1. HALWILL SCHOOL Newsletter No.29 SUMMER TERM 8 th May 2015 ‘FRIENDS NEWS’ On Thursday 14 May between 3 and 4pm The Friends will hold an informal meeting to explain what's involved in helping raise funds for that ‘extra bit’ to help make school more enjoyable for our children. Each year The Friends aim to raise at least £10 per child to go towards subsidising school trips and activities. Contributions are also made towards year 6 leavers events and Christmas activities. More than £5500 was raised last year so we've been in a great position to buy additional items such as gazebos to shelter the children from the elements on Sports Day; provide school with £1000 to replenish books and donate £400 towards play equipment which all of our children will benefit from this year. The accounts are healthy, we like to see the money raised used to benefit our children's school experience, but we need new blood! Many of the committee have children leaving this year so it's time to hand over the reins to a younger crew. If you want to see The Friends continue to support your children's experience at school get involved. This will also be the last chance to purchase a 100 club number and the draw will be made soon. Come along on Thursday 14 th May and find out more about keeping The Friends going into the future. Thank you. Emma Middleton (Chair) SCHOLASTIC BOOK CLUB Hopefully you have found the Scholastic Leaflet in your children’s book bags which was sent home last Friday. Our school gets Scholastic Rewards for all orders over £10 which we can use to purchase books for School so it is a worthwhile contribution. Please return order forms and payment to Lyn Ley by Friday 15 th May and make cheques payable to ‘Friends of Halwill School’. Thank You.

2. Our School Attendance Target is 95.5% and 0 Late Marks. Whole School attendance for last week ~ 27 th April – 1 st May: 98.8 % and 1 Late Mark Congratulations to Class 1 for 100% Attendance! Mon 11 th May Mr Jones @ Ashwater (am) Mr Jones out (pm) SAT’s WEEK BEGINS 4-5pm High Five Netball Presentation Evening Tue 12 th May Mr Jones @ Halwill Jessica Shinn (volunteer) in Cl. 3 1-1:30pm Guitar Club with Mr Jones Chris Spreadbury – Peri Music Tuition 4pm Staff Meeting 6pm New Reception Intake Parents Meeting Wed 13 th May Mr Jones @ Ashwater Richard Pavey – Peri Music Tuition (am) Thu 14 th May Mr Jones out on Safeguarding Course Mrs Rothery out (all day) Safeguarding Course -Mrs Cawsey in Cl. 2 Richard Pavey – Peri Music Tuition 3-4pm Friends Meeting for new/interested members. 3:45-4:30 Athletics After Schools Club KS2 (provided by Budehaven) Fri 15 th May Mr Jones Out all day Sam Beer – Peri Music Tuition (pm) Football Tournament @ Shebbear College Entry forms and more information is available on our school website. Please look under the Community Tab and the Useful Links Page. SCHOOL UNIFORM ORDER AND WILLING PARENT VOLUNTEER REQUIRED!! If you require any school uniform, please contact Lyn Ley or fill in an order form which can be found in the Red folder in the school lobby. Lyn will be placing an order with School Trends shortly, alternatively you can order direct from Tesco.com. Lyn has co-ordinated the ordering and supply of School Uniform on behalf of the school for a number of years for which we are extremely grateful. As her son Jaime leaves Halwill Primary and moves on to College in September, Lyn will be resigning from this voluntary position and we are hoping that another parent will be willing to take over. Please speak to Lyn or a member of the Friends/Admin Team if you are willing and able to help. KS2 STANDARD ASSESSMENT TESTS/TASK (SAT’s) ~ YEAR 6’s Our pupils in Year 6 take their KS2 SAT’s next week. Whilst this is an important week for the children, the SAT’s are simply used to support Teacher Assessments to show what pupils have learnt and retained during the primary phase of education. It helps teachers learn more about the strengths and weaknesses of what your child understands about a subject. Please feel reassured that the children are well prepared for the tests and have had plenty of practice. How can parents help? Encourage your child to be confident about their ability to do well. Playing is important ~ children should not be stopped from living their lives as normal during test week. Make sure your child gets plenty of sleep. Make sure your child eats breakfast. Don’t try and frighten your child into revising. Encourage your child to ask their teacher if they are unsure about anything. Explain that the SAT’s are a way of showing what they know – THEY CAN’T FAIL! We hope that all of our Year 6’s will grasp the opportunity to shine next week and we are confident that this will be reflected in their achievements – GOOD LUCK Year 6! NORTH DEVON HOSPICE FUNDRAISER Parent Sharon Macey will be taking part in the sponsored nightwalk on Saturday 16 th May to raise money for North Devon Hospice. We have a sponsor form in the school lobby if you wish to donate to this worthy cause.