Welcome Back September 2023
Dear Parent / Carer
We hope you have had a restful summer break. We are delighted to be welcoming back all our children and meeting our new EYFS children & families. Please find below a few reminders for our return to school.
Drop off & Pick up Arrangements
Drop Off – gates will be open from 8.35 to 8.45am. Registration takes place promptly at 8.45am and children are expected to be in classrooms ready for registration. Please ensure your child arrives on time every morning. Parents/carers should drop your child at the gate, where members of senior staff and the pastoral team will be on hand to direct/escort them to their classrooms. The drop off gates will remain unchanged; KS2 (years 3-6) will use the front gate, KS1 (Years 0-2) will use the gate in Ellesmere Road. Please remember, parents should not be entering the school building during the morning drop off period.
Pick Up – all children will finish at 3.15pm. Please wait in the designated area for your child to be dismissed by their teacher.
EYFS/Year1 – outside the respective classroom door, exiting via the gate on Ellesmere Road.
Year 2 – Enter by the Ellesmere Road gate and wait for the children in the new designated waiting area next to the climbing wall/sports pitch.
KS2 – front playground
Please remember, it is really busy at pick up time. Please collect children promptly and exit the school grounds as soon as possible. This enables us to keep our children attending after school clubs safe & sound.
Breakfast Club & After School Club
Both clubs commence on Tuesday 5th September and all bookings have been finalised for w/c 5th September. Full details for arranging further bookings will be sent to parents later this week. Please can we remind parents that children should arrive at Breakfast Club prior to 8.00am.
Uniform
All children should return to school in full school uniform. As a reminder, long hair (shoulder length or longer) must be tied back from the face. Only plain hairbands should be used, no large bows or bright colours please. No jewellery, except for a watch and/or small stud earrings.
We will be selling recycled uniform during the year and dates for these sales will be available shortly. However, if you require assistance with school uniform, please contact our pastoral team on [email protected]
We have lots of lost property left over from the last academic year. This will be available to parents in the front playground to be reclaimed. Any items left after Thursday will be destroyed or recycled.
PE Kits
All children will require a PE kit to be kept in school at all times, PE days may vary week to week. Please ensure all items are named and stored in a named small, drawstring bag.
The correct PE kit should be worn, this is a plain white T-shirt, navy or black PE shorts and trainers (or daps if in EYFS & KS1). In the colder weather children are permitted to wear plain black or navy jogging bottoms and a plain black or navy sweatshirt/hoodie. No items with logos or other colours please.
As a reminder, Year 3/4 classes will be having swimming lessons. These will be on a Thursday afternoon and will start with Voyager Class on 14th September.
Cloakrooms and Bags
As many of you are aware our cloakrooms are quite small and not suitable for large bags. In order to reduce congestion, children from Year 3 to Year 6 (KS2) should only bring a small bag/rucksack and EYFS, Year 1 & Year 2 children should bring their school book bag. Children should bring their PE kit in a small drawstring bag to hang on their peg in the cloakroom on Monday.
Year 5/6 Pencil Cases
We provide all stationery for our children; however, we invite year 5/6 children to bring in their own pencil case to help them prepare for secondary school and take responsibility for their own belongings, however this is not necessary. Pencil cases should be small and contain a pencil, blue ink pen, eraser, ruler, and possibly coloured pencils. No other items should be brought into school within pencil cases.
Mobile Phones
We do not expect children lower than Year 6 to bring a mobile phone to school. Mobile phones should only be brought to school if a child is walking to or from school unaccompanied and would need to contact a parent. If a mobile phone is brought to school it should be handed into the school office, where it will be kept safely and collected at the end of the school day. Please remind your child that mobile phones should not be kept in bags or pockets.
Children Walking Unaccompanied to and from School
Only children in Year 6 are expected to be walking to and/or from school unaccompanied in preparation for secondary school. Parents will need to give written permission using the following link:
https://forms.office.com/e/6i2h6XhNHj
Lunch Arrangements
All children will be eating lunch in the main hall, in their registration group, and will have access to the full hot meal menu. A copy of the Autumn/Winter menu is attached. The price of a school meal is currently £2.40. A reminder that those children who have moved from Year 2 to Year 3 no longer qualify for Universal Infant Free school meals and will be charged for their child’s meal via ParentPay.
We encourage children to eat healthily and would appreciate parental support in making healthy choices in lunch boxes please. A reminder that there should be no nut or nut products within lunch boxes due to children in school with nut allergies; this includes peanut butter, Nutella chocolate spread and cereal bars containing nuts.
Healthy Snacks
If your child wishes to bring in a snack for breaktime please ensure it is a healthy snack i.e. fruit, cereal bars etc. rather than crisps or chocolate bars.
Water Bottles
It is important every child has their own, name labelled water bottle. These should be taken home each night and thoroughly cleaned. Unnamed water bottles left in classrooms will be disposed of so please ensure your child’s bottle is clearly labelled.
Medication & Inhalers
As a reminder, please bring inhalers/medication to school on Tuesday and hand them into the school office team. Medication forms & Asthma inhaler forms are attached to this letter; these should be completed prior to bringing in any medication (forms are available from the school office). If your child has a new medication, please email the office for advice on how this can be administered at school.
Class Welcome Information
Tomorrow, the year group teams will be sending home welcome information letters setting out individual class expectations, including homework and details of the curriculum this term. Parents will have an opportunity to meet with their child’s class teacher at parents’ evenings, in the Autumn term.
Access to School
We value our relationships with our families and would encourage parents to communicate with their child’s class teacher if you have any questions. If you need to speak to your child’s class teacher, they are always available during pick up time at the end of the school day. Alternatively email them at the following email address:
EYFS & Year 1 – [email protected]
Year 2 – [email protected]
Year 3 & 4 – [email protected]
Year 5 & 6 – [email protected]
Our pastoral team are available each morning at the front gate or alternatively email them at [email protected]
Queries for the Principal, Mrs Hodder, or for the office team should be emailed to [email protected]
Thank you for your continued support and I look forward to an enjoyable return to school.
Yours faithfully
Mrs Samantha Hodder
Principal
