Dear parents,
Where does the time go? In my house, the excitement for Christmas is building; I feel we are peaking a little early but seeing as it only comes once a year, I am embracing the festivities. On Sunday, I attended our school Advent Service which was a beautiful event led by Reverend Close, followed by mulled wine and mince pies. The message of advent was shared with the junior school in assemblies throughout the week, so we are fully in the Christmas spirit here. The carol singing continued with our junior choir leading the way in the Hospiscare’s ‘Light up a Life’ service on Wednesday in the Cathedral. All the choir sang beautifully but a special mention must go to Betsy and Vally for their solos; simply amazing. Well done to both of you! A huge thanks also to Mr Titchin for his oversight of this event.
Family society events
I want to say a huge thank you to our family society members who organised a very successful junior school disco last Friday. This wonderful group of parents generously give up their time to make these events happen. From all the talk on Monday, it was enjoyed by many of the pupils and a lot of dancing took place. Our next event will be the annual junior school quiz night that will be running on Friday 24 January; do keep the date free and more details will follow in the New Year.
History Expedition day
On Thursday, the entire school took part in a History Expedition organised by our Head of History, Mr Evans. I had the pleasure of joining the Upper Two pupils at Powderham Castle for the afternoon where they had a fantastic time immersing themselves in Victorian history; whilst Form One ventured to the Royal Albert Memorial Museum (RAMM) for their trip, focusing on their studies of Ancient Egypt. Upper One headed to Tiverton Museum to delve into the Anglo-Saxon period, particularly their impact on Devon, whilst Lower Two visited Buckland Abbey to investigate the dissolution of the monasteries and explore the home of Sir Francis Drake. All the pupils had an enriching and fun-filled day, and staff at all locations were full of praise for their enthusiasm and behaviour.
Staff news
Sadly, we will be saying goodbye to our school nurse, Mrs Lisa Barlass at the end of the term. Mrs Barlass has looked after your children’s medical needs for seven years and is a wonderful colleague. We are very sorry to lose her, but delighted that she has secured a senior mental health lead role in the community, something which she is absolutely passionate about. We will be saying goodbye to her formally at the end of term. Mrs Barlass will be in touch with some families whose children have particular medical needs to ensure a smooth handover with the newly appointed nurse in the new year.
Next week we head into our final full week of the year, and I very much look forward to seeing many of you for some carol singing at our junior school carol service on Tuesday afternoon. We also have our Christmas jumper/hat day along with Christmas lunch on Wednesday, where a voluntary donation of £2 will be split between The Blue Cross and funding the Community Service famous Christmas tea party, when we invite older residents from the community to enjoy some much-needed festive cheer: afternoon tea, carols and the like.
Have a festive-filled weekend, stay dry.
