December Newsletter

Farmers Forever Moments

It is our aim to fill the children's time at school with as many memorable moments and experiences that will stick with them as possible, so that they leave us after 4 years with hearts and minds full of learning and joy - that's where our motto LEARNERS FOR LIFE, FARMERS FOREVER comes from! Here are a few of the Farmers Forever moments the children have experienced in the past few weeks...

Whole school theatre trip

All the children headed off on coaches to the Albany Theatre in Coventry today to watch Beauty and the Beast! Unfortunately they were not allowed to take any photos but they had a great time and were very well behaved.

Christmas Dinner Day

The children enjoyed a FABULOUS FARMERS FAMILY CHRISTMAS this week with a Christmas dinner followed by a festive movie afternoon! This was all finished off nicely by the year 5 and 6 children's Carol Service in the evening with mulled wine, hot chocolate and mince pies served by our fabulous PTA!

News: Ad-hoc Kidzone places available from January

We are pleased to announce that from January 2026, KidZone Breakfast and Afterschool Club will be able to offer ad-hoc bookings. These flexible sessions are ideal for parents and carers who may need occasional childcare, including last-minute support due to unexpected changes. Ad-hoc spaces are offered subject to availability in both breakfast and afterschool sessions.

If you think you may need an ad-hoc booking, simply speak to staff, who will be happy to help. Please note that ad-hoc sessions are payable at the time of booking, non-refundable, and separate from our usual yearly contract. Prices are:

• Breakfast Club: £6.50 per child, per session
• Afterschool Club: prices are per child, per session

Until 4.30pm - £7.00 Until 5.30pm - £10.50 Until 6.00pm - £12.00   Parents / Carers with fixed contracts will still benefit from the reduced contract rates and do not need to do anything. Your contracts will continue as usual.   If you have any questions or would like more information, please don’t hesitate to contact the school office.

Diary Dates

UPCOMING EVENTS - more information will be shared closer to the time but keep these dates in your diary

• Friday 19th December - break up for Christmas
• Monday 5th January - training day - SCHOOL CLOSED TO ALL PUPILS
• Tuesday 6th January - all pupils back to school
• Wednesday 7th January - Young Voices
• Friday 9th January - whole school Brass workshop
• Friday 23rd January - year 5 explorer day in the hall
• Friday 6th Feb - Number Day (more details to be shared closer to the time)
• Friday 13th February - mid year reviews out to parents
• Friday 13th February - break up for half term
• Monday 23rd February - all pupils back to school

CLASS ASSEMBLIES and OPEN AFTERNOONS

This term, open afternoons will be wb 16th March. They will take place between 2pm and 3pm - just turn up at the hall doors to join in the fun and have a chance to look at your child's books.

Class assemblies will be at the end of the school day this term. We alternate them to try and support parents that work different shifts to attend. Here are the dates for each class this term. The year 6 assemblies will be their last ever AFJS class assemblies as they focus on SATs and their leavers assembly in the Summer term.

• Tuesday 13th Jan - Mr Wolsey's class
• Tuesday 20th Jan - Mrs Beech's class
• Tuesday 27th Jan - Mrs Solomon/Berry's class
• Tuesday 3rd Feb - Mrs Bostock's class
• Tuesday 10th Feb - Mrs Hartwell's class
• Tuesday 24th Feb - Mr Evan's class
• Tuesday 3rd March -Mrs Tomas/Macauley's class
• Tuesday 10th March - Miss Neel's class

MESSAGES FROM THE OFFICE

If your children get any new coats or wellies this Christmas, why, not donate their old ones to us! Just drop them in to the office and we will make sure they go to a good home!

Governors needed

We are looking for Governors to join our fabulous team and would appreciate if you could spread the word among friends, family, work colleagues and whoever else you can think of! Please note, this is NOT a parent Governor role, but parents can still apply!

Keeping your child off school

We know that attendance has been tricky this month with so many illnesses going around but we have still managed to keep our whole school attendance close to the 95% benchmark! Please remember to give a clear reason as to why, when you call to let us know that your child will be absent to help us with our accurate record keeping.

