16 Jul Newsletter – July 2021
Message from Mrs Goodfellow & Our Governors
It feels like the longest time since I was able to give everyone a proper send off for the school holidays. I hope you’re all looking forward to it as much as I am! There is a lot of information in this newsletter so please do take a few moments to have a look so we can all be ready and prepared in September. It remains on the website so you’re welcome to check back on it at any time. Please do note the updated uniform guidance as well as reminders about jewellery and ear piercings in particular. We will also be reverting to our normal homework policy in September and staff will begin issuing termly projects again.
I want to take this opportunity to wish a very fond farewell to Mr Peter Wears. He has been our caretaker here for 6 years and has decided to retire at the end of this term. We will miss him and thank him for all of his hard work. All the very best for the future, Peter! We are also sending a fond farewell to Miss Keri Fleming who is moving on to another school that is closer to home for her. We wish her the best of luck in her new role.
Thanks to Dr Bernard Groen who has stepped down from our Governing Body this term as he has moved to the South to take up a new role within the NHS. His input into the governing body was invaluable.
We welcome Mr Andrew Moore as our new caretaker. He has been settling into his role for the last few weeks and you will have seen him around school.
And last but no means least, we can finally send wedding congratulations to two of our staff who have had to repeatedly rearrange their plans in the last year. Miss Bradley will return as Mrs Knott and Miss Newbie will become Mrs McCormack. We wish them both our heartiest congratulations on their weddings and all the best for long and happy marriages.
Best wishes,
Mrs Goodfellow.
Important Dates
School will close to pupils for the Summer holiday on Tuesday 20th July and the term begins again on the Tuesday 7th September 2021.
Monday 6th September is an INSET day.
Staff will still be in school until Friday 23rd of July.
Announcements
- SIMS Pay is getting a new name. From 26th July it will be called Pay360 Educational Payments. It’s not quite as snappy, but we wanted to warn you prior to the change. The new link is pay360educationpayments.com
- Uniform guidance has been updated for next year and students are expected to be back in uniform when we return. Please check the MyEd app for your messages and further information. Children will continue to wear PE kit for school on the days that they have PE.
- The rules on jewellery in school remain the same and earrings should not be worn. If you a planning any ear piercings then please do them in the first week of the holidays so they can be healed for the return to school.
- School gate times are returning to normal. They will open at 8.45am for school to start at 9.00am and the school day will finish at 3.20pm. We would like all children to come into school at 8.55am to allow five minutes for possessions to be put away and begin learning at 9.00am.
- Breakfast and Tea Time club will run as they normally would.
- Children can continue to bring in their own water bottle. Please don’t send in juice or milk.
- Please try and continue to read with your children over the holidays for around 15 minutes a day. It makes such a huge difference to their progress.
- If you are interested in becoming an in-school volunteer, please either inform your child’s teacher or the school office. This can be regular or occasional and all help is welcome.
- Our Spanish language lessons have received a boost this term as we were the lucky winners of 6 weeks of free lessons from Lingotots! Our year 3 classes have both been receiving an additional 30 minutes of tutoring a week.
- Toddler Group will be returning as soon as we are able. We hope to have more news on this in September.
- SATs assessments have been cancelled this year but will return for the next academic year. More information is available here.
Staff for 2021/2022
Class Supervisor Teacher TA support
Nursery Mrs Gray Mrs Sellers Mrs Walker
Reception Mrs Lockey Mrs Docherty Miss Armstrong
Year 1 Miss Naylor Miss Newbie Mrs Hogg
Year 1 / 2 Mrs Jones Mrs Sumner & Mrs Ritchie Mrs Jones & Mrs Cheng
Year 2 Miss Harrison Miss Bradley & Miss Charlton Mrs McClelland
Year 3 Mrs Nagaralmath Mrs Wall Mrs Hui & Mrs Lendrum
Year 3 / 4 Mrs Lendrum Miss Heron Mrs Crawford
Year 4 Mrs Leech Mrs Gordon & Mrs Blance Mrs Leech & Mrs Lendrum
Year 5b Mrs Harvey Miss Welsh
Year 5a Mrs Dawson Mrs Langley
Year 6 Mrs Muñoz-Rodriguez Mr Carter Mrs Dixon
Swimming
We would love to see more of our children swimming outside of school time. For the older children, this can help them to practise what they have learned during school swimming lessons. For younger children, it will help to build confidence in the water and prepare them for school swimming lessons.
Gateshead offer GO Gateshead cards and GO Gateshead Access cards. These cards make swimming more affordable for individuals and families.
Below is some information about who can apply and the costs. If you would like support completing the form to apply, or would like to discuss any of this further, please ask to speak to Mrs Wall. (Please note: This is a scheme offered by the council, not Riverside Primary Academy.)
Swimming (per session)
Standard (non-cardholder) £4.90
Adult (GO Gateshead cardholder) £3.90
Students and 65+ (GO Gateshead cardholder) £2.90
Juniors (GO Gateshead cardholder) £2.60
GO Gateshead Access cardholder £1.70
Under 4s FREE
(Prices accurate at time of printing.)
Benefits:
Discounted prices on activities, lessons, classes, sports and soft-play – any time, any day.
What is a GO Gateshead card?
A discount card that lets you experience sports and leisure facilities across all GO Gateshead leisure centres, at a reduced rate.
Who can apply?
Everyone! You don’t even need to be resident of the wonderful borough of Gateshead.
You do have to purchase this card and pay a renewal every six months.
17+ £10
0-17 years (resident) £1
0-17 years (non-resident) £2
What is a GO Gateshead Access card?
A discount card that let’s you experience sports and leisure facilities across all seven GO Gateshead leisure centres, at a reduced rate. The GO Gateshead Access card is slightly different from the GO Gateshead card in that’s only available to Gateshead residents and their dependents who are in receipt of a qualifying benefit.
Who can apply?
Gateshead residents and their dependents, who are in receipt of certain benefits.
This costs £1 every six months.
Regular Reminders
Nursery Registration
All parents of children under three years old who wish to attend our school nursery need to register for a place to ensure they are allocated one. If you need to register a child for nursery, please contact the school office.
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 becoming cold but please turn off your engine when parked.
Many thanks for your help and cooperation with this matter.
MyEd App
We have launched the MyEd app in school as a simpler and more cost effective way of keeping in touch with our community. It is simple to setup and you will receive all updates directly to your smartphone. It is available on both Apple and Android phones. We are encouraging all parents to use it as it is a huge cost saver for us and it means we can spend money on classroom equipment and improvements to our school instead of text messages.
If you are having any problems with the app and getting it setup, 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
Until further notice, PTFA meetings will not be held as we can’t organise many in person events. If you’re interested in being involve with the PTFA in the future, please leave your details at the school office or speak to Mrs Clare Freemantle during the school run at the KS2 gate.
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!
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.