Welcome

Welcome Back

It is lovely to see the children back safe and sound, all shiny and looking gorgeous in their Strand uniform! We hope you had an enjoyable break and are ready to face the challenges of the new term. The children certainly seem to be settling back in with ease. However, should you have any concerns about – or encounter any problems with – school, please pop in and chat to your class teacher in the first instance as we may be able to sort matters out quickly and painlessly. A very special mention to Year 3 who are looking like very confident Juniors after just three days – what stars! Well done to the Year 3 parents too as they have been doing a fantastic job helping their children become more independent by wishing them farewell in the playground and waiting patiently for their return in the evenings; it is really helping them to settle into the Junior routines. The Year 3 staff are out in the playground before and after school so if you want to chat about your child’s day, don’t be shy! Please make sure you have returned all the paperwork we sent home in your packs as soon as possible. If you have a query about it, please speak to Janet or Kevin in the office.

New Faces

A special welcome to the new children who have joined us, both in Year 3 and across the school. They have made a fantastic start and are looking like Strandites already! We also have new faces amongst the staff. Ellie Heale, Zoe Turrell, Tehillah Obado and Emily Stevenson have settled in well and entertained the children with their talents at the first assembly of the year – who would have guessed they were all such talented singers – although Zoe’s triple salchow left a little to be desired! Ellie impressed us with her qualified sailor status, whilst Zoe shared her fear of ketchup (bizarrely shared by Catherine Rigby!) and no one was surprised when sporty spice Emily told us of her pride in being awarded player of the season for her netball team. This year, to challenge the children even more, we threw in some hidden talents of longer serving members of staff. Who knew that Miss Coulton was an ice-skater champion (well at least at elementary level!) in her youth, Mrs Jones rowed in the boat race for Oxford, Mrs Ristic survived a 6.3 earthquake or Mrs Day showed great determination in passing her driving test after 6 attempts?