Dear Parent/Carers,

CHRISTMAS EVENTS UPDATE

It’s a very busy time for everybody at the moment, both at home and in school, so here is a reminder of everything you need to know for next week.  As always, the website calendar is up to date if you are ever unsure about anything.

https://colehamprimary.co.uk/home/parents-area/calendar/

Grand Hamper Raffle

There’s only 1 week left before the Grand Hamper Raffle is drawn on Friday 2^nd December at 8:00pm!  We can’t believe how quickly Christmas has snuck up on us and we’re not ready at all for this!  Please can you help spread the word? We desperately need hamper donations and to sell tickets.  If you are able to contribute we would really appreciate it.

Heres a reminder of the themes below:

• EYFS & Y1 – Kid’s Hamper
• Year 2-Chocolate Lover’s Hamper
• Year 3 Pamper Hamper
• Year 4 Men’s Hamper
• Year 5 Savoury Treats Hamper
• Year 6 Christmas Hamper

Children may hand in any donations to their class teacher.

There are 9 hampers up for grabs!  The raffle is open to anybody.  Tickets cost £1 each and can be purchased via the ‘Raffall’ website, please see the link below:

https://raffall.com/319373/enter-raffle-to-win-grand-hamper-raffle-hosted-by-tracy-othen

If you would like to buy tickets, you will need to sign in with your name and email address and then click “Enter” to purchase tickets.

We couldn’t hold this event without your kind generosity!  All money raised will purchase playground equipment, new lego and reading projects.

Thank you for your support.

KS2 Pantomime Visit

Next Wednesday 30^th November Years 3, 4 ,5 & 6 will all be visiting the Theatre to watch Beauty and the Beast show, finishing at 4:30pm.  Coaches are booked to bring the children back to school for approximately 5:15pm.  It will be dark and we need to release the children safely after they have collected their belongings from the classrooms so please do not wait on the pavement for the coaches to arrive.  We will open school gates as normal and you should collect your children from the playground where you would normally pick them up.  Children in Year 6 will not be able to walk home and will need collecting please. 

Year 4 Roman Day

Next week Year 4 are having a Roman Day to mark the end of their history topic.  Children may come to school in fancy dress.

• Dolphins-Tuesday 29^th November
• Whales-Thursday 1^st December

Please can we ask that children bring in a cereal box to school for crafting and for a contribution of £4.20 towards the workshop on ParentPay if you are able too.

Eco Council Drop & Swap Recycling Scheme

The Drop & Swap trolley in the foyer will be used to collect any Christmas Clothing you no longer need and you may have a look to see if anything takes your fancy!  This is a great way to recycle children’s outgrown Christmas Jumpers.

Christmas Shoeboxes

We will be working with the charitable organisation ‘Little Bags of Kindness’ to support people in our community who need some festive cheer and help this Christmas.  If you would like to fill a Christmas Box or Gift Bag at home for a child in need, we will be collecting these in the school foyer in the run up to Christmas.

Christmas Performaces & Elfridges

Our Christmas Performances are coming up soon so don’t forget to see the dates on the website Calendar page.  These are being held at Holy Trinity Church.  More about these and Elfridges next week.

We hope you have a lovely weekend and I’ll see you at the school gates next week.

Kind Regards,

T Larkham

Mr T Larkham

Headteacher

Dear Parents and Carers,

KS2 (Years 3 to 6) will be visiting Theatre Severn next Wednesday afternoon (30th November) to see the pantomime.  We hope to take all the children, but if you would rather your child did NOT attend, we need to know so that we can organise provision for them in school.

If you haven’t let us know already, please fill out the attached form.  The form will close at 12 noon on Thursday 24th.  It will be assumed that all children will be attending, apart from those that have let us know otherwise.

https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=jsPPYiPIp0GTv3qo35-Q0HvHVEDjq29JqHy5GTwutbRUMTQxRFpNWExDVTgxNFFPWllESVhIQk8yTi4u

Best wishes

Coleham School

Dear Parents/Carers of Year 4 pupils,

I am writing to let you know that in Year 4, children take part in the Multiplication Tables Check in June. The purpose of the check is to determine whether your child can fluently recall their times tables up to 12, which is essential for future success in mathematics.

The test compromises of 25 questions that will be answered online, and should take no longer than 5 minutes to complete.

For the full official guidance and information, please refer to the following link: Multiplication tables check: information for parents (text version) – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

In school, we have supporting your children in their times table learning for many years, with in-class times tables challenges, discreet teaching of the times tables and by providing access at school and at home to apps and resources that encourage quick recall of times tables facts.

Here is a reminder of some of the resources available to you to use at home:

• Times Tables Rockstars – this can be accessed via your online browser or by downloading the app. Your child will have been shown how to use this app at school and will be very familiar with it. You should be able to find their username and password within their reading diary. If not, please contact me or the class teacher and we can find it for you.
• Hit the Button – again this can be used via your online browser for free, or via the app. This is a great resource for quick recall of times tables facts.
• Numbergym Table Trainer (please ask your class teacher for each unique username and password)
• Squeebles – there is a specific times tables app dedicated to learning the times tables. YOU MAY HAVE TO PAY FOR THE USE OF THIS APP.

