Great Torrington Junior School News

Fun Relay Night

2012-09-03T16:46:00.000+01:00

We are holding an end of season fun relay night with BBQ on Tue 04
Sep. All age groups welcome just turn up at 6.15 pm.

Physiotherapy at reduced cost to members

2011-08-27T16:36:00.001+01:00

We now have access to a physiotherapist to treat NDAC member athletes
for injuries only at reduced cost.

The full cost is £20 for ½ hour and £30 for 1 hour.

The athlete will only have to pay one-third of the cost: the club will
be invoiced for the rest.

More details: http://www.northdevonac.co.uk/physiotherapy.html

First day back is Tuesday 4th January

2010-12-15T12:09:00.001+00:00

Our Term Dates page mistakenly gave the wrong start date for coming
back after the Christmas and New Year break.

Children start back at school on Tuesday 4th January 2011.

With apologies for any inconvenience.

School Closure Advice

2010-11-26T14:11:00.001+00:00

PLEASE WATCH THE SCHOOL WEBSITE FOR INFORMATION REGARDING SCHOOL CLOSURE AND OPENING TIMES DURING PERIODS OF POOR
WEATHER.

As always we will try to keep you as informed as possible and keep any disruption to a minimum.

Information
will be available on the school web site and Heart FM. If there is nothing on the radio or the web site we are open.

If we are unable to open at 8.55 it may be possible to open later. Please keep listening and checking for updates.

Please avoid ringing the reception as this jams the phone lines. All information will be on the web site. We will
update information on school bus travel as and when we receive it.

Thank you.

Christmas Fair - next week

2010-11-24T13:07:00.001+00:00

The Junior School Christmas Fair is on Friday 03 December.

Raffle, craft stalls, refreshments, tombola to name but a few activities.

3:30-6:30pm

PTA Bingo - this Friday

2010-11-24T13:05:00.001+00:00

Bingo this Friday evening (26 Nov 2010) in the Junior School Hall.

This is a joint event with the Infant School PTA.

Eyes down at 7:30pm.

October newsletter online...

2010-10-12T10:58:00.000+01:00

The October newsletter from the school is now available online here

Bude trip continues for Y6

2010-10-11T11:36:00.002+01:00

There appears to be some misunderstanding concerning the annual trip
to Bude for our Year 6 children.

The annual Y6 trip to Bude has not been cancelled and cancellation was
never considered.

The only change is that it may be held later in the Y6 year. At the
moment we are negotiating dates with Adventure International for June
2012. In other words, all children in Year 5 now will still be able to
go to Bude when they are in Y6 but it will be later in the school
year.

Year 6 children are also able to go on the trip to Austria although
the numbers for this first trip are limited to thirty. The trip has
been more popular than we anticipated and in future years we will look
at making more places available.

Y6 children back at 15:45

2010-09-10T14:54:00.000+01:00

The coach has left earlier than expected and will be back at school around 15:45.

Y6 Returning from Bude

2010-09-10T13:26:00.001+01:00

We are expecting our Year 6 children to be arriving back at school at 16:30 today (Friday 10 Sep 2010)

Welcome to the new school year

2010-09-07T17:38:00.000+01:00

We wish to welcome the new children and families that have joined our
school for this new year.

Ofsted Monitoring Report

2010-09-07T17:37:00.000+01:00

At the end of last term, in July, we were re-visited by Ofsted. This
was the first of the six-monthly visits to check that the school is
doing what it needs to do to address the shortcomings that were set
out in the original Ofsted report that placed the school into 'Special
Measures'.

You can read the inspectors' full Momitoring Report at:
http://www.great-torrington-junior.co.uk/school/ofsted-report.html#monitorone

We are pleased that we have got a 'green light' for what we have done
so far and for the way we are planning for the further necessary
improvements. The overall grade of 'satisfactory' is, we are told, the
best any school could expect at the first visit.

Sports Day - is ON

2010-07-14T08:18:00.001+01:00

Sports Day is planned to go ahead. At 08:15 this morning plans are
going ahead for Sports Day.

We look forward to seeing you there if you can make it.

Of course, we can't guarantee that rain later will not affect
events...but for now at least it is on.

Sports Day - is it on or is it off?

2010-07-13T15:26:00.000+01:00

The weather is still uncertain for Wednesday's Sports Day.

We will post an update here on Wednesday morning as early as we can to
let you know whether we are able to go ahead.

Website newsletter

2010-05-17T21:40:00.000+01:00

We sent home a newsletter today (17 May 2010) about some of the features of our website. we are determined to do everything we can to keep you informed as to what is going on at the school.

This newsletter tells you about some of the ways you can keep in touch.

Let us know if there is anything else you think we could do to improve our information.

Letter from the Governing Body

2010-05-17T21:32:00.000+01:00

Many of you have been asking questions about what is happening between Woolacombe School and Great Torrington Junior School: particularly what the connection means as far as Sandy Brown is concerned.

Like many primary schools all over the country, Great Torrington has been having difficulty finding a new Headteacher to fill its vacancy.

It is important, for the children of both Great Torrington and Woolacombe, that their school has an experienced and dynamic leader who has passion and commitment to their development and their education. Sandy Brown, as you may know, is a 'National Leader' and Woolacombe School is a 'National Support School'.

For that reason, in February, Woolacombe lent Sandy Brown to Great Torrington Junior School to help it make the rapid changes that are needed.

