Headteacher Newsletter: Issue 1       11.9.15

This is the first of our fortnightly newsletters for this academic year.  Welcome again to the new term and it is very pleasing to see how well the children have settled into the new term.

Each class will be sending out a class newsletter.  Each newsletter will inform you of the curriculum that is being taught this term and the trips that have been planned.

Meet the Teacher Evening – Wednesday 23^rd September   please note change of date

7 PM – 7.30 PM Classes R, 2, 4 and 6

7.30 PM – 8 PM Classes 1, 3 and 5

(We have staggered the times to accommodate families with more than one pupil in the school)

This will take place on Wednesday evening, please go to your child’s class for 7 pm (Classes R, 2, 4 and 6) OR 7.30 pm (Classes 1, 3 and 5) where the teacher will talk about the rules, routines and expectations of the class as well as the curriculum coverage this term. This is not an evening for individual consultation which will take place during November. Work will be displayed on the walls but there will be an opportunity for you to look at your child’s work during our termly ‘tray afternoon’ which will be held on Tuesday 8^th December from 3.15 – 4.00pm.

Healthy Snacks

We would like to encourage all children to bring in a snack for break time. It is a long time between breakfast and lunch and a snack, as well as a drink of water, make a big difference to children’s concentration levels and ability to learn. As a healthy school we have agreed strict guidelines for the type of snack bought in, it must be fruit or vegetable in the form in which it grew (ie. nothing added, not stretchy or made into a bar and wrapped). This also helps to promote our eco school policies of reducing waste and packaging.

Each class will be taking part in a healthy eating project this half term to promote the bringing of a healthy snack for break time with competition for good snack eating in fruity teams. We would also like to take this opportunity to encourage a healthy balanced lunch box for those not taking a school lunch. Classes will be working on ideas for this in their food technology lessons this year.

NUT FREE SCHOOL

Please note that we are a nut free school. We have several children with allergic reactions and therefore children cannot bring nuts in their snacks or lunch boxes.

Thank you.

C2C – CHARITY FUNDRAISING CYCLE

Last Saturday 5th September, a group of 8 “Clavering School” dads, plus Craig Dyce, embarked on a 270 mile charity cycle from Clavering in Hartlepool to our Clavering in Essex. This journey took 3 long days of cycling and culminated at our school, on Monday 7th September. The team have been training for many months and are raising funds towards much needed improvements to our playground area which will hopefully include the provision of an all-weather surface. At this point they have raised around £15,000 which is an amazing effort. We would like to thank the team for all their hard work completing this event for our school.

Harvest

During the week 28th September – 2^nd October, we will be celebrating harvest in school. This year we will be collecting non-perishable foods for a local food bank. Please would you be kind enough to donate one or some of the following food items:

• Tea bags
• Instant coffee
• Biscuits
• Cereal
• Sugar (500g)
• Rice (500g)
• Pasta (500g)
• Tinned soup, baked beans, rice pudding etc

Could you please make sure that the items have a long use-by date?

Many thanks for your support with this good cause.

Mrs Course

Sharing Assemblies – an invitation!

We would like to invite our parents to attend one of your child’s Sharing Assemblies.  The assemblies take place in the hall on a Friday afternoon and  start at 2.45pm.  Listed below are dates when your child’s class will be taking part in a Sharing Assembly.  Please join us on this date:

Autumn Term:

Class 6             13^th November

Class 3             20^th November

Class 2             27^th November

Spring Term:

Class 1           date to be arranged

Class 5           date to be arranged

Summer Term:

Class Reception           date to be arranged

Class 4                         date to be arranged

A note from Mrs Poole

Thank-you everyone for the fabulous gifts you gave me at the end of term, I was really touched by your generosity and good wishes. The lovely seahorse statue has pride of place in our garden and every time I see it, it reminds me of the fantastic community at Clavering School that I am very proud to have been part of for the last 20 years.

Many thanks again and my very best wishes for the year ahead.

E-safety

Earlier this week with our ‘welcome back’ school letter, a leaflet was included for parents to increase e-safety awareness. We have also included, as part of our school e-safety policy, some rules that we would like you to discuss with your child. We will reinforce these messages in school. Please return the slip that is attached to the e-safety letter once you have been able to discuss the rules with your child. Thank you

PE Clothing

In compliance with health and safety regulations, earrings (including studs) must not be worn for any sport.  Please make sure that children who wear earrings know how to remove them and have somewhere safe and clean to keep them during PE lessons.  Thank you.

