School has been busy this week, the children have thoroughly enjoyed our Careers Week and I have enjoyed listening to the children starting to rehearse songs for our Christmas performances with Mrs Porrett. Here are some updates and news items from the week:
Careers Week
Thank you so much to all parents/carers who attended school this week to talk to the children about their careers. We are so thankful to have parents involved in helping us deliver real life experiences to the children. We have had fascinating talks from an Author, a Fashion Designer, a Doctor and a Helicopter Engineer to name just a few. I’m sure these memories will stay with the children for years to come and inspire them to have ambition when they consider their future careers.
Ms Evans’ Retirement
Ms Evans will be retiring from teaching at Christmas time and so Whales Class in Year 4 will be having a new Class Teacher from January 2023. Ms Evans has worked at Coleham for 29 years and has taught many, many children during her time here. We will all be very sorry to see her leave us – her dedication, enthusiasm and calm manner has been greatly appreciated over the years and she will be missed by all of us. I am sure that you will join me in wishing her the very best of luck as she moves onto her next chapter.
We have recruited a new teacher, Miss G Jones who will be joining us as Whales’ new Class Teacher.
Tuesday: Odd Socks Day
Next week is Anti-bullying week in school and we will be planning activities around this in classrooms. Tuesday will be Odd Socks Day, so please encourage your child to come to school wearing odd socks. They can be long or short, bright or whacky! We want to raise an awareness that we are all different and that children should be themselves, accepting of one another and celebrate difference. The school photographers will be in on Tuesday taking individual/sibling photos of our pupils. This will not be impacted by Odd Sock Day as photos are taken from waist-up only.
Football/Pokemon Cards
Over the last few weeks, many children have been bringing cards into school to swap with each other. Whilst we appreciate that many children enjoy playing with these during breaktime, and we normally encourage children to work together on similar interests, they have unfortunately caused some issues and arguments between the children. Therefore, we think it is best for the children keep their cards at home for the time being and we ask that you do not allow your children to bring them in. From Monday, cards will be confiscated and returned to parents at home time.
Class DoJo
We continue to use Class DoJo to share work regularly with you. Please may we request that this platform is not used to send messages to staff. If you would like to speak to your child’s class teacher, please try catch them in the morning or after school when your children are released. If you are unable to do that, or would prefer to email your child’s class teacher, please send an email to our admin address: (admin@col.318education.co.uk). Alternatively, please call the school office and we will arrange for your child’s class teacher to call you back. We are really keen to maintain a good work-life balance for our staff and this is the reason why we ask that you don’t use Class DoJo as a messaging device. Thank you for your understanding.
Parked Cars
Please can we remind you to switch off your engines if you are waiting near to the school in your vehicle. We would like to keep the air around school as clean and pollution-free as possible: idling cars pollute the air for pedestrians and also our neighbours who live along Greyfriars’ Road.
Drop and Swap
Our Drop & Swap recycling trolley in School Reception is full of shoes and trainers which urgently need a new home. Please come and look next week and take anything you can re-home before it is cleared away. Our next campaign for Drop and Swap is Christmas Clothing which we will be starting to collect shortly.
Christmas events
Christmas is soon approaching and we are looking forward to our Christmas Performances at Holy Trinity Church and to taking the children to the pantomime. Please make payment for the pantomime as soon as you are able to. Staff have started recording for our annual Christmas Video which is our special surprise to the children and to you all. Other events/activities include: a Grand Hamper Raffle; our ‘Elfridges’ shopping experience for the children; and some Christmas Community work which includes the ‘kindness shoeboxes’ that we collected last year for children that need it most in our community.
The Grand Hamper Raffle
Preparation for the Grand Hamper Raffle starts this week. We know that the cost of living is a worry for us all and always appreciate any support you are able to offer, whether that is donating a small item or unwanted gift you have at home, purchasing a ticket or promoting the raffle to friends and family. The School Budget is challenging this year: this fundraising will help us purchase any extra books and equipment needed.
We would be really grateful if your child or family could bring into school a voluntary donation to go into a Hamper. Teachers will start to collect these in class from Monday.
The themes for each hamper are below along with a few suggestions.
| Hamper Themes |
| Reception and Year 1 |
Kids Hamper |
Toys, Sweets, Stationery, Games, Bubble Bath, books, art supplies, stickers
|
| Year 2
|
Chocolate Lovers Hamper |
Chocolates, Drinking Chocolate, Biscuits.
|
| Year 3 |
Pamper Hamper |
Toiletries, Teas, Chocolates, Treats, Make Up, Book, Jewellery, Fizz.
|
| Year 4 |
Men’s Hamper
|
Chocolates, Socks, Savoury Nibbles, Books, Drinks, toiletries.
|
| Year 5 |
Savoury Treats Hamper |
Crackers, Nibbles, Chutney, Nuts
|
| Year 6 |
Christmas Hamper |
Mince Pies, Christmas Pudding, Stollen, Christmas Cake, Tree Decorations, Crackers, Chutneys, Chocolates |
There is no need to stick to the theme if you have something else suitable to donate. Thank you so much for supporting this. A separate letter, next week, will launch the raffle online for ticket purchases.
I hope that you all have a good weekend and look forward to seeing you at the school gates next week.
Yours sincerely,
Claire Jones
Headteacher