message from mr payne - st. james' church of england

St. James’ C of E Primary Academy Newsletter

I wonder whether I can paint a picture of my view at the moment...? I am sitting on the edge of the water, looking out over the entrance to the Solent estuary at the choppy seas, mizzly rain and conflicting sea currents. Vast, unfathomly large cargo ships occasionally glide past, sometimes pulled by tugs that are many degrees smaller. Small fishing vessels sail by, the Red Funnel catamaran occasionally churns a pathway through and sail boats bob precariously. And that’s just what’s on the surface that I can see - under the waves lies another world teeming with life, flux, drama and variety.

I’m here, of course, because this is the venue for our Year 6 week long residential at Calshot Activities Centre - situated right on the end of Calshot Spit in full exposure to the elements and the world around us.Perhaps it is not politically correct of me to acknowledge that many people think these weeks away from school are just a glofiried ‘doss’ for the children. A week of play and parent free exhilaration. A week with no learning. And expensive as well. I can see that point of view and I understand it, but in just the last 24 hours alone I have witnessed learning, character development, social responsibility, emotional resilience, dignity, empathy, solidarity, humanity and determination (among many other charcteristics). Perhaps it is because Lewis Capaldi and his lovely song ‘Someone You Loved’ is currently playing on the radio, but thinking about the growth I have seen in our children so far is bringing a fair wash of emotion to me. I wish you could all be here to see and experience it for yourselves.

Take Ella, for example. She was in the velodrome earlier on today and was petrified. The bikes, you see, have no brakes, and your feet are clipped into the pedals so you can’t put them down to balance yourself. After the safety talk, she cycled the first ten metres to be ‘caught’ by her friends who were the catchers. She was on the verge of tears, was overcome with the fear of what could happen, the lack of freedom in her limbs and overwhelmed with the emotional challenge of putting all of this together. She could have walked away, but she kept going. Kept challenging herself to keep getting back on

the bike and within 40 minutes was cycling circuits of the velodrome in a tentative, but competent independent manner. She even smiled...

Or Reece, who began on the dry ski slope yesterday with the effort and grace of a new born giraffe. Legs all over the place, more tumbling than a professional gymnastics team with the balletic skill and poise of a stilt walker on black ice. If it was me I would have given up within minutes, in part through frustration, in part through fear of injury and also probably out of embarassment. But Reece just kept on getting up. He fell over and got up again. He slid backwards down the slope and so took a deep breath and started to climb again. He ended the session skiing 10 metres down the slope while performing ‘Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes’. Glorious.

I could tell you stories about Emma, Scarlett, Fin, Lily, Henry, Bella, Charlie, Hettie, Wes, Lucas, Neve and many more - and we’ve only been here 24 hours! When we come away, we see the best of every child in new circumstances. We see a new sense of team and the genuine investment they have in each other whether they share a peer group back at school or not.

Just like the boats outside on the busy waters of the Solent, in the hanger behind me at Calshot we have children of all different shapes and sizes, children who are more naturally disposed to certain tasks or achievements and under the surface of each one is a hidden world of emotions, experiences, fears and relationships that form part of the current that they sail with or struggle against.

Amidst all of that, they are part of a team and they are growing and thriving on the challenges that are presenting.They may not know it, but some of what is happening here this week could become pivotal experiences in their lives that help them to understand what they are capable of and who they really are, deep underneath the surface.

We couldn’t be prouder of them.

Message from Mr Payne


Reminders and Admin UpdatesCoats - Please make sure your child is appropriately

dressed for adverse weather.Absences - please let the office know by 9.30am at the

latest, each day of your child’s absence, with the reason.

Christmas Productions

We know it’s only November and far too early to think about Christmas . . . but we thought you would appreciate some advance notice of the Christmas Productions.

Reception Productions 10th December at 2pm and 5.30pm

Year 1 & 2 Productions 16th December at 1.30pm and 6pm

Year 3 & 4Productions 12th December at 1.30pm and 6pm

Year 5 & 6 Carols by Candlelight 17th December at 7pm in the Church

Details regarding ordering tickets will be supplied nearer the time.

