11th September 2017
Dear Parents and Carers,
Welcome back everybody! We all sincerely wish that you have had a good summer break.
Everybody at Valley Park is very much looking forward to this academic year which we know is going to be filled with fun and success for your child. We are very keen to build on the successes of last year and to continue to grow our fabulous school.
Let’s celebrate!
We have some fabulous news to share with you. The progress that year 6 children made by the end of the was fantastic!
The following scores indicate the amount of progress that children have made from end of Key Stage 1 to end of key Stage 2. 2016 scores are included for comparison.
0 would indicate average progress.
2016 / 2017Reading / -4.0 / 2.1
Writing / -4.9 / 5.2
Maths / -1.3 / 3.9
This is incredible progress and testament to the skills, intelligence and resilience shown by some amazing children.
It is also testament to all their teachers who are working together to make the culture of our school one of excellence in and out of the classroom; making Valley Park the good school it is.
The reason that this is so special is the opportunities that it now presents for those children and the life chances that it offers.
This is a fabulous outcome for the children and for Valley Park and marks the start of an amazing year for us all.
The school day at Valley Park:
In reception and in years 1-6, classroom doors will open at 8:40am. Children can come straight in at this time and have a smooth, organised start to the day.
Being on time means that children have time to get organised and be ready for learning with their friends – a good start to the day!
Classroom doors will close at 8:55 so that we can make sure registers are all completed. Please can anyone arriving after this time go to the main office to be signed in. Being on time avoids an unsettled start to the day.
School Attendance Matters!
Coming to school EVERY day is so very important for your child’s learning and for their social development. We know that sometimes children do get very poorly. But, if your child feels a little unwell, bring them to school; we will always contact you if they continue to feel poorly.
Many classes have already made a super start:
Ladybirds (morning); Hedgehogs; Foxes; Rabbits; Moles; Champion Chestnuts all have 100% attendance!!
Owls; Badgers; Snowdrops; Wonderful Willows and Mighty Oaks have all reached our school target. Let’s keep this fantastic attendance up!
Here we are celebrating with Year 1 and Year 2 children after their amazing attendance in week one.
There will be BIG rewards this year for those children with attendance that reaches our target of 97%. Further details will be revealed soon, but look out for:
Holidays in term time: Please book any holiday during the school holidays and not during term time. Thank you.
Let’s Investigate!
All children’s learning will be linked to investigating a specific theme for the first 10 weeks of term. You will receive lots more information about this later in the week from your child’s teacher.
A trip or visitor to the school will kick-start the learning. We appreciate that this time, the trips have been quite short notice, but we want to let you know that there will be three more trips for your child throughout the year. If you would like to spread the cost of paying for the trips, please talk to Ms Johnson in the school office.
You will be invited to celebrate what your child has learnt towards the end of the 10 weeks – we would love to see you there!
This will be followed by three more learning themes, all of approximately 10 weeks, which will follow the same pattern:
1. Let’s investigate!
2. Let’s perform!
3. Let’s create!
4. Let’s explore!
School uniform
The children have come back to school looking super smart this term. A huge thank you to all parents and children for showing pride and making a great effort. All children can collect one Dojo each day for wearing correct uniform.
In order to help children concentrate on their learning and to support good learning behaviours, we expect all children to wear full school uniform:
· White or pale blue polo shirt
· Blue school jumper or cardigan (with or without a logo) – NOT hooded tops
· Black or grey trousers or skirt – NOT leggings or tracksuit bottoms
· Grey pinafore or summer gingham dress
· Plain black shoes or plain black trainers
· Black or grey Hijab for those children who wear one
· No jewellery or hair decoration (for example, no hair bows, no chokers etc)
We have a stock of black plimsolls in school which we are happy to lend to any children not wearing black shoes. We ask that they are returned at the end of the day.
Snacks and drinks
Please support us in encouraging all of our children to lead healthy lifestyles.
This means:
· All children bringing a bottle of water which they can drink throughout the day (no juice please)
· Children in years 3 to 6 can bring money to buy some lovely fresh fruit from our tuck shop. They are also welcome to bring a piece of fruit or vegetable to enjoy at morning playtime (no other snacks please).
· Reception, year 1 and year 2 children will all receive a free piece of fruit or vegetable every day. They are also welcome to bring a piece of fruit or vegetable to enjoy at morning playtime (no other snacks please). There is no tuck shop for these year groups.
Photographs
Wednesday 18 October 2017 is photo day at Valley Park! All children will be able to have their individual photo taken, and any with siblings. Further details to follow.
This is going to be a brilliant year for the children of Valley Park Primary School. We are very much looking forward to working with parents and families to make our school the very best for our children.
If you have any suggestions, questions etc, please don’t hesitate to speak to one of us.
Yours sincerely
Mrs Nott Mr Knox
Headteacher Headteacher