Friday 6th September 2013
September Newsletter 2013
A lovely summer at last! On behalf of all the staff and Governors I would like to welcome you all back to school after the holiday. The children have been fantastic this week. Their attitude towards learning and their excellent behaviour has continued as though they have never been away!
Our congratulations go to Miss Reid who got married during the summer and who is now known as Mrs Hallett.
At the start of the year I would like to give a special welcome to all the new children (and their families). It is lovely to see all the new faces and we hope that this is the beginning of a long and happy relationship between your family and Cale Green. We also say welcome to our new caretaker, Mr Munro and to a new Teaching Assistant, Mrs Khan.
School Dinners / Milk and Toast
The cost of school meals has increased. From Monday 9th September school meals will cost £2.05 per day or £10.25 per week. Free school meals are available. If you think you may be eligible please see Mrs Lowe in the school office. For every child who claims a Free School Meal the school receives an additional £900.00 for the next 5 years! So, if you are eligible (even if you don’t intend to use it) then please do claim.
Dinner money must be paid on a Monday and sent to the class teacher (not Mrs Lowe) in an envelope marked with your child’s name and class.
Milk and toast will start on Monday. All money must be paid on a Monday to the class teacher not Mrs Lowe. We cannot accept money after this as it is banked on a Monday. Milk and toast costs £2.00, milk only £1.35 and toast only 65p. Healthy Tuck Shop on a Thursday (which is run by the School Council) is 20p per item.
Holidays in Term Time
The Department for Education have changed the regulations regarding holidays in term time. From this September, leave of absence for any purpose – including holidays -can only be granted if there are exceptionalcircumstances.
The Department for Education website states, ‘This leave is unlikely, however, to be granted for the purposes of a family holiday. Parents can be fined for taking their child on holiday during term time without consent from the school’.
Please contact us at school if you plan for your child to be absent for any reason.
Absence / Emergency Contact Numbers
If your child is absent please phone the school on the first morning of their absence. If we do not hear from you we will contact you. This is to ensure the children’s safety so that we know where they are.
If you have changed your phone number recently ESPECIALLY YOUR MOBILE PHONE NUMBER please let us know the new number. In case of an emergency we must be able to contact you immediately.
School Uniform / Lost Property / PE Kit / Jewellery
The children look so smart in their school uniforms! Please try to label everything your child brings to school. There are almost 250 children in the school which means that some clothes / PE bags, lunch boxes, etc inevitably get lost / mixed up. A name written on a label makes life so much easier for everyone.
Please remember that black school shoes (not boots or black training shoes / black pumps) must be worn and that the PE kit is white T-shirt and black shorts.
No jewellery should be worn. This includes bracelets, rings and necklaces. If your child has pierced ears then only plain stud earrings can be worn and these must be removed before PE and Swimming.
Extra-Curricular Clubs / Additional Activities
As always we will be running a wide range of clubs for the children. This year all the children in Key stage 2 will have guitar lessons. There will be additional Lacrosse lessons and a Lacrosse club after school on Mondays. This term there will also be a ‘Multi-Skills’ club for Key Stage 1, Swimming club is after school on Tuesdays and Homework club after school on a Thursday. ‘Reading For Gold’, Lego, ‘Change 4 Life’, Football, Cross Country, Zumba, Spanish, Choir and Football Clubs will all start soon. Children will receive letters with further details about each activity.
As usual there will also be a wide range of class trips and visits to support the children’s learning.
Lunchtime Clubs
Mrs. Beecham will be running a daily lunchtime Library / Study / Homework Club. This will enable the children to borrow library books, use the computers, develop their study skills and complete their homework.
Baby and Toddler Group / Mini-Movers / Breakfast Club / After-School Club
The Baby and Toddler group continues in the school hall on Thursday mornings from 9.15- 11.15am. The charges are £1.00 for an adult and child (extra children 50p). Other activities may also carry a small charge. Just come along on the day, have a chat, a cup of tea and a cake and see what is on offer!
The Mini-Movers session continues on a Wednesday morning from 10.00 - 11.00am. This is for pre-school children to help them develop their physical abilities through a planned programme of activities. To take part just turn up on a Wednesday morning or contact the school for further details.
