Kind Award: Tilly Kennedy
Curious Award: Eli Griffiths
Confident Award: Niamh Kennedy
Community Award: Sam Land and Charlie Mitchell
Adventurous Award: Henry Smith
Ambitious Award: Evie Pavitt
Spirit of Devon Award: Isla and Kitty
Endeavour Rose Bowl: Frankie and Hassan
Tony Fletcher Award: Jet Stocks
Tony Bruce Award: William Hill-Dymond
Congratulations too, to Poppy and Fraser on completing their 10 nuresey rhymes as part of Preschool’s Nursery Rhyme Challenge.
This ½ term’s school value is…
We are Ambitious.
We have the highest expectations for all our children and teachers.
In return we give everyone in our school as many opportunities as we can to fulfil their potential in the widest possible sense.
‘Forget what is behind us and reach straight for what is ahead.
Run straight towards the goal.’ (Philippians 3 v12)
Attendance this week
The average for the year is 95.1%
DfE’s expectation for the end of the year is 96%
Hopefully we can improve upon that next year
(Please have a look at our Attendance page on our website for more information.)
Every year for my final newsletter I mention how tough it’s been over the year, the difficult things we’ve navigated and how we’ve all limped over the line… well, there’s no change there!
The past 16 years has been an absolute pleasure. I’ve tried my hardest to ensure that children are kind, curious, confident, adventurous and ambitious, as these are all really important values. However, it’s a village that brings up a child, and being part of our Community has enabled Georgeham to be a special place for everyone here, and one that will stay with me for a very, very long time. Thank you.
What to do over the summer?
Have fun, be safe and read lots.
Me? I’ll be swimming in the sea, kayaking down a river, climbing on Baggy or up a mountain somewhere. (Yeah ok, I may read a bit too.)
Have a great summer everyone and, for one final time, … possibly see you on the beach!
Mr Thomas x
Governors’ End of Term Letter
As we close the year, it is a time of change for many. You will be aware that we are saying goodbye to Mr Thomas after 16 years as our Head Teacher. Governors would like to reiterate our thanks and gratitude for all that he has done for the school over those years. Next year we are delighted to have the support of Ventrus Academy Trust, with whom we will be forming a Management Partnership. This will provide us with strong support and expertise, including interim leadership for the school. Ventrus has significant experience, a strong track record and has worked across schools in North Devon. We are confident this will enable us to ensure that the team and our pupils have access to exceptional support through transition whilst also continuing to develop the relationships we have with local schools in the Braunton Learning Cooperative Trust.
This afternoon we bid our Year 6’s farewell as we celebrated their achievements at the Leavers Assembly. As they move onto secondary school they should feel confident that they are ready for the changes this next phase in their education will bring. A few weeks ago, governors had the pleasure of spending a morning with them talking about their time at Georgeham. The pupils spoke with such joy: “I feel really lucky to be in such an amazing school. It is just awesome” said one. “Keri’s food is actually amazing” said another. Their reflections displayed a maturity beyond their years with some cracking advice for our next Reception cohort: “don’t compare yourself to others – you are your own person” and “every bit of hard work each year makes the next year easier…be confident and learn”. The children clearly relished the opportunities they have had to nurture and be nurtured by children in different year groups at the school and talked enthusiastically of their recent role in helping Class 2 children at the Beach. Their key message for new starters was to take advantage of the opportunities on offer and not to be afraid – something that resonates with all of us: “I was nervous for a lot of opportunities I had…when I finally did them it was fine”.
As ever the interview was a delightful experience – the children were articulate, confident, and reflective beyond their years. Today was our chance to celebrate these attributes as we handed out the Year 6 Awards.
- Jet Stocks was presented with the Tony Fletcher Cup for excelling in his school work while at Georgeham. He has inspired the younger years and encouraged his classmates with his singing, sports, creative writing and art.
- Hassan Alamary and Frankie Donovan were presented with the Endeavour Rose Bowl for their resilience and determination. No matter what challenges they have faces they have tackled them with a strength of character and a smile always on their face.
- Isla Barrow and Kitty Cheal shared the Spirit of Devon award for their kindness and encouragement. They have been the voices of reason, helping hands, incredible role models and invaluable members of the Georgeham community. What will we do without you?
