Headteachers Message! -
Good Afternoon,
Preparations for Christmas are in full swing - it has been lovely watching the Nativity rehearsals and listening to the children practising traditional carols as well as Christmas songs. All the dates are listed in the newsletter and are available on the school newsletter.
Year 1 had a wonderful day visiting Milestone Museum on Wednesday. They were very excited when they returned and I'm sure they had a lot to share with their families. Thank you to the staff for their hard work organising such a great trip for the children and the parent volunteers who are invaluable.
As the weather has turned colder, please make sure your child is wearing black or Ashley green jogging bottoms and a black or Ashley green sweatshirt. PE continues in all weathers and it is important that children are warm in the winter months.
Lastly, the Christmas Bazaar is tomorrow and I know the children are very excited. Thank you for the generous donations that have been handed in - your support is very much appreciated. I look forward to seeing you at the bazaar and wish you a good weekend.
Best wishes,
Mrs Ratcliff
Message from Mrs Scott - New Assistant Headteacher
Dear Parents,
I am very excited to meet you all in January and to become part of the school community. I have been teaching for nineteen years and I am very passionate about the profession. I look forward to getting to know you and your children. I wish you all a happy and healthy Christmas break.
Kind regards,
Mrs Scott - Assistant Head Teacher
Attendance -
Regular attendance at school is essential for the academic, social and emotional development of children. At Ashley, we place huge importance on attendance and punctuality. We recognise that children who frequently miss school often fall behind. We understand that there are sometimes issues that make it harder for children to attend school. We call these 'barriers'. We work with parents/carers and pupils to identify any barriers and take action to remove them, where possible. Through open and honest discussion, parents/carers, school and the child, share information and work together to improve the child’s willingness to attend, and accessibility to, school. Together, we may identify issues that can be supported by outside services and we may invite a representative to meet with us and discuss ways that support can be provided.
We follow Dfe guidance, 'Working together to improve attendance'. The DfE has produced information for parents, which sets out parents' responsibilities and details how schools and local authorities will work with you to support your child's attendance which is attached to the newsletter. There will be regular updates on attendance in the newsletter. Currently our school attendance is at 95.3% with the target being at least 96.5%.
aaa guide for parents on school attendance 19th aug version.pdf
Christmas Dates -
Christmas Lunch -
A reminder that our Christmas lunch will be on Wednesday 18th December. If you wish to book your child in for a Christmas lunch on this day, please book before Monday 2nd December via scopay.
christmas menu poster 2024 gst.pdf
Online Safety Workshop -
Does your child spend time exploring online? The internet’s a great place for children to learn, create, chat with friends and family, access information or support and explore fun apps, sites and games. But exploring comes with risks, so it’s vital we know how to keep them safe online.
That’s why we’d like to invite you to join a NSPCC-led workshop: ‘Keeping children safe online’.
Our workshop will:
- Help you understand how kids experience the online world
- Show you resources and tools that could help keep them safe
- Empower you to guide them on their journey
There are limited spaces for this session. To secure a place, please register by reserving your place. This workshop is for adults so please arrange childcare.
LOCATION Ashley CofE Primary School, KT12 1HX
https://www.tickettailor.com/events/ashleycofeprimaryschool1/1421694
The Past Fortnight -
Year 6 -
As part of our learning theme: What do we want humankind's legacy on the natural world to be? We have been learning about the impact of fast fashion on the environment, renewable and non-renewable energy and how we can make Walton a more sustainable town. On Monday, Year 6 participated in a clothes swap. The children brought in clothes that they hadn't worn in a long time (or had bought, but never worn!) and they were able to swap it for something else. It was a great experience for the children and we would like to do another in the new year or maybe a book swap!
-Miss Sen
Year 5 -
This week, Year 5 enjoyed a fascinating visit to The London Museum of Water and Steam and learnt all about how water has been supplied to the city over the past 200 years. One of the highlights of our visit was viewing the museum's famous collection of large steam engines. The children spent time sketching these and were inspired by their scale and impressive Victorian engineering. They also enjoyed an interactive hour in the engaging Waterworks Gallery where they were able to try their hand at various pumps and engines and play with a range of water related toys and games, as well as learning a whole host of fascinating water-related facts. On returning to school, the pupils captured their learning by creating a fact page in their 'Learning Theme' books based on the notes they had written whilst at the museum.
-Mrs Kent
Year 4 -
Last week, Year 4 made lanterns for the light festival. Sadly, as the light festival was cancelled, we weren't able to walk in the procession but the morning of making the lanterns was really successful! Year 4 used willow to make the frame of their lantern, securing it with masking tape to create a square at the bottom and then 4 uprights to make a square-based pyramid shape. Once the frame was constructed, the children used tissue paper to cover it on all sides so that it was completely covered. The children were then creative with their designs and added silver and green paper to bring their lanterns to life! There was fantastic teamwork, collaboration and support!
- Mrs Ready
Year 3-
This week Year 3 had a DT making their African inspired pillows. We learnt how to tie dye and stitch. Thank you to the many parent helpers who supported across the three classes on Thursday.
-Miss Williams
Year 2 -
In Year 2, we have been exploring different types of materials. The children discussed the characteristics of certain materials and how some are stronger, heavier, lighter and more flexible than others.
- Mrs Van Der Schaff
Year 1 -
Year 1 had a fantastic trip to Milestones Museum on Wednesday, as part of our history-based Learning Theme 'How have toys changed over time?'. Entering the museum, we felt as though we had stepped back in time, walking through the cobbled streets and looking into the Victorian style shops fronts and vehicle displays. The children took part in several workshops about toys through the ages, where they sorted and explored toys and also had a go at different playground games from the past too, including hopscotch, skipping, pick-up sticks and tiddly winks. Thank you to all the parent helpers who came along to support the children. We all had a great day and brought back tired but happy children.
-Mrs Boyd
Reception-
Reception were visited by a local Police Officer this week. They learnt all about how they keep us safe, how to contact the police if they ever need them and what kind of jobs police officers have to do. They were shown her police car and all the equipment inside. The children listened brilliantly and asked lots of questions.
Sports News -
Ashley have been playing very well in their recent football matches. As a school we are very proud of the sportsmanship the boys are showing on and off the pitch. Keep it up Ashley!
- Miss Williams
Chelsea Mascots -
On Wednesday 20th of November a few girls from our Inspire Her Girls Football club were asked to be mascots for the Chelsea V Celtic Woman's football game.
We were asked to be Chelsea mascots at Stamford Bridge on 20th November for the Champions League Maths: Chelsea Women vs Celtic Women. We had the opportunity to: high five all the players from both sides; walk onto the pitch and, of course, watch the match - Chelsea won 3-0!. We met all the players in person and walked out in front of nearly 10,000 people! Lucy walked out with the Celtic player, Shannon McGregor (no. 14) and Lucia walked out with another Celtic player called Morgan Cross (no. 17).
-Lucia & Lucy (Y6) 
Gardening Diaries -
On Monday 18th, Monica Harding MP was able to join us at our school to celebrate 'Global Outdoor Classroom Day'. Everyday at Ashley is an outdoor classroom day and so following our introductions to our School Leaders and some of our World Caretaker team, we toured the school grounds.
We saw our dedicated allotment areas on the field, at Reception Class and Year 1. These are the areas the children learn to grow flowers, fruit and vegetables that will be used to enhance our learning and for our 'plot to plate' projects and progression of skills throughout their time at Ashley. Monica was impressed too by our recently installed 'Bird Garden' and Hide. The garden was kindly donated by Brian Youngblunt - 'Brian & The Bloom' - a Garden Designer who displayed at Hampton Court Flower show this year. Having met some of our pupils during our installation of our RHS Schools Bug Barrel there, they told him about their learning in Yr1 about birds. Brian offered Ashley School his garden to help with our future learning!
Monica then kindly assisted our children to plant a native hedge, planting whips of Euonymus (Spindle) and Crataegus (Hawthorn) to the edge of our new Hive garden. Once grown, this will help provide a habitat for insects, small animals and berries for the birds. We are very proud of our achievements in creating places to facilitate our outdoor learning. This enables us to work with the children both on Curriculum linked Science and DT projects to our Growing Together sessions were individual children and groups will use the facilities for regular intervention sessions with Mrs Winstanley Fisher.
A HUGE thank you so much to all our staff, parents and school community for all your support during the running of the Rethink Waste/Greenredeem initiative. It was a real weekend team effort that ended midnight Saturday 16th at midnight! A note from Greenredeem - We were overwhelmingly impressed with the amount of sign-ups schools had and the points that were donated. Truly, a spectacular effort. Nonetheless... I shan't keep you waiting anymore, the results are as follows:
1 Grange Community Infant School - 881,510 points
2 Wray Common Primary School - 360,465 points
3 West Byfleet Junior School - 280,907 points
4 Ashley CofE Primary School - 185,340 points
5 Esher Church School - 138,570 points
6 Cleves School - 84,780 points
7 Bletchingley Village Primary School - 33,550 points
8 Epsom Downs Community School - 28,152 points
9 St Pauls Infant School - 27,515 points
10 Godstone Primary And Nursery - 17,205 points
11 The Weald CofE Primary School - 14,315 points
12 St James CofE Primary School - 14,205 points
13 St Mark and All Saints Primary - 13,165 points
14 Town Farm Primary School - 8,860 points
15 Buckland Primary School - 8,250 points
As we were a school in the Top 5, we will be contacted soon in order to arrange prize money and a cheque presentation at the school towards our Eco project - one step closer to our polytunnel!
Thanks again and were signing up again for a new initiative coming in January.
the gardening diaries november 24.pdf
Ashley Celebrates -
A visit from Andy Robertson this week from homeless charity Rentstart. Andy led Junior Collective worship on Tuesday, sharing what life is like for a homeless person living on the streets. He was impressed with the pupil's participation and their thoughtful questions on this topic. Well done to faith group members who led the school prayer with accompanying actions. The start of Advent this Sunday. Next week we will be welcoming a team from Equippers church to kickstart a joyful countdown to Christmas and to reinforce the real meaning of this Christian season for our children.
-Mrs Harris
Friends of Ashley-
The Friends of Ashley Eco Stall will be at the Christmas Bazaar this Saturday. Please visit us for some great gift ideas, suitable for all budgets. We will be based in the hall. All proceeds go directly to the school. Help the environment and support our children while doing your Christmas shopping!
Panto...
It's panto time again... oh yes it is! This year's amazing St Mary's and St John's Youth Fellowship pantomime is Fearless Prince Rupert and is full of Ashley School alumni. It's a fantastic way to end the Christmas holidays and is fun for the whole family. For November only, there is an Earlybird discount meaning tickets, including a free hot or soft drink at the interval, are just £4 per person. To book please email youthfellowship@waltonparish.org.uk or contact Zoe Byrne on 07950 932623.
Performances will be at St Mary's Church Hall in Walton on:
Thursday 2nd January 2025 at 7pm
Friday 3rd January 2025 at 4pm
Saturday 4th January 2025 at 2pm
Saturday 4th January 2025 at 7pm