Please find out more by visiting this website.

Alternatively listen to Radio Hereford and Worcester (94.7FM) or Wyvern FM (97.6FM)

Or go to the Herfordshire Council Website www.herefordshire.gov.uk/schoolclosures

 Dear Parents,

  Emergency arrangements for severe weather

 In the event of severe weather please listen to the radio or go to the school website: www.whitbourneceprimaryschool.co.uk.

If you still cannot find any information, then phone the school to ascertain whether the school is closing. If you cannot get a reply at school Mrs Neathway has kindly agreed that you can phone her on 01886 821149. It is easier for parents to phone the school or Mrs Neathway than it is for the school to phone all its parents.

 The following radio stations and websites will be used to inform parents about the closure, and opening date, of the school.

 Station.                                                         Frequency                          

 BBC Hereford and Worcester               94.7 FM

Wyvern FM                                                  97.6 FM

 Also see websites at:                                   

                                    www.herefordshire.gov.uk/schoolclosures

                                    www.bbc.co.uk/herefordandworcester

                                    www.wyvernfm.co.uk           

I am very proud to report that following our Church School Inspection (Statutory Inspection of Anglican Schools) yesterday, we have been awarded the grade; ‘good with outstanding’. The report is to follow shortly but we are pleased that the strength of our school as a church school and its place in the community has been recognised. Our collective worship at the school was graded as outstanding as well as the school as part of the community. Thanks are due to the children, parents, staff and governors who spoke so highly of our school to the inspector.

 Theatre Visit

Tomorrow Teme Class visit The Old Rep Theatre inBirminghamto watch ‘George’s Marvellous Medicine.’ A reminder that children should be in school for 8.25am please as they will be leaving school for Birmingham at 8.30am.

 Morrisons Vouchers

Thank you to everyone who saved and brought Morrisons vouchers into school for us.

We have been able to purchase a wheeled trug for our Outdoor Classroom and a selection of vegetable seeds so that we can get planting as soon as March is here.

Some much needed digital scales for cooking in school were also purchased with the vouchers.

 Severn Class Assembly

On Friday 10^th February 2012, Severn Class will be leading assembly. You are welcome to join us for this at 9.05am; Praise Assembly will also take place at this time.

 Road Safety

Children in Years 2, 3 and 4 will be taking part in Road Safety sessions with the Road Safety Officer, Mrs. Ann Mann on Thursday 9^th February (Theory), Wednesday 22nd February (Practical) and Wednesday 29^th February 2012(Practical).

 Parent Consultations

Our Parent Consultations will be held week beginning Monday 27^th February 2012. Half way through the school year is an important time to discuss the progress of your child with the class teacher so look out for further correspondence to book an appointment.

 P E Kit

With the colder weather here it is important that all children have a pair of dark coloured jogging trousers as part of their P E Kit to wear over the usual shorts and T-shirt. Weather permitting the children will be outside as much as possible and need to wear long trousers for extra warmth.

 The Pioneer Centre Residential Visit

There will be a letter after half term with further details and a payment request for the Pioneer Centre Visit ( 21^st March until 23^rd March 2012), for all of Key Stage 2.

 Half Term

Next week it is half-term, 13^th February until 17^th February 2012. We welcome the children back into school on Monday 20^th February 2012.

 Dear Parents,

 Theatre trip to see ‘George’s Marvellous Medicine’ at The Old Rep Theatre, Birmingham on Wednesday 8^th February 2012.

 The children in Teme class are excited about their forthcoming trip to see ‘George’s Marvellous Medicine’ at The Old Rep Theatre,Birmingham. The P.T.F.A. has very kindly paid for the trip.

 We will be travelling by minibus and car, leaving school at 8.30am and returning to school for a slightly late lunch. Please ensure your child is in school by 8.25am. All children in Year 3 and 4 need a booster seat (Policy of the minibus provider). We may be able to assist with this, please include on the slip below if you can provide one.

 The children will need to bring snacks (such as a biscuit bar and crisps) and a still drink.

 Please complete the permission slip below and return to the school office.

Yours sincerely,

 Mrs E Evans

 ………………………………………………………………………………………

Theatre trip to see ‘George’s Marvellous Medicine’ at The Old Rep Theatre, Birmingham on Wednesday 8^th February 2012.

I give permission for my child …………………………………… to take part in the above visit to the theatre inBirmingham.

I can/cannot provide a booster seat.