A 'loan' arrangement can only last so long. However, in the few months since February, it has become clear to both schools that there would be advantages to both schools in continuing this arrangement in some way.

Consequently, the two Governing Bodies decided to look at ways in which both schools can work more closely together: sharing expertise and experience. The most efficient way to do this, they found, is to set up what is called a 'Management Partnership'.

A Management Partnership is when two schools share one headteacher who has the responsibility for the long-term leadership of both schools. Both schools remain completely separate and retain their own individual Governing Bodies. There will be a group of governors from each school who will ensure that things work smoothly between the two schools.

At the moment, the Governing Bodies are looking at the idea of a Management Partnership and examining carefully all the advantages and all the challenges that might arise.

We will be keeping you informed of developments in our investigation of this idea and will welcome any questions you may have.

Regards

Marten Gallagher, Chair of Governors, Great Torrington Junior School

If you have any questions:

Contact Sandy Brown at either school
Use the Great Torrington online Forum (www.gtjs.co.uk/talkshare)
Email Marten Gallagher (Chair of Governors for Great Torrington) admin@annery-kiln.eu

Governors meeting

2010-05-15T18:17:00.000+01:00

Our next Governing Body meeting is on Thursday 20 May 2010 at 6:00pm.

Details of what is up for discussion is on our website.

From our latest newsletter

2010-05-15T18:15:00.000+01:00

Last Friday the Mayflower School Council visited our school and it was an excellent opportunity to share ideas and ways forward. Thank you to all those who participated.

Well done Billy and Adam who have been in discussion with Heart Radio Sunflower Competition – we await the outcome.

All the staff at the school are undertaking lots of professional development and training opportunities as we have every intention to make your child’s learning as good as we possibly can, so please be aware that for the foreseeable future there will be lots of developments!

Well done the PTFA and year 5 families for the super cake sale –despite the rain. All the money is to be used to enhance the playground area to give your child more activities and opportunities.

Maths Information Session.

2010-05-15T18:13:00.004+01:00

We are putting on a Maths Information Session. Ways of working in Maths, which we call
Numeracy, will be shared with you and questions answered. Please come along as it will be of
benefit to us all. Further details will follow.

Home school contact

2010-05-15T18:13:00.002+01:00

The pilot in 4GW has been very well received and starting in September all classes will be doing a Home/School Contact Reading Diary. This diary will be for two way communication and to record the reading that your child does at home and school. More details will follow in the new year.

Parent Mornings

2010-05-15T18:12:00.000+01:00

These have been welcomed by everyone. We wish to work closely and involve you more in our school so please feel free to visit your child’s teacher from 8.40am on a Tuesday and Wednesday but if you cannot make it then do not hesitate to make an appointment.

Next Governing Body meeting

2010-04-23T11:51:00.000+01:00

The next meeting of the school's Governing Body is on Thursday 29 April 2010 at 18:00 at the school.

You can read the agenda for the meeting here

Ofsted Parents Meeting Report

2010-04-23T11:50:00.000+01:00

Just before the Easter holidays we held a meeting for parents to ask questions about the Ofsted Report.

The report from that meeting, the questions that were asked and the answers etc is now available for parents to read on our website.

Something missing?

If you were at the meeting and there were points raised that you feel should be recorded here, please contact the Chair of Governors by email: admin@annery-kiln.eu or in writing c/o the school.

Couldn't get to the meeting?

If you were unable to attend the meeting and want something explained or have other questions you can do any of the following:

Contact Sandy Brown at the school who will be happy to answer any questions.

Contact the Chair of Governors by email: admin@annery-kiln.eu or in writing c/o the school.

You can also ask questions in our TalkShare Forum

Devon Games to Inspire

2010-04-21T21:04:00.001+01:00

It's that time of year again!

With the Devon Games to Inspire fast approaching Torridge District Council needs you to come forward and be part of the team to represent the District!

Torridge District Council would like to offer you a FREE opportunity to represent the District at this years Devon Games to inspire.

The Devon Games to inspire, formally known as the Devon Youth Games are an Olympic style inter-District grass-roots sporting event that consists of many different sports such as swimming, volleyball, Girls cricket, Tag rugby Tennis and athletics to name a few. Check out these videos of last years Games and you will get a taster of what the day is all about: http://www.activedevon.org. The Games to inspire will this year be held in Tavistock on Saturday 10th July. Participation in the Games is free with all of the travel arrangements, sports equipment and coaching provided free of charge by Torridge District Council.

If you would like the opportunity to participate in the Games the Authority is holding free open trial selection sessions around the District.

On the Torridge Council website page you will find an information sheet and booking form which details all the sessions available in the upcoming weeks. Not all of the information is available at present but if you are interested in an activity please still complete and return the form and you will be contacted again once details have been received.

If selected from the trial sessions you must then:

1) Be available on Saturday 10th July 2010,

2) Do your utmost to attend the FREE training sessions, which will be arranged after the trials.

3) Live within, or attend a school within the Torridge Boundary.

4) Meet the school year group and eligibility criteria as detailed above.

If you are interested in this exciting, free opportunity, or you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact James Jarroudi, the Torridge Health and Recreation Officer on 01237 428737 or alternatively you can email your interest to: james.jarroudi@torridge.gov.uk.

New furniture for old...

2010-04-01T15:44:00.000+01:00

We are currently replacing a lot of the school furniture so if you know of any organisation that would benefit from our old school tables and chairs - please let us know.