There is a possibility that we may introduce Clay Pigeon Shooting at Barbury as a paid activity. This would take place on a Thursday during activities and prep. You would have to be in Year 6 or above. The cost per lesson would be around £35 which would include tuition and equipment.
If you are interested please contact Jim Bischoff on jimbischoff@pinewoodschool.co.uk.
Swindon Foodbank needs Pinewood! We will be holding our annual collection for Swindon Foodbank during the week of 21st to 25th May and want to make this year's collection a record breaker - last year we collected over a tonne of food! Lee Thompson from the Foodbank spoke to the children in Assembly this week, so they are all aware of the good work they do and how important the charity is.
Swindon Foodbank is a charity providing support to people in the local area, who have suddenly fallen on hard times. They provide packages of non-perishable food to support individuals or families until they can get back on their feet again. For more information on Swindon Foodbank, please go to their website: www.swindonfoodbank.co.uk
Please bring your items of food into school during the week beginning Monday 21st May and put them in the collection boxes provided around the school.
This year the Swindon Foodbank are particularly in need of the following items:
Tinned Tomatoes
Long Life Milk
Long Life Fruit Juice
but the following are also always useful:
Sugar (small - 500g)
Cereal
Tinned Rice/Sponge Pudding
Tinned Spaghetti
Tinned Meat
Tinned Fruit
Tinned Vegetables
Mashed Potato or Tinned Potatoes
Pasta Sauce
Biscuits
Snacks & Nibbles
Remember, quantity is more important than quality - Basics or Value brands are perfectly fine.
Year 8 will be visiting the Swindon Foodbank warehouse later in the term to find out at first hand how the Foodbank works.
This year sees the launch of Cancer Research UK's "Set Up Your Own Race" programme for schools and Pinewood will be having their own 3km and 5km race on Saturday 23rd June at 9.30am.
Years 5-7 will be doing the Race For Life as part of their Saturday morning programme (Year 8 are on exeat that weekend), but anyone within the Pinewood community is welcome to join in too. This will be a wonderful opportunity for the whole community to come together to raise money for Cancer Research UK.
If you would like to enter, please email James Siebert on jamessiebert@pinewoodschool.co.uk, so that we can gauge numbers. There is no entry fee, but we hope to raise as much money as possible through sponsorship or donations. We have set up one donation route under the banner of Pinewood School; to pay in your donations or sponsorship, please go to:www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/pinewoodschool and follow the basic instructions (the page is in James Siebert's name).
You can also buy Race For Life/Cancer Research UK kit by going towww.raceforlife.cancerresearchuk.org and then click on "Shop".
We would also be very grateful to anyone who would like to volunteer their services as a course marshall or at the drinks station. Please email James Siebert if you are able to help in this way.
The George Bailey Trust Bike Ride & Rubber Legs Challenge will take place this year on Sunday 1st July from 10am.
The event is held in support of the George Bailey Trust, which helps to offer holistic therapy and support to children and their parents affected by childhood cancer. The event is now in its third year and has something to offer everyone regardless of their age or fitness level. The Rubber Legs Challenge is a 5 1/2 mile walk, jog or cycle ride or you can take part in the 20 Ridgeway cycle ride.
Both events start and finish at school at 10am. Hot dogs and other refreshments will be for sale on your return to school.
To raise money for the George Bailey Trust we charge an entrance fee of £5 per individual or £12 per family.
Give it a go and have some good fun together as a family!
For more information, please contact James Siebert on jamessiebert@pinewoodschool.co.uk
With immediate effect the new School Shop opening hours are as follows:
Monday: 8am - 2pm
Tuesday: 8am - 10am
Wednesday: 8am - 2pm
Thursday: 8am - 10am
Friday: 8am - 12pm
Please note the following corrections to the School Calendar:
Year 8 HPV vaccinations are on Thursday 26th April at 2pm.
The Weekly Boarders & Staff Barbeque is on Thursday 5th July (not Wednesday 4th).
Form Picnics are on Friday 6th July (not Thursday 5th).
ALL medication and inhalers that are brought into Surgery MUST be in the original named container as prescribed.
Any medication not on the annual list signed for by parents needs an additional parental signature; therefore medication should not be handed in to Surgery by children.
Many thanks
Ruth & Julia (School Nurses)
Please note that Prep School children should be collected by 6.30pm (when boarders have their supper), but if you are late picking up, your children will be taken to the dining room with the boarders. Parents should ring the bell next to the outside door by the dining room (between the Science Block and the Front Door) to collect their children.
