13th September 2024
Dear Parents and Carers,
This Week in School
The weather has been a little cheerier, if colder, this week and the children are settling nicely into their new year groups, getting to know their new teachers and the routines for each class. The teachers have all reported that they are impressed with pupils’ motivation and effort this week and our ‘Meet the Teacher’ event was a great success. If the need arises, please do not hesitate to contact your child’s class teacher by email. Contact details were included in class newsletters, but you may also get in touch with the school office to request this information, or indeed send a message to the office to be passed along. office@stgeorgestaunton.uk
Well done to Year 6 Chaplains
As you will know from reading last week’s newsletter, Mrs McNamara and I held a short meeting for parents before the Meet the Teacher event last Wednesday. At this meeting, our wonderful Year 6 Chaplains introduced themselves and led a very confident presentation on the work undertaken by the Chaplaincy Team at our school. They also led a quiet reflection for parents, similar to the reflections they regularly lead in class. All resources for the presentation and the reflection were prepared independently by the Chaplains and we were so impressed by the confidence they showed in preparing for and leading the presentation and worship. We had so many positive comments from parents afterwards who appreciated their hard work and enthusiasm. It served as an encouraging reminder of how confident and faithful children can become when they are nurtured, both at home and at school, by teachers and parents who care so deeply about supporting children in their faith journey. Well done, Year 6 Chaplains!
School Access
There are still a number of improvements due to be completed around the school site in the coming weeks. There has been a delay in receiving the new pedestrian gate for the EYFS area, due to a processing error at the fencing factory. I have been reassured by the contractor that this should be rectified and in place by the end of next week. There have been a few teething problems with the new front gate for vehicle access. The contractors have been in several times this week tweaking things and have ordered a necessary part. They will be back in again next week to make a repair.
Finally, we are waiting for the engineer to install the correct software to our IT systems so the access times can be changed for our front pedestrian gate. Once the access times are extended (as mentioned in last week’s newsletter) there will be less need to press the call button for access.
We are grateful for your patience as these essential safeguarding works are completed. We appreciate that change is difficult, but it has been heartening to hear positive comments from parents at pick up time who support our drive to enhance site security. It will be worth it when it is completed, and we are grateful to Clifton Diocese for providing support in enhancing our site security.
Asda Rewards - Money Available to Primary Schools with Loyalty Programme Giveaway
We would like to inform you of an exciting new way to raise funds for our school! Asda have set up a new loyalty programme whereby parents and supporters can raise money for their nominated school. Asda’s chief customer officer says of the initiative:
“The power of Asda Rewards means we can create a route for supporters to donate directly to their school, simply by doing their normal shopping with Asda and benefiting from the great value we offer everyday, as well as topping up their own Cashpot. It’s a game changing initiative for schools and a win-win for customers.”
We would be so grateful if you would consider supporting us by joining the scheme. For further information and details on how to join, please follow the links below:
Asda’s Cashpot for Schools initiative racks up almost £1m for schools in first 72 hours
Cashpot for Schools | Parentkind
Extra-Curricular Clubs
Mr Chidgey’s clubs are already up and running. He is sending further information out to parents next week. Do get in touch with him directly if you would like to enrol your child. J.chidgey@stgeorgestaunton.uk
Our class teachers will run some clubs this term. I’m sure you will join me in thanking them for their time and dedication in running these, as they receive no payment, other than witnessing the joy the children experience in attending them. The clubs for this term will be:
Miss Roberts – Exercise Class for Mindfulness – for Y4,Y5 and Y6 pupils.
Mrs Potter – Sewing & Craft Club - for Year 5 & 6
Mrs Godfrey – Choir – Monday Lunchtime – KS2
Mrs Earp – attending weekly Mass at St George’s 12.30pm – KS2
Mrs Earp – Library Club, Friday lunchtime – swapping alternate weeks KS1 then KS2
We will have further clubs aimed at KS1 in the Spring Term. Individual teachers will send out further information to the relevant year groups on how to apply for the club, and dates and times / spaces allocated. This will likely be via email, so look out for these.
We hope you have a lovely weekend and the weather stays bright.
Best wishes,
Edwina McDonnell
Headteacher
Upcoming Dates:
*Provisional* Monday 21st October – Parents’ Evening 5.30 pm – 7.30 pm
*Provisional* Tuesday 22nd October – Parents’ Evening 3.30 pm – 5.30 pm
Friday 25th October – Harvest Festival Service in School, 9:30a.m.
Saturday 26th October – Sunday 3rd November: SCHOOL CLOSED (Half-Term)
Monday 4th November – SCHOOL OPEN