Silly Sock Day

We raised £239.80 for

Children In Need.

Thank you for your donations.

Signalong

We are delighted to be learning Signalong which is a keyword sign-supported

communication system based on British Sign

Language and is used to aid the spoken language.

The teachers will be implementing Signalong

within their daily teaching and the children will be

learning a new sign a week during whole school worship.

Please ask your children to teach you some of the

key phrases that they have already learnt including

good morning, good afternoon and the very important lunch time!

Year 5/6Walking

Home Passes

It has been brought to our attention that some

children with walking home passes have been

seen not crossing the road safely and cycling without

helmets.

If children do not make the right choices, therefore putting themselves at risk, then their walking home

pass will be revoked.

Volunteers?

We really need some help labelling up our

new books in the libray. If you could

spare any time, please let the office

know.

Scrabble Around!

We need scrabble tiles.

If you have any spare, please bring into the

office.Drop-in coffee morning

every Monday 8.45am - 9.30am

Come and have a drink and a chat with either

Mrs Dimambro, Mrs Allen or Mrs Goode, and meet other

parents.

We discuss things such as special educational needs, family dynamics, parenting, finance and anything else

that you might want to chat through. Alternatively, just

come in for a cuppa to start off your week!

St. James’ C of E Primary Academy Newsletter St. James’ C of E Primary Academy Newsletter

Overall AttendanceThe current overall attendance figure for the academy is:

96.37%

1st PlaceStingray

Attendance: 98.23%

2nd PlaceBogota

Attendance: 97.85%

3rd PlaceMadrid

Attendance: 97.24%

Attendance and Punctuality

Our whole school attendance target is 97.5% for this academic year. Being in school on time every day is vital for the best outcomes for all children. The school doors open at 8.30am and close at 8.40am. Classrooms are set up and ready for 8.30am, which is

when we start learning. Please aim to be here at 8.30am. Arriving at 8.40am should only be if you are held up in traffic etc.

We have been working closely with Bournemouth’s Educational Welfare team and have improved and clarified our systems for monitoring and responding to

attendance issues.

Our Attendance Procedure is as follows:1. When a child’s attendance drops to 94% we will make a phone call home to flag

this. 94% attendance is equivalent to a child missing 11 days of school in one academic year.

2. When a child’s attendance drops below 90% we will send a letter home to formally acknowledge this, make parents aware and offer support. 90% attendance is

equivalent to a child missing 19 days of school in one academic year. 3. If the child’s attendance levels don’t improve, a second letter will be sent home

inviting parents in to a meeting to discuss attendance and draw up an attendance contract.

4. If the child’s attendance remains low, a third letter will be sent home. This letter advises parents that they have a 15-day monitoring period in which to improve their

child’s attendance to above 90% in order to avoid legal action. At the end of the 15 days, a meeting will be held to review the situation.

5. If the child’s attendance does not improve to above 90% over this monitoring time frame, a fourth letter will be sent to parents advising them that we are requesting a

penalty notice (fine) and potential court action from the local authority.

Please do not wait until we contact you if you are having problems getting your child to school. Mrs Goode is on the gate most mornings and you do not need an

appointment to speak with her. We can offer support and advice and work with you to improve the situation. Being in school on time every day is so important for each child’s

chances of success in life and we want all children at St. James’ to be able to reach their full potential.

Class Attendance Champions since the last newsletter


Vision, Purpose, Values and Principles

Over the last year, the Governor’s have been consulting with every corner of our community to collect together your views on the future

challenges for our Academy.

We have talked about our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. A working group then condensed all of this information into a newly constituted Vision and Values statement, from which we have the long term direction for St. James’ for

the next three years.

We’re very grateful to everyone who took part and we will continue to update you on our progress in future newsletters. Today, we share the big picture statements

that we settled on.

Our Vision

The St. James’ family is a welcoming, thriving, innovative community; loving and inspiring, forgiving and challenging. Together we can, and will, enrich the world.

