10 November 2017
Dear Parents
On Wednesday evening I attended a Remembrance Service at Joseph Swan Academy. It involved youngsters from the local primary schools and the academy and was very moving. The children showed real empathy and this is so important in remembering why we continue to wear our poppies with pride. The academy did the community proud in raising money for the British Legion and marking this very special date. This Sunday, Whickham will host its Remembrance Service at the Cenotaph at 11am and I hope to see lots of you there. Some of our children will be laying a wreath and reading poems and taking part in the parade. Again this will help all our youngsters remember.
'When You Go Home, Tell Them Of Us And Say,
For Their Tomorrow, We gave Our Today'.
As usual our cooks provided a brilliant Remembrance Display for the children check out the photos on our website.
PAT Dog
Barney (As Therapy dog) will be visiting school on a Friday afternoon. He will listen to children read and listen to them tell stories.
• Pets As Therapy (PAT) is a charity which has volunteers that share their wonderful pets to help others
• Volunteers take their pets to visit residential homes, hospitals, hospices, day care centres and prisons
• They even come into schools
• Barney, like all the pets who volunteer, have to be calm and friendly. They must also pass a test to become a PAT dog
• Barney will be coming to visit a few children in this school
• He will be kept on a lead at all times and he will only be in one area of the school
We will use this special relationship to enhance literacy skills and encourage reading in a relaxed environment, with dog and child sitting together. This contact between dog and child encourages physical interaction which helps to put the child at ease. The dog acts as a non-judgemental listener and offers comfort to the child who may find reading difficult or stressful. On average over 6000 children per week, across the country, benefit from this unique experience and the results are outstanding.
Visit the website http://petsastherapy.org/about-us/ to find out more.
Medical Conditions
Any child who has Asthma, an allergy or any other medical condition should have brought home a letter and form for you to complete as soon as possible.
If you think your child has a condition and you have not received a pack, please contact the office. If you have received a pack and your child no longer has a condition, please inform us in writing of this change, Thank you.
We will not allow children to share lip salves or lip balms so if they need one, please send one in with your child.
Data Consent Letters
Please can you return consent letters that were given out at Parents Evening (copy below). Also the updated data collection forms need to be returned even if there is no change to your details.
PE Kit
Please can you make sure your child has the correct PE kit for PE.
Black shorts, red t-shirt, black or navy jogging suit.
Reception
Thank you for coming to our Science workshop (autumn term assembly) this morning. We hope you enjoyed spending time exploring the Reception indoor and outdoor environment, allowing you to see how the children's learning is enhanced every day.
Class 2 are still looking for mystery readers for the following dates:
Friday 17th and 24th November and Friday 1st and 8th December. Please let Mrs Spence know if you can do one of these dates.
We have been working on our tricky words from the Reception Spellings sheet that was given out at the Read, Write Inc meeting (or sent home in your child’s bag if you did not attend). Your child should be able to read and write all words in the R1 box and should be now learning words in the R2 box on the sheet. We have given you another copy of this sheet; it should be in your child’s bag today. (Article 28)
Nursery
Important information for children who attend Monday to Wednesday. The wrong letter about the Northern Stage visit was put in your child's school bag. Please throw that one away as it is the wrong date. You will be issued a new one on Monday. Sorry for the mix up!
On Tuesday 21st, Wednesday 22nd and Thursday 23rd Nov we are inviting you in to the nursery to take part in some activities with your child linked to the 'Knowledge and Understanding of the World' strand of the Early Years Foundation Stage. This section provides the foundation for Science further up the school. Our activities will enable us to help our feathered friends over the cold weeks ahead. We have slots available on these days and you can sign up with Mrs Robson when you drop your child off at nursery. Times are 9-10, 10-11 or 1-2, 2-3. Obviously you will need to choose a slot when your child attends! If you could start collecting yogurt pots and toilet rolls that would be great!
Please remember to send hats and gloves in for your children as the weather is now very cold. Make are their names are inside them please.
Year 5
Swimmer of the week – this week Brandon, Olivia, Rebecca and Amelie were awarded swimmer of the week during the school swimming lessons. This is awarded by the swimming teachers at Dunston Leisure Centre. They receive 3 dojo points for this recognition. Well done. Article 28 – You have the right to a good quality education. Article 29 – Your education should help you use and develop your talents and abilities.
Year 6
Please can you make sure your child has the correct PE kit for PE.
Black shorts, red t-shirt, black or navy jogging suit.
Reminders
We are now operating a cashless system in school so please make all payments online through our Agora system.
Please ensure you activate your account even if you don’t need to make payment at this time, as the password expires. If your password has expired or you are experiencing problems please contact the office. You are welcome to use the computer in the office to access the SIMS Agora system.
Christmas card orders should be delivered at the beginning of December.
KS1 Caedmon Hall & KS2 Pantodome – Please can all payments be made by 30 November. If we do not have consent your child will be unable to attend.
Child Protection
Please check our website for our updated Child Protection Policy.
I hope you found the digital parent magazine helpful that was sent home last week
Just to remind you this is a Safeguarding School and we have a duty to pass on any concerns to Children’s Services. We use a system in school called CPOMS to record information where it is stored for future reference. For more information see http://www.cpoms.co.uk/
Our staff are also trained in Team Teach techniques in order to ensure the safety of everyone involved.
Yours sincerely
HJ Gladstone – Headteacher
Friends of Front Street - 10th November 2017
It’s all about Christmas!!
Christmas Raffle - We are busy sourcing prizes and tickets will go on sale soon!
Christmas cards - All card orders have been sent to the printers and will be with us soon!
Christmas Fair – Friday 8th December
Details to follow soon but we are taking donations now of all unwanted gift bags – please hand in to the school office asap.
Christmas Film Night – Tuesday 12th December
Tickets will be on sale soon. This activity is for years 1 to 6 and the film will be shown from 3.20pm.
FOFS Meeting - Monday 13th November
7pm at The Bridle Path – Come along to help us plan both the above Christmas events.
Update on Funds
We are pleased to update that funds will purchase a large climbing frame for early years, globes for all classrooms and we will be contributing towards the defibrillator.
October 2017
Dear Parent,
We would like to confirm your consent for this academic year for the following:
I agree/disagree:
o My child can travel by mini bus to local events
o My child can take part in local walks and visits
o My child can be photographed and images used on your website, social media, publicity and display purposes
o My child can have supervised access to email and the internet
o To share my details with Seesaw so we can communicate via the Seesaw App
If you would like to withdraw consent for any of the above please indicate this.
You should also have received Gateshead’s Privacy Notice which sets out how we use the information you provide us. This Privacy Notice may be updated in May 2018 in line with changes to Data Protection Regulations.
Thank you
HJ Gladstone
Name of child______________________________________________
Date________________
Signed____________________________________________