February Newsletter 2020

28 Jan February Newsletter 2020

Message from Mrs Goodfellow & Our Governors

Dear Parents/Carers,

A new year always brings changes and at school it is no different. You might have noticed that our pupil numbers are increasing and we are at a point where we need to increase our staffing to match. So, we are working very hard to find the right people for our posts. We have just appointed two new lunchtime staff to replace some who have left but we are still looking to appoint more. So if you are interested, look on our website for the application form so you can apply. If you wish to complete an application to join our team, please submit it to the school office by Friday 7^th February. We will be doing interviews again on Friday 14^th February. We are looking forward to having Mrs Wall and Miss Welsh back from maternity leave quite soon but Miss Newby and Miss Tulip will also be staying with us until at least the Summer holidays. We are still in the process of appointing a part-time caretaker following Tina Thompson’s reduction of hours and we say goodbye this week to Pauline Mitchell who is retiring as a cleaner after spending 24 years of her life cleaning our lovely school. We will miss her! Congratulations also go to Miss Jopling who has now been permanently appointed to our school office. So, as you can see, there has been quite a lot of changes in the first few weeks of this year.

Look out for the Dance Festival dates as everything is being planned at the moment and I have also heard that the School Council are planning a pyjama day!!!

See you all soon,

Mrs Goodfellow.

Important Dates

• • • • Wednesday 5 February: Year 1 trip to the Discovery Museum
• Thursday 6 February: Year 1/2 trip to the Discovery Museum
• Friday 7 February: Year 2 trip to the Discovery Museum
• Thursday 13 February: Year 5 trip to Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens
• Monday 24 February: Bugs N Stuff Workshop (Reception and Nursery)
• Wednesday 25 March: Year 2 Forest School trip
• Tuesday 31 March: Dance Festival Show 1 (9.30am)
• Tuesday 31 March: Dance Festival show 2 (1.45pm)
• Wednesday 1 April: Dance Festival Show 3 (9.30am)

This half term ends on 14th February and term begins again on the 24th February.

Term dates for 2020/2021 are now available.

Announcements

• We’re very excited to share the news that Miss Smith welcomed a baby boy to her family shortly before Christmas and we send her huge congratulations on her new arrival.
• Our Toddler Group meets every Tuesday & Wednesday, from 9:30 to 11:00 am, in the Community Room, where there are plenty toys, games, and activities to keep little ones occupied.  Children from birth up to pre-school age are welcome. For only £1 per session, come along and enjoy time with friends and meet new people in a relaxed environment.  Juice and biscuits are provided for the children and tea and coffee for the adults.  Time: 9.30 a.m. – 11.00 p.m.      Cost: £1.00 per session. No Booking Necessary.
• The Trailblazer Mental Health Support Teams are now supporting your child’s school and we would like to invite you to an informal Parent/Carer Forum on Wednesday, 5 February 2020 from 5:00–6:00pm at Whickham School and Sports College, Burnthouse Lane, Whickham  NE16 5AR.  It is important to us that we listen to the views of both children and young people and also their parents and carers in order to provide the best service possible.If you would like to attend could you send a response to: ngccg.cyptrailblaizer@nhs.net.
• Well Done to Faye D in Yr 1/2 who has won a runners up prize in the Dolce Snowman Competition. We hope she is enjoying her prize.
• Mrs Judge has asked for some help sourcing materials for Forest Schools.  Please check our list of equipment and send it if in if you can help.

Regular Reminders

Reading Books

This year we have been lucky enough to have brand new reading books for children to take home to read.  Unfortunately a number of these books have been returned to school damaged or defaced and a number of them have been lost. In school we teach the children to look after and respect their own property and that of others, including the school.  Please can we work together to promote this idea with the children, in school and at home, to the mutual benefit of all children having access to the full range of books in the scheme? To prevent the damage caused by a leaking water bottle, please avoid putting a water bottle in your child’s book bag. If a book is lost/damaged it is the school policy to send a letter home which explains a charge of £3.00 to replace the book.

Thank you for your ongoing co-operation

Inconsiderate Parking Around School

As a school we like to prioritise the safety of our children and local residents by ensuring that parking in the local area is both legal and considerate. We regularly get complaints from parents and residents linked to inconsiderate and on occasions, dangerous driving and parking.

If you can walk to school, please do, or even consider parking a distance away and walking the final half-mile or so. Our pupils would also enjoy cycling or scooting to school if this is practical. But if you really need to drive to school, please make sure you avoid the Keep Clear zig-zag markings and yellow lines when parking. To help ensure this happens, Gateshead Council staff carry out regular enforcement and issue Penalty Charge Notices (tickets). There have been several instances of vehicles causing obstruction to the main car park gates at drop-off times, preventing our staff from being able to enter the car park.

We also need to remind parents that when dropping your children off or picking them up, please don’t sit in your car with the engine running.  Firstly, it is illegal and could result in a fine but more importantly it is affecting asthma sufferers and the environment of our school community. We realise it is cold but please turn off your engine when parked.

Many thanks for your help and cooperation with this matter.

We also need to remind parents and students that football is not permitted on the yard before the start of school.

SIMS Pay

The integration of SIMS Pay at the end of the summer term has been a great success so far. As well as the administrative cost and time savings to the school, it is a much more secure way for parent/carers to send money to school and we hope that you will find that paying in this way is also much more convenient. From this term all school trips, clubs and events will be available through SIMS Pay. If you require any assistance with creating your SIMS Pay account please contact the school office.

Breakfast & Tea Time Club bookings

We politely remind you that the deadline for booking Breakfast Club & Tea Time Club is Thursday prior to the week required. Registers for the clubs are printed each Friday for the following week, to allow us to ensure we have an appropriate number of staff and food supplies for all clubs. We continue to have a number of parent/carers booking their child into clubs over the weekend following the deadline, meaning a number of children are turning up unexpectedly on Monday morning.

If you require a last minute booking into either club, we ask that you first contact the school office to check availability as places are limited or alternatively for Breakfast Club bookings you can contact the staff directly each morning from 7.30am, by choosing Option 4 from the main switchboard. If you are told that space is available, you can log in to your SIMS Pay account to make payment.

Your ongoing cooperation with SIMS Pay is very much appreciated.

PTFA News

We would like to invite all parents and carers to a PTFA meeting on Friday 31st January at 9am in the Community Room. Please bring along any ideas you might have to help fund raise for our school.

Did you know you can do a small thing that really helps our school?  Follow us on Facebook and Twitter and share our posts with your friends and family.  That’s it!