Ashley C of E Primary School

Head Teacher's Message! 

Good Afternoon.

This half term is flying by! I can’t believe that we are only two weeks away from the Easter holidays with still so much to fit in.

One of the highlights last week was World Book Day! It was great to see the different book characters walking around the school, from numerous Harry Potters to a few dalmatians! I would like to thank Mrs Athersuch and the reading team for organising such a fun day full of activities based on books, including a staff panto! Thank you for supporting our Book Fair - it was brilliant to see the children excitedly looking at and talking about the different books available.

Congratulations to the children who have represented Ashley at the many sporting events that have taken place since half term. The children have put in a great performance for our school, demonstrating our school values and commitment to good sportsmanship. I am proud of them all!

This is a gentle reminder that we expect the children to look smart in our school uniform, including wearing a tie in Key Stage 2. Nail varnish and jewellery (other than a plain watch or stud earrings which must be removed for PE lessons) are not allowed.

Finally, can we remind all parents that the snack we allow the children to eat at playtime must be a healthy fruit or vegetable snack only please.

I hope you all have an amazing weekend!

Mrs Ratcliff 

 Local Committee Update 

The Board of the Good Shepherd Trust are delighted to announce the appointment of Lisa Kent as Ashley’s new Local Committee Chair. Lisa replaces Rev’d Cathy Blair who has been Acting Chair since the departure of Bernie Higgins last Autumn. The Board wishes to thank Cathy wholeheartedly for her support in recent months. Lisa joins the GST with extensive governance experience, most recently supporting another GST school in Cranleigh and as Chair of a Surrey Special School. She is a Local Leader of Governance, a Trustee for SAfE and a Family Court Magistrate. In addition to her volunteering, she has years of experience in banking and consulting where she learned financial, strategic, risk and communication skills. The Board would like to thank all the local committee members, staff, parents and pupils at Ashley for welcoming Lisa into the Ashley community. Over the coming weeks, the newsletter will contain biographies to introduce the members of the Ashley local committee to the school community.

REMINDER New Absence Reporting - StudyBugs

 We’re pleased to announce that Ashley is introducing a new, more efficient and secure system for reporting your child’s absence due to illness, called Studybugs.

If you haven’t already, please get the free Studybugs app, or register on the Studybugs website, and use it to tell us whenever your child’s ill and unable to attend school.

Get the app or register now (https://studybugs.com/about/parents)

Top 3 reasons to use Studybugs

1. It helps us know sooner if your child is unaccounted for.
2. It’s quick and easy to register and use and automatically reminds you to keep us posted.
3. You’ll be helping the NHS and other public health organisations improve children’s health. (https://studybugs.com/about/schools)

Admission

ashley admissions policy 2025 2026.pdf

ashley church sif 2025 2026.pdf

ashley staff sif 2025 2026.pdf

The Past Fortnight 

Year 4 - 

Last week, Year 4 were lucky enough to go to St Mary's Church to get some more knowledge about communion which tied in with their RE learning for this half term and the question of 'For Christians, is communion a celebration or an act of remembrance?' It was a great opportunity to learn more about how communion ties in with the Easter story and to understand more about the last supper and why Jesus sacrificed himself. The children learnt about the sedar plate and how this is important to the Jews and what the different foods represent. The visit to the church really strengthened the learning done in school and gave more background and religious meaning to why communion is taken in church. 

 - Mrs Ready

 Year 3 - 

Year 3 have been learning about rainforests and the impact of deforestation. We decided to write letters to Caffe Nero to persuade them to stop using palm oil which contributes to deforestation. Let's hope Caffe Nero get persuaded to change their ways and help us protect our beloved rainforest.

- Mrs Nawaz 

Year 2 -  

Year 2 have recently visited the Shah Jahan Mosque in Woking. The purpose of our visit was to consolidate our learning of How Muslims Worship in RE. The children have enjoyed their time at the mosque and also showed off with all their knowledge they already knew about Islam. 

