Being the best we can be for

ourselves and God’s world

NewsletterNo.34

14thMarch2019

ST M

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TIN’S C of E PRIMARY SC

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Dear Parents and Carers I would like to start this newsletter with a thank you to Mary and Gary of Bridge Books, Okehampton Street in Exeter. Mary and Gary have donated a wonderful selection of beautiful books to our school library. There are children's Bibles, wonderfully illustrated versions of Bible stories and books with a moral tale. The children have been enjoying these new additions to our library - we are so grateful to the kind and generous people at Bridge Books. I Year 5 the children have been working with the 'We Eat Elephants' resources to learn about how to look after their mental health and how to support people who may be feeling sad, anxious, angry, etc. The children have been learning more about how their brains work and how we can pro-actively take actions in order to make ourselves and others feel better. I have included 2 of the resources that the children have been looking at in this newsletter. One is, '10 A Day For Mental Health'; these posters are up in every room in the school and children are encouraged to take care of their mental health and support any children who may need a friendly shoulder. The other poster I have included is also up in classrooms and this looks at how we are being. The aim is to aspire to be dolphin like and to recognise when we may be struggling and perhaps are being a rescuing rhino or an ostrich! Please come along to the presentation that Year 5 are giving in the hall at 3pm on Thursday 14th March to find out more. Thank you for your continued support. With best wishes Tania

‘10 a day’ choices towards balancing our mental health

What do you choose to do most when you look after your mental health?

0 = I don’t choose this very much 10 = I choose this quite a lot

What have noticed? How well do you think you look after your mental health? What do you choose the most? What do you choose the least? Is there any choice you could do more of? How might you do that?

We Eat Elephants Poster

We Eat Elephants Poster’s

How are YOU being?

Ostrich Style

‘Burying head in sand’

Avoid thinking or talking about problems.

Signal given: too busy and unavailable to support.

‘Swerving’ the issue.

Jellyfish Style

Wobbly, see through, and reactive to a prod.

Being in a raw emotional state, with all feelings close

to the surface.

May be swept away by currents of emotion and beliefs.

Intense and visible reactions.

Kangaroo StyleProtective

wanting to keep everyonesafe, as if in a pouch.

Too accommodating and controlling

Inner rescuer at play.

Rhinoceros Style

Attempts to persuade and convince the person to change by argument

As if charging at and trying to smash through the behaviour and beliefs using

logic.Rushing in to makechange.

Dolphin Style

A calm, warm, nurturing style

Guiding, coaching, encouraging and subtle.

Think of calmly swimming alongside and gently nudging in the right direction occasionally.

Treasure et al, 2016

Our very own Magic!

To repair, recover and sustain good mental health these are essential daily options:

Talk about your feelings. Ask for Help.

Take a Break. Eat Well. Stay Hydrated.

Keep in Touch with People you Care About.

Stay Active in Mind and Body Do Something you are Good at and Enjoy

Actively Care for Others Be Proud of your very Being

What do you do well now?What do you need to do more of?

GOVERNANCE AT ST MARTIN’S

We are seeking a parent or carer to join our Governing Board!

From the start of the Summer term, we will have a vacancy for a parent governor on our school’s Governing Board and we would like parents and carers to think about becoming a governor or encouraging others to volunteer.

Parent governors are welcomed as valued members of the governor team and play an important role; the Governing Board works together as a group, meeting regularly throughout the year. Together, the governors are responsible for the strategic direction of the school, promoting high standards of educational achievement and ensuring our resources are used to maximum impact. Life as a governor is interesting and varied and we feel sure that there are parents prepared to take on this important role and give their time and commitment to helping us to continue to improve the school's performance.

In looking to fill this vacancy, the governors of the school have identified various skills and experience that they feel would help strengthen the Governing Board and therefore we are especially seeking a parent or carer who has skills or experience in the following areas:

• Finance • Personnel • Working strategically within any organisational role

Being a governor is very rewarding and provides a unique opportunity to understand and contribute to the development of our school. It does require a regular commitment of time and a willingness to be actively involved in adding value to the children’s experience of being at St. Martin’s – it is definitely not just about attending meetings!

Training and support will be available to help you develop into the role. This will include in-house mentoring and support as well as access to external governor training. Those new to being a governor are expected to attend induction training. The term of office for parent governors is four years.