Our Purpose

To provide an engaging, relevant education within a Christian environment, where everyone flourishes academically, socially, physically, morally, emotionally and

spiritually.

Our Values

Our Christian Values are: LOVE, HOPE and FORGIVENESS. Our Learning Values are: Creativity, Independence, Questioning, Reflection and Teamwork.

A member of THE PORTSMOUTH AND WINCHESTERDIOCESAN ACADEMIES TRUST

Registered office: First Floor Peninsular House, Wharf Road, Portsmouth, Hampshire, PO2 8HBRegistered in England: No: 08161468


Vision, Purpose, Values and Principles

Our Principles

The St. James’ FamilyWe are an inclusive school where every child is accepted, known,

understood, cherished, safe and valued.

We are a community that fosters kindness, resilience, pride in ourselves and in each other.

We are a family where every individual is uniquely precious and where every talent is embraced and nurtured.

We are open and honest as we journey together, reflecting our Christian Values through love, hope and forgiveness in all we do and say.

We try to act out our faith in our daily lives, with Christ as our example.We care for the development of the whole person.

Learning at St. James’Creativity and innovation is encouraged and everyone feels a sense of success

and achievement.

Each of us has potential that can be unlocked with the support and encouragement of those around us.

Aiming for excellence, determined to achieve our best, we are creative and excited about learning.

Together we explore every opportunity to excel through successes and mistakes alike.

Matthew 19:26 “with God all things are possible.”

We see education as an integral part of the mission of the Church to proclaim all that is good in human living, inspired through the work of God.

For pupils of the Christian Faith, the school aims to provide an environment in which that faith may grow. For pupils and families who choose not to follow the Christian

faith, the school aims to provide a positive experience of Christianity, so that the faith might be respected and understood.

Equally the school will show respect and act with care towards pupils from other world faith communities.


ReceptionIn Reception every child is given a special buddy from Year 5 who they get to spend time with throughout the year.

Reception were ecstatic to meet their Year 5 Buddy for the first time! They joined us for part of the afternoon where they had the opportunity to share a story and find out all about our project ‘Bonkers about Conkers’. Year 5 were great role models and enjoyed having the responsibility of helping the youngest members of our school; already some lovely friendships are beginning to form. We are very much looking forward to spending more time with our buddies throughout the year.

Year 1The Year 1 children were not scared at all in their quest to find leaves of all shapes, sizes and colours, even when we encountered creepy crawlies.

We searched around the school and church site to collect interesting leaves which we then used to create our own leaf art masterpieces. All of the children impressed us with their creativity, being able to turn a mere leaf into a butterfly, hedgehog and even a fish! Take a look at our fantastic work, you will not be-leaf your eyes!

Year Group Updates


Year 2Year 2 were going about their daily learning when suddenly they were interrupted by two superheroes! The superheroes announced that they had heard great things about St. James’ and wondered whether there were any children here who might be good superheroes.

The superheroes declared their upcoming retirement and wanted to recruit new superheroes to continue fighting crime for them. Year 2 were more than delighted to offer their services and have decided to become superheroes in training over the next four weeks.

After the superheroes left, we decided to get straight on with our training! Year 2 can’t wait to put their abilities to the test on superhero day to see if they have got what it takes to be the next best superhero…

Year Group Updates

Year 3In English the children will continue to look at non–fiction texts linked to our Victorian project. The children will be using a variety of sources to gather information about the Victorians e.g. schools, transport, jobs, significant people and write paragraphs of information about each. The children will be learning about the Industrial Revolution and transport. We will also be looking at Victorian inventions.

They will then use the information collected to write a non-chronological report about the Victorians.

We will be having our Victorian Day in school on Friday 29th November 2019.

In Maths the children will continue to learn about fractions. We will move on to adding and subtracting fractions e.g. 1/5 + 3/5 = 4/5. We will also be ordering fractions and comparing them using the greater and less than symbols <>.

