Welcome back to old and new

It is fantastic to have everyone back for the school new year and already the sense of energy, purpose and enjoyment can be felt in every classroom.

We look forward to a wonderful year with lots of exciting opportunities ahead and would like to welcome all of our new children and their families, we are delighted to be working with you.

Meet the Teacher Events

It is really important for you to get to know all of the staff who will be working with your children this year as soon as possible.

With this in mind we have organized the following meet the teacher events—all begin at 3.45pm and should last for approximately 45 minutes.

 Year 3 – Tuesday 14th September

Year 4 –  Monday 13th September

Year 5 – Wednesday 15th September

Year 6— Thursday 16th September

Fun Sports Day/ Coffee Afternoon

Fun Sports is planned for the afternoon of Wednesday 22nd September from 1.30pm.

The intention of this event is that our new children work together in a structured and enjoyable way with the other members of the school community. All parents and friends are more than welcome to come and watch. We will be combining this event with a Macmillan fundraising event with cakes and coffee in the hall during and after school.

Harvest Festival

Our Harvest Festival is planned for the afternoon of Monday September 27th at 2.15pm. This will be our first opportunity to celebrate as a whole school and all are welcome.

We welcome contributions of harvest produce, indeed it is an extremely important time of year to allow us to both give thanks and raise our own awareness of the needs of others.

We would, once again, encourage you to spend some time decorating a box with the children to hold your contributions. It really does brighten up the church and I know that it gives a real lift to the homeless charities who receive the produce. Please send your produce into school with the children on Wednesday 22nd,  Thursday 23rd  and Friday 24th  of September.

Keeping Safe

We continue to take every precaution possible and follow government guidance with regard to all things ‘COVID’.

Obviously one of the things that we have learned is how quickly things can change….so at the moment we will be making the very most of our outdoor spaces for as long as we can. Please make sure that the children have an extra pair of outdoor trainers with them at all times and also waterproof coats should the weather turn. We love working outdoors and don’t want anyone to miss out.

 Uniform notes

Thank you for sending the children back to school looking so smart and prepared. We would like to remind you that children should not wear nail varnish, all shoulder length and longer hair should be tied back and children should not wear jewellery or trainers as part of normal school uniform. Also please label everything that you can.

Breaktime snacks— fruit and vegetables only

Please send the children with either fruit—fresh or dried—or vegetables (preferably prepared!) for their morning snack.

Obviously this does not replace a good breakfast which sets the children up for the day.

We also feel that it is very important that the children drink enough water during the course of the school day and your child’s teacher will talk to them about the arrangements for this in their particular year groups.

Clubs

We are really looking forward to reintroducing and expanding the range of after school clubs that are going to be on offer over the coming year. We have really missed the opportunity to have children on site before and after school working with sports coaches and other experts.

You should have received notification of places for the first round of clubs. Do get in touch if you haven’t heard yet.

Reporting Absences

If your child is absent from school could you please contact the school office before 9.30 am on the first day of absence and send in a letter/email on the children’s return should the absence be an extended one? We do have one of the highest attendance rates in the county which is a testament both to how much the children seem to enjoy school and also to your support.

Year Six—A Big Year

Our Year Six children are entering a very important time in their school lives. Firstly they will asked to consider which secondary school they would like to attend and will be undergoing important assessments including, for the first time for two years, SATs. We are always available to discuss your concerns and answer any queries that you may have. Please note that the dates for next year’s SATs are Monday 9th May - Friday 13th May 2022.

Plans for the coming year

We are really looking to the year ahead in school with many exciting areas of development including:

Lots of exciting work on Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling

Developing maths at the highest level

Developing Spirituality in our whole school community

Making our curriculum the best it can be— ensuring that it is broad and rich

Making sure that our children have every support possible to allow them to ‘fill gaps’ created by COVID and school closures.

Developing our outside areas even further

To develop our new RSHE curriculum

To bring back the full range of extra curricular and enrichment activities that makes our school so special.

A few dates for the Year 2021—2022

Some dates subject to confirmation—but you have a broad outline of the year.   Lots more to come!

TERM 1         Monday 6th September to Thursday 21st October 2021

Weeks beginning September 13th – Parent information meetings at  3.45pm

Year 3 – Tuesday 14th September

Year 4 –  Monday 13th September

Year 5 – Wednesday 15th September

Year 6— Thursday 16th September

 Friday 17th September – 11+ test am

Wednesday September 22nd    – Fun Sports Day (pm)/ Macmillan coffee event

Friday 24th September – 11+ test am

Monday 27th September  -  School Harvest Festival – 2.15pm

Tuesday 5th October and Wednesday 6th October – iSing Pop days

Wednesday 6th October – Year 6 Kingswood Residential meeting – 6-7pm

Thursday 7th October – Whole school flu immunisation y3-6

October 12th—iSingpop concert evening for families

October 18th  – 21st   – SEN Week

Friday 22nd October—school closed—staff training

Term 2 Monday, 1st November to Friday, 17th December 2021

Tuesday November 2nd and  Wednesday November 3rd – Parents Evenings

November 5th—Foodbank Friday

Monday 8th November, Tuesday 9th November and Wednesday 10th November - Open Afternoons

Friday 3rd December – Foodbank Friday

Monday 13th December – Y6 Choir at Buddies Dementia Café – pm

Wednesday December 15th – Party Day including theatre performance pm

TERM 3         Tuesday, 4th January to Friday, 11th February 2022

TERM 4         Monday, 21st February to Thursday, 31st March 2022

TERM 5         Tuesday, 19th April to Friday 27th May 2022

TERM 6         Monday, 6th June to Friday 22nd July 2022