Headteacher Message
Dear Parents & Carers,
Thank you to everyone for your patience with the gates this week! The work is due to be finished on Tuesday so hopefully we will be back to normal on Wednesday. So that means there will still be no daily dash nor corner gate use until at least Wednesday. We’ll let you know if there are any changes.
There’s been so much this week with open classrooms; nutritionists helping Year 1 with healthy snack; yoga; Year 4 fundraising and a visit from John the Sign Guy on Monday, showing us what real community spirit is all about!
It’s also been lovely seeing our pupil jobs working so well. The Playground Friends, Dining Hall Assistants and the Tidy Up Team have been brilliant this week – well done to everyone involved!
Next week sees October wandering in and there’s even more happening! Have a look at the diary dates on the website for more info.
Have a lovely weekend!
Tom Larkham
Headteacher
Diary Dates coming soon!
Wednesday 8th October – Foxes Family Lunch
Thursday 9th October – Badgers Family Lunch
Friday 10th October- Community Quiz Night
Tuesday 14th October – EYFS Pumpkin Party
IMPORTANT REMINDERS: End of Day Procedures
In order to keep everyone safe, please see these important reminders about the end of the school day.
It’s important that the site is cleared by 3:30 pm each day so that after school clubs can be safely outside with all gates locked and no one can enter school who shouldn’t be. In order to do this, we need your help:
- The moment children are handed over by school staff, parents & carers are responsible for their safety. Staff cannot supervise children when they are in the care of their parents or carers. Please be aware that during collection and drop off time, the school site is open and not secure, so make sure that young children are kept close by as you would out on the street.
- Please encourage your children to not get equipment out of the boxes, or play on the adventure play equipment after school. Staff are not able to safely supervise this play and accidents can happen.
- Please try to leave the site as quickly as possible so that the site can be re-secured at 3:30 pm for the safety of the after school clubs.
- For drivers, adults collecting & dropping off children cannot drive through Greyfriars Road when it is closed. If you are parked up, you must wait until the road is reopened.
We have reminded the children about safety after school, and would ask that you remind your children about staying with you and staying safe. Please also share these messages with anyone else who collects your children.
Recruitment: Teaching Assistant
We’re Recruiting a Teaching Assistant! 🌟
Do you know someone kind, nurturing, and ready to make a real difference in children’s lives? 💛
Our school is looking for a Teaching Assistant to join our team and support our wonderful pupils.
✨ This is a chance to:
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Nurture children’s learning and confidence
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Be part of a supportive, friendly staff team
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Help create a positive and caring classroom environment
If you, or someone you know, would love to play a key role in shaping young minds and spreading kindness every day, we’d love to hear from you! 🌈
👉 Please spread the word in our community — you might just help us find the perfect person to make a difference.
Careers’ Week – WE NEED YOUR HELP!
🌟 Calling All Parents & Guardians – Inspire Our Students! 🌟
We’re inviting you to be part of something special at school! As part of our ongoing efforts to help children explore future career paths, we’d love for parents and carers to volunteer to come in and talk to the children about your job or career.
Whether you’re a nurse, builder, artist, engineer, chef, entrepreneur, or anything in between — your story matters! Sharing your experience can spark curiosity, broaden horizons, and help our students understand the exciting possibilities that lie ahead.
🕒 What’s involved?
Just a short talk — up to 30 minutes — during the school day. You don’t need to prepare anything fancy: just come ready to chat about what you do, how you got there, and what you enjoy about your work. Props can be handy, and if your job involves animals or vehicles, then bring those along too!
🎯 Why it matters:
Hearing directly from real people about real jobs helps children connect learning to life and to start thinking about their own futures.
If you’re interested, please complete the attached link by Friday 10th October. We will then contact you and organise times and classes.
CAREERS SIGN UP FORM
Thank you for helping us inspire the next generation!
Quiz Night Coming Soon!
Our Quiz night is always a good laugh!! You don’t need to be brain box , lots of fun rounds from our Quiz Master Mr Larkham.
Teams of 6 at £5 per person, pay on the night please.
Bring your own drinks and nibbles.
Book in your team with the school office in person or by phone/email.
Email: helen.jasper@col.318education.co.uk
Everybody is welcome from the community (No children please)
Parents, Staff, Governors, Grandparents, Friends & Neighbours, the more the merrier!
Yr 5/6 Author Visit-Book order reminder
Booka Bookshops Website HERE
EYFS Author visit-Book order reminder
Booka Bookshops Website HERE
Yr 1/2 and 3/4 Author Visit
Booka Bookshop has arranged a brilliant Author event for Years 1 & 2 and 3 & 4 taking place on Friday 10th October.
Huw Aaron has two books published: Sleep Tight, Disgusting Blob (£7), a hilarious bedtime story picture book, perfect for KS1 pupils and Unfairies (£9), a full colour graphic novel full of silliness and not-so-cute fairies, for KS2 pupils.
If you would like your child to have a signed book on the day, please purchase one via Booka Bookshops website.