Please encourage your child to go on TTRS (Timestable Rockstar) weekly to improve their recall of the 3, 4 ,8 and 11 tables.

In RE the children will be learning about Hanukah – what is means and how it is celebrated.


Year Group Updates

Year 4We are well into our new topic… ‘Discovering the Old Testament’! During this topic we will be exploring some of the heroes of the Old Testament such as Joseph, Moses and David (David and Goliath). This week we have been studying the story of Joseph as a stimulus to inspire our project and English lessons.

In English we used Pie Corbett’s ‘Talk for Writing’ program to write our own adapted versions of the story of Joseph and the Technicolour Dream Coat.

In Maths we looked at multiplication and division. The MyMaths task last week will remind children of this knowledge to consolidate their understanding. The task is ‘the distributive law’ and ‘more corresponding problems’.

We are continuing to have our weekly times tables test on Friday times and the children are making great progress with their tables. We cannot wait to keep awarding more bronze, silver and gold awards to those who have mastered their 2’s, 5’s and 10’s along with their 3’s, 4’s and 11’s and 6’s, 8’s and 9’s!

The children’s newspaper articles about the ‘unidentified creature’ are still in Southbourne Library, so pop by to have a look!

Year 5And another week has flown by!

We enjoyed our second session of Project Touchline with Chris. The value we were looking at in this session was Sacrifice and the importance of everyone working together, ‘There is no I in team.’

Everyone wrote some fantastic persuasive letters to Mr Payne asking him if he would change his mind regarding The Tank Museum trip and we are delighted to say he said YES!

If there are any parents who would like to help on the trip please either speak to one of us or contact the office.

In ARK (Acts of Random Kindness) we continued our Christian value of love and created a leaf writing of what we were grateful for. This has been turned into a lovely Gratitude Tree outside of Year 5.

This week is assessment week which will assist us with our Maths and English planning for the upcoming terms.


Year Group UpdatesYear 6

A big well done to all the children for their focus and perseverance sitting our latest round of practice SATs. There are clear signs of progress and improvement and this is testament to the children’s hard work in their learning!

Assessment forms a crucial part of the learning process in Year 6; preparing the students for undertaking tests both now and in the future and informing teaching and learning as we progress through the year. Thank you to all at home for your continued support.

In other areas of the curriculum, we have learnt about the start of WW2 when Hitler invaded Poland, as well as studying key events and dates between 1939-1945. The children used this knowledge to produce some fantastic time lines, which we will display throughout school.

We were also treated to a visit from Mrs Dodd’s Mum and Dad to talk about their wartime experiences. These lessons and enrichment opportunities followed on from our Remembrance Service, where the children were very mature in paying their respects to all of those who sacrificed their lives for the freedoms we enjoy today.

Furthermore, Sam taught us all about the festival of ‘Dia de Muertos;’ and the children sampled traditional festival foods, such as sweet bread and fudge.


News from our P.E. LeaderGirls football team On the 24th October 2019 St. James’ YR5/6 Girls Football Team took part in the Predator Cup at Littledown Sports Centre. Our team consisted of Captain Scarlett Kirby, Goalkeeper Ava Mackinney, Macey Nicholls, Neve McRobb, Hetty Baker, Elouise Stones, Izzy Gooden, Emma Wheadon, Olivia Gosling, Chloe Lees and Isla Woolner.

In the girls group they had to play Pokesdown Primary School, Moordown St. John and Park School.

The girls won their first two games. They needed to win the final game against Park School to get through to the semi final. Park School had also won all their games, so they also needed to win.

It was a very fierce, competitive game with the girls giving their all. Unfortunately Park School beat us 2-1 at the final whistle. Mr Holroyd and myself were both very proud of our girls, especially having to play in the pouring rain.

At the end of the tournament the girls came to a very important decision and due to losing, decided to terminate Mrs Finnigan’s contract as Manager of the team and employ a new Manager. As you can see in the photograph they chose wisely.It was a fantastic team effort and the girls represented the school amazingly. We were very proud of the whole team.

