Weekly Update 2326 March 2023 (by admin) |
Dear parents and carers,
It has been a busy week in the school with Year 1 visiting Marwell Zoo on Monday and Year 2 visiting London to go on the London Eye and River Boat Cruise. The visits are examples of where we want to bring our curriculum to life! I hope that your children continue to enjoy the opportunities we plan for them.
Sport Teams at Fairfields
We are so proud of our pupils who represent the school in our Teams. This week the Netball Team took part in a tournament for an entire afternoon. They worked as a team to support each other and showed incredible skill against teams who have been practicing for a number of years. They came 10th out of the 12 teams, who were the best in Basingstoke!
The Rugby Team also played a tournament on Tuesday afternoon. Well done to all the players who took part and made use of some new tactics. We will keep training after the holidays and would welcome any new players from Years 3,4, 5 and 6. Please email the office if you would like your child to take part.
Please note there is no training for netball and rugby next week. We will continue after the holidays.
Fairfields’ Circus and Fair
As you may have seen tickets are now on sale for the Circus on the last day of the School year; 21st July.
Tickets are available to buy here; https://fairfieldspta.uk/ we are offering an early bird discounted ticket till 30th April and also a discount for family tickets (4 or more). Since advertising it on Friday we have sold 49 tickets already.
Thank you to the PTA for continuing to promote fundraising activities like this!
Musical Instrument Sessions
Our love of music is clear through the number of children who are learning violins, piano, guitar and recorder in the school. Hampshire Music Service are offering free sessions for brass instruments that are at risk of extinction!
On Saturday 22 April 2023 10am- 11am or 11am - 12pm and Saturday 29 April 2023 10am - 11am or 11am - 12pm they are offering the opportunity for students to start learning to play an endangered species brass instrument with them. Initially, they will run a small series of taster sessions which they will give interested students the opportunity to try out the different instruments before committing to the scheme. These sessions will then evolve into an hour-long tuition and ensemble session on a weekly, term-time basis at the music centre.
If you would like to attend the taster sessions, please complete the link below (or via the attached leaflets) so that they have your emergency contact details and any medical information they need to be aware of. Parents are allowed to stay on site, but there is not enough room for parents to remain in the teaching space during the session.
HCYB Endangered Species 2023 Taster Day
They will be in touch nearer the time to confirm when your specific taster session day and time. This will last for just under an hour, from either 10am or 11am. Please see the leaflet for more information.
Please note the following details from Hampshire Music Service, about the Endangered Species scheme:
- This scheme is only available to children who are not yet received tuition on brass instruments
- The project is aimed primarily at children in year 4 or 5, who are not able to access school-based Hampshire Music Service tuition
- Sessions will take place at Perins Community School, New Alresford, Nr Winchester (the rehearsal base of the Hampshire County Youth Bands)
- Sessions will run between 10:00-12:00 (minimum duration 1 hour per grouping) on term-time Saturdays
- Tuition will be provided by experienced staff from Hampshire County Council’s Music Service
- This is a ‘fast track’ opportunity. Experience has shown us that after four terms of tuition, students can, and are expected to achieve a playing standard of around grade 2 within 4 terms.
- April 2024 is when entry into the Hampshire County Junior Band is anticipated
- There are no costs, but we hold the expectation that students will commit to regular home-based practice in order to progress at the expected rate, attend our sessions weekly and, in April 2024, will take up membership of the Hampshire County Junior Band
- Places on this scheme are limited according to our stock of instruments. Staff will prioritise places for students based on instrument suitability, and when no HMS teaching is taking place in their school.
If you require any further information, please feel free to contact Emma Davis (emma.davis@hants.gov.uk).
Parenting Tip – Having a morning routine.
We have approximately 25 pupils each day arriving late to school. Currently, the children go through the front office which means that the staff are not able to answer the phones or deal with any first aid, staff or parent queries or support new admissions to the school. For this reason, after the holidays, we will ask for the parents who arrive late to wait outside until 9am. At this point, a member of staff will come out to the playground by Sarah’s Garden and will ask parents to sign their child in to school. We will also offer advice and support for parents who are struggling to bring their child to school for the following times:
Foundation Stage, Year 1 and 2: 8:40am
Years 3,4,5 and 6: 8:45am
The office will not permit pupils to enter the school through the front entrance between 8:40 – 9am, unless preauthorised. This is because the office staff’s core purpose at this time is to manage parent queries, answer the phones and manage requests from staff and pupils in school.
Having a morning routine is difficult to establish at first but is crucial in training children to become independent in the future. We are able to offer a range of checklists for the morning and even customised reward schemes to support you in bringing your child to school on time. Please do let Terri Hope know if you would like help with this.
Have a wonderful rest of your weekend!
Miss Kelly Dillon
Headteacher
