10th May 2024
Last week, on Friday 3rd May, rain lashed the school and playground. What a difference a week can make! This led me this morning to ponder - what is the very first sign of summer at Alveston? Is it a swallow sweeping the air, a hot air balloon soaring straight over the school or the children arriving in sunhats, shorts and summer dresses? Well, they are certainly all an indication…but we know we are truly feeling the summer vibe when the Friends of Alveston deliver the first Frozen Friday of the season! What a treat! Today I spent a few moments watching the children at play and it is obvious to all that they are thriving on this warm and sunny day, and it makes my heart sing! Fridays are always particularly jolly as our Year 6 and Reception children come together to play. With this in mind, I would like to take the opportunity to wish our Year 6 children all the very best for their SATs next week. You have worked incredibly hard this year, we are super proud of all you are achieving. You are soaring high, just like those hot air balloons!
Whatever you are doing this weekend and whatever the weather brings, I hope it is filled with joy.
Anne Clewley
Head Teacher
Kate, our school nurse from Connect For Health, came to see the children to tell them about her job. She also discussed healthy eating, oral health and personal hygiene. We met her teddy, Ben, and helped to organise a healthy picnic.
Steve, from Pentagon Play, came to talk about his role of building and designing play equipment, including the new equipment on our playground. The children wore high-vis vests and builder’s hats. They showed Steve how they use the new playground equipment and asked lots of great questions.
Mrs Burvill came back to Alveston to talk about her role as a Beekeeper. She explained how important bees are to us and showed us a special machine called a smoker to help keep the bees calm. She also gave us honey to taste and we tried this on bread. It was delicious!
Finally, Mr Kalinski (Zak in Reception’s Dad), and the team from Wellesbourne Fire Station, came to visit Reception class. They told the children about their job and what you should do if you see a fire. We tried on uniform, explored the fire engine and got to sit in the back of it!
Today, Year 4 was abuzz with excitement as we welcomed a chef as part of the Chefs Adopt a School Programme. Our students delved into the fascinating world of bread making, learning about the importance of each ingredient and mastering the art of crafting dough. With hands-on experience, they shaped their own dough balls to bake at home, sparking curiosity and creativity in the kitchen. It was a delightful and educational experience that left our young bakers eager to explore the culinary world further.
Thank you to Chef Idris for the wonderful experience!
Alveston Owls - some questions answered and some fabulous news!
Last week we announced that in September we will be taking over the wrap around care at Alveston. As I said last week I will be forever grateful to Simon and the Fitt4Kids team for delivering our wrap around care, when we did not have the capacity to do it ourselves.
By September 2026 parents of primary school-age children should be able to access childcare that ‘wraps around’ the conventional school day within their local area, from 8am – 6pm. As we do now have the capacity to deliver our own wraparound care, we felt now was the time to get on with it!
We do not open the Alveston Owl doors for another four months, but we are working hard on all our planning right now. Thank you to everyone who has emailed to share their own delight about this news and also to those who have asked questions about the wraparound care going forward.
Whilst we do not have all the answers today, our general approach will be to take what we have now and keep most of it consistent with the service in place. We will also make a few additions, which parents have talked to us about, to further improve our offer. Alveston Owls will not re-invent the wheel, our wrap around care is not broken. We will however continue to look to improve provision, as we do throughout school, always with the children and our families at the heart of what we are doing.
Below is some more information to answer questions families have already raised and an exciting announcement about staffing. If you have a question which is not addressed below, please do talk to me, Mrs Newitt or Mrs Quainton Stubbs at the gate, email me on parents3002@welearn365.com or call me on 01789 293412. I am always happy to talk about our plans, listen to your thoughts and generally shoot the breeze about what is happening at school!
Staffing: Fitt4Kids will continue to run the wrap around care until the end of the summer term with our support. Finding consistent staff has been tricky for Fitt4Kids. With Holly leaving Fitt4Kids this week for pastures new, our Teaching Assistants Miss Lennon and Miss Wright will step in to work with Harry to run the club until the 19th July 2024.
I am over the moon to announce that when we re-open in September, Harry (Mr Jay!) will be permanently joining the Alveston Team. Hooray! Harry has been a wonderful addition to the Alveston Family and we are thrilled he will continue to work with us, both in wraparound care and also within the school. Welcome to the team Harry! This will also provide consistency for our children, who attend wraparound. The atmosphere and format will remain the same – this is after-school child care, not school! – with Harry taking the lead, working with Miss Lennon and Miss Wright.
Breakfast Club: Children will be able to arrive at school a little earlier from 7.45am. They can arrive at any time during the hour before school. It is likely there will be one fee for the hour, which will include a spot of breakfast if they want it. If they don’t – no problem!
