Friday Round Up 7th October 2016

Friday Round-Up 7th October 2016

 

Individual School Photographs- A reminder

This was originally scheduled for October 12th but has had to be moved to Tuesday 18th October. As in previous years the photographer will be available in The Church (not the Church Hall) to take pre-school family photographs. This 8.00 to 9.00am session does get very busy though. All siblings attending the school will have photographs taken both individually and together.

Whistleblow- Say No to Bullying

I introduced the children to the term ‘Whistleblowing’ during our Monday Assembly this week. Can you please see if they can remember what it means?

 

I then used this term in the context of Bullying to empower our children to tell an adult either at home or at school if they feel they are being bullied. The DFE definition of bullying, which I explained to the children, is

 

‘Behaviour by a group or an Individual repeated over time, that intentionally hurts someone, or a group, physically or emotionally’

Again it would be helpful if you could remind the children of this. I have invited the whole school to take part in a Whistleblow- Say No to Bullying Poster Competition. All entries should be given in by next Wednesday, 12th on A4 paper or card please; any medium is allowed including the computer. This is part of a series of assemblies, school and class activities to highlight this issue, empower our children and to help prevent bullying before it happens. Reports of Bullying are very low at St John’s, but I don’t want that to stop us being proactive in this matter. Thank for your support in this matter and please let me know if they can remember what Whistleblowing means!

School Nurse Drop-in Sessions

Along with this email I have attached details of this service which allows you to meet with a member of the School Nursing Team to discuss issues such as

  • Day and Night bedwetting
  • Hearing and Vision
  • Weight and Dietary Issues
  • Sleep/Behaviour Problems
  • General Health Problems
  • Or any other health concerns you may have about your child

I would be interested to hear if you find these sessions useful.

Chess Club- Mondays 12.30 to 1.30pm

We have a very popular chess club which has run for a number of years with the support of Mrs Fox. We would welcome some additional help as the club is so popular. Please let me know if you are available; you don’t have to be a world champion!

 

 

Cleaning Vacancy

We have a vacancy for an early morning cleaner 6.30 to 8.30am every morning during term time with overtime available in the school holidays. Please see Mrs Seal in the front office if you are interested.

Cake Sale

The St John’s Cake Sale moved up a League last week with a fund raising sale for McMillian which made an impressive £464. Congratulations to Nicola Adams for her organisational skills and thank you to all the Parent bakers and school staff who contributed on the day.

See you all down the gym!

 

Spelling Programme Years 2 to 6

We have recently invested in a new spelling programme devised by Oxford University Press and called Read Write Inc Spelling Scheme. Based upon successful research into the teaching of spelling we intend to use it to further raise our already high standards in SPaG (Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar). This summer our results in Year 6 for this subject was 95% compared to 73% nationally.

Generally, we are pleased with the scheme, however it does take some getting used to and that includes for parents too. Apologies for any headaches we have given you with the new log book. To support parents to support your child we have arranged a number of short parent meetings to explain both this initiative and our reading. They are:

 

  • Year 6- Already Taken Place (parents notified separately)
  • Years 3, 4, and 5 – Tuesday 18th October either 9.00am or 3.30pm
  • Year 2-Monday 17th October at 3.30pm

 

These meetings should only take half an hour. I look forward to seeing you there.

 

Visitors this Week

  • Wednesday- Headteacher of Roding Valley spoke to Year 5 and 6 Children
  • Thursday- Diane Davies (Maya Archaeologist) visited year 5
  • Thursday – School Nurse gave a talk to Year 1

 

Please look out in the book bags for information about our forthcoming Science Week including a competition to design and make a Habitat Hat.

 

Please find attached information on a recruitment evening we are running for our School Direct, Teacher Training, Programme.

 

Have a good weekend.

 

Yours sincerely,

P.J.Tidmarsh

Headmaster