The Weekly Ebbesentials - We are all different. We are All of Us 10th September 2021 - St Ebbe's Primary School

The Weekly Ebbesentials
                     10th September 2021

  We are all different. We are All of Us

We are all different. We are All of Us

                    We are Crew

School Streets
As you will probably be aware Oxfordshire
County Council instigated a School Street Trial
for St Ebbes and Grandpont Nursery School
which began on 23rd June. The initial trial pe-
riod is due to finish on Friday
17th September.

Initial survey results suggest both broad com-
munity support for the scheme and that it is
delivering the anticipated benefits, with re-
duced traffic in Whitehouse Road at drop off
and collection times, improved air quality and
families reporting changes to more active
means of travel to and from school.

Feedback we have received tells us that some families have experienced issues with the
scheme, and we have sought to resolve these on a case-by-case basis. To ensure that
families continue to be supported, it has been agreed that an Active Travel Champion
will be appointed to work on bespoke solutions for those who find aspects of the
scheme challenging. The Active Travel Champion will proactively seek to understand
and resolve specific issues whilst also encouraging families to reduce their reliance on
cars to travel to and from school wherever possible.

A meeting was held with the County Council on Wednesday 8th September to review the
trial. Given the largely positive results so far it was agreed that the current trial should be
extended for a further 6 weeks until October half term (Friday 22nd October).

Thank you for your understanding, both now and in the future, in helping us deliver a saf-
er and calmer street for children’s journeys to and from school.

SESA (St Ebbes School Association)
Hello, welcome back to the new term!

SESA is St Ebbes’ school PTA (Parents, Teacher, Association).

We arrange fundraising activities for the SESA charity and give all our profits to much needed items for the
children at St Ebbes’ school. In the last year alone, we’ve paid for Chromebooks, 3sets of classroom head-
phones, £1,000 towards the new climbing wall being installed this week and will soon be funding an out-
door history timeline.
We arrange events and activities to not only fundraise money for the school, but also to provide a fun and
enjoyable time for the pupils, their families and the whole school community. To enable this to happen we
need your help and support, we need a mix of volunteers from across our community, to bring diversity of
ideas and helpers at events.

We’d genuinely like to hear from you. To get in touch, please message us on 07970 952381 if you have any
questions, would like to share an idea or suggestion, or would like to meet us.

School Quiz - Unfortunately, we’ve had to cancel the school quiz. Running it indoors was too much of a
covid risk and outdoors was not looking like a simple option. We’d like to say a huge thank you to Andrew
and Lucy Billen, whom many of you know. Their youngest daughter has now moved on to secondary
school, and over the last 7 years they’ve raised over £10,000 for SESA with their infamous quiz. We’ll be
forever grateful for the great memories and cash raised!

EbbesFest Lite – Saturday 2nd October 2021, 12noon – 3pm - In July, we had to postpone EbbesFest, (the
Summer school fair), due to ongoing covid restrictions. We will now be hosting EbbesFest Lite on Saturday
2nd October 12noon – 3pm! With only just over 3 weeks until this event, we need your help to make it a
success.

Next week we’ll share with each class what area you’ve been assigned to arrange and organise / run on
the day. To give you a flavour of what we’re planning…BBQ, Bar, Cake Stall, Tombola, Kids games and activ-
ities etc. Each class will be asked to nominate / choose a SESA rep for us to communicate with to pass
messages on to everyone more easily and arrange a group of helpers for the day etc.

Covid safety: We’ll be running the event in line with Government guidelines and a risk assessment carried
out by the school. EbbesFest Lite won’t have some of the things we’ve previously been used to (such as
bouncy castles and face painting) and this is an outdoor event only. Keep your fingers crossed the weather
holds out for us!

Please get in touch with us on 07970 952381 if you have any questions / suggestions or would like to be
involved in the planning etc.