Gymnastics Tumbling CompetitionOn Sunday 10th November 2019, 25 children from St. James’ attended the annual Gymnastics Tumbling Competition at Rossmore Leisure Centre. We took 5 teams consisting of 5 children, which included a YR3/4 girls team, YR3/4 mixed team, YR5/6 boys team, YR5/6 girls team and YR5/6 mixed team.

In the morning the doors opened very early at 8am ready to start the YR3/4 competition. The children were very nervous as they demonstrated their gymnastic talents in front of over 100 people. YR5/6 began their competition at 11.30am.

The tumbling competition is a very popular competition and many schools from around the area compete against each other.

We had a great day, with the children representing their school impeccably. We were very proud of all the children who were great fun to spend a morning with. Results wise, our YR5/6 boys won silver and our YR3/4 girls team also won a silver.We would like to say a big thank you to all the parents who supported us on a very cold Sunday morning. None of our events could take place without your help. Thank to everyone involved. Mrs Finnigan, Miss Lees and Mrs Voss.


Mrs Reid’s Beach School

This past term Mrs Reid has brought ‘Beach School’ to the classroom combining Art with

Biology to expand knowledge on marine life and inspire creativity.

During these sessions they have learnt to identify locally sourced shells and seaweeds while

developing creative skills through sketching, painting, and seaweed printing. They have worked both independently and as part of a team exploring

sculpting while using shells, pebbles, driftwood and clay and created some beautiful work.

With Christmas approaching they have been designing Christmas themed sculptures to

photograph and create Christmas cards for you all to enjoy. Next term we will improve our Geography knowledge by learning about our local beaches as

well as beaches around the world. We will also learn how to tie different knots and build shelters and rafts, and continue to learn and be intrigued by

marine life around the world.


Monies Raised At Last Events

September Activity Night: £919.56

Film Club: £138.52-------------------------------------------Next PSA Donations/Event Dates

Friday 29th November

Wine/Prosecco/Beer donations for Winter Wonderland.

Monday 2nd December

Christmas Jumper Mufti Day - £1 donation towards the St. James’ Christmas Tree. Collection buckets on the door!

Wednesday 4th December

Christmas Present Wrapping Social at the Brewhouse Pub in Southbourne. Please join us from 7.30pm for a social drink and to help wrap presents for

Santa’s grotto. Bring your scissors!

Friday 6th December

Mufti DayDonations for chocolate tombola and nearly new toys

and books please.

Christmas Crafts - £1 donation for children to come along a make a lovely Christmas Tree decoration. This to be paid via the Parentmail App.

Team required to help run the crafts.

Team required in the morning to help create the grotto for Santa.

Winter Wonderland at 3:15pm

If you would like to have a sales table at the Winter Wonderland event or you would like to donate a raffle prize please email Victoria on [email protected]

-------------------------------------------New Fundraising Target for Winter Wonderland

Update of KS1 reading scheme.A couple of years ago we updated the KS2 reading scheme and we are now looking

to update Reception and KS1 books. Approximate cost is £1,500 - £2,000.-------------------------------------------

Party Pack Hire Scheme

Don’t forget about the Party Pack Hire Scheme which could help you out over the Christmas period!! Email Hannah at [email protected]

PSA News


Dates for your Diary

November 2019

27th Y2 Superhero Day 27th Y3 and Y4 Can Do Football Tournament28th Rome Class Worship

December 2019

2nd Christmas Jumper Day3rd Cross Country Relay - Littledown3th Choir at St. Saviour’s Church4th Y5 Tank Museum Visit4th PSA Christmas Wrapping Social6th PSA Christmas Craft6th Mufti Day - Chocolate Tombola Donations6th Choir - Library Christmas Concert 6th PSA Winter Wonderland10th Y5 Boy’s Football Fixtures - Littledown10th Reception Christmas Production at 2pm at 5.30pm11th Choir at St. George’s Carol Concert12th Y3 and Y4 Christmas Production at 1.30pm and 6pm13th Nasal Flu Programme16th Y1 and Y2 Christmas Production at 1.30pm and 6pm17th Y5 and Y6 Carols by Candlelight at 7pm in the Church18th Y5 Parent Outcome in Hall and Year 5 Classrooms 19th PSA Christmas Party Day20th Break up at 1.20pm

