Letter from Mrs Taylor
A letter of introduction from Mrs Taylor, our new Headteacher.
Dear Parents,
I would like to introduce myself as the new permanent headteacher of Stanmore Primary School. I have already enjoyed meeting some of you during Parents’ Evening and the Christmas Fair and I look forward to meeting more of you in the next few weeks.
I am really pleased to be starting before Christmas as it gives me the opportunity to start to get to know your children and to be involved in the school events in the run up to Christmas. The behaviour in assembly today was excellent.
It also gives me the opportunity for a smooth handover with Mr. Johnson and Mr. Davies who have led the school so well in the interim period since Ms. Wood left. I am sure that you would like me to thank them on your behalf.
You will be concerned about the number of changes that have already affected the school and your children. My role is to bring some stability to the school, building on the improvements already underway. One of the differences that a permanent appointment brings, is that longer term decisions can be made. So, while I can’t promise you that there won’t be further changes, including to staffing, I can promise you that decisions are being made to secure better provision for your children in the longer term.
What does this mean? By Easter we expect to be able to recruit permanent new members of staff to the teaching team where needed. We already now know what your children can do in reading, writing and maths and more importantly, what they can’t do. By Easter, you will see progress in their books and we expect stronger outcomes this summer that we can continue to build on for the future.
I chose to apply for the position because I recognise the potential in the school and feel genuinely excited by the opportunity. The children are delightful and parents and staff very welcoming. I have worked in Hampshire Schools for 25 years in 6 different Primary Schools. I was headteacher at both East Meon and Colden Common Primary Schools. Most recently I have been a Primary Phase Inspector, working in schools across the local authority to improve outcomes for children.
As a parent of two older teenagers, I know something of the joy and frustrations of parenting. I expect to work in partnership with you, sharing your aspirations for your children. My office is in the main entrance area of the school. I will be on the gate in the mornings. If you want to come and say hello or share good news or a concern, please do.
With very best wishes,
Sharon Taylor
Christmas Fair
Re-live the magic of the Christmas Fair and the people who made it such a big success.
Thanks to everyone who the made the Christmas Fair such a big success.
Year 1 - a visit from the Queen?
A visit from a queen and working on our multiplication skills.
We have had another fun and productive week in Year 1, which has included deep sea diving and a visit from Queen Gloriana!
In maths, we revisited multiplication and division, learning to multiply (‘lots of’ or ‘groups of’) and divide (share equally’) by 2 and 10. We used lots of resources to help us to group and share which has helped to develop our understanding. We have also learned about number doubles, and will be looking at halving next week, along with more specific fractions work on half and quarter of numbers and shapes.
Our English work this week has included identifying and understating question words (who, where, when, why, how, what, which) and writing questions punctuated with a question mark. We used these skills to write questions to Queen Gloriana, who stole Emily Brown’s rabbit, about her motives. We asked the Queen our questions and then wrote a letter to her to ask for Stanley Rabbit back. Next week, we will find out if we have been successful…
In history, we have been looking at traditional games and making some to share with parents/carers on 14 December at our outcome. We hope that you will enjoy playing then as much as the children enjoyed making them!
We have now finished our artwork which was facilitated by students at the University of Winchester. Our ‘Under the sea’ themed work is of a very high standard; the children have loved exploring the different resources used to create their masterpieces. We hope that you enjoy sharing your child’s artwork when they bring it home later in the term.
As always, we continue to practice our phonics and reading daily.
Thank you to everyone who attended the parents’ evenings last week; it was lovely to share your child’s successes with you! We are extremely proud of the hard work and effort that they have made so far this term and are delighted with the positive attitudes towards their learning that they demonstrate.
We hope that you enjoyed the Christmas Fayre on Friday – how quickly December has arrived! We have some exciting learning planned for the rest of the term, as well as looking forward to the many special festive events in school.
Farewell from Mr Johnson
Mr Johnson says farewell and reflects on his time at Stanmore as he returns to Stoke Park Junior school.
As I look out of my office window watching FOS set up for the Christmas Fair and Key Stage 2 playing on the equipment, I find it hard to believe that we have nearly completed the autumn term and therefore 2018, it compounds the feeling that being at Stanmore is a real honour and privilege and I hope you all feel as I do, that the school continues to go from strength to strength.
The children are fantastic, have an amazing thirst for learning and desire to achieve and I’m really fortunate to have such a committed and dedicated staff team that always bring that little bit of sunshine into the building to enrich everyone lives.
