I feel like we have an awful lot to be grateful for this week. Every single day, and every moment in time, there has been something to smile about. Throughout the week there have been so many acts of kindness shown by the children, in so many different ways. From helping each other in the hall, to caring for each other outside, to supporting one another with learning; the children are reflecting the light of Christ so very brightly. Today we have been visited in assembly by a lovely lady from Brian House, our wonderful local children’s hospice. Lucy came in to school to share details of the incredible work they do there and the loving care they give their children. Through your generosity, their sensory room is being updated and a new wheelchair swing is being bought for their garden.
This Lent, we are raising money for CAFOD through our Lenten boxes and sponsored events which will be happening in school. Each class is currently deciding what they are going to do to fundraise. They have been tasked with creating an event for the greater good. Something that requires time or effort for the good of others. I have heard that Year 6 will be spending time baking cakes for a bake sale; Year 3 will be doing a sponsored walk to Ashton Gardens to litter pick. Our student council also wanted to help our local community and decided that a food bank would be a way to give something to those who need extra support. The donations will be used within the school community and to support the local food bank.
If you would like to donate anything to the food bank, or you need support from the food bank, please do pop into school. It has been created for our community to use.
The food bank is positioned in the area near the office and you can just pop in and pick up any suitable items from the stand - no need to ask anyone or engage - it’s there for you. By next week, we hope to have a good range of foodstuffs so please, do come in and pick up what you need.
On Sunday, our Year 4 Holy Communion children will be welcomed to church in the family mass. Please do attend at 9.30am. Tea and coffee is available after mass for our families to enjoy in the Parish Centre, there will also be some craft for the children. Lazy Sunday is taking place at 12pm, which some of you have tickets for. All are more than welcome to stay for Lazy Sunday, food will only be available to those with a ticket once there.
School Life this week
I cannot do justice with words just how much has been happening in school this week. I have collated photos from all of our events and put them together in a little video. Please visit class pages for more memories. Thank you for all of the wonderful support for the book fair that we have recently held in school. Your contributions will mean that we can buy some new books for our school library - thank you once again!
Book looks are continuing for other classes next week:
Monday 6th March - Year 5 Book Look at 9am
Monday 6th March - Reception Stay and Play for group 2 at 2.10pm
Tuesday 7th March - Year 4 Book Look at 9am
Wednesday 8th March - Reception Stay and Play for group 3 at 2.10pm
Wednesday 8th March - Year 6 Book Look at 2.30pm.
Please come to the main reception for all of these events and you will be welcomed into the school hall.
Parents Evening - don’t forget to book - 84% already have!
Next half term there will be two opportunities to find out how your child is engaging with their learning. We are taking a hybrid approach to hopefully include everyone - a mixture of in school and virtually. Firstly, there is an invitation to come into school to look at books alongside your child. This will be a lovely opportunity for you to spend some time in school with your child showing you work of which they are really proud.
Secondly there is an opportunity for parents to meet virtually with your child’s teacher. We would like to invite you to a virtual parents’ meeting to discuss your child and to celebrate their achievements. We will be using the same system we used in the Autumn, called SchoolCloud. This will allow you to access the meeting from where ever you are, with no need to wait in school. This can always be tricky, especially if you have multiple children.
This platform has no app for you to install, you simply use your web browser, and you will be automatically connected with the teacher at the time you have booked in the appointment schedule. Each appointment will last ten minutes and start at the allotted time. You will then see the time and count down on the screen. Please note: when the countdown ends, the meeting is automatically closed and the next appointment is started, we have no control over this. Please log in and check the audio and visual before your appointment starts.
Within the program there is a facility to add a note when you book. If there is something specific which you would like to discuss, this will enable you to communicate it to the teacher before the meeting.
The available appointments will be on Wednesday 15th March and Wednesday 22rd March, from 2.00pm-5.30pm. Appointments can be booked from 4pm today by clicking on this link:
When booking, it is crucial that you use your child’s legal forename and surname – those recorded on our school management system. If any part of your child’s name is hyphenated, again it needs to be so when typing in their name. Your own name on Sims is now recorded with one of the following titles Miss, Mrs, Mr or Dr. The system will also ask for an email address so that a reminder can be sent out.
There are two links below which provide support on booking an appointment and how to access the virtual meeting. Please click to find out more.
A GUIDE TO BOOKING APPOINTMENTS
If you are struggling, please contact school asap and we can help.
Our Learning and Virtue Role Models
Please visit each class page to see which learning characters these children have demonstrated this week, they really have embodied all of our characters. We are really proud of you!
Role Models who have demonstrated virtues this week.
Our Whole School learning Role Models for this week.
Attendance
Office News
Now that we are in March and the lighter evenings are here, more and more people are walking home so do please ensure that we know that your child has your permission for this. Class teachers and the Office all need to know.
We seem to be having a lot of jumpers, cardigans and tracksuit tops going missing, often when the children are playing outside. They get overheated and remove outer tops - then forget to bring them in. They do get collected but often end up in other classes. It is ESSENTIAL that these items are labelled. Top Marque have some great stick on labels, you can also get very good ones online. Please do ensure you do this as otherwise, the chances of reuniting the garments with your child are slim and we know it is incredibly frustrating for parents, not to mention horribly expensive.
We are having a number of Prime bottles being brought into school - thankfully with water in. However, they are proving to be quite the distraction and managing to sneak out to break and lunch times. Please can I ask that a normal water bottle is brought into school. I understand there is a hype with Prime at the moment, but I would much rather this hype stays outside of the school gates. Thank you for your support with this.
I think a cold snap is on the way, but hopefully the sun will continue to shine. The mornings and the night are much lighter, which makes everyone feel happier. Enjoy the weekend with your family.
God Bless
Mrs Gregan