Dear parents / carers

Well we have made it to the end of what feels like a very long term. Thank you so much for all of your support – your positive comments have gone down a treat, your Christmas gifts and messages well received. Thank you! On behalf of all of the staff, I would like to wish you all a very Merry and Safe Christmas and a Happy New Year! We look forward to seeing everyone back on Tuesday 5^th January.

Positive Covid cases over Christmas

Whilst we hope that everyone remains safe and well over the festive break, we are living in times of a national pandemic, with positive cases in South Gloucestershire high enough to keep us in Tier 3. There are some specific instructions for parents in case of a positive case of covid, particularly in the next few days.

For the whole Christmas break, if your child tests positive, please email

[email protected].

This is a designated South Gloucestershire address run by public health and the local authority. A flyer is attached to this newsletter to give you clear guidance on what to do and what information you will need to provide. It is particularly important to inform of any positive cases before December 21^st, so that we can get in touch with close contacts to let them know they will need to isolate.

In your email you will need to include

• The name of our school
• The year group and class your child is in
• When they were tested
• When they were last in school

KS2 Christmas songs

As we have not been able to have our traditional Christmas concert for KS2, each year group has prepared a Christmas song for you to enjoy. These are on our YouTube space, and links can be found below:

 And from Year 2: https://youtu.be/eKTzrxPJO78

School Kitchen Re-opening

Normal service will resume in the school kitchen when it re-opens on January 5^th; they will continue to provide hot meals for our children and food in breakfast club.

Christmas reading challenge

I have really enjoyed ‘zooming’ into the classes this week to read Christmas stories. If you are short of ideas for gifts for the children (!) there are so many great books available at the moment. You know we love to get our children reading!! We would love to see pictures of the children reading their Christmas books when we return. In the meantime, we would like you all to have a go at our Christmas reading challenge. Good luck!

Please see the attached information from South Glos Council, on what to do if your child tests positive for Covid 19 over the Christmas break.

https://thetynings.schoolzineplus.co.uk/_file/media/3113/covid_19_parents_guidev2.pdf

Please also see the attached leaflet from South Glos Council on how to keep your family and community safe over the festive period.

https://thetynings.schoolzineplus.co.uk/_file/media/3114/lomp_christmas_a5_flyer_web_.pdf

The PSFA would like to say a big thank you to everyone who has supported us this term.  This includes parents who purchased raffle tickets, the organisations who donated prizes, the volunteers who helped decorate the hall for Christmas, our purchasing team for the Christmas shop, the Christmas wrappers and shop assistants.

We have raised over £800 this term from the Raffle and Non-uniform day which is amazing in these difficult times. As we only closed the Christmas shop this week, we will let you know as soon as we can the amount taken.

The PSFA are talking to Mrs Haydon and the teachers on how we can continue to support the school for the remainder of the school year. 

For the Christmas period, the PSFA has purchased Christmas crackers, Santa hats, Craft items and a sweet cone for every child. 

We have also recently approved a request from the teachers for £100 per each class for enrichment activities. 

The PSFA are also continuing to

• Supply prizes for the children who reach 100 reads and Mathletics silver certificates
• Buy hot chocolate sachets and treats for the reading bags
• Support the Reading Cafes by providing the squash and biscuits

We hope to hold a virtual meeting in January 2021 and we will let everyone know the details when it’s confirmed.

Thank you once again for all your support and the PSFA Committee would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Y2 have been exploring angels and the messages they bring. Each child has designed an angel inspired by Brian Wildsmith and have made a party hat. They had to think of a message for 2021. My favourite was ' that every person is happy and healthy in 2021.' I agree. Wishing you and your families a safe and precious Christmas. Mrs Symons

A message from St Stephen's church:

"We know that many of you may not want to come to Church this Christmas, knowing that you have to sit apart from one another because of the necessary Covid restrictions. So we’ve recored the whole service so you can watch in the comfort of your own home. Also, you can sing as loud as you like at home, whereas in Church we are not permitted to be singing together yet, although we will be sharing Carols in new and different ways this year. So, if you want to come to Church, we’d love to see you, BUT please do book a place!!! If you prefer to stay at home and enjoy the service, here’s the link for St Stephen’s Church, Soundwell, Christmas Service 2020   https://youtu.be/X-B1ozaWakg

There will also be a Family Service with Holy Communion on Christmas morning at 10am - again, please phone to book a place if you’d like to come along."

It is the turn of Foxes and Badgers to give their book recommendations this week.

Mrs Dutton from Fox class recommends 'Zog' by Juila Donaldson.

“I recommend this book because it’s fun and quirky with really nice illustrations. It also teaches us all about helping others, kindness and aspirations which is a great lesson for all.”

Jaxson  recommends 'The Lion who Wanted to Love' by Giles Andreae and David Wojtowycz.

“I recommend this book because it teaches us to be brave and that we can be anything we want. I loved reading about him rescuing all the different animals and learning how to help each other.”

Miss Hudson enjoys 'In my heart (A book of feelings)' by Jo Witek

"I love this book because it describes feelings beautifully and compares them to objects and animals, for example 'Sometimes my heart feels like a big yellow star, shiny and bright. Some days my heart feels as heavy as an elephant.' It helps you to understand our different feelings and recognise that it is normal to feel all of these at some point! The pictures are bright and colourful and I would recommend this book to all ages."

Theo's book review is 'The BFG' by Roald Dahl

"I recommend the 'BGF' because it is written by my favourite author- Roald Dahl. My favourite part is when Sophie and the BFG go out catching dreams and also when Sophie gives the Trogglehumper dream to the giants. I recommend it for ages 4-100! I like it because it is full of adventure!"

Six stars out of 5!

Congratulations to the following children who received "Champion of the Week" certificates:

Hedgehog - Finlay,  Squirrel - Tyler Ray,  Owl - Esmee,  Deer - Tyler,  Fox - Nazu,  Bat - Ethan,  Badger - Elodie,  Kingfisher - Kallie,  Woodpecker - Evie,  Otter - Miles,  Pine Marten - Elliot, Falcon - Frankie T, Kestrel - David. 

Congratulations to the following children who received "Hot Chocolate Friday" tokens:

Hedgehog - Eleanor,  Squirrel - Jim,  Owl - Veera, Deer - Esme,  Fox - Jaxson,  Bat - Kane, Badger - Lucy,  Kingfisher - Ella, Woodpecker - Charlotte,  Otter - Lilliana,  Pine Marten - Genie, Falcon - Alec, Kestrel - Lily-Rose. 

Upcoming dates for the calendar:

Friday 18th December: Last day of Term 2

Monday 4th January: INSET day (children do not attend school)

Tuesday 5th January: Children return to school for Term 3

Saturday 9th January: 10.00 am - 2.00 pm, open morning for prospective Reception 2021 parents (please book a slot with the office)