22nd September 2023 - Newsletter

Dear Parents and Carers,

This Week in School

We held a fantastic WOW reading event in school this week to raise the profile of reading for pleasure. We called it the ‘Extreme Read’, and on Thursday, all pupils in the school went on a reading hunt around the school to find the staff members who were reading in most unusual places. The children also heard extracts from each staff member’s selected book. From Mrs Earp (who was reading in the pool), to Mrs Carpenter (settled up a tree), Mr Hughes (who was nestled under the library) and many more besides, the children had lots of avid readers to spot. Do chat to your child about the event, to find out which book their favourite extract was from, and which teacher they thought was reading in the most unusual place!

Year 5 Teaching Staff

We would like to make you aware of a change to the staffing arrangement in Year 5. Mrs Earp has been on a sabbatical break from teaching, although as you know she is very hard-working and committed to our school and has been active in this time in offering to temporarily cover classes as necessary. Mrs Earp has enjoyed working part-time hours and therefore has requested to permanently reduce her working week. Going forward, Mrs Earp will be employed for two days a week in Year 5 on a permanent basis. Therefore, the Governors will now advertise for a 3-day a week teaching post in Year 5, and we will aim to fill this post for a January 2024 start. In the meantime, Miss Droba continues to do a wonderful job in teaching Year 5 from Monday to Wednesday each week, and we are so pleased that the children are very happy, settled and learning well.

Pupil Premium

The Government considers Pupil Premium funding to be a key element of their education policy. Introduced in April 2011, the Pupil Premium provides additional funding to schools to target specific groups of children who are vulnerable to underachievement.  These include pupils from low income families; children in care and the children of armed service personnel.

For more information on who qualifies for this finding, and how to apply, please visit the following link:

https://www.somerset.gov.uk/children-families-and-education/early-years-and-childcare/early-years-pupil-premium-information-for-parents/

School Uniform Policy

Please can I make parents aware of the following amendments to our school uniform policy, which have recently been approved by our school Governing Body:

Jewellery

Under no circumstances are items of jewellery including bracelets, rings, or earrings to be worn. For children with pierced ears, only small single studs will be accepted.

Hair

Any hairbands or hair accessories must be of a reasonable size and in school colours – white and blue.

Hair longer than shoulder length must be tied back.

Hairstyles must be neat and tidy with no extreme styles e.g., no lines, patterns or colours applied to the hair.

Thank you for your co-operation with this.

Phonics Information Session for EYFS Parents – Friday 29^th September

A session to hear about how Phonics works in EYFS will be held by Mrs Weetch for EYFS parents on Friday 29^th September. This will take place at 3pm in the school hall. Please see the Autumn Term letter from Mrs Weetch for further details.

Best wishes,

Edwina McDonnell

Upcoming Dates:  

Friday 29^th September – EYFS ‘Meet the Parents’ – 3pm in the School Hall

Sunday 15th October – Harvest Mass at Church, 9.30 am

Monday 16th October – Parents’ Evening 5.30 pm – 7.30 pm

Tuesday 17^th October – Parents’ Evening 3.30 pm – 5.30 pm

Friday 20th October – Harvest Festival Service in School, 9:30a.m.