Anyone in the Pinewood Community who would like a copy of the twice termly prayer letter is invited to contact Andrew Caird via email on andrewcaird@pinewoodschool.co.uk.
Summer uniform may be worn from the start of term, but will be compulsory from Tuesday 8th May, after the Bank Holiday exeat weekend.
Please remember that Prep school boys need cricket whites (trousers) and an optional cream cricket jersey for next term. There is a good supply in the shop.
Please note that the tennis fixtures for the Summer Term do not appear in the hard copy of the school calendar, so please keep an eye on the website Fixtures List for the latest information on tennis matches.
Please click here to read the latest news and results from the Sports department.
The School Shop will be closed during the holidays, but will re-open on Monday 16th April, when it will be open from 10am till 2pm and again on Tuesday 17th April from 10am till 4pm.
A big thank you to everyone who has taken up the challenge so far; we still have some cushions left if anyone is interested in getting involved in embroidering cushions for Bourton Church, please contact Louise Slater on bob@weez.demon.co.uk for more information; the cushion kits cost £37 each.
Henrietta is kindly hosting "Sip n Sew" sessions again in the Summer Term, these are opportunities to come together and exchange tips or just to sew and chat together. Penny Caird, who has completed her kneeler, will be coming to the first session on 23rd April, so you will be able to pick her brains on how to put the back onto your kneeler.
Dates for the Summer Term are as follows:
Monday 23rd April
Monday 14th May
Monday 11th June
Monday 2nd July (tbc)
All sessions are held in the Drawing Room at 3.30pm.
There is a large amount of lost property in the School Office, which Janey would like to get rid of, including:
Glasses (mainly children's sizes)
Jewellery
Watches
Dog lead
Mobile phones
Sunglasses
Etc etc
Please come and claim them ASAP.
We still need more volunteers for the inaugural Pinewood Show Jumping Event on Saturday 31st March.
You do not need to be a particularly horsey person, it should just been a fun event and it doesn't matter if you can only spare an hour or two. If you are able to help, please contact Melanie Norris on mellors.norris@btinternet.com.
For full details of the event, please click here.
A case of Chickenpox has been reported in the Prep School.
A person with chickenpox is infectious from two days before the rash first appears until all the spots have crusted over (commonly about 5-6 days after onset of the rash).
When a child is infectious keep him or her off school or nursery and also away from 'at risk' people who may get a severe illness if they get chickenpox. These include:
Should your child catch Chickenpox it is recommended that they are kept away from school for a minimum period of 5days from the commencement of the rash.
If this is of concern to you please contact your GP or antenatal carer.
Thank you
Ruth Fleming and Julia Delamain
Pinewood School Nurses
Please note that from next term all Prep School boys will be required to have a pair of cricket whites (trousers) and an optional cream cricket jumper as part of their sports kit.
Carol has a good supply of cricket trousers and jumpers in the school shop.
The shop will be closed for the week of Monday 12th March, but will be open all day on Monday 19th March.
Please can we remind all parents that ANY medication brought into Surgery for children must be in the original, named box as dispensed by the Doctor? If it is not in the box it cannot be given to your child.
Thank you
School Nurses
Please note that this has been postponed until the Summer Term as some of the scholars involved have further scholarship commitments on that day.
The art scholars will have a chance to showcase their work in the Summer Term, date TBA.
For those who missed this the first time around, the project is aimed at involving the local communities including the Pinewood community, with the enrichment of the church which so many of us have come to love.
When the project was launched back in October there were no kneelers. Now there are 22 in process and many of you may have become aware of friends taking part etc. Whilst the church is used on a regular basis, the congregation is rarely large so the need for numerous kneelers is not too great. The local Bourton committee has suggested that pew cushions would also be a great benefit. This is a brilliant idea and one that fits in so well with the kneelers being made. The approved design list works for both kneelers and cushions. Pew cushion kits cost £37 each. If you would like to get involved whether by donating (paying for) a kit, donating and sewing a kit or just donating your time to sew, then please contact Louise Slater 783332 or email bob@weez.demon.co.uk.
Thank you.
We are once again collecting these vouchers from Sainsbury's, which provide the school with fantastic new sports equipment.
There will be collection boxes in the Hall and in Pre-Prep (please do not put other supermarket vouchers in there as they have to be sorted by hand!)
Please help us to collect as many vouchers as possible, last year we managed to collect over 11,000 vouchers across the Pre-Prep and Prep, which enabled us to "buy" the following equipment:
Playground football goals, 40 x bean bags, 25 x junior hockey sticks, 1 x Mercian hockey goal keeper kit, 3 x stop watches, 10 x playground multi footballs, 24 x hockey balls, 20 x training bibs.
