Overthorpe C of E Academy

BELIEVE, ENJOY, ACHIEVE

'Overthorpe is more than a school-

We are the heart of the community.

In our family, we nurture the courage,

And skills to fly higher than the flock,

Whilst always providing a nest,

To come home to.'

TRUST, FRIENDSHIP, ENDURANCE, FORGIVENESS, HOPE

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Headteacher - Mr J Mitchell

Senior Leadership Team - Ms L McCarthy (Deputy Head), Ms L Stott (Assistant Head), Mrs S Wood (SENDCo)

Designated Safeguarding lead - Mrs S Wood

Deputy DSLs - Mr J Mitchell, Ms L Stott, Ms L McCarthy, Mrs A Godfrey

The Remembrance art installation at Thornhill Parish church that we contributed to

Our Remembrance Service in church this week was a wonderful opportunity for our whole school community to come together and show gratitude. In school, every child performed their poetry beautifully as part of our Trust-wide competition, and their confidence and expression made us all very proud.

Next week, we look forward to a range of Anti-Bullying Week activities, beginning on Monday when we’ll be wearing odd socks to celebrate individuality and kindness. Year 6 will also be taking part in a mock trial with our visiting magistrates, and on Friday we’ll be joining in with Children in Need events.

Read on in the newsletter to find out more about these activities and our upcoming parent events during the week beginning 17th November.

Have a lovely weekend everyone, and I look forward to seeing you all next week.
Mr Mitchell

As you may remember, back in September we recruited six Senior Pupil Representatives. Their mission this academic year is to make sure every pupil has the chance to earn an Ambassador Award by giving their time selflessly—whether by helping in school or contributing to our wider community. We are delighted to share that they have made a truly inspiring start. During Autumn 1, an impressive 44 children proudly received their Ambassador badges and were thanked for the positive difference they have made. It is a joy to see our pupils growing in confidence, kindness and responsibility, and we are incredibly proud of the way they are helping to make our school and community a wonderful place to be.

This week, our school community came together at church for a deeply moving Remembrance Service led by Reverend Debbie Nash, Mr Mitchell and our Senior Pupil Representatives. Through readings, reflections and prayer, the children helped us to remember the bravery, love and sacrifice shown by millions during times of conflict.

A powerful moment in the service involved each pupil holding a small piece of red thread or ribbon. This simple symbol helped us reflect on the stories of courage, loss and hope that shape our shared history. The Senior Pupil Representative beautifully explained how, just like individual poppies, each thread represents one memory—but when these threads are brought together, they create something strong, meaningful and lasting.

Pupils also listened to memories of war shared from books, poems and the personal reflections of a staff member, reminding us that remembrance is not only about the past, but about the values we carry forward: peace, compassion and courage.

We are incredibly proud of the respect, maturity and empathy shown by all our pupils. Their thoughtful participation helped make this year's Remembrance Service a truly special and heartfelt occasion.

We are very excited to welcome parents and carers into school in the week commencing November 17th.

Please find details of what is going on below.

Monday 17th November - 14:15 - 15:15 - Great Fire of London activities in Wrens classroom.

Monday 17th November - 14:15 - 15:15 - Stone Age activities in Chaffinches classroom.

Tuesday 18th November - 09:15 - 10:15 - Sketching and still life drawing in Sparrows classroom.

Tuesday 18th November - 13:30 - 14:30 - Christmas decorations in Magpies and Kingfishers classroom.

Tuesday 18th November - 14:15 - 15:15 - Christmas decorations in Woodpeckers classroom.

Wednesday 19th November - 13:30 - 14:30 - WWII artwork in Kestrels classroom.

Sparrows

Friday 21st November - 8:40 - 9:45 - Christmas decorations in Barn Owl's classroom.

Children are invited to wear 'Odd Socks' on Monday in support of Anti-bullying Week.

Thank you to all parents and carers who took the time to complete our recent survey. Your feedback is incredibly valuable to us as we continue to reflect and improve every aspect of our school. We are committed to listening carefully and making positive changes in response to what families tell us, celebrating what works well and addressing areas where we can grow further.

The key outcomes from the most recent parental survey can be found below. Thank you once again for your ongoing support and partnership in helping us provide the very best for our children.

https://www.overthorpecofe.co.uk/parent-information/parent-forum

We would like to take this opportunity to remind you that no jewellery including earrings of any kind should be worn in PE lessons, after school sports clubs and at swimming. This is because earrings can get easily caught on equipment or a stud could penetrate the neck behind the ear should an unintentional blow be received from someone or from equipment such as a ball, which can cause a painful injury.

We understand that newly pierced ears require the earrings to remain in the ear at all times for a maximum of 6 weeks. Once 6 weeks has passed the earrings can be removed. We ask that any new piercings happen at the start of the six weeks summer holiday.

Please make sure your child’s ears are safe by removing their earrings on PE, afterschool sports club and swimming days or preferably teach them how to remove them prior to their PE lesson, school club and swimming.

Unfortunately, teachers are not allowed to remove earrings.

Children will be unable to take part in PE, afterschool sports clubs or go swimming unless their earrings have been removed in order to keep them safe.

Thank you for your co-operation.