A Stepping Stone into the Future Mick MingStones Head Teacher

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1 A Stepping Stone into the Future Mick MingStones Head Teacher WDPS SEPTEMBER NEWSLETTER 2016 Dear Parents, Carers and Governors, Welcome back to a new school year. I hope you have all benefitted from a relaxing summer with your families and friends. A special welcome to all our new families, children and staff and I hope you enjoy many, happy years at WDPS. We hope that we can all work together to provide an exciting and fulfilling year for all children in our school. I look forward to seeing you all throughout this new academic year. Our first newsletter contains a number of reminders for all our parents and children to ensure that our school is a safe and orderly environment. Please take the time to read them. New WDPS Website Have a look at our new website which we have just We will use this platform to share curriculum letters, photos of trips and weekly updates etc. Maximising Learning and Working Space When you enter our foyer you will see that we have been busy over the summer holiday period. We have built a new Learning Zone, extended our admin office and decorated the hall, Foundation Stage and Phase 1 areas. Safeguarding Our Children and Staff In order to keep our children and staff safe we request that dogs are kept off the school premises and that adults do not smoke on the school site or around the school gates as other people have to walk through smoke. We appreciate that some families use Facebook for social networking. We request that no images of school staff or children (in school, on school trips, at other events etc.) are posted on Facebook or other such websites. Drinking water regularly is good for children s mental and physical health. It is beneficial for a child to have a water bottle in school and to take it home each Friday to be sterilised thoroughly. Entering/leaving school The main doors onto the staff car park are not to be used as an entrance for school in the morning or for leaving at the end of the day. Children in Years 3-6 will enter/exit from their playground doors into the building. They are brought in to school by their class teacher. 1

2 Children in Years Nursery up to Year 2 enter and exit by their cloakroom doors from their playground. They are brought in by their class teacher. We ask that after the first few days, parents in Years 1 & 2 do not enter the cloakrooms. The children soon learn the routine and are well able to be independent. All children need to be in the yard ready to line up at 8.55am each morning. The Key Stage 2 entrance door will close promptly at 9.00am. After this time, you will need to take your children round to the main foyer entrance door and register them in the school Late Book so that we know that your child is in school. There has been a recent increase in parents picking their children up early in the afternoon. If possible, book medical appointments after 3.30pm. If the only option is an appointment before 3.30pm, please remember to bring your medical appointment card so that we can authorise the early departure. Absences If you child is going to be absent from school you need to contact the school on the first day of illness and inform us (Tel ) or the absence will go down as unauthorised. If your child has a medical/dental appointment, you must let the school know in advance so that staff are aware someone is coming to collect your child and at what time. The school does require proof of appointment so please ensure you have an appointment card. You will then have to sign your child in and out on the day. Only the Head Teacher or Deputy Head Teacher has the authority to release your child from school during the day. Staff can only release children when informed in advance. School Uniform By wearing the recommended school uniform all children can take pride in being a member of WDPS. It also gives them a strong feeling of identity. Not only is the uniform smart and practical, but also it can save wear and tear on more expensive fashionable clothes. Please can we remind our older children that nonwearing of school uniform will result in detention. School uniform consists of: Black shoes (no trainers) Dark grey or black shorts or trousers, skirt or pinafore (blue checked dress in summer) Light blue polo shirt or blouse. Royal blue sweatshirt / cardigan displaying the school logo. All items of clothing and footwear should be clearly marked with the child s name so that lost property may be returned promptly and so save families money. Book- bags can be purchased from the school office. Ordering School Uniforms Can I please remind families of the procedure for ordering uniforms. Uniform order forms together with full payment will only be accepted on the last Wednesday of each half term (Wednesday 19th October 2016). We sell sweatshirts, cardigans, book bags and document bags. Also, we can now order pale blue polo tops with the school logo on as some families still prefer these. As a parent myself, I know it is more economical to buy plain polo shirts for school from local super markets and from other retailers. Thank you for supporting us and saving us all money in the future. School PE Kit All P.E. clothes should be labelled with the child s name. Top: Plain white round neck T-shirt (no logo) Bottoms: Plain black or blue shorts (no Logo) These items are best kept in a drawstring bag on your child s peg and then taken home to be washed at the end of each half term. From Year 3, the children may wear joggers and sweat tops for outdoor games in colder weather. 2

