WEST TYTHERLEY VILLAGE NEWSLETTER

APRIL 2008

PARISH COUNCIL

As you may have noticed we now have a new pavement outside the village hall and I have had a communication from Gary Hedges  who is the principal engineer for the school travel planning scheme at H.C.C. he suggested that I include a reminder to ask anyone, including parents of school children to park with consideration which includes NOT parking on the pavement.

On another note, although this may not be the time of year to mention this, (though nowadays it can be any time!) could I ask that anyone who is considering a firework display to inform their neighbours, especially those with horses and pets so they can take the necessary precautions.

A date for your diaries is May 12th at 19:00hrs for the Annual General & Parish Council Meeting held at King Edwards Hall. All are welcome.

Finally if any parents are interested, Wayne Smith of Eastleigh Football Club is holding children's football training in the recreation ground on Saturday mornings 09:00-11:00hrs (term time).

For your information, see below for useful contact details:

Website: www.testvalley.gov.uk

Website: www.hants.gov.uk

For police non-emergency calls dial 101, examples of non emergency calls are: abandoned vehicles, vandalism, anti social behaviour.

Andy Bowditch

Chairman

KING EDWARDS VILLAGE HALL

A new cooker has been ordered  and should shortly be delivered as a welcome addition to the kitchen, improving available facilities. The hall is available to hire for a wide range of private functions at a very reasonable rate; the crockery and cutlery are also available to hire separately, as are the tables. Please ring  Margaret Down 340598 who deals with  bookings.

Some of you may have noticed that the glorious beech tree to the side of the hall has had a much needed haircut! This was necessary, as the branches were over shadowing the roof and causing a potential danger.

Friday 18th April 7:30 sees the return of Shoo Shoo Baby in their new show Delicious. Those of you  that came to their show last year know what a treat you have in store. A duo of glamorous ladies, slick costume changes, superb voices and harmonies and a musical action that never stops. Supper is included for only £12. Put the date in your diary now!

Cynthia Sherlock

Committee member

WEST TYTHERLEY CE PRIMARY SCHOOL

It is very strange to think that the spring term is nearly over and we will officially be starting the summer term on 21st April.  Easter is very early this year and our school holiday does not coincide with the Easter weekend. 

This term the pupils have been busy preparing for a new school garden area.  Mr. Lucas and Mr. Hodges have been putting together the wood donated by East Brothers to build 4 raised beds.  Hopefully we will see flowers and vegetables growing later in the year.  This area is going to be fenced and will also contain a potting shed and greenhouse along with composting bins and rainwater butts.  Much of the money to help us achieve this for the children has come through money raised by the PTA and also donations from local charities, including the Sarah Rolle Trust.  We are very grateful for all the help received with this project.

Having an allotment area is all part of our aim to be more environmentally aware and encourage the children to learn about healthy living and sustainability by using the outdoors as part of the curriculum.  Working outside and growing our own vegetables will reinforce the ‘enhanced healthy school’ status.  The school has also been awarded the Activemark for 2007, which recognizes our efforts in encouraging the children to be more active and involved in different sporting activities and is given for exceptional delivery of the national sport strategy.  The school is a Football Association Charter Standard school and we work with Eastleigh Football Club to provide not only football coaching but also multi sports too. 

This term we also had a visit from the Ofsted Inspector.  Although we were expecting to be inspected again this year, it is still a shock when you get the phone call on a Monday morning telling you that they will arrive on Thursday!  However, all went very well and the Inspector wrote that ‘West Tytherley is a good school with outstanding features.  It has a warm, caring ethos with Christian values at the heart.  The quality of care and support for pupils’ personal development and enjoyment of school is outstanding.’  Parents told the Inspector – ‘my children love going to school’; ‘there is a real family atmosphere’; the staff constantly do their utmost to encourage and inspire confidence’.  A copy of the report is available from the school, or will be available soon on either the village or Ofsted websites.

We would like to thank those people who help in school by listening to children read, helping with the school grounds or helping with after school clubs, your help is greatly appreciated.  We are always looking for more helpers, so if you think you could spare a little time, please let us know.

Jane Rimmington

School Administrator

FEATURE ARTICLE - A NEW WEBSITE FOR WALKERS IN HAMPSHIRE

There’s no doubt about it, walking is good for you. It’s good for your heart, it’s good for your lungs, it’s good for the muscle and bone growth of your children and it’s good for your feeling of wellbeing! Strong scientific evidence now supports the many benefits to health of regular walking.

Walking offers a great way to help kids get the active habit. If parents express excitement about the prospect of a walk in the countryside, they are more likely to transmit this feeling to their children. It’s important to treat the walk as an exploration or adventure and to go at the child’s pace, no matter how often they want to stop and look at things; take treats to eat and plenty to drink; and head for some landmark that will appeal to them such as a castle, a playground, an ice cream van or a boating pond. If children experience walking as part of a fun activity they are more likely to want to go again.

www.walkinginhants.co.uk gives you all the information you need for the best walking in the county:

·      Guided walks local groups who offer guided walks together with their website links.

·      Books of walks – details of over 50 books of walks for the county.

·      Leaflets of walks – over ninety leaflets are produced around the county, you can download them easily from the site.

·      Walking groups – every walking group in the county is listed.

There are also links so that you can check: the weather for your walk, links to other useful sites, how to get to your walk by public transport – and more is being added all the time.

So check out the website and get walking!

John Harris, creator of www.walkinginhants.co.uk