Application for leave of absence for term time holidays

We actively discourage pupils from taking time off during term time. Requests should be made via leave of absence forms which are available from the main school office. All holiday leave will be unauthorised unless there are very exceptional circumstances. All requests for leave will be acknowledged. If the absence is not authorised and the holiday is taken the case is more than likely, under the new guidance, to have to be referred to the Education Welfare Service who may issue a Penalty Notice for £120 (or £60 if paid within 21 days) to each parent for each child taken out of school.

Updated guidance from the Local Authority for September 2015:

“Leave of absence may only be granted by a person authorised in that behalf by the proprietor of the school. As from 1st September 2013, the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2013 amended Regulation 7 to prohibit the proprietor of a maintained school from granting leave of absence to a pupil, except where an advance application has been made by the parent with whom the pupil normally resides, and the proprietor considers that there are exceptional circumstances relating to the application.

Taking your child out of school during term time could be detrimental to your child’s educational progress. There is no entitlement to parents to take their child out of school during term time, however, you may apply to the school for leave of absence if you believe there are exceptional circumstances.

If the absence is not authorised and the holiday is taken, the case will be referred to the Education Welfare Service who may issue a Penalty Notice for £120 (or £60 if paid within 21 days) to each parent for each child taken out of school.”

Ooo000ooO

 DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

3^rd September                          INSET

4^th September                           INSET

7^th September                           Clavering2Clavering cycle return

14^th September                         Resilience Workshops for whole school – ThinQ121

18^th September                         Non uniform day for Wales (Sports Day winners), Oliver

(most questionnaire responses) and Saville (most house

points).

23^rd September                         Year 4 visit Saffron Hall to see author Cressida Cowell

23^rd September                       Meet the Teacher evening- staggered for siblings7 – 7.30

even classes. 7.30 – 8pm odd classes

30^th September                         School Improvement Evening for staff and governors

1^st October                               Friendship Day

2^nd – 9^th October                      Book Fair

5^th – 9^th October                       Book Week

8^th October                               School Council Conference

22^nd October                            School Photographs

22^nd October                            Halloween Disco

23^rd October                             Non pupil day – INSET – Consortium Conference

4^th November                           Bag2School

13^th November                         Sharing Assembly – an invitation for Year 6 parents

20^th November                         Sharing Assembly – an invitation for Year 3 parents

27^th November                         Sharing Assembly – an invitation for Year 2 parents

2^nd December                           Parent Consultations 3.30 – 5.30pm

3^rd December                            Parent Consultations 5 – 7pm

4^th December                            Christmas Fayre

8^th December                            Tray Day – 3.15 – 4.00 pm

9^th December                            KS2 Dress Rehearsal am, KS1 Dress Rehearsal pm.

10^th December                          Reception Nativity am, KS1 performance pm, KS2 performance Eve

14^th December                          Christmas Shopping Morning

16^th December                          Christmas Lunch

16^th December                          Cross Country event am.

18^th December                          End of term

4^th January                               Spring Term begins

REMINDERS:

• Swimming for this term is for year 2 and 3 on Mondays.  Please make sure your payments are up to date, the cost is £5.00 per week, £65.00 per term. Please make cheques payable to Clavering Primary School.

• When it is raining heavily all the children walk to their classrooms through the main entrance.       There will be a person on duty outside at the front of the school to take any messages and to guide the children. Please could parents leave their children at the main entrance/notice board area to avoid congestion in the entrance hall.

• Reception parents, at present, are escorting their children to Reception class, they need to do this when it is raining via the main entrance where they will need to sign in and collect a ‘visitor’ sticker before going through the school.       They need to sign out via the main entrance once their children have been taken to class.

• When the weather is fine the usual routine applies. The children go on to the playground via the side gate and wait for the bell.       There is a person on duty on the playground. There is also a person on the gate to take any messages from parents.

• Reception parents, at present, are escorting their children to Reception class via the side gate where they wait on the playground for the bell when Mrs Course or Mrs Honour will meet the children.

If you have any questions at any time then please feel free to make an appointment

Have a good weekend

Rosalind Allsop

Headteacher