21st October Fireworks and Bonfire Night Celebrations. Wood for the Bonfire. Library Newsletter. Dear Parents,

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1 Dear Parents, Yet again it s been a very busy two weeks. On 11 th October we were visited by an African storyteller to celebrate Black History Month. As well as storytelling, the children participated in different workshops including drumming. For the whole day the school resounded with the sound of 30 massed drummers as each class took their turn. I was very proud of the children this Tuesday at our Harvest Festival. They sang beautifully and each class contribution marked this year s theme of Seeds of Friendship. Thank you to everyone who donated food for the Oxford Community Food Bank. Thank you also to all the parents and children who gave their time last Sunday afternoon to help tidy the school grounds. We were very lucky that the sun shone on us after so much rain in the morning. We have started to build our bonfire from all the plants that were cut back. Most parents will have spoken to teachers at the parent consultations this week. If you still need to arrange a meeting, please speak to your children s teachers to make an appointment. 21st October 2016 Fireworks and Bonfire Night Celebrations St Michael s PTA annual Fireworks and Bonfire Night will be on 4 th November, which is the first Friday back after the half-term break. Tickets can be purchased from the PTA Reps (on the playground) and from the school office. Tickets bought in advance cost 1.50 for a child, 2.50 for adults and family tickets are This is a very special event; as well as the fireworks and bonfire there is a BBQ, hot food, café and glowsticks for sale. The PTA have sent out a request for help through Parent Mail. If you are able to help with setting up and clearing away, baking cakes, making soup and selling food, tickets or glow-sticks please contact the PTA. All offers of help, great or small, are much appreciated. Wood for the Bonfire Mr Forty would like to finish building the bonfire on the last Sunday of the half term holiday. He will be at field gate in John Garne Way on Sunday 30 th October between 10:30 and 11:30 to collect any donations of wood. Please don t include any items that contain plastic or metal and we can t accept huge pieces of furniture. I hope that you all have a splendid half term break and I look forward to seeing you all again on Monday 31 st October. Best wishes, Rosalind Owen Library Newsletter Please take the time to read this month s library newsletter, which is included with today s newsletter. Look out for a new member of the Library team!

2 Parent Questionnaire Thank you to everyone who has completed the parent questionnaire. If you have not yet had the opportunity, questionnaires are available at the office. Please return all completed questionnaires to the office by Friday 4th November. Competition: Design new Head Teacher s Certificates We would like to have some new Head Teacher s certificates to use at sharing assemblies over the next year. All children are invited to design a colourful, celebratory certificate. Two winners will be selected from entries from Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 and two winners will be selected from entries from Years 3, 4, 5 and 6. The design must: be A5 in size (15cm x 21cm) include the name of the school: St Michael s Primary School include a blank (white) rectangle at least 6cm by 12cm which has a space for Name, Date, Teacher s signature and 2 lines for Awarded For: Name: Date: Awarded For: Teacher s Signature: The closing date for the competition is Monday 7th November. All entries should be handed in to the office. After School Football Clubs We are very sorry to say goodbye to Will. We would like to thank him for all that he has done for the school during his time with us and wish him every success with his new venture. We are in the process of finding alternative means of running the after school football clubs and will inform you as soon as we have new arrangements in place. Safe Cycling A number of parents, Governors and staff have expressed concern about some of the children cycling to school. Included with this newsletter is our Cycling Policy, which all children cycling to school should understand and follow. In particular, all children who cycle must wear a helmet. Please be considerate of pedestrians if you cycle or scooter on the pavement. As it becomes darker before and after school it is also important that you can be seen, bicycle lights are essential. If you have not yet signed and returned the Cycling Policy, please do so, returning a signed copy to school after the half term break. Carol Concert We are considering changing the time of our annual Carol Concert at the church to 2pm rather than holding it in the evening at 6pm on 13 th December. This would allow all the Key Stage 2 children to attend. We would be grateful for any feedback that you would like to provide about this suggestion. Please speak to Mrs Owen. New Reports on the School Website We have recently added annual reports for the school year to the school website. These include reports on Pupil Premium and PE and Sport Premium spending, SEN and Key Stage 1 and 2 results. Secondary Schools Applications 2016 Please remember that the closing date for ontime applications to secondary school places in September 2017 is Monday 31 October Concrete Slabs on offer Available to a good home: 8 concrete slabs 90cm x 15cm 6 concrete slabs 60cm x 60cm 1 bag concreting sand 2 bags ballast A modest donation would be welcomed. speak to the office. Please

