Friday 11th September, 2020
Dear Parents and Carers,
New Academic Year
I would like to extend a warm welcome back to all pupils, parents and carers. It has been wonderful to catch up with so many of you this week and welcome you back for the new academic year. There have been lots of happy faces coming into school each day and we are all thrilled that the pupils are so eager to get stuck back into learning.
Staff are as delighted as the children to be back in the classroom and have enjoyed catching up with all their news.
I appreciate Monday drop off was a bit chaotic but the new system introduced from Tuesday allows for social distancing and helps encourage the children’s independence- it’s lovely to see them have the confidence to leave parents at the gate and bring themselves into school.
Although we cannot organise out of school visits at the moment we are looking at ways that we can invite visitors into school for workshops and activities to inspire our pupils. We will of course ensure that this is safe before we go ahead and you will be informed of any upcoming visits. Next week you will receive a curriculum letter from your child’s class teacher informing you of their learning for this term. Again, whilst we are unable to invite you into school for stay and learn sessions we are looking at ways that we can still involve you all in school life.
I have no doubt that this year working together as a school community, we will have another fantastic year.
Pupils should not be bringing rucksacks/bags into school. They are provided with all the stationary equipment they need so just need lunch boxes/disposable bags (if having packed lunch) and water bottles please.
Parents/carers please refrain from parking cars on the pavements around the school. Please be mindful that parents and children are queueing on the pavements before and after school. There is plenty of parking in Central park and it is only a very short walk to school from there.
Coronavirus
Please be aware that if your child or someone in your household develops coronavirus symptoms then you MUST telephone the school office immediately, keep your child off school and book in for a test. You can find information regarding symptoms from the NHS here. We will then discuss with you what happens next.
New Staff for Academic Year 2020-21
We are delighted to introduce our new members of staff to you.
Mrs. Tibbott- Year 6 teacher
Miss Maynard- Year 5 teacher
Miss Burt-Davies- Year 3 teacher
Miss Adams- Year 2 teacher
Miss McCarthy- Nursery teacher
Ms. Howe- Learning Support Assistant
Ms. Aweis- Learning Support Assistant
Ms. Freeman - Learning Support Assistant in the ARP
Ms Barnes- Midday Supervisor
Welcome to Mead.
Diary Dates
Term Dates 2020-21
Autumn Term
Monday 7th September - Friday 23rd October
Monday 2nd November - Friday 18th December
Spring Term
Monday 4th January - Friday 12th February
Monday 22nd February - Thursday 1st April
Summer Term
Monday 19th April - Friday 28th May
Monday 7th June - Friday 23rd July
INSET Days 2020-2021 INSET 1 - Thursday 3rd September INSET 2 - Friday 4th September INSET 3 - Monday 22nd February INSET 4 - Friday 28th May INSET 5 - Friday 23rd July
After School Clubs
We are not able to run after school clubs this half term, but will review the situation at half term.
Pupil Jobs and Homework Expectations
For our established parents you already know that we accept only the best at Mead. We achieve this by working together with our families and emphasizing some key values. Pupils are expected to:
1. Turn up every day on time
2. Do their best in every lesson
3. Be kind and polite to everyone that they meet
Homework as far as possible will be set via class Dojo and Google classroom, as we are keen to keep remote learning going. It is important pupils who are self isolating can continue to access their learning via these platforms and whilst hard copies will still be available it will save pupils bringing items from home to school……………….. and save paper!
School Uniform
It has been wonderful to see all of the pupils return to school looking very smart in their school uniform. Please be reminded that the school colours are green and grey/black. All school uniform is available through Premier School Wear (http://www.premierschoolwear.co.uk).
Shared mailboxes and communication
In these uncertain times, please remember that the main method of communication with your child’s class teacher is via the shared mailboxes. They are checked daily and can be used to ask questions, pass on information or check details:
Newsletters
To ensure that we continue to be environmentally friendly and in order to reduce our carbon footprint we have been circulating our newsletter online via the school website, blog and facebook page for quite some time now. If you would like to receive a paper copy or an electronic copy of the newsletter via email, please email office@mead.havering.sch.uk with your request. If you do not make a specific request you will be able to access the newsletter on the school blog, Twitter feed and Facebook page every Friday. I am sure you will agree with us that this is going a long way towards us becoming a ‘greener’ school and working towards a better future for all of our children.
Havering Catering Services
Our school kitchen is still being renovated so we are currently only able to offer a cold service which includes a daily choice of sandwiches, a salad or cucumber pot, fruit, a cake, yoghurt or jelly and a bottle of water. We are expecting that we will have access to the school kitchen by the middle/end of next week and we will then be able to extend our offer. All meals cost £2.25 (except pupils in Reception, year 1 and year 2, schools meals are free for these pupils) and payment must be via sQuid.
Weekly Attendance - Target 96%
Don't forget at Mead we do not only reward 100% attendance but if you keep up attendance above 96% you become part of the 96%+ club and earn yourself extra bouncing time on 'Go Bonkers' day in the summer term.
The class attendance league will kick off again this September. Each week the class with the highest attendance win the most points in the league and displays the shiny attendance trophy proudly in their classroom. At the end of each term, the class with the most points earns a class trip!
If your class gets 100% attendance for a whole week you could earn a cupcake party.
I hope you all have an amazing weekend.
Yours sincerely,
Mrs L Smith
Headteacher
