Dear Parents/Carers,
I would like to welcome everyone back after the half term break and hope you all had a good week. As always we have a busy few weeks ahead of us in school with trips and various projects.
Masses and Assemblies
There will be a Whole School Mass for the Feast of All Saints this Thursday 30th October at 11:00am in the school hall led by the Year 3 pupils (the feast day is on Friday but Father Gerry is unable to do that day). Parents and families are invited to join us for this important feast day on Thursday morning. The list of all the Masses and assemblies for this half term is at the end of the newsletter.
After School Activities
I sent home the new timetable before half term so that you can book clubs for your children for this half term. Remember that some of the clubs are booked directly through the coach running them such as Gymnastics and the Dance Stables Clubs. Unfortunately we will not be running the Drumming Club this half term due to not having enough children signed up. We are paying an outside provider to run this particular club so without the minimum number of children it will not cover the cost of the club. Also note that the Year 5 and 6 Tuesday Computer Club will begin next week on 5th November. Some clubs are now full and cannot take any more booking for this half term (see below).
- Monday – Gymnastics Club 3:15-4:15pm (all year groups) – book through the coach
- Monday – Computer Club 3:15-4:15pm (Years 3 and 4) – full
- Monday – Drama Club 3:15-4:15pm (all year groups) – book through Dance Stables
- Tuesday – Dance Club 3:15-4:15pm (all year groups) – book through Dance Stables
- Tuesday – Boys’ Football Club 3:15-4:15pm (Years 3 and 4) – book through school
- Tuesday – Computer Club 3:15-4:15pm (Years 5 and 6) – full (this club will begin next week)
- Wednesday – Basketball Club 3:15-4:15pm (all year groups) – full
- Wednesday – Cooking Club 3:15-5:00pm (Year 4) – pupils selected by Ms Le
- Thursday – Boy’s Football Club 3:15-4:15pm (Years 5 and 6) – book through school
- Thursday – Girls’ Football Club 3:15-4:15pm (all year groups) – book through school
- Thursday – Gardening Club 3:15-4:15pm (all year groups) – book through school
- Thursday – School Choir 3:15-4:00pm (all year groups) – free, book through school
- Friday – Cheerleading Club 3:15-4:15pm (all year groups) – book through Dance Stables
- Friday – Art and Craft Club 3:15-4:15pm (all year groups) – full
Apart from Cooking and Choir, all clubs finish at 4:15pm.
Lunchtime Clubs
As well as the after school clubs, we also want to run some lunchtime clubs this half term including art/craft and reading clubs. One new club we are starting this week is a lunchtime “Relaxation and Movement Club” on Tuesdays run by a coach from Dance Stables who are already running several of the after school clubs. This is something new for us and I want to see if it benefits some of our pupils. The pupils will be nominated by their teachers and parents will receive a letter informing them about this club. We are going to start with our Year 3 pupils this half term and if it is successful, I would like to offer it out to other year groups later in the year.
Friends’ Association
These are the planned events for this term:
- Friday 22nd November – Book Swap Day
- Sunday 8th December – Christmas Bazaar 1:00-4:00pm
- Friday 13th December – Christmas Coffee Morning to raise money for Save the Children (tie in with our “Christmas Jumper Day”) 9:00am
- Friday 13th December – Family Film Night 7:00pm
The next meeting will be this Tuesday 29th October at 6:00pm. We will be organising the Christmas Bazaar and the other events at that meeting so we need lots of ideas and offers of help. I know several parents cannot attend the meetings but still help out in different ways which is great and much appreciated. We will also be holding more non-uniform days this half term in preparation for the Christmas Bazaar on 8th December. I have listed the dates below and what the children need to bring on each day, I will confirm all the dates and what needs to be brought in Friday’s newsletter. They are all on Fridays except Wednesday 4th December.
- Friday 1st November – bring £1
- Friday 8th November – bring £1
- Friday 15th November – bring a new toy (or £2)
- Friday 22nd November – bring chocolates/sweets (or £2)
- Friday 29th November – bring a bottle (or £2)
- Wednesday 4th December – bring something for the Christmas Stall (or £2)
- Friday 6th December – return of sold raffle tickets (or £2)
CAFOD “Make a Brighter World” Appeal
We held a non-uniform day plus a cake sale on the Friday before half term for CAFOD’s Appeal and raised £320 on the day which again is a wonderful achievement for the school. Well done everyone.
Uniform/PE Kits
Uniform will next be on sale after half term on Wednesday 30th October from 8:50-9:30am and then every second Wednesday during the term. With winter on its way please make sure your child is coming to school every day with a suitable coat.
Quiz Night
Our former pupil Sinead Menekse hosted her quiz night on the Friday before half term and she would like to thank everyone who came along on the evening and helped her raise over £300 towards the cost of her teaching in Dominica next year.
