Ferncumbe Friday

Friday 28th February 2025

Head’s Message

Dear School Community,

I hope this newsletter finds you all well. I'm thrilled to be back and want to start by expressing my gratitude to all our staff who held the fort so brilliantly during my absence. Your dedication and hard work are truly appreciated.

I've recently returned from an amazing experience in Sierra Leone, where I had the privilege of meeting headteachers, teachers, and pupils from numerous schools. The warmth and generosity of our hosts were overwhelming, showering us with care and thoughtful gifts to bring back to our school.

Interestingly, my visit coincided with their sports day celebrations. It was a joy to witness the festivities, which had a real carnival atmosphere with families joining in and music playing between events. Alongside the traditional running and relay races, I was fascinated by some unique competitions like 'thread the needle' and 'balance the bottle on your head' - perhaps we could introduce these at our next sports day!

The primary purpose of our visit was to explore ways to enhance educational opportunities for children in our 15 link schools. After extensive discussions with our Sierra Leonean colleagues, we've collectively decided to focus our efforts on teacher training. We believe this approach offers a sustainable way to improve the life chances of pupils in our partner schools.

This collaborative project has left me feeling truly inspired. The opportunity to make a tangible difference in the lives of these children is both exciting and humbling. I'm eagerly looking forward to our continued involvement as we breathe life into this new initiative.

The experience has reinforced my belief in the power of education to transform lives. It's reminded me of the importance of our work here, and the positive impact we can have not just in our immediate community, but across the globe.

As we move forward, I'm excited to share more about this project and explore ways our school community can get involved. Your support and enthusiasm for our international links have always been fantastic, and I know together we can make this new chapter a success.

Thank you all for your continued support of our school and its initiatives. Here's to another term of learning, growth, and making a difference!

Sally Morris
Headteacher

spring is here!

Year 2 planted some crocus bulbs in October, thinking about everything they will need to grow. They carefully planted them, checking on them regularly. In December, we saw signs of life with small sprouts coming through the soil and we thought about the roots below the soil. At the start of February, our crocus bulbs had grown significantly. We saw the stem, leaves, buds and even flowers on some of our plants. With some nice weather and warmth coming, our plants have come into full bloom. We were very excited to get them out of the polytunnel and take them home. Don’t they look beautiful. Spring is definitely on its way!

New Hedge Planted

On Tuesday, Wroxall and Lowsonford Classes donned their wellies and gloves to plant over 350 small hedge plants around the border of the field. They dug holes, planted the trees, heeled them in and gave each one a support stake and rabbit-proofing collar. With care and fingers crossed, this will hopefully provide us with a new wildlife corridor for many species to benefit from. Thankfully, it was a lovely sunny day and the children did a tremendous job! Our friendly neighbour Dr Le Tocq was also there to put up the 3 bird boxes and bat box he has made for us. We’ll be keeping our eyes open for nesting birds over the coming weeks. Many thanks to Olivia from the Warwickshire Wildlife Trust who made all of this possible.

Can you help our gardEners?

As the days finally lengthen and warm up (slightly) we are turning our sights towards the garden. We would love to make the most of this incredible space which is an amazing learning tool as well as a peaceful haven for many of our students throughout spring and summer. However, our tool supply is looking rather sorry for itself. Might you have an old trowel or small spade/fork you no longer use that you might donate? Or any children’s gardening gloves that no longer fit? We would be incredibly grateful for any donations you could offer. If you are unable to donate but would still like to help, we have added (hopefully!) some tools and gloves to the school wishlist.

Thank you!

Mrs Grier

Year 5 Sports Leaders

KS1 took part in a fantastic Festival Of Fun sports day today and half of Year 5 were leaders for the day. I was approached by several adults during the day, commenting on how friendly, patient and hard working the Year 5 Leaders were. Exhausted at the end of the day, there were several comments from the children along the lines of ‘I will NEVER be a teacher, ever!’.

Mrs Grier.

Hatton Class

We have been sharing a much loved traditional tale in Hatton Class this week. We have explored the story through, drawing, writing, role-play, modelling and baking! The children were very enthusiastic bakers and worked brilliantly together to make the dough. The children were able to take their finished Gingerbread Folk home at the end of the day. We just hope none got away!

Shrewley Class

This term, Year 4 have been developing their painting skills in art. We have learnt about creating tints and shades, explored different painting techniques and used these to create 3D effects in our paintings. I have been very impressed with the children’s enthusiasm and skill!

Miss Reid

World Book Day

Next Thursday (6th March) is World Book Day and children are invited to come to school dressed in their pyjamas and to bring a favourite book to share with their class.

In celebration of World Book Day, we invite you to contribute to our library by purchasing a book from our Amazon Gift List.

We are always very grateful for donations of quality pre-loved books too!

Your child will bring home their World Book Day token in the coming week. This can either be used to redeem a book from the selection below for free or as £1 discount on a book of their choice.

Many thanks for your support in helping all children at Ferncumbe to develop a love of reading.

Miss Reid