Mellis Church Of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School
Yaxley Road, Mellis, Nr Eye, Suffolk, IP23 8DY
Telephone: 01379 783376 Suffolk County Council
FAX: 01379783382
http://www.mellis.suffolk.sch.uk/
Headteacher – Richard Cattermole M.A. Chairman of Governors – Mr Ben Makowiecki
Senior Administrative Assistant – Mrs Sarah McLean
Clerical Assistants – Mrs Gail Clay
Mrs Jane Armstrong
Thursday, 5th September, 2013
Dear Parents and Governors,
A warm welcome back to school to all our children, parents, governors and staff. It has been a lovely Summer and who knows, after a wet forecast for Friday we may well return to an Indian Summer. Well, let us hope! It was very clear on the faces of you all that everyone has benefited from a restful few weeks.
Many of you will have noticed the new Music Room has been built and I trust you will agree with us that it is rather smart, big and will be a grand asset to the school. The furniture is now installed and all that is needed is the guiding hand of our rather ‘fantastic’ music teacher, Jaqui Luckett, when she returns on Monday to get things going. We will be planning our ‘Grand Opening Ceremony’ over the next couple of weeks.
We are delighted to welcome Millie Corke who will be teaching our Year 4 pupils and also Caroline Bates who will be teaching alongside Jessica Shaw in Year 1. We wish both Sam Laurie and Beth Plummer well in their new posts.
We are also so pleased to welcome our new children in to school and in many cases new families. The MSPA are holding a ‘Coffee Morning’ for parents of all new children tomorrow, so I am hoping many of you will have seen the notice posted in the drive.
New Children
Reception
Willow Aiken, Mabel Aldous-Goodge, Elisabetta Bacos, Annabel Baker, Samuel Bates, Jay Bobby, Lottie Daniel, Tessa Gage, Milli-Baye Greig, Edward Hall, Oisin Maguire, Benjamin Mallinson, Ruby Millar, Brodie Milligan, Max Norton, Sebastien Perrin, Jack Prior, Rafe Rawlings, Abbie Smith, Paige Solley, Amy Squares, Astrid Staples, Matilda Taylor, Arlo White.
Year 2
Oscar White
Year 3
Harrison King
We also wish the very best to our last year’s Year 6 who commenced their high schools today. Many of the staff commented on how smart they looked in their new uniforms standing at the various bus stops and how lovely it was to have a smile and a wave. They were a credit to us and I am sure they will be a credit to their new schools. We look forward to them popping in every now and then to tell us how things are going.
Charlotte Adams, Joe Banks, Philippa Brewis, Alfie Brydon, Lucy Earnshaw, Lauren Flatman, Edward Friar, Rainer Geelmuyden, Oliver Grimes, Alexander Hawkins, Harvey Hubbard, Edward Justice, Stanley Lewis, Morgan Manly, Megan Parry, Elliot Sano, Tom Shepherd, Alex Storey, Reggie Sutterby, Niamh Towler, Ethan Turner, Liv Walters, Piper Wasley, Lucas Wheeler.
Class Welcome Meetings
By this evening all class teachers will have sent out a Welcome Letter and this will include an invitation to an evening meeting to give you an opportunity to meet the class teacher and go through the expectations, subject themes and usual practices within each class. We have set the time at 7.00pm in the hope we will catch mums and dads after usual working hours. It is always better if both parents can attend.
Flute
Should your child be in need of a flute, Mrs Sano has one for sale in very good condition for £30 and can be contacted on 07762 167321 / 01379 783269.
Parent Help in School
Primary schools could not function effectively without parent help in the school. We are so fortunate in that our parents appear to juggle all those home commitments, often together with your own demanding jobs to help us out in one way or another. These include support with reading, imparting particular skills you may have in the classroom, helping to run clubs, the MSPA, Saturday workshops, stalls at school events, fireworks on Bonfire Night, help with transport, running stalls at village fetes and the list appears endless. The school and your child’s teacher will no doubt be very keen for you to take part in one way or another. Please do take advantage of this, because not only does it mean your contribution is highly valued by us, but also it is another way in which you can be positively involved in your child’s education. I have now been assured by the LEA Safeguarding Team that the Government has changed its mind and that we will not be in trouble for requesting CRBs for situations where CRBs are not strictly speaking required (We have always requested them for when they were required). We will therefore require all parents who will have direct contact with other people’s children during school time to have a current Suffolk School based CRB.
The process is quite straightforward:
a. Request a form from Jane Armstrong.
b. Complete it and bring it in school with the relevant required documentation showing proof of identity. (All documentation will then be returned to you that day)
c. Checks are then undertaken by CRB and a certificate issued within about two to three weeks.
Possessing a school based CRB Certificate, whilst it is not able to be used in other settings, such as scouts, guides etc, is a useful addition to your CV and as you are volunteers there is no cost to you nor the school. It is a ‘win, win situation! Currently about one third of parents at Mellis School have a Suffolk School based CRB. This is already a high achievement.
Clubs
Extra-Curricular Activities are a very important aspect of life at Mellis school and are run on a voluntary basis by staff and parents. I trust we will continue to have the widest range of clubs to be found in the world today. Teachers all run at least one extra-curricular activity, but in recent years we have been extremely fortunate in that parents have come forward with particular skills and expertise and run additional clubs – our grateful thanks for that. I am hoping that once again parents will also take on that mantle which I am sure you will find most rewarding.
