Friday 10th January
Dear Parents and Carers,
Happy New Year to you all. I hope you all had an enjoyable Christmas and New Year with your families and friends. It has been brilliant to see everyone back in school and talking to the children about their Christmas. I cannot tell you how enjoyable the build up to Christmas was at North Town – all the events came up in many conversations I had with family and friends during the festive season. In the final week we had a visit from Father Christmas. On Saturday 21st December, he sent me a photo of him outside a very famous street. Can you spot where he was?
Have a smashing weekend everyone!
Mr Braund
Wrap Around
Please can we ask that all parents and carers try to book places for Wrap Around as quickly as possible because there are days where we are full and the office team have to decline booking anyone else in. The office team will always try to accommodate but we have a limit of what we are prepared to accept and cannot go above this number.
Technology, Mobile Phones and Devices
At least once a year I will include information about mobile phones and devices in a newsletter to raise awareness of potential challenges with them. Over the holidays I watched a programme on Channel 4 about smartphones and it concerned me to see what children can access and the impact phones and technology can have.
My concern is ensuring that the children are using age-appropriate apps/websites and games. We want to make sure that our children are safe online and have the robust systems in place to safeguard them. As part of our computing curriculum, we do discuss computer safety. Can I please encourage all parents and carers to have these conversations with the children about this matter and also ensure parental controls are in place to ensure children are safeguarded when online.
Please see the age recommendation of specific apps and social media below:
Whatsapp – 16+
Snap Chat – 13+
Instagram – 13+
Tik Tok – 13+
Youtube 13+
We would really appreciate your ongoing support with such matters by checking phones from time to time and having the conversations with the children about how we communicate when using technology.
We really appreciate your support with this and working together with us.
Parents Evening Dates
Our spring term Parents Evening dates are Tuesday 25th February and Thursday 6th March.
Applying for a school place
This is a reminder that if you have a child due to start school in September the deadline for applications is Wednesday 15th January 2025. Please follow this link for more information and to apply:
Apply to start school for the first time
Maths parent workshops
This term, we are putting on some FREE parent workshops to support various areas of maths. Each workshop is 2 hours, will be handing out plenty of free resources to take away as well as some supermarket vouchers, just for attending! Below are all the dates and titles of the workshops:
Open to all parents, including nursery:
- Tuesday 14th January, 1pm-3pm at North Town School – Improving maths confidence
- Tuesday 21st January, 1pm-3pm at North Town School – Budgeting and Pocket Money
Open to year 5 and 6 parents only:
- Tuesday 28th January, 1pm-3pm at North Town School – Help your child enjoy SATs
- Tuesday 4th February, 1pm-3pm at North Town School – Conquer the calculator (with a FREE scientific calculator when attending)
- Tuesday 4th February, 7pm-9pm ONLINE – Get the Grade in maths SATs
- Sunday 9th February, 9am-11am ONLINE – Get the Grade in maths SATs
See Class Dojo for more information, check the events and sign up. The posters below include QR codes to secure your place. All parents are encouraged to attend, the more attendances we have, the more funding we can secure for your child’s education.
Coffee Mornings
Coffee mornings are held every other Friday
Come and join Mrs Screech and Mrs Duley for a hot drink, it’s a great opportunity to meet other parents.
DATES FOR THIS TERM:
17th January
31st January
14th February
28th February
14th March
28th March
Help For Families
Please access the link below for details of services to help and support families who may be experiencing difficulties
Universal-early-help-offer-information-sheet.pdf
Support Information for Separated Parents
Somerset Council have released some FREE online workshops for parents. They contain information and advice to help manage co-parenting, support children and have better communication with the other parent.
Please use the links below to access the workshops.
Workshop Schedule:
- Wednesday, 15 January, 9:30 AM – 10:30 AM:
A Separated Parents’ Guide to Successful Co-Parenting Communications. Register Here
- Wednesday, 15 January, 2 PM – 3 PM:
Managing Handovers and Transitions for Separated Parents. Register Here
- Tuesday, 21 January, 2 PM – 3 PM:
Helping Your Children Navigate Separation and Divorce. Register Here
- Thursday, 23 January, 9:30 AM – 10:30 AM:
Managing Handovers and Transitions for Separated Parents. Register Here
- Wednesday, 29 January, 7 PM – 8 PM:
A Separated Parents’ Guide to Successful Co-Parenting Communications. Register Here
- Tuesday, 4 February, 7 PM – 8 PM:
Helping Your Children Navigate Separation and Divorce. Register Here
Cricket
Please see the photos of the children who took part in a cricket event at Taunton School
Huish Tigers Basketball
Huish Tigers (for boys and girls) have some space in their basketball clubs, starting from as young as 3 years old up to 12 years old. This could be a great way to get some physical activity and improve skills in some sport outside of school. More information can be found on the link/poster below.
https://store.huish.ac.uk/products/huish-sport/huish-tigers-basketball