Signature ………………………………………..  Date:

On Monday 23^rd January all the children celebrated the Chinese New Year with an exciting variety of activities in their House Teams. On offer was Chinese cookery with tasting afterwards; the children made Chinese stir fry, pancake rolls and tasted sauces such as sweet and sour and black bean. They tried out their skills of Origami, making Chinese dragons, as well as writing their names in Chinese and finding out which animal represents the year in which they were born. Animal mask making and drama involving the ancient Chinese tale of The Great Race made a super day for every child. An assembly at the end of the day was a good time to share all the learning that took place as part of the activities.

 Parent’s Meeting

On Wednesday 25^th January 2012 it is our termly Parent’s Meeting. You are all very welcome to meet with staff and governors over a drink and discuss the coming events for the term at 6.30pm in school. This is not a Parents’ Forum, which was last week; this is an information evening for the coming term.

 Multicultural Visits

On Tuesday 31^st January Teme Class will be visiting a Mosque in Worcester and

on Friday 3^rd February Severn Class will be visiting Malvern Priory for the morning. They will be comparing these places of worship with the recently visited churches, Hereford cathedral and Whitbourne Church.

 Statutory Inspection of Anglican Schools

Forty days following an Ofsted Inspection, all Church of England Schools have an additional inspection. This inspection centres upon the Christian nature of the school, its ethos, worship and teaching of religious education. Our inspection will be on Monday 6^th February and it will be led by Mrs. Susan Blackburn who is the Headteacher of a school inShropshire.

 Theatre Visit

The visit to The Old Rep Theatre in Birminghamfor Teme Class gets closer! The children will be watching ‘George’s Marvellous Medicine’ on Wednesday 8^th February 2012. This visit is fully funded by our PTFA.

Class Assembly

Severn Class will be leading a class assembly on Friday 10^th February 2012 at 9.05am. You are welcome to watch their assembly as well as join us for Praise Assembly at this time.

Pioneer Centre Visit

All KS 2 children have been invited to take part in a residential adventure visit at The Pioneer Centre near Cleobury Mortimer in Shropshire. This is for two nights; Wednesday 21^st March until Friday 23^rd March 2012. The response to this visit has been very good and I am pleased to inform you that it will be going ahead with the numbers that have returned their reply slip. You will receive further details shortly and there will be a meeting for parents of those children attending after half term.

 Pre-School Children in School each Friday

We are very pleased that a group of pre-school children are joining with Reception and Year One in Severn Class each Friday afternoon from 1.30pm. They are having a super time mixing with others in readiness for when they start school and are taking advantage of our excellent early year’s facilities both indoors and outdoors. If you have a pre-school child who will be four this year, just come along to school on Friday at 1.30pm.

 Dear Parents,

 KS 2 Adventure Trip

 An exciting opportunity has arisen for all of Teme Class where they can take part in an Outdoor Adventure Residential Visit in March 2012.

 This is a residential visit for 2 nights and 3 days at the Pioneer Centre, Cleobury Mortimer and will involve some exciting activities for all the children, such as: fencing, abseiling, caving, archery and high ropes. We have provisionally booked a place at the Centre for Wednesday 21^st March, Thursday 22^nd and Friday 23^rd March 2012. The total cost of this visit is exceptionally well priced at £40.00 per child; this price is inclusive of food, accommodation, transport and all activities; however this could change slightly depending on final numbers. This is a fantastic opportunity for all the children and should not be missed.

 The benefits to the children in taking part in an Adventure Trip are many. Apart from the excitement and fun of the activities, the children develop a close sense of community as a class.  It gives them the opportunity to encounter new experiences and challenges under the supervision of trained adults as well as being with the staff from our school.

  Would you please complete the slip below by Friday 20^th January 2012, so that we have an idea of the number of children intending to come and will then be able to secure the booking.

 Yours sincerely,

 Mrs. J Millwood

Headteacher

…………………………………………………………………………………………………

 Teme Class Adventure Residential Visit

 I would like my child………………………………………………………..to take part in the visit to The Pioneer Centre for three days in March 2012.

 Welcome

We welcome Lauren Finch and her family to Whitbourne who, during the Christmas holiday moved here from Abberley. As we would expect, Lauren has been made very welcome by Teme Class, she joins Year 4 and I am sure that she will be very happy with us. She has already made friends with everyone and it feels as if she has always been with us, rather than barely a week!

 Parent’s Meeting

You are all very welcome to a Parent’s Meeting on Wednesday 25^th January 2012 at 6.30pm, when you will have the opportunity to meet our new governors, discuss the coming events for this term and enjoy a drink and a chat with staff and governors.

 Ofsted Report

Our very positive Ofsted Report was sent to parents on Friday 6^th January 2012. It highlights the improvements which are continuing in school with its well-planned and good curriculum. The good attendance record and the safe, happy, healthy nature of the school and its work in the community are all featured as very positive progress forWhitbourneSchool.

