Newsletter … Newsletter … Newsletter … Newsletter … Newsletter … Newsletter … Newsletter … News Dear Parents and Carers
March 2016
March 2016 News Round-Up In this short term before the Easter holidays we have been packing the days with even more exciting learning opportunities. As I visit the classrooms I can see the children developing an ever-growing pride in their school. Our children are great at telling me what makes our school special, what we do that makes learning fun and engaging as well as what we need to do to keep getting better. With Parents’ evening this week I would encourage you to chat with your child and find out what their view is. I will continue to place feedback sheets in the main school hall and would ask that you share your thoughts with me, both good and bad, so we can help build an even better school. We continue to focus on our ‘GREAT’ values; they are woven throughout our curriculum and our daily life at school. I hope your child is able to explain to you what our 5 school values are and what they mean to them?
What have the children been exploring? Updates from the teams… In Year 6, a group of children have recently been lucky enough to go to the Houses of Parliament to look at democracy and British values in action. They visited the Royal quarter, the House of Lords, the House of Commons and Westminster Hall. Another group are heading off to visit Stonehenge soon. As part of their topic on Ancient Greece ‘From Alexander the Great to the Olympics’, Year 6 visited the British Museum in London and had an amazing time exploring one of the world’s greatest museums.
Year 6 have been researching the naturalist, Charles Darwin. They have enjoyed looking at different aspects of his career, including of course - his theory of evolution! Thank you to all the parents who attended the recent meeting on the new arrangements for testing your child at the end of Year 6. Remember, if you have any questions please just ask.
Year 5 visited the Roman palace at Fishbourne. Our children have been producing some fantastic Roman shields as part of their home learning and are enjoying learning about the Romans in Britain. Year 4 have been learning about Egypt, both modern and ancient. A big thank you to you all for their magnificent home learning projects that are flooding in now – check out the blog in the next few days when we will be adding some pictures. The children have been enjoying mashing up traditional tales and putting a modern twist on them; ask your child if they can retell one of their stories from school. Year 3 have had a wonderful trip to the Hindu Temple in Neasden – the children were taken aback by the size and beauty of this amazing temple. Year 3 have been experiencing sessions on ‘mindfulness’ which is helping the children to find inner peace and strategies to calm themselves when they feel overwhelmed. Ask your child about ‘finger breathing’ and look out for a separate letter explaining more about this interesting life skill. Year 1 and 2 had an awesome day at Winchester Science Centre. The Destination Space show was fantastic! It was a special science show as part of the European Space Agency’s first British Astronaut, Tim Peake’s Principia Mission to the International Space Station. The children learnt all about what it is like to be on the International Space Station. The planetarium show was amazing! We were enthralled learning about the Earth, Sun and Moon before looking at a view of the night sky. We have also been designing and making a space buggy. In Foundation Stage 2 …We have been learning about life under the sea, reading and exploring the books ‘Rainbow Fish’ and ‘Sharing a Shell’; using these stories we have discussed, amongst other things, how to be a good friend. We have read ‘The Fish who Could Wish’ and the children have been making wishes of their own in their writing including ‘I wish I was relaxing on the beach’ and ‘I wish I could drive a car’ We are now changing our under the sea topic into the topic of ….dinosaurs! Lots more amazing adventure to be had. E-Safety We continue to teach our children how to be safe both in the real world and on-line. One of the messages from this teaching is that some of our children are having an inappropriate experience when online at home. I would encourage you to ensure you have the appropriate family filters in place on your internet at home. Visit: http://www.saferinternet.org.uk/advice-and-resources/parents-and-carers/parental-controls for more advice. The message remains the same; please be vigilant at all times when your children are online, including the use of games consoles and mobile phones. Too many of our children are gaining access to unsafe material and engaging in inappropriate conversations which have a knock-on effect in the classrooms.
Attendance Thank you to all parents who adopt a sensible attitude to school attendance. It is vital for children to be at school every day when they are fit and well enough to do so. There are 190 school days in a year and we continue to ask you to aim for 100% attendance. Many of our children achieve this and being absent is not the norm. The school will not authorise absences from school during these 190 days unless there is a very exceptional reason for this absence. Unfortunately many fines have been handed out to parents in the past term and a half and I am hoping we can reduce this number as we go into the second half of the year. Out attendance percentages are below, as you can see last half term was not as good as we would hope for. Let’s see if we can improve this figure before Easter! Half term Autumn 1 Autumn 2 Spring 1 Spring 2
Attendance Percentage 96.2% 95.3% 93.5% Aiming for higher!!
