Dear Parents and Carers,

I had a most welcome surprise on Tuesday when I received an unexpected invitation to a tea party. This was not just any tea party - this was a tea party being hosted by our very own Acorn class! Along with Mr. Briggs, Miss Moss and Miss Sanders, I had the most wonderful morning enjoying some tasty treats and most importantly spending time with the youngest members of our school community. My thanks to Saoirse and Gracie for the funny jokes and non-stop smiling and of course to Miss Miles, Miss Mathwasa and Miss Venables for hosting such a memorable event! I cannot put into words how inspiring I find the enthusiasm and energy our entire Early Years staff team bring to their job each day. 

On Monday, we were delighted that our new Pastoral Lead, Ms Gordon, offered to lead an assembly on Rosh Hashanah, a special festival which celebrates the Jewish New Year. The children learnt all about the history of the celebration as well as how Jewish people mark the occasion today. For any members of our wider school community who marked this event, I do hope you had an enjoyable time with your loved ones. 

As we approach the mid-point of the first half-term of this academic year, I wanted to share a reminder about school uniform expectations. Wearing the correct uniform helps everyone feel part of our school community and ready for learning each day. Here at De Havilland, we have produced a new school uniform policy which will soon be available on our website which outlines our expectations. Please ensure children come to school in the correct uniform, including appropriate black footwear (PE kits can be worn on PE day). Where uniform expectations are not being met, staff will be sending out reminder slips to ensure this is rectified as soon as possible. I would also urge all parents and carers to ensure their child's name is in each item of uniform too. If there is ever a problem with uniform, please just let us know and we would be happy to help.

This week saw the launch of our new Key Stage Two afternoon 'carousel' which I introduced to you last week, involving children spending time in different classrooms across the phase with different teachers. Whilst there were several anticipated teething problems, generally we saw calm afternoons with children commenting on how much they enjoyed the experience. We will of course be asking for feedback from all of our children at the end of this term but it is certainly a case of 'so far, so good' as we provide the children with an experience which we believe will really benefit them moving forward.

I wish you all a very pleasant weekend.

Mr. Bostock