We do hope you will encourage your child to fully participate. Once committed, children are to attend regularly. If there is a valid reason for missing any occasion, this must be accompanied by a note to the person running the club. Each teacher will hold a register of those who attend and can easily check the playground for any child who has forgotten they have a school club to attend. Together these measures will promote child security.
The Club Time-Table will be sent out next week and clubs will commence on Monday, 16th September. If you would like to get involved with a club, on your own, with another parent or a member of staff, please let us know. If you have a particular interest or skill you would like to share with children – wonderful! We certainly have gaps at the moment:
KS1 Football
KS1Rugby
KS2 Rugby
As far as Rugby is concerned please have a word with Oscar White’s dad (I will introduce you, if you do not yet know him). He will try to put together a rotation of parents to ensure there is a weekly club for both KS1 and KS2.
Art and Craft
Nut Allergy
We do have a couple of children in school who have a severe nut allergy and must not come into contact with even a trace of nuts on desks, other people’s hands etc. If this does occur, not only is the reaction highly dangerous, but each reaction is likely to lower his already low nut tolerance threshold. Please do not allow your child to bring any trace of nuts into school.
Independent Schools
If your child is a Year 6 pupil and you are considering independent education from Year 7, please come and have a chat with me so we can discuss entrance exams. For many years we have offered parents ‘Snowball Club’ before school so we can help prepare children for the unique style of entrance exam they will need to sit before being offered a place.
Mrs Sutterby’s Lamb Raffle
Thank you to Mrs Sutterby for running once again your highly successful Lamb Raffle and also to your mum and dad for providing the lamb. I believe an amount in excess of £200 was raised; I will let you know the exact figure when it has been confirmed.
Drinks Bottles
It is so very important all children have easy access to water when working in the classroom. This not only avoids dehydration, but improves academic performance. To this end two years ago we purchased on behalf of all the children transparent drinks’ bottles. New children will have been given a bottle yesterday. This must only be filled with water and only water will be allowed. Bottles can be filled by the child in school, but should go home regularly for washing. Bottles must come in daily. If your child’s bottle goes missing, then a new bottle may be purchased at cost from the school at £1.20. We would prefer you to replace your child’s bottle with those originally supplied by the school, but in any case they must be clear plastic.
Indoor Shoes
Please ensure your child is equipped with indoor shoes. If your child will be wearing Crocs a sombre colour is preferred. No slippers please. A general rule of thumb is that each child will need separate indoor and outdoor shoes. I was pleasantly surprised to notice almost every child was wearing indoor shoes in today’s assembly.
Parking – a very big, emotive and ongoing issue!
The school is not responsible for the ‘less than ideal’ drop off conditions outside the school, but please note these conditions are the same outside the vast majority of schools in the Country. However, we will try to make matters as tolerable as possible through regular patrols and reminding the very few individuals who are in breach of the following reminders. You are welcome to report the owner of the car to me and the parent concerned will receive a reminder in writing. If the problem persists, then the police will be informed.
The usual reminders to not park, wait, collect/drop off or turn:
· On Zig-zags.
· On double yellow lines.
· Neighbours’ drives, the Common (including the verge opposite)
· BT Exchange (We are currently coning this off)
· Disabled Space – Please leave this for Blue Badge Holders only
· Roadside opposite the school.
· The school vehicular entrance or car park.
In addition, cars should only turn in the road where there are no cars parked
Children should always be dropped off and collected from the kerbside. Please escort younger children.
Suffolk Highways have plans to make some road improvements during this financial year following re-surfacing. In the meantime, commonsense and courtesy must prevail and in that way children will be kept safe.
Children Arriving at School in the Mornings
Children continue to be met at the gate by a member of staff each morning between 8.45 and 9.00am. Parents are requested not to accompany their children on to the playground or to enter the teaching area beyond the entrance hall. This ensures a prompt and uninterrupted start to each day. Access to the office is readily available throughout the school day. If you need to get a message to your child or his/her teacher, then please inform the office staff who will do that for you. If you would like to have a chat with your child’s teacher at the end of the day please feel free to do so. Once a week they will however need to rush off to run a club. Please avoid Wednesdays as we have our staff meeting directly after school. Wherever possible and if appropriate please try to make an appointment, but if it needs to be sorted out then and there we will always try to find the time. New Reception parents are welcome to accompany their children in to school until they have found their feet (children and parents!) I would expect this to run for about two weeks. The class teacher also currently meets Reception children and their parents on the playground from 8.45am.
Annual Subscriptions
We do have a voluntary contribution of £5.00 per year per child to boost school funds. Potentially we could raise £810.00 if we all participate. We have some ideas as to how this can be spent, but since you would be raising the funds we would like you to contribute to the ideas pool. Please complete the slip at the foot of this letter.
Aylmerton – Year 6
A reminder that the balance payment will be due later this month. A letter will be sent out via the Pyramid Aylmerton Co-ordinator.
Data Collection
The usual Data Sheet will be sent home shortly. Please check thoroughly and return with or without changes by 27th September.
Cups
Please could any children who took an attendance cup home at the end of last term please bring it back by 13th September so we can have them all engraved over that weekend. If you are unable to bring the cup in on that day we would request you take responsibility for the engraving before the end of the year or when it is due to be passed over to the other child who may have shared first place with your child. Sorry Huw, you had 100% attendance and your name will now go on the cup.