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Tag: School uniform

Headteacher’s Newsletter – 27th March 2026

Written by Mrs McQueen on . Posted in Headteacher Newsletter.

Dear Parents/carers,

Cotswolds Art In Schools

This term, we have been fortunate to take part in an exciting  art project in partnership with Oxford Brookes University, CATS, and Art in Schools https://www.artinschools.org.uk/). Through this initiative, children at our school have had the unique opportunity to experience a wide range of artistic treasures—many of which are freely accessible in galleries across the United Kingdom.

Pupils have explored works by renowned artists such as Turner and Van Gogh, alongside pieces by lesser-known artists, broadening their understanding of different styles and periods. These artworks have been shared through fortnightly classroom exhibitions, presented as engaging PowerPoint displays.

The response from the children has been overwhelmingly positive. They have shown great enthusiasm, confidently identifying their favourite pieces and explaining the reasons behind their choices.

We look forward to continuing this inspiring project next term. Thank you to Mrs Thorsby for co-ordinating this work.

Easter Church Service

Thank you to everyone for joining us for the Easter Service yesterday. Thank you to Olly and Rev Kennedy from the church and Mrs Taylor and Mrs English for organising this. EYFS pupils made an Easter tray to understand why we celebrate Easter.

Y3 River Walk

To complete their topic this term on rivers, Y3 ventured to Glyme river.

Y5 Rainforest Adventure

Thank you to the PTA for contributing to the very exciting trip that Y5 took to the rainforest this week. They had learnt so much and were very excited on their retun. The staff commented on how polite our children had been throughout the visit, which was lovely to hear.

School Uniform

Summer uniform of shorts or a red checked dress can be worn after the Easter holidays. The summer dress should be worn with white socks not tights. Please remember that leggings and sports trainers are NOT part of our school uniform.

The Treehouse

The Treehouse is open next week and I know there are lots of children who are looking forward to some fabulous Easter activities. The Treehouse will run in June and throughout the summer too. If you would like a place to support you with managing childcare, do book. The Treehouse is run by our qualified school staff, who know your children really well. If you are in work currently and need childcare but finds the cost too expensive, please talk to us to see how we can support your child with a reduced place. Everything will be treated confidentially.

Attendance

Whole school attendance this week95%
Class with the highest attendance this weekYear 5 – 98.46%
Whole school attendance (year to date)95.9%
National average94.6%

Diary Dates

School Calendar

We hope you have a lovely Easter holiday and look forward to welcoming you back on Monday 13th April.

Kind regards,

Mrs McQueen

Headteacher’s Newsletter – 11th July 2025

Written by Mrs McQueen on . Posted in Headteacher Newsletter.

Dear Parents/carers,

St. Mary’s Summer makeover

We are pleased to announce that St. Mary’s will be getting an uplift as part of our ongoing maintenance programme. The hall will be getting painted and after nearly 40 years the hall floor will be replaced. Many of you will remember the hall from your own primary school days so it now deserves a refresh.

All of the work to transform the nursery will also take place during the summer holidays too.

We will have our usual Open Morning on Friday 26th September and would like you to join us to see all of the refurbishments.

St. Mary’s Unplugged

Wow, you all did so well at raising £1,130 for school. We are going to use this money to put towards our official den building area over the summer.

Summer reading challenge

Our children recently had the opportunity to visit the library and learn about the Summer Reading Challenge. They explored a fantastic range of books and many have eagerly signed up for the challenge.

Running from 21 June to 30 September, there are two ways to participate. Join in at your local library to receive a special sticker poster and incentives while discovering new books. Alternatively, sign up online, set a reading goal, and log your books to unlock a limited-edition badge and certificate. Happy reading!
https://summerreadingchallenge.org.uk/

Super sewing

The children in sewing and knitting club produced some great tooth monsters. There’s nothing worse than the tooth fairy landing and can’t find the tooth you put under your pillow but with the tooth monster, she will know exactly where to get it from.

The Orchard

The Orchard is a special place in school, where a variety of our children and families use the facilities at different times during the week. Next year, some of our children will utilise this space more frequently so that their needs are met more readily. The team will be led by Miss Southeard and eagerly supported by Mrs Dunn and Mr Buzzard.

In addition to this, Mrs Townsend, who has been our SENCo for the past two years, will now step back into the classroom full-time. We would like to thank her for the time she has spent supporting children and their families. I will take on the role of SENCo for now, having been a SENCo previously. I work with many families already and look forward to working with even more of you. If you have any SEN queries please feel free to get in touch with Miss Southeard or myself.

Second Hand Uniform Sale

If you have any good quality, used school uniform you would be happy to donate, please bring to the Orchard (entrance opposite lower gates) at morning drop off on Monday or Tuesday morning next week or leave at the office for Miss Southeard. We will be holding a second hand uniform sale before the end of term. Many thanks.

Attendance

Class with overall best attendance100% EYFS Acorn Class & Year 2 Chestnut Class
School overall attendance96.70%
Unauthorised attendance1.32%

Dates for your Diary

School Calendar

Have a lovely weekend and we look forward to seeing you on Monday.

