Claires Court Bulletin
JUNIOR BOYS
Bulletin 1 | Summer Term 2016
Email: dsp@clairescourt.com
Website: http://www.clairescourt.com/news-and-media/bulletins
Location: SL6 3QE for sat nav SL6 4QQ
Phone: 01628 411490
Facebook: facebook.com/clairescourt
Twitter: @clairescourt
FROM THE HEAD'S DESK
Welcome back! I hope that you all enjoyed a lovely Easter break. I have been hearing colourful stories from your sons about lots of exciting trips, day visits, ski holidays, Caribbean islands, swimming galas……..the list goes on. My wife and I managed to get away to Lisbon for a few days to recharge the batteries in readiness for a busy Summer Term. I am also able to report that Susan Payne continues to make slow but positive progress in hospital.
Some of the boys had busy holidays! Ruben Goswell spoke to us in assembly today about his pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Ruben described his adventure to us with such passion and sensitivity - we were all extremely impressed and I must commend him for his efforts. Noah Olikara passed his Grade 1 piano with distinction which is a superb achievement. Similarly, in school James Cranfield and Jamael Qureshi produced some outstanding pieces of writing in their literacy lesson which was worthy of my Gold Stars. Gursahej Bakshi also excelled at one of his swimming galas collecting and array of medals for all of the strokes - a wonderful effort. Some of these boys can be seen in our picture gallery below.
With the start of the Summer Term and our thoughts turning to cricket and athletics, our sports department were not surprised to see a substantial amount of rain on the weather forecast! Nevertheless, we have already begun in our quest to find the next Alastair Cook or James Anderson….or in fact the next Graeme Swann - we have a number of off and leg spin bowlers coming through the ranks which is wonderful to see. We just need to find some cricket squares that the ball will turn on! Bring on the sunshine! I should remind parents of boys in Years 4, 5 and 6 that most of our cricket matches go well beyond 5pm and therefore boys are not normally able to catch the 5pm bus at the end of the day if they are playing against another school.
So what is in store for the term? Apart from the aforementioned sports (and not forgetting our swimming galas and cricket tours), we have plenty of Bushcraft and camping activities, music and drama productions from all our pupils, Pupil Problem Solving week just before half term which I will write more about in future weeks, the fete, chess fixtures with competitions at home and at Bristol, Chembakolli day, the Vikings adventure, art competitions, trips out to farms and rainforests…..and of course, our academic assessments. Indeed, my principal focus this year has been to guide our boys towards improving their academic skill set, with a view to becoming more independent and resilient learners.
So, it could a busy term! I must say that the boys have returned from their break in wonderful spirits and I am really looking forward to everything the Summer Term has in store. I hope you enjoy a lovely weekend.
Justin Spanswick
PTA NEWS
As we return to school for the Summer Term our PTA committee are focused on the upcoming Summer Fete on 25th June. This year the theme of our fete is 'The Great Outdoors', a theme inspired by the allotment and bushcraft projects the PTA have recently supported.
This year we will be asking the girls and boys to design our poster for the event. Not only will the winner see their design all over the school in the run up to the event, but they will receive a framed copy and a voucher. If you, or anyone you know, would like to take a stall at this years event please contact me at emmarobertson@hotmail.co.uk
We are also looking for a number of raffle prizes. If you are able to contribute something please contact me at the same address. Your support, as always, is much appreciated.
Emma Robertson
FUTURE EVENTS
Friday 13 May - Y2 Books and Bushcraft
Saturday 14 May - PTA Great Gatsby Ball
Deadline for payment has passed and the booking forms should have been received by each table leader by end of today. These forms must be returned by Friday 29 April so we can provide the caterers with dietary/allergy information. If you need any further information please the PTA directly on pta.ccgs@gmail.com
Monday 16 May - Year 1 - Y6 Assessment Week
Monday 30 May - Friday 3 June - HALF TERM
TRIPS
Wednesday 27 April - Y2 visit The Living Rainforest in Newbury
Monday 9 May - Y4 visit Highclere Castle
Friday 20 May - Y4 Outward Bound
Thursday 26 May - Y5 Forties Experience, Bushey, Herts
NOTES AND TO DO LIST
After school activities start on Monday. Please ensure any consent slips and/or payments have been sent into the office.
LIBRARY NEWS
MUSIC NOTES
RABBIT AWARDS
Parental Questionnaire
Thank you if you have already completed the Parental Questionnaire. If not, we would be most grateful if you could take the time to complete the online survey. Responses from parents are vital to help us review what we do and plan for the future.
If you have more than one child, please complete a survey per child. The survey closes 22 April 2016.