Trips
There are quite a few trips taking place in the next few weeks including trips to the cinema for every year group. Most of these trips are free but you still need to go onto the “School Shop” this week to authorise the trip for your child as we don’t want anyone to miss out.
Secondary Applications
For Year 6 parents please remember that this Thursday 31st October is the closing date for secondary applications.
Firework Display at St Joseph’s Infants (9th November)
St Joseph’s Infant School is hosting a firework display on Saturday 9th November 4:30-6:30pm. There will be a children’s entertainer plus lots of other activities. Tickets are available on the door or in advance from the infant school office.
Building Work over Half Term
Over the half term most of the outstanding work on the roof of the Year 6 block and replacing the skylights was completed. Unfortunately due to some wet days last week, there are still a few bits to be finished and these will hopefully be done soon, including today, to cause minimum disruption to school. The new skylights were finished on Saturday and make a big difference to the amount of natural light in the Year 3 and 4 areas. It is just the last part of the Year 6 roof to be completed now and most of this should be done by the end of today. In addition to these ongoing works, we have also replaced the worn out surface in the playground where the adventure trail is situated with new artificial grass. Luckily the heavy rain stayed away for the couple of days needed to complete this job and the area around the adventure trial now looks a lot better and will be nicer for the children to play on.
Head Lice
We have had a case of head lice reported over the half term. This is never nice but unfortunately can still occur in school. It is good to remind everyone to take the usual precautions and to inform the school if you find this in your family and to treat it accordingly.
Yours sincerely,
J Alexander (Head teacher)
Future Dates for your Diary
- Tuesday 29th October – Artyface Mosaics Project for all year groups this week
- Tuesday 29th October – Friends’ Association Meeting 6:00pm
- Thursday 31st October – Whole School Mass for All Saints led by Y3 11:00am
- Friday 1st November – Non-uniform day (£1) for Christmas Bazaar
- Saturday 2nd November – Open morning for prospective Year 2 parents 10:15am
- Wednesday 6th November – Year 6 and Class 5O cinema trips am
- Wednesday 6th November – Year 3 visit to the Natural History Museum
- Thursday 7th November – Year 4 visit Millfield Theatre to watch “Macbeth” am
- Thursday 7th November – Class 6P Assembly on “Remembrance” 9:00am
- Thursday 7th November – Poppies and Poems Workshops for Year 3 pm
- Friday 8th November – Non-uniform day (£1) for Christmas Bazaar
- Friday 8th November – Poppies and Poems Workshops for Years 4, 5 and 6
- Saturday 9th November – Fireworks Display at St Joseph’s Infant School 4:30pm
- Monday 11th November – Cinema trips for Year 3 and 4 am
- Tuesday 12th November – Cinema trip for class 5L am
- Thursday 14th November – Class 3H Assembly on “Visitors” 2:30pm
- Friday 15th November – Non-uniform day for Christmas Bazaar (new toy or £2)
- Saturday 16th November – Open morning for prospective Year 2 parents 10:15am
- Wednesday 20th November – Simon Murray (illustrator) in school today
- Friday 22nd November – Non-uniform day for Christmas Bazaar (sweets or £2)
- Friday 22nd November – “Book Swap Day” in school
- Thursday 28th November – Class 5L Assembly on “St Andrew” 2:30pm
- Friday 29th November – Non-uniform day for Christmas Bazaar (bottle or £2)
- Monday 2nd December – Maths Assessment Week in Years 3, 4 and 5
- Monday 2nd December – Parent Meetings 1:00-3:00pm and 4:00-6:00pm
- Wednesday 4th December – Non-uniform day for Bazaar (Christmas Stall or £2)
- Wednesday 4th December – Class 5O Assembly on “Hope” 2:30pm
- Thursday 5th December – Pantomime of “Aladdin” in school 10:30am
- Thursday 5th December – Fire Safety Talk for Year 5 pm
- Friday 6th December – Non-uniform day for Christmas Bazaar (sold raffle tickets)
- Sunday 8th December – Christmas Bazaar 1:00-4:00pm
- Monday 9th December – Mock SATs Week in Year 6
- Monday 9th December – Reading Assessment Week in Years 3, 4 and 5
- Tuesday 10th December – Carol Concert led by Y3 in church 10:30am
- Wednesday 11th December – Carol Concert led by Y3 in church 7:00pm
- Friday 13th December – “Christmas Jumper Day” for Save the Children”
- Friday 13th December – Family Film Night 7:00pm
- Tuesday 17th December – Y4 Shakespeare Concert of “Macbeth” 11:00am
- Wednesday 18th December – Y4 Shakespeare Concert of “Macbeth” 7:00pm
- Thursday 19th December – Whole School Mass led by Year 5 11:00am
- Friday 20th December – Last day of term (finish at 2:00pm today)
