SHOSCOMBE CHURCH
SCHOOL
Church Valley Schools Federation
Dear Mums, Dads and Carers,
Week two of this five week term! Time is flying by
so quickly.
At Camerton last Friday we were pleased to have
Rev. John Angle visit us as part of the SIAMS
(Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist
Schools). He was able to speak to parents,
governors, staff and children about their
experiences in this Church of England School. He
enjoyed lunch with the children and the special tour
they provided at the end of the day. Thank you to
all for the contributions made. The final report will
not be available for a couple of weeks, however I
would say that we were pleased to hear the lovely
comments he made to us during the feedback after
school on Friday. As always, we are looking for
ways to improve our practice and look forward to
reading the final report, which we will of course
share.
At Wellow last Thursday we were visited by
Donna Baber from Artsmark as part of the school’s
submission for Artsmark Gold. Once again Donna
was very impressed with all that she saw on the
school sites, which reinforced the applications. We
are delighted to be able to announce that both
Shoscombe and St Julian’s’ Church schools are
now Artsmark Gold Schools. Thanks go to Tania
Rorison , Sophie Hampton, Tracy Soccorsy and
Emma Symonds for all the hard work in making the
applications, as well as the whole staff for their
continued commitment to providing a rich, broad
and balanced curriculum which inspires the
children. The full reports are available – please ask
in the office if you require a copy. It will of course be
available on the website. It is really worth reading.
The applications do not merely meet the criteria but
exceed on many points
On Shoscombe site we are pleased to welcome
Lou David onto the team. Lou is going to be
working with Y3/4 during the mornings and Arts
Nurture group too.
You will be pleased to know that Mr McNulty (class
teacher Y5/6 Shoscombe site) is the proud father to
Amelie who was born on 14th February 2015
weighing 8lbs 1oz.
We are sorry to say that Mr Peter Byrne, our
brilliant caretaker for St Julian’s and Camerton sites
is off sick. He has been soldiering on for some
time now with severe pain in his hip and knee and
the doctors have said he needs a good rest. We
wish him speedy recovery and send him our very
best wishes. In the meantime Paul Atkins, the new
caretaker at Shoscombe, is helping out with some
of the regular tasks. We are very grateful to him.
In a fortnight’s time Shoscombe and St Julian’s
will be hosting staff and children from our
Comenius partner schools in Denmark, France,
Ireland and Catalonia (Spain) A total of 32
children will stay with families from the 2 schools.
The visiting staff and children will have the
opportunity to experience life in an English school
and be able to see displays of work children have
produced linked to the project. They will also join
our Year 5/6 children in a programme of activities
and visits we have organised linked to the project
aims.
These include activities at Writhlington School
including the climbing wall, a boat trip on the River
Avon, and a walk along the canal in Bath followed
by workshops at the Holburne museum on the
history of local canals and canal art.
Jane Gascoigne
Attendance
Week
Robins
ending
27/02/15 95.7%
Owls
98.3% 97.4%
96.8%
6/03/15
99.1% 98.9%
98.4%
98.6%
Kingfishers Eagles
Africa Day
On Monday 16th March, the Equalities Team are
organising an African Day! There will be a variety of
activities going on and the children will take part in
these in their house teams. All children will be
encouraged to dress up in mufti as an African
animal of their choice! We would be really grateful
if you would send in a contribution of £1.00 per
child for this. The money will be donated to an
African Charity.
Many thanks,
The Equalities Team
Reception
Children in Reception have been learning about
Belonging as part of their RE lessons.
We are proud to have received the news that we
are now an Artsmark Gold school!
As reported in the last newsletter. At the end of last
term we had a visit from the validator Donna Baber,
to talk through the details of our application. She
met with staff members Mrs Hampton and Mrs
Rorison, school governor John MacDonald, pupil
representatives from all classes and from the
school parliament to talk about the Arts at
Shoscombe. Her report was extremely positive.
Here are some of the comments from her report.
They have discussed belonging to their families,
School and our Reception Class. Linked to this, the
class has recently received a dual language ‘Guess
Who’ game from the pupils who 'belong to ’the
youngest class at Ecole Lafon Feline, one of our
Comenius Partner schools in Bordeaux, France.
The game involves identifying children from a class
photo using some French words and phrases. We
have used the vocabulary we have learnt to
work out who’s who in Madame Jalabert’s class.
‘Your arts partnerships ( for example our work with
Edwina Bridgeman, The Egg Theatre, The Djembe
Drumming Project, John and Emma MacDonald,
Vivien Ellis, The Willow Project to name but a few)
are sustained, proactive, resourceful and of a very
high standard for all involved’
'Your whole school community comes together to
support your arts curriculum…whole school
activities are mobilised and learning and
development is shared and embraced by all’ 'arts
are embedded across the curriculum'.
‘The cultural opportunities which are offered
through the Comenius Project are exceptionally
strong and again of a high quality, and provide
opportunities for your pupils and your staff and
school to lead others in arts activities and practice
whilst learning about other cultures through the
arts. Your leadership of this (Comenius) project and
the creative ethos you have injected into it are
exemplary.’
