Headteacher Newsletter
Friday 21st September 2023
Dear parents and carers,
St Mary’s children and staff have had a busy couple of weeks settling into the new academic year!
Safety before and after school
| We have noticed a number of pupils using the playground equipment before and after school. Please remind your children not to play with the equipment or use the climbing apparatus. We have also reminded pupils during Collective Worship that we do not expect them to use the equipment during these times. Thank you for your ongoing support with this. |
School Opening and closing times
| Beginning of the school day: School begins at 8:45am and our gates will open at 8:30am. Parents & carers must stay with their children until they are welcomed into the school building. Reception & KS1 children can enter their classrooms at 8:45am. KS2 pupils can enter their classrooms when they hear the bell go at 8:40am End of the school day: School finishes at 3:20pm. Our school gates open to parents at 3:15pm. Collection after 3:20pm will be classed as late collection and will be logged in our school system. Once the class teachers have dismissed pupils to the responsible person collecting, they are your responsbility. Please do not allow your child to leave the school playground without you. |
Safe drop off and collection
All children remain the responsibility of the parent/carer whilst in the playground during drop off
and collection times.
We ask that all families leave our school playground by 3:30pm when we close the playground gates.
| Who can drop off and collect my child? All reception children must be dropped off and collected by an adult (18 years +) We expect that most of our Y1 & Y2 pupils will be dropped off and collected by their parent or carer. However, should you wish for an older sibling (over the age of 16) or family member to collect then we ask that you contact our school office to complete a request form. This is not automatic and must be agreed with the Headteacher. Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 children may be collected from school by an older sibling (aged 13 or over) if requested via the school office. However, should you wish for an older sibling (over the age of 16) or family member to collect then we ask that you contact our school office to complete a request form. This is not automatic and must be agreed with the Headteacher. If you require an older child (aged 13 or above) to collect younger siblings, then we ask you to fill in a consent form so that we have your written permission. We do not allow pupils to collect other pupils without consent and we have maximised the number of children that can be collected by a sibling to two. Older siblings may only collect pupils from KS2. If the school has any concern that older siblings are not competent to take younger siblings from school or there are concerns about any child’s safety or welfare due to these arrangements, this request may be declined. |
| Travelling to and from school independently in Year 6 (and at the end of year 5) At St Mary’s C of E Primary School our policy is to allow children in Year 6 to travel to and from school independently provided parental consent has been given in writing and agreed by the headteacher. Children in Year 5 may be given permission to travel to and from school independently in the summer term provided that both the school and parents are satisfied that the child is able to travel safely. The school keeps a register of children who have permission to travel to and from school independently which is shared with the child’s class teacher. Children must notify the class teacher when leaving school. The children will always be encouraged to walk home together in pairs. |
Collective Worship
| In Collective Worship, we have focused on new beginnings and responding to our feelings. We discussed how to calm our ‘Sadness Spots’ when we come across them. Here are some of the ideas for calming a sadness spot: Read a book Talk to a friend about how you are feeling Create a piece of art Do something active Listen to your favourite music. Please have a look at the resources we have used: |
Please have a look at the resources we have used:
Our Courageous Advocates! Pupil Leadership Team 2023-2024
At St Mary’s, we celebrated the International Day of Democracy by holding our prospective Year 6 Leadership Team speeches! Every child that wanted to be considered for a role spent time and effort preparing speeches at home ready for the big day. We were incredibly proud of the children and the younger pupils have certainly been inspired by their confidence and effort.
Congratulations to our Pupil Leadership Team!
Head Pupils – Henry and Poppy N
Deputy Head Pupils – Lucas and Nicole
Ambassadors – Arya , Chloe, Taylor, Emily, Belle and Tilly
Reading Ambassadors – Hollie W and Jessica
School Council:
Attendance
Absent from school means absent from learning
Stars of the Week
Reception Open Day & Evening – Wednesday 27th September
