January Loop 2025

Frankie D for showing kindness and settling in so well into willow class.
George Williams for showing great joy and enthusiasm in his living things and habitats topic.
Kallum for showing respect in school.
Spencer for persevering in maths with multiplication.
Niamh received the house captain award for always working hard.

Welcome to the final newsletter of the Autumn term! It has been an extremely long and busy term and children and staff are ready for a good rest over the holidays.  The last couple of weeks have been particularly busy with the various Christmas festivities happening.  It has been wonderful to have the support of the parents and wider community in coming together to celebrate.

This week has been packed with performances! Acorns (Nursery) held an outstanding Christmas performance which parents/carers were invited to attend.  A huge well done to Mrs Allen and her team for helping the children learn their lines and songs. It was a real treat!

The KS2 Carol Concert was another highlight on the festive calendar this week.  I’m sure many of you were still singing Feliz Navidad all evening – I know I was! Well done to all of the KS2 children and particularly to the Year 5 and 6 pupils who read and sang beautifully.

On Thursday, the children were also treated to a visit from Father Christmas himself! Every child met Santa and received a present so a big thank you to FOBs for hosting this event.

Our choir and handbell clubs have been very busy this week, visiting the Coppice, Uplands and the Redwood Centre to sing and perform for residents.  This was a great chance for the children to spread some joy at Christmas time and I know Reverend Hannah and Miss Nagington were very impressed with their performances.

In other news, Year 5/6 enjoyed a dodgeball tournament at the Corbet School on Wednesday, coming in a respectable 5th place.  Well done for showing great respect for your opponents and perseverance in the matches!

The end of term always brings a mixture of emotions – excitement at the thought of the holidays and time spent with loved ones, and sadness as we sometimes have to say goodbye to members of staff.  Mrs Thomas, Mrs Haycocks and Mr Parsons will all be leaving us today and moving on to pastures new.  I would like to thank all of them, on behalf of the whole school community, for the dedication they have shown to our pupils during the time they have been with us.

We are welcoming Mr Foreman (new Birch class teacher) and Mrs Marshall (teaching assistant) to the team in January.  We are also delighted to welcome Mrs Holloway into Birch class from Nursery. Please say hello if you see them around school!

I would just like to take the opportunity for the support you have shown in the last term.  My first term as Head of School has been very busy (!) but extremely rewarding, and I feel privileged to lead such an amazing school.

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year and we will be ready to welcome the children back to school on Tuesday 7th January 2025.

Mrs Mavin and staff

We have a number of pleas to our parents/carers!

• Our Nursery class are looking for a scooter to replace one that has broken.  Please see Mrs Allen if you have one that you are able to donate.
• We are looking for a parent/carer who is able to support at a new Forest School after school club (for Yr2-4) on Mondays 3.30-4.30pm  starting on the 13th January. This will be run by a qualified Forest School Leader – please contact the School Office if you are able to help.
• We are also looking for more parent volunteers to listen to readers in school.  This only needs to be for 20-30 minutes a week – please contact the School Office if you are able to help.

Our very own Christmas elf, Mrs Jones, ran her Christmas shop again this week.  She has made over £300 for school – money that will go directly towards resources for your children.  Thank you for all of your support and a big THANK YOU to Mrs Jones!

As you know, Mrs Thomas will be leaving us at the end of this term.  Mrs Thomas has worked at Bicton for almost 20 years and I know it will be a huge change for her and us.  We would like to say a huge thank you to her for her hard work and dedication over the years, and wish her all the best in her new ventures.

Mr Chris Foreman will be joining our team as Birch class teacher in January.  Mr Foreman has experience across the primary age range and we are very much looking forward to him joining us here at Bicton and know you will welcome him into the Bicton family.

Mrs Haycocks and Mr Parsons will also be leaving us at the end of this term as they move into other roles within the education sector.  We would like to thank them for the care, nurture and support they have shown our children here at Bicton.  We will keep parents informed of updates to our support staff arrangements.