Newsletter – 6th January 2017

Next week’s dinner menu is Week 1.

Welcome Back

Welcome back. We hope you all had a lovely Christmas and wish everyone a Happy New Year.

Tag Rugby

On Tuesday 10th January a group of our Year 4, 5 & 6 pupils will be attending Castle View School to take part in a Tag Rugby competition. We wish them the best of luck.

Attendance

Thank you to parents for supporting the school in promoting good attendance for our children. Today the school gave out attendance certificates to over 250 children for showing commitment to attending school. Well done! Here at Winter Gardens Academy we have a team of staff dedicated to supporting families in the area of attendance and there are systems in place to help overcome the barriers to good punctuality and attendance. If you have any questions or need support in this area, please contact Miss Fretwell/Mr Fieldstead (Wellbeing Managers) or Mrs Hooper (Attendance Officer).

Many of you will be aware of the rather surprising National media coverage the school has received recently regarding attendance. There are a variety of supportive actions the school puts in place if we are concerned about a child’s attendance (including punctuality) and parents are always informed if there is a concern. A referral to Essex Local Authority MECES (Missing Education Child Employment Service) for any attendance matter is always a last resort and a rarity. If the Essex criteria is met, Essex Local Authority may issue a penalty notice to parents. The school does not issue these penalty notices and the school does not receive any money from the fines. The vast majority of parents understand the importance of getting their children to school punctually, in order to minimise loss of learning time and we thank parents for their continued support in this matter.

School Calendar

Tuesday 10th January 2017 / Tag Rugby Competition
Wednesday 18th – Friday 20th January 2017 / Foundation Road Safety Walks (with parents)
May 2017 / Year 2 Key Stage 1 Tests
Monday 8th – Thursday 11th May / Year 6 Key Stage 2 Tests
Monday 12th June 2017 / Phonics check Y1 and Y2 retake (if child did not pass in Y1 last year)

Previous newsletters can also be found on the website along with lots of other useful information for parents.