The end of term has finally arrived. I know all the children are very happy because it means that Christmas Day is getting closer and Father Christmas will finally be making his deliveries. It has been an enjoyable week in school for them though because of all the Christmas activities. On Monday we had our Christmas Carol Concert which was well attended and very well received. I would like to congratulate all the children on their very good performances, especially those that did readings or performed solos. It takes great courage to stand up in front of a lot of people and all our children did it very well. I would also like to thank all the staff for their hard work in putting the concert together.

On Wednesday and Thursday we had our Christmas parties which the children really enjoyed. Father Christmas actually turned up at the Foundation and KS1 parties so the children were very pleased about that. This morning we have had our Annual Christmas pantomime. I am typing this whilst it is going on and I can hear whoops of delight coming from the children. I do like to send the children off on a high for the Christmas holidays and the pantomime certainly helps to do that. The last thing we will do this afternoon before we break up is to all sing ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’ together. This performance does not have much musical merit but is hugely enjoyed by the children.

All that is left for me to do now is to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I would also like to thank all the people who sent me Christmas gifts – they are all lovely and very much appreciated. I look forward to seeing you all again in the new year when we return which is on Tuesday, January 7^th.

What a week this has been - it has passed by in a whirl as it has just been one event after another. We had the great pleasure this week of watching the Foundation stage and KS1 Christmas performances and all the people who have watched them said what amazing performances they were. The Foundation children sang some Christmas songs for the parents (and played instruments to accompany the songs). This was then followed by the KS1 performance which was called ‘Lights, Camel, Action’ and it retold the events surrounding the birth of Jesus through a made up dance show that could certainly give ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ a run for its money. As well as congratulating the children on their amazing performances I would like to thank all my staff for their hard work in putting the shows together.

We had our Christmas lunch this week which all the children really enjoyed. So that all the staff can eat lunch together, some parent volunteers came in to help supervise the children and I would like to thank them for doing this. During this occasion, the Year 6 children serve the staff with their meal (after all the staff have served them first) and I have to say that they did a very good job this year.

We also held our ‘Christmas Café’ on this day. We cancelled it last week because of the rain but it rained even harder on the actual day so we had to hold the event inside. The children still had a good time though and enjoyed taking part in the treasure hunt in the school – I was watching some of them and they did get very excited when they found their clues so they could get their ‘treasure’ at the end. I would like to thank all the parents who supported the event and I would like to give special thanks, again, to all the members of the PTA who organised the event. The PTA do an amazing job in fundraising for the school and without them we would be a much less well-resourced school. The next items they intend to purchase for the school are a new piano and an electronic keyboard which will help enhance the quality of the music lessons.

To end the week, we had Christmas Jumper Day. Thank you to everyone who sent in donations. ‘Save the Children’ is a very worthy cause so I think it is good that we support it. We have made our video today and when it has been edited we will put it up on the website. The children had great fun making it so I hope that comes through in the final cut (although please do not judge me on the quality of my dancing - I now have renewed respect for all the contestants who take part in ‘Strictly Come Dancing’).

Next week is almost as busy. On Monday we have our Sharing assembly and then the KS2 Carol Service in the evening at Christ Church. On Wednesday and Thursday we have our Christmas parties – there will be more on the class blogs about those. We finish the week with our pantomime ‘Dick Whittington’ on Friday which I know the children will all love. As it is the end of term we will be finishing at 2.00pm so do not forget about the early finish.

Have a great weekend and I will see you all again on Monday.

As you know we had to cancel the PTA Christmas Hunt because of the forecast of bad weather. It has been rescheduled for next Thursday when we can guarantee that it will take place as it will be held indoors if it is raining outside.  I hope we will still be able to see many of you then as I know the children love events like this. Those of you who are attending the Foundation stage and Key Stage One Christmas performances will be able to buy tickets for the Christmas hampers in advance of the Christmas Café (where the draw will be held) as tickets will be on sale at these performances.

You may not have seen me around much this week as I have had a lot of meetings to attend – I think they have all been held this week so that they do not interfere with the Christmas shows. I am just telling you this in case you have been wondering where I have been and so I can assure you that I have been working – I have not been giving myself time off to go Christmas shopping.

However, now that I have mentioned the ‘C’ word I can let you know that we are in full swing with our preparations for Christmas. Next week, as I mentioned above, our younger children are performing their Christmas shows for their families and friends and I am very excited about seeing them. These shows are one of the highlights of my year and I know parents really look forward to seeing them as well.

On Wednesday afternoon we have our ‘Open afternoon’ where parents who have children in classes Year 1 – Year 6 can look at the learning their children have produced over the last half term. It runs from 3.00pm – 4.30pm. We start it during the school day as the children really enjoy sharing their learning with their parents. If your child is in Year 1 or 2 you can look at their books after the show and take your children home early rather than wait around for the end of the school day. You can also take any older children home early as well.

We have our Christmas lunch next week on Thursday. The children look forward to this because it is the only time in the year when the teachers serve them their meal. The teachers also sing some carols to them but I do not think that they look forward to that as much.

On Friday it is Christmas Jumper Day. This is a national fundraising event which supports many people in need. The charity asks that everyone brings in £2 for being allowed to wear a Christmas jumper at school or work but if that is too much at this time of year please just donate £1. We are hoping to put together a little video of all the children in their Christmas jumpers so if you would rather your children did not take part in this video please let the school office know.

That is all for now. As you can see it is a really busy week next week in school so please try and let the children get some rest over the weekend. We have had a few children going down with viruses which is common at this time of year but we would like them all to be in for the last two weeks of term as there are lots of fun activities taking part for them to enjoy.