Newsletter

Head Teacher's Welcome

Welcome back! We hope you all had a lovely Easter and a relaxing break and are feeling revitalised for the last term of this academic year. After a fabulous albeit cold and wet Spring Term, we are hoping for warmer weather to be able to enjoy our lovely outdoors this summer.

We have lots of exciting activities planned, and we look forward to welcoming you to the different events throughout this term. 

School Staff

We would like to take a moment to address some changes in our staffing and leadership structure. As many of you may have noticed, since Mrs Maria Beck joined our team in January, Mrs Caroline Newcombe has reduced her hours while maintaining her presence in school every day to provide consistency for our children and staff.

We want to inform you that Mrs Newcombe plans to retire from teaching at the end of this academic year. During the Summer Term, Mrs Beck and Mrs Newcombe will collaborate as Head Teachers under a formal job share arrangement. This will facilitate a smooth transition, with Mrs Beck set to take on the Headship for the next academic year.

Here is how the responsibilities will be structured during the Summer Term:

• Mrs Beck will lead on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays.
• Mrs Newcombe will maintain her role on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Mrs Newcombe is confident that she is leaving the school in capable hands, as do we all. We believe that under the guidance of our dedicated staff, all children at Colston Bassett will continue to thrive, and we are sure you will all join us in wishing Mrs Newcombe much happiness for her forthcoming retirement.

We would also like to take a moment to address a recent change regarding Mr Adam Miller's presence in school. As many of you may have noticed, Mr Miller has not been around as frequently in recent weeks. After 16 dedicated years at Colston Bassett School, he has decided to embark on a new career path while continuing to work at school. To support Mr Miller during this transition, we have agreed to a revised work schedule. He will now be working at school on Mondays and Thursdays, during which he will continue in his current roles within the office and as a Teaching Assistant. For the remainder of the week, please feel free to contact the school office as usual – Mrs Newcombe, Mrs Beck and Mr Deach will be monitoring the office email and phone, and they are always here to assist you with any queries you might have. 

We are sure that you will all join us in wishing Mr Miller much success in his new venture while he continues to contribute to our school community.

Visits and Visitors

We have arranged a whole school outing to Cadbury World in Birmingham on Tuesday 7th July 2026. To tie in with this year’s summer production ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’, the children will discover first-hand how chocolate is made, enjoy exciting rides, meet Cadbury characters and much more! Further details will be provided in our next newsletter and via letter.

Easter Service

Thank you to all of you who attended our first Easter service before the holidays. It was a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the season in a traditional manner, and your presence made it even more special. The children performed a range of songs and readings beautifully, showcasing their hard work and enthusiasm. Thank you once again for your support and involvement in our community.

Open Morning

We are pleased to announce that our annual Open Morning will be held on Wednesday 6th May 2026, starting at 9:00am. Children are expected to attend the registration period at 8:45am as usual. Following this, we warmly invite parents to come into the school to view their children’s work and wall displays. Tea, coffee and light refreshments will be available in the art room for those who wish to partake. This event provides an excellent opportunity for all parents to engage with our staff, who will be available to answer any questions you may have about the curriculum and the various activities we conduct at school. We also encourage extended family members, such as grandparents, aunties and uncles, to join us and experience what our school has to offer. We look forward to seeing everyone there.

Assessment Week

As we enter the Summer Term, we will be conducting assessments with all the children during the week commencing Monday 11th May 2026. The purpose of these assessments is twofold:

• To provide valuable feedback for our teachers to highlight any areas that may require additional focus.
• To identify each child's independent progress.

It is crucial that we strive to meet the needs of every child and ensure that all children feel prepared as we transition into the new school year, which is just around the corner.

Sports Day / 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'

We would like to remind you about some important events that will take place towards the end of the term. Please mark your calendars for the following:

• Sports Day: Scheduled for Friday 26th June 2026 at 2:00pm, with a reserve date of Friday 3rd July 2026.
• ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ (Summer Production) and Leavers’ Service: Set for Thursday 23rd July 2026 at 2:00pm.

More detailed information regarding these events will be provided in our next newsletter.

Show and Tell

For your information, please see below for all the ‘Show and Tell’ assembly dates for the coming term. These will continue to take place in assembly on Tuesday afternoons.

'Starbooks'

The children will soon receive their invitations to participate in 'Starbooks'. Please note the dates for the upcoming term:

• Friday 24th April 2026
• Friday 15th May 2026
• Friday 19th June 2026
• Friday 10th July 2026

As a reminder, if your child wishes to take part in 'Starbooks', they are expected to read at home three times each week. It is essential that a parental signature is provided in their reading records as proof of completion. Please be aware that without a parental signature, the children will not be eligible for a hot chocolate reward.

Thank you for your support in encouraging your child’s reading habits.

Chick Hatching Project

We are very excited to announce an exciting project for this half term. On Tuesday 12th May 2026, we will be receiving a delivery of seven chicken eggs, along with all the necessary equipment to hatch and care for them. We anticipate that the eggs will begin to hatch around Thursday 14th May 2026 and we will have the chicks in our care for an additional week, during which the children will have the opportunity to help look after them and witness their growth.

