Welcome back to Darite after what a I hope was a relaxing and pleasant half term break. This is one of my favourite half terms of the year with the run up to Christmas, performances and lots more trips and activities! Congratulations to our new school council who were elected this week to make the school an even better place. They will be meeting regularly and already have some great plans - watch this space! Next week we welcome Sarah Wallis from St Luke's hospice back into school to launch this year's Rudolph Run. The children had an amazing time last year and raised a fantastic amount of money for this cause which helps so many families in our community. The annual flu nasal sprays are on Thursday next week. All children in school are eligible for this and we highly recommend that children are vaccinated before the flu season really kicks off. Please see the previous correspondence to give permission if you have not yet done so and would like to take up the offer. Finally, next week if the BBC Children in Need appeal. To help raise money for this amazing appeal, next Friday will be a non-uniform day. Children can come in non-uniform or spotty clothes for a £1 donation. We are also asking for kind donations of cakes and treats for a cake sale at breaktime and lunchtime on Friday. Because of allergies in school, please could you provide a list of ingredients so that all children can enjoy a treat.

We have had a fantastic week of learning at Darite. Class 1 have been learning about Charles Macintosh and waterproof materials. They conducted an experiment to find out which materials repel water the best. Class 2 had an amazing afternoon with a group of people from Sterts who came in to work with them as part of a series of drama workshops. Thank you to everyone who came to our Harvest Celebration. The children really enjoyed cooking for you and performing their songs. We are extremely grateful for the food donations which will be collected by Liskeard and Looe Foodbank next week. Congratulations to all of the runners who took part in the East Cornwall School's Cross Country race at Great Trethew last Friday. The next race is on Friday 14th November at Lanhydrock. Next week we have the Autumn Term parent consultations. If you haven't booked a slot but would like to meet with Mrs Lake or Mrs Morris please book using Arbor. If you have any problems, or can't find a suitable time, please email Mrs Norris. Entry to the parent consultations will be through the main reception where you will be able to wait until your appointment. Clubs will continue to run as normal next week but school is closed to pupils on Friday for a staff INSET day.

Yesterday the children had a treat in assembly when Mrs Clavier came to demonstrate brass instruments along with the Sydenham Damerel Blowers. If any of the children are interested in learning to play a brass instrument please let us know and we will pass on their details. Mrs Clavier will become a familiar face in school this term as she will be teaching Music Technology to Class 2 every Tuesday starting on 21st October. Thank you to the Cornish Music Service Trust and AsOne for this wonderful, funded opportunity. Today we enjoyed an autumnal tidy up in the Wild Tribe areas as part of Mental Health Awareness Week. Research shows that being outside for 20 minutes a day can help to improve mental wellbeing significantly. We are very lucky to have an amazing environment in which to do this. Next week we look forward to welcoming you to our Harvest Celebration on Wednesday at 2pm. We will not be charging an entry fee, instead could you please give what you can to our collection for the Liskeard Foodbank. Please note there is also an Early Reading parents meeting at 1.45pm on Wednesday where you can find out more about how to support your child with learning to read.

We have had another fantastic week at Darite! The total so far for the sponsored triathlon is an amazing £497.20. Thank you for your support with this the PTA and the school are incredibly grateful. Thanks must also go to our PTA who work tirelessly for the benefit of the children. Today we say goodbye and thank you to our trainee teacher, Melanie, who has been with us for the last 3 weeks. She heads back to Switzerland tomorrow and we are going to miss not having her next week. You may have heard the children talking about Christmas cards this week. We have been designing them for our annual fundraising event and you will soon be able to order their unique designs. More details to follow in a couple of weeks. Booking on Arbor is now live for Parent Consultations, please contact us if the available times are inconvenient. We love having time to sit down and talk about your children with you and will do all we can to accommodate this.

It's been a busy week at Darite again. The trip to the Cornwall Museum yesterday was brilliant. The children had a great time learning about childhood in Cornwall and the toys that were played with. They have come back with some amazing knowledge that will be really helpful in their learning. The sponsored triathlon is also taking part today. The children are really excited to take part and the number of bikes and scooters is testament to their fitness. Thank-you to everyone who has managed to sponsor the children. Every penny raised will be used to support the learning and providing experiences for the children at Darite. Stay tuned for the final total. Thank-you to the PTFA for their support in running the event too. It has been a wonderful start to the term and we are always looking for ways to make Darite even better. We are again looking at interest for extending wraparound care at Darite. There will be a message going home in the near future asking for your feedback including if you would use it, how often and then when you would need it for. Once we compile the responses, we can look at how we can support moving forward. Finally, can I politely remind you that children should not be using the trim train before or after school. This is a safety and insurance issue and, like you, we want to keep the children safe during the school day.

It has been a rather soggy week this week but the children have been able to brighten up the school with their smiles and positive attitudes. It has been busy with photos, clubs and learning but the children have worked hard in their learning. Next week sees the sponsored triathlon on Friday and the whole school trip to the Cornwall Museum in Truro on Thursday. Sponsor forms went out for the triathlon this week. All children will be able to take part and every bit of money raised will go towards supporting the school and children. Can you please ensure that you have given permission and paid the donation for the Truro trip on Parent Pay. If we do not receive enough payments to cover the cost of the trip, we will unfortunately need to cancel. Finally, as we get into the new year, can I please ask everyone to continue to respect the residents who live around the school. This is particularly true at drop-off and pickup times as it is sometimes hard for them to move cars with parents parking on the zig-zags outside of school. This is for safety of the everyone in our community.

