Friday Round 29/09/2017

Friday Round-Up

End of Week Four! 29th September 2017

Dear Parents and friends of the school,

Harvest Festival

Once again, thank you for all of the many kind food donations that we have already received for our Harvest display. Please take a moment, if you get the opportunity, to have a look at all of the products that are displayed in the Church, before they are sent off next week. I am sure that they will be fully appreciated and will go to those who are truly needy.

On Thursday the children enjoyed a very lively, fun Harvest Festival Service in the Church. Reverend Guinness and Sam Lockstone delivered some important Christian messages to the children, as well as exciting them greatly with lots of coloured tissue paper and a rather fun machine – which fired all of the pieces of paper into the air above them. Judging by the excitement the children certainly had fun! Thank you ladies!

Car Engines Running

Just a friendly request… One of our parents has remarked to me that during pick-up and drop off time she has noticed that quite a few cars are leaving their engines running, for a considerable period of time. We would ask that if your car is stationary for any length of time then please switch the engine off, to reduce levels of pollution in the local area. Better still – walk (or ride… or scoot… your way) to school, if you can!

Thank you for your support in this matter!

Year Group Welcome Meetings

Over the last week St John’s has hosted a number of ‘Welcome’ Meetings. This week we have had five meetings – two for Year 1 and two for Year 6, as well as the Reception Welcome Meeting on Thursday. I appreciate all the feedback that the teachers and I have received following these meetings and I have made some notes for the future. Thank you too, if you are one of the parents who has attended one of these meetings – we really do appreciate your support; thanks also to the teachers who have taken the time to prepare and deliver these important events. St John’s values the close links we have built up with all of our parents and we want this to continue into the future. Watch out for the other Year Group Welcome meetings, which will be listed in the Upcoming Dates at the bottom of this Friday Roundup.

Staff emails

I have become aware this week of a number of occasions where parents have been emailing staff members directly on their school email addresses. Can I please request that if you wish to speak directly to a member of staff that you try to catch them at the end of the school day, at the first instance, or if that is not possible that you email the school at its admin address, where Lisa Seal will redirect them immediately and the staff member will respond as soon as possible.

PTA Quiz Night

The next quiz night will be on Friday 10^th November. Teams will consist of up to 8 people but if you can't make a full team please still come along as we can join groups together or add people to teams.   The quiz nights are always a great way to meet other parents while raising funds for the school, so please come along and show your support. Registration forms will be in book bags next week. Thank you to the PTA for organising this valuable event.

Upcoming Class assemblies and Theme Weeks:

Those of you who are familiar to St John’s will know that every year we hold a Theme Week where we celebrate a particular subject from the curriculum and each class, from Reception up to Year 6, shares or performs some of the things that they have been learning recently in their class to the parents of their class in a whole school assembly. I know that all of these events are really enjoyed by parents and everyone that comes to see them. Therefore, here are the dates of the Theme Weeks and Class Assemblies for your information… (please note that some of the assemblies take place on a Thursday or a Friday).

Please remember to check the school website under the calendar section for further important dates for your diaries! We’d love to see you there!

Computing & Safeguarding Advice:

If your child receives offensive messages online, then they may be a victim of cyber bullying. Cyber bullying can be especially damaging to a child as it can sometimes be highly aggressive and persistent in its nature.

 Our school takes a firm and consistent line on all forms of bullying, be it online or in school. If you are concerned that your child is being cyber-bullied, then it is advisable to speak to your class teacher in the first instance.

If you need additional information or if you suspect your child of cyber bullying others, the NSPCC have clear guidance which can be viewed at 

https://www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/child-abuse-and-neglect/bullying-and-cyberbullying/keeping-children-safe/

Reading Buddies

Last week we sent out a Parentmail asking for volunteers to become a Reading Buddy. Reading Buddies have a HUGE impact on the progress and enjoyment of reading across the school. Traditionally, these volunteers kindly give up an hour or two every week to listen to children read, asking them questions and discussing the language used and themes of the book. Thank you to those of you who have already volunteered their services for this academic year; we do, however, have large gaps in several year groups (e.g. Year 6), therefore we would greatly appreciate your help; please return the slip to your class teacher as soon as you can, if you are interested! Please note that there is a meeting on Friday 6^th October at 9am to share and discuss ideas and strategies to make this year’s programme even better. Thank you for your support.

School Photographs

The individual school photographs are taking place on Wednesday 11^th October. There is an opportunity for family photographs and pre-school sibling photographs to be taken on a first come first served basis from 8am to 8.45am on this day in the church hall.

Diary

Activities this week:

• Year 1 Welcome Meeting on Monday and Wednesday
• Year 6 Welcome and Kingswood Meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday
• Harvest Festival Service on Thursday in the Church

Next week… and beyond

• Monday 2^nd October – Year 1 Coffee Morning
• Tuesday 3^rd October – Year 4 Welcome Meetings at 9am and 3.30pm
• Friday 6^th October – Reading Buddies Meeting at 9am
• Wednesday 11^th October – Individual Photographs
• Friday 13^th October – 2T Class Assembly

Have a lovely weekend and thank you for all of your continued support this month – onto October!

Mr C. Jarmain

Headteacher