Helping children be the best they can be Dear Parents, Governors and Children, OUR NEXT HOLIDAY OCTOBER

R HALF TERM Our next holiday is October half-term. We break up at 3.30 p.m. on Friday 26th October and we return to school at 8.45 a.m. on Monday 5th November. AN OFSTED THANK YOU Everyone at school would like to thank parents and children for their support and good wishes during this weeks Ofsted visit. The Inspectors were with us on Wednesday and Thursday this week, and although we didnt know they were coming until Tuesday lunchtime, everyone at school made a huge effort to make sure we were ready for them. Your children played an enormous part in the inspection, and the inspectors were very impressed with their excellent behaviour and attitude towards school and their learning. The inspection report will be complete in a few weeks time, and we will let you know when it is available. Many thanks for your continued support. PHOTOGRAPH MONEY Please dont forget to send in your childs photograph money by Wednesday 17th October. Details can be found in very small print on the proof card. Complete the envelope and enclose the proof card with the correct money. All envelopes are opened by the photography company, not school, so please dont enclose anything else with the proof card. Many thanks. DRAMA CLUB CANCELLED FOR DISCO As you will know, we are holding a Halloween disco on Monday 22nd October so the Drama Club will not be operating on that occasion, as we need the Hall to set up for the disco and children will need to go home to get changed. We thought you would appreciate advance notice of this change in arrangements. NEW SYSTEM FOR CHILDREN WHO ARE LATE As we try to keep class disruptions to a minimum, we are going to introduce a new system for children who are late. Anyone who arrives at school from 8.50 a.m. onwards will be asked to enter by the main school door, and will be given a yellow slip by our new Attendance Assistant, Natalie Smith. If they are late twice, they will be given a red slip, which will then result in parents being contacted to come into school for a chat about how we can help reduce lateness. We hope by highlighting the problem, we can get together to reduce lateness to our school and increase your childs chance of participating fully in their education. OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD SHOEBOX APPEAL As usual, St James church is supporting Operation Christmas Child shoebox appeal. Please help by donating a gift-filled shoebox. These will be sent to children who are in need living on the streets or in large orphanages. Further details of items suitable to be included are on the leaflet that your child has brought home. Please bring shoeboxes to school after half-term, before Monday 12th November. If you require further information, please contact Jean Gravette on 01302 856859. Many thanks for your gifts, which really make a difference.

NEW 30 MINUTE RULE - COLLECTING CHILDREN EARLY FROM SCHOOL Please can we encourage you to make any appointments out of school hours. We do appreciate that this is not always possible, but taking children out during lesson is disruptive to the whole class and interrupts the childrens learning. However, if an odd occasion should arise when you do need to come to school and collect your child from class during lesson time, this is not a problem but please phone the school office least 30 minutes before you arrive to collect your child - this way we can have them ready at reception for you, causing less disruption to lessons and saving you from unnecessary waiting. In the unlikely event that this is not possible you will have to be prepared to wait until a member of staff can go to class and collect your child. If you have not informed us 30 minutes in advance and your chid is in assembly or engaged in activity then you will need to wait until the assembly or the activity is over before they will be released . We will no longer allow children out of class after 3.00pm unless the 30 minute rule has been applied. We have an increasing number of parents calling randomly, especially just before home time which is causing disruption to classes and issues with our security arrangements. . If you know in advance that you need to collect your child early please call at the office and sign our Leaving Early Log. PLEASE UPDATE YOUR TELEPHONE NUMBER It has become apparent since we came back from the holiday that many parental contact numbers have changed. If you have updated your mobile phone, please make sure that school has your new number. Many thanks for your co-operation. BREAKFAST CLUB MORE VOLUNTEERS PLEASE We would like to remind you that breakfast club has now reopened for children in Key Stage 2. All children from Years 3,4,5 and 6 are extremely welcome. This provision is free and offers the children a healthy breakfast and an early morning get together with their friends. Unfortunately we do not offer a child care facility and noone is available at school to supervise the children before 8.00am. It is also important to note that the school crossing patrol does not start until 8.30am. This is especially important as the dark mornings are approaching, so would you please ensure your child is delivered to school safely. We would be grateful if any parent could offer to volunteer to help at our Breakfast Club (lessons on buttering toast will be given!). If you can spare half an hour any morning, please call at the school office and give your details. Thank you. SICKNESS IN SCHOOL If your child is sick, please keep them away from school for 24 hours after the last incidence of sickness. If the sickness is accompanied by diarrhoea, then the time would be 48 hours. This gives your child the opportunity to recover fully before they return to school, and makes it less likely for them to pass the virus on to other children and staff. Thank you CROSSING LITTLEMOOR LANE AND PARKING We now have a Crossing Patrol Warden, so please impress on your children that they should use the warden when they try to cross the road. Again we are asking that you park sensitively when you bring and collect your children, bearing in mind not blocking our neighbours drives or double parking and causing problems for children trying to cross the roads. Additionally, please do not park ON the pavement, as buggies and wheelchairs need the space on the footpath, as well as it being dangerous for children if you try to drive on the path. Thank you for your co-operation. CONTRIBUTIONS TO OUR NEWSLETTER We are encouraging the children to contribute to our weekly newsletter with stories, pictures and items of interest they have done in the classroom our outside school. The contributions this week are from Year 4, Blue class. Look out for more class contributions in the coming weeks