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

Festive Magic at our Christmas Fair!

Pupils have worked incredibly hard on their recent assessments and are showing real progress in reading, writing, maths and phonics across the school. It has also been lovely to see our choir representing us so proudly out in the community, spreading Christmas cheer with their singing.

The Christmas Fair was a great success and a wonderful way to bring families together, and a number of sports festivals this week have given many children the chance to shine and try new activities. Thank you to everyone who has supported these events.

A reminder that our “5 Gold Rings” attendance award started today. Children with 100% attendance over the five days will receive their prizes next Thursday, so please continue to support good punctuality and attendance wherever possible.

Have a terrific weekend and I will see you all on Monday.

Mr Mitchell

On Tuesday, we were delighted to welcome families to our wonderful Christmas Fair, which was filled with festive cheer from start to finish. Children enjoyed visiting Santa’s Grotto, trying their luck at our sweet, chocolate and teddy tombolas, and taking part in fantastic games such as Elf off the Shelf, bottle hoopla and Hook a Bauble. There were beautiful homemade gifts to browse, an exciting raffle, and two special highlights — a superb dance performance organised by three of our talented Year 6 pupils and a joyful choir performance that truly captured the spirit of Christmas. We would like to express our heartfelt thanks to all parents and carers for their generous contributions in the lead-up to the fair and for supporting this event so warmly. Thanks to your kindness and community spirit, we raised an incredible £1,047 for school funds. It was a joy to see the children’s faces light up throughout the afternoon — a reminder of just how magical this time of year can be in our school community.

As a reminder, the key Christmas dates for next week are below:

Tue. 16th Dec. Reception Nativity - 9:30am

Tue. 16th Dec. KS1 Nativity - 2:00pm

Wed. 17th Dec. KS1 Nativity - 9:30am

Wed. 17th Dec. Reception Nativity - 2:30pm

Thu. 18th - Optional Christmas jumpers (with normal uniforms)

Thu. 18th - Christingle in church - pupils only

Thu. 18th - Christmas dinner

Thu. 18th - Candlelight Concert in church 5:00pm (for pupils and families)

Fri. 19th - Christmas party day - Non-uniform

Fri. 19th - No Learning Champions Assembly

Fri. 19th - School finishes at 3.20pm

Fri. 19th - Owls finishes at 4.30pm

The Christmas Promise

This week in collective worship, the children explored the beautiful picture book The Christmas Promise by Alison Mitchell and Catalina Echeverri. Together, we reflected on the heart of the Christmas story and the promise at its centre — that Jesus would be a different kind of king. The story helped us understand that Christians believe Jesus is the new king, the rescuing king and the forever king promised by God.

Through our discussions, the children learned about the Christian value of hope. We talked about how Jesus brought hope to people over two thousand years ago and how, for Christians, that same hope continues to shine brightly today — especially during the Advent and Christmas season.

As a church school, this time of year is particularly special. It gives us the opportunity to slow down, reflect, and allow our children to experience the joy, warmth and meaning found in the Christmas story. We hope that these moments of learning and reflection inspire our pupils to carry hope into their daily lives and to share it with those around them.

Join us for Messy Church on Saturday 20th December from 4pm. With festive fun, crafts, singing and refreshments, everyone is welcome to join in the fun

Sunday 21st December at Thornhill Parish Church 3.30pm Carols by Candlelight

Wednesday 24th December at Whitley Parish Church 4pm Christingle and 8.30pm at Thornhill Parish Church Christmas Eve Service

We'd love to see you and wish you all a peaceful and happy Christmas. filled with every blessing.