After School Club: Starting from 3.15pm, or after any other in-school club. They will be able to stay a little bit later too, to 6pm. There will not be set times to pick up, they may be collected at whatever time suits the family. We are thinking of simple teas at the moment such as sandwiches, beans on toast, baked potatoes, hot dogs…but we are at a very early stage of this!
Costs: We are looking at this at the moment. We are considering current Fitt4kids rates and others in the area. As soon as we have these, we will confirm them with you. We will also consider the cost of a meal and how we will charge for these. To allow families to pick up after school to suit them, we will look at different session costs too.
Childcare vouchers: We will be accepting childcare vouchers.
Booking: Once we have confirmed our booking system, we will open for booking! We will remain flexible. To ensure we have enough food and the right staffing, we would prefer parents to book in advance, however you will still be able to book for ad hoc sessions, as Fitt4kids currently do. This will only need to be reconsidered if we reach capacity of 30. This has not changed, it is Health and Safety guidance for the room we use. Please do not worry however, we are a long way off capacity! If we breach capacity and there is enough demand, we will relocate rooms and expand.
We will continue to update you, as our plans take shape. Please do let your class WhatsApp groups know this info is in the newsletter, just in case some people miss it!
Once again, if you have a question which is not addressed above, or if your family or child have very specific needs you would like us to consider, please do talk to me, Mrs Newitt or Mrs Quainton Stubbs at the gate, email me on parents3002@welearn365.com or call me on 01789 293412.
Registration for the 11 plus entrance exam, for grammar school places in September 2025, opened on 7th May and closes at midnight on 30th June. This is a reminder that pupils eligible for pupil premium (whether via free school meals, service premium, looked after or previously looked after) are prioritised in grammar school admission policies. In addition, four of the grammar schools admit places to pupils eligible for pupil premium with scores up to 20 marks below the automatic qualifying score.
Pupil premium pupils who register to sit the 11 plus will be provided with 10 hours of free online materials to help familiarise them with the style of questions in the tests.
More information is available here: Grammar schools and the 11+ test – Warwickshire County Council
Medicines in School
We cannot accept medicines in school without a prescription label and a medical form completed by a parent or carer. Please ask the school office for more information and/or a form via parents3002@welearn365.com.
Key Information
Don't forget to keep up-to-date with all our School News by visiting: www.alvestoncofeprimary.co.uk and click on the ‘News’ tab. If you are not set up on the e-schools App, and would like to be, please email parents3002@welearn365.com for assistance.
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Summer Term (1) |
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Celebration / Star of the Week Assemblies |
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19.04, 26.04, 3.05, 10.05, 17.05, 24.05 20/5 Half Term Cup Assembly |
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Teacher-Led Clubs (4 wks) |
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8 April – 3 May |
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13/5/24 |
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KS2 SATs 13th – 16th May |
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15/5/24 |
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Year 5 trip to Mary Arden’s Farm [Event Sheet sent on 16.4.24] |
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20/5/24 wk |
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Arts Week |
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20/5/24 |
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Half Term Cup Presentation |
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21/5/24 |
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Reception class trip to Oversley Farm [Event Sheet sent on 29.4.24] |
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24/5/24 |
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Non Uniform / **SUMMER FAIR** |
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HALF TERM 27th May – 31st May 2024 |
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Summer Term (2) |
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Celebration / Star of the Week Assemblies |
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7.06, 14.06, 21.06, 28.06, 12.07 15/7 Half Term Cup Assembly |
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Teacher-Led Clubs (4 wks) |
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10 June – 5 July |
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3/6/24 |
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** INSET Day ** |
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12/6/24 |
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New Reception Parents’ Information Evening (6pm) |
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19/6/24 |
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Parents Reading Together Time |
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24/6/24 |
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Online Safety Week |
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24/6/24 wk |
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New Reception Settling Sessions (Week 1) |
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1/7/24 |
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New Reception Settling Sessions (Week 2) |
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1/7/24 |
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Year 6 Leavers’ Play (4:30pm) |
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3-5/7/24 |
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Year 6 Residential |
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10/7/24 |
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Transition Day / Year 5 Residential Meeting (5pm) |
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15/7/24 |
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Half Term Cup presentation |
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15/7/24 wk |
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Healthy School Week |
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15/7/24 |
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Open Evening |
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16/7/24 |
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Sports’ Day and Family Picnic |
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17/7/24 |
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Reserve Sports’ Day and Family Picnic |
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19/7/24 |
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Leavers’ Assembly |
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19/7/24 |
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INSET Afternoon. School closes at midday/noon |