Click HERE
Important! So Booka can compile a list for the book signing, when you get to checkout make sure you enter:
- your child’s name and surname in the ‘First Name’ box
- your child’s class and school in the ‘Last Name’ box
- select ‘Collect in Oswestry’ so you don’t get charged for shipping.
- fill in your billing address and email as normal
This will be a brilliant event for pupils and we will purchase some books for school too so everyone has a chance to read them.
Meeting Community Hero John the Sign Guy
We were delighted to welcome John the Sign Guy and Councillor Kate Halliday into our Assembly 🚲✨A retired cyclist with a huge heart, John spends his time traveling across the county, cleaning road signs, scrubbing off graffiti, and keeping our community looking bright and safe. 💛 He cleaned up Greyfriars Bridge and even our school signs that had graffiti on. He told the children that not only does it make him feel good but he keeps fit and active and he loves all the people he meets whilst he’s out cleaning. What an inspiration!
He’s a true local hero, quietly making a difference every single day. 👏
Our School Council presented John with coins for his cause to keep his motorcycle topped up with cleaning cloths and bottles of Graffiti and Go! Thank you for your donations of £130.
Johns story impressed on the children how one person really can make a difference🙌❤️
Read the Shropshire Star article HERE
Eco Council’s first meeting
🌿💡 Eco Council Update! 💡🌿
Our Eco Council held its very first meeting this week – an exciting step forward! 🙌 The team met with Councillor Kate Halliday to explore three proposals from the Town Council proposals for upgrading the play park on South Hermitage Road. 🎠🌳
The children were excited to be privy to these designs and raised thoughtful questions, and a real sense of responsibility for shaping a greener, happier space for everyone in our community. 💛
This is just the beginning – watch this space as our young eco-leaders continue to make a difference! 🌍✨
Stoneage Cave Art
✨ Year 3 stepped back in time today during Woodland Work, exploring life as Stone Age artists!
The children made natural paints, used sticks instead of paintbrushes and created wall and cave art just like people thousands of years ago. Hidden away in our own “dark caves” and on stone walls, we made hand stencils and sketched tools, animals and weapons with charcoal, chalk and pastels.
It was wonderful to see our history knowledge come alive as we imagined what it might have felt like to share stories through pictures. Year 3 truly became Stone Age artists – full of creativity, curiosity and adventure! 🖤✨
Poetry Pandas
📚🐼✨ Poetry Panda Reading Bags have gone home in Year 1! ✨🐼📚
Each week, 2 lucky pupils will take home a special bag containing:
📖 A selection of poetry and rhyme books
🐼 A cuddly panda to snuggle up with and read to
Rhymes and poetry are not only fun and memorable – they also help children develop their reading skills, rhythm, and love of language. 💫
We can’t wait to see our young readers sharing poems with their families, and giving Poetry Panda lots of listening practice! 💕
September is “Snacktember” for Year One!
Today, year one had a fantastic visit from a real nutritionist from the school catering company. We learned all about eating healthily and making smart snack choices. The children loved discovering which foods help us grow and give us lots of energy to play. We’re so proud of how curious and enthusiastic year one were – what a brilliant way to start building healthy habits for life!
Pupil Jobs in action
🌟 Pupil Jobs at Our School 🌟
At our school, everyone plays an important part in keeping things running smoothly – and our pupils are brilliant at stepping up to their responsibilities! 💪✨
👉 Year 3 are our Tidy Up Team 🧹 – they take care of lost property, litter picking, and even sweeping up leaves from the playground.
👉 Year 4 are our Playground Friends 🤝 – always on hand to help children on the KS1 playground feel happy, included, and supported.
👉 Year 5 are our Dining Room Assistants 🍽️ – helping to serve deserts with a smile.
We are so proud of the way our pupils take ownership, show responsibility, and help make our school a safe and welcoming place for everyone. 🌈👏
Whales & Dolphins Fundraiser
🌟 Year 4 Whales & Dolphins Fundraiser! 🌟
Our Year 4 Whales and Dolphins have been working hard to raise money to adopt an animal. 🐾
This week they held an after-school bake and craft sale – with delicious cakes and amazing origami animals for sale. 🎂✨
We’re so excited to share that they raised enough to adopt TWO animals on their zoo trip tomorrow! 🦁🐧
This was all part of our new Writing for a Purpose approach, the children wrote some brilliant persuasive letters to help make it happen and they are excited to meet their adopted animal tomorrow. Well done, Year 4 – we’re so proud of you! 👏💙
Yoga Club with Dionne
🌿🧘♀️ Our Year 1 & 2 children are loving their outdoor yoga sessions with Dion! Surrounded by nature, they get to stretch, breathe, and enjoy the calm of the fresh air. 🌞🌳
Yoga helps them grow stronger, improve balance, and find peaceful moments in their busy day 💚✨
We’re so glad to have Dion with us this year -she will be teaching different age groups at future clubs.
Thursday Chef Nights
🫐🍊Inspired by the Hungry Guy’s visit our children took charge again at After School Club to prepare their own buffet. 🥕🥑 Our Thursday theme night has been really popular and the children are enjoying taking responsibility of the Food Hub surprise parcels. 👨🍳👩🍳 This week lots of children tried Dragon fruit!