23rd September 2022

Dear Parents and Carers,

Another week has flown by at North Town and it is starting to feel colder in the mornings! We are going to be sending newsletters on a more regular basis on a Friday to keep you up to date with everything happening at the school and nursery. We are hoping that this will reduce the amount of Parent Mails we send out. Newsletters will also be uploaded onto our school website so that you can access previous ones.

Richard Carpenter, Amber Packer Hughes and Gaynor Lewis

I want to express my sincere thanks to three exceptional governors who have come to the end of their terms as governors. I have been lucky enough to work with Richard, Amber and Gaynor for a few months and have really appreciated their support and guidance. A governor role is voluntary and something that takes a lot of time and commitment. Richard, Amber & Gaynor have been connected with North Town for a considerable length of time. They know they are welcome to visit us at North Town as much as they can and that they will always be welcome at school events.

We will be thanking them and presenting them with gifts at our Carol Service in December.

North Town as a Polling Station

North Town has been used as a polling station for many years and this causes huge issues for the school community. I would really appreciate your support by writing to our local MP and asking for a change of premises for any polling days. We are aware that a small handful of schools are used but our issue is there is not a suitable and accessible place to have a station at North Town without it impacting on the health and safety of our children.

Harvest Assembly

Reverend Fabian and Reverend Dave have asked if we could move our Harvest Assembly to Tuesday 18^th October at 2pm. We are currently looking to see if we can invite Year 6 parents to the assembly. We will keep you updated. I am aware that I put in the last newsletter that all KS2 parents are invited but sadly our school hall does not have the capacity to do this. I am sorry that this is not possible.

New Website

Thank you for the comments we have received about the new website and also our curriculum video. We feel the video really does capture the life of North Town School and Nursery. We are pleased with the website but it is work in progress and we will continue to add information regularly. Our newsletters are being loaded on to the actual web page so that parents can translate them. Please do check our website regularly for any updates and further information.

Open Mornings

We will be holding two open mornings for prospective parents with children who will be starting school in September 2023. These will be on 12^th October and 9^th November. Both dates will start at 9:30am.

Coffee Mornings

Don’t forget to stop off and have a coffee or tea and some biscuits on us every Wednesday from 8:45 – 10:00. We recognise that some of families with children in KS1 have missed out on meeting other parents and carers due to Covid and we want to provide everyone with this opportunity to meet up.

Curriculum Update

A reminder that next week we will be holding our Year Group Expectations Meetings for parents/ carers of children in Years 1-6 from 3:30pm-4:30pm on the following days:

The meetings are an opportunity for your child’s class teacher to explain to you their expectations for the year and how best you can support your child and the School. It will also be an opportunity to inform you of any key dates for the year and for you to ask any questions that you may have. There will be a crèche facility available in Pippins Classrooms for school-aged children only.

We are confident you will agree that this important meeting is a great opportunity to ensure your child enjoys another successful year at North Town and look forward to seeing you there.

Helping with maths at home

We are inviting all parents to a ‘helping with maths at home’ event at the school on Thursday 6th October at 1:45pm. This will be led by Maths consultant, Jo Cronin. Jo is well known in Somerset schools and has endless ideas on how parents and carers can help with maths.

School Meals

Please can all parents and carers ensure that orders for meals are completed by the required deadlines to give our office and kitchen teams time to prepare the meals.

School Gates

Please could we politely ask parents not to hold open the school gates if they see another parent or person approaching as this could pose a security risk with the potential for persons unknown/nor expected on the school site. All visitors and parents should press the buzzer and wait for the office/nursery to acknowledge them.

Please could we also remind you that the gate should not be propped open using one of the school owls other than by a staff member.

Reminder of Upcoming Dates:

Year Group Expectation Meetings – all taking place from 3:30 pm – 4:30 pm

Friday 30th September – World Multiplication Tables Day

Monday 3rd October – Friday 7th –   Year 6 Residential to Charterhouse

Friday 7th October – Mufti Day

Wednesday 12th October (9:30-10:30) – Open Morning for Prospective Parents

Tuesday 18th October – KS2 Harvest Festival Service in School

Wednesday 19th October (4:30-7:30) – Parents’ Evening

Friday 21st October – School INSET Day

Saturday 22nd October – Sunday 30th October – SCHOOL CLOSED (Half term)

Monday 31st October – SCHOOL OPEN (Autumn Term 2)

Tuesday 1st November (3:30-6:30) – Parents’ Evening

Yours sincerely

Mark Braund

HeadTeacher