Kind regards,

Mrs McQueen

Headteacher’s Newsletter – 20th June 2025

Written by Mrs McQueen on . Posted in Headteacher Newsletter.

Dear Parents and Carers

t’s been an extremely warm week for us all but thank you to everyone for equipping their child with a hat, sun cream and a water bottle. This weather is set to continue next week so please continue with these protective measures.

School uniform

We have noticed that some children are wearing colourful trainers. We appreciate that little feet grow –
especially at this time of year and families do not want to purchase new school shoes so although we have noticed, we have not asked any family to purchase the correct footwear. However, when your child returns in September, the expectation will be to have the correct shoes. Also, we have noticed that there are girls wearing thick grey tights with summer dresses. Please ensure white socks are worn with the school dress. I had two children with tights and leggings underneath a summer dress the other day and they were very uncomfortable.

Y6 Winchcombe visit

The children experienced an amazing trip to Winchombe railway yesterday. Although warm, they had an excellent time and the public were witness to the war songs they all sang on the train. I was also given a sneak preview of a beautiful song for the Year 6 upcoming show – just beautiful! Tickets for the theatre will be on sale soon.

Reception and All Things Wild

The children in Reception had an amazing day out this week to All Things Wild. They saw lots of animals and had a wonderful experience riding on a tractor round the dinosaur field! They cooled down in the afternoon with an ice cream.

New classes for September 2025-2026

HeadteacherMrs McQueen
Deputy headteacherMrs Taylor
EYFS teamMrs English (teacher Monday and Tuesday)
Mrs Keyzor (teacher Wednesday, Thursday and
Friday)
EYFS practitioners to be confirmed
Year 1Mrs Brunt (teacher)
Mrs Austin (TA)
Year 2Mrs Townsend (teacher)
Miss MacDonald (TA)
Year 3Mrs Eaglestone and Miss Thorsby (teachers)
Mrs Hicks (TA)
Year 4Ms Hollander (teacher)
Mrs Harrison (TA)
Year 5Mrs Pike (teacher)
Mrs Hornsby (TA)
Year 6Miss Philpott (teacher)
Mrs Jordan (TA)
The Orchard teamMr Buzzard
Mrs Dunn
Miss Southeard

Attendance

Class with overall best attendanceYear 5 – 98.81% Mrs Pike’s Class
School overall attendance97.65%
Unauthorised attendance0.14%

Dates for your Diary

School Calendar

Have a lovely weekend and we look forward to seeing you on Monday.

Kind regards

Mrs McQueen

Headteacher’s Newsletter – 10th January 2025

Written by Mrs McQueen on . Posted in Headteacher Newsletter.

Dear Parents and Carers

The children have settled back into school life extremely well after the Christmas break.

Board game fun

Thank you to the two families who sent pictures of board game fun over the holidays. I myself, played several games of Uno and lost very badly when playing Monopoly! If you have any more photos please do send them to Mrs Strick.

Virtual Reality Experiences in Key Stage 2

In Year 6, the children learn about Everest and Sir Edmund Hillary. Unfortunately, for the children at St. Mary’s, a trip to the Himalayas is a little bit tricky. However, using VR the children were able to get as close as possible and experience life as a climber. The children thought the afternoon was lots of fun and felt the opportunity was a very exciting launch to their topic this term.
Year 5, who are studying The Amazon were also able to experience animals in the Rainforest. Year 5 will be lucky enough to compliment this experience with a visit to the Living Rainforest in Berkshire soon.

Home Reading

There are many children who Strive for 5 every week and are lucky enough to get their name popped into the basket for the weekly draw. We have lots of more new books this term, so it is definitely worth giving it a go. This term, you will receive a merit every time you read and if you achieve your Strive for 5, you will receive 10 MERITS! You’ve got to be in it to win it! Remember that Isla is also waiting for her weekly walk around the track. When Shane in Year 5 read to her last time, she fell asleep and started snoring!

School uniform

Please ensure your child is dressed correctly for school. We are still seeing summer dresses, leggings and stretchy short skirts and this is not part of our uniform policy. Could elaborate hair decorations please be kept for the weekend only. Thank you.

Contacting school if your child is absent

Contacting the school when your child is absent is extremely important. Attendance is now reported daily to the Government. If you do not contact the school when your child is absent and they are of walking age, we do not know if they are ill or something has happened to them and then this becomes a Safeguarding concern. Thank you to all the parents and carers that send an email via Parentmail or phone and leave a message.

If your child will be absent from school, you MUST contact the school before the register closes at 9.00am, otherwise your child’s absence will be recorded as unauthorised. We will make every effort to contact you, whether this is by email, phone call or text but we would appreciate it if you made that contact first.

Attendance

Class with overall best attendance 100 % in Year 3 – Mrs Eaglestone and Miss Thorsby
Overall School attendance 93.62%
Lates 16 Lates / 12 children
Unauthorised absence3.87%

Kind regards,
Mrs McQueen

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