The multiplication check is nothing for you or your child to worry about, however frequent practice at home will help them be even more prepared when the time comes. Nearer the time, in school the children will have chance to have a few official trial attempts so they are familiar with how the test will look.

Yours Sincerely,

Maria Stennett

Maths Co-ordinator

Dear Parent/Carers,

CHRISTMAS EVENTS UPDATE

Grand Hamper Raffle

Thank you for bringing donations into school for our Grand Hamper Raffle. It is very much appreciated.  Here is a reminder of the themes below, however there’s no need to stick to these if you have something else suitable to donate at home:

Our Grand Hamper Raffle is now live!

We have just 2 weeks to spread the word and sell tickets.  Can you help us? You could win one of 9 festive hampers, jam-packed with all the treats you need for Christmas.

Please watch this video, to tell you all about it!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5OGfxCtWUY

We would love it if you and your family are able to purchase tickets.  We know that Christmas brings extra costs and so there is no pressure to buy tickets: you can help our cause by sharing our video with friends and relatives.  The raffle is open to anybody.  Tickets cost £1 each and can be purchased via the ‘Raffall’ website, please see the link below:

https://raffall.com/319373/enter-raffle-to-win-grand-hamper-raffle-hosted-by-tracy-othen

The “Raffall” website is easy and secure. If you would like to buy tickets, you will need to sign in with your name and email address and then click “Enter” to purchase tickets.

‘Raffall’ will draw the winners on Friday 2nd December at 8pm so tickets will be on sale over the next TWO WEEKS ONLY!

We couldn’t hold this event without your kind generosity!  All money raised will purchase playground equipment, new lego and reading projects.

Good luck everybody and thank you for your support.

Christmas Shopping Thursday 24^th November

We have some gorgeous Christmas and homeware gifts that were donated to us by Shrewsbury Interiors store Dutch Living.   If you fancy a bargain, please pop into the school hall after collection on Thursday 24th November at 3:20pm to grab a bargain!   After School Club pupils will be your lovely Sales Assistants and we hope to help you out with some Christmas gift bargains whilst raising funds for schools.   Everything is under £5 and when its gone, its gone! CASH ONLY.

Eco Council Update-Drop & Swap Recycling Scheme

We have a new campaign for our Drop & Swap recycling initiative.

We are no longer collecting shoes and instead will be collecting CHRISTMAS CLOTHING for all ages. Think Christmas jumpers, novelty hats, party frocks, PJ’s – anything for the festive season.  Please drop off at the Drop & Swap trolley in Reception and also come and have a look if anything takes your fancy! We want clothing to go to new homes and be used again, helping us all to be more eco-conscious and sustainable in our fashion choices.  Please help the Eco Council by joining in!

Christmas Shoeboxes

We will be working with the charitable organisation ‘Little Bags of Kindness’ to support people in our community who need some festive cheer and help this Christmas.  If you would like to fill a Christmas Box or Gift Bag at home for a child in need, we will be collecting these in the school foyer in the run up to Christmas.  These parcels will be passed on to children referred by Shropshire Mental Health Support, families in The Womens Refuge, children in emergency foster care and families under the care of local support workers.

Mrs Stennett has made a video about this project showing pupils how to make a ‘Christmas box’. You can view this here:

https://youtu.be/996NbFK6bHM

Pantomime

A reminder that the children are going to the pantomime soon: KS2 are going first on 30^th November; and EYFS/KS1 later in December.  This is an extra special event, it can cost over £100 for a typical family to go to the pantomime so this is a great opportunity for our pupils to visit the theatre with discounted school tickets.  This is not linked to the school curriculum and so we ask that families please support us with the ticket cost if they are able too. This can be paid via your child’s ParentPay account.

The remainder of this half term is a busy time for us and we have lots and lots going on for Christmas, so we will continue to send you regular updates.  ELFRIDGES IS COMING SOON!

Kind Regards,

T Othen

Miss T Othen

Business Manager

Dear Parents/Carers,

I write to let you know that I will be stepping down from my role as Headteacher of Coleham Primary School at the end of this academic year in order to take on the full-time role of Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the 3-18 Education Trust.

I am delighted to announce that Mr Larkham will be taking on the full-time role of Headteacher at Coleham from September 2023.  As you know, Mr Larkham has been my Deputy for a number of years now and, for the last 2 terms he been leading the school for 2 days each week, while I have been working part-time as Deputy CEO of the Trust.  Mr Larkham knows the school and the community incredibly well and I am sure that he will do an excellent job, continuing to lead the school from strength to strength.

My role within the trust will also allow me to continue supporting Coleham with regular drop-ins and ongoing School Improvement support so I am not going to disappear altogether!

I have worked at Coleham since 2010, when I took up the post of Deputy Headteacher, taking over as Headteacher in 2014.  I have loved every minute of my time here.  The school is an incredibly special place, full of wonderful children and a wonderfully committed staff team.  I feel honoured to have led them over the last 9 years, during which the school has been on a fantastic journey, always striving to be better and provide the best possible education to our children.  I have seen hundreds of children pass through the school and built relationships with many, many parents, always feeling well supported by the parent body and the Coleham community as a whole.

I will miss the school very much but feel privileged to be able to continue working alongside the Senior Leadership Team over the coming years.

Thank you for your ongoing support; it is greatly appreciated.

Yours sincerely,

Claire Jones

Headteacher