A new academic year has begun! With this being the start of our first full year as a Primary we felt it fitting to revisit our vision and values. We have gathered views from parents, children, governors and staff and are currently combining these into a concise vision statement that will be displayed in our school and on our website. In terms of values we felt it was important for all stakeholders to be able to recall them instantly, therefore we have adopted 4 core values: Honesty; Kindness; Respect; Self-Belief. We will also teach many other important values through our PSHE curriculum as well as promoting British Values.

 What else looks different this term? Well, we have renamed our classes throughout the school starting with small flowers such as Buttercup and Daisy in Foundation Stage growing steadily year by year until in Year Six we have mighty trees of Oak and Sycamore. Our house teams have had a makeover too. Each child and member of staff have been allotted to one of four houses The houses have been named after four inspirational and inspiring individuals who stood up for their beliefs: Malala (Yousafzai) for the right to have an education; (Jessie) Owens for the right to take part in sport; (Nelson) Mandela for the right to be accepted whatever the colour of your skin; and (Emily) Pankhurst for the right for males and females to be given the same opportunities. Children will be able to earn house points for their team by demonstrating school values and trying their best. The winning house over each term will earn a reward. We will also be holding house assemblies so that the children can learn more about the people the houses are named after.

Staff have exciting plans for enriching the curriculum to ‘hook’ the children into the learning theme. Key Stage One are learning about ‘The Great Fire of London’ and are busy booking a living History event for the children as well as a visit from the village fire engine. Meanwhile lower Key Stage Two are learning about the author Roald Dahl, focussing initially on his book ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’. Can you guess what some of the learning WOW’s might be for this! Look out in the next issue for photos and details of exactly what happened in, and out, of the classroom.

During the first week of September our Foundation Stage staff were out and about visiting our new intake in their own homes and as I write we are waiting excitedly for them to begin their education with us. I am looking forward to sharing news of their experiences with you as we move through the term.