Weekly Update 10 2023/412 November 2023 (by admin) |
Dear Fairfields Community - Happy Diwali!
Please do come and join us for our Diwali celebration on the 13th November after school. This will take place in the playground or main hall (depending on the weather). Thank you to the parents for helping us organise the event. We hope many of our families join us from 3:10 – 4pm on Monday.
Choir
Well done to the 29 choir members who took part in the concert at Costello on Wednesday evening. We are so proud of how confident they were and especially as we were the only choir to perform a cappella, with body percussion. Thank you to Mrs. Heatherwick, Mrs. Govind, Mrs. Pubastan, Miss Nash and Mrs. Thompson for helping with the walking and the rehearsals from 1:30 – 6pm.
Rugby Team
The Rugby Team played their first tournament of the season against Rucstall, St. Marys and Great Binfields. The training from last year showed in their ability to move the ball quickly and to work well as a team. Unfortunately, they didn’t win any of the matches, as some of the tries didn’t count. We look forward to the next one!
Netball Team
The netball team played their first league match last week after only 3 training sessions. The game was against St. Marys and although we lost, the team were amazing at showing great teamwork, resilience and sportsmanship. We are so proud of them and look forward to our next match soon. Well done netball team!
Alexander, Reuben and Toby leading the way in sustainability
Well done to Alexander in Year 6 for his fantastic research around environmental sustainability. He wrote an assembly for the whole school which was performed by Reuben and Toby (also in Year 6) on Monday. The children were educated on how to look after the environment and how to take action to prevent damage.
Changes to pick-up
Please can we request that if parents need to change pick up arrangements for their child that they email or call before 12pm. After 12pm, we cannot guarantee that we will see emails sent in and so please telephone after this time.
Remembrance Day Assembly
As a mark of respect, we held a 2-minute silence on Friday at 11am. The assembly on the same day explained the reason behind wearing poppies and the children learnt about the importance of remembering those who have fought for peace so that we can live as we are today.
On Sunday, Penelope and Sochi will be laying a wreath in the Memorial Park on behalf of the school community.
Coat Swap
We are planning to hold our annual Coat Swap during Parents Evening on the 15th and 16th November. If anyone has any unwanted coats in good condition, please donate them to the school office. We will then check them and organise them for parents to view under the canopy during the parents evenings.
Parking around the School
A number of parents and residents have complained about cars being parked or waiting on the paths around the school. Some residents have complained that they are unable to get out of their driveways to leave for work. For those parents walking to school, this has meant that they are unable to walk their pushchairs past safely and have to move onto the road. I have advised them to contact the Police if they are worried about their safety.
If you are experiencing dangerous parking one of the ways you can report this is through the following website: https://www.mysociety.org/wehelpyou/report-illegal-parking/
Love Basingstoke Presents Festive Friday
Love Basingstoke will be kicking off Christmas in the town centre and spreading Christmas cheer with free children’s activities, festive walkabouts and a market with local stallholders. There will be music from local performing arts group PQA Basingstoke, The Rock Choir Basingstoke and a DJ in Market Square. Please see the attached flyer for more details and to find out more visit https://www.lovebasingstoke.co.uk/events/festive-friday
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Love Basingstoke. Find information about Basingstoke and the surrounding area. www.lovebasingstoke.co.uk |
PTA Updates
Christmas Fair - Thursday 14 December
We still very much need your support to help at the Christmas Fair to allow us to put on the best event possible. If you can volunteer to help out on the day then please sign-up here: https://fairfieldspta.uk/christmas-fair-volunteer-signup/. If we don't get more volunteers then we will need to take difficult decisions to scale down what we have planned so please consider helping us.
Tickets for Santa's grotto and hotdogs (including vegan) need to be purchased ahead of the event so that we know numbers. You can either purchase online or wait for future playground ticket sales. The early-bird offer for activity tokens is also in place until the end of November so why not take advantage of this. Please click here if you would like to make on-line purchases: https://fairfieldspta.uk/product-category/christmas-fair/
There will also be a raffle, with some great prizes already donated and a top prize of £100. Raffle ticket books will be issued to each child to take home later this month so look out for further news around this in due course. You can always collect more ticket books from a member of the PTA, by emailing us or visiting us at the next playground ticket sale.