If you are interested in finding out more about becoming a governor, Mrs Beard and John Clements, our Chair of Governors, will be holding Q&A sessions on Tuesday, 19th March where you will have the opportunity to discuss the role and ask any questions you may have. These will be held at 8.45am and 5.30pm. It would be helpful to have an idea of numbers for these sessions, so if possible, please email Jacqueline Brooks, the Clerk to Governors, at clerk@stmartinscranbrook.devon.sch.uk to advise if you wish to attend. Otherwise, please just come to the school office at the session time you wish to attend.

If you would like to stand for election, please collect a nomination form and information pack from the school office – these will be available from Friday, 15th March 2019. The nomination form must be completed and returned to the school office marked for the attention of the Clerk to Governors by 12 noon on Friday, 29th March 2019.

As you know we place a high priority on the importance of children being in school and each term all the children with 100% attendance have their names put into a prize draw and the winning child is given a present.

Can we please remind parents/ carers that registration is at 8:30am. If your child arrives after this time they will need to be signed in at the office for safety reasons.

Absence Reporting

If your child is going to be absent from school due to ill health can we please ask that all parents/ carers notify the school office by telephone (excluding Dojo) and not your child’s teacher.

You can report an absence via the Absence line 24 hours a day and it is vital that we know the whereabouts of our children. Thank you in advance for your cooperation in this matter.

Attendance and Absence Reporting

Lateness, Did You Know? Did you know that being 15 minutes late each day is the same as missing two weeks of school over the year. The start of the school day is an important time for children to develop their social skills with their peers, as well as preparing them for their learning. Did You Know….? For every day of school missed by a pupil it will reduce their attendance by 0.5%. Ten whole days of school has been missed if your child has 95% attendance. Twenty whole days of school has been missed if a pupils attendance is 90%. By the time a pupil is persistently absent (85% attendance) they have missed 6 weeks or half a term of schooling. Currently our Whole School Attendance is at 95.67% Caren

ATTENDANCE MATTERS…

Nursery Disco – 28th March 2019

School Disco & Mufti Day (Easter Egg donations in exchange for wearing own clothes) – 29/03/2019

Easter Bingo (PTFA) – 4th April 2019

Decorated Easter Eggs & Bonnets to be brought to the School Hall at 8:30am. Easter Bonnet Parade at 3pm – 5th April 2019

Phase 2 Easter Performance @ 2pm – 5th April 2019

World Autism Awareness Week – 1st -5th April This week the children will be doing their puzzle pieces and putting it together. No donation required). There will also be a quiz for the children at lunch time on Friday, which is 50p if they wish to take part in the quiz. Workshop Evening - where parents and carers can find out more about how your children learn. There will be wide variety of sessions to choose from and refreshments will be available. All parents/carers who attend will be given a ticket for their child/ren to enjoy a film night with a hot dog on Thursday 2nd May after school. Please put this date in your diary - we are looking forward to seeing you there - a creche will be available. – 1st May 2019 (5:30pm – 6:45pm) SAT’S – Week commencing 13th May 2019

PTFA Curry & Quiz Night – 17th May 2019

Summer Fayre – Date TBC

Sports Day – Date TBC

Dates For Your Diary

Thankyouforyourcontinued

support!

WithBestWishes,Tania

Friday morning at 8:45am Friday afternoon at 2:30pm

As well as Collective Worship, we will be offering Phase 1 parents/carers the opportunity to join their children in class to share their learning. They will take place Mondays at 2:30pm. Phase One Collective Worship

Date Class Join the Class @2:30pm 15th March Sparrows 18th March Robins 22nd March Ducklings 25th March Sparrows 29th March Chicks 1st April Little Parrots 5th April Little Parrots

Head Teacher Award Certificates

If your child has received a Headteacher’s Award during the week then they will have their certificate presented to them during Collective Worship at the times above. Family members are always welcome J

Date Class Collective Worship

Year Group

15th March Elm Year 5 22nd March Chestnut Year 6 29th March Eco -Warriors Mixed 5th April Easter Production by

Phase 2 Phase 2

Phase Two and Three Collective Worship – Spring Term 2018 Each week a different class will share their learning with the rest of the school and the parents, grandparents and guests who would like to join us. Any child who has been awarded with a Headteacher’s Award will be presented with their certificate.