The Link Newsletter #45

Friday 10th February 2023

Dear Parents and Carers,

The beginning of the half term break marks the half way point in this academic year. Who would have thought!?  It has ended with the Theme Week which has been another example of how brilliantly the school has come together to celebrate our love of languages; French and Spanish being the two we are studying at St John's. Mrs Murphy has promoted an array of activities which the children have thoroughly enjoyed, from designing French menus, baking French Madeleines to cooking paella. Mmmm, I spot a culinary theme here! It has been wonderful watching children explore languages and use language in 'mock restaurant' settings as well as singing Frère Jacques. Thank you Mrs Murphy.

This week has also been Children's Mental Health Week, its main focus on "Let's Connect" - where we have been teaching children the importance of friendships and talking about how we are feeling. Thank you Mrs Hammerston for your continued guidance and input. Wellbeing is of course one of our three pillars within our vision 'Life in all its Fullness' John 10:10.

Tuesday 7th February was Internet Safety Day and Miss Marbe led a wonderful assembly last Thursday highlighting the importance of keeping safe when using the Internet. Thank you Miss Marbe.

For many children, their access to personal devices (phones, tablets and laptops) seem to be as synonymous to them as the digital watch was to us when we were growing up. Of course the risk to children nowadays is significantly greater as they have a "window" into the world that simply didn't exist during our formative years. We know that these risks can lead to serious incidents and it is our responsibility to help our children navigate their way safely.

Miss Marbe shared this video, Hanni and the Magic Window during the assembly. It tells the story of how Hanni dealt with seeing something upsetting or worrying when using the Internet. It would be worth watching together and discussing with your child what they should do if they saw something like Hanni did.

There were collective gasps from the children when we showed these app icons and the respective age restrictions. 

    

As you can see, the majority of apps that I know some of our children use, should not be enabled for children in primary schools. WhatsApp may come as a surprise to you. What could possibly be the harm in messaging tools you may ask? WhatsApp appears entirely harmless, but I believe that most children have yet to master the skills in communicating using text and we know, even as adults, how easily text messages can be misunderstood. In recent months, Mrs Tinker and I have spent hours dealing with the fall-out of a small number of children using WhatsApp to message in Group Chats. Whilst these messages have been sent outside of school hours, invariably the upset impacts of the children's relationships when in school and quickly becomes a school issue too. The content of the messages we have seen has been shocking and wholly inappropriate. I have seen evidence of extreme abusive and sexualised language sent via WhatsApp messaging during out of school hours. I cannot urge you enough to consider these age restrictions, and discuss app usage with your children. Monitoring your child's use of devices is essential.

As you know, children are not permitted to have mobile phones or tablets in school. Any devices that are brought in, must be handed into the front office.

FAREWELL MRS HODIS

After 26+ glorious years service at St John's, Mrs Hodis has decided to take up a new role supporting children with Autism at a local independent special school.

Trying to imagine what 26 years of commitment and dedication to one school community looks like is difficult. Mrs Hodis joined the school in 1997, the same year which included the death of Diana Princess of Wales, the landslide victory for Tony Blair as he brought the Labour Party into power, and the record for the fastest land speed record set by Andy Green.

The speed of change in schools has been rapid since that time too. Mrs Hodis has seen much change, having worked alongside four Head Teachers, countless members of staff and literally thousands of children. The impact Mrs Hodis has had cannot be underestimated and we thank you for everything you have done for the children of St John's past and present.

I am sure the entire community will join me in wishing Mrs Hodis well in her future role; one that is incredibly close to her heart.

We are hoping to recruit an experienced LSA, please see the advert on our website.

YEAR 5 & 6 PHASE LEADER 

I am delighted to announce that following interviews for the position of Year 5/6 Phase Leader earlier this week, Mr Peck has been appointed to this position. I know that the many years of teaching experience under his belt will stand him in excellent stead to lead the Year 5/6 team of staff and children. Mr Peck is currently teaching Deer class in Year 3 and there will be no changes here until September.

Congratulations Mr Peck!

MESSAGE FROM THE PTA CHAIR

I am pleased to announce that since the last newsletter I have appointed Dave Snaith as treasurer of the PTA. We are currently working through the handover process with our outgoing treasurer.

I also have a vacancy for the secretary role. The main responsibilities are;

• assisting the chair in arranging meetings and ensuring they are quorate.
• taking minutes at meetings ensuring key points, decisions made and relevant action points are recorded.
• communicating with the school, committee members and volunteers including circulating the agenda before PTA meetings.
• preparing publicity for events, including flyers, posters and tickets

If anyone is interested please email pta@stjohns.efspt.org.

Sue Moody

HEAD TEACHER'S BALL - 13TH MAY 2023, 6PM

Tickets can be ordered for the Head Teacher's Ball. This is an enjoyable event and a great fundraiser for the school. Printable booking form here.

     

UNIFORM

I know that the colder weather has led to some children wearing boots as their school shoes. Whilst I understand the practicalities of walking to school, these are not school shoes and I must urge parents to ensure that children are wearing the correct footwear to school. I mention this now to enable you the time to purchase shoes during the half term break ready for Monday morning.

I also want to mention that the school is able to support parents with the cost of uniform items if you are finding finances difficult. Please approach any of the school staff and we can discuss how we can help you and of course we will be incredibly discreet.

PARENTS' EVENING

In the second week after we return, we will be holding our Parents' Evening on Tuesday 28th and Thursday 2nd March. It is an expectation of mine that all parents make an appointment to meet with their class teacher. Should there be a reason why either dates are impossible for you to attend, our teaching staff will do their utmost to find an alternative date and time as they value the importance of meeting with you.

Remember, you may also speak with any staff member at times other than Parents' Evening appointments. Please do not feel that you only have one or two occasions to speak about your child's progress, behaviour or performance.

The booking system, via the Arbor app, will open on Tuesday 21st February at 9am.

SCITT (SCHOOL CENTRED INITIAL TEACHER TRAINING)

Are you considering a teaching career?

St John's is the lead school for the (Ofsted Outstanding) West Essex SCITT programme. As you may know we usually have four or five trainees working with experienced class teachers and leaders at St John's. It is an excellent model of on-the-job training, working four days in the classroom and a fifth day learning pedagogical theory and practice. 

If you are interested in teaching, please see the flyer and visit the West Essex SCITT website.

Note: there is a Coffee Morning on 9th March at 10am at St John's. Book a place by emailing vsmullen@efspt.org

CROSSING PATROL ADVERT

We have been blessed to have Sarah join us as our new Crossing Patrol Officer and she is very much enjoying the role. Given how busy the High Road is in the mornings, we do have two crossing patrols allocated to the school site. Essex Education are currently recruiting to this second post. If you are interested, or know someone who might be, please pass on these details and apply. Crossing Patrol Officer job advert (for some reason we are listed under Loughton.)

PARENTING COURSES

There is no manual for being a parent but help is out there. You may wish to explore some of these courses, some of which are online, and offer guidance on issues such as establishing boundaries, family wellbeing, separation anxiety, fussy eaters and lots more. 

 ...AND FINALLY...