We started the new year with wonderful news for the school. We have been successful in securing funding from the DfES to improve facilities at St James. At the time of writing we have not had all the details but know that we shall have to contribute 10% of the total building cost. Phase 1 of our building project will provide 2 new classrooms, a music room, new admin offices, headteacher's office, staffroom, medical room, disabled toilets and access, as well as a new, more welcoming entrance at the front of the school. This is such wonderful news and we expect the building work to start in the autumn.

We are now looking forward to a number of fun fundraising events to which you are all invited. The first is a Chinese New Year Celebration in the Village Hall on 3^rd February. You will see posters around the village advertising the event and tickets are available from the school. Other future events include: Singalonga Sound of Music on 25^th March in Village Hall, a treasure hunt and hog roast/BBQ date to be confirmed, Summer Ball in the school grounds on 24th June. We shall be sending out more information on the building project when we have all the details.

The planned new music room will be particularly welcome. Over a third of children here receive tuition on a musical instrument and, currently, it is very difficult to find a space in the school for children to have their lessons. We offer a range of instruments such as cello, flute, French horn, guitar, drums and all children in Year 2 have recorder lessons. Learning an instrument supports so many skills needed in other areas of the curriculum. It trains children to listen, to breathe properly and to concentrate. It develops the personal discipline to practise regularly, helps hand/eye coordination and strengthens fingers which aids writing.

An exciting new venture this year is a project to teach the trumpet or clarinet to the Year 4 class. We were successful in getting Lottery Funding to buy an instrument for each child so that everyone can take part. Special music teachers are working with the class every week for the next year and children will have the opportunity to buy their instrument if they wish. There was such enthusiasm from the class when we opened the boxes with the instruments and children made their first attempts to get a sound from the trumpets and clarinets. Several school staff are also learning alongside the children and I look forward to their first  "performance" in the near future.

Ann Tann