Dear Parents and Carers,
I cannot tell you enough on how delighted I was to see everyone on Wednesday, 380 (EYFS haven’t started yet) smiling and excited children walking into school ready for the new school year! They have made a brilliant start to the year. They look so smart and clearly proud to wear their North Town uniform. It has been lovely to chat with so many of the children over the past few days to hear about their summer and what they have been up to.
Have a lovely weekend
Mr Braund
New start and finish times
Thank you for remembering our new start and finish times. The gates will open daily at 8:40am. We had feedback on the queue going out onto the path. Please can I ask that parents make full use of the pathway between the front gate and the gate where the Senior Leadership stand. We are lucky to have such a long and wide path and need parents to move up a little and make full use of the width of the path. The gates will open at 3:15pm daily for collection.
Wood Street Car Park
A huge thank you to Mrs Rose and Mr Perry for support with this matter. We have been informed that parents can still park and drop off BUT must be back at their car within 20 minutes. I am waiting for official confirmation on this but am really pleased to hear this positive news. I would encourage parents using this car park for drop off to leave a note on your dashboard that states ‘North Town School Drop Off’ or ‘North Town School Pick Up.’
Paul Reading
I am very much aware how lucky we are to have such a brilliant caretaker at North Town. Paul absolutely loves being part of the North Town team and takes much pride in all the work he does at the school. I wanted to congratulate Paul on an amazing achievement. His band (of which Paul is the lead singer and guitarist) performed in front of an audience of more than 3000 at the Echo Arena in Liverpool! I was blown away when I heard this! Well done Paul.
Year 6 visits to secondary school
If you are planning on taking your child to an open day at one of the secondary schools please inform the school office.
Attendance
Studies have shown that attendance is key to children achieving their full potential and it has been proven that children with less than 90% attendance do not reach this. Please do remember that your child’s attendance is so important.
Menu
We are hoping to make the next menu live on Monday 11th September, please remember to get your orders in! Thursday October 5th is our school Census day; please can everyone order a school meal on this day as it gives the school and your children extra funding.
For those going on the year 6 Charterhouse residential trip on the 4th, 5th and 6th October please do not order your child a meal for these days.
Gate
You will have noticed that we have a new entry buzzer system, please follow the instructions on the screen to use.
Please can I remind you to ensure that the gate is fully closed behind you when coming in and leaving, and not to hold the gate open for anyone else.
Pupil Premium
We would like to remind you all to take the opportunity to apply for Free School Meals, as if entitled this will mean that you are eligible for pupil premium as well as the free meals. This also means that the school will receive additional funding.
Currently, at North Town we also offer a pupil premium grant for those who qualify as the children of service families or those entitled to free school meals and this can be used to spend on trips/residentials/music lessons or school uniform.
It can really make a difference to you and the school, please don’t delay – apply today!
Please click on the link below to apply online.
Free school meals (somerset.gov.uk)
Also remember that all children in Years R – 2 receive universal infant free school meals regardless of circumstance. This does not entitle you to the pupil premium grant unless you have already met the criteria assessed by applying.
Medication
Please could we remind you that if your child has any medication needed at school that you will need to bring this to the school office on their first day into school. This will need to be accompanied with a medicine form. This has been sent to you via Parentmail (where we were previously aware) and we will also have copies of this at the office for you to complete if needed. Please also remember to let the office know if your child has been diagnosed with any condition since they were last in school, it is really important. Please note that we can only administer prescribed medication within school.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding this, please do not hesitate in contacting the school office.
School Uniform Policy
I also wanted to remind all parents and carers of our Uniform Policy which we sent out in July:
We know that many of you will be thinking ahead and buying new uniform for your children in readiness for their return to school in September, but may we remind you of the following included in our school uniform policy:
- School shoes should be black in colour – Boots are not permissible.
- Trouser/Shorts/Pinafores and Skirts should be grey in colour.
- Green school cardigan or jumper
- The children should wear white shirts not polo shirts, along with a school tie.
- Long hair should be tied back with hairbands and clips preferably in uniform colours.
- No jewellery is allowed other than stud earrings.
- No nail varnish.
Could we also remind you about the importance of naming your child’s belongings. If you see what ends up in lost property on a weekly basis you would be surprised. Anything unclaimed will be used as second-hand uniform or placed in the textile bank near our front entrance.
KS2 Choir
Choir will start back in a few weeks’ time with further communications to follow. If your child has previously taken part, they will need to re-apply to join once the form has been sent on Parentmail
Key Dates for the Autumn Term
AUTUMN 1
Class Expectation Meetings – Tuesday 12th September – Years 1, 3 and 5
Class Expectation Meetings – Wednesday 13th September – Year 6
Class Expectation Meetings – Thursday 14th September – Years 2 and 4
Friday 15th September 2023 – Pippins in Full Time
Friday 15th September 2023 – Year 4 visit to the Museum of Somerset
Friday 22nd September 2023 – Whole
Wednesday 4th October – Friday 6th October Year 6 Residential
Friday 6th October 2023 – MUFTI Day & World Multiplication Day
Tuesday 17th October – Parents Evening – 3:30 pm – 6:15 pm
Friday 20th October 2023 – INSET Day School Closed to Children
Saturday 21st October to Sunday 29th October 2023 – Half Term Holiday