BeSpace and the Uffington Benefice of Churches organised a Prayer Space in St Faith’s Church to give the children an opportunity to experience prayer in a personal way. We were very grateful to the volunteers and for everyone’s hard work in providing this experience for the children. The children made pipe cleaner figures of a pearson who supports them and also wrote a wish for someone who is important to them.
We had the most enjoyable Harvest Service on Friday 29th September and it was so lovely to see so many parents and families attend the celebration. St Faith’s church was full and the children sang their hearts out! We would like to extend our appreciation and thanks to The Reverend Jeremy Goulston who led our service. Thank you also for your generous donations in support of towards The Buddy Bag Foundation which raised £115.05. ‘A Rainbow of Fruits’ painted by our EYFS children for our Harvest Service
Children in Year 4, 5 and 6 headed off to Yenworthy Lodge on Exmoor in September for a week of surfing, rock climbing and other outdoor activities with Mrs Sucksmith, Mrs Carter and myself. It was a privilege to spend a week with the children who all embraced challenge and demonstrated growth mindset when facing new experiences. Everyone involved showed a willingness to successfully work together in teams and to support each other in a variety of different ways. The Yenworthy staff commented positively about their behaviour, manners and their resilience. Class 3 had a wonderful time exploring Warwick Castle, not even the rain and wind could dampen their spirits! The children experienced a workshop about how to attack and defend the castle and they explored the Great Hall in all its splendour. The children watched the most amazing falconry display where birds of prey dived over their heads and saw an archer at work trying out his aim! The class climbed to the top of the Conqueror's Fortress and cast their eyes over the amazing view ofthe River Avon and the land beyond the castle walls. What a fantastic way to kick-start the topic this term!
We often talk to the children about the ‘Shellingford School Family Learning Culture’ and refer to this in our lessons. We expect all our pupils to have a ‘Growth Mindset’ and for children to embrace challenge, to persevere and learn from mistakes, show curiosity, enjoy learning together and have aspirations. We would really appreciate if you could help encourage your child/ren to ‘not give up’ when things go wrong, and to encourage resilience when issues arise with their learning or friendship difficulties. Our poster is up around the school as a visual prompt for the children. It is also on the Curriculum page of our school website and may be helpful for parents to refer to when supporting your child/ren at home
As a church school our Christian vision is at the heart of our provision and steers all we do with ourpupils and with one another. This term we are focusing on having ‘roots and foundation in love’(Ephesians 3:17) to help inspire and guide our hearts and minds. In our Collective Worship and aspart of daily activities and interactions we remind ourselves that the best roots we can have can beprovided by Jesus and demonstrated by the way we show love for other people. We hope that thiswill become the foundation of our lives to enable us to grow into good people.
We ended the academic year by wishing our Year Six children all the very best for their future as they begin the next chapter in their lives. The service was held at St Faith’s Church, Shellingford and was a memorable occasion for us all.
We had two perfect afternoons for our Sports Days for the younger and older children across the school. Mrs Setchell organised a range of physical activities and competitive races to encourage team building and to promote our ‘Heart’ Values (Honesty, Effort, Aspiration, Respect and Team Work).
Our Summer Production was again of a high standard! Congratulations to the children for two fantastic performances and to Miss Hill, Mrs Peacock and Miss Broomfield for leading the production. £163.40 was raised for Seesaw which is a small Oxfordshire charity that provides grief support to children, young people and their families.
On behalf of the Staff and Governing Body I would like to say a huge thank you Mrs Natalie Cocks and the FoSS committee for organising such a successful Fun Day last Saturday. It was so lovely to come together informally as a school community. Thank you to everyone who supported this event - we will let you know the final amount raised in due course.
Our annual ShWimbledon (Shellingford’s Wimbledon!) was enjoyed once again by all the children. We are grateful to the Farindgon Tennis Club for leading these coaching sessions and competitive games.
