Page 80 - Phonebox Magazine September 2016

Bozeat Primary School
A Fond Farewell to Mr Stopps
fter working at the school for 30 years and eight months Mr Stopps, the much loved and well respected Deputy Head at Bozeat Primary School and Nursery, has now decided to take retirement.
Jim Stopps originally started at the school in 1980 as a classroom teacher during which time he took the lead on PE development at the school. He also ran a successful Chess Club leading a team to victory in the 1984 British Chess Championships. After a six year gap at Irthlingborough Junior School, Jim returned to Bozeat Primary School where he has remained until his retirement.
Jim has played an integral role in the local community having taught a number of parents whose children now attend the school. The local community was given the chance to say their farewells to Jim at the local village fete in June with a ‘Stopps in the Stocks’ event. A proms in the playground event in honour of Mr Stopps was held at the school on 19 July, followed by a farewell BBQ for ex-colleagues, friends and family.
Memories from pupils in the school included “Everyone knows that Mr Stopps has a great sense of humour, he always used to sing The Wheels on the Bus really loud”, “Mr Stopps told lots of funny stories. I loved it when he took science – if was so fun. Mr Stopps lit up my world” and “I’ll miss Mr Stopps so much. My mum and dad remember
Sherington Pre-School
him from when they were at school. My mum said Mr Stopps was cool, awesome and smart”.
In his leaving speech, Jim Stopps thanked the parents and children of the village for being such a great team and supporting him throughout his time at the school. He will be missed by all but we welcome him back as a governor where he will continue to have a strategic input to the school.
Welcoming seven new starters
We said a fond farewell to 17 children in the class of 2016 back in July with a fabulous performance
of The Monkey Puzzle Story. With animal masks made in session by the children, they sang the story of the little monkey looking for his mummy and daddy beautifully in front of the very proud parents and staff. The performance was followed by our infamous “tick tock” song, the children will now move on to local schools and we are looking forward to welcoming seven new starters for the new term in September.
Jay, Mason, Addalyn-May, George, Henry, Christopher and Huey won’t be the only new things making an appearance though thanks to an £800 grant we received from the MK Community Foundation which is helping to pay for a wide range of new toys and equipment for our popular village pre-school. Amongst the new equipment will be a brand new story corner rug and book trolley which will give the ever popular story corner a new lease of life. We are also updating the toys with new sand and water spinners and some peg boards as well as some tack boards
that the children will be able to hammer shapes into. The grant is also enabling us to introduce new role-play equipment for the children, including foam builders blocks, kitchen accessories and magnifying glasses. We are enormously grateful to the MK Community Foundation for the grant which will make a huge difference to the children’s
environment, helping to develop the children’s skills and experiences. Meanwhile, we are also waiting to hear the outcome of a grant application to modernise our outdoor area. We welcome any prospective parents at any time. For more information visit our website www.sheringtonpreschool.co.uk or follow us on Facebook.
80 Phonebox Magazine | September 2016