Dear Parents and Carers,
I have kept many pieces of information from last week’s newsletter linked to half term activities as I thought this would be useful, along with World Book Day news.
Important information about – After School Club
Parents and Carers, both current and future, have requested the possibility of extending our After School Club provision hours. I am please to inform you that from after half term our After School Club hours will be 15.30 – 17.00, with hourly costings being pro rata for the additional half hour. I do hope this helps parents and carers, and my thanks to staff who are willing to care for children for the extra half hour.
THIS WEEK
LEGO CLUB
Today’s challenge was to recreate the Olympic torch, our winner was Ted!
NEXT WEEK
BIG BAP FRIDAY
Friday 6th February brings another Big Bap Friday. A reminder that baps cost £2
for a sausage or bacon roll and £3 for a bacon and sausage sandwich.
Orders to the office please by Wednesday 4th February.
DANCE FESTIVAL
Pupils from Chestnut and Oak classes will be given the opportunity to participate in the Gillingham Sports Family dance festival on Thursday 5th February, which will be held at Mere Primary School. Children who have chosen to take part in this event will have received a letter. This includes a permission slip which will need to be returned to school. This will enable us to confirm numbers attending and ensure we have sufficient seats on the coach for all who wish to participate.
PARENT FORUM
As we continue to work on our home-school connections, I would invite all parents and carers to a Parent Forum on Friday 6th February at 14.20. This is an opportunity for parents to voice ideas and constructive feedback to the school, and help us to build stronger home/school links.
SPORTS
A reminder that all children should be wearing school PE t-shirt and school jumper, along with dark leggings or tracksuit bottoms for PE lessons. I have noticed a number of brightly coloured, non uniform tops and t-shirts being worn of late by some.
PE days are:
| Oak | Thursday | Friday |
| Chestnuts | Monday | Thursday |
| Beech | Monday | Tuesday |
| Hazel | Monday | Tuesday |
CLUBS
Please book slots using the links provided or via the school office
| Clubs | Day & Time | Year Group | Led by | Cost |
| Lego Club | Mondays
15.30 – 16.30 |
Miss Buxton | Cost per half term (see link for cost) https://kwbclubs.ecwid.com/Stower-Provost-Community-School-Monday-Dorset-Spring-Term-1-2026-Monday-p624603022 | |
| SPAG & Reading SATs Club | Mondays
15.30 – 16.30 |
Year 6 | Mrs Clasby | Free |
| Tennis Club | Tuesdays
15.30 – 16.30 |
Chestnut & Oak
KS2 children |
Prime Sports | Free – school supported
Booking will be taken w/b 6th Jan, with a link sent to parents. |
| Maths SATs Club | Wednesdays
15.30 – 16.30 |
Year 6 | Mrs Clasby | Free |
| Basketball Club | Fridays
15.30 – 16.30
|
Chestnut and Oak
KS2 children |
Prime Sports | Free – school supported
Booking will be taken w/b 6th Jan with a link sent to parents. |
FORTHCOMING EVENTS
Usborne Book Sale
Our lovely friend Hayley will be visiting from Usborne books on parents evening, please help support our school library as for every purchase you make, the school gets a percentage of the sales back as free books.
Half term events for families
I have been asked to share information on behalf of Dorset’s rural arts charity, Artsreach, about the events that are taking place in partnership with rural community volunteers across Dorset this February half term.
With the support of Dorset Council and Arts Council England, Artsreach provides opportunities for children to experience to professional live performances and creative workshop activities in their local communities. Tickets are available from as little as £6, and events this half term are taking place in:
North Dorset: East Stour, Child Okeford and Sturminster Newton
West and Central Dorset: Cerne Abbas, Litton Cheney and Broadwindsor
East Dorset: Hinton Martell and Sixpenny Handley
You can see all of the events here: https://artsreach.co.uk/whats-on/category/young-people
Half term activity clubs with 15% discount currently!
Please find attached flyers to advertise Prime Sports February Half-Term Camps, where they will be running a plethora of new activities. Please see the attached flyers.
Half term swimming at Coombe House
Please find attached a flyer linked to family fun swims, pool hire and lane swimming at Coombe House Leisure between 30th March – 10th April.
PTFA FUNDRAISING
The PTFA held a meeting last Tuesday, with a view to discussing fundraising ideas for the forthcoming months and to the end of the academic year, and to agree how raised funds should be spent.
The PTFA are keen to gather parental views regarding these two elements, so please do expect a questionnaire to be circulated in due course.
Money raised from PTFA events is integral to the school, and is annually spent on facilitating the continued upkeep, use and heating of our swimming, with an annual heating bill of £1500. £1000 is also spent on supporting transport costs, with each class receiving £250, cutting the cost for all. With just these two expenditures a total of £2500 is required to maintain both the use of the pool and support for trips.
Your help and support of the PTFA is therefore of paramount importance in enabling the school to offer the opportunities it currently does to pupils.
If you are interested in helping in any way, do please let the school office know, and we will happily share your details with current PTFA members.