Next meetings - we’ll confirm exact dates soon (but plan to hold 2 meetings in the following weeks), we’d
love to see you there.
     Week commencing 11th October
    Week commencing 22nd November (AGM)

AFTER SCHOOL @ SOAP!
The South Oxford Adventure Playground will be open after school from 3pm -
5pm.

Mondays & Tuesdays - FAMILIES
All children must be supervised by a parent or carer!

Wednesdays - CLOSED

Thursdays & Fridays - UNACCOMPANIED 7UPs
Unaccompanied and registered 7 – 14 yr olds

If you have already registered your child this calendar year you don't need to do it again.
If you haven't please follow the link below:
https://soapoxford.org.uk/about-us/after-school-club/

See you all there!

Term Dates for 2021-22

Young Heroes

  Unknown Forest                                          Unknown Forest is an interactive nature
                                                          trail amongst the trees which encour-
                                                          ages children and their families to en-
                                                          gage with nature and to participate in
                                                          creative storytelling. Setting off on their
                                                          own journey the audience will encoun-
                                                          ter a series of sounds, stories and mov-
                                                          ing pictures that when pieced together
                                                          begin to tell the story of a birds treach-
                                                          erous migratory journey and the chal-
                                                          lenges it faces when it finally arrives in
                                                          this country. After they have completed
                                                          their journey the audience is invited to
                                                          return to our base camp to build their
                                                          own woodland in miniature and to
share their own creative story with us.
Book Here: https://www.thenorthwall.com/whats-on/unknown-forest/

A note from Mrs Farr
Dear St. Ebbe’s Community,
We are all different, we are all of us
We have had a very happy first full week back at school here at St. Ebbe’s. Parents
have commented on the atmosphere on the gate as children enter in the morning,
children are settling in to their new classrooms and they are getting to know their new teachers. You will
know that since the start of term, children have been participating in our transition project, ‘We are all
different. We are all of us’. The aim of the project has been to enable children to explore more deeply
who they are as unique individuals and to understand more about each other whilst establishing that
they belong and are connected to their class and school. At St. Ebbe’s we focus on the importance of
getting to know individual children and establishing the best relationships we can to foster the culture of
trust necessary for learning to thrive. The first two pages contain examples of the results of many rich dis-
cussions and lots of deep thinking.
Covid News
Children and staff have been great at keeping up their handwashing and making sure classrooms are ven-
tilated. Thank you to parents for dropping children off outside their classrooms, whilst we continue to
minimise the number of people inside the school building.
Please note that school has resumed its usual starting time of 8:55am. The gates will close at this time
from Monday so please do arrive between 8:40am and 8:55am. Thank you.
School Streets
Please read our update on the continued trial of School Streets. For those of you for whom this has been
stressful, we are committed to working with you to understand different challenges and finding solu-
tions. Please contact our newly appointed Active Travel Champion on ATC@st-ebbes.oxon.sch.uk.
Assembly this week
Our older children discussed the way that US Open finalist, Emma Raducanu was treated on social media
after having breathing difficulties at Wimbledon. As ever they gave insightful views and related it back to
how we can encourage each other through the inevitable and regular failures we encounter when learn-
ing and mastering new skills. Collaboration is the key for us, giving kind, specific advice for improvement
within a supportive atmosphere.
Term Dates
Please do make a note of term dates and staff In Service Training (INSET) days. Our next training day is
Friday 8th October when school will be closed to all pupils.
Term-time holidays
Please try to avoid taking term-time holidays, particularly given the amount of school time missed over
the last 18 months due to the pandemic. Children follow a sequence of learning different concepts, and
taking a break during the term can lead to gaps in learning which are hard to fill later on. We are always
sympathetic to exceptional family circumstances but are unable to authorise holidays.
Communication and Feedback
We welcome any feedback you can give us about your experience of being a parent/carer at St. Ebbe’s.
Please do talk to me or your child’s teacher if you have a question or are unsure about any aspect of your
child’s education.
Have a wonderful weekend,
Warm wishes,
Tina Farr