First of All Here Are Some Key Dates for Your Diaries

NEWSLETTER 1

Friday 8th September

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome back! I do hope our Year One and Two pupils had an enjoyable Summer break and are ready for a busy term ahead.

A special welcome to all our new pupils and their families joining us this term. I am sure you will settle into the life of the school very quickly. If you have any queries please do not hesitate to ask your child’s teacher or the office staff. We are here to help.

First of all here are some key dates for your diaries:-

Tuesday 19th September-PTFA Welcome meeting 7pm

Monday 25th September-MacMillan Coffee Morning+2nd Hand Uniform Sale

Wednesday 27th September-Year Two Curriculum Evening – 6pm – 7pm

Monday 2nd October onwards-Foodbank Collection

Tuesday 3rd October-PTFA AGM 6:30pm followed by usual PTFA meeting 7pm

Wednesday 4th October-Year One Curriculum Evening – 6pm – 7pm

Monday 16th October-Book Week begins

Wednesday 18th October-Flu Vaccinations

Weds 18th & Thurs 19th October-Parent / Teacher Consultations

Mon 23rd to Fri 27th October-HALF TERM WEEK

Thursday 2nd November-School Discos for Years One Two –(to be confirmed)

Tuesday 7th November-Pupil individual photos (inc family photos during evening)

Wednesday 8th November-Pupil Individual photos

Wednesday 8th November-Foundation Year CurriculumEvening – 6pm – 7:30pm

Friday 10th November-PTFA QUIZ Night – (to be confirmed)

Monday 13th November-Anti-Bullying Week begins

Friday 17th November-First Mufti Day (in preparation for Christmas Fair)

Friday 1st December-Second Mufti Day (in preparation for Christmas Fair)

Saturday 2nd December-School Christmas Fair

Tues 5th & Weds 6th December-Surprise Santa – (to be confirmed)

Week beginning Mon 11th Dec-Foundation & Year One Christmas Plays – (dates ASAP)

Thursday 14th December-Year Two Christmas Singalong –starting at 6pm

Friday 15th December-Last Day – Party Day!

Year Group Curriculum Evenings

We are delighted with the progress our pupils make at school but it is clear that one of the key determining factors for their success is the support they get at home to reinforce the concepts we teach at school. Please come and join your child’s teachers for a presentation on how we teach at Christchurch Infants and how you can best support your child’s learning. So come along and find out what we all get up to at school. Dates are in the list above.

Library Summer Reading Challenge: Animal Agents

A reminder that this finishes on Saturday 9th September and children need to let the libraries know what books they have read in order to receive a certificate. Contact your local library directly for details.

Home School Link Books

These include a lot of information to support your child’s learning, such as the handwriting scheme, guidance on how to use home readers, school policies etc. Please do take time to familiarise yourself with what information can be found in them. Also please ensure you read with your child as often as possible – it makes a tremendous difference to their reading confidence. When you have read with them please record the name of the book on the dated page.

The Home School Link books do cost the school money. We therefore ask parents to keep them safe in their child’s book bag at all times. Should a book be lost parents will be asked for £5 towards the cost of a replacement.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION: EXTRA FUNDING FOR YOUR CHILD

All parents need to read the attached information and return the slip indicating whether their child is entitled to extra funding including free uniform, free trips and money towards after school activities. Please return the form as soon as possible.

Attendance

Next week you will be receiving guidance from the school about how we will monitor attendance, keep parents more informed and raise any concerns if necessary. Please look out for this.

In the meantime County Council guidance on school attendance can be found on dorsetforyou.co.uk This reminds parents and carers that taking children out of school during term time without permission from the Headteacher could result in prosecution. If requested by the school, the County Council may issue a penalty notice of £60 for unauthorised absence, which if not paid within 21 days, will double to £120. If this remains unpaid, parents will be prosecuted in the magistrates’ court. Penalty Notices can also be issued where a pupil persistently arrives late after registers close.

The law regarding school attendance was clarified when the Supreme Court ruled in favour of the Isle of Wight Council in prosecuting a father for taking his daughter out of school without permission. It ruled that parents must ensure their children attend school regularly, and that ‘regularly’ means ‘in accordance with the rules prescribed by the school’. The attendance policy for all schools in the Christchurch Learning Federation is ‘children should be in school, on time, every day the school is open unless the reason for absence is unavoidable /exceptional.’

Contact Details

Please ensure that the school has your up to date contact details including an alternative emergency contact in case you are unavailable. Obviously the school handles such information with confidentiality. However, parents should also note that if another parent shares their contact details with you – you should not then pass those details onto anyone else without their permission. Thank you.

