Newsletter 23

Friday 17 March 2023

Notices and Reminders

To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8

This week at Thomas Coram 
It was so lovely to see the children excited about our outdoor learning day on Tuesday. Going outside and seeing so many classes on the playground, doing different activities, was fantastic. We had Maths games happening and Science experiments taking place! It really was lovely to see. I know the children have also been busy completing their Science week experiments this week. The children were creating boats and seeing which material was best to hold a certain amount of marbles. They tested paper boats, tin foil and sponges. I also have been fortunate this week in teaching Year 3 a few lessons and it was lovely to be back in the classroom teaching!  

Worship
On Monday, we looked at Justice and thought about if some people are paid more than others for less work is that just? I was pleased that most of the children felt it was not just. On Wednesday, Chloe led worship around our value of justice. On Friday, 4AP led our worship and looked again at perspectives and how sometimes people disagree and it can be hard to see things from others perspectives. 

Red nose Day 
Thank you to everyone who has donated to the Red Nose Day fund, we have currently raised £450 which has smashed our target. You can continue to donate for the rest of the weekend. Just Giving Page.

School lunch cost
Due to rising costs with our supplier Herts Catering Ltd, the cost of a school lunch will be £3.20 from 1 April 2023. The HCL recommended price rise in April is 13.5%; the increase Thomas Coram is applying is 10.5%. Please make sure your child(rens) accounts are in credit. This may need to be reviewed for September. 

Free School Meal
If you think your child might be entitled to FSM please see here. You can apply via the following link. Apply for Free School Meals.

New school uniform supplier
Thomas Coram has moved to a new supplier, PL School Wear. We will be selling school ties directly from school. 

After School Pick up
If you are waiting in the playground for your children and you have younger siblings with you, please do not let them play on the adventure trail. Thank you. 

RE day
On Tuesday 28th March, we will be holding our termly RE day, we would like to invite parents in from 2:45pm to see the work the children have created throughout the day. We are also hosting an Easter Egg competition, information for the competition is in the attached letter at the bottom.  

Cars, Pollution and Speed  
This week I met with a few parents to discuss the ongoing issue of cars outside the school, the speed of cars and idling cars. I wanted to send a reminder particularly about speed. Please remember that the road is quite narrow and there are lots of people around at drop off and pick up time, please drive at a reasonable pace! Also, I mentioned in worship today to the children that they have a mission next week to remind parents to turn engines off if they are waiting in the car. So, I am hoping that next week some children will be reminding. One thing we discussed during our meeting, was a suggestion of parents parking further away and walking. This is something I also mentioned to the children today. Parking further away, will not only ease the congestion outside school, but will enable the children some time to walk and exercise. If you do park further away, please be mindful of where you park and do not block our residents.  

Bridgewater Cross Country success!
We had almost 70 children attend the cross-country event at Bridgewater School last Saturday. A huge well done to all who attended. We received a total of 16 medals as each team was awarded points for their first three finishers, so a very special well done to:

World Down Syndrome Day - 21 March
We are supporting this and pupils may wear their craziest socks in support.  More information can be found at Lots of Socks.

Captain's Club Summer term bookings
Bookings will open in Arbor on Monday 20 March at 7pm for the Summer term - Apr-Jul 23. Please note only 1 booking per day for either clubs.

Easter holiday activities
There are a number of activities taking place over the Easter holidays. Including a Netball England day being held at Ashlyns and various Game on days. Please see the links below for more detail. 

Friends of Thomas Coram
It's almost the end of another term which means it's time for our half termly dress down and doughnuts day. This is taking place the week before the end of term (Friday 24 March). You can donate to dress down and buy your doughnut here. Doughnuts must be ordered by Sunday night.

HCC National Child Exploatation Awareness Day 
The awareness day, this Saturday 18 March 2023, aims to highlight the issues surrounding child exploitation; a way to show support for the campaign is to write a personal pledge, such as Communities can tackle exploitation or Say something if you see something, on the palm of your hand and post it on social media using the hashtags #HelpingHands #CEADay23 and #EndCSEin23. This year the day’s focus is on Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) and encouraging everyone to think, spot and speak out against abuse and adopt a zero tolerance to adults developing inappropriate relationships with children or children exploiting and abusing their peers.

Stars of the week                                                                                  

3SB - Kara - for being the only girl in Y3 to take part in the weekend's cross country. Mrs Bruguier is proud of you as ever!

3SG - Amber - for having great ideas in Science week.

3EW - Alex - for always sharing your valued insights and knowledge on lots of different areas with the curriculum. It is always lovely to hear personal experiences on things we learn about and  you always share yours so well. 

4HS - All of 4HS - long division has been tough the last 2 weeks, but we have persevered and everyone can remember: Does McDonalds Sell Burgers? which is a great start!

5DH - All of 5DH - for their amazing persuasive letters.

5KS - All of 5KS - for being absolutely amazing this week, working with different pupils and teachers and yet still doing their very best at all times. 

5RG - All of 5RG - for working super hard this week and for being so resilient. 

5JR - Tommy Bo - for being a superstar when sewing.

6WT - Sophie - for being an amazing school council representative and confidently and concisely feeding back information to the class. 

6RM -  All of 6RM - for good focus and being resilient in assessment week. 

A full calendar is available here   

Information attached this week

This weeks flyers/attachments/letters are below please click on for more information;

• Whole School Calendar Spring Term 2023
• DSPL - online courses for parents and carers 
• TC Easter Egg competition
• England Netball Ashlyns School 3 April
• Game on Easter Sports Courses
• Animals - a musical show for ages 6+
• Sunnyside Northchurch - Grab & Grow 22/4/23