11 Jan 2008 - Happy New Year Newsletter!

January 11^th 2008

Dear all

Happy New Year and welcome back!  I hope you had a peaceful and joyful holiday – the children certainly all look very well rested and ready for anything!  It was a very busy end of term with our two inspections, but I’m sure you’ll agree that by the time we got to our Nativity Service we were all beginning to feel a lot more festive!  It was a lovely service, and I thank you all for your support in attending.  

I’m sure you would like to join me in welcoming a new family to All Saints (Marsh) – Ellis joined us in Forde class today, and I know that everyone will make both Ellis and his family feel really welcome.

Staffing

We are delighted to let you know that Mr Leigh Robinson (known to some parents as he runs our after school sports club) is joining us to take some PE sessions with the children in Bradley, Courtenay and Templar on a regular basis.  He is also going to offer two free lunchtime clubs on Monday and Tuesday, and he is going to work with a school team on Friday afternoons (for festivals and competitive events).   He is also going to continue to offer a KS1 and KS2 sports club (parental payment needed) on Monday and Tuesday after school.  The KS1 club will be on Monday (children in Years 1 & 2) and the KS2 club on Tuesday (children in Years 3 – 6).  More details of these to follow.

We are also really pleased to welcome Mrs Vicky Camm to the staff.  Mrs Camm will be working with the children in Bradley class as a teaching assistant.

We welcome back Mr Hooker and Miss Harris (student teachers from the St Luke’s, University of Exeter ) who have returned to Bradley class to work alongside Mrs McAdams for this half term.

School Admissions

If you have a child who you hope will start with us in September 2008 or September 2009, please be aware that you can apply through the School Admissions Team (closing date is January 26^th) at www.devon.gov.uk/admissionsonline or telephone the Education Hotline - 0845 155 1019 for further information.  However, we are also very happy to send any completed application forms (which are available at the school office) on your behalf if you prefer.

Curriculum

Attached to this letter you will find a target leaflet to help you support your child’s learning in maths at home.  It also includes the key objectives they will be working on this term.  We will also be sending home a topic plan as before, which outlines the work your child will be doing this term.  If you feel you have any special skills or resources that would support any of the areas, please see your class teacher. 

Swimming

Templar will be swimming this half term (from Monday 14^th January to Monday February 11^th inclusive) – a letter has already been sent home with a permission slip attached.

After half term Bradley will have their second session of swimming from Monday February 25^th to Monday March 31^st.

Tennis

We are delighted that Russell Bond is still able to offer us professional coaching lessons this term, but once again this does rely on parental contributions to part pay for the coaching.  Courtenay will have tennis lessons this term, on a Wednesday afternoon (letter attached).

Uniform

The children at All Saints (Marsh) always look very smart in their full school uniforms – thank you for helping us with this by sending them to school in full uniform every day.  It is very embarrassing for the children if they are not wearing the correct clothing, and they often become upset so we ask for your support in avoiding this upset.  Can I please emphasise once again that for safety reasons the children will all need sensible school shoes – trainers are only needed for PE lessons please, not general school wear.

As the weather is now very unpredictable please could all children come to school with a coat, whatever it looks like in the morning.  We try to get them out in the fresh air as much as possible, as I’m sure you’ll understand.  Our new school jackets are very smart and reasonably priced – please call in at the office if you’d like to buy one.  We would also ask that the children bring their PE kits to school every day – this means we can use the MUGA according to weather conditions, which currently are very inclement!  The children are allowed to wear tracksuits over their PE kits in the winter.

Health and Safety issues

I am sure you appreciate that the health and safety of the children is of paramount importance to all of us.  With this in mind can we just remind you of the following:

The school gates open at 8.45 am and school begins at 8.55 am . 

Please let us know if your child is being collected by someone else so we are able to let them leave at the end of the day. 

As a town school, traffic and parking will always be an issue for us.  In order to keep your children safe please can we ask that children are never left unsupervised outside the school gate, and that you avoid parking in front of the school entrance – thank you. 

It is vital that we have up to date contact details for your children.  If there have been any changes to any of this information, please let the school office know.  This would include new emergency contact numbers, change of address, allergies and medical conditions, change of telephone number, doctor etc.  Whilst mobile telephone numbers are very useful, they do run out of battery or go out of area at the most inopportune moments as we all know, so it is useful if we have a landline number for your child, be that your own, that of a family member or possibly a neighbour.

Lateness

Surprisingly a number of our children have arrived late for school this first week back – this not only puts the children in an embarrassing situation but is also a cause of concern for us, as we do not know what time the children have left home and indeed if anything has happened to them on the way.  Please help us and the children by making sure that they are in school by 8.55 at the latest.  Children who are not in school by then will be marked as late, and if this persists over a period of time we will need to contact you.

School Governors

Our parent governors at All Saints are Sharon Lawrence, Julie Palmer and John Gentry .  If you would like to raise any issues with them, please ask to be introduced to them if necessary.  Our Chair of Governors is Revd Russell Chamberlain.