News | The Shrubbery School

Dear Parents

So, we are nearly at the end of 2020! What a very strange year it has been. We have seen a world that has been very different and extremely surreal at times. I feel that we have had success with keeping most of you in school for the term. I thank you all for abiding by the rules that the Government have put in place and we will continue to follow guidelines when we return in January.

So, what has been going on over the half term at The Shrubbery?

We welcome a new member of the Shrubbery family. Mrs Rowley Field gave birth to her second daughter, Eliza Tilley. All are doing well and Mrs Rowley Fields first born, Grace, is being the most amazing big sister, giving hugs and kisses throughout the day. Isn’t it wonderful to hear some lovely news?

Thank you to all parents and pupils that took the time to fill in the questionnaires. It has been enlightening for me to see how we can improve and to be able to see school through your eyes. I am always available to speak to you on the drive in the mornings and on the playground of an evening. If you would like to make an appointment if you have any queries, then please do not hesitate to do so.

Can I please remind you to park respectfully in regard to our residents and on the drive to allow a free flow system? Please do not block the drive at any time. We are taking on a new initiative in January to help with congestion and parking, working with our local businesses and ‘Modeshift Stars.’

We now have Captains, Vice Captains and a School Council. Our super Year 6 pupils, applied for the positions and then they had a democratic and fair vote. With a Chair, Vice Chair and Secretary in place, we can now look forward to hearing their voices to help lead our school through their eyes and ideas. The team will be led by Ms Fielder, who will meet with them regularly and give them the voice to drive the school for what the children want and need.

In addition to this we also now have a full Board of Governors who now consist of Mr Matthew Lees (Business), Ms Dawn Harvey (Education), Mrs Lisa Atterbury (Staff) and Mr Amit Sharma (Parent). Mrs White and myself will be joining those meetings to share our reports on how we are moving the school forward and what needs to be put in place. A meeting will take place in January. The Board of Directors have met this month and are looking forward to driving new initiatives, policies and procedures.

We had a wonderful Remembrance Service on the 11th November to remember all those who have served their country. Claire Cooke, a former colleague of mine, played The Last Post and Reveille Fanfare on her cornet, to mark the occasion. I hope this is something that your children will remember for a long time. It was extremely moving and special time.

Year 5 and 6 have taken part in the Primary Maths Challenge – we had some Bronze and Silver certificate winners. What fabulous achievements! Well done to you all, there are some really tricky questions on the paper. We will also be entering the Hydesville Maths challenge next year. I am also looking at the ISA website to see if we can seek opportunities for 2021.

Thank you to the Parents Association for supporting the children with fundraising to buy some more equipment for them to play with at break and lunchtimes within their bubbles. It’s important that we keep healthy and busy during these times of the day. I am particularly looking forward to working closely with them to ensure that all money raised will go back in to the school for the children to benefit from. We will regularly report to you when we have raised money and more importantly what your money is being spent on. In the near future, we will be looking at ideas for enhancing our outside environment to make it more appealing and inviting to the eye, but also more productive for your children’s learning outside. If you have any skills which you could offer, or a little bit of time when we have our plans in place, please let us know. I would like to make this a community project where we are involved as The Shrubbery Family, rather than us doing things behind closed doors.

Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 have completed their Bikeability Training. They followed instructions beautifully and listened to their teacher to get the best out of the course. It was lovely to see you whizzing around the playground having so much fun. There will be a chance for other year groups to do their Bikeability Courses during the year.

We have had a busy and productive December. The children have been working hard to put a performance together so that we can mark the end of 2020. We have had cookie and poetry competitions, dressing up days, fundraiser activities and supporting our local foodbank. Busy, busy, busy - thank you for all of your donations, enthusiasm to find outfits and costumes and for supporting each day to make December 2020 memorable for the right reasons! We have even managed to participate in a pantomime for the children, due to technology allowing!

I assure you, that ALL funds raised will go back in to the school to enhance your children’s learning. This will be out to the pupil voice activities that we are now doing in school. The children will have their say on what the money is to be spent on through pupil voice activities carried out in class sessions.

We have a new reward system starting in January. The children will be awarded house points for good work, being polite and helpful or just being unique and offering something special. Any member of staff will be able to give these points. The children will collect these over the year. For every 20 they receive, they will be rewarded with a Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum and then a diamond badge and certificate – all of which will receive a small gift. As an additional achievement, the children can then aspire to achieve a Shrubbery Superstar award, which will be a further 50 house points. For those who are reaching beyond the stars, there will be a VIP award – a gold crown badge and certificate worth another 50 house points. The children have been told about this and are eager to start. We will also be continuing with our 100% attendance certificate for each half term, then an overall 100% attendance for the end of the year. Positive praise for our children is a must to capture those moments of brilliance!

Last, but not least….look out for our new website. It has a new look, bringing us in to 2021 and hopefully it will be easier to navigate. Watch this space as we will be adding to it as the year develops.

The nights are drawing in, so I urge you to stay safe whilst out and about, but also to stay safe so that we can all join back together in January of 2021. For those of you that celebrate Christmas, have a wonderful time however you are spending it and for those that do not celebrate Christmas, enjoy the holiday time with your loved ones.

I thank you, most sincerely, for the support that you give to our children, our school and myself. We welcome Mrs Georgina White in January, this will give capacity to the management team to enable us to strive for bigger and better.

May I be the first to wish you all a happy new year. Here’s to 2021 in the hope that we can do more and make more changes with less constraints.

Best wishes

Mrs Amanda Lees