6^th September 2008

Dear Parents,

Welcome back to a new school year. It was great to see all those smiling faces on the first morning and that was just the parents! We are all looking forward to an exciting time over the next three terms. Our purpose is to enjoy and learn and to ensure that children know how they are learning so they can take these skills through their lives. When you greet your little people after school remember to ask….

‘How did you learn today?’

Don’t be surprised when they tell you they used their imitation muscle and learned from someone else, or that they collaborated and learned in a group. They may be wearing a hero sticker or one that says they are ‘Proud to be a learnatic!’Even our youngest children are gaining a deeper understanding of how they learn.

 

Healthy School… Nayland has just received notice of our Healthy Schools accreditation.

This recognises our school as attending to the physical, psychological and emotional needs of our children and helping them to learn how to keep themselves healthy inside and out. We are very proud of this achievement.

 

Questions/Concerns? We hope we manage to communicate well-enough that possible questions are answered in advance but please contact us if you are unclear about any aspect of school life. Our website and prospectus are good sources of information. If you have a concern, or indeed the rare need to complain, then your class teacher is your first point of contact. As head teacher I try to ensure regular availability to talk with parents and our governing body are available by e-mail (link on school website) or a communication box in the school entrance.

 

Absence…Attendance registers are legal documents and must be fully completed and up to date. Parents are reminded to ring into school to report an absence by 9-30am. There is an option on our answer machine to report an absence.

 

Woodland Corner…Isn’t it superb to see the building up and running and children enjoying the new facilities. We realise that there are finishing touches to be applied and a great deal of re-landscaping to be completed but we are getting there! Woodland corner can offer before and after school care to all Nayland School children and others from the local community. Do pop over and have a look at 3-30pm, Mrs. Brandon (extended schools leader) and Mrs. Williams will be happy to show you around. The sessions offered are as follows but please let us know if we can adapt to suit your needs and we will do our best within reason.

 

We are sure that these services will be very well used as the children so far have had such fun. Parents will not need to wait around and can enjoy the extra leeway.  You can book regular slots or contact Woodland Corner on 263054 until 6pm for casual use.

 

Contact Forms…New parents, please complete and return these very important information sheets as soon as possible. If there are any changes during the year then inform the school either by letter, phone call or in person. We must be able to contact you in case of an emergency.

 

Uniform and Equipment…We do love to see the children dressed in correct uniform and it does make life easier for you so please keep up our good start throughout the year. Children do a lot of tearing about at playtimes and so sensible school shoes are a safety necessity. Please clearly name all clothing and equipment with a label or an indelible pen so that we can return lost property! New uniform can be purchased in school or on www.swfl.co.uk (link on the school website… http://nayland.suffolkschools.net ) Please note, at present we are registered as an Essex school.

 

Parking…Please park with care, due attention to the law and consideration to our neighbours. The fire service are most concerned about cars blocking the entrance or occupying their car park and neighbours become very distraught and angry if they cannot access their properties. Nayland is a small village, never built for so many cars so parking a little way off and walking up to school is most helpful. The children call the ‘park and stride’ and it is a super time to talk about their learning.

 

Suffolk County Council…. If you are receiving Income Support or Income Based Jobseekers Allowance you may qualify for free school meals. Application can be made at any time. If you would like more information about this County Council scheme please either ask for a leaflet at the school office or contact the Area Education Office on (01284) 352000 and ask to speak to someone about ‘free school meals.’

 

School Dinners…School meals now cost £1.80 per day. This can be paid weekly, half termly or termly. If your child has a mixture of school meals and packed lunches then you can pay for a number of meals and we will let you know when your credits have run out. It makes the running of the school office much smoother if we only have dinner money on Mondays so please try to avoid sending money for school meals during the week. School dinners for the full half term will be £68.40. All school meals must be paid for promptly. The school learning budget is affected by late payments.

 

New School Meals…

I hope you all noticed that the menu now offers many more meals made from scratch foods and is using local suppliers of fresh vegetables. Suffolk County Catering are keen to let parents taste for themselves and so we will be offering an ‘invite an adult to lunch day’ for each class during the school year beginning with the Owls.

 

School Office…We have super office staff who will always do there best to help you. To solve the morning queue problem the hatch will be opened each morning so parents can drop in letters and payments without having to wait.

 

Parent Information Point…Within the next couple of weeks there will be a desk and  internet linked computer available in the school entrance for parents use. You can check information on our website, purchase uniform or any other little task. Please be aware of any other parents waiting. We will also use this as another communication link and to display reminders and photographs.

 

Snacks and Drinks…Cygnets, Ducklings, Woodpeckers and Robins all receive a piece of fruit or vegetable and a drink at playtime and water is freely available in their classrooms, they do not need an additional snack. If they are bringing a drink for lunchtime then please do not put it in their book bag, spills destroy books.

 

Kingfishers and Owls can buy a snack at playtime or bring one from home. In line with our school food policy we insist that children choose healthy snacks and drinks and are aware of how much litter their food creates and we would like you to encourage this too. We ask that you do not send any chocolate, crisps, sweets, fizzy or canned drinks for playtime. If a child has any of these items they will be asked to put them in their bag and take them home again. There is always cold, filtered water available. Water is so good for you and it’s free! If your child is buying a snack or a drink from the school kitchen then please place their money in a named purse. They can buy a snack and a drink for around 70p so don’t be coerced into sending them in with lots of money! Please do not let your child bring in money for the week, the teacher cannot be responsible for lost snack money and it can be very upsetting for your child.

