A message from the Headteacher
Dear Parents and Carers,
I hope that you have enjoyed the sunshine that we have had over the past few days. We have certainly chosen the best week ever for our annual visit of Years 5 and 6 to the Pioneer Centre! The children have had an amazing time with activities including high ropes, the leap of faith, indoor caving, laser quest in the woods and raft building. It has been a privilege to see them challenge themselves, conquer their fears and achieve things they never expected. The children were a credit to themselves, their parents and The Ridge. Huge thanks go to Mrs Hadley, Miss Beddoes, Miss Wesson and Miss Howarth who kindly gave up their time to give the children this amazing opportunity. Thanks also to the staff in school who ensured that those who remained had a lovely time too, especially Mrs Evans, Mrs Warren and Mr Lamb.
I hope that you all have a wonderful Bank Holiday and the children enjoy their half term break: keeping everything crossed that the sun continues to shine!
Kind regards
Mrs D Hudson
Headteacher
Fund Raising
Thank you for sending in your Amble Ramble sponsorship money. What an amazing effort from everyone! We are delighted to tell you that the current total raised is a fantastic £1589.50! We are happy to continue to accept any outstanding money, after half term.
Thank you too for your support for last week’s Chocolate Bingo. A good time was had by all, especially those who won some amazing edible prizes! Thank you to the Ridge Friends Association for organising this event and raising a wonderful total of £188.89.
Donations for the Coronation mufti also raised £46.25 so thank you to everyone for this too!
School Photographs - Thursday 29th June 2023
Please note that the date on the previous issue of the school calendar for Class and Team school photographs is incorrectly stated as Thursday 8th June. The correct date is Thursday 29th June. Can we also please remind you that children should wear their full winter school uniform on this date.
Summer Fayre - Saturday 24th June
The Ridge Friends Association are busy preparing for our Summer Fayre which, along with the Christmas Fayre, is one of the most important fundraisers of the year. We are asking everyone to help in the following ways -
- Donations of clean soft toys such as teddies. Please bring these in to school by Wednesday 7th June
- Non-Uniform Day – Friday 9th June for donations of bottles (those containing alcohol are particularly welcome!) Please ensure that any glass bottles are brought in to school by an adult. Thank you.
- Lucky Bags to be returned to school by Friday 16th June (further details to follow)
We appreciate that everyone is suffering during the cost of living crisis but ask that you help in whatever way you can. If you can’t donate items maybe you can give your time? Thank you for your support.
Who Knew What Goes On At The Ridge After Dark!
This week we have had a visit from past pupil, Lauren Simmonds who works for WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature.) After training as a wildlife photographer, Lauren now lives in Australia, but travels all over the world. It was inspirational to hear about her work and in particular, she shared with the children how scientists use technology to protect wildlife and their habitats.
Following her presentation, Lauren and her Mum, Julia (our Chair of Governors), worked with Year 5 to start an exciting project here at school. They have very kindly donated some trail cams which have been set up to capture the wildlife in our school grounds. On the very first night of recording, three foxes (possibly including a Mum and her cub) were spotted and on the following night a badger and most amazingly, a deer! We will post some pictures on the website and let you know how the project to attract and track the movement of our wildlife visitors, goes.
Sadly we have had some less welcome visitors on the school site this week. We suffered significant vandalism of our secure entry system overnight, which has placed an additional burden on the already stretched school finances. This is not the first time that we have had damage done and past experience tells us that this becomes worse in the summer. It is not helped by the Public Right of Way which runs over our field. This week Mrs Hudson has again raised the issue with representatives from the Local Authority and has also met with a local councillor in the hope that something can be done to address this problem. Please be vigilant if you are in the vicinity of the school, and let the police know if you see any suspicious activity.
Attendance and Punctuality
This Weeks attendance
Whole School - 93.57%
Reception - 92.67%
Year 1 – 89.33%
Year 2 – 92.00%
Year 3 – 94.62%
Year 4 – 95.33%
Year 5 – 93.33%
Year 6 – 97.93%
Well done Year 6!
This Half Term attendance
Whole School - 95.91%
Reception - 95.61%
Year 1 – 94.29%
Year 2 – 96.09%
Year 3 – 96.16%
Year 4 – 96.19%
Year 5 – 96.14%
Year 6 – 96.90%
Well done Year 6!
Safeguarding
Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility. Mrs Hudson is the Designated Safeguarding Lead and any concerns should be shared with her or the Deputy Safeguarding Leads – Mrs Hadley and Miss Beddoes. Where child protection concerns are raised, the school has a statutory duty to refer these concerns to children’s social care.
What's Happening after Half Term
| Monday | |
| Tuesday | • Forest School Session for Years 6 and Reception |
| • Year 4 Whole Class Clarinet Lesson | |
| Wednesday | |
| Thursday | • Choir |
| Friday | • Year 3 Swimming |
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