Now we are preparing a similar game to send back
to our partners using both the French we have
learnt and the English equivalent for the French
children to learn.
Sophie Hampton
Year 1 and 2
The report also praised our commitment to
providing opportunities for pupils to participate in
Arts Award and Forest School, and the positive
impact these programmes have on pupil progress
and well being.
Artsmark is Arts Council England’s flagship
programme to enable schools and other
organisations to evaluate, strengthen and celebrate
their arts and cultural provision. It is delivered by
Trinity College London. Artsmark is nationally
recognised as demonstrating excellence in arts and
cultural provision. To be an Artsmark Gold school
your commitment and excellence in Arts provision
has to be exceptionally strong.
Sophie Hampton – Arts co-ordinator
Pupils in Y1 and Y2 have been conducting research
into an animal of their choice. They collected their
information and wrote a book complete with a
contents page and glossary. They also used their IT
skills to design a front cover. Miss Curtis (PGCE
student) has been very impressed with their
enthusiasm and writing skills.
Martin Stevens
Year 3 and 4
Term 2 Diary Dates
10th March
Thursday
11th March
Friday 13th
March
14th March
16th March
Year 3 and 4 have been working hard to
produce Chinese New Year Shadow Puppet
Shows. The children created the puppets, wrote
scripts and are now writing instructions on how to
create a puppet show. You will be able to view the
puppets on the Comenius prezi website (Follow the
link on the school website.)
18th March
22nd March
23rd March
Tania Rorison
25th March
Egg Rolling and
Easter Bonnet
Pupil reports to
parents
Last day of term –
break up for Easter
Return to school
13th April
Charlotte Burnell on 07889 062124.
Comenius Visitors
arrive
Sporting activities
at Writhlington
Sports Centre
Trip to Bath, river
boat trip, workshop
at Holburne
Museum
27th March
Breakfast and after school clubs are going well.
Booking forms are still available for Term 4 but
places are being taken up quickly so make sure you
speak to Charlotte as soon as possible if you would
like to take advantage of this. The children are
provided with breakfast in the morning and a snack
after school. There are games and activities both
inside and out! If anyone’s contact details have
changed, please let Charlotte know. If you would
like to make use of this service, please contact:
Africa Day – pupils
to dress up as an
African animal - £1
donation
Dance Umbrella
24th March
27th March
Breakfast and After School Clubs
FoSSA Quiz
Welcome meal at
school
Year 5 and 6
Mr Tony Gray has been teaching Year 5 and 6
while Mr McNulty is on paternity leave. He helped
them compile a book of poems based on Greek
Myths with a moral message to them. The class
would like to thank Mr Gray very much for his time
here. They are looking forward to seeing both Mr
MucNulty on Monday and pictures of new baby
daughter!
FoSSA meeting
7.30p.m. - 9.30 p.m.
Cross Country at
Somervale School
RED NOSE DAY
Saturday
18th April
22nd April
Cheese and Cider
Evening
Nigel Coles - Class
Photos
All welcome
Year 5 and 6
Whole
School
All welcome
Whole
School
Year 5 and 6
Year 6,
hosting
families and
Comenius
visitors
Year 6,
hosting
families and
Comenius
visitors
Whole
School
Whole
school
All classes
Could we please remind everyone to ensure
your children have the correct kit in school for
activities
like
PE,
football,
badminton,
swimming and Forest School.
Severe Weather information:
If we get heavy snow, Jane Gascoigne will ask
for the B&NES website to be updated with
details of either our closure, change of school
hours or a guide to the local road conditions.
See below for the link.
http://www.bathnes.gov.uk/school-closures
We are, again, collecting Sainsburys’ Active
Kids Vouchers. We’d be really grateful if you
would bring any you are given to the lobby area
where the box will be postioned. Many thanks.
GET Sported, Multi-sport children’s Holiday
camp - Ages 5-12 years
Easter camp: Mon 30th March - Wed 1st April
GET Sported offers high quality coaching that
builds character. We offer a wide range of
sports and activities including: football, tennis,
uni-hoc, rugby, basketball, netball, volleyball,
ultimate frisbee, badminton, dance, drama, arts
and crafts….
Our mission is to help children improve their
sports skills but also to develop their character
through sporting activities and Christian values.
We aim to provide an active caring and safe
environment to help them flourish
and encourage them to be who they're created
to be and equipping them for life ahead.
To find out more or to book
visit: www.getsported.org
Solly Coaching
EASTER CRICKET COURSE 2015
MARCH 30th – APRIL 2nd - 2PM –
5PMVenue: Hampset CC, Bloomfield Rise,Bath,
BA2 2BL
Cricket for 10-13 Year olds
COST: £45 for the 4-day course
OR individual days can be booked for £12 per day
Minimum of 2 Coaches
About the Coach: Jon Solly, ECB full-time cricket
coach, will lead the coaching for the whole
programme.
DBS (CRB) cleared, First Aid Qualified, 13 Years
Coaching Experience
TROPHIES AND CERTIFIFCATES CAN BE WON
If you have any further enquiries or to book a place
on the course, please mail jisolly@hotmail.com or
phone 07813 122160