Each and every one of the children we spoke to in Year 6 has left an advocate for the values that run through the heart of our school. Today was also an opportunity to remind ourselves of those values and celebrate children across the school who have exemplified them this year. Our 2023 Values Awards winners are:
- Tilly Kennedy – We Are Kind
- Eli Griffiths – We are Curious
- Henry Smith – We Are Adventurous
- Evie Pavitt – We Are Ambitious
- Niamh Kennedy – We Are Confident
- Sam Land & Charlie Mitchel – We Are Community (and we are so proud of you!)
The school also introduced a new annual award – the Tony Bruce Award for Sportsmanship. For over 25 years Tony was our school football coach. As well as producing great footballers, one thing stood out with all Tony’s players which was their excellent attitude whether they were winning or losing. The team thought it would be fitting to continue this long legacy with a sports award. This award isn’t given to the fastest or the strongest, but to the pupil who has shown the most sportsmanship over the year and the first recipient is William Hill-Dymond for the determination and hard work he has put in to his football and running this year. He has shown courage, kindness and resilience in all he has taken part in and we are very proud of what he has achieved.
Our School Values mean a lot to us. They are the thread that links experiences, expectations, and aspirations at the school. This year Mr Thomas has led a large piece of work to look at how our values are reflected in our curriculum so that pupils can see how values link to and guide learning. If you haven’t already seen them, please have a look at the Values hexagons that are displayed around the school and on our website.
This year has been a busy one for the school. The children have enjoyed residentials to Lundy, London and St Georges House, and many school trips. We’ve added a wonderful new Library area in the School House and are currently adapting Class One to welcome children into our new Foundation Stage Unit in September. With the help of a keen group of parents we have revitalised our menu of after school clubs and are now offering French lessons, Art Club, gym club, tennis club and basketball club. We’ve seen a return of the Christmas Craft Fayre, celebrations and worship in the church at Christmas and Easter and last week saw a slightly damp Summer Fete moved with gusto to the Village Hall. The amazing FROGs team raised over £2,000 for the school.
The wonder and resilience of our pupils, the commitment of our marvellous staff team and the support of the wider parent community will ensure that the school continues to flourish and live true to our vision of being a ‘small school with huge horizons’. For now, the Governors with you all a happy and restful summer break.
Dates of note:
Returning on Tuesday 5th September (Monday inset for staff)
Do please check the school calendar, you can find it at the bottom of the website home page, but here is a link for speed : Click here
We’re a Nut free school, so that means that most kinds of tree nuts (such as almonds, cashews, hazelnuts, pine nuts) and also peanuts shouldn’t be brought in to school. Sadly, this also means that pesto sauce shouldn’t be brought into school as it contains pine nuts. Sorry if this causes any inconvenience, but I hope you can help us as best as you can to keep our children safe.
Clubs Webpage for more info…
Attendance… We frequently report the attendance of individual year groups as it’s a really good way to see if school attendance is at a good percentage… with it as high as possible of course! The DfE have a target of 96.5% but sadly, we finished the year, last July, being slightly below this.
Attending school regularly is vital to help children achieve and to give them the best possible start in life. It’s also a legal requirement of parents once children are of school age and enrolled in mainstream education. Ofsted has a strong view about attendance of course and, therefore, too many absences can lead into difficult discussions about how we can support children to achieve and do well – we could even be downgraded for our current Good status as a result.
Absences will only be authorised if they meet exceptional circumstances. With only 190 statutory school days in the year, there are 175 days (weekends and school holidays) left to plan for family visits, non-urgent medical/dental appointments, holidays etc. School holidays are published well in advance and parents are expected to plan and take family holidays at this time so as not to disrupt their child’s education. We also try to arrange our Inset (training) days to provide time for travel… such as this term’s October 21st.
Holidays… are almost always not recognised as meeting ‘exceptional circumstances’ and therefore an absence would be unauthorised. This could result in a penalty notice being issued by DCC.
Punctuality is important too, and the earlier we get our children into the right habits, the better. You may not realise that being just 5 minutes late every day equals 3 days of school lost a year. Please bring your child for 8.45am when they door is open and the classroom has a learning activity ready for them.
The school’s Designated Safeguarding Lead is Julian Thomas
Our Deputy Safeguarding Leads are Emma Hill and, our interim SENDCo, Laura Hapgood
You can contact us on dsl@georgeham-primary.devon.
If you have any concerns that you’d like to discuss, please call through to Lottie and ask for an appointment. You may also find some useful or helpful information on our Safeguarding webpage… https://georgehamceps.wpengine.com/staying-safe/
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