We ended our message last week by saying ‘Children settled into the new school year really well’. Two weeks in and we’re really pleased to see our children coming to school with great attitudes and behaviour, perfectly living up to our aim: happy and healthy learners.
- ‘Year 6 is great – there’s lots of new learning but I think it is much more individual.’
- ‘I feel more confident in Year 4.’
- ‘We’re more independent in Year 2.’
- ‘It’s great that we can go swimming in Y3 – I’m so excited.’
Last week’s message had some important messages for the year ahead. We mentioned our expectations on home learning and uniform and behaviour, amongst other things – check back to last week’s message in case you missed it.
Governing board vacancy
We’ve a vacancy for parent governor on the governing board of Sphere Federation.
No special qualifications are needed other than dedication, commitment, enthusiasm – and time to commit to the role. Read more about the role.
If you’re interested in the role, please submit an expression of interest by 22 September 2023. Please use this form.
Reception children
We started this week’s message by saying how pleased we are to see our children coming to school with great attitudes and behaviour, perfectly living up to our aim: happy and healthy learners. This includes children who have started with us in Reception – we’ve got stuck straight into learning phonics.
Just so you’re aware, we’re currently carrying out a Reception Baseline Assessment, something we’re required to do by the Department for Education. Read their leaflet for more information.
Vaping
Regularly, there are some horrible news stories, such as this one, about even young children ending up in hospital because of vaping.
It’s likely that the UK will follow other countries in banning disposable vapes.
At the moment, it’s illegal to sell vaping products to children and young people under 18. This is because of the risks involved:
- The short-term side effects of vaping include throat and mouth irritation, headache, cough and feeling sick.
- The long-term effects of vaping are still unknown, they are still too new for there to have been proper research.
- Nicotine is highly addictive. There is also a risk when non-smokers try vaping, they might move on to try more harmful cigarettes and drugs.
- There are also illegal vapes being sold that contain dangerous levels of lead, nickel and chromium.
Check out this new guidance for parents and carers who might be worried about their child vaping.
This week’s message continues with three important messages about Living and Learning for the year ahead. As always, please speak with your child’s class teacher or with Mrs Weekes if you’ve any questions, comments or concerns.
Cooking sessions and allergies
Across the year, your child will take part in sessions to prepare three snacks or meals:
- Year 1 and 2: banana sandwich, fruit salad, wraps
- Year 3 and 4: leek and potato soup, pitta pizza, salad and dressing
- Year 5 and 6: lentil and vegetable soup, omelette, a tomato sauce base
Read a shortened version of our Cooking and Nutrition plan for more detail of the sessions across the year. (We’re in Year A of a two year cycle for the plans.)
If your child has an allergy, please make sure you tell us. Contact the school office.
8Rs for learning
Talking of food…
This week in Living and Learning sessions, your child’s been thinking about eight different ‘ingredients’ for being a great learner. Check them out. Have a chat with your child about the different Rs:
- Does your child demonstrate some Rs really well?
- Are there other Rs they might need to work on, and if so, how?
Relationships and sex education
In the Summer term, there are specific sessions where we teach about this, but aspects of our policy may come up at any time. When you’ve got time, have a read of our policy – Section 9 and the table on page 11 might be especially useful.
Have a happy and healthy weekend.
