NEWSLETTER – JULY 2022
Dear parents/carers and children,
We will be saying sad goodbyes to Mr. Chapman and Miss Bissix who are both leaving North Town to new teaching posts closer to home. Miss. Smith will also be leaving the school office team for a new job based within the Richard Huish Trust, which means we will still get to see her! We wish them all well for the future.
We will be welcoming two new teachers to North Town in September, Mrs. Littlechild will be working alongside Mrs. Hayes in Court Royal while Mrs. Lister is on her maternity leave. Miss Chalcroft will be working alongside Mrs. Kerton as a teacher in 5CK.
NEW ACADEMIC YEAR
A reminder that Monday 5th September will be the first day back to school for everyone in Years 1 – 6. The new reception children have slightly different starting arrangements and we look forward to welcoming them.
Please find attached a calendar for the school year which includes key dates for you.
STRUCTURE OF THE SCHOOL DAY
We have carefully considered the structure of the school day for the next academic year and also took onboard comments and feedback from staff and parents. Our timings from September are as follows:
Start of the Day
8:30-8:40am – Key Stage 1 children only
8:40am – Siblings
8:45am – Key Stage 2 children
8:50am – Gates closed
Breaktime
All – 10:15-10:30am
Lunchtime
EY and KS1 Lunchtime 11:40 – 12:50
KS2 Lunchtime 12:10 – 1:10
End of the Day
3:00-3:10pm – Key Stage 1 children only
3:10pm – Siblings
3:15pm – Key Stage 2 children
3:20pm – Gates closed
You will see we are closing the gates ten minutes earlier in the morning so that we can start lessons promptly and will also be closing the gates at the end of the day at 3:20.
The final change is we would like KS1 parents to walk their child/ren to the class door. KS2 parents are welcome to do the same but we have made this optional.
FUNDING REQUESTS
Thank you to all of the funding suggestions sent through in response to the recent Parentmail.
NO TOY DAY
Instead of having a toy day on the last day of term, Mr. Braund has asked the teachers to provide some fun class based activities for the children to take part in.
HOUSE TREAT WINNERS
Congratulations to Mendip House who are this terms winners of the house treat. Mendip House will be celebrating with a visit to French Weir Park and an ice-lolly. Well done to everyone in Mendip House.
READ A RAINBOW AWARDS
On Tuesday we celebrated all the children who completed the Read A Rainbow. They joined the Senior Leadership team in the library for a celebration party, eating cake and collecting their certificates and badges. I am very proud of all the children, and thank you parents/carers for supporting your child at home with their reading. The benefit of this support is huge in ensuring your child progresses with their reading, so thank you.
Congratulations Everyone!
ECO CLUB
Many congratulations to the school’s Eco Club, who have successfully achieved their ‘green flag award’. The award demonstrates that the school is determined to become a more sustainable place to be at and is working hard to reduce waste, as well as promoting more biodiverse areas across the school. This year the Eco Club have overseen the school’s class planters and green space, ensuring that the school is a much more biodiverse setting. Children have also made a conscious attempt to promote more sustainable ideas throughout each class i.e. energy wastage signs, and have actively reduced energy wastage across the school, through litter picking. The green flag award shows that as a school we are doing our bit to develop a greater awareness surrounding sustainability and current climate change issues. Well done – Eco Club!!
WRAP AROUND CARE
We are making plans to expand our current provision for wrap around care in the near furture.
WET MORNINGS
If you receive a message to indicate the wet morning procedure is in place. Please bring your child to school no earlier than 8.30 am and take them straight to the classroom door. If it is a wet afternoon and you receive a text message, please arrive at your normal time and collect from the class room door.
UNIFORM EXPECTATIONS
A reminder of our expectations for school uniform as follows:
- Long hair should be tied up
- Children should not be wearing nail varnish to school.
- Jewellery is not permitted with the exception of stud earrings only. No hoop earrings, bangles, bracelets or necklaces.
- Watches are permitted for children from Year 3 upwards.
We are seeing a lot more children wearing trainers to school, we allowed relaxation of the rules during the lockdown periods but kindly request that your child wears school shoes and not trainers. This will be enforced more rigorously from September. Thank you for your co-operation.
UPDATED GOVERNMENT GUIDELINES FOR COVID & ABSENCE
From Friday 1st April, the guidance for managing COVID-19 in education settings changed as part of the Government’s next steps for living with the virus. Updated guidance advises that:
- Children with a positive COVID-19 test result should try to stay at home and avoid contact with other people for 3 days, which is when they are most infectious.
- Children who are unwell and have a high temperature should stay at home and avoid contact with other people. They can go back to school or nursery when they no longer have a high temperature, and they are well enough to attend.
Since the start of the pandemic, we have always followed the Government’s guidance for education settings and we intend to continue with this approach. We would like to thank you for your continued support in working with us to minimise any further disruption to the children’s education.
You can read more about the Government’s living with COVID-19 plan here:
Government sets out next steps for living with COVID – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
SUN CREAM & SUN HATS
With the warmer weather hopefully approaching, please would you apply sun cream to your child before they come to school and provide your child with a cap/sun hat to wear as we like to take our learning outside of the classroom whenever possible. Please ensure the cap/sun hat is clearly named. Also, sunglasses are not permitted unless for medical purposes. Please note that the children should not bring sunglasses into school. Many thanks
WEATHER APPROPRIATE CLOTHING
Please could you make sure you always send your child to school with a coat as the British Summer Weather can be very unpredictable!
ILLNESS ABSENCE
If your child is unwell and not able to attend school, please ring 01823 284676 select option 1 and leave a message detailing your child’s name, class and reason for illness. It is really important that we know what illness your child has, as it has an impact on other children or staff. Please ring the school and update us every day that your child is absent from school. Thank you.
LOOKING AHEAD – DATES FOR THE DIARY
|
Year 6 trip to Crealy Park |
Thursday 21st July 2022 |
|
Year 6 Leavers Service – 10:00 am at St. James Church |
Friday 22nd July 2022 |
|
Last day of Term |
Friday 22nd July 2022 |
|
First Day of Summer Holidays |
Saturday 23rd July 2022 |
|
Last Day of Summer Holidays |
Sunday 4th September 2022 |
Yours sincerely,
Mark Braund
Head Teacher