Injuries such as pulled muscles, sprains, cuts and bruises etc are not authorised reasons for children taking time off from school. As long as they are able to listen and join in, they should be in school. If they need anything special to help them throughout the day, you just need to speak to the office and they will help to ensure they are still able to come in to school for their learning.

HEALTHY BODY & MIND at AFJS

Our HEALTHY BODY AND MIND school value applies as much to our parents and families as it does to our pupils! We know that while Christmas is a fabulous time for many, it can also be a very difficult time financially and emotionally. That is why, this month, we are focusing on the support available to you all this Christmas....

Supporting Charities

Poppy Appeal

Thank you so much to all of you that donated to the Poppy Appeal Collection this year - we raised a total of £316.61!

Is there anything else you might like to see in this section of the newsletter? Drop us an email at admin2421@welearn365.com to let us know.

SEN news and updates

After school restraint collapse

We know that many of our pupils struggle with the busy school day and all the stimulations this provides and that this can end up in a variety of different behaviours emerging when they get home. This can be every single night or it can be every now and then and it can be difficult to know what to do to support your child best. These are often referred to as 'meltdowns' but we really like the way the 'Contended Child' consultancy refers to them as 'After School Restraint Collapse'. They have lots of handy infographics on their Facebook page and I have copied a few below for you to have a look at that may help you to understand what might be going on for your child if they are struggling after school and how you can help.

If you are worried about your child, you are always welcome to come and talk to us in school. We understand that they may appear very different in school and that this can be for a number of reasons.

While we cannot possibly remove all of the stressors and over-stimulations that a child faces during the school day, we can put reasonable adjustments in place to help reduce these if you come and chat to us.

Support services and information for parents of children with special educational needs

Our specialist teacher Sam York has shared some useful links with us to help support sensory and speech and language needs over the crazy festive period! Click the link under the relevant image to go straight to the web page.

Is there anything else you might like to see in this section of the newsletter? Drop us an email at SENCO2421@welearn365.com to let us know.

Messages from the PTFA

CHRISTMAS CARD FUNDRAISER

Thank you for all of your support with our new venture into the world of Christmas Card production this year! We raised over £500 which goes directly towards funding projects in school.

One of the projects the PTA has already supported this term is the development of our outside space and our play offer for pupils. We had an exciting delivery of blocks this week and also a cardboard construction kit that Mr Corbett will be introducing to the pupils in January and then setting up 2 new outdoor stations for children to access these resources. Chase has had an investigate already and thinks they look very exciting indeed! We can't wait to see what the children create with them!

Others ways you can help us to fundraise...

If you shop at Asda, please make sure you sign up to their 'Cashpot for Schools' initiative - they will donate much needed funds to us every time you shop with them. Literally money for nothing! :)

You can also sign up to EasyFundraising and elect to allocate funds to our school - again, this is literally money for nothing! You just need to log in via EasyFundraising to do your online shopping at any of their many retailers they work with and they will donate much needed funds to us every time you shop. If you have joined us from another school that uses this initiative, please log in and swap the cause you are supporting to ABBOTS FARM JUNIOR SCHOOL :)

And finally...you can also play the Rugby Lotto and raise money for our PTA at the same time - we had several wins within our school community last term so it is worth a go! You can just log on and opt for it to automatically charge you to play each month.

Here are details of some local activities we have had shared with us recently that may be of interest to you.

Please remember that we cannot vouch for any of these providers, we are just sharing information that might be of use or interest to our families that has been sent to us.

Events for Y5 children at Princethorpe

 Choral Fun Day – Saturday 10 January 2026 - 9.30am to 5.00pm A day of free musical activities, singing tuition and team-building skills ending with a gala performance at 3.45pm for family and friends. Light refreshments will be available for parents and children upon collection.   Try Tag Rugby – Friday 23 January 2026– 4.15pm to 6.00pm An afternoon of free tag rugby training for boys and girls on our astro, learning new skills and making friends before a mini tournament. Beginners welcome. Light refreshments will be available for spectators.   If anyone would like to take advantage of any of these activities, they should complete the short booking form at this link by Monday 5 January 2026.