It has been a fabulous week in school. It started with the Foundation stage and Key Stage one performing their shows and  everyone who watched them thought that all the children were amazing. The Foundation children sang some Christmas songs for us and did so with ‘great gusto’ and then KS1 performed ‘Born in a Barn’ which is based on the nativity story. It contained songs, dance and acting and the children did so well it was hard to believe that they are only six and seven – the older children in the school certainly have a lot to live up to when they put their performances on later in the year. I would also like to thank all my staff who were involved in these shows for all their efforts in putting the performances together. One of the reasons that these shows were so good is because of all the work the staff put in behind the scenes and I think it is important to recognise that.

Yesterday we had our annual Christmas dinner which all the children love as the staff serve them their food and they get an extended lunch time with music in the playground followed by a movie in the hall. It went really well this year and I would like to thank all the parents who volunteered to look after the children in the playground. I would also like to thank our kitchen staff for the wonderful meals that they provide for the staff and children all year long and not just at Christmas time.

Today was another exciting day for the children as it was ‘Christmas Jumper Day’. All the children looked great in their festive wear but the good thing is that they were doing it for a very worthy charity which is ‘Save the Children’. I will let you know how much money we raised next week. All the money raised across the UK goes towards trying to improve the lives of disadvantaged children in the UK and across the world.

Next week we still have lots to look forward to. On Monday we have one of our Sharing Assemblies and if your child is involved you will have received the letter informing you about it. On Tuesday KS1 have got their Christmas party in the afternoon and, apparently, a special visitor may be dropping in to see them. KS2 have their party on Wednesday afternoon but before that the whole school will be watching a pantomime. This has now become an annual tradition at Little Heath and this year the children are watching Rapunzel.

With all that happening we will certainly be ready to break up for our holiday. Please remember that the school finishes at 2.00pm on Friday.

We cannot deny that the festive season is upon us. The school is decorated and all the Christmas preparations for all the shows and events are well underway with the children all becoming very excited at the prospect of Father Christmas’s impending arrival. Unfortunately, a side effect of all this, is that some of the children can become a little more irritable at this time of year (especially since it has also been a long term) so we do ask that you ensure that they get plenty of sleep to help them cope with all the excitement.

They will certainly need their rest because there is a lot going on next week. On Tuesday and Wednesday the Foundation stage and KS1 will be performing their productions for all their families. They have all put a lot of hard work into this and I know they are looking forward to performing their shows in front of an audience.

On Wednesday we also have our ‘Open Afternoon’ which runs from 3.00pm – 4.00pm. We hold this every half term to give parents with children in Years 1-6 an opportunity to share all the learning their children have covered over the last half term. If you are watching your child in the KS1 production you can look at their work immediately afterwards and then take them home. If you have any children in KS2 you can also take them home early rather than return to the school to collect them at a later time.

On Thursday we are having our School Christmas dinner which all the children love because they sit down and all the staff serve them their meal. Even if your child has a packed lunch they still enjoy the event because we give them all crackers and we play music in the playground and the dining hall. The children can wear Christmas hats/headbands on this day to help get them in the ‘party-mood’. This is then followed with the whole school watching a film in the hall.

On Friday it is ‘Christmas Jumper Day’. This is a national fundraising event organised by ‘Save the Children’ to help give children in the UK and around the world a chance to build a better future. This year the campaign is asking for everyone to donate £2 but we will let the children wear a Christmas jumper to school if they donate £1 as we know how expensive this time of year can be. They do not have to wear their school uniform with their Christmas jumper.

Of course before any of the above happens we have our big Christmas Event to look forward to on Sunday which is being run by our PTA. I would like to thank them all for their hard work in putting the event together and I would also like to thank all of you for your generous donations of food and drink that you have sent in towards this. The event is running from 11am - 4.00pm so I am sure that I will see most of you at some point during the day.

Have a fabulous weekend – try not to get too tired with all your Christmas preparations.