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Posted on: September 14th 2018

A Message from Gareth Nation

Welcome back everyone - I hope you all had a wonderful Summer Holiday.  

What a fantastic start to 2018 - 2019 we’ve had. Several members of staff, children and parents have commented on our wonderful school hall which was decorated over the Summer Holidays and has a new floor! In addition, we have a bright ‘new’ classroom - Totnes. Welcome to Mr Allington who has settled in wonderfully at Castle School and all the children who have joined us this year. We’re fortunate to have you all. It has been lovely to see the children return to school looking well presented and arriving punctually. We’ve set the standard for the year and others are noticing what a smashing group of children we have...

Last week, we had a visit from the Campaigns Manager of the communications team for the Prime Minister’s and Cabinet Office. I was thrilled that he commented on what  smart, polite, friendly and welcoming children we have at Castle School. I couldn’t agree more! I have to say, the staff and I have noticed an improved attitude and maturity in the school.  It shows the children are increasingly resilient, determined and willing to embrace every opportunity we give them.

There has been a noticeable increase in parents requesting term-time leave. May I remind everyone that these will likely be unauthorised, and you may well incur a penalty fine.

Finally, we have a revised governance structure across The Trust and we welcome enquiries from anyone who is interested in joining. Please come in to the school office for more details and/or an application form.  

 

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A Message from Gareth Nation Posted on: 30/11/2018

A Message from Gareth Nation

Our Poppies and Peace exhibition was so popular and so impressive, that FOCS members and parents have very kindly moved it to the URC. I would like to thank all the children and their families for making such fabulous work, the teachers for taking the time and effort to display it so impressively and of course all those who are continuing to ensure it is displayed in the village. Thanks also to the URC for the use of the space. Well done to Dartmouth for a successful cake sale last week. It was lovely to see so many of you supporting. As you are aware, clubs have now stopped until the Spring Term. Can I remind everyone the importance of teaching the children about commitment. If your child/children sign up to a club, it is important they commit to it. Teachers give up their time to ensure the pupils access these extracurricular activities and it’s only worth doing if they have a sufficient number of children attend. Can you also please inform the teachers if your child is unable to attend a session for any reason, otherwise we have to chase to ensure they are home safe and sound. This week, the Ethos and Welfare Committee met at school to discuss the outcomes for pupils and to review the effectiveness and impact of various aspects of school life. We aim to meet three times each academic year (termly). It would be super to have more members on the panel. It is our school and your input is vital and valued. Please contact the office if you are interested in joining the team! On the final page of the newsletter, you’ll find a summary of your responses to the parent survey. It’s pleasing to see you all recognise Castle School continues to grow and improve. Finally, our attendance is also improving and I’m thrilled to say it is currently 96.3%.  Categories: 1 CategorySchool News
A Message from Gareth Nation Posted on: 16/11/2018

A Message from Gareth Nation

Welcome back. I hope you all had a restful and enjoyable half term break. Last Tuesday, the majority of children from Castle Primary School went to visit Bovington Tank Museum and it was a hugely successful trip. A big thank you to Mrs Downes for organising and to all staff for their assistance with the trip (especially those who attended voluntarily). The ‘education lead’ at the museum said the children were wonderful and we’re welcome back anytime! Well done children - I expected nothing less. It was a timely trip. Class Drogo had a quiet, peaceful and productive day at the school! On Friday, we gathered in the school hall to remember those who gave their lives for our freedom. The children have created some marvellous artwork based on Armistice and it served as an ideal center piece to our mini-service in school. I’d like to thank all those who attended the Remembrance Service at Ham Hill on Sunday. A special thank you to Lola, John, Amiyah and Zac for laying our wreath on behalf of Castle. It was lovely to see so many of you there. This week, most classes have visited the exhibition in the village and we’re proud that some photographs of the homework created by the children is on display. I was thrilled to see so many of you at you parents evening this week, these sessions are crucial to inform you about your child’s progress in school and how hard they are working. Thank you to all of you for your feedback via our survey. The parent feedback shows the school has made improvements in all areas and we’re endeavouring to further improve reporting on your child’s progress and ensuring consistency of homework. Finally, well done for everyone’s kind donations towards Children in Need.   Categories: 1 CategorySchool News
A Message from Gareth Nation Posted on: 26/10/2018

A Message from Gareth Nation

The end of the first half of the autumn term has been as busy, exciting and successful as the start. Last week, I welcomed Mrs A Jefferey to Castle School (Early Years and Primary Adviser from Support Services for Education). We had a tour of the school and discussed life at Castle. As ever, I was proud to show our wonderful school to someone who’d never visited us before! We had an enjoyable Harvest Festival with an amazing turnout of family and friends to support the children on stage. It was a pleasure to welcome Rev Annie Gurner - I hope you enjoyed the pizza! Well done to all involved. Another successful event this week was our Open Day. We had a record number of people in one visit and they made some lovely comments about Castle School. I would like to say a special ‘thank you’ to Orchards Estate Agents in Stoke Sub Hamdon for all their support, time and effort in helping promote various aspects and events at Castle School - you’ve really helped us out and it is greatly appreciated! Please read our Sporting News section. The Sports Journalists have been busy reporting on the intra-school competitions, cross country (well done to all our runners - you were fab) and our netball team.  Categories: 1 CategorySchool News
A Message from Gareth Nation Posted on: 12/10/2018

