Autumn Term 2023
Dear Parents and Carers,
Welcome to the first newsletter of the new academic year! It has been lovely to see all the children returning to school after their long Summer break and it was lovely to welcome in all our new Reception and Nursery children. We hope all your children have enjoyed getting to know their new teachers, catching up with their friends and starting to make new ones.
Every two weeks we will publish a newsletter - usually on a Friday - to keep you informed of any important dates, reminders and to share some of the exciting events that take place here. We will try and give as much information as possible in the newsletter so that we can reduce the amount of separate letters sent home. Parents have told us that they would find that helpful and we hope you find this useful.
Please also remember to follow our Twitter page for some lovely announcements of what we have been up to in school.
We hope the sun shines for all of you this weekend!
Mrs Arnold
PE/Swimming and Music Days
Homework and Spellings
Years 1 to 6 will have weekly homework for English, maths and spellings.
For English and maths - homework will be set from next week on a Friday for completion by the following Friday. The homework we set is usually consolidation of work that has been covered in class and staff will continue to use Year Group pages to outline the activities - giving links to apps such as Education City to make it easier to access. Education City is a particularly effective app for us to use because it gives instant feedback to your child. We encourage children to access TT Rockstars regularly as well as reading their reading books.
For spellings, year groups may have different days and these have been set this week. Towards the end of the week, children have a spelling session in school where a spelling pattern is taught and practised. A set of spellings are introduced to the children and again they practise these in class. Teachers will upload these spellings - usually 10 words - onto the Year Group page so that parents know the words the children need to learn. At the beginning of the following week, children will have another opportunity to practise these focus words before having a spelling test.
Curriculum Information
Curriculum Information for Parents has been uploaded to our website and gives you an overview about what is being covered in each subject in your child's year group. There are ideas to help parents support at home as well. To find there go onto our website - Curriculum - Curriculum Overviews and Information - then click the relevant year group for Autumn 1.
Parking
As the new term starts, please can we take this opportunity to remind parents of parking around our site. As with all schools - which were built well before the increased volume of cars we see today - parking can be difficult at arrival and dismissal times. Please park slightly further away from main entrances where possible so that the busy areas and zigzags are kept clear. This is for the children's safety.
We have had a report this week that one car reversed without care and hit one of our parents. Although uninjured, this is a reminder of how careful drivers need to be - this could so easily have been a child.
Please do not attempt 3-point turns on the roads around school or reverse into the school driveways. This is very dangerous with all the families around and completely unnecessary.
The school do not have any enforcement powers over parking around our site, although we do report dangerous parking/illegal parking to the relevant agencies - the Police and Walsall Council - and would advise any concerned parents and residents to do the same.
Uniform Reminders
Thank you to all children who have arrived back in school in full uniform. We have noticed that some pupils are wearing trainers - please these are not permitted.
Our Uniform Policy is on our website but a summary can be found below. Please make sure ALL items are named!
Winter – October (after half term) to April (Easter)
- Navy cardigan or jumper with logo
- Sky blue shirt or blouse with tie
- Plain grey skirt, pinafore or tailored trousers
- Navy, sky blue and gold striped tie (elasticated up to Year 3)
- Plain and flat black formal school shoes
- Plain black, white, navy or grey tights or socks.
Summer-April (after Easter) to October (half term)
- Sky blue polo shirt with grey skirt, trousers or shorts
- Plain grey skirt, pinafore or tailored shorts
- Knee length pale blue and white striped or gingham summer dress (Please note - playsuits are not permitted)
- Sandals may be worn in dry weather with socks. Sandals must be black or navy and flat.
Health and Safety
We had an unannounced visit this week from the Environmental Health Organisation and are please to let families know that we have retained our 5 star standards for food hygiene both in the School and the Early Year Centre.
We have been asked to remind parents of the following:
Please do not send nuts/sesame seeds in packed lunches due to children in school having severe allergies
We would also like to remind parents that there should be no chocolate bars sent in for packed lunches as we are a Healthy School and if sending in grapes for the younger childen, please could they be cut up due to them being a potential choking hazard.
Behaviour
All pupils should be able to come to school and learn in a safe, orderly environment. We do have high expectations of behaviour in our school and we will not tolerate disruption to pupils learning or unkind/aggressive behaviour towards others. Our Behaviour Policy is on our website and it clearly outlines our response to behaviour - both rewards and sanctions.
Amongst the range of strategies we use to promote positive behaviour, are our Stars of the Week which parents may not be so familiar with.
Stars of the week – Children are given a raffle ticket when they are noticed for going “beyond the expected” with their behaviour. This could be helping others, politeness, being a good friend, dealing well in difficult situations, resilience etc. On a Friday afternoon, class teachers pick one child's raffle ticket at random and choose a second child and these 2 children become the “stars of the week” with their names or photos proudly displayed on a star in the classroom. A text will be sent to their parents to let them know. Teachers decide on a simple reward for example being at the front of the line/first for dinner/class helper/device time etc.
Achievement Shop - House points are collected for many different things in school from behaviour to attitude to effort. Each time a child receives a house point, this is recorded in their achievement book. When they have completed all the space in their book, they take this to Mrs Arnold and exchange' the book for a small prize of their choice from the Achievement Shop. They also receive a sticker, a certificate in assembly and a new book to start all over again!
Roald Dahl Day
We are delighted to inform you that on Wednesday we will celebrated Roald Dahl Day in school.
The day was launched with special key stage assemblies followed by related activities during the day.
As a school we continue to pride ourselves on promoting reading - reading for pleasure is vital to your child’s education. As you are aware, Roald Dahl is a significant author who continues to be held in high regard and whose stories are adored by many children and adults alike. Please note that Roald Dahl resources are available at https://www.roalddahl.com/
Our Pledge to Girls' Football
Womens' football has been in the limelight recently - particularly with the success of our Lionesses reaching the final of the World Cup this summer.
As a school we have made a pledge to demonstrate our commitment to girls' football and support the aim of BGFSP that 'every girl has access to football in school by 2024. Through the infrastructure of BGFSPs, we aim to develop innovative ways to deliver football for girls, improving participation from their very first experience; creating an active and confident generation of inspired female footballers, coaches, officials, leaders, activists and marketeers.'
A Visit from the Animal Man
We are pleased to inform you that the Animal Man will be visiting school on Wednesday. This visit is funded in full by the school.
All children will attend a session, accompanied by their teacher and will have the opportunity to see a variety of animals and to take part in educational animal talks. The children will learn and be able to ask questions about the animals and their habitats.
Please let your child’s class teacher know if your child has any allergies to animals.
School Fund
Thank you to parents and carers that have already paid their school fund. This is a fund that helps us provide activities in school such as the Animal Man, History Workshops and visiting theatre groups which widen the curriculum experiences for your children.
Dates for your Diary
Community Events and Family Support