3 Jewellery Jewellery may not be worn in school for health and safety reasons. Earrings may be worn, but they must be studs and only one pair. Children must be able to remove their own earrings for physical education. School can accept no responsibility for the loss of, or damage caused by jewellery. Watches may be worn but again school accepts no responsibility for loss or damage. Hair For health and safety reasons, we ask that long hair be tied back at all times. Large hair accessories etc. are inappropriate. Extreme haircuts are not permitted. Car parking No parent/grandparent/carer may park in the staff car park. Gates are locked before and after school to ensure the safety of your children. Families may park in West Denton Community Centre car park but we ask that you are considerate and always move slowly and carefully as there will be children from 2 schools coming through the car park. Please do not block or park across the area at the back of the bowls hall where the pathway leads to our Early Years and Key Stage 1 playgrounds and the playgroup annexe. We ask all families who drop off and pick up children in Longstone square to be equally careful and considerate in order to safeguard all of our children. Also, residents of Longstone square have made contact with us to request that any parents who park there are courteous and considerate to the residents who require constant access to their driveways. They have also asked us to be mindful of making too much noise or leaving litter in the surrounding area. CCTV Cameras We have installed CCTV cameras for the safeguarding of children, adults and premises. School Dinners It is school policy that children have either a school dinner for the whole of a week or a packed lunch for the entire week. If you want your child to change from dinners to a packed lunch you need to let the office know the week before. If you intend to pay monthly in advance please call into the office to discuss. A reminder that dinner money is 2.00 per day, which is per week. The Nursery price for dinner money is 1.90 per day which is 3.80 for the two days they have lunch at school each week. Money must be paid on Monday for the week. Dinner money should be given to the class teacher in the blue dinner money envelopes, with your child s name and class clearly labelled. Please collect a supply of blue envelopes from the school office or from your child s class teacher. Currently all children in Reception class up to the end of Year 2 are funded for their school lunches by the government initiative Universal Free School Meals. Those families do still need to complete the paperwork to ensure we receive the correct funding. Please complete the form available at school office, if you have not already done so. Dinner Money and School Budget Thank you to our families who pay for their school dinners promptly as this helps us to pay our bills. It is very helpful if full payment is made on Monday morning as this eases administration of the school dinner process. We are still happy to accept payment monthly provided you have made arrangements with the administration staff. All school dinners must be paid for in advance unless you have made prior arrangements with the school office. Honouring outstanding debts will mean a child is not refused a school meal. 3

4 Free School Meals If you receive income support or income based jobseekers allowance you will qualify for free school meals if your family s income fits all of the following criteria: Income Support (IS); Income Based Jobseekers Allowance (IBJSA); Support under part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999; or Child Tax Credit, provided they do not also receive Working Tax Credit and have an Annual income, as assessed by the Inland Revenue that does not exceed 16,190 Nursery 2017 Applications forms are now available from the office. Places are not allocated for next year s nursery class until Easter Reception 2017 It is now time to start applying for your child s Reception place for The closing date is 15 th January The school admin staff can help anyone with their application if they do not have access to a computer. Alternatively hard copies of the application form are available at the school office. Y6 Transfers to High Schools If your child is in our current Year 6 Year Group, you should now be applying for their transfer place to high school for next summer. Applications are now open and the closing date is 31 st October Once again, if you are struggling with this application, we are happy to help you with this. Although we are a feeder school to Walbottle Campus, families, at times, choose to send their children to other high schools in the area. Past pupils have transferred to Newcastle High School for Girls, St Cuthbert s High School (boys school), Sacred Heart Catholic High School (girls' school), Kenton School, Gosforth Academy and Emmanuel College. The dates for year 6 Open Days for a couple of these schools are given below Kenton School - Tuesday 20 th September 6pm Sacred Heart Catholic High School for girls Wednesday 21 st September at 5.45pm. Extended School Provision/Wrap Around Care School is now providing wraparound care to provide a cheap option for those working parents. Our breakfast Club now has two tier options, to meet the demands indicated in our recent survey. a. Start time 7.30am 8.14am per child b. Start time 8.15 am 8.55am per child Children need to enter the hall from the doors leading on to the Key Stage 2 pathway. There is no need to book for breakfast club in advance and it can be used on a casual Come when you Need basis. We have now introduced our new WDPS Twilight after-school club. We can look after your children from pm. The charge is 5.00 per child which is significantly cheaper than most other childcare providers in the area. The charge is payable in advance and a registration/booking form MUST be completed prior to your child joining us. You are able to use this service on a daily, weekly or intermittent basis and can pay weekly or monthly or on a day to day basis. You can register your child with Mrs Hull from 8.30am each morning in the foyer. Registration forms are available at the school office. Dates for diaries Half Term Holiday Monday 24 th October Sunday 30 th October. Staff Training Day Monday 31 st October. Tuesday 1st November children back to school. Open Week Monday 7 th November and Tuesday 8th November. Y4 and Y5 Lake District Residential Tuesday 22 th November Friday 25 th November. All places for this trip are now fully booked. 4