Free School Meals and Pupil Premium Funding Parents of all children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 will already be aware that their child is entitled to a free school meal as of the first day of the school year. However, if parents meet the criteria below for pupil premium funding I would urge you to register with the school office as this will generate additional funding for the school which can be spent directly on your child. Please check the following below and rest assured that all personal information is treated with the utmost confidentiality. Parents of children in Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 who meet the criteria below will need to register to receive a free school meal and acquire pupil premium funding for the school. If parents meet the criteria for free school meals but prefer not to use their entitlement PLEASE continue to register as this will still gain additional funding for the school. Nursery Parents can also apply for Early Years Pupil Premium. Are you in receipt of: Income Support Income-based Jobseekers Allowance Income-related Employment and Support Allowance Support under Part 6 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 The guaranteed element of State Pension Credit Child Tax Credit (provided you’re not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190) Or the child has: Been in local authority care for 1 day or more in England or Wales Been adopted from care in England or Wales Left care under a special guardianship order or residence order in England or Wales Please visit www.bracknell-forest.gov.uk for more information and applying online.
IMPORTANT - Sickness Reminder Please remember to call up and leave a message (01344 424 911 Option 1) if your child is unwell and unable to attend school. If we do not have a reason for your child’s absence it will be marked as unauthorised.
Parent Helpers If you can spare some time to help in school please let us know! We really appreciate the help parents offer. If you can find the time please mention it to your child’s class teacher or phone or pop in to see Mrs Revill in the office who will be able to answer all your questions. Class Blogs We will continue to update the class blogs as the weeks go on and our aim is that the children themselves will contribute more and more to these which will offer brilliant opportunities to develop their writing, IT and collaboration skills.
General Reminders Please check that your child’s items are clearly labelled Please do not bring any nuts into school Dogs are not permitted anywhere on the school site and must not be left near school gates If you cycle to school please walk your bike on the school site and remember to LOCK it up Please walk scooters when on the school playgrounds Children need the correct PE kit - dark blue or black shorts and a white T-shirt or polo shirt please Please do all you can to stop the spread of head lice by inspecting and treating regularly Please ensure your children arrive on time for school between 8:40 and 8:50
Thank you for your continued support
Richard Ferris Headteacher
GREAT HOLLANDS PRIMARY SCHOOL ACADEMIC YEAR 2015/2016
Spring Term 2016 Inset Day
Monday 4 January
Start of Pupil Term
Tuesday 5 January
Inset Day
Friday 12 February
Half Term
Monday 15 February – Friday 19 February
School End of Term
Wednesday 23 March – School finishes at 2:15pm
Summer Term 2016* Start of Pupil Term
Monday 11 April
May Day Bank Holiday
Monday 2 May
Spring Bank Holiday
Monday 30 May
Half Term
Tuesday 31 May – Friday 3 June
End of Term - School
Friday 22 July – School finishes at 2:15pm
*The date for the summer term INSET day will be set once we have finalised arrangements with the training provider.
GREAT HOLLANDS PRIMARY SCHOOL ACADEMIC YEAR 2016/2017 Autumn Term 2016 Inset Day
Thursday 1 September
Inset Day
Friday 2 September
Start of Pupil Term
Monday 5 September
Half Term
Monday 24 October – Friday 28 October
Inset Day*
Monday 31 October
School End of Term
Tuesday 20 December School finishes at 2.15pm
Spring Term 2017 Inset Day*
Wednesday 4 January
Start of Pupil Term
Thursday 5 January
Half Term
Monday 13 February – Friday 17 February
School End of Term
Friday 31 March – School finishes at 2:15pm
Summer Term 2017 Good Friday
Friday 14 April
Easter Monday
Monday 17 April
Inset Day*
Tuesday 18 April
Start of Pupil Term
Wednesday 19 April
May Day Bank Holiday
Monday 1 May
Spring Bank Holiday
Monday 29 May
Half Term
Tuesday 30 May – Friday 2 June
End of Term - School
Friday 21 July – School finishes at 2:15pm
*INSET Dates are subject to change at the discretion of the school.