The Breakfast Club is open every morning from 7.45am. There are cereals, fruit, toast, drinks and lots of fun activities. There is no charge to attend (parents more than welcome!) but food items cost 30p.
The After-School Club continues to provide after school care until 6.00pm. For further details please contact Mrs Lowe. Please remember that children can only attend if they have previously been registered and if payment of £6.00 is made in advance.
School Garden – Volunteers Needed
We are looking for a few garden volunteers who can spend a couple of hours during the day or a couple of Monday nights to help tidy up our school ‘allotment’ ready for the winter. You provide the muscle and we’ll provide the tea and biscuits! Please contact Mrs. McGahey if you are interested.
Governors
We have recently undergone some significant changes to our governing body. Two of our very experienced governors left last term, Robert Hardman, our Chair of Governors and Rachel Oakes. I would like to thank both Robert and Rachel for the invaluable contributions they made to the governance of the school over many, many years.
We would also like to welcome Louise Skelhorn to her new role as Chair of Governors. Mrs Skelhorn is a parent governor and in preparation for taking over the role of Chair of Governors Mrs Skelhorn has recently completed the Nation College’s Chair of Governors’ Leadership Development programme. We look forward to her helping to lead the school in achieving its aims.
School Vision Statement
The staff and governors have worked together to design a Vision Statement which articulates our shared aims and mission for the future.
Cale Green will be a school in which:
· Each child is valued and seen as an unique individual
· Each child will fulfil their potential in a structured, stimulating and caring environment
· Each child will have the confidence and skills to approach new challenges – embracing a ‘can do’ culture
· Independent learners are created, who can think for themselves, where they can grow in confidence, understanding and tolerance
· The whole community is embraced, encouraging participation and ownership
· We will provide the best possible education for all the children of Cale Green - preparing them for life!
Each class has also created a set of aims for the school year which they presented in Assembly today.
What’s In Store?
Last year was another very successful year for the school. We had a very positive Ofsted Inspection, getting outstanding in two of the four categories. The Reception class was full (with a long waiting list) which demonstrated the trust the local community has in the school. We continued to provide a huge range of enrichment and engagement activities and we also gained the Basic Skills Quality Mark for the second time and the SUSTRANS ‘Bike It!’ Silver Award.
We have another exciting year planned. Our priorities for improvement include:
· Develop teaching strategies for effective formative assessment so that teaching becomes consistently outstanding
· Develop provision and practice in the Foundation Stage
· Raise standards in Mathematics across the school to match those in English at the end of Key Stage 2
· Further develop the use of computers to support learning and achieve the Naace ICT Mark
· Prepare for the introduction of the new National Curriculum and Modern Foreign Languages in September 2014
· Continue to promote the involvement of parents in school life and achieve the Leading Parent Partnership Award
· Prepare for the proposed expansion of the school
We will always give the achievement of the children the very highest priority to ensure that each individual child achieves the best that they can possibly do. We will always try to ensure that the experience of school life is as interesting and enjoyable as possible – to ensure that the children have a ‘voice’ in school life and that each child is known and valued as an individual The trick for all of us is to celebrate and sustain our current success and improve wherever possible.
Cale Green Primary School is a truly ‘comprehensive’ primary school. The children come from a wide range of backgrounds and this helps to create such a vibrant school community.
With such hard working, well behaved and happy children, the continued support of families and the thorough commitment and dedication of a professional staff our school will continue to achieve its stated aim and mission to provide the best possible education for all the children of Cale Green.
New Website / VLE
During the school holidays we have changed over to a new website. There isn’t currently the amount of information which was on the previous website but over the coming term we will be adding more and more content.
Please remember that from the website you can also access the school ‘Virtual Learning Environment’ (VLE). This is a secure website which the children can log onto to access their class area and allows both school and home to access information and activities in a safe environment.
A letter with your child’s username and password will be sent out next week.
As always, if you wish to discuss anything in this newsletter, or anything else, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Yours sincerely,
D.Marshall
Headteacher
‘The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding … behaviour, courtesy and attitudes to learning are exemplary. The leadership and management are outstanding … all pursue excellence resolutely’ Ofsted