 

End of Day…Please ensure that your class teacher knows the end of day arrangements for your child (bus or gate and alternative collectors). If you need to change the usual arrangements then please inform the class teacher in writing. If you are collecting a child from an after school club then please park on the street and walk up the drive. Our car park is much bigger than it used to be but cannot stretch to anywhere between 20 and 40 parents parking and turning with children milling about.

 

Termly Newsletter and Targets…You  will shortly receive a newsletter from your class teacher sharing the learning for the coming term. Your child’s targets for this term were set out in their end of term report so you can refer back to that and talk about their personal targets. These will also be refered to in your child(ren)’s books when you come to ‘Look and Share.’

 

Swimming… The Kingfishers and Owls will be swimming at Sudbury Kingfisher pool this term. Swimming will begin for the Owl class on Friday 12^th September. Please ensure that all of the swimmers arrive equipped with towel, swimming costume and hat. The Kingfisher class will swim after half term on Friday mornings. Mrs. Kennedy and Mrs. English will be thrilled to hear from any parents who would like to volunteer to accompany them on the coach, there will be two swimming teachers at the pool.

All clubs will begin again next week except for gym which will begin on 17^th September and Church Club which begins on 23^rd. Will parents wishing their child to attend church club please pop a note into the office to be passed to Rev. Gray so that she can check numbers.

 

 

Application forms for clubs are available from the office and must be completed for safety purposes before children attend a club.  There are vacancies in all clubs at the moment so please take a form on Monday morning if you wish to join.

Parents are an invaluable help to the school in all sorts of ways, from reading to gardening! If you can spare any time to help in school, or to do little jobs like book covering at home, could you please let your class teacher know. We will then make up a rota so that each class has some extra support. We don’t just need regular volunteers within school time, sometimes we need a sort of work party to get a particular job done so if you wouldn’t mind coming in to lend a hand or a strong pair of arms occasionally then please let us know about that too. Many thanks.

 

The primary school timetable is full to the brim these days and we would love to have more parent helpers coming in to read with the children as this one to one attention can really make a difference to their progress. We do not want parents to teach reading, that’s our job! What we are looking for are enthusiastic helpers to spend a little quality time with individual children practising the reading skills they are learning in class and giving them the opportunity to talk about their books. Go on…. volunteer….even for an hour a week…you might enjoy yourself!

H.S.A….

We still need your help to provide our school with fun activities and to raise funds for those extras that make Nayland a brilliant school. The AGM is on 22^nd September at 8pm in school so try to be there. It’s always especially good to see new parents getting involved too!

School Photos…

A family portrait  and individual portrait will be taken of all children in school on 1^st October. If you would like a group photograph taken with younger siblings then please come from 8-30am to the school hall. Playgroup children will be photographed individually and with siblings during school time.

 

Questionnaire…Please help us by completing the parent questionnaire that will be with you next week. We need to know what you are happy with and how we can improve.

 

Play Champions…

We are also looking for parents who would be willing to volunteer to come into school on some lunchtimes and run games and fun activities. This could be anything from a weekly game of rounders, a group skipping game, draughts or chess. It would be a wonderful way to offer the children more lunchtime choices and they could learn some new skills too. This does not have to be a long term commitment, just let us know when you can be here and we will arrange the rest.

Spring term…                           5^th January to 13^th February

                                                Half term 16^th to 20^th February

                                                23^rd February to 3^rd April

                                                5^th January is non-pupil day

 

Summer term…                         20^th April to 22^nd May

                                                Half term 25^th May to 29^th May

                                                1^st June to 20^th July

                                                20^th April and 20^th July are non-pupil days

                                                           

We are always happy to answer any queries or questions, remember to bring us your concerns while they are still seeds then we can avoid any plant sized problems! Have a great term!

 

Blue Bulletin 1 - 2008/9

 

Please note that as a time saver ‘Blue Bulletin’ has now become ‘Blue Bullets’…short and sweet hopefully!

·          School nurse drop in session has moved to 20^th October.

·          Dinner money will increase to £1.90 per day from 3^rd November, please ensure all bills are paid by half term as accounts must be up to date.

·          Kay Still has suggested running a second Gym Club from 4-30 to 5-30pm on Wednesdays. Please let the office know if you would be interested even if you think you are already on a gym waiting list. Children could attend Woodland Corner from 3-30 to 4-30pm before the club.

·          We are sending home ‘Shoebox Appeal’ information. Participation is entirely voluntary. If you would like to make up more than one box per family then please visit www.samaritanspurse.uk.com to download extra leaflets.

·          We are very pleased with how the OFSTED inspection turned out. The report will be public within the next two weeks and until then we cannot discuss the actual grading. You will receive a full copy of the report as soon as possible. Thank you for all of the returned questionnaires and the many supportive statements to the OFSTED team.

 

Dates…

3^rd October…                           School Ball

7^th and 8^th October…                 Parent/teacher conferences

16^th October…                          Owls adult lunch day                     12-20pm

21^st October…                           Look and Share                                8:30am

23^rd October…                          Harvest Assembly…                            9:30am

27^th – 31^st October…                Half term

17^th and 18^th November…         Book Fair                                            3-30pm           

Week of 8^th December…           Christmas performances

10^th December…                       Look and Share…                                3-30pm

16^th December…                       Pantomime for all children in school           am

19^th December…                       Last day of term

 

Blue Bulletin 2 2008/9