Our first full week of this academic year has been wonderful with lots of learning, smiles and positive attitudes. Children have settled into their new classes fantastically and have been supporting new children wonderfully. As we start the new year, could we please remind you to keep us updated with any changes to address or contact details. It is important that we are able to contact someone about the children at any point of the day in case of emergency. You are able to do this yourself by logging into Arbor or, through the office. There are a few interesting and exciting things coming up over the next few weeks. The calendar on the website is up to date with current events so please make sure you check in regularly. Clubs start next week and they are proving popular as always. Please make sure that you let Mrs Norris know if your child would like to take part. Photos are next week on Monday. As it is PE for all children, we are asking that they come in uniform and then change for the afternoon session. I have been asked to bring your attention to Pam Adam's piano lessons. This year she has space for her in-school lessons. If your children are interested, please let the office know. We also have been sent information from the Marine Biological Association (who worked with the Lego team last year) that their Rock Pool festival is being held next weekend at Porthpean. There are leaflets in the noticeboard and outside the office if you are interested.

We are all delighted to welcome you and your children back for another brand-new year. We also welcome new families to Darite I hope that whatever you and your family got up to over the break, you were able to find time to relax and enjoy the weather. It has been amazing to hear the things that the children have been up to and the places that they have been able to go over the summer. This year at Darite promises to be another year full of exciting learning, fun activities , new challenges and memorable experiences for the children at Darite. The staff and I have been working hard on preparing engaging and fun lessons designed to help every child enjoy school and achieve their very best. It was wonderful to see the children being excited about being back yesterday and to have to opportunity to speak to you on the playground. We really appreciate and value the partnership that we have between home and school and the positive impact it has on supporting your child's growth and success in school. We are always happy to help and are looking forward to working closely with you again this year. PE will continue to be on Monday so children will need to come into school in their kits. Class 1 will continue to have Wild Tribe on Friday and Class 2 will have a Wild Tribe day each term. We will be sending out club lists next week with a view to starting on the following week. 

This is the final full week of the academic year! It seems like only yesterday, we were welcoming the children back in September! We have had a full final week to finish this term. Before we even got to school on Monday, we were celebrating our winning entries at the Liskeard show! You may have seen the art and crafts that we entered at the weekend, and we were delighted to bring home not one but two first-prize rosettes for the third year in a row! Congratulations to all the children! On Monday, the weather (mostly) played ball for our sports day. The children had a great time trying the different games and activities, finished with the tradition that is the Year 6 Round-School Run! Thank-you to everyone who was able to come and cheer the children on! Tuesday saw the whole school have a great day at Hidden Valley. The children loved the maze and the mansion and worked hard at solving the puzzles. Thank-you to the PTFA for funding the coach and keeping the cost of the trip down. Their support for activities and fund-raising is invaluable and we thank their members for their continued support of the school. We were all star-struck on Wednesday with Class 2's amazing performances of "I'm an 11-year-old - Get me out of here!" The children have worked tirelessly - learning lines, positions and the songs and it all came together for two brilliant performances. We have some understudies step in last-minute and were amazing. Thank-you to the children for their hard work and to everyone who supported with learning lines and costumes. I am still processing the video of the performance, but this will be available on request next week. Finally, this afternoon as you read this, the children will be enjoying the summer disco! An opportunity for them to celebrate their successes this year and look forward to the summer as well as, in some cases, the next steps on their journey to secondary school. A reminder that, along with the leaver's assembly for Year 6 on Monday, next week the children can be collected for the holiday on Tuesday at 1.30. Can you please let us know if you are unable to collect your children at this time. Have a fantastic weekend and we're looking forward to seeing the children on Monday for the final few days.

Welcome back after the half term break. Although the weather this week hasn’t felt like summer term, the whole school had a brilliant Wild Tribe Day on Wednesday, learning art, survival skills and teamwork! It was great to see the children working so well together. It was lovely to see babies and toddlers at Mini Miners on Tuesday. They were enjoying the soft play, arts and crafts and the other toys on offer. Remember, if you or anyone you know have children from birth to 4, pop along each Tuesday for a natter, play and some refreshments in the school. We have been invited by The Morrab Library in Penzance to give children the chance to enter a short story writing competition. There is no theme so the amazing writers at Darite can let their imaginations run wild. There is absolutely no expectation for children to take part but, if they want to, the details of the competition and prizes can be found here. Going out today is a short letter with details of the classes and staffing next year. I am pleased to say that there are no changes to the structure this year and the school continues to go from strength to strength. Thank-you for your support this year – Darite is a very special place to work and learn. Finally, it is with sadness that we wish Mrs Saberton good luck today as she leaves for her new role at Liskeard Secondary. She has been a pillar of Darite for many years and will be missed by the children and staff alike. I know you will join with us in wishing her the best and I know that the children going to Liskeard in Year 7 will already know a friendly face. Thank-you for everything you have done for the children.