5 SAT s Week Can I remind parents (particularly Year 6) that SAT s week is from Monday 8th May to Friday 12th May No holidays should be booked during this week. West Denton Primary School (WDPS) Calendar We hope you will enjoy using the annual calendar which is the result of a competition whereby our children were challenged to create a sentence commencing with Caring is. which is echoed in several of the WDPS Core Values. WDPS Life Skills Challenge On the calendar front cover you will see the logo for the WDPS Life Skills Challenge initiative which is an exciting project that we have created and that we are further developing and embedding this academic year. The WDPS Life Skills Challenge is comprised of modules including: WDPS I Can Do It, WDPS First Aid, WDPS Olympics Challenge, WDPS Life Cycle and WDPS Resilience. We are excited about our children developing essential life skills through the WDPS Bushcraft module which is delivered in the unique WDPS Bushcraft Area. I look forward to seeing children and staff working with Mrs Taylor and other staff and learning from WDPS Governor, Jim West, as they develop the allotments this year. Cycling We are all excited about developing cycling further this year and we have planned new challenges. In July we will embark on a residential off-road mountain bike adventure in the beautiful Lake District. The WDPS Running and Mountain Bike Trail will enable children, staff, parents and carers to improve their fitness levels and also help us all to gain and refine essential bike-handling skills. Mrs Williams will be teaching cycling skills to children in Phases 1 to 3 on an afternoon rota basis over the course of this academic year. We will keep you informed of all rides in our monthly newsletters. SHINE Project = Raising Aspirations Some of our Y5 and Y6 children will have the opportunity to take part in our fourth SHINE Project with Newcastle High School for Girls. This will commence on Saturday 24 th September and a huge thank you to Miss Torrance and Dot who will lead the children as normal. The WDPS Raising Aspirations Programme (RAP) All children need to have positive adult role models in order to help them to achieve their full potential. This is why we invite inspirational speakers in to school to help children understand that hard work, perseverance and following your dreams can open up maximum choices in all aspects of life. Our Phase 3 children will learn about working hard in order to make your dreams come true from a former WDPS pupil, Izzy Ions, who is soon going off to study at university. Texting Service We will continue to use our texting service to update you on school events as appropriate. If you change your mobile phone number, please inform the school admin office immediately. Data Form, Generic Consent Form and E-Safety Form Data Forms will be sent out shortly so that you can update your contact details. It is vital that you let the school office know whenever you change any of your contact details. Please notify the school office if you no longer give consent for your child to appear in any school photos. You will also receive a Generic Consent Form. Once signed this form gives permission for your child to go on local class trips, visits to the library etc. during this academic year. 5

6 The E-Safety Form highlights our commitment to safeguarding our children at all times. Please return all 3 forms directly to your child s class teacher. Curriculum Letters You will shortly receive a curriculum letter which will give you an overview of what your child will be studying this half term. This can often stimulate a family visit to the library or initiate discussions about what they are learning in school. Homework Please encourage your child to learn their spellings, practise their multiplication tables, read regularly and complete any set homework. Family support makes a huge impact on your child s learning and helps to widen the choices they can make in their lives. Children in Years 3-6 will be on detention if homework is not completed. Behaviour We do work particularly hard to ensure a high standard of behaviour in school. It is important that we work with you if issues arise. Children in Years 2-6 risk detention on Friday lunchtime if they break the following rules: Non wearing of uniform Non return of homework Lack of respect Hurting/bullying Breaking school rules If your child is on detention twice in a term, we will ask for a meeting with you to discuss the problem. Medicines On a rare occasion, children require to have medicine during the school day. Medicines must be given to the class teacher by an adult with a completed medicine form which can be picked up at the carousel by the office in the reception area. Summer Homework Well done to all the children who have completed their summer project book. It is always interesting for the staff and children to see what you have been up to over the holidays. It also gives you a head start for the year ahead as you have continued to practise and develop your reading and writing skills. Active Kids After School Club From Monday 12 th September 2016 we have, once again, contracted Active Kids to provide an after school club each Monday evening from 3.30pm to 4.30pm. Over the course of an academic year, the Active Kids coach will provide a range of activities including dance, multi-skills and other sports. As there is a maximum of 20 children per session, we will be offering places on a first come basis. There will be a reserve list in the event of the club being over-subscribed. The cost for this club is for the term. This needs to be paid up front to Mrs. Hollins when you sign your child up for the club. Letters for registration have gone out this week and are available at the school office. With one school hall, we are maximizing the opportunities that we can offer our children. NUFC foundation family football We are lucky enough to have secured a free family football 6 week course through Newcastle United Foundation trust. This will take place straight after school beginning Wednesday 14 th September and this 6

7 runs until 4.30pm. We have already selected the participants who expressed an interest. However, there may be a couple of free places left, so please contact Mrs. Hollins if you and your child are interested. Phase 3 (Y5 and Y6) Street Dance Phase 3 will benefit from Street Dance lessons with an Active Kids coach this half term. Year 3 Penny Whistles Year 3 will enjoy learning how to play the penny whistle this year. WDPS REACH ACADEMIC HEIGHTS Congratulations to our Y6 students who have just left us who performed so well in their end of year KS2 SATS. Thank you to their families for all of their support throughout their time at WDPS. NCA Tools Data Release July 2016 WDPS National Reading, Writing and Numeracy Combined 23/41 56% 53% Reading 25/41 61% 66% Writing 33/41 80% 74% Maths 35/41 85% 70% GPS 35/41 85% 72% Fund Raising for WDPS Mini Buses and Trailers We have started our new fundraising initiative to raise money to purchase 2 mini buses and trailers for our school community. This will enable our children to further extend their experiences in offsite learning environments. A big thank you to Michelle Nicholson who has started the ball rolling by selling 1 raffle tickets and raising A great start Michelle. Congratulations to Steph Harrison who won the 100 jackpot prize. Anyone who is keen to help fundraising, or who may have an idea we could pursue in school is welcome to share that with us. Our Target figure is 8, Kind regards, Mick MingStones Head Teacher 7