Newsletter Issue 7
Ferncumbe Friday
Friday 16th December 2022
What an end to term!
Well, that was a jam-packed final few weeks of term! From Christmas plays, carol concerts, a Christingle service and nativity to theatre trips, Christmas lunch and a visit from Father Christmas, the children have excelled themselves in every regard. It has been wonderful to welcome so many of you into school and church in recent weeks. Special thanks also to the teachers who have worked incredibly hard supporting the children with these and many other activities. It is such a special time of year and I hope that the following photos give you a flavour of how we have spent the last couple of weeks in school.
GOODBYES AND WELCOMES!
It is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to a few members of the Ferncumbe Family at the end of this term. One of them is Tim Bladon, our most longstanding Learning Support Assistant who has been with us for over 13 years. Claire Purcell is also leaving to continue with her teacher training - she will reutrn to Ferncumbe for her final placement in the Summer term. We are also saying goodbye to Katie Forbes, who has been working alongside Year 2 and Year 3 children this term.
We thank them all enormously for their hard work and valuable contribution during their time with us - they will be much missed by children and adults alike. Everyone knows what we always say to our leavers…
‘Once a member of the Ferncumbe Family, always a member of the Ferncumbe Family!’
Please do come back and visit us, you will always be assured of a warm welcome.
Thank you also to the parents who contributed to Mr Bladon’s retirement gift. You may well know that he loves the great outdoors and has many exciting adventures planned. With this in mind, we presented him with a gift voucher so he could choose what he needed and wished to buy.
We have a few additional staff changes in school from the beginning of January; Pauline Bibb, Katy Jones, Dannielle Hover and Owen Jones are welcomed to the Ferncumbe team as Learning Support Assistants.
Christingle service
On Sunday 11th December, Mrs Reid and Miss Forbes were joined by many members of the Ferncumbe Family at Holy Trinity Church for their Christingle Service. We were blown away by the number of children and families that were able to join us and made it a really special event. We had children reading prayers, leading the congregation in songs with actions and even joined in by making a human Christingle. We are so grateful to all those who were able to join in with us.
Miss Forbes
marbles, marbles, everywhere…
Wroxall Class completely lost their marbles last week, under the desks, inside boxes and hiding down cardboard tubes! Each group were set the task of creating a marble run where the marble moved for 10 seconds or more. Research was carried out to explore the best features of marble runs and how they could include some of these ideas into their designs. After designing and planning together, the children got well and truly stuck in to building some fabulous marble runs! We saw runs, drops, turns, bumps and funnels to allow the marble to travel smoothly and to try and slow it down. Thank you to everyone who collected cardboard tubes and boxes for us, the children had such a great selection to build with. A massive well done to the amazing teamwork in Wroxall and such creative ideas seen from every group.
Mrs Eaves
Lowsonford class
This week, Lowsonford class have enjoyed baking oatcakes from the Viking times! It was also extra special to have another baking session with Mr Bladon before he begins his retirement.
Shrewley Class
Year 4 have been enjoying making Danish Christmas decorations this week. These julehjerter (or Christmas hearts) are traditionally made from paper, hung on the Christmas tree and filled with sweets or chocolate. We made ours out of felt and enjoyed the challenge of weaving the pieces together to make our heart-shaped decorations. Some children picked up the skill really quickly and were excellent helpers and demonstrators to others in the class. A Merry Christmas from all of us in Shrewley Class!
Miss Reid
Supporting children with SEN at Christmas Time
Christmas can be a very overwhelming time for children with additional needs, particularly those with neurodiversity or processing difficulties. Please use these websites which provide helpful tips in supporting your child at this festive time.
https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/topics/leisure/christmas/tips
https://www.sensationaltutors.co.uk/10-tips-for-enjoyable-christmas-children-with-sen/
Merry Christmas!
Kate Adcock
SENCo
Parent meetings
You will have received notification from the school office last week of our parent meetings early in the Spring term; these follow your child’s end of Autumn term assessments. The meetings take place on Monday 9th January 3.30-7.30pm (in-person) and Wednesday 11th January 3.30-5.30pm (virtual). We offer both in-person and virtual meetings to accommodate everyone’s preference.
It is really important that you sign up for a slot. Do please contact the office if you have any problems.
Taking care on the ice
Given the tragic recent events in Solihull, the link below offers very useful safety advice, which we have been asked to share with you.
Warwickshire Music Hub News
If you are interested in signing your child up for any extra curricular music activities, please see the link - https://www.warwickshiremusichub.org/join-a-group - tuition is currently free. If you are in KS2 and interested in joining Miss Forbes’ steel pan group, have a look at the details for the group called Pandemonium.
Myself and all the staff thank you for your continued support and wish you health, peace and happiness this Christmas.
We look forward to welcoming your children back to school on Wednesday 4th January 2023.
Tracey Webb, Head of School