9th December 2025

Just like that, we have reached the end of the Autumn term! The weather hasn't exactly been Christmassy but the songs and festive cheer have been felt in school! The children have been enjoying their final week with some learning and fun Christmas activities. The Pirate Game is always a hit in KS2 and Class 1 have been making some amazing crafts, Christmas lunch was again superb on Wednesday - Thank you to Anna for putting on such a delicious spread! The children had great fun with their parties yesterday. Thank-you to the PTFA for providing the food - there was so much that we were able to enjoy a snack this morning! Is was a sad day yesterday as we wished Miss Bawden well as she left for the next stage of her journey. We know she will be missed but has promised to come and see us all in the new year. All that is left for me is to wish you all a merry Christmas and a happy new year from everyone at Darite. Whatever you do and wherever you go, we hope you have time to relax with family and friends over the festive period. We are looking forward to welcoming the children back to school on Tuesday the 6th January 2026!

It's beginning to feel a LOT like Christmas in Darite. The school have embraced the festive season and have had a wonderful week baking festive treats, making cards and decorations and loads of other activities and fun. It is hard to believe that we only have one week left before the Christmas break! Our Reindeer Run was featured on the St Luke's Facebook page here. The children loved raising money for the hospice. We raised £267.80 for St Luke's Hospice. The whole school went to sing to the village Christmas dinner on Wednesday. They sang beautifully, clearly and their performance was thoroughly appreciated by the members of the club. It is becoming a tradition at Darite and is part of being part of the community! Thank-you to everyone who joined in celebrating our Nativity yesterday. I'm sure you will all agree that the performances were superb along with the singing. Thank-you to all the children for doing so well and to parents and carers for helping with lines. We raised £52.00, thank you all. Finally, don't forget that there is still time to purchase your tickets for the PTFA Christmas Raffle. Tickets were sent home last week but if you didn't receive them (or need some more) please let teachers know. There are some amazing prizes on offer. Winners will be chosen on Tuesday 16th December and informed by email. The PTFA will be in the playground after school on Tuesday to allow winners to collect their prizes, if you are unable to collect your prize will be left in Reception. The Christmas jumper swap was well received last Friday after school. There are lots of children who are proud of their new threads going into Christmas. Thank-you to Mrs Richardson-Calladine for arranging this. She has also said that the Lighthouse Community Centre have agreed to re-house the jumpers that were not required. They will be shared with those in the community who need help and support. It is with great sadness that we say farewell to Miss Bawden at the end of term. She has been a valuable member of the team at Darite for a number of years, and she will be greatly missed by children and staff alike. I am sure you will join with us all in wishing her the very best for her next adventures and we hope she will keep in touch. Although next week is the last week, we are still very busy. Christmas dinner and Christmas jumper day is on Wednesday. Please make sure that you have booked a school lunch in plenty of time. We are also having class parties on Thursday. We are requesting small donations of party food so that the children have a treat in the afternoon. This party food will not take the place of lunches and children should still bring a packed lunch or order a meal. Finally, next Friday is a half day and children can be collected at 1.30 from the normal place. If you will be unable to collect at this time, please let us know so we can put plans in place.

It's been a great week at Darite. Thank-you to those parents and children who braved the weather on Saturday at the Liskeard Lights Up parade. It was wet and wild but the children represented the school amazingly and the lanterns got lots of praise from the crowds! It was lovely to see the parents and carers in the hall on Tuesday for Class 1's "Crafternoon". The decorations look amazing and it really is beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Talking of Christmas, the reindeer run for St Luke's hospice was a great success again yesterday. The children looked amazing and their antlers really set the mood! Sarah from the hospice was amazed by the money we raised all of which will go to support this charity. Next week is our nativity on Thursday. Tickets are selling like hot cakes so get them on ParentPay while you can! Children should also have come home with a sheet of raffle tickets for the PTFA raffle. There are some great prizes on offer so please, if you can offer them around, all money raised will support the school. If you need more sheets, let us know! Can I again remind you that if your children are going with another parent, please let the office know either by phone or email before 12.30. If plans change after than time, please email Mrs Lake or myself so that we can release the children. If we do not have confirmation from a parent or carer, we will have to contact you to check which can delay the end of the day. We appreciate that sometimes plans change last minute and we will contact you if that is the case. Thank-you for your understanding. A reminder too that the final day (Friday the 19th) is a half day and children can be collected at 1.30. If you will be unable to collect your child, can you let the office know so we can plan accordingly. Finally, we are lucky to be part of the Parental Engagement Framework this year. This is a county-wide initiative designed to further link the community, parents and school together to support all members of the school community on aspects that are important to school and the future. Part of this work is working with a parental "Steering Group". This is a small group of parents or carers who will work closely with myself on guiding this process so that it benefits the school. If you would like to be part of this group, please let Mrs Norris know and I will arrange a meeting with you in the new year.