The company that supplies our eggs, Incredible Eggs, offers us the option to keep the hatched chicks, or alternatively, they can take them back to one of their farms to live. For families interested in adopting a chick, Incredible Eggs has provided comprehensive information regarding the requirements and animal welfare conditions necessary for ownership.

If you are considering adopting a chick, please let us know through the school office. It is important that we inform Incredible Eggs of any interested families before they come to collect the chicks, as availability will be on a first-come, first-served basis.

We hope this experience will be both educational and enjoyable for the children!

Fundraising Week

This half term, the School Council has organised a fundraising week to support our council's initiatives and benefit the school as a whole. We would greatly appreciate your support and involvement in our planned activities.

The fundraising week will take place during the week commencing 18th May 2026. We have an exciting line-up of events, which are detailed below:

1. Sponsored Walk
- Date: Tuesday 19th May 2026
- We will be holding a sponsored walk around the school grounds at 9:00am and warmly invite parents to join us. Sponsorship forms will be distributed to all the children, and we encourage you to seek sponsorship from family and friends to help us raise funds.

2. 'Break The Rules' Day
- Date: Thursday 21st May 2026
- On this day, the children will be sent home with a list of five fun rules that they are allowed to break. For each rule they choose to break, there will be a small cost of £1.00.The idea behind this initiative is to encourage creativity and self-expression among our children in a lighthearted manner. The rules they can choose from include playful options such as crazy hair styles, non-uniform attire and wearing mismatched socks.

3. Late Spring/Summer Fayre
- Date: Friday 22nd May 2026
- This event will begin at 9:00am at the school and include refreshments, a cake baking competition, games, stalls and a tombola. Participation in the baking competition is optional; if interested, it will cost £2.00 to enter and will be judged by the teaching staff. The winner will be announced, and cakes can be sold by the slice. We also encourage the children to bring some loose change for games. Any donations for the tombola would be greatly appreciated.

We hope you will join us for some or all of these events. Your support means a lot, and we look forward to seeing you there! Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact a member of the School Council or a staff member.

Thank you in advance for your support.

Holidays in Term Time

Could we kindly request that, where possible, family trips/days out be arranged during school holidays or outside of school hours. We recognise that there are exceptional circumstances, such as family celebrations or work-related travel, where deviations may be necessary, and we are always willing to accommodate such situations. This request is aimed at minimising disruption to the children’s education, which we understand is vital. We are aware that costs can be quite high during peak holiday times and so to help with this, we adjusted our school holiday calendar last academic year to offer families greater flexibility in planning their holidays outside of the official school break periods.

Thank you for your co-operation.

Safety in the Sun

As we approach the summer months, we kindly ask for your co-operation in ensuring your child is adequately protected from the sun during outdoor activities at school. Please consider providing a bottle of sun cream for your child. You have the option to either leave a bottle at school or keep it in your child’s book bag to bring home when necessary. We have observed that the sun can be deceptively warm in May, even when the mornings feel chilly. To help keep our children safe, we strive to limit outdoor play without appropriate sun protection. While we do have high protection factor sun cream available at school for those who may not have brought their own, we recommend providing your own to minimise the risk of any potential allergies. Additionally, school sun hats are essential. If your child does not already have one, we have a supply available for purchase at school. Thank you.

School Lane

As always, the health and safety of our school children is paramount. We kindly ask for your co-operation in addressing an important issue regarding traffic on School Lane.

Recently, we have received a growing number of concerns about the traffic conditions during drop-off and pick-up times. School Lane, being a narrow residential road, can become quite congested, particularly at peak times. This congestion poses an increased risk to our young children and adults, which we are keen to avoid at all costs.

To enhance safety, we respectfully remind everyone of the following points:

1. Pedestrian Zone Compliance: Please refrain from stopping or parking on the pedestrian zone marked by yellow zig-zag lines for drop-offs, pick-ups, or turning around. This area must remain clear at all times to ensure the safe passage of our children.
2. Mindful Driving: We ask all parents to drive with extra caution and to keep speeds to a minimum when navigating School Lane, especially during school hours.
3. Child Safety: Please reinforce with your children the importance of never running into the road. The school is responsible for children only while they are on the premises, so it is crucial that they remain safe when travelling to and from school.
4. Use of Martins Car Park: We would like to remind you that we have an agreement with the Martins pub for our parents to use their car park during drop-off and pick-up times. This facility is just a short walk from the school and is a safer option for everyone involved.

We encourage you to share this message with anyone who may be dropping off or picking up your child, as your support is vital in maintaining the safety of our community.

Finally, we ask that you respect our local residents by avoiding parking in or obstructing their driveways. By doing so, we will help minimise disruption around their homes.

Thank you for your understanding and co-operation in ensuring the health and safety of all who use School Lane. Together, we can create a safer environment for our children.

Curriculum

Dates for your Diary

Please refer to the ‘Calendar’ on the school website:

www.colstonbassettschool.com/parent.php#parent_calendar