Parent Newsletter September 2019

13 Sep Parent Newsletter September 2019

Message from Mrs Goodfellow

Dear Parents/Carers,

Welcome back to a new Autumn Term where we hope to be able to refresh the clubs we have on offer and have some lovely activities for you and your families to take part in. I asked parents and carers in the last newsletter if they had any ideas for new clubs for our children. Surprisingly, there were no suggestions made. Our children are currently discussing in class what they want to happen in clubs this year. Once that is all settled, we will send out letters inviting the children to attend clubs they have an interest in. We are also still looking for a football coach to create a mixed football team and take them to league matches, so if you know of anyone suitable, please let us know.

Breakfast Club and Tea Time Club both run as they did last year. If you need any information regarding these two clubs please ring our school office.

Our school pupil number is increasing and some of our classes are full now. So, if you have family members wishing to admit children to our nursery or reception class, or any other class for that matter, please urge them to register their child’s name as soon as possible to guarantee a place. We have had to turn children away last week for the first time.

I hope to see lots of you soon at the reception class workshops for parents or one of the three Macmillan coffee mornings.

Best wishes,

Mrs J. Goodfellow (Headteacher)

Important Dates

• 9^th Sept –   Reception & Secondary School Admissions 2020 applications open this week.
• 13^th Sept – Year 6 Residential – Dukeshouse Wood. Parent/Carers can come into school to wave the children off from 12.30pm.
• 17^th Sept – Y3 Trip – Woodhorn Museum
• 18^th Sept – Year 1 & Year 2 Trip – Saltwell Park
• 18^th Sept –   Reception – Parent introduction to Maths Workshop – AM session
•                         Reception – Parent introduction to Read Write Inc Workshop – PM session
• 19^th Sept – Reception – Parent introduction to Read Write Inc Workshop – AM session
•                       Reception – Parent introduction to Maths Workshop – PM session
• 25^th, 26^th & 27^th Sept – MacMillan Coffee Mornings – Three dates this year!
• 1^st Oct – Reception trip to Gibside National Trust
• 10^th Oct – School Photographs – Individual and Family Portraits now taken in Autumn term in a change from previous years.
• TBC – Harvest Festival – A further announcement will follow.

Announcements

• This weekend is the final Staiths food market of the year and an arts in the community event will be taking place. Click through to the Facebook event for more details – Art in the Market – Kinder Crafts

• We are collecting stickers to complete our Aldi’s Kit for School’s Poster.  When you spend £30 in Aldi, you will receive a Team GB sticker (don’t forget to ask if you don’t receive one) and we will add it to our school poster.  We need to collect 300 to fill our poster and we will receive some sports kit and we could win £20,000 for our school.  Please ask your friends and relatives to collect them too.

• There have been some changes to the gate opening times.  Morning gate times will remain the same. In the afternoon, KS1 gates will open at 2.55pm to allow parents to collect from the nursery and the gates will remain open for Reception and KS1 parents.  KS2 gates will open at 3.15pm.  Both gates will be closed as soon as possible after completion of school activities.

• We’d like to give a big thank you to Ms Crozier for nominating our school to Stepping Stones Nursery to receive a defibrillator and secure storage for it.  The nursery recently raised enough money to donate the life saving equipment and Ms Crozier kindly nominated us to receive it.

• Casting Call for BBC1’s hit show ‘Eat Well for Less’.

BBC1’s hit show ‘Eat Well For Less?’ is BACK and looking for households to take part!

Eat Well For Less? is on the hunt for families / households looking to save money on their food shop!

Is the cost of your weekly food shop spiralling out of control?

Perhaps you’re desperate to save but under pressure to keep providing the household favourites?

Or do your health requirements affect your diet? Are you in need of some new inspiration?

Maybe you need help adjusting to a new financial situation?

Or are you just bored of buying and cooking the same foods every week?

… Masterchef’s Gregg Wallace & award winning grocer Chris Bavin are on a mission to prove that it is possible for families to save money on their food budget without scrimping on taste and nutrition. They hope that by analysing the shopping habits of UK families, they can help to show where we can source the best and cheapest quality food.

We’re currently on the hunt for families / households to take part in our new series – so get in touch with the team TODAY!

Email: eatwell@rdftelevision.com or Call: 0117 970 7682

*Any information which you give us will be processed in accordance with our Privacy Notice, a copy of which is available on request*

• We would like to ask for donations for Forest School.  If anyone has any old wellington boots, nail varnish, gloss paint and/or clear varnish please bring them to school.   Please also provide your child with a waterproof coat when they do Forest School.

Regular Reminders

• We would like to take this opportunity to remind parents that school attendance is extremely important.  If you do need to report an absence, you should follow the school absence reporting procedure. Holidays should be avoided during term times and any pupil leave of absence must be made in advance. Holiday dates and Leave of Absence Forms are available from our website or school office.

• The wearing of uniform is an essential part of being a pupil at Riverside Primary Academy. We want children to understand the importance of wearing appropriate clothing and taking pride in their appearance, whilst developing a sense of belonging to our Academy.

  A reminder that our school uniform is:

  • Bottle green sweatshirt/cardigan
  • Emerald green polo shirt
  • Black or Grey trousers/skirt
  • Black sensible shoes

• Jewellery

  You are reminded our school policy states children are NOT permitted to wear jewellery in school.  Rings, chains, earrings and sleepers represent a considerable accident risk in physical education and play activities.  Children who wear jewellery at school will be asked to take it off and hand this into the school office until the end of the day. Any lost items found in school will be sent to the school office.

  Ear piercing should ONLY BE DONE at the start of the summer holidays as newly pierced ears require stud ear rings and sports activities, including swimming are not permitted whilst wearing ear rings of any kind.

• PE Kit

  You should now be aware which day your child’s class have PE. Please ensure your child has the correct PE kit in school on the appropriate day (except Reception class during the Autumn Term).

  School PE kit is;

  • T-shirt (in allocated House colour)
  • Black shorts
  • Plimsolls
  • Trainers for outdoor
  • All kit should be kept in a named PE bag
  • During the winter months, it is acceptable for children to wear tracksuit trousers/tops for outdoor games.

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

Please remember if you require a last minute booking into either club, you must first contact the school office to check availability as places are limited.

PTA News

The date of the first PTA meeting will follow soon.

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