- Mrs Van Der Schaff 

 RE News - 

We are very lucky to have Mrs Van Anderson-Redman to take groups into the prayer space during lunch time. This week it was Year 6 children's turn. A big thank you to Mrs Van Anderson-Redman to volunteer - the children really cherish this opportunity

 

Sports update - 

Excellent performance from the Y5-6 girls football team last Friday. It was a very dominant performance. From the first whistle they kept the opposition pinned in their own box for the majority of the half. A few missed chances mean the score was only 1-0 going into the second half. Very similar in the second half but this time the girls took their chances and ended the game with a comfortable 4-0 win.

-Mr Wilson

                                                                  Y5 Netball Team 

Yesterday  the Year 5 and Year 6 netball teams went to Cardinal Newman for a fixture. Both teams played some excellent netball and grew as a team as the game progressed. The Year 5s created lots of space, opportunities to score and came out victorious winning 3-0. The Year 6's opposition was tough, but they played well and gained lots of experience to take forward into their next games and drew 2-2 . We look forward to our future fixtures where we can showcase our success once again. 

-Miss May 

iRock Concert - 

We were treated to two amazing concerts yesterday with the bands from iRock. Children from Reception to Year 6 have been working hard in their bands to learn a song to share with their families. We were blown away by their confidence and musicality. It was incredible that some children only started learning their instrument a few weeks ago yet had the courage to go on stage and perform. A huge congratulations for all involved. 

-Mrs Rayner 

Easter Bonnet parade 

In true Ashley tradition, on the last day of term we will be celebrating Easter and Springtime with our Easter Bonnet parade and rendition of "Spring Chicken". Children (and staff) are invited to come into school on Thursday 28^th March with their decorated Easter Bonnets, caps, headbands and everything in between. We love seeing the same Easter Bonnets making an appearance each year or being passed down through families.

Beekeeping at Ashley 

We are very fortunate at Ashley School to have a fantastic group of volunteers on our beekeeping team. They help to look after the bees over the year and take our children beekeeping in the summer. We are looking for one or two volunteers who would like to join the team. Beekeeping training usually takes place in the winter, but we can offer first hand experience this summer. Please contact Mrs Rayner via parents@ashley.surrey.sch.uk if you are interested.

Online Safety

group chats 1 .pdf

Gardening News 

the gardening diaries feb march24.pdf

Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival - Schools Bug Barrel competition.

Earlier this term, we invited our Ashley Children to design a Pollinatior Bug Barrel for Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival.  SLT reviewed the designs and chose one to be submitted to the competition.  The design was 'B-City' by Jack B (Yr2)....the great news is we were successful!!! This means we will need to grow our plants, design and constructing our Bug barrel next term. Once installed on site, we will get the chance to attend the show on press day, see all the other school's designs and get the chance to see the Garden Festival! This will be an after school event as part of Seeds & Weeds Club and open to all year-groups.  Please keep an eye out for an email before the end of term to sign up.  If your a company or individual who would be able to sponsor us to help create our barrel, please contact the office. 

 

Guildford Cathedral Eco Day

Last Thursday, Mrs Winstanley Fisher and some of our KS1 World Caretaker children attended Guildford Cathedral Eco Day with pupils from other Surrey schools. 

The day was run by the Diocese of Guildford. It involved learning about the effects of CO2 on our planet and encourage thinking about reusing and recycling items to reduce waste. There were Prayer Stations to encourage children to think about the wonderful world God has created for us, and our responsibility in looking after it for the future. The day finished with an act of Collective Worship for pupils to join together their reflections, prayers and singing voices, preparing their return to school with the positive news that each small thing we do can make a big difference in our world. We hope to share what we learned with the rest of the school soon.

Easter Grounds Day

During the first week of the Easter break, we will be looking at hosting a 'Grounds Day'. This will be for as many families as possible to come together to help get our growing spaces up and ready for the children to use in the new term! An email with details will follow soon.

- Mrs Winstanley Fisher