets £10 = 20 tickets
You should be able to do most things (splat the rat, hook a duck, arts and crafts) and buy cakes for £10 per child. Most activities will cost 50p – 1 ticket. Your tickets will then be counted, popped in an envelope and given to your child on Friday 9 May 2025.
Cakes – 1 ticket Ice-cream – 3 tickets with all the toppings! You will be able to buy more tickets on the day if you run out (cash and cards excepted).
The raffle will be extra, and cash and cards will be accepted for this on the day.
Hot and cold drinks will also be available at 3 tickets.
Raffle Prizes organised by the PTA
£75 cash £25 cash Fairytale Farm family pass Hampers of Woodstock – wine Blenheim Palace family pass Park Fair tickets Cotswold Wildlife Park family pass 2 x massage at Chipping Norton Golf Club 1 x family swim at Chipping Norton Leisure Centre 1 x family swim at Kingham School
Thank you to those parents who have signed up already to join us for so much fun. All the children will be singing some war time favourites and Mrs English has been working very hard with the school Singing Club. There will be lots of games, crafts and music.
All children are expected to dress as they would have in 1945, so please have a think about this over the weekend. Lots of children have already organised their costumes already so that’s great. Parents and carers can also dress up too, although this is optional. We’d just love every family to be represented in school.
If you can’t make it, please ensure you have bought your child some tickets so that they can also enjoy the afternoon.
Outdoor Classroom
As you can see, our outdoor classroom is on its way to being installed and ready to use very soon!
All things Roman
We secured a grant for £592.26 for all things Roman. Well done, Miss Philpott!
Parent Forum – have your say!
We will be running our first parent forum, where you will be able to have your say on a variety of different matters that affect your child at St Mary’s. We will look at attendance, our behaviour policy, learning in the classroom, parental engagement, the new nursery, The Orchard (provision for children with special educational needs)…….. the list in school is endless and I am sure you will have lots of your own ideas.
If you’d like to know more, have a niggle that you’d like to share or are just genuinely interested in what goes on at St Mary’s, please join us for our first meeting on:
Wednesday 14 May 2025 at 2.00pm to 3.00pm.
The first meeting will address what we are doing well at St Mary’s and how we can make St Mary’s even better with your help and support. If you can’t make it but would like us to discuss something, please drop the school office an email.
Attendance
Class with overall best attendance
Year 1 – 98.82%
Overall school attendance
96.67%
Unauthorised attendance
0.67%
Have a lovely bank holiday weekend and we look forward to welcoming you back on Tuesday.
It was the first week of iRock this Thursday and every child taking part thought it was amazing! We had singers, guitarists, drummers and keyboard stars. We have decided to take the musical theme to our Friday Celebration Assembly. We all sang Count on Me by Bruno Mars today. Each week, the children will put their favourite songs into a raffle and we will choose one lucky winner. The songs will be upbeat and positive to give us a good Friday feeling.
We have four bands currently. If you would like to take part, please let us know and we can speak to iRock.
VE Day Celebration
Please join us from 12 noon on Friday 9 May 2025, for a VE day celebration. There will be a picnic lunch – please bring your sandwiches, picnic blanket and chairs. There will be prizes for the best dressed children and adults. We will have games, a raffle, a tombola, cakes, music and songs. Please support your child and the school and celebrate like they would have in 1945. All welcome.
Year 2 Literacy Launch
Yes, Year 2 launched into space this week with their new book, Man on the Moon (a day in the life of Bob) by Simon Bartram. They had some very special visitors, all the way from… yes, you guessed it… the moon! I wonder what will happen next week in the story!
A shout out
Thank you to the parents that have donated prizes for our raffle. The PTA still need tombola prizes. Please check your cupboards for an unused Christmas gift or when you are shopping at the weekend, if you can afford to slip something extra in your basket, we would be very grateful.
Here comes the sun
The weather is set to be very sunny next week. Please ensure your child has a water bottle, sun hat and sun cream in preparation for this.
Attendance
Acorn class and Y1 were our winners this week with 100%. We were only in for 3 days this week so we were expecting this to be everyone. If your child is in Year 6, this is a very important time, and the children need to be here every day and on time so that they can do their very best before their final assessments. If you are having difficulties with this, please get in touch so we can work together to sort this out.
Class with overall best attendance
EYFS and Year 1 – 100%
Overall school attendance
96.43%
Unauthorised attendance
2.14%
Have a lovely weekend and we look forward to welcoming you back on Monday.
What a fabulous term we’ve had at St. Mary’s from fantastic class assemblies to amazing school visits to link in with our school topics. We’ve been to sporting events and the children of St. Mary’s have represented our school in so many ways. In fact, we came fourth in the Oxfordshire Boccia finals last night. Our school is going from strength to strength every day and what we offer our children is something I am very proud of. Our staff challenge when it is needed, support when times get tough and turn up every day to give the children of St. Mary’s the very best they can.
Easter Service
Thank you to everyone who attended our service yesterday. We may have had some technical difficulties but we are strong and the sun shone down on us and did not deter some lovely singing.
Nursery News
You all know that we are set to open our nursery next September and we are very nearly full, which is just fantastic. I can’t think of anything better than dropping your children at the same place every morning in preparation for a smooth transition to the school they will spend the rest of their time in. We had applied for the Department For Education grant before Christmas and have just received the news that we have been successful. So, what does that mean for the children of St. Mary’s? There will be refurbishment throughout the summer holidays of the whole EYFS area. We will get new fencing, outdoor area and furniture throughout for our new pupils. This also means that the money we had put aside for this can be used on other projects around the school.
Nursery visits for new starters to be arranged for next term.
Amazon Antics!
Year 5 had an amazing time visiting the rainforest this week.
Attendance
Class with overall best attendance
Year 3 – 100%
Overall school attendance
94.91%
Unauthorised attendance
4.28%
Have a lovely Easter break as the weather is set to be lovely next week and we look forward to welcoming you back on Tuesday 22April 2025.