World Book Week Events and Dress Up Day
We are planning a week of activities for the children linked to World Book Day including some Scholastic World Book Day events shown below.
On Thursday 5th March, we suggest children come into school in costume linked to their favourite character from a book. Children should bring the book featuring their character, as there will be time in the afternoon for sharing stories.
Parents would be most welcome to come in and share a book, or section of a book (of their choice) with their child or their child’s class between 8.40 -9.15 on Thursday 5th March.
| Monday 2nd March
10am |
KS2 | Celebrate 15 Funny Years of Tom Gates with Liz Pichon |
| Tuesday 3rd March
2pm |
KS1 | Double the Drama, Double the Fun: Nora Nightsky with Rebecca Lewis-Oakes |
| Wednesday 4th March
11am |
EYFS | Squirrel Storytime Fun with Kael Tudor |
| Thursday 5th March
10am |
EYFS | A super spring story-time and draw-along for The Flower Thief |
| Thursday 5th March
11am |
KS2 | Solve a mystery at the Ivy Hotel with Emily Hourican! |
| Friday 6th March
10am |
KS1 | A slug-tastic time with the creator of Beastie Bros |
| Friday 6th March
11am |
Whole School | The Velveteen Rabbit with David Litchfield – Story time and draw-along |
CLASS NEWS
OAK
We have been mastering the art of long multiplication this week with much great progression shown by many of the children – and well done them! It can be a tricky activity to master as the protocols can seem complicated (as indeed they are!) The children have coped well with the difference between how it was done in the past, and the language we use now! For example, we don’t talk about ‘adding a zero’ if multiplying by ten, we just say ‘ten times bigger’. I try to give the option for the children to use what options they find easier when working alone. In English, we have been exploring the Charles Causley poem ‘Colonel Fazackerly’ and performing it with the help of Ms Buxton. We also tried to write a few lines of our own! In science, we tested various coasters (including a rice cake!) to see which were the most thermally insulating. Next week, we are looking forward to learning more about The Home Front during WW2 for a non-chronological report.
CHESTNUTS
It has been a busy and productive week for Chestnut class!
In Maths, the children demonstrated great focus as they deepened their understanding of improper fractions. This was mirrored in our Computing session, where the students showcased their impressive coding skills. Using Scratch, they successfully programmed animations and tasks, specifically mastering three distinct ways to initiate their scripts.
Our Geography curriculum took us on an inspiring journey into the life and work of Mary Anning. We explored her significant contributions and her legacy. Well done Chestnut class for all your hard work!
BEECH
This week’s writing focus is Treasure Maps and Instructions, where the children have created their own treasure maps and written instructions on how to follow them. In Maths this week, Year 1’s have been looking at adding the purpose of an equals sign and how to find missing parts in an equation. Year 2’s have been looking at 2, 5 and 10 times tables and which ones to use for Multiplicative stories.
In other learning, the children have been looking at physical landmarks within the United Kingdom and seasonal changes in relation to apple trees and animals. The children have been continuing to do extended handwriting sessions in the afternoons to improve our letter formation. In ‘Outdoor Learning’ this week the children have been looking at transient art and how to use natural finds from our outdoor areas to create it.
HAZEL
We’ve had an interesting week exploring shades of blue, we firstly created our own shades of blue, we then used them to create an ocean picture. Once this dried, we used it to create an ocean collage with icebergs and waves. We then explored the shades of blue using different media to paint with. The children played a game of guess the plant, which led to them trying mint, basil, corriander, thyme and cress. The children have compared Antarctica to Brazil, with the children creating an amazing fact file about Antarctica. We have also taken the rare moments to play in the garden when it hasn’t been raining or too windy.
DIARY DATES
Dates in red have been added to the diary list this week.
| Date | Time | Information |
| 30th Jan | 14.55 | Praise and Celebrate Assembly |
| 3rd Feb | 15.30 – 17.30 | Parent/Carer Meetings
Parents with children on the SEN register will be invited to meetings on a separate date tbc. |
| 5TH Feb | 8.40 – 12.15 | KS2 Dance Festival at Mere Primary School |
| 5th Feb | 15.30 – 17.30 | Parent/Carer Meetings
Parents with children on the SEN register will be invited to meetings on a separate date tbc. |
| 6th Feb | 08.30 | Big Bap Friday – sausage and bacon rolls.
Please order and pay in cash by 4th Feb to the office. |
| 6th Feb | 14.20 | Parent Forum |
| 6th Feb | 14.55 | Praise and Celebrate Assembly |
| 12th Feb | 15.20 | Half Term starts |
| 13th Feb | All Day | INSET DAY (No school for children) |
| 16th Feb – 20th Feb | HALF TERM | |
| 23rd Feb | 08.50 | First day of second half of term |
| 27th Feb | 14.55 | Praise and Celebrate Assembly |
| 5th March | 14.45 | Parent information afternoon – Therapeutic Thinking and how this links to our new Behaviour Policy |
Best wishes,
Ailsa Boardman-Hirst