Dear Parents/Carers,
I hope everyone has had the opportunity to enjoy the lovely and very warm September weather this week. It has certainly made school seem a very sunny and positive place as we settle into the new routines and timetables. After two weeks I can certainly see the pupils and staff fully adjusted to the way school is run and hopefully we can now focus on learning and getting the children caught up and ready to move forward.
September Re-Opening
The small changes we made to some of the times this week seem to have made life a little easier for everyone, reduced waiting times, particularly after school but without hopefully affecting the smooth running of the school day. The times are:
Years 3 and 4 arriving between 8:30am and 8:45am and departing at 2:45pm.
Years 5 and 6 arriving between 8:45am and 9:00am and departing at 3:00pm.
We will constantly review these times as we go through the term, particularly when we move towards late autumn and winter when the weather is colder. Please try and keep as close to these times as possible to allow a smooth start to the school day. I have noticed this week that almost all parents are now keeping to these times, which is great. As I mentioned above we have been incredibly lucky with the dry warm weather this term and this has made life so much easier. We will wait and see how we manage our first wet morning! The pupils are getting very used to their timetable within the school day and keeping to their year groups “bubbles”.
• There will be protocols in place if a pupil is taken ill while in school with suspected Covid-19. If this happens parents will be contacted to collect their child as soon as possible and arrange a test. We cannot take a pupil back into school until they have been tested and the result is known. If it is positive they will have to isolate for 10 days from the first day of being unwell, if it is negative and they are feeling well they can return to school. Of course we will still expect parents to not send their children to school if they are unwell.
• We have resumed the Breakfast Club from 7:45am to 8:45am and are taking bookings for the After School Club from 2:45pm to 6:30pm. Breakfast Club is £2 per day and After School Club is £5 per day up till 4:30pm and £10 per day up till 6:30pm with a reduced rate of £40 if you book for the week. You can use the clubs every day or just on days when you need them.
• You do not need to book for the Breakfast Club, just pay as you use it either daily or weekly. For the After School Club you will need to book a place. Application forms are available on the school website or at the school office and you can pay for both of the clubs online. This would be a good time to make use of these clubs as the reduced prices are temporary so you may not get as good a deal later in the school year!
Uniform
From now on we will be selling uniform every second week in school on Wednesday mornings from 9:00am to 9:30am in the school library. The next sale will be next Wednesday 23rd September. Again we will not be increasing our uniform prices for the new school year as we want to make it affordable for everyone.
PE
All the year groups have had their first lessons with the various coaches this week and again well done on almost everyone remembering their days! Just to remind everyone, the days for each year group are:
Year 3 – Mondays, Year 4 – Tuesdays, Year 5 – Thursdays, Year 6 – Wednesdays.
Normally we would expect the children to wear plimsolls for PE, but given that many of the pupils will be walking to school each day, if it is more comfortable for them to wear trainers on their PE days, they can do so. The main reason for this change is to avoid the children having to bring PE bags into school each week. They should only bring their normal blue bag and packed lunch if they have one.
Assessments
We assessed all the pupils this week in reading, writing and numeracy. To be fair to them we used the assessments from the previous year that they would have done in the summer term had school been fully open. I was very impressed with how well all the children tackled these assessments and were fully focused. The results will let us know where each individual child is at this moment, given all the disruptions over the last few months and help the teachers to plan the curriculum and particularly any catch up work needed this half term and beyond.
“Dr Bike”
As you will be aware, with the return to school, the government is encouraging pupils where possible to walk, scooter or cycle to schools. A mechanic was in school yesterday to provide safety checks on any bicycles that were in school that day. He had over 40 bikes to check so he was very busy but it was nice to see lots of pupils bringing in their bikes. He was able to do any minor repairs that were needed so hopefully every bike is roadworthy and safe.
Non-Uniform Days
We raised £180 for school funds from our first non-uniform day last Friday.
Photographs
All the pupils who were in school last Tuesday had their photograph taken. You are now able to order your child’s photograph online directly with the company.
After School Clubs
We want to resume the other clubs which we ran last year after school including sport, art and craft, dance and drama run both by outside groups and by our own staff. Dance Stables ran a very successful dance club last year on Tuesdays after school and they resumed this last Tuesday. They should be contacting families who used this club last year and also providing fliers so that other children can sign up. The details of how to book a place for your child are below.
Dance Stables
Join us for After School Dance Club at St Joseph’s Junior School.
Starting Tuesday 15th September 3.00-4.00pm and then every Tuesday during term time. £41 for a 6 week booking paid in advance.
Spaces are limited so booking is highly recommended
Book your place via email @ ds.team@dancestables.co.uk
We can’t wait to dance with you!!
Information to follow for other Clubs – Not available to book yet.
McMillan Coffee Morning
Traditionally we have held a coffee morning in school to raise money for McMillan Cancer at this time of year. With the current restrictions this is not going to be possible this year, however it is such a worthy cause that we still want to do something so next Friday 25th September we will hold a take away sale of cakes, drinks etc. in the school playground between 2:30and 3:30pm around the times you would be coming to collect your children.
Obviously this is dependent on this nice weather remaining for another week and we will check the forecast nearer the time before confirming.
Yours sincerely,
J Alexander (Head teacher)
- Dates for this term (will be added to and updated each week)
Tuesday 22nd September – Dance Stables Club in the hall 3:00-4:00pm (details above)
Wednesday 23rd September – uniform on sale 9:00am
Friday 25th September – non-uniform day for school funds (bring £1)
Friday 25th September – fundraising event for McMillan Cancer in the playground 2:30-3:30pm.
Friday 2nd October – non-uniform day for school funds (bring £1)
Friday 9th October – non-uniform day for school funds (bring £1)
Thursday 15th October – Young Shakespeare workshops in school for Year 4 – “Romeo and Juliet”
Friday 16th October – non-uniform day for school funds (bring £1)
Friday 23rd October – last day of half term
Friday 23rd October – non-uniform day for school funds (bring £1)
Monday 26th to Friday 30th October – half term holiday
Monday 2nd November – pupils return to school for 2nd half term
