Dear Parents,
Our reception children have now completed their induction weeks and we look forward to welcoming them in school full time next week.
It has been brought to my notice that some children are bringing ‘home-made slime’ into school which they are then trying to put down the backs of other children, which is totally unacceptable. Teachers have been directed to confiscate and dispose of any ‘slime’ brought into school. I would appreciate your support in this matter.
My midday supervisor has had to confiscate jaw breakers/gob stoppers from some KS2 children this lunchtime- once again our policy is that children should not eat sweets in school-please support us in ensuring this doesn’t reoccur.
Parents Forum-Headlines
We held the first Parents Forum on Tuesday of this week-thank you to those who attended.
For those who were unable to attend:
I spoke about proposed building works;
I informed parents that the nursery extension project is due to start on 2nd January with completion due the end of March-Hopefully children will be able to move into the new provision after Easter. Our Nursery classes are not full but we have provision for 60 children in each session -In line with the Government's 30 hour offer some will be attending both morning and afternoon sessions. We will also be taking a small number of 2 year olds in each session.
It is proposed that we become a 4 form entry school from September 2018. Building work to extend the KS1 corridor (Year 2 end) is due to start January 2nd and expected to be completed by mid April 2018
A self-contained Autism ARP is to be built, to accommodate up to 12 autistic pupils, alongside the new classroom. Mrs Jolly and Mrs Hodges who worked in the Language resource are attending specialised training courses and will work in the ARP provision due to open next Summer.
I spoke about the pupil values-in particular attendance and punctuality;
We are really pleased with the number of children arriving in school at 8:30 and have noticed the improvement this makes to their school day. It gives them the opportunity to socialise with their peers and share news/information with the adults in the classroom-this all makes for a very settled start to the day.
It has been brought to my notice that some children are bringing ‘home-made slime’ into school which they are then trying to put down the backs of other children, which is totally unacceptable. Teachers have been directed to confiscate and dispose of any ‘slime’ brought into school. I would appreciate your support in this matter.
My midday supervisor has had to confiscate jaw breakers/gob stoppers from some KS2 children this lunchtime- once again our policy is that children should not eat sweets in school-please support us in ensuring this doesn’t reoccur.
Parents Forum-Headlines
We held the first Parents Forum on Tuesday of this week-thank you to those who attended.
For those who were unable to attend:
I spoke about proposed building works;
I informed parents that the nursery extension project is due to start on 2nd January with completion due the end of March-Hopefully children will be able to move into the new provision after Easter. Our Nursery classes are not full but we have provision for 60 children in each session -In line with the Government's 30 hour offer some will be attending both morning and afternoon sessions. We will also be taking a small number of 2 year olds in each session.
It is proposed that we become a 4 form entry school from September 2018. Building work to extend the KS1 corridor (Year 2 end) is due to start January 2nd and expected to be completed by mid April 2018
A self-contained Autism ARP is to be built, to accommodate up to 12 autistic pupils, alongside the new classroom. Mrs Jolly and Mrs Hodges who worked in the Language resource are attending specialised training courses and will work in the ARP provision due to open next Summer.
I spoke about the pupil values-in particular attendance and punctuality;
We are really pleased with the number of children arriving in school at 8:30 and have noticed the improvement this makes to their school day. It gives them the opportunity to socialise with their peers and share news/information with the adults in the classroom-this all makes for a very settled start to the day.
I spoke about school uniform and how school environments become less competitive and more focused on learning when we promote a single standard of dress. It is really pleasing to see that, with very few exceptions, children are proud to wear the Mead uniform but I wanted to draw parents attention to footwear. Pupils should wear black shoes/trainers-increasingly we are seeing different coloured trainers which are not in keeping with the school policy.
I reminded parents of our expectation that pupils from year 1-6 should spend 15mins every evening reading, 15 mins practising spellings and 15 mins practising their times tables. Additionally they are given Learning Challenges associated with their topic-Some year 6 pupils spoke to parents about the Learning Challenges and showed examples of work completed.
Finally, I took parents to see the Mead Farm Development. They were all really impressed and commented on how eager their children are to get involved in caring for and learning about the animals when it is finished. We are hoping to get 2 donkeys, a pony and some rabbits and guinea pigs before half term. Watch this space.
Start of the day
It is really pleasing to see so many children taking advantage of the earlier opening time. Teachers have reported a significant difference in behaviour, in that the environment is much calmer and pupils settle quickly to their work.
Pupils who come in early have the opportunity to socialise with their peers and with their teacher. Teachers have the chance to catch up with small group work -so it is beneficial all round.
Based on this we have decided to extend the school day-Pupils will now be expected to be in school by 8:45am and anyone arriving after this time will be registered as late.
I reminded parents of our expectation that pupils from year 1-6 should spend 15mins every evening reading, 15 mins practising spellings and 15 mins practising their times tables. Additionally they are given Learning Challenges associated with their topic-Some year 6 pupils spoke to parents about the Learning Challenges and showed examples of work completed.
Finally, I took parents to see the Mead Farm Development. They were all really impressed and commented on how eager their children are to get involved in caring for and learning about the animals when it is finished. We are hoping to get 2 donkeys, a pony and some rabbits and guinea pigs before half term. Watch this space.
Start of the day
It is really pleasing to see so many children taking advantage of the earlier opening time. Teachers have reported a significant difference in behaviour, in that the environment is much calmer and pupils settle quickly to their work.
Pupils who come in early have the opportunity to socialise with their peers and with their teacher. Teachers have the chance to catch up with small group work -so it is beneficial all round.
Based on this we have decided to extend the school day-Pupils will now be expected to be in school by 8:45am and anyone arriving after this time will be registered as late.
Have a fabulous weekend and remember the 8:45am start on Monday
Mrs Smith
