Headteacher Newsletter 433

Holidays are Coming - Christmas Events

With December just around the corner, the festive season at Woodland View is about to begin! We love to raise the joy and excitement through a range of activities and events for the children and our community. The kind volunteers and Friends of Woodland View, and school staff will be working hard to plan and deliver these special events.
 
I would like to draw your attention to 3 big events coming up very soon:

1) Christmas Cinema Club - Years 1-6 - Tuesday 3rd December - straight after school until 5pm 
Our Cinema Clubs are always very popular, and this one has a Christmas twist. All films will be festive, and of course, there will be hotdogs and popcorn! If you haven’t done so yet, please sign your child up at https://www.pta-events.co.uk/friendsofwoodlandview/index.cfm 

Please be aware that all children need to be collected at the end of this event using the usual collection route.

2) Breakfast with Father Christmas - Tuesday 3rd and Thursday 5th December - 8.15am-8.45am
This is a new event for us. Father Christmas is a busy man at this time of year, nevertheless we have been able to secure his presence (not presents!) for two special mornings. Families are invited to the school hall to eat breakfast and meet Father Christmas. Breakfast refreshments will be provided along with festive music. 
Please book at https://www.pta-events.co.uk/friendsofwoodlandview/index.cfm 

3) Winter Wonderland - Wednesday 11th December - 4.15pm until 6pm
This is our biggest community event of the year! We transform our school site into a winter wonderland. This year you can enjoy the light trail, snow machine, Christmas market, special performances, children’s work displays, visiting Father Christmas, Christmas games and refreshments, plus two new features: the inflatable village and some special Disney guests! And if that’s not enough to tempt you, we have lowered our entry price too!

Winter Wonderland is a community event therefore it’s available for everybody so feel free to invite family members and friends. 
Please book at https://www.pta-events.co.uk/friendsofwoodlandview/index.cfm

Please see the table below for the full list of events we have planned:

 

Our first Culture Celebration Day took place last Monday and what an incredible day it was. 
The day started with a whole school assembly where Mrs Matsangou introduced the concept of culture and talked about the many layers of meaning that the word incorporates - clothing, celebrations, food, art, values and many more. The children then departed to begin a day packed full of learning activities. We saw African drumming, Chinese dragon dancing, Aboriginal art, Korean calligraphy and Indian rangoli (to name a few). 

The day was made truly special because of the many (and we mean many) parent volunteers that came into school to share their culture. We were blown away by the generosity of time, preparation and delicious foods that were contributed. We can’t thank you all enough for making the day as authentic and enlightening as it could possibly be. 

Overall, the day was a wonderful celebration of diversity, appreciation and culture. The joy we saw on the children's faces as they engaged in the many activities spoke volumes.

Please see this special video to see some images from the day https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QECtpJfOZ4

We are planning to add Culture Celebration Day to our annual calendar of events. If you have any feedback on the day, we’d really appreciate it. Please send your feedback to Mrs Matsangou via office@wvps.northants.sch.uk and title the email Culture Day Feedback.
Thank you.
 

The Kindness of Parents 

Kindness is our school value this half-term. I have been overwhelmed by the kindness we receive from parents and our school community. We have reached record numbers this year for volunteers that come in to school and give their time to supporting the children; we had a fantastic response to the parent governor vacancy; and our Friends of Woodland View (PTA) continue to work hard, giving their time to help provide lovely experiences for the children and raise school funds. 

Thank you to all of our parents for supporting two important causes recently. We have been able to raise money for the below charities:
Children in Need - £350
Royal British Legion - £374

I would also like to give a special mention to an individual parent, Dimitrii. In recent months, he has supplied and fitted our school hall with new curtains, tracks, tie backs and blackout blinds. He has also fixed or replaced all broken blinds or blind parts across the whole school. This has been done FREE of charge. Thank you, Dimitrii, for the kindness and generosity you have shown in giving up many, many hours of your time to make improvements to our school!
 

Freestlye Holiday Camp Days - Monday 23rd and 30th December

Our holiday camp offer this Christmas comes from Freestyle. If you would like to make the most of this opportunity for Christmas shopping (or Christmas recovery!) you can book your child a place at our Freestyle Holiday Camp taking place at Woodland View. Please go to https://freestylegroup.co.uk/event-list/holiday-camps/ to book. 

 

New Governors 

I was overwhelmed with the interest shown in our recent parent governor vacancies. From the parents who were initially interested, four stood for election in the ballot. I am pleased to share the news that Charlotte Mitchell and James Kemp are our new parent governors. 

I would like to thank all of the parents who showed an interest and those who stood for election. The school needs governors and we are very fortunate to have parents who are willing to put themselves forward for these important roles. And finally, thank you to all the parents who took the time to cast their vote.

Sporting Success

We have had some great sporting success recently! Our Y5&6 Strictly Dancing troop competed at the Derngate against 13 other schools. After performing high quality dances, the judges placed them in 3rd place overall. This resulted in the group bringing back another glitter ball trophy!

Also, our Y5&6 Girls Football team competed in the District Finals against 16 other schools. After remaining undefeated, and scoring many goals, the incredible team finished first place overall and qualified for the County Finals, which take place in January.

Well done to both teams and the staff who have worked with them.

School Blogs! 

Please take a look at what your child has been learning recently via this link https://www.wvps.northants.sch.uk/page/?title=Year+Group+Blogs&pid=75 
Here is a glimpse of some of the action…

Key Dates

Thursday 28th November - School Book Fayre - before and after school
Thursday 28th November - Christmas Wreath making for parents - evening activity 
Tuesday 3rd December - Cinema Club for Y1-6 - 3.15-5pm - details above
Tuesday 3rd and Thursday 5th December - Breakfast with Father Christmas - details above  
Friday 6th December - Mufti Day for the Winter Wonderland chocolate tombola
Wednesday 11th December - Winter Wonderland - special school event - details to follow
Tuesday 17th December - Y3/4 Choir performing to parents at school - 2.40pm
Thursday 19th December - Christmas Party Day - details to follow
Thursday 19th December - Y5/6 Choir performing at The Wig and Walnut 1:30pm - details to follow
Friday 20th December - Y3/4 Choir performing to the residents of Richmond Village, at Richmond Village 
Friday 20th December - Christmas Jumper Day and term ends

Yours sincerely,
Mark Horsley
Headteacher