Dear Parents and Carers,

'Perseverance' would be a good word to sum up the week in HB. 'Determination' would be another. Both of these things have shone through from the children. We have seen both attributes in the classroom and on the cross country course. And there has been no lack of friendship and support for one another either.

Attendance

You are all aware of how important it is for your child to attend school every day that school is open and they are fit and well enough to do so. The Primary Curriculum is intensive and makes the most of every minute in a school day: we rarely have time to pause and do nothing! Therefore, if your child misses a day - or even an afternoon- it is almost impossible for them to catch up on learning missed. The more a child is in school at HB, the better prepared they will be for secondary school when the time comes. As I have stated before, even if your child has a slight cold - as long as they feel well enough - please do bring them in. 

A letter on attendance from Ms Carter, TEAM's Director of Inclusion, is enclosed with this news letter.

TEAM Cross Country

It was so good to see almost every TEAM school represented on our field on Monday morning at the TEAM Cross Country. With over two hundred children taking part, this was one of the biggest events in the calendar. As always, thanks go to Mr Turner from Pilton Bluecoat for organising the races and congratulations to everyone who took part. I would also like to say a big thank you to the Class Four children who did such a brilliant job as marshals around the course, helping to guide the runners and cheering them on as they ran along. Well done to Tilly, Olivia L, Louis, Harry E, Taylor, Riley Rae, Oliver M, Megan F, Arianwen, Grace W, Amelia L, Ezra, Oscar S, Frank and Will H who all finished in the top 10 for their races. Also, very well done to Oscar who came second in the Y2 Boys' race; to Ada and Madeliene who were third in the Y2 and Y5 races respectively and to Sonny who came first in the Y5 Boys' race. Most of all though, huge congratulations to these children and to all of the boys and girls from HB who took on this challenging event. You all completed the course and ran super-well: You should all feel extremely proud of yourselves.

Appledore Book Festival

Once again, we have been really pleased to be able to welcome published authors into all classes this week as part of Appledore Book Festival. This has become a regular, annual event for our school and we view it as incredibly important and worthwhile. It has been fantastic to hear about the children's excitement and engagement with the authors this week and I know in a number of cases, children have already been inspired to start getting their stories down on paper (or chrome book). By now, every child should have brought home a book to keep and read - we were given a number of extra copies that we will be putting into the library too. 

Bristol Trip

What a brilliant advert for our school the children were on our trip to Bristol yesterday. They were attentive, polite and respectful as they learnt inside the John Wesley New Room and on our guided walking tour of the centre of the city. Marie in the New Room and Tony, our guide, both commented on how well-behaved the children were and what great knowledge they had. I must give a special mention to Grace, who asked thoughtful questions and showed incredible understanding of the Slave Trade in Bristol. 

Next week

Next Tuesday, Class Four will be off again and will be joined by Class Three on our trip to Farm Wise in Exeter. On Wednesday, Class Two will be visiting Westward Ho! and Northam Burrows as part of their project on coasts. Let's hope the weather stays good for them and that they learn lots.

Mobile Phones

At High Bickington and across TEAM, we have a strict no mobile phones or smart watches in school policy. This includes visitors and parents if they come in to school whilst children are here. If you are on the playground for pick-up, please make sure that you do not have your mobile phone out. Thank you.

Have a lovely weekend,

Rob Norton

Head of School