A Message from Gareth Nation

As ever, a lot has happened since our last newsletter! We have had a languages afternoon, during which the children moved to different classes and learnt either German, Spanish, Italian or French. The children then presented what they’d learnt in assembly at the end of the day. It’s amazing how quickly they pick up new words and phrases! Thank you to all the teachers and staff for assisting with this lovely opportunity for the children. Reverend Peter Thomas came into school this week and gave an assembly about the Lord’s Prayer. Thank you on behalf of Castle School. He is one of several visitors to the school over the past two weeks and I am constantly delighted to hear visitors making such lovely remarks about our school and your children. Words such as ‘calm, focused, polite, well-mannered and resilient’ children seem to be common place here at Castle. We also welcomed the team for Open the Book assembly this week - thanks to you all for your time. Finally, we had a fireman come to the school and gave a safety talk to the children in Year 2 and Year 5. Well done to our Cross Country runners on Wednesday. I hear you represented our school wonderfully. Unfortunately, we only had 4 children take part so not enough for a ‘team’ and therefore we won’t score on the leaderboards. Let’s aim for at least 15 children at the next event. Most of you will have noticed that Mrs Szarmach has been selling pumpkins and vegetable packs at the end of the day. Thank you Mrs Szarmach and the children for your efforts in growing and selling these items. Our winning class this week for attendance is Totnes. They received an extra playtime today. The class with the highest attendance for this half term will be able to wear non school uniform for a day. You will be notified who the winning class is soon.  Categories: 1 CategorySchool News
A Message from Gareth Nation Posted on: 28/09/2018

A Message from Gareth Nation

The school year is in full swing! I’m thrilled to say that our attendance figures are currently above our end of year target - lets keep it that way! Thanks to all of you for ensuring your child/children arrive at school on time. Well done to Drogo class who have the highest attendance in school - they received an extra playtime today. The winning class at the end of half term will receive a non school uniform day. This year, Castle School is aiming to achieve its Games Mark award and raise the profile of sport. So far, YTFC have given an assembly to encourage children to take part in the after school football club - if you’re child/children are interested, come to the office for an application form. Classes are starting the Daily Mile, we’ve registered for Bikeability (later in the year) and our netball team have played their first 3 matches (see our Sport Journalist Report). Well done to Castle School Netball Team and Mrs Oliver for training the players to win their first matches of the season! Cross country events are fast approaching (see separate letter). Please encourage your child/children to take part in these fun and important events. The swimming pool is still in use; we will notify you when we stop using the pool due to the cold weather. Last week, we had a number of teachers and heads of school come to Castle for some maths training. Once again, we were complimented for our polite, hardworking children and for a lovely school environment. Also, year 2 and year 5 had a fire safety talk from the fire brigade. Thank you to those who came in and gave the assembly and to the children for being so well behaved. I’m delighted that during the summer holidays, we had over 40 children sign up to the Summer Reading Challenge. Well done to all those children and thank you parents for supporting them to engage with this important activity. Thank you to Mrs Downes for organising. Next year, our target is for at least half of the school to engage with the Summer Reading Challenge.  Categories: 1 CategorySchool News
Safeguarding Posted on: 14/09/2018

Safeguarding

Safeguarding Safeguarding is high priority at Castle Primary School. We take every opportunity to ensure that our pupil’s safety is paramount. We want our pupils to be healthy and happy and to develop well both physically and mentally. The school follows the latest Government Guidance to ensure we are fulfilling our duties in this important area. The designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) and contact at School is Gareth Nation and our Deputy Safeguarding Leads are Jo Knobbs and Helen Rainford.  The School’s Safeguarding policy can be found online at www.castleprimaryschool.com/759/safeguarding.  If you have any concerns about the safety of a child you can phone Somerset Direct on 0300 123 2224. Please visit our website for more safety advice.    Categories: 1 CategorySchool News
A message from Gareth Nation Posted on: 13/07/2018

A message from Gareth Nation

As ever, it has been a busy couple of weeks. Sports Day was absolutely fantastic - thank you to those who came along in support of  the event and for cheering your little ones along in their races! Thank you to Charlie for giving up your time to set everything up (and all the other ‘bits and bobs’ you’ve done this term). Transition Day was also a huge success. It was lovely to see the children working in their new classes and I have heard that our current Year 6 children represented Castle School (and themselves) wonderfully well at Stanchester.  Rev. Peter Thomas came to school this week and gave an assembly about change and the courage we need to embrace changes in our lives - it was a timely message indeed! Well done and thank you to FoCS for organising a super Summer Fayre and for all you’ve done for the children of Castle this year! As I was showing a prospective parent and her child around the school on Tuesday, we were delighted to see the swim gala in full swing. Music, splashing, swimming and cheering at poolside - what a wonderful experience for all the children involved. Well done staff for organising such a fabulous event. I’d like to say farewell and well done to all our Year 6 children. One more week and your primary education will come to an end! We wish you all the very best of luck in everything you do. I would like to thank all the parents, carers, family members and children of Castle School for making my first year here such a wonderful experience. To the staff at Castle, you have been a pleasure to work with this year and I look forward to embracing the changes, challenges and success in the years to come.  Categories: 1 CategorySchool News
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