3 Volunteer Readers A small group of adults come into school on a regular basis to share books with the children. If you would like to commit some time to do this, please speak to Mrs Owen to find out more. School Lunches The new lunch menu will have been sent home with the children. The new menu is also available on the school website under Documents and Links. Lunches must be paid for in advance of the meal being taken. You can pay for the week, month or half term. Should your child be away from school at any time then any lunches paid for will be carried forward. If you are paying by cash or cheque, please make payments on a Monday only in a sealed envelope with the name of your child. Payments can also be made through ParentMail. We would like to remind parents that the Universal Free School Meal offer only applies to children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2. Children in Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 need to pay for lunches. Meals taken in a week Total for 7 weeks (Starting week beginning 7 th September) x 7 days = x 14 days = x 21 days = x 28 days = x 35days = Our Value of the Month for October is TEAM-WORK Dates for the diary: 31 st Oct: Beginning of term 2 3 rd Nov: Individual school photographs 4 th Nov: Sharing Assembly (not Year 6) 4 th Nov: Bonfire Night Fireworks 11 th Nov: Sharing Assembly (not Year 1) 14 th Nov: Anti-bullying Week 18 th Nov: Sharing Assembly (not Year 2) 25 th Nov: Sharing Assembly (not Year 3) 25 th Nov: Non-Uniform Day - donations for PTA Christmas Fair 2 nd Dec: Sharing Assembly (not Year 4) 3 rd Dec: Christmas Fair 6 th Dec: Nativity performance 2pm 7 th Dec: Nativity performance 6pm 9 th Dec: Sharing Assembly (not Year 5) 9 th Dec: Christmas Lunch 12 th Dec: Whole school Pantomime trip 13 th Dec: Carol Concert in Church time TBA 16 th Dec: Sharing Assembly (all classes) 16 th Dec: End of Autumn term (1:30pm finish) 3 rd Jan: INSET Day no children in school 4 th Jan: Back to school for the start of the Spring Term

4 Library Newsletter Hello everyone! It s nearly half-term, and I don t know where the weeks have gone. Can anyone tell me? We ve had such a busy start to this school year, with lots of stories and activities in the Library. I apologise that the Library lunchtime sessions have been more general in nature but the good news is that, after half-term, we have more structured sessions in place. Library lunchtimes Monday: Closed Tuesday: Years 1 and 2 Wednesdays: Stories for all Thursdays: Creative writing (years 4-6) Fridays: General session (years 3-6) There will be a limit of 15 people in the Library at any one time. A New Librarian? In the manner of the Three Bears, when I came into work the other day, I asked: Who s been sitting in MY chair? No, it wasn t Goldilocks, but a big, grey, cuddly BEAR! He hadn t been eating porridge, at least. But he looked rather comfortable behind my desk and when the children came in, they greeted him with such enthusiasm that I thought I might be out of a job soon. Here is the cheeky interloper: October 2016 to the Library to choose their favourite. All will be revealed after half-term! The Bear loves stories and would like to be read to on a regular basis. However, the Bear has a bad memory, so every time you read him/her a story, please write the title down in his/her special book, along with the date. This mean the Bear can remember all the lovely things he s heard! You can come in at lunchtime to read to him quietly, mind. He doesn t like a lot of noise! The Bear is currently residing on a gold throne in the Library Good luck to our competition entries! Several children have entered a couple of writing competitions advertised in the Library: the Book People s Bedtime Stories competition, and the Roald Dahl Estate s Revolting Rhymers. Good luck to each and every one of you! I am delighted to have been selected as one of the judges for the Revolting Rhymers and can t wait to read some disgusting poems. Snuggling up with a good book Finally, as the weather gets colder I hope that you re enjoying snuggling up with a good book or magazine in the longer evenings. We ve had some new ones in the Library recently, and I am hoping for more after the half-term break. Remember to tell me about something wonderful that you ve read I love recommendations! Bye for now! Follow us on Visit our blog! Currently The Bear has no name but I ve had a lot of suggestions. Therefore, over the half-term break, I will ask the person who donated the Bear

5 St. Michael s CE Aided Primary School Cycling Policy We are pleased to see that you have chosen to ride your bike/scooter to school. We want to make sure that all the children and families at St. Michael s will be safe when they come to and from school please read this policy carefully with your parents or carers. I agree that I Will dismount/get off my bicycle/scooter outside the school gate Will walk my bicycle/scooter to the cycle pod / scooter parking area Will lock my bicycle/scooter safely in the cycle pod / scooter park Will not return to the cycle pod / scooter park during the school day Will not ride my bicycle/scooter on the school grounds at any time Will ride my bicycle/scooter under adult supervision until my parent/carer decides that I am able to cycle independently. I will take part in cycle training when a course is offered. Will wear a HELMET when riding my bicycle to and from school. I understand that permission to ride my bicycle / scooter to school will be taken away from me if I don t follow the cycling policy. Signed... Date... We, the staff and governors, will provide A safe and secure cycle pod / scooter parking area Make sure that the cycle pods / scooter parking area are adequately lit in the dark Any other necessary facilities to give you the security you need to be able to ride your bicycle/scooter safely to and from school Signed Date.