Headteacher’s Letter: 10th January

Dear Parents/Carers,

It was lovely to welcome the children back to school last week after the Christmas holiday.  Everyone is looking refreshed and ready for the term ahead.

We have a busy half term ahead with lots of activities planned.  On Friday, we will be hosting our first school disco since before Covid; we are really looking forward to this and hope that lots of children will be attending.  In addition, we are also organising a parents quiz night this half term (details to follow), which we hope you will support.

From a curriculum point of view, we have a number of trips planned including a Year 1 trip to Blists Hill, a Year 3 trip to Birmingham Sea Life Centre and a Year 4 trip to Engenuity as part of their Science topic.  Year 4 will also be going to Condover for a 1 night residential trip and Year 5 will be visiting the National Space Centre in Leicester as part of their Science and History work.  More details about all trips will follow in due course.

In addition, this term Mrs Stennett will be leading the School Production of Jungle Book.  Auditions for Years 5 & 6 have started this week (during lunch breaks) and the production itself will be just before Easter.  The whole school is also gearing up for our Francophone Day later this half term, organised by Madame Jones.  During our Francophone Day, the children will learn about the different countries where French is spoken.  We will also be celebrating the Chinese New Year at the beginning of February and we look forward to being able to share some images via Class Do Jo with you.

Staffing Update

This term, we have welcomed Miss Jones to teach in Whales class and we have also welcomed Mrs Mukhopadyhay to our support staff team, working across both Year 4 classes.

Attendance

We are working really hard to ensure that attendance and punctuality remains high across school.  Please remember that good attendance is crucial and that most minor aliments (e.g. a cold, tiredness) can be dealt with at school.  We regularly speak to the children about the importance of punctuality and good attendance even if we are not feeling 100%.  Please can I ask you to deliver the same message at home to your children and, if in doubt, please send your child to school and be assured that if they are unwell while at school, we will call you to collect them.  Please remember that your child must arrive in good time to enter school at 8:50 am for registration and the school gates will close at 8:55 am.  Thank you for your ongoing support.

Term Dates

The spring term is often a time when people look to book their annual holidays. If you are planning a trip this year, please do check our school’s website for our term dates to ensure that you are referencing the correct term dates: We set our own term dates and so Shropshire Council’s term dates do not always correspond with ours, particularly when it comes to PD Days. Also, please be aware that unless there are exceptional circumstances, holidays during term time cannot be authorised.

Class Assemblies

This term, we would like to invite all parents/carers into school to watch their child’s class assembly.  These assemblies will be a chance for your children to share with you the work they have been doing here at school.  They will last for approximately 20 minutes and will begin at 9:10am on your allocated day.  Please head into the hall via the front door straight after drop off on your allocated day:

We hope that you will be able to join us for these assemblies.

Finally, please remember that if you have any concerns or queries at all as the term progresses, do contact the school office.  Your child’s class teacher will usually be your first port of call but me or Mr Larkham are out on the playground most days, and are very happy to deal with any concerns you may have.

Yours sincerely,

Claire Jones

Headteacher