The new entrance hall project is nearing

completion and the results are very impres-

sive. Everyone who has managed to take a

peek has been surprised by the size of the

extension which includes a new office and

bursars room as well as a family meeting

room and an additional withdrawal group

room for children. All internal works will be

completed by Friday 21st December and

the rooms will be handed back to the

school to begin the process of moving back into the new rooms. The new exten-

sion will include a brand new entrance door and arch which are due to be in-

stalled in mid January 2019.

At the start of the new year, the office for parents will continue to be found in

its temporary location and the site boundaries will remain in place with no ac-

cess to school through the new extension, until the works are completed, when

we will have a grand opening and give everyone the opportunity to have a good

look around.

I would like to thank parents and staff for their patience and understanding dur-

ing the long building programme. The final result will be a fantastic new en-

trance to the school.

New Entrance Hall.

Merry Christmas from Everyone at RTS!

We wish Mr Symonds well as he recovers

from his broken arm. We have all missed

his Christmas Sparkle this week.

December 2018 Autumn Newsletter 6

RICHARD TAYLOR CHURCH OF ENGLAND PRIMARY SCHOOL

January 2019

Dates:

Monday 7th Jan.

School Closed for

Staff Training Day.

Tuesday 8th Jan.

School reopens.

Monday 14th Jan

7pm Friends Meet-

ing at School.

Thursday 17th Jan.

Lisa Thompson,

bestselling author,

visiting Yr 4/5 and

6.

Inside this issue:

Friends News 2

Sports News 2

Charity News 3

January 2019 3

Prayers 4

I am delighted to an-

nounce that the recent

Christmas Fair raised the

magnificent sum of

£2047.85 This is one of

the largest totals ever

and is a fantastic result.

Thank you to everyone

who supported the Fair

in any way. I would like

to particularly thank the

friends who organised

the whole event, helped

to create the tea towels

and organised Christmas

Cards, painted faces

and made the tea.

The children in Year 6

worked tremendously

hard to help produce

such a wonderful result

and raised £400 with

their games and activi-

ties.

The money raised will be

used to support the re-

development of our wild-

life garden

The first Friends meeting

of the year will take

place on Monday 14th

January at 7pm. I hope

to see many of you at

the meeting.

Finally I need to thank

Laura Singleton for her

dedication and hard

work in leading the

Friends efforts in 2018.

The photo below shows

one of the Yr5/6 games.

Choir and orchestra

hosted a very success-

ful Christmas Concert

on Tuesday, raising

£141.50 for Whizz

Kidz .

The choir are looking

forward to welcoming

Year 2 in January.

Christmas Fair and Friends News

Choir News

Nativity Performances Thank you to everyone who attended the key

stage one Nativity last week.

The singing, dancing, reading and acting were all

wonderful. The children were thrilled to perform in

front of packed houses.

Thank you to all of the staff who worked so hard

to help the children to give such great performanc-

es.

Our Nativity photo will be one of those appearing

in the Harrogate Advertiser this Christmas.

Page 2

RICHARD TAYLOR

.

‘A school community

living it’s Christian

values;

Where children find

friendship, have

responsibility, make

progress and are

loved by God.’

One of the most important of our school values is the value of service. During Decem-

ber we have thought about the needs of both the local and global community. Our

community tea is a fantastic event which brings together the children in Year 6 with

elderly members of the community. This year’s event was very well attended, despite

freezing conditions and the Year 6 children proved themselves to be welcoming hosts.

On Friday 14th December, the school held it’s Christmas Jumper Day to support the

work of ‘Save the Children’ It was a very festive event which was enjoyed by all and

raised important funds for the global work of ‘Save the Children’. The school raised

£140.27 on Christmas Jumper Day.

The children in Year 6 hosting

our Christmas Community Tea.

On 17th January, Lisa Thompson, the

best selling author of Goldfish Boy and

The Light Jar will be visiting Year 4/5 and

6. Lisa will be talking about her highly

anticipated third novel, The Day I was

Erased, which will be published in January

2019. Children will have the opportunity

to buy a signed copy of The Day I was

Erased.

Christmas Jumper Day & Community Tea.

Spring Term 2019

Christmas Hopes

reading of each hope, we

light a candle, resulting in

a ring of light at the end

of the time of reflection.

I am always amazed at

the way in which every

child in school is able to

control their excitement

and join in a time of quiet

and prayer. This year the

children’s hopes include

an end to war, Shelter for

the homeless, care for the

sick and comfort for those

who are grieving the loss

of a loved one.

This year’s Christmas

Hopes Worship will take

place on Tuesday 18th

December.

One of the traditions

which the school is most

proud of is our annual

Christmas Hopes Worship

when the children and

staff step back from the

fun and excitement of the

Christmas season for a

period of quiet reflection,

with songs, prayers and a

hope for the world from

every class. With the

Page 3

Autumn Newsletter 6

Ofsted April 2017:

‘The school lives out

its Christian and

British values with

integrity and fervour.

There is a tangible

sense of community,

care, respect of, and

value for, others as

soon as you enter the

school and as pupils

and staff carry out

their daily work.’

Christmas Jumper Day & Community Tea.

All Aboard the RTS Bus.

One of the highlights of the term has been the naming of one of the

new electric buses, seen on the roads around Harrogate, after the

school. The ‘Richard Taylor Bus’ was unveiled in front of many of the

children before it began its service around town. If you see the bus,

which can be charged in only 5 minutes, please give the driver a friend-

ly wave.

RICHARD TAYLOR Newsletter Six

Below is the prayer which we will be using at our Carol Service at St John’s Church on Thursday 20th December starting at 10am. Everyone is welcome to attend what will be a wonderful celebration of the season. Once upon a Christmastime The angels sang with joy, To herald the coming Of a precious Baby Boy. Their shouting filled the heavens And shook the mighty Earth, And sent the shepherds searching For the place of His glorious birth. And when they found the manger And gazed upon His face, They knelt in adoration In that low and holy place. Oh, Father, fill me with the love That filled the Earth that night, A love that reaches throughout the world And fills it with Your light.

Amen

A Prayer for Christmas

Don’t forget to look at our website Rtsharrogate.com

New Books for School Thanks to a generous parental donation and the fundraising by the Friends, the school is ready to share a wonderful new set of class reading books with every class in the school in 2019. The books have been carefully chosen to provide the children with a superb range of different texts from classics written by famous authors to the very best new fiction. The books will be presented to each of the classes early in the Spring Term. Thank you to Mrs Simpson and her team for their hard work in selecting the new books.

Baby Basics Appeal

Thank you for your generous donations

to support the baby basics appeal. We

are looking forward to taking 4 brim-

ming moses baskets to our Christmas

Service on Thursday morning at St.

John’s Church.