May 2021

16 Buckden Roundabout May 2021 School & Pre - School It was lovely to welcome everyone back after the school clo- sures. The children have all settled back in well and thoroughly enjoyed all our topics and being able to socialise again—and when parents can socialise again and enter the foyer, we ’ re planning a new - look parent information board and staff board! At present, we only have five permanent committee members. While we have had some interest from new volunteers, we still need more—especially as some members will naturally want to move on when their child starts school. So please con- sider if you could spare a little time, however small. We don ’ t expect everyone to be ‘ in charge ’ of something; even just oc- casional assistance can be a great help. If you are interested, please contact our manager, Nicola, or our chairperson, Jo Chillmaid, using the contact details below, or our treasurer, Debs, at buckdenpreschooltreasury@gmail.com. Last term, the children were busy planting potatoes, onions, peppers and tomatoes, and we ’ re looking forward to seeing what progress our veggies have made when we return. The children took their green beans home to look after them over Easter, and some of them planted the sunflower seeds they gave their mums on Mother ’ s Day. We ’ ve enjoyed their stories and pictures of how tall they ’ ve grown. The children also had lots of fun doing some Easter craft activities, making Easter cakes, and going on an Easter egg hunt. The staff have been working hard at transforming the quiet room into a sensory teaching area for next term and getting our leavers ready for school. As part of this, the Committee have kindly purchased an interactive board for the setting to use. The children are extremely excited about it! We will also be offering parent consultations via Zoom to replace the face - to - face ones we have been unable to have! Next term, our themes will be around our pets, the Queen ’ s birthday, and National Walking Month. We will also be intro- ducing PE classes, maths assessments, more phonics work and library visits for our leavers, while younger children will contin- ue doing circuits, cosmic yoga, and fun outdoor activities. Finally, a big thank you to everyone that donated items for our garden project, and to Barry and Laura Butler for their very generous donation of Easter eggs for all the children. To learn more about our committee and the role of members, please contact our chairperson, Jo Chillmaid, at buckdenpre- schoolchairperson@gmail.com or on 07393650084. To enrol your child or arrange a visit, contact the Manager, Nicola Henge, on 01480 810600 . For more information, visit www.buckdenpreschool.co.uk or see our Facebook updates at https://www.facebook.com/ www.buckdenpreschool.co.uk/ BUCKDEN CHURCH OF ENGLAND SCHOOL (Primary Academy Trust) May 2021 As spring approaches, we are looking forward to warmer days as despite the lovely sunshine at the moment there is certainly still a nip in the air, plus a scattering of snow in April! After a two week Easter break we returned to school for the start of the summer term on Monday 12 th April, just as the country began to enjoy further easing of the lock- down restrictions, and may it continue. During the Easter break staff volunteered for a couple of days to put together an Outdoor Intervention area for our children that we feel that would benefit hugely from this type of area/activity. For the two days staff were busy gardening, painting fences and the shed, clearing, moving soil to fill tyres and anything else that needed doing. We are hoping to run sessions twice a week in the area on the field where the old Buccaneer ’ s shed and vegetable patch are. The PTA have been busy raising funds for the school by organising an Easter Hunt between 27 th March to 2 nd April, so residents of Buckden may have seen children with maps looking for pictures of bunnies, chicks and Easter eggs hiding around the village. Entries were en- tered into a draw to have a chance at winning a luxury, family Hotel Chocolate hamper worth £50! The PTA are also currently looking for a new Co - Chair and Vice Chair, so if you are a parent of the school and would like to learn more, please contact the PTA at buck- denpta@gmail.com As always, we are constantly reviewing our Health and Safety Risk Assessment in relation to Covid 19 and all our staff continue to undertake asymptomatic Covid - 19 testing at home, twice a week. Also just a reminder, for the safety of everyone, can both parents and children please use the designated crossing on Mill Road when accessing the school, as there has been a couple of near misses between pedestrians and cars/lorries away from the crossing area. Thank you.