11 th September 2014 Dear Parents/Carers First, may I welcome you all back to school and say how lovely it is to see all the children looking so smart and ready for the new school year. I would like to particularly welcome all our new children who have joined Reception class and our new Nursery. I am so pleased to say that everyone has settled in very well and that the school is running as smoothly as ever. We would also like to welcome three new members of staff who have joined the school. Mr. Lister is our new caretaker, Ms. McCauley who will be working as a Learning Support Assistant in the Early Years and Mrs. Nevison who has been appointed as a Supervisory Assistant. We would also like to welcome back Miss Overfield after her Maternity Leave and Mrs. Davis who will be teaching Physical Education three days a week to children from Year 1 to Year 6. She will also accompany the children for swimming lessons on a Wednesday and Friday. As parents/carers know we send out regular newsletters to ensure that you are kept informed of activities and events taking place throughout the year. We always endeavour to give parents/carers plenty of notice about events and activities, however, at times this is not always possible and we appreciate your support on these rare occasions. As parents/carers are aware an annual consent is completed for each child which covers many of the visits we organise throughout the year. This year these were distributed to parents in July and the vast majority have been completed and returned. We will get in touch with you over the next few weeks if we have not had a form returned for your child.
School Uniform: As far as we are aware all uniform orders have been delivered and collected. If you have not received your uniform or have a query about your order please see Mrs. Overfield. I would like to remind parents/carers that it is important that children have their PE kit at school for lessons and would appreciate it if you can ensure that your child has their kit with them each week. This includes swimming kit where applicable. In the Summer Newsletter we mentioned that children should ideally have trainers as part of their PE kit. And this is now particularly important with the vast majority of lessons taking place outside with Mrs. Davis. Holidays During Term Time: As you may be aware the Government regulations regarding term time holidays have changed and schools are required to record all holidays taken during term time as unauthorised absence. Our school policy follows the government regulations and we record all holidays as unauthorised except in exceptional circumstances Important information about access into school: As this is the start of the new year a reminder about access arrangements is set out below. Time Access 8.25a.m. Breakfast Club Bottom Gate open Rear Door member of staff on duty 8.45a.m. 8.55a.m. Parents and children access onto premises Bottom Gate open Rear Door member of staff on duty 8.45a.m. Reception Class Top Gate Open Reception Door member of staff on duty 9.00a.m. 3.00p.m. 3.15p.m. 3.15p.m. 3.15p.m. 5.00p.m. All access into school and collection of children for appointments etc. Collection of Reception Children Collection of Year 1 to Year 6 children Collection of children from After School Clubs Main Gate/Main Entrance Please use intercom system Top Gate open at 3.00p.m. Bottom Gate open at 3.00p.m. Bottom Gate Open Children will be brought out by a member of staff Please note that the top and bottom gate will be locked between 9.00a.m. and 3.00p.m. each day Other general information: After School Clubs: Most children have now signed up for After School Clubs for this term. Please find below a few important reminder about After School Clubs:
If your child cannot attend an After School Club session we would appreciate it if parents/carers could contact us either by telephone, a note or a word with the class teacher. We cannot accept a message from children and therefore if we do not hear from parents/carers we will assume that children will be attending as normal. The office staff will no longer be making telephone calls to check that children are attending their After School Club. Children should be collected by an adult at 4.30p.m. This is very important as we cannot allow children to walk home unaccompanied. Your co-operation with this is very much appreciated. Junior Fruit Tuck Shop: Daily during morning break fruit costs between 5p and 20p per item. Milk: Cool Milk at School operate the milk system and parents should contact www.coolmilk.com to register their child for milk or telephone: 0800 142 2972 School Meals and Dinner Money: All our Infant children are now having a school meal at school paid for under the Governments free school meals scheme. As a school we have no doubt that enjoying a school meal at midday has tremendous benefits for young children, both nutritionally and socially, and we thank you for your support with this. We have attached a menu for your information and if you have any questions about the meals please let us know. Junior children will continue to pay for school meals the cost of school meals for Year 3 to Year 6 remains the same at 9.75 per week. ALL dinner money should be paid on a Monday either in cash or by cheque made payable to Durham County Council. Please ensure that all money sent into school is enclosed in an envelope and has your child s name on and the amount enclosed. Below is a list of diary dates for your information if you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact us. Included on the list are our class assembly dates. We warmly welcome parents to join us for their child s assembly and afterwards for refreshments with the children and class teacher. Monday 8 th September Wednesday 17 th September Friday 19 th September Friday 19 th September After School Clubs start this week 5.00p.m. Welcome meeting for parents/carers in main school hall. This meeting is just to go over details of the new curriculum/homework etc. and to answer any questions that you may have the meeting will be followed by parents/carers visiting their child s class and speaking with the class teacher if you wish. 9.00a.m. Year 6 Assembly 2.15p.m. Friends of the School Meeting All parents/carers are invited to join us to discuss future fund raising and future events. We look forward to seeing you.
Monday 22 nd. September 3.30p.m. Letters and Sounds (Phonics) Workshop for Reception class Parents/Carers. Details to be sent out separately. A crèche will be available for children to be supervised. Wednesday 24 th Film Club details to be confirmed September Friday 26 th September 9.00a.m. Year 5 Assembly Thursday 2 nd October School Book Fair for 5 days. Wednesday 8 th October Friday 3 rd October 9.00a.m. Year 4 Assembly Wednesday 15 th October Year 1 to Year 6 visit to the Sunderland Empire Theatre to see the Lion King Friday 17 th October 2.00p.m. Year 3 Assembly and Harvest Celebrations Week beginning 20 th NO AFTER SCHOOL CLUBS October Monday 20 th October Parents Evening Details to follow Wednesday 22 nd. October Parents Evening Details to follow Friday 24 th October School closes for Half term holiday Monday 3 rd November STAFF TRAINING DAY Tuesday 4 th November School re-opens Friday 14 th November 9.00a.m. Year 2 Assembly Friday 28 th November 9.00a.m. Year 1 Assembly Monday 15 th December PM - Carol Service and Nativity details to follow Tuesday 16 th December Year 1 and Year 2 Christmas Party Wednesday 17 th Year 3 and Year 4 Christmas Party December Thursday 18 th December Year 5 and Year 6 Christmas Party Friday 19 th December Christmas Lunch Friday 19 th December School closes for Christmas Holidays Monday 5 th January 2015 STAFF TRAINING DAY Tuesday 6 th January 2015 School re-opens You will have noticed that we have arranged for Year 1 to Year 6 to visit Sunderland Empire on 15 th October to see the Lion King. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for the children to see the West End production of this fantastic show. The cost of the tickets will be 10.00 and we will send out further information with details of how payments can be made by instalments if preferred. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or queries. Yours sincerely S. Green Head teacher