Dear Parents, Guardians and Carers,

As you may already be aware from the letter sent via email yesterday, I will be retiring from teaching at the end of December 2018 after a wonderful and fulfilling career.  I have so many happy memories that I will treasure and met so many amazing children that I couldn't possibly envisage at the start of my career back in the 1970s.

I am, however, looking forward to handing the baton onto my successor who I am sure will bring fresh ideas to our school while I will look forward to spending more time with my grandchildren.

Also retiring after a long and successful career is Mrs Pegram who will see the academic year out before persuing other interests.  Mrs Pegram and I have worked together for many years and I would like to thank her for her dedication and support.

On a lighter note, this newsletter evidences the many amazing things that our pupils and teachers have experienced this month.  Also the newsletter contains dates of upcoming events which may be of interest and I urge you to download our app SchoolZine - further details are in this newsletter but please come to the school office should you need any assistance with this.

With thanks for your ongoing support, 

'All the world's a stage,

And all the men and women merely players...'

Class 10 had the great opportunity this year to work on Shakespeare's 'As You Like It' as part of the Gloucestershire Primary Schools' Shakespeare Festival. On 15th March, their work came together in a performance alongside other primary schools at Gloucester Academy. The whole show was fantastic to be a part of (even the unscheduled fire alarm!) and Class 10's children did themselves and Linden proud. Most of all, they thoroughly enjoyed the day and gained enormous amounts of confidence and self-belief from their performance.

However, the performance was simply the end of several months' worth of work. Each week, Class 10 have played games and taken part in activities to explore Shakespeare's language and dramatic techniques. They found out about Orlando and his family troubles, they found out about Jaques and his cynical views, and they found out about Rosalind (or is it Ganymede?!) and her clever plan to woo her man. Importantly, they have learnt that Shakespeare isn't difficult, it's fun! You stand up, you read the words and play with them, explore them and make them your own. We look forward to exploring another Shakespeare play at next year's festival!

'In the Net' is a fantastically fun piece of children's theatre that was created out of a growing need to make young people aware of internet safety and the real-world effects of cyber bullying. 

It’s Dotty’s birthday and she’s just got a shiny new ipad.  But there’s a problem.  She’s not being too safe online.  She’s posting personal information, chatting to strangers and making rude comments about school friends.  When her behaviour results in her being pulled into the computer Dotty finds herself caught 'In the Net’.  The clock is ticking and in order to get home she must go on a quest – a quest to find out how to be safer online.  Along the way she’s helped by a whole host of colourful characters.

 The play has been seen by hundreds of children around the UK has proven highly effective at covering:-

•      Safe Internet Use
•      Keeping personal information safe
•      The effects of cyber-bullying on others
•      What to do if you are being cyber-bullied
•      What to do when you get that 'Uh-Oh!' feeling
•      What to do if you have questions or concerns

Our Year 4 pupils will be visiting Calton School on 17th April 2018 to see the production.  Please contact the school office if you have any queries.

Please see below for details of the Afternoon Tea for Year 5 girls being held at The Crypt School on 19th April 2018.

Y5 Girls Afternoon Tea Poster_19th April 2018.pdf

The swimming lessons are held at Ribston Hall.  I would like to remind all parents that swimming is part of the National Curriculum and all pupils will receive swimming lessons from fully qualified swimming instructors during their time with us.  Pupils can only be excused from the swimming lessons if we have received a letter from your doctor detailing a medical reason why your child cannot receive tuition in this life-saving skill.  Letters have been sent home and can be downloaded from the website and twitter.

Year 5 had a great time performing on stage at Cheltenham Town Hall and many thanks to the parents to managed to come along and support us.

We are pleased to announce that we will be having a book fair after school on Friday 4th May 2018 to co-incide with the library grand re-opening - more details to follow!

After a delayed start to World Book Day because of the snow, pupils and staff dressed as their favourite book characters!

The Year 3 pupils had an amaziong time at the Bishop's Wood Centre and the rain even held off for them!

Class 6 were very enthusiastic during their cricket session.

We have had a number of concerns raised about children coming to school using scooters and bikes on the pavements.  With the Easter holidays approaching, it is a good idea to have a chat with your child to ensure that we keep them as safe as possible.  Some guidance from RoSPA is available.

This morning Reception had a visit from our Linden publisher Mr Tom Jones.  He informed us that the library is short on non-fiction books, especially those about gorillas and wondered if we were up for the challenge of writing some for our library when it re opens. The children were very excited and up for the challenge. We are now going to work very hard over the next coming weeks to create our non-fiction books.

We will keep you updated on the progress and outcome!

Year 2 have thoroughly enjoyed Thursday afternoons with the cricket coaches! We have learnt lots about throwing accurately, fielding and batting. Over the next few weeks we will even be taking part in matches within our classes!