SANDIWAY PRIMARY SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

! ISSUE 24 / SPRING TERM 2014 / WEDNESDAY 26TH MARCH 2014 Whilst we are very happy to offer clubs to the children and provide these opportunities, the clubs are not designed as an after-school provision. Therefore it is vital that we maintain good communications with you and with any other child care provision to ensure that children are handed over safely at the end of club sessions. WEBSITE Mr White and I have been working hard to add more content to the new school website. As you can appreciate, it is a big job to build and maintain a website, especially with all the other roles we have in school. This content will continue to evolve over the coming weeks. I have added some useful documents and policies to the School Office section. You will also find term dates, a request form if your child needs to take medicine in school, information about holidays in term times and information about illnesses that mean children shouldnt be in school (infection control). There is also a calendar which we will be adding to over the next few weeks. In the mean time, I will continue to remind you of school events through the newsletter. HOMEWORK Following a few conversations with parents and staff about homework, I would like to let you know that we are looking into some online homework materials for English and Mathematics. We are looking into which products match with what we are teaching in school and also represent good value for money. In the meantime, can I remind you that teachers would like children to be reading every night. Multiplication facts and spelling should also be looked at during the week. I have attached an information sheet to the newsletter email with some great top tips for reading at home. There are some great question prompts in the different areas of reading that we focus on that you can also use in the conversations you have with your children. I recommend printing these and having them handy wherever you read each night. CUDDINGTON GALA Dont forget that the Gala Royalty selection which will take place this coming Saturday (March 29th).! They are seeking Royalty (girls and boys) for all categories,and we encourage anyone from either primary school (Cuddington and Sandiway) to attend.! The selection starts at 2.00pm, and children are invited to come along to the Village Hall from 1.30pm to get ready.! A 1 charge will be made for each entry into the selection. It would be great to have lots of children from Sandiway Primary School attending this event. YEAR 1 TEACHER For summer term, the governors and I have appointed Miss Lisa Pickston to teach Year 1 for the rest of the school year as Mr McManus moves on to his new position. Miss Pickston has previously worked in a school in Runcorn and has a good level of experience with teaching Year 1. CLUBS For the Summer Term, we are able to offer the following after-school clubs run by the staff from the school: Monday: Rounders - KS2 - Mr Priddey/Mrs Bowman Monday: Knitting - KS2 - Mrs Bott/Mrs Gaitiss Monday: Drama - KS2 - Miss Jardine Tuesday: Kwik Cricket - Year 5 and 6 - Mr White Tuesday: Choir (up to the half term holiday) - KS1 Mrs Tucker (please note, we have had to change the day for this club) Tuesday: Recorders - Y2 - Mrs Atkinson (until 3.45pm) Unless stated differently, these clubs run up to 4.30pm. A booking system will be available on the school website to sign up for these clubs from lunchtime today (Wednesday). Please remember to let Smallworld know if your child is attending a school club so that they know when to expect your child after or before school.

There are many many apps available for iPads that encourage reading, spelling and phonic practise, as well as practising mathematical mental skills. These can be very useful in complementing the work that is sent home from school. A very useful website that I use to find the most suitable apps is by Ian Wilson, who is a trainer in the use of iPads in education. I have attended some of his workshops in recent years and his website reflects his knowledge. The website is separated into sections at the top - I recommend having a look at the Literacy and Numeracy sections. http://www.ipadineducation.ianwilson.biz Please take care with some of iPad (and Android) apps. It is recommended that you use the Restrictions settings to disable In app purchases. Children can very easily be tricked into upgrading free apps which may cost you a lot of money if you have your bank details associated with your account. We are also, very worryingly, hearing reports of some in app purchases looking very innocent, but are enabling cameras to be hacked into etc. Working together is the key to keeping our children safe in the online world. As always, please come and talk to us if you want any advice. SPORTS RELIEF/DOWNS SYNDROME We had a lot of fun on Friday raising money for Sports Relief. Please keep sending your sponsor money in and we will send it to the charity. Over 1000 has already been counted in the school office, which is an amazing achievement! Thanks too for your support in sending in cakes and money for Downs Syndrome Awareness. This was also a great success and a welcome sugar-boost with all the exercise we did! PTA FILM NIGHT Dont forget Film Night this Friday. For just 2, your children can stay in school until 5.15pm and watch a film. We have four different films to choose from and they will all get some popcorn, a biscuit and a drink. Please collect children from their normal classroom doors at the end of the film. Tickets on sale in the library each morning before school this week. SCHOOL LUNCHES Please make sure your school lunch accounts are in credit by the end of term ready for the Summer Term.