Dear parents and carers,
As the end of this school year draws to a close, it is time to reflect on all the amazing 'Farmers Forever' moments that we have all built up over this year. It has been an incredible year full of joy and we have been very proud of the way the children have continued to grow into wonderful, respectful members of our 'Farmers' family. A huge thank you also needs to be extended to you, the parents. Without your ongoing support, we would not be able to offer the many opportunities we currently do for our pupils. Thank you for making the payments, completing the forms, sorting out the packed lunches, remembering the days children need different clothes, helping with events, encouraging children with their homework, communicating with us positively when your child needs a little more help, turning up to assemblies and open afternoons.........the list is endless but we are so very grateful for all of it, and I know your children are too!
The children all enjoyed meeting their new teachers on transition day and it was wonderful to see our older pupils supporting the new year 3 cohort in feeling welcomed and ready to become fully fledged 'Farmers' in September. We know that this can be a really unsettled time for children, as well as exciting, but please reassure them that we will be here for them in September and we cannot wait to get another fabulous Farmers year underway with our new Y3s joining the family too.
There is some important information in this newsletter about coming back to school in September and lots of celebrations from the past half term too. I also have some 'hot off the press' news about the Summer Fair so make sure you keep reading! :)
If I do not get the chance to see you before the end of the week, I wish you all a wonderful summer and look forward to seeing all of you back in September. For those of you not returning in September, we wish you the very best of luck for your new adventures and I hope to hear all about them!
Mrs Webb :)
While school is closed, don't forget that there are lots of ways to get support from other agencies, charities etc if you need it. Please see some details below. Either Miss Ingle or Mrs Smythe will be in school on the 2 training days at the start of the year and they will check the pastoral inbox on these days, so if you need anything from them before the new term starts, then please email them at pastoral2421@welearn365.com
- If your child is in receipt of free school meals, remember that you can access activities for them over the Summer through the HAF programme. Visit this website for more details: https://searchout.warwickshire.gov.uk/homepage/31/information-for-parents---haf
- If you or your child are experiencing a mental health crisis, you can contact the Rise Crisis Team by calling 08081 966796 and selecting 'option 2' at any time of the day or night. Please note that it is an advice-only service overnight from 8pm to 8am. In an emergency call 999.
- The Family Information Service phone line is a freephone number to enable anyone to contact them for support. You can call them on 0800 408 1558 with anything - even if they can't help, they may be able to point you in the direction of someone who can!
Summer Fair
Despite the downpour on Friday evening, I'm pleased to report we made an amazing
This is a significant increase on the past 2 years, even with the rain. Thank you so much to all of you that came along, for your donations towards the events and for those of you that helped beforehand or on the day. The money raised will be put towards Forest School sessions for the whole school next year.
A huge thank you to the PTFA for making this happen and especially to Mrs Warneck, who works tirelessly to make this event a success each year.
Final Few Diary Dates for this term
- Tuesday 16th July - year 3 to Warwick Hall for their 'Warwickshire Sings' performance
- Thursday 18th July - pm - Year 6 leavers play to parents
- Friday 19th July - break up for Summer Holidays
In September...
Monday 2nd and Tuesday 3rd September are both training days, so we will be welcoming the children back into school on Wednesday 4th September.
Children do not need to bring their PE kits on the first day back. The teachers will share with you PE days through the Arbor in-app messages once the children are back in school.
Next year, we will not be providing AFJS water bottles for all pupils. We are asking that where possible, parents provide a suitable water bottle that the children bring home to be washed each evening. This needs to be a bottle with a lid that will prevent spillages in the classroom and that is of a regular size to fit in our carriers. We will send their current water bottles home with the children at the end of term and they can continue to use those in September if they would like to, to save you spending more money, but they will be asked to bring them home at the end of each day for washing.
Please remember that children do not need pencil cases as we provide every child with a learning toolkit that contains everything they need and there is not the space on pupil's desk to accomodate the huge pencil cases that appear if pupils bring their own. Children may wish to have their own pencil case of colours/gel pens/highlighters to use in more creative activities if they wish, but they will be expected to keep these in their bags and will be told by teachers when they can use them. However this is not an expectation and we will always provide suitable equipment for any learning activity in school.
Please remember to book a dinner on the Stir website if required, before your child returns to school. Remember you can book all week or even all month in one go to make sure your child always has a dinner ordered.
Mr Evans, who will be teaching in year 4 in September, will be absent for a couple of weeks in September because his wife is expecting their third baby! Until the baby is born, we cannot confirm when his paternity leave will be, but we have Mrs Thomas lined up ready to cover his class while he is away. The children will be familiar with Mrs Thomas so this will ensure that they will still have a smooth transition into their new class, regardless of when Mr Evans takes time off. I'm sure you will all join me in congratulation Mr Evans and his family on their upcoming new arrival!
Air Ambulance assembly
After our charity fundraising efforts last half term for the local Air Ambulance Service, they got in touch to see if they could come in to one of our assemblies. Last week the children had a visit from a lady called Vicky who told them all about the lifesaving work of The Air Ambulance Service and also about a free children’s club they could join called #TheCrew. Should your child wish to join or if you’d like to learn more, please visit https://theairambulanceservice.org.uk/childrens-air-ambulance/the-crew/
Our musical Summer term continues...
As part of the Rugby School Festival on the Close this year, year 5 took part in The Big Sing at the Temple Speech Rooms. They sang along with children from other schools and then performed to parents at the end of the day too.
The AFJS choir took to the stage in the Temple Speech Room at the start of July, alongside 5 other schools that we work in a federation with. They performed several group numbers and 2 as a school choir too and we were very proud of them for singing their hearts out and behaving impeccably. The whole group singing the 'Matilda Medley' was a particular 'raise the roof' moment that gave us all goosebumps!
After their success at the Temple Speech Rooms, the choir, and many of their parents, then headed to the Royal Albert Hall last week for a truly amazing trip to remember. They performed alongside many, many other schools from around the country as well as a professional choir and a full orchestra. The first half was full of more familiar songs and the second half was an impressive adaptation of 'Carmina Burana' along with some amazing dancing from Strictly's Karen Hauer and her partner. It was a very late night but very worth it for the 'Farmers Forever' memories made!
If your child enjoys singing and is interested in joining our school choir, keep an eye out for a letter coming out in the next few weeks about YOUNG VOICES 2025! We sang one of the new songs together in assembly this week and the children LOVED it!
AFJS sporting achievements
As is always the case in the Summer term, there have been so many sporting activities and acheievements to celebrate recently. We had sports week, sports day, sporting open afternoons with parents, y6 swimming and y5 athletics to name but a few. Here are a few pictures from the events.
Sports Week
Sports Day
Messages from the office
Please make sure that you have the Arbor parents app downloaded and set up ready for September. It is really important that you enable notifications so that you do not miss any messages from us.
- The admin email will be monitored sporadically over the Summer holidays by Mrs Webb if you need to contact us, but we cannot guarantee a fast response.
- The office will not be able to answer phone calls until the day that the children are back in school due to staff training, please use the admin email if contact is required on those days and we will get back to you if we can.
- Kidzone breakfast and after school club will start back from Wednesday 4th September and you should have had your notification of places allocated from the office if you have applied for them.
- Any other extra-curricular after School Clubs will not be set up straight away - the office will send out a letter towards the end of September with further details of these.