It has been smiles all-round in Chestnut, as Dr Omer visited with 2 colleagues and discussed all about teeth and how to clean them effectively. I sat in to listen for a little while and our pupils were so interested:
“My daddy scrubs mine really hard!” commented one pupil (circles, everyone, circle!). We will also be welcoming other “people who help us” and we have a wide range of parents/carers on the waiting lists.
We are always so grateful to our cleaners, site staff, office team (of one!), lunchtime staff, breakfast and after school assistants for their ongoing hard work every day.






Around the rest of the school, I have experienced lots of excellent writing and none more so than in Year 4, where they’ve displayed it outside the classroom. It shows a real pride in their presentation and fantastic, creative phrases.
It is a sharp focus for us, this year, as we know so much research points to this being a vital component of future success:
“Lacking vital literacy skills puts people at extreme risk of social exclusion. Indeed, extensive research shows that people with poor literacy skills are significantly more likely to experience poverty, live in poor quality housing, be unemployed, become a perpetrator or victim of crime, have poor physical and mental health, and even shorter lives.”
National English Hub.
Next Week:
Monday: we welcome two new trainee teachers that will be working in classes until Easter.
Tuesday: our Police Community Support Officer is visiting Chestnut Class.
Thursday: TEA TIME @ THURLBEAR! Everyone is welcome to join us – and Holly from our Church Team – in the hall after 9am for a chat and cuppa.
Thursday: Year 4 Saxon Workshop @ Taunton Museum
Friday: Dr Griffith is visiting Chestnut Class
Next week, we will also publish the new clubs list early so families can have time to look and sign up.
Final thought:
I love to do a lunch duty, as it gives me time to observe our Christian Values in action around the school (as well as get thoroughly beaten at rock, paper, scissors by 25 pupils, today). Kindness has been voted as the 2024 children’s word of the year. In response to the Oxford University Press survey, 61% of 6000 children identified ‘kindness’ as their word of the year.
I saw kindness in action all over school today: a coat found was passed onto its owner (without being asked); a ball passed back to the young pupil playing with it; a Year 6 catching and twirling a Reception pupil and sharing in their joyous giggle. So, this weekend, our challenge: Be kind to others, be kind to yourself, be kind to those whose views differ from yours. Being kind is being brave. How have you modelled kindness today?
Have a blessed weekend.