Welcome Coffee Morning for all our parents in aid of MacMillan Cancer Research -

9am in the school hall on Monday 25th September

All parents are welcome to come to this informal coffee morning in support of this worthy cause. It is also a great opportunity to get to know other parents and come and have a chat. My thanks to staff who are going to bake some cakes to sell and we are also providing a Second Hand Uniform stall. There will be toys for young children to keep them amused. So come along and get to know some other parents at the school. Families from all year groups welcome.

Pastoral Support Worker

Mrs Chapman, our Pastoral Support Worker, is available on Tuesday or Thursday mornings should you need support and advice on various parenting issues or concerns. Appointments can be made with her through the school office or via her email :.

Helping out in School andDBS Clearance for all Volunteers

The staff at CIS value our parent helpers in school so if you wish to help out could you please come to the school office. Mrs Eaborn administers the DBS process and she is available on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. You will need to provide your contact details so you can be sent a link via email to begin the DBS procedure. Please also see the attached note and reply slip from Mr Bowen at the end of this newsletter regarding his talks about volunteering in school.

After School Clubs

Participation should be arranged by parents and carers directly with the organiser of each club.

ACTIVITY / DAY / YEAR GROUP / TIME / ORGANISER / CONTACT NUMBER
ACTIVE SOCCER / MON / 1 & 2 / 3.15-4.15 / CHRIS EMMS / 07832 266025
PERFECT LITTLE HARMONIES / MON / FY, 1 & 2 / 3.15-4.00 / NATALIE TURNER / 07889479449
YOGA BANANNAS / TUES / FY, 1 & 2 / 3.15-4.15 / SARAH / 07557808509
CAROUSEL DANCE/DRAMA / WEDS / 1 & 2 / 3.15-4.15 / SALLY BURBAGE / 07950459119
SAMA KARATE / THURS / FY, 1 & 2 / 3.15-4.15 / STEFAN FAULKNER / 07518181669
FRENCH CLUB / THURS / FY, 1 & 2 / 3.15-4.00 / ALISON /
BALLET / FRI / FY, 1 & 2 / 3.15-4.00 / MICHELE LAWLOR / 07733412103

We are delighted that a singing/choir club has also begun this term (Perfect Little Harmonies) and think this will prove to be very popular with the children so don't forget to book early!

School Lunches

Remember to order your child’s lunch online at (or by phone on 01202 691038). Menu’s are available on the website. If you have any issues, please call the caterers directly.

IMPORTANT: PLEASE MAKE SURE YOUR CHILD BRINGS TWO DRINKS INTO SCHOOL IN SUCKER TYPE BOTTLES OR FLASKS. ONE IN THEIR LUNCHBOX AND ONE (water only) FOR THEM TO ACCESS IN CLASS DURING THE DAY. THIS APPLIES TO ALL CHILDREN WHETHER THEY HAVE SCHOOL LUNCHES OR NOT.

Messages to School

Please do not forget to inform the school if your child is absent so registers can be completed accurately. Please pass on a message via the class or school office or ring by 10am on the first day of absence. Also please let the class teacher know if there is a change in the usual pick up arrangements. If you have particular concerns regarding access arrangements for your child/ren please see the class teacher immediately – it is always a good idea to meet new class teachers to update them on family circumstances etc. All such information is kept confidential on a ‘need to know’ basis. We always advise that mornings are good for quick messages for the teacher whilst longer chats and queries are best arranged for after school when the class teachers are not so busy.

Foreign or Old Currency

If you have any leftover foreign currency from holidays, or any old British coins or you no longer want to keep, our PTFA would be very grateful for any donations sent in to school. They are able to swap them for funds to put towards goods and services to benefit the children.

Parking Problems

Roads get very congested around the school in the mornings and at the end of the school day. As always, we advise parents to park away from the school site or use the Peeks car park rather than cause obstructions and delays in nearby streets. Do not park on the zig-zag lines at the school gates – this is a parking offence and endangers the lives of children.

Please note that parents are not permitted to park on the school site and that we have a parking permit scheme in operation. Cars failing to display a school permit may well find themselves locked in the car park! Parents using ‘Funtastic Before and After School Club' and after-school activities are not permitted to park on the school site or on the double lines outside the school.

Staff News

I am delighted to report that Miss Sneddon had a baby girl at the end of July. Willow was born weighing 7lb 9oz and both mum and daughter are doing well.

On a sadder note Mrs Atkinson decided to resign for personal reasons during the Summer holidays and so will not be returning to school. She was the general TA for Rabbits class and we will be seeking a replacement as soon as possible. We wish her well for the future.

