Letter from Mrs Huish 31.03.2021

Letter from Mrs Huish 31.03.2021
Dear Parents/Carers,
It has been a Spring term filled with new learning but we have navigated these together as a collective.
In this last week, I would like us all to stand back and give ourselves a moment to reflect on the
immense power and support of our school community. Thank you all. I am so very proud of being part
of the Dartington community and seeing the evidence of what we can achieve together!

Coming back to school, we have taken time to give the children opportunities to reconnect and enjoy
the time with their peers (the gorgeous weather has definitely helped!!). Whatever boat we all sail
through the waters, it has not been easy for anyone and it is so vitally important that the children
reconnect those friendships to learn and grow together. For them, it has been a story of courage,
resilience and an opportunity to learn new things and deepen their roots in the family home or with new
bubble friends.

We have been unpicking our school vision statement in school ‘together we
grow, together we flourish’ and the children have been discussing what this
means to them and how it helps them to be the best that they can be in school.
Their responses have been so deep and reflective about their daily experience
of working and supporting each other. The children have been able to link their
positive learning experiences to their peers supporting them in their writing,
helping the environment by planting the trees for the BBC Countryfile initiative,
encouraging them with cheering to complete the Golden Mile and working as a
team to dig the pond in forest school. One of my favourite quotes was
“Together, we can do anything we set our minds to”.

In the Summer term we look towards creating more enriching opportunities
across the curriculum. To find out more about World Earth Day, follow this link
https://www.earthday.org/ We are really excited to announce that Jane Cabrera, a
local author and artist, is coming in to work with the children outside in their bubbles.
We will be spending a day listening to Jane read her book to each class and being
creative with our artistic skills to produce some wonderful new artwork to display in our
school library. For the opportunity to buy a signed book, please see the last page of
this newsletter.

Happy Easter
Mrs Huish

Community Award
The first Class Community Award this month goes to the Swifts class. This trophy is
awarded to the class who has openly contributed to making our community a place
where we can all grow and flourish. Last week, I asked all the classes to write me a post-
it-note about how they help each other to grow and flourish and their answers were
simply stunning. Here are some for you to enjoy: “We help each other to grow and
flourish by using our creative minds and giving each other hope.” Martha. “I help others
by giving them confidence and good experience to inspire them to spread joy and
happiness to others.” Edith. “Giving random acts of kindness everywhere we go.” Finn.
“Using teamwork and sharing positive thoughts and ideas” Tom As well as this, this class has been working
together to learn about individual members of their class and their needs so that they can support and include
every single member of their class in the best way they can. Inclusivity is so very important and for this the Swifts
really stood out. Well done Swifts!

Community News Pippins is starting again!
Pippins, our school parent and toddler group, is restarting after Easter with a new,
fresh, forest school twist! We really want to ensure that our youngest members of the
community and their parents have a place to be welcomed and for them to socialise
after the Easter term. Situated within the beautiful grounds of our school, these are not
toddler sessions to be missed. The wonders are endless, from large grounds to discover innumerable
insects and undercover safe play areas to our allotment and apple orchard where the children can see
the magic of nature’s growth.
Each week, there will be a set of planned activities for you and your toddler to enjoy. The sessions will
be run by Mrs Wallis and Mrs Griffiths who will be ready to welcome you to our school.
Day: Wednesday Time: 09:15 - 10:30 Cost: £2 per child.
Please spread the word and let anyone know who may be interested. To sign up, please contact the
admin team for a registration form!
New Improved Kitchen Menu
The School kitchen team have been working with Mrs Keiller to begin to transform our
lunch time offer sourcing the highest quality ingredients and exciting new menus! For the
Summer term, we have added a ‘picnic’ option as well as the main menu to give the
children more choice. As the weather gets warmer, the picnic choice will give the
children the opportunity to choose a sandwich from a choice of fillings, a fruit bag,
vegetable bag and a dessert of the day as well. They will still have access to the salad
bar too. Browse the new menu and tantalise your tastebuds with options like our new
lemon and courgette muffins on the School Gateway App today! You can order your
child’s lunches in advance so they don’t miss out on the exciting new options.
Hayley Holden Memorial Message
We wanted to update you with a message from the family regarding the sad loss
of Hayley, who was a big part of our school community.

With permission from the family, we can confirm to everyone who knew Hayley
Holden - Mum to Florence (Tawny Owls) and Olivia (Reception) and beloved
fiancée of Chris, father of the two girls - that she passed away in the early hours
of Sunday 7th March. Hayley and Chris, her fiancé, were at home enjoying an
evening together, and Hayley passed away in his arms. Hayley’s death was
sudden and is so far unexplained. Despite very early reports, the police and the
coroner agreed that no one was responsible for Hayley’s death. As you can
imagine, this news was tragic and shocking for the family.

It is hoped that the girls will stay at Dartington and, as part of our school community, we are supporting
the family to work through this difficult time. The kindness and generosity you have already shown for all
of them is very much appreciated and they have been overwhelmed by your support.

The family has published the following for everyone who knew Hayley:

On Thursday 1st of April we will be saying goodbye to our darling daughter, sister, a wonderful mother,
fiancée and a true friend to all that knew her.
Hayley Holden lived for the love of nature and enjoyed teaching her children about the wonders of
outdoors and the beauty in nature. Hayley will be laid to rest at Sharpham Wild flower meadows.

Unfortunately, due to ongoing COVID restrictions we are limited with numbers and therefore are unable
to invite all who knew and loved Hayley. Therefore, for all those wishing to pay their respects and say
their goodbyes to Hayley, who are unable to attend the main celebration of her life, there will be an
opportunity to do so on the morning of Thursday 1st April, between 9am and 10am. Where we would like
to invite family and friends that are not invited to the main ceremony to come and pay their respects at
Dartington Village Hall and write a message which will be added to Hayley’s willow casket, which she
can then take with her into her next life.

There will also be an opportunity for close friends and family members, who are unfortunately unable to
attend the celebration, to join via Zoom. However, individuals wanting to do this are encouraged to
contact family members for more details about this.

Finally, we ask that any floral gestures or tributes remain to a minimum with no plastic wrapping.
Alternatively you may choose to donate to help us plant some 12 trees in memory of Hayley (the
combined age of her dear children).

We thank you all for the overwhelming support the family have received during this devastating time.

Welcome to our school: Our new starters
Welcome to our wonderful new pupils Dolly and Emmerson! We are thrilled to have them as part of our
growing school family.
Farewell (for a little bit)
We say farewell until next year to Mrs Calder and Miss Whitehurst who leave for their maternity this
week. We look forward to meeting our new Dartington babies in the Summer and wish them all the best
on their adventures into motherhood!

Dates for your Diary:
19th April First Day of Summer Term
22nd April 2021 World Earth day with author visit and art
4th May Tempest Class Photos
26.05.21Autism parent workshops with Educational Psychologists team (10:00am and 1:00pm)
27.05.21Autism parent workshops with Educational Psychologists team (6pm)
28.05.21 Non Pupil day
31st of May to 4th of June 2021 Summer Half term break
Friday 9th of July 2021 School Reports Week
Week beginning the 12th of July 2021 Parent’s Evening week