We are also on the lookout for good quality second hand toys or raffle prizes that parents would be willing to donate for this event so if you can help then please either bring them to the school office or email us and we can collect.
If you can help with anything or just want to find out more without committing then please email us directly at fairfieldspta@gmail.com.
Christmas Card Designs - order deadline 14th November
Thank you to everyone that sent in their child's Christmas Card designs. You should now have received your unique link (by text and email - check your junk mail too) to the ordering portal for you to choose if you would like to purchase items. For every item bought the school receives £1 so you are contributing in this way too.
If you did send artwork back and haven't received your unique link then please email the PTA at fairfieldspta@gmail.com with your mobile number and/or email address and we can re-send the link.
Updates from Year Groups
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Foundation Stage |
No updates this week |
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Year 1 |
The children are looking forward to their walk around the local area next week. We would be very grateful if parents could volunteer to help on this trip. Thank you to those parents who have already offered. We are still looking for at least two more volunteers. Please speak to Mrs Cox or Mrs Bogalski if you are available. Children will not be able to go on this trip if you have not completed the Annual Declaration form. We still have quite a few parents who have not completed this form. Please use the link below if you have not yet done so. https://forms.gle/wYKv2XGpXkamhDWg6
We would like to remind you that year 1 go to the library on a Wednesday. Please can you ensure children return their book every week. We are happy to let children scan the same book out.
Can we also remind parents to book an appointment at parents evening next week as it would be lovely to speak to all parents about how children are settling into year 1.
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Year 2 |
We are looking forward to seeing as many of you as possible at Parents' Evening on 15th and 16th November to discuss how your child is getting on in Year 2 and celebrate their hard work so far this year. Please could we ask that children do not bring toys into school. These cause a real distraction in class. In addition, when toys get lost or damaged this can be upsetting for children. JAG after school club have told us they have plenty of toys for the children and so children do not need to bring in toys from home if they attend after school club either. |
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Year 3 |
No updates this week |
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Year 4 |
Thank you for all the parents who said they could help for the Butser farm trip on the 20th, there were so many parents who said they could come and sadly, we can't take all of you. We have no spoken to the parents who are supporting the trip.
We are putting together the final bits for the residential in June. We will send the letter out after Butser farm and will host a Virtual meeting to answer any questions.
Miss Rees will continue to teach New Delhi for the next two weeks. She is looking forward to meeting with parents to discuss targets for the children on the 15th and 16th November. Please do book a slot to meet with her on Arbor. |
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Year 5 |
No updates this week |
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Year 6 |
Year 6 have had a great week discovering more about early cinema, the Ancient Maya and algebra. Well done to Maria and Martina who will be leading class events linked to anti-bullying week next week. |
Dates for next week
Monday 13th November - is the launch of Anti bullying week. We invite you and the children to wear odd socks on this day to support individuality.
Monday 13th November – NSPCC workshop for Years 2,5 and 6 in school.
Monday 13th November 3:10 – 4pm Diwali celebrations in the playground or main hall.
Wednesday 15th and Thursday 16th November – Parents Evening in school.
For other key dates – please look at the calendar on the website or School Jotter.
PE days
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Foundation |
Due to start PE lessons in the Summer Term |
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Year 1 |
Tuesday |
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Year 2 |
Monday |
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Year 3 |
Friday and every other Wednesday (Children can wear PE uniform on both days if easier to remember) |
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Year 4 |
Tuesday |
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Year 5 |
Monday and Thursday (Children can wear PE uniform on both days if easier to remember) |
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Year 6 |
Monday and Wednesday (Children can wear PE uniform on both days if easier to remember) |
Start and finishing times are as follows:
Foundation Stage, year 1 and Year 2: 8:40am – 3:10pm (Foundation Stage have a staggered start at the beginning of the year and so please collect at the times you have been given).
Years 3- 6: 8:45am – 3:15pm
Have a wonderful weekend!
Miss Kelly Dillon
Headteacher