Lunchtime Supervisor Vacancy

A post is currently being advertised on the Dorsetforyou website for a Midday Supervisor post starting in October. Further details are available from Mrs Johnson in the school office. Closing date 24th September.

Other Reminders:

•Please ensure all items of clothing are named and that your child has a coat in school. Children still go out to play in light drizzle so coats are essential.

•Please remember ball games on the playground are not permitted before and after school as we have had children and adults hit. Opportunities to play such games are provided at playtimes. Skipping ropes can be brought in and used in the main playground but parents and children should be vigilant about the safety of others.

•Parents are asked to supervise children before and after school. We are very proud of our school and wish pupils, families and visitors to treat it with respect and care.

•Bikes and scooters can go in the racks situated by the rear entrance to Foundation, in the Year One playground area and near the Portfield Road gate entrance. Remember that scooters and bikes must not be ridden anywhere on the school site. Bikes and scooters should be secured to the rack. Those left on site will be removed to avoid vandalism and theft. The school accepts no responsibility for loss or damage.

Local Admission Arrangements for 2019/2020

Dorset will be consulting on admission arrangements for 2019/20 with effect from 2/10/17 to 10/11/17 Details will be available at dorsetfor you.gov.uk/school-admission-policies-policies from Monday 2nd October 2017

The first newsletter of the school year is always lengthy and full of reminders but hopefully it will remind everyone about the do's and don’ts and enable the children to have a good start to the academic year. If you have any queries please do not hesitate to ask.

Yours sincerely,

Mrs JS Ashenden

Heateacher

PS. Our thanks to a team from the Nationwide and Mr Millar and Mrs Johnson for building our new shed over the summer break.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO HELP IN SCHOOL?

We always appreciate extra help in school, whether it’s reading with children, handwriting or working with a small group. We are asking for all adults who are thinking about volunteering, or who have volunteered before, to attend a brief 30 minute meeting about helping in school before starting in class. These meetings are designed for adults who are planning to volunteer straight away or later in the year and those who are interested in finding out if volunteering is for them. These meetings will take place during September on the following dates and times:-

Monday 11th at 9amThursday 14th Sept at 9am

Tuesday 19th Sept at 9amWednesday 20th Sept at 2:30

Thursday 21st Sept at 2:30Friday 22nd Sept at 2:30

This year we are hoping to maximise the impact of your support in school so we are planning at these meetings to discuss key reading strategies for you to use with the children etc.

There is a limit to the number of meetings we can hold so please try to make one of the above dates if you possibly can. Further dates will be available after the half term, including for those wanting to volunteer in Foundation classes.

Please indicate on the slip below if and when you would like to attend.

Mr M Bowen

Deputy Headteacher

......

I would like to attend the volunteer meeting on :- (please indicate which session)

Date ______

Name ______

Contact Telephone Number ______

Extra Funding for Your Child at School

IMPORTANT : THIS YEAR CHILDREN THAT QUALIFY FOR THE PUPIL PREMIUM FUNDING CAN ALSO GET SOME FREE UNIFORM, FREE SCHOOL TRIPS AND A CONTRIBUTION TOWARDS AN AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITY AT THE SCHOOL. ONCE YOU ARE AWARDED ‘FREE SCHOOL MEALS/PUPIL PREMIUM FUNDING’ CONTACT MRS CHAPMAN TO CLAIM THIS ADDITIONAL SUPPORT.

The qualifying benefits are as follows:-

To be eligible you must be in receipt of one of the following benefits:

• Income Support
• Child Tax Credit, provided they are not entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual taxable income that does not exceed £16,190
• Income-Based Job Seekers' Allowance
• Employment Support Allowance (Income Related)
• Guaranteed Element of State Pension Credit
• Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
• If a parent is entitled to Working Tax Credit during the four-week period immediately after their employment ceases, or after they start to work less than 16 hours per week, their children are also entitled to free school meals.

PLEASE ANSWER THE FOLLOWING AND RETURN THIS TO SCHOOL AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

DO YOU RECEIVE ANY OF THE ABOVE YES NO (circle as applicable)

Name of child ______Signature ______

Application is via the Dorsetforyou.com website. Typing free school meals into the search box will take you to the information page, which refers to UIFSM and Pupil Premium and this has links to pages on how to apply and the eligibility process.

Alternatively enquiries about entitlement to Free School Meals Pupil Premium Funding is available on 01305 221000. You will need to provide your National Insurance number and will then be told if your child is eligible for the funding.

The funding also contributes to the cost of staff support in each classroom. If you have any queries please speak to Mrs Chapman at the school office and she will be happy to help with your application.