Dear All,
We had a really successful first week back at school, all of the teachers were pleased with the way their classes had settled.
All of the Nursery children have now started and the Reception classes started full time today.
This week, classes will be choosing their School Council representatives, as well as Eco Team and House Captains. The House Captain elections will take place on Wednesday afternoon.
The first Milittlepad/Minecraft club session ran today. Remember that you can sign up to this online and, as it is run by an external provider, there is a charge for each session.
On Tuesday, years 3-5 will be participating in Techniquest workshops. We have run these before and they are always very successful. Miss Watkins has organised them as part of the Science/DT curriculum. Year 6 will have an activity later in the term.
On Thursday, Miss Spray and Mrs Jones will be running a Coffee Morning from 9.00am to 10.00am, as part of the Family Connect project that they are involved in. They have sent flyers out about this. If you want to find out more, please come along.
On Friday of this week, I am meeting some parents, along with our EWO Mrs Haigh, to discuss attendance. You will already have received an invitation if you are involved in these meetings. Last year, our Attendance Target was 94% and unfortunately, we failed to achieve this, having an average of 93.7% attendance. It is vital that we improve on this. The Local Authority sets the target for us and I really need your support in ensuring that we achieve it this year.
Contact Details
Well done to everyone who sent in their Contact Details by Friday, there were many cards in each draw. The winners of the £5.00 gift cards were Raheen Irfan 1DJ (Foundation Phase) and Mariam Ali 5/6P (Key Stage 2). If you have not yet sent the card in, please do so as soon as possible, as we rely on them when we need to get hold of you in a hurry.
Diary Dates and Topic Letters
Diary dates for the Autumn Term accompany this letter, it shows the dates which are already in place. There may be some additional dates when opportunities come along but we will send separate letters out for these. Please keep these safe as they are useful for reference.
Topic letters also accompany the newsletter, these will tell you what your children are studying this term and these are helpful, for example if you use the Central Library, as you can pick up books which will be relevant to the Topic.
Clubs
All school run clubs will commence in the week beginning Monday 18th September and your child has brought home a club letter. Please complete the details for any club that your child would like to join. There are a limited number of spaces for each club, so the slips will be dealt with on a first come, first served basis. On Friday, we will let the children know which clubs they can attend. If there are too many applicants, we will keep waiting lists.
If you would like your child to attend Breakfast Club, please ask for a registration form. The club runs in school, Monday to Friday, starting at 7.45 and it is free. Your child will need to be in school before 8.15 in order to have a breakfast.
Rucksacks and pencil cases
Thank you to all those parents who heeded the requests and have reduced the size of bags and pencil cases. There are still some children who brought in large bags and I would repeat the request- could you please ensure that your child does not bring in a large rucksack? We have limited space and with an ever-increasing number of pupils, it is impossible for us to accommodate larger bags. Your child may bring a lunchbox and a reading folder or small bag.
Dinner Money
Please note that with effect from next Monday 18th September the price of a school meal will increase to £2.10. Please ensure that you pay for your child’s meals before ordering them. If you need any help with Parentpay/Paypoint, please ask at the office.
Measles
Please note that there are leaflets regarding measles available at the school office. If you would like information, please ask.
Bonus Ball
We actually only have a few loyal supporters of Bonus Ball. It costs £1 per week, or you could pay for a block of weeks. You can send the money in with your child if that is easier.
All money raised is split equally so that half is given in a weekly prize, and half goes to school funds.
If you are interested in joining, please come in and speak to Mrs Kidd, to choose a number and make your payment.
There are a lot of separate letters and sheets accompanying this newsletter, so please check that you have them all.
Yours faithfully,
Mrs S Couch
Acting Headteacher