Headteacher’s Blog

My legs have just stopped aching after my marathon world record on Sunday. There’s life in the old girl yet. We are continuing our assembly theme this week which is Relationships and how we can be a good friend. The children have such a good understanding of how they can be a good friend but also understand that actually, we might have disagreements with each other, and the important thing is how we handle the disagreements. It is the same for adults isn’t it. After a long day at work I am sure that like me you have to be … Read more →

I have seen lots of knees and arms this week as we are all determined to embrace the fact that the nights are getting longer and the weather has been rather reasonable. Long may it last and then we can all get ready for snow in July and August. I wonder where I have put my skis? The big TAFF Tidy Up took place on the right date and we are truly thankful for the hard work that everyone put in. Please take time to have a look at our garden before or after school. It is at the pre-school … Read more →

There is a vacancy at Tavistock for someone to manage my diary so I know what day of the week/date it really is. I have a paper desk diary, a calendar thing on my computer, my phone, the lovely ladies in the office and I still get my days mixed up. I sent you all to the TAFF tidy up last Saturday and it’s this Saturday! It was so funny on Monday or Tuesday when I spoke to one of the TAFF mums and asked if they had a good turn out at the weekend. She very kindly put me … Read more →

TAFF have been in school again today helping the children to choose gifts for Mother’s Day on Sunday. I know for a fact that all the helpers have other jobs that they actually get paid for, but time and time again they give up their ‘spare’ time doing lovely things for the children. They have a long list of events in the pipeline and I know you will play your part by supporting the events so that extra money is raised to help Tavistock enrich the learning experiences the children have at school. Thank you to TAFF and thank you … Read more →

Where do I honestly start with everything that has happened this week? It really has been so exciting in school and the children have had such wonderful learning experiences. At the start of the week I was back in the Roman Empire discussing gladiators because some of the children were informing me that they were playing gladiators at lunchtime. It soon came to pass that it was of course the TV programme Gladiators and we discussed the costumes, muscles and favourite events! One wise little girl was explaining very eloquently that the ‘bad’ gladiator is just like the baddies in … Read more →

As always this has been a very busy week and I will bullet everything we got up to this week but you will need to look at your year group blogs to get the full picture: We are all exhausted now and ready for 9 days off. A lovely little lunch partner told me it was 9 days and not 7 because you should count both weekends. What a fine idea. I am sure that you have lovely things planned for half term but I reminded the children that they didn’t need to do something expensive every day! They all … Read more →

We are busy reminding the children about how important it is to make everyone feel that they belong to our school. We are all included and we are all important in our own way. To use the words of one of your lovely children ‘we all belong no matter what shape, size or skin colour we are’. The child wasn’t prompted to say this by any adult and it just made me so proud. We really do live in a world that is so much more tolerant of difference than when I was growing up. People’s minds are open to … Read more →

I first started writing a blog 10ish years ago when Mrs Sloss nudged me into the technological world. So much has changed in those 10ish years but I am still here! I’d like to think I am wiser as well as older but to be honest on some days it can be a struggle. I am sure you have days like that when you don’t want to make a wise decision but just want to go with the flow and have a bit of an adventure. I know, on Saturday and Sunday I can throw caution to the wind but … Read more →

What a way to end the autumn term with fish fingers and sweet potato and lentil curry. It is of course my duty to make sure that both the red and green options are suitable for the children but there won’t even be the tiniest of morsels passing my lips before Sunday. Hopefully I will have room for some dry turkey on the 25th! You may be in ‘Camp Relieved’ or ‘Camp Disappointed’ but I haven’t the energy to write anything other than: THANK YOU TO EVERYONE FOR BEING SUCH A WONDERFUL COMMUNITY. HAVE A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY … Read more →

What a wonderful week we have had at Tavistock celebrating the performing talents of all our children. They had so many songs and poems to learn, actions to remember and costumes to negotiate. Each and every child should be very proud of themselves for the part they played. It is such a long way from Nazareth to Fleet that their little feet must have been hurting. I always feel quite sorry for Joseph because Mary gets to ride on the donkey the whole way! Life in school is always very busy and there is always something to celebrate but the … Read more →

Do you lose track of the time? Do you ever set off to do something then forget what it was you were doing? Do you lose things then find them in the last place you look? Welcome to my world and if you would like to join me in starting up a support group then do give me a shout. At the weekend my daughter and I had an outing to the shops in Basingstoke. We absolutely love a good deal and you will mostly find us rummaging in the bargain buckets or looking for anything with a reduced price … Read more →

It was really funny last Monday on my first day back. There were so many ‘lovely to see you back comments’ but I didn’t realise that everyone hadn’t been told that it was my eye I had a problem with. Consequently some parents were clearly looking at me and thinking: ‘What was wrong with Mrs O then?’ ‘She looks alright…’ ‘Was it something to do with her age?’ The brave ones who have known me for years actually asked what the problem was. Thankfully it wasn’t anything too personal so I was quite happy to regale everyone who had time … Read more →

The time has come for parents to start to look for a school place for their child for September 2024 and this could be for Year R or Year 3. Doesn’t time fly when you are having fun. It is quite scary too isn’t it. Last night was the first session for prospective parents to look round and meet myself and my deputy Mrs J. We both had rather nice frocks on and had applied our lipstick. I also offered a sweet to everyone as they arrived as a little friendly gesture, not bribery. They were a truly lovely crowd, … Read more →

This afternoon some year 1 children were very proud of me because I fixed, with non-electric screwdrivers I have to say, a wooden ladder in their outdoor area. They seemed to be quite amazed that I could do such a task and I told them that I can also unblock toilets and drains, fell trees and shin up a drain pipe if necessary. They were all very supportive and wanted to help me even if it was just providing play food from their home corner. A certain young chap gave me a saucepan full of meatballs, a fried egg, 2 … Read more →

We have 1 hour and 5 minutes to go before our new Year R children have had their first week in school. Some of them are looking rather exhausted and some are still busy outside doing ‘everything’ from running around, balancing on tyres, digging big holes in the woodland area, to sitting in the sandpit imagining they are at the seaside. The children who are inside are busy painting and most of it is going on the paper, playing with the wooden railway, reading books and trying not to nod off, to being slumped in the home corner with a … Read more →

I do like to be positive and look on the bright side but it has been far too hot this week and I have run out of thin frocks. I am trying very hard to not buy any new clothes for school because, as those of you who know me already, I have far too many. Being positive though, at least I will be able to get my thin frocks dry because it is still going to be hot at the weekend. No! Bring on the boots and tights I say! It has been very calm in school this week … Read more →