It is therefore with mixed emotions that I write my last newsletter as today is my last day as Interim Headteacher as come tomorrow Mrs Taylor takes up her role as the new substantive Headteacher, however I will still be around until the end term ensuring that there is a smooth and comprehensive handover of leadership between Mrs Taylor and myself.
I would like to thank you for supporting the school and all of you who help on a daily basis to enrich the learning and help make Stanmore a happy and nurturing environment for all our pupils. I shall miss you all dearly and please know that Stanmore will always have a place in heart. I know that Stanmore is in a very strong position with Mrs Taylor, she will continue to drive forward the required improvements on the journey to good and beyond and I know that you will all be behind her supporting all the way.
I wish you all a very pleasant Christmas and New Year and look forward to hearing how Stanmore continues to improve and be the BEST that it possibly can be.
Friends of Stanmore - Raffle prizes
Friends of Stanmore - great prizes in our raffle this year.
Top prize £100 cash!!!
Then ( in no particular order) £20 gift voucher from Tesco, £25 voucher from Sizzlers takeaway shop, £30 voucher from Manow Thai restaurant, £10 smiggle voucher, 2 kids go free vouchers for kids2day, Houdini's escape room experience.. " escape from Alcatraz" for 7 people, free family golf voucher at Riverside bowl, Andover, free admission for upto family of 5 at frankies fun factory, family ticket at Longdown Activity Farm, bottle of prosecco, books, chocolates, a mini pin ball machine, a beautiful handmade clutch bag made by Rachel Patterson( very talented Stanmore school mum!) , and more to come!!
You don’t want to miss out on these great prizes, so get those raffle tickets SOLD!!
Year 1 - who does that rabbit belong to?
Part, part, whole; and Emily Brown. Find out what has been happening in Year 1 last week.
Here is the news from Year 1 for the week commencing of 19thNovember.
In maths, we have been using our number knowledge to explore the ‘part – part – whole’ model, showing the addition and subtraction facts for a number. For example:
7 + 8 = 15
8 + 7 = 15
15 – 7 = 8
15 – 8 = 7
We used blue and green counters to help us to understand the addition and subtraction sentences, then we tried to solve Mrs Jones’ ‘Am I right or wrong?’ problems on the board. Next week, we will be revisiting our work on multiplication and division, doubles and halves.
In English, we have started our new book, ‘That rabbit belongs to Emily Brown’ and enjoyed working with some students from the University of Winchester who helped us explore the book using iPads. As we will be writing to the Queen in the book, we have looked at the features of a letter and learning some new grammar to be used in our writing. Today, we learned how to use ‘s’ or ‘es’ to mark plural nouns, and will be covering writing questions next week.
Learning about the history behind traditional playtime games was our focus in history this week, and we loved joining in with some old favourites such as ‘Ring a ring of roses’, and ‘Here we go round the Mulberry bush’.
We have almost finished our art project with the Winchester University students – it’s looking fantastic! Please come in to view the children’s work on Tuesday 27th November from 3.00pm in the classrooms.
We continue to work on our phonics and reading daily. Thank you for your continued support and reading with your child regularly at home.
A reminder that parents’ evenings are on Tuesday 27th and Thursday 29th November, and that the appointments are 10 minutes long. If you have something to discuss that will take longer than 10 minutes, it will be necessary to book another time to talk to your child’s teacher. Thank you for your understanding and helping us to keep to time! The children’s finished and current books will be out for you to look through in the KS1 corridor before or after your appointment.
University of Winchester Art Project
We are lucky to have students from University of Winchester coming in to work with our pupils on a whole school art project
We are lucky to have students from University of Winchester coming in to work with our pupils on a whole school art project to be displayed at the front entrance.
Winchester Cathedral Nativity Chalet
Nativity Chalet is inspired by drawings created by pupils at Stanmore Primary School
This year's Nativity Chalet is inspired by drawings created by pupils at Stanmore Primary School and it looks incredible!
School Grounds Tidy-Up
Mrs Lowy led a merry band of teachers, parents and children in a 2 hour tidy-up of the school grounds.
Mrs Lowy led a merry band of teachers, parents and children in a 2 hour tidy-up of the school grounds. A huge mountain of leaves were cleared with hot chocolate and marshmallows served at half time.
Goodbye Biff and Chip
Friends of Stanmore buy new reading books for our children.
Hello Worst Witch and many others!
Great news! The FoS have bought nearly 200 new reading scheme books for KS2. They will be arriving in the Years 3 and 4 classrooms this week (19 - 23 November 2018).
KS1 books will be ordered in the near future, watch this space :)