January 2020

6th Inset Day7th Term Starts at 8.30am10th Treehouse Theatre - The Snow Queen (All Year Groups)15th Boys Premier League Tournament - Littledown17th Girls Premier League Tournament - Littledown

January 2020 Continued

22nd Parent Workshop Evening at 6pm - 8pm29th High 5 Netball Tournament - BSG30th Stingray Class Worship

February 2020

5th Bee Netball Tournament - BSG13th Turtle Class Worship14th Break up for Half Term at normal time24th Term Starts at 8.30am28th Y5 Football Tournament - Bournemouth Collegiate School

March 2020

4th Y4 Hooke Court Residential - Provisional Date5th London Class Worship5th Tag Rugby Festival - Littledown7th Town Swimming Gala - Littledown9th Tag Rugby - Bournemouth Collegiate School12th Otter Class Worship12th Y5/6 Tag Rugby - Bournemouth Rugby Club19th Dolphin and Seal Class Worship20th Y2 Fire of London Workshop - Hall

April 2020

2nd Paris Class Worship3rd Break up at 1.20pm20th Term Starts at 8.30am

There is also a calendar on our school website which contains all of this information. Given the advance planning for some of these events, it is possible that there may be some changes to the schedule. The calendar on the website will be the most up to

date place to check if anything changes.


Volunteers Required For Our Prospective Gardening Club

We are working on an action plan to start up a fully functioning garden allotment that will allow our children to cultivate soil, grow plants, harvest them and then turn

that produce into food that we could sell in a community cafe!!

The project would need to be led by a small team of keen gardeners who would love to give their time to oversee a process that leads us from start to finish before restarting the cycle. You would be supported by teachers and leaders within our school and our first Gardening Committee would even join with us to work up the plans for the layout

and installation of the gardens. Exciting!

If you, or someone you know, has the love of gardening and the time to put into being a part of our small committee, leading learning for our children, then we would love to hear from you for an initial, no strings attached meeting to discuss the project further - we were thinking that there may be some retired parents or grandparents who may

feel like this is just their cup of tea!!!

If you are interested in joining our team or know anyone who might be, please contact the school office on 01202 426696 or email [email protected] anytime!


Term Dates 2019 - 2020 AUTUMN TERM Inset Day Monday 2nd September 2019 Inset Day Tuesday 3rd September First Day Wednesday 4th September Half Term Monday 28th October – Friday 1st November Last Day Friday 20th December (finish at 1.20pm) SPRING TERM Inset Day Monday 6th January 2020 First Day Tuesday 7th January Half Term Monday 17th February – Friday 21st February Last Day Friday 3rd April (finish at 1.20pm) SUMMER TERM First Day Monday 20th April Bank Holiday Friday 8th May Half Term Monday 25th May – Friday 29th May Inset Day Monday 22nd June Last Day Friday 17th July (finish at 1.20pm) Inset Day Monday 20th July

St. James’ Church of England Primary Academy


Christmas appeal@St. James’

We need 200 jars of curry sauce by Thursday 5th December

Help stop local people going hungry this Christmas

www.stjamespokesdown.co.uk 01202 434460


Flu Vaccination Offer To Children In Reception To Year 6

Date of Session: Friday 13th December 2019

Unique Session Code: c6zeim5j

Registration Link: https://links.inhealthcare.co.uk/dorset-child-flu-imms/

The process of signing up for this has changed this year with the sign-up now being online. A letter from the school nursing team containing the link, unique

school code and the sign-up instructions has been sent via Parent Mail.

The closing date for signing up is Monday 9th December.

A reminder nearer the time will be sent, but it would help us and the school nursing team if you could sign-up as soon as possible. If you have more than one child in

school you will need to sign up each one individually.

message from mr payne - st. james' church of england

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