We are all particularly proud that the inspector noted that “pupils are at the heart of all that the school does.” She wrote: “Parents and carers and their children appreciate the school’s inclusive approach and the strong focus on pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. The school’s positive features combine to engage pupils well and support their good behaviour in lessons and around school.”

 Theatre Visit

KS 2 are looking forward to their visit to The Old Rep Theatre in Birminghamon Wednesday 8^th February 2011 to see ‘George’s Marvellous Medicine’. Thanks to the hard work of the PTFA, this theatre visit has been funded by them

 Little Stars

We are all looking forward to ‘Little Stars’, Toddler Group meeting in school from Tuesday 10th January 2012 from 10.00am until 11.30am. We are initially trialling the toddler group meeting in school to see how this will work. Everyone is very welcome, to come along.

 Pre-School Children in School each Friday

We have an exciting opportunity for ALL children who are 4 years old or will be 4 this year to join our Reception and Year 1 group of children each Friday afternoon. Beginning this Friday ~ 13^th January 2012, children may be brought to school for 1.30pm and left with Mrs. Boffy in Severn Class until, 3.00pm where they will benefit from play and learning experiences in our well-equipped classroom and outdoor area. Please just come along on Friday.

 PE/Games Kit

A reminder that children will need their P E Kit in school each week and it should stay in school all week. Teme Class will be taking part in rugby training each Thursday afternoon, they will need trainers (not pumps), dark coloured jogging trousers and a dark sweatshirt top to wear over their P E Kit to keep them warm, as this sport will be held outside.

 Guitar/Ukulele Lessons

We have seventeen children either learning the guitar or Ukulele with Sam each Tuesday morning, this is an excellent response, the children are very enthusiastic and love the lessons. Please don’t forget to bring the guitar or Ukulele each week.

 Worcester University Trainee Teacher

We have a Trainee Teacher who will be working in Teme Class with Mrs Evans. She will be here all next week and then for eight weeks, until 23^rd March 2012. Her name is Miss Vicky Wade and she is in her final year of training on the B. Ed (Hons.) degree course at Worcester University.

The children had an excellent morning at Longlands Farm last Thursday. Some of our pupils dressed up and became part of the Nativity Play. Two of them actually had more responsibility than they had imagined when they ended up leading and controlling sheep. Our thanks go to Julia Evans who arranged such a wonderful experience for our children.

Little Elves

Thank you to everyone who sent in money for the ‘Little Elves’ afternoon. The children were busy wrapping and writing cards, school certainly resembled an elves workshop last Friday afternoon!

 Theatre Visits

Severn Class had a brilliant morning at the Courtyard Theatre, Herefordtogether with children from TiblandsNursery School. They went to see the Puppet version of The Frog Prince; the children thoroughly enjoyed the show. Thank you very much to the PTFA who raised enough funds to pay for the tickets and ice-creams for this visit. KS 2 have a date after Christmas to look forward to when they go to The Old Rep Theatre in Birmingham on Wednesday 8^th February 2011 to see ‘George’s Marvellous Medicine’, also funded by the PTFA.

Christmas Production

Our Christmas production involving all the children, this year will be ‘It’s A Cracker’ in the Village Hall .There will be an afternoon performance on Wednesday 14^th December 2011 at 2.00pm, with tea and mince pies afterwards. The evening performance will be on Thursday 15^th December 2011 at 6.00pm, Mulled Wine and Mince Pies will be available after the performance when the raffle will be drawn. You are very welcome to both of these shows, just come along, no tickets required

Ofsted

It did come as a shock when we had a phone call on Friday 2^nd December to inform us that we were to have an inspection in school on Tuesday 6^th and Wednesday 7^th December 2011, just when we had put all the Christmas decorations up! I had been told only a few days before that usually no inspections are carried out in the two weeks leading up to the Christmas holiday. Unfortunately, the week of the Industrial Action had put back Ofsted inspection dates and it happened to be ours.

Due to the timing of the inspection, the report will not be available until after Christmas. Until then, we are led to believe that the report will reflect the progress of the school positively.

Little Stars

The Toddler Group ‘Little Stars’ will be back for their weekly activity morning on Tuesday 10th January 2012 from 10.00am until 11.30am.

Spring Term 2012

The Spring Term begins on Wednesday 4^th January at 8.55am.

We wish you all a very Happy Christmas and a wonderful New Year. I look forward to seeing you all at the start of the New Year.

Best wishes for a Happy Christmas Holiday,

Julia Millwood

Headteacher

13.12.11