No 13 23rd April 2010 Dear Parents/ Carers Welcome back to the new term. I hope you all had a lovely holiday with the children and that they have returned fresh and eager for the new term! The weather so far has been kind to us and the children have enjoyed eating their packed lunches outside. This term brings its own challenges amongst them the Key Stage 2 SAT’s for year six. You may have seen that two of the major teaching unions have decided to boycott these tests. However both class teachers and I feel that it would be unfair to join this action at this late time in the year and so we will be participating as usual in the tests. The children have worked very hard towards these tests and so we made the decision to continue. We will as usual be providing a breakfast club for the Year six children during test week! Mrs Evans and Mr Woods will be contacting you directly about arrangements for that week. Good Luck to one and all! Be Alert One of our parents secondary aged son was attacked this week at lunchtime by a gang of five youths who were lurking in the alley way leading down to the Whitley News shop. He was savagely beaten and was lucky not to have sustained lasting injuries. Please be cautious if either you or the children are using this short cut to the main road. Health Checks The school nurses are due to come in to do the heights and weights of children in Reception and Year 6 on Thursday 29 th April. Dates for your diaries We will be sending out a list of dates for the term in the next couple of weeks. I am hoping that none of them clash with the England matches! We are hoping to produce a whole school concert this year and the provisional date for this is week beginning 28 th June- probably Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday evening. Attendance We are continuing to monitor our attendance figures. The class with the best attendance this week is joint 3/4 B & ¾ R with 87% Well done to them and we hope they enjoy their extra Golden Time. Grace Appeal Thank you for all you old phones and coins we have received. We have passed them on, we are continuing to take item for the appeal, so please search you cupboards and drawers for any old watches, coins, costume jewellery etc. Many Thanks

Yours sincerely Mrs N A Starritt Head Teacher Wraparound – Teacher Day Friday 28th May We have spaces available at Abbey Oaks for our Teacher Day on Friday 28 th May if you need childcare for your child because of work or other commitments. Cost is £12 for half day (8am-1pm or 1pm-6pm) or £24 for a full day (8am-6pm) with all meals provided. If you need to book a place or require further information please contact a member of the Abbey Oaks team or Mrs McGrath in the school office. Thank You Uniforms Uniforms are now being sold via the School Office. If you need to make a purchase please collect an order form from a member of staff, complete it and return with payment in full and your order will be given to your child as soon as possible. We have been able to reduce the cost of uniforms without affecting the quality of items that we purchase which we hope parents will be pleased about. Supertots Supertots are having their 2 nd birthday celebrations on Thursday 6 th May from 1.30 – 3.15 pm. Come and meet the animals from Hobdays Pet Shop. For more details contact Mrs Holland IMPORTANT DATES FOR YOUR DIARY:- Monday 26 th – Share Resumes ‘Mrs Holland’ May Monday 3 rd – School Closed ‘May Day’ Thursday 6 th May Super tots celebrations 1.30 – 3.15pm Mon 10 th – Fri 14 th – Y6 SATs (Please note we require all Y6 pupils in school this week) Thurs 20 th - 3/4B Class Assembly Thurs 72th – Year 1 Class Assembly Friday 28 th – School Closed ‘Teacher Day’ School finishes Thursday 27 th May and we resume Monday 7 th June. Happy Birthday to all our children who celebrate their birthday during April Reception - Holly, Joshua, Reece Year 1 – Oliver, Yusrah, Jack Year 2 – Shai, Debanshu, Jennifer, Alfie Year 3/4B – Drew, Amar, Sultan Year 3/4R – Liam, Iddy, Caitlin Year 5/6E – Chloe W, Kieran, Jamie, Shannon Year 5/6W – Georgina, Finlay