What a busy week it's been at Darite! Christmas rehearsals are in full swing - it promises to be a great performance. Tickets are now available on ParentPay for the two performances on the 11th December. The whole school had a wonderful time at the Eden project yesterday, exploring, skating and learning. Please see some of the wonderful pictures below. Thank-you again for the community donation which made the trip not only possible but free! Darite is a very special community to be part of. Tomorrow is the Liskeard Lights Up parade and some of the children from Class 2 will be walking with their amazing lanterns that they made last Friday. We hope to see you there (hopefully the weather plays ball). The event is meeting in the Cattle Market at 5pm and the parade begins at 5.30. It would be wonderful to see lots of children there but a reminder that they need o be accompanied by a parent or carer who is responsible for them at the event. Finally, a few pieces of housekeeping. We are a nut-free school due to children and adults having allergies to nuts. This includes sandwiches with chocolate and nut spread in them. Thank-you for helping to protect members of the community. From Monday, can we ask that children attending breakfast club enter the school through the main door and the bell is rung to alert staff. This will maintain site safety in the morning.

It's been another great week in Darite. The children loved having an assembly by "Rock Steady" on Wednesday with children (and staff) playing instruments in a rock band! There will be more information coming to you all soon as this group also run tuition. On Friday Class 2 had a willow-weaving workshop to create lanterns ready for next weekend's Liskeard Lights Up! The theme was "Anything Goes" and my word they had some great ideas. Thank you so much to Biddy for coming in to lead the day. The children had a great time and the lanterns look AMAZING! Next Thursday we have our whole-school trip to the Eden Project. There is no cost to this thanks to the amazing generosity of a member of the community. Please make sure that you have given permission for this trip on Parent Pay.

Welcome back to Darite after what a I hope was a relaxing and pleasant half term break. This is one of my favourite half terms of the year with the run up to Christmas, performances and lots more trips and activities! Congratulations to our new school council who were elected this week to make the school an even better place. They will be meeting regularly and already have some great plans - watch this space! Next week we welcome Sarah Wallis from St Luke's hospice back into school to launch this year's Rudolph Run. The children had an amazing time last year and raised a fantastic amount of money for this cause which helps so many families in our community. The annual flu nasal sprays are on Thursday next week. All children in school are eligible for this and we highly recommend that children are vaccinated before the flu season really kicks off. Please see the previous correspondence to give permission if you have not yet done so and would like to take up the offer. Finally, next week if the BBC Children in Need appeal. To help raise money for this amazing appeal, next Friday will be a non-uniform day. Children can come in non-uniform or spotty clothes for a £1 donation. We are also asking for kind donations of cakes and treats for a cake sale at breaktime and lunchtime on Friday. Because of allergies in school, please could you provide a list of ingredients so that all children can enjoy a treat.

We have had a fantastic week of learning at Darite. Class 1 have been learning about Charles Macintosh and waterproof materials. They conducted an experiment to find out which materials repel water the best. Class 2 had an amazing afternoon with a group of people from Sterts who came in to work with them as part of a series of drama workshops. Thank you to everyone who came to our Harvest Celebration. The children really enjoyed cooking for you and performing their songs. We are extremely grateful for the food donations which will be collected by Liskeard and Looe Foodbank next week. Congratulations to all of the runners who took part in the East Cornwall School's Cross Country race at Great Trethew last Friday. The next race is on Friday 14th November at Lanhydrock. Next week we have the Autumn Term parent consultations. If you haven't booked a slot but would like to meet with Mrs Lake or Mrs Morris please book using Arbor. If you have any problems, or can't find a suitable time, please email Mrs Norris. Entry to the parent consultations will be through the main reception where you will be able to wait until your appointment. Clubs will continue to run as normal next week but school is closed to pupils on Friday for a staff INSET day.

Yesterday the children had a treat in assembly when Mrs Clavier came to demonstrate brass instruments along with the Sydenham Damerel Blowers. If any of the children are interested in learning to play a brass instrument please let us know and we will pass on their details. Mrs Clavier will become a familiar face in school this term as she will be teaching Music Technology to Class 2 every Tuesday starting on 21st October. Thank you to the Cornish Music Service Trust and AsOne for this wonderful, funded opportunity. Today we enjoyed an autumnal tidy up in the Wild Tribe areas as part of Mental Health Awareness Week. Research shows that being outside for 20 minutes a day can help to improve mental wellbeing significantly. We are very lucky to have an amazing environment in which to do this. Next week we look forward to welcoming you to our Harvest Celebration on Wednesday at 2pm. We will not be charging an entry fee, instead could you please give what you can to our collection for the Liskeard Foodbank. Please note there is also an Early Reading parents meeting at 1.45pm on Wednesday where you can find out more about how to support your child with learning to read.

We have had another fantastic week at Darite! The total so far for the sponsored triathlon is an amazing £497.20. Thank you for your support with this the PTA and the school are incredibly grateful. Thanks must also go to our PTA who work tirelessly for the benefit of the children. Today we say goodbye and thank you to our trainee teacher, Melanie, who has been with us for the last 3 weeks. She heads back to Switzerland tomorrow and we are going to miss not having her next week. You may have heard the children talking about Christmas cards this week. We have been designing them for our annual fundraising event and you will soon be able to order their unique designs. More details to follow in a couple of weeks. Booking on Arbor is now live for Parent Consultations, please contact us if the available times are inconvenient. We love having time to sit down and talk about your children with you and will do all we can to accommodate this.