st matthews catholic primary school, prudhoe
8 September 2017 Bulletin Number 1
ST MATTHEWS CATHOLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL, PRUDHOE ST THOMAS MORE PARTNERSHIP OF SCHOOLS (07900532)
Next week will be
WEEK 2 Together we… Pray, Play, Work, Learn and Grow Tel: 01661 835484 / Email: [email protected] / Website: www.stmatthewsprudhoe.org
Congratulations to ..... who had ....% attendance this week Well done to ...... who achieved our 95% target This week our overall attendance was .......% Please ensure you make every effort to ensure your child gets to school every day to help us achieve our target Class Attendance
Reception
Class 1 Class 2 Class 3 Class 4 Attendance awards will start next week!
Class 5
Poor punctuality means your child misses valuable learning time and that lessons are disrupted for all other pupils. Please make sure that your children are in the yard by 8.45am every day. Dear Parents, Grandparents & Parishioners The first week of the Autumn Term is already at an end - and what a week! On behalf of all the Staff, Governors and myself, I would like to welcome everyone back to school after a good summer break. We also warmly welcome our new Parish Priest, Father Michael, together with all the new children and their families to our School. Just to touch on pupil achievement and attainment in 2016-17; results at the end of the summer term were once again fantastic with the rates of progress in all year groups truly outstanding. Every one of these results reflects the hard work and talent of pupils and staff at St Matthews. In addition, the tremendous support from parents and carers makes such an impact too - a fabulous team effort. We look forward to a happy and positive year ahead, working once again in partnership with you all. Finally, our weekly newsletter is a really important way of staying in touch. Please do take the time to read and digest it. Newsletters are sent home via email on a Friday afternoon. If you haven’t yet signed up to ParentPay, please do so as this will ensure that it doesn’t get lost on the way home! Each Newsletter is also published on the school website under the ‘Parent’ section (then click on ‘Newsletters’) on the bar of the home page. We look forward to a happy and positive year ahead and working once again in partnership with you all.
NEWS th
Weekly Community Liturgy: From Monday 11 September we will recommence our Community Liturgy in school – The Statement to Live By for the coming week will be 'WE ARE ALL SPECIAL'. Our Community Liturgy will be held every Monday at 8.50am - ALL are welcome! Class Assemblies and Liturgies: The dates for this terms class liturgies and assemblies are at the end of the newsletter. We look forward to welcoming parents and carers each Friday at 8.50am in the school hall. Reception and Y6 will start us off with their buddy assembly on Friday 15th September. th
World’s Biggest Coffee Afternoon: Come and join us for tea/coffee on Friday 29 September and support this fantastic national fundraising event. This will also be a non-uniform day in school (wear something green) we suggest a donation of £1 on the day for the charity. We will also have a raffle and cakes/sweets for sale. Cake donations required on the day. Thanking you in advance. th
Weekly Raffle: Our weekly Friday cake raffle will start again on Friday 15 September. The draw is made during Friday morning assembly, the first cake being donated by Mrs. Hunter – rota letters have been sent home this week. Please complete and return to school immediately so the rota can be set up. If you have sent a payment today you will be included in the first draw next Friday. Reception Phonics Meeting: This is a tremendously important time in the life of both you and your child. We appreciate that you have been, and will continue to be given lots and lots of information from school! With this in mind, Mrs Hatherley would like to invite parents into school for a phonics meeting on Wednesday 13 September. European Day of Languages: This event is celebrated across Europe on the 26th of September every year. It aims to promote the rich linguistic diversity of Europe and raise awareness of the importance of lifelong language learning for everyone. It was set up by the Council of Europe and was first celebrated in 2001. We will celebrate with activities throughout the whole school. – further details to follow. Christmas Performance Dates: We haven't even had Halloween or Bonfire Night yet and we are already talking about Christmas...where has this year gone?! Dates for this year's performances will be (please note - Dress Rehearsals are for Grandparents/Carers and Parents unable to attend the ticketed performances).
Tuesday 12th December, 10 am - KS1 Dress Rehearsal Wednesday 13th December, 9.30am - EYFS Show Wednesday 13th December , 2pm - KS1 Show
Monday 18th December, 10 am - KS2 Dress Rehearsal Monday 18th December, 5 pm - KS2 Show Monday 19th December, 1.30pm - KS2 Show
Thank You: Mrs Johnson would like to thank everyone for the kind cards, gifts and messages she received for her retirement.
Facebook: After a number of suggestions from parents on the Parent Questionnaire, we have set up a new St Matthews Facebook page this week. This will be a place where we can share things about our school, what we do and help update parents and carers of our children. We welcome positive and constructive interactions with our parents and carers and look forward to sharing lots more information about our trips, lessons, visitors and activities. Please note that any inappropriate comments that are left will be removed and may result in the user being blocked. Facebook will be covered under the photograph section of our annual parental consent form that will be sent out next week, however if any parents do not want their child to be in any photos that are uploaded please contact the school office. You can find the page by searching for St Matthews Catholic Primary School…make sure you give us a ‘like’! Parent Questionnaire: Thank you to those of you who took the time to complete our Parent Questionnaire before the summer. From the questionnaire results received, we are pleased to report that, on the whole, you are very satisfied with the experience your children are receiving at St Matthews. As with all questionnaires, there were some areas where you were less happy with aspects of school and you put forward some constructive suggestions about how you felt things could be improved. Your comments and responses have all been carefully analysed by us and the main themes have been discussed with the Head Teacher, Deputy Head Teacher, Governors and members of the Senior Leadership Team. We are also working closely with the newly appointed MAT Primary School Business Manager who will be focusing on improving our marