Ashley C of E Primary School - No2.

Headteacher's Message! -

Good afternoon,

It has been another busy fortnight! I have really enjoyed my visits to the reception classes this week. The children are settling in really well - I particularly enjoyed being presented the achiever awards today. They really do have a wonderful time in such a safe and caring environment.

Pupil leadership is really important and is a way of ensuring the children’s voices and opinions are heard and acted upon. As part of this process, some Year 6 children interested in being House Captains have shared their speeches with their houses today. I would like to thank all of the children who applied. We are so lucky to have such kind and responsible children at the top of the school! The results will be shared next week.

I hope that those of you who were able to attend the Meet the Teacher Meetings found them informative and useful. If you were not able to make it, the PowerPoint slides that were shared at the meetings will be sent to you shortly.

On Monday, it was a pleasure to welcome Jackie Roberts, from Surrey Gardens Trust, to Ashley to speak to the children and see what we have spent their grants on. Jackie was very impressed by the children’s knowledge and how gardening is woven through the curriculum. The grants have been used to develop the allotment space in reception as well as the sensory and Hive gardens.

The FoA (Friends Of Ashley) AGM took place on Wednesday and was really well attended. It was lovely to have the opportunity to thank the committee in person for their hard work last year. I would like to also thank everyone who has organised or attended the event as you have raised funds for resources and experiences the children would not have had otherwise. Your ongoing support, help and generosity is much appreciated.

The year 4 children are very excited about their residential visit next week to Sayers Croft. A huge thank you to the staff who have volunteered to accompany the children on this brilliant experience. We are looking forward to hearing about their time at Sayers Croft on Thursday.

Here’s to a slightly warmer and drier weekend; I hope you all have an enjoyable one whatever you’re doing.

Mrs Ratcliff

Message from the local committee -

Dear Friends of Ashley,

I was overwhelmed and delighted to see the amazing contribution that the school is going to receive from all your hard work! I understand that through your activities you are going to be able to provide £21,000 towards outdoor equipment for EYFS, a third reading den in the year 1 outdoor area, science equipment, outdoor play equipment for the sport crew and a huge investment in iPads. Wow! Such a broad range of items across the year groups and interests of the children, will add so much to our students throughout the school.

In addition to the financial contribution, your events and awareness raising activities also work toward creating a school community where parents, teachers, and students all feel welcomed and part of a cohesive group.

I know from experience that organising school events takes not just your time, but also organisational skill, patience, compromise, enthusiasm, recruiting skills and perseverance. Well done, Ashley would not be the school it is without the support of its parent group.

Thank you!

Lisa

Chair of Local Committee

New Staff -

staffing update for newsletter.pdf

Autumn Term 1 Club timetable -

GREEN - External club providers BLACK - Internal teacher lead clubs

DAY	CLUBS	YEAR GROUP	TIME	DATES
MONDAY	ART CLUB - EXTERNAL CLUB- BADGER CLASS	Y1 - 2	15.25 -16.25	16/09- 02/12
	FRENCH CLUB - EXTERNAL CLUB - OSPREY	Y4-5	15.30 - 16.10	16/09- 02/12
	SPEEDY RUNNERS - EXTERNAL CLUB - OUTSIDE	Y3-6	15.25-16.25	16/09- 02/12
	CHAMPION FOOTBALL - EXTENAL CLUB - OUTSIDE	Y3-4	15.25-16.25	16/09- 02/12
	Faith Club - Mrs Nawaz - SKYLARK CLASS	Y1-6	15.25-16.25	16/09-21/10
	GARDEN CLUB - Mrs Winstanley Fisher	Y1-6	15.25-16.25	16/09-21/10

TUESDAY	MINI DANCE PERFORMERS-EXTERNAL CLUB -HIVE	Y1- 2	08.00-08.45	17/09-03/12
	SPANISH CLUB - EXTERNAL CLUB -SWAN CLASS	Y 1 -6	15.25-16.25	17/09-03/12
	FRENCH CLUB - EXTERNAL CLUB-OSPRAY CLASS	Y 5 - 6	15.25-16.25	17/09-03/12
	ART CLUB - EXTERNAL CLUB - CLASS ROOM TAB	Y 3 - 6	15.25-16.25	17/09-03/12
	GARDEN CLUB - Mrs Winstanley Fisher	Y4-6	15.25 - 16.25	17/09 - 22/10

WEDNESDAY	JAMMING TOGETHER - EXTERNAL CLUB - HARMONY	Y 1-6	08.40-15.10	ACADEMIC YEAR
	MINI DANCE PERFORMERS -EXTERNAL CLUB - HIVE	Y3 -6	12.20-13.00	18/09-04/12
	TAG RUGBY - EXTERNAL CLUB	Y3-6	15.25-16.25	18/09 -04/12

THURSDAY	CHESS CLUB - EXTERNAL CLUB - HARMONY	Y3-6	07.55- 08.45	19/09-05/12
	THEATRE WORKS KS1 - EXTERNAL CLUB - HIVE	Y1-2	08.10-08.50	19/09-05/12
	IROCK-EXTERNAL CLUB- HARMONY	Y1-6	08.40.15.25	ACADEMIC YEAR
	THEATRE WORKS KS2- EXTERNAL CLUB -HIVE	Y3-6	12.20-13.00	19/09-05/12
	LEGO LEDGENS- EXTERNAL CLUB- OTTER CLASS	Y1-2	15.25-16.25	19/09-05/12
	CHAMPION FOOTBALL - EXTENAL CLUB - OUTSIDE	Y5-6	15.25-16.25	19/09-05/12
	CRICKET CLUB - EXTERNAL CLUB	Y3-6	15.25-16.25	19/09-17/10
	FRENCH CLUB - EXTERNAL CLUB- ROBIN CLASS	Y1-3	15.25-16.15	19/09-05/12
	SEW & So Club - Miss Bardel - EAGLE CLASS	Y5-6	15.25-16.30	03/10-21/11
	GARDEN CLUB - Mrs Winstanley Fisher	Y1-6	15.10-16.10	19/09-24/10

FRIDAY	FITNESS GLADIATOR BREAKFAST-EXTERNAL CLUB	Y1-2	08.15-08.55	20/09-06/12
	CARDINALS IN THE COMMUNITY BOYS FOOTBALL- EXTERNAL CLUB	Y1-2	15.25-16.25	20/09-06/12

Collection One-Way System-

Ashley Approach to Reading -

Thank you to those who joined us for our Ashley Approach to Reading meeting. There will be a separate phonics workshop for parents new to the school or those who would like a refresher.

Please see the slides here:

https://www.canva.com/design/DAGRYksAb50/n1EciX4Ah-AB4iuVOFta_g/view?utm_content=DAGRYksAb50&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link&utm_source=editor

Harvest Celebration -

This year we are delighted that we can take the children to church as part of our Harvest celebrations. On Tuesday 8th October, Year 2-6 will be visiting the church for a service led by Rev. Dave to find out all about the meaning of Harvest. The theme for our Harvest Festival this year is linked to our learning themes. Each class will be performing a poem or song linked to their learning theme for this half term.

As we cannot invite our community into school to share our harvest festival this year, we would like to involve you another way. Did you know that blackberries, apples and pears are all in season this month? Buying seasonal food from the UK rather than imported food reduces its carbon footprint, it's fresher because it's taken less time to get to you and it costs less because it's grown locally and hopefully in natural conditions rather than expensive managed conditions. We would like to challenge you to think about the ways we can CARE for our environment and health and think about how you could change the way you shop for the better. It would be lovely to hear about the adaptations families make, please do share these on Seesaw. As part of our Harvest celebrations, we would like to support Walton foodbank, The Bridge and Rentstart. Please see the list on the Food Bank’s website for items that are needed: https://waltonhersham.foodbank.org.uk/give-help/donate-food/

-Mrs Nawaz

The Past Fortnight -

Year 6 -

Last week, Year 6 spent a challenging day at Henley Fort, training to be alert ARP Wardens and effective Home Guards. They learned how to stand at ease, snap to attention and march in unison - that was the easy bit! Putting out fires, blacking out windows for an air-raid and making sure everyone was safe was all part of the ARP Warden's role. As for the Home Guard, they learned how to throw grenades, bayonet the enemy and set up road blocks. What an exhausting day, full of learning and fun, memorable experiences to apply to our writing over the next few weeks.

-Miss Bardel

Year 4 -

In science this week, Y4 looked at how to make an electrical circuit. It was really interesting to explore and experiment and try to figure out why a bulb might not have shone so brightly or why it didn't light up at all. We realised that the crocodile clips had to be attached to metal and the circuit had to be complete, otherwise the electricity wouldn't have been able to flow through. We also learnt that the components in a circuit have different symbols and we used these to draw a diagram of the circuit we'd made. All of the knowledge we gain about electrical circuits will come in useful when we do our D&T project after Sayers Croft where we will need to make a torch with a switch.

- Mrs Ready

Year 3 -

Last week Y3 went on our first trip of the year to a woodland. We created collages and drew pictures of the environment around us. Playing woodland bingo and I spy. The children enjoyed embracing nature in their local environment which has come in very handy while using our senses in our English writing.

-Miss Williams

Year 2-

This week Year 2 have been learning about the importance of hygiene and how germs are transferred. We have conducted an experiment and will be keeping a close eye on it for the next week. For the experiment to work we have 3 slices of bread in separate sandwich bags. 1 is the control, 1 is touched with clean(washed) hands and the other 1 is touched with unwashed hands. We have had to keep it fair by keeping all the bread in the same location. The children have all made predictions about what they think the end result would be for each slice of bread.

- Mrs Van Der Schaff

Reception -

Reception had a great time playing with their conkers. They spent time rolling them along the floor, seeing who could get them closest to the cone and rolling them down drainpipes and through tunnels. The conkers are now being used in the mud kitchen, the imagination station and the maths area. Thank you for collecting the conkers so we could all have fun.

-Miss Key

Reminders-

Reporting absence -

If your child is unwell, please report their absence via study bugs or call before 8.30am.

Ashley are solely moving to Studybugs as its a more efficient and secure system for reportingyour child’s absence due to illness. 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

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

ARBOR APP - Please can we remind all parents to log in and review all your child’s details to ensure we have the correct contact information on file such as correct mobile numbers and emergency contact details. If you have changed address or telephone numbers recently, please ensure that you amend these details via the app as soon as possible. Also, we ask that you also review the parental consents for your child. If you have any questions regarding the consents or use of the app, please email us at parents@ashley.surrey.sch.uk
PARKING - Please can we take this opportunity to remind you to be considerate of our neighbours and the local community when parking to access the school site at the start and end of the school day. For the safety of all of our children, please can we also request that you do not stop on the busy main road directly outside of the school to drop your children off.

Big Soup Share -

Don't Miss Out

Save the date to sample our cook up!

Date - Thursday 3rd October

Time - 3-30pm

Location- Front school Gates

Come join us as Year 3, Faith Group and Garden Club celebrate Ashley's Harvest with the #RHSBigFoodShare! Cooking and sharing what the children have grown is a way to bring us together and celebrate. *Please bring your own container for soup and a small donation. We're raising funds to put towards a new pollytunnel. This will allow us to not only use for our outdoor growing and learning during colder weather, but also enable us to extend our growing over winter- safe from frosts!

- Mrs Winstanley Fisher, Seeds and Weeds Garden Club. & Mrs Nawaz, Year 3/ Faith Group

Gardening Diaries -

On Monday, we were visited by Jackie Roberts from the Surrey Gardens Trust. She was keen to see how our grounds have developed over the last few years thanks to funding from the SGT. Their funding has helped us to establish our Reception growing area and our Sensory Garden. We hope you will agree they look fantastic now and our children are using them to the full. Mrs Winstanley Fisher showed her around out school grounds and Mrs Roberts was very impressed with the outdoor learning spaces we have for our children to use! If you would like any further information on the SGT please visit www.surreygardenstrust.org.uk

the gardening diaries sept part 2 24.pdf

Premises Update -

During the summer break a number of works were completed at school. Thank you to the Friends of Ashley who funded a new reading den on the playground.

A walking / running trail path has been prepared around the field. The path is being filled with wood chip and is almost ready for the children to use. We required a significant amount of wood chip and have been kindly donated alot of wood chip from local companies but we still require alot more. If you can help, any donations would be gratefully received.

We have had a new natural wooden fence installed around the play apparatus, to enclose this area from the field. We also had a fence around the bird hide. There is also a new wooden fence and gate installed around the boundary wall at the wooden gate.