Please note that the start date for Half-Term next term was incorrectly printed in the recent Headmaster's Half-Term letter. The correct start date is Thursday 31st May at the following times:
Pre-Prep - 12.00pm
Lower School - 12.30pm
Middle & Upper School - 1.00pm
Janey would very much welcome your help with make-up for the Year 5-7 play, Beauty & The Beast. There are four performances and a lot of children to get through, so the more help she can get, the better. You don't need to be especially artistic and it doesn't matter if you can't commit to every performance.
Performance dates and times are:
Monday 19th March - 4pm
Tuesday 20th March - 6.30pm
Wednesday 21st March - 4.30pm
Thursday 22nd March - 6.30pm
If you are able to help for some or all of the time, please let Janey know by email on janeynelson@pinewoodschool.co.uk or via the School Office.
There has been a fantastic response to our project to provide Bourton Church with embroidered kneelers - thank you to everyone who has taken up the challenge so far.
Henrietta Hoyland is kindly hosting "Stitch & Sip" sessions in the Drawing Room for all those making kneelers - these are a great opportunity to pick up tips or impart your expert knowledge, as well as sew together over a cup of tea and cake. The sessions are at 3.30pm on Monday 20th February and Monday 12th March.
Sailing lessons will restart in the Summer Term. This has been a very successful activity in the past, with Pinewood pupils really enjoying the course and learning a lot in the process.
Please let Mr Bischoff know as soon as you can if you would like your child to have lessons at the South Cerney Outdoor Education Centre. The lessons will be on six Thursdays (during the normal Thursday afternoon activities session) in the Summer term, leaving Pinewood at 3.05pm and arriving back at 6.00pm.
We need six children to make up a group and then the cost per child will be £92 for the six 2 hour lessons (if we don’t get six children the price will increase pro-rata). Lessons are available at Stage 1, 2 or 3.
Contact: jimbischoff@pinewoodschool.co.uk
Please note that the U11B netball match v Beaudesert is now at HOME and the U10A & B matches at Beaudesert will start at 2.15pm.
The School Shop will be closed from Monday 20th - Monday 27th February and will re-open again on Tuesday 28th February.
In an emergency please contact the School Office.
It is compulsory to have a Boiler Suit from Year 3 to 6 and recommended for Year 7 to 8. Boiler suits are used for all outside activities, for example Assault Course, outside break times and boarding “Spotlight” games.
Track suit bottoms are solely to be used for sports.
Thank you
Please click on the link to download the Rock Bands Rehearsal Schedule for this term.
Mr Forsyth will be running a touch typing class every Thursday between 5.30 and 6.30pm, starting on 19th January.
If you would like your child to take part, please email Mr Forsyth on markforsyth@pinewoodschool.co.uk for information regarding costs etc.
All parents with Children in Years 5-7 should check the rehearsal schedule for Beauty & The Beast as a number of rehearsals take place after normal school hours.
Please click on the links below:
Concerns regarding head lice have been noted in recent weeks and a pro-active measure to eradicate the problem is required.
Past experience has shown that an increase in “nit numbers” can occur at any time. Research shows that wet combing with conditioner and a nit comb is the only reliable method for the eradication of head lice.
Please may we ask you and your children to use the wet method as a matter of routine once or twice a week, whether they have head lice or not.
For further information please call into the Surgery or contact us on 01793 782205 or email us at surgery@pinewoodschool.co.uk
A reminder at the start of term to highlight to everyone the importance of hand washing and the use of alcohol gels at appropriate times, such as after visiting the lavatory, before meals, after handling any obviously dirty objects. This can reduce the risk of diseases spreading especially sickness and diarrhoea. Simply by hand washing this reduces the risk of contamination and the spread of diseases. This sort of disease can spread very quickly amongst children.
For a more information on correct hand washing procedures go to www.hpa.org.uk. Or if you have any concerns or questions please don’t hesitate to contact Julia or Ruth in Surgery on 01793 782205 or surgery@pinewoodschool.co.uk
Anyone who would like a copy of the school’s twice termly prayer letter is welcome to have one. Just email Andrew Caird on andrewcaird@pinewoodschool.co.uk.
Mr Hawley's two Year 5 sets and year 6, set 2 French vocab list for the first half of term and Mrs Hawley's spelling lists for the term for her English sets: Year 6 set 2, Year 5 set 1, Year 5 set 3, Year 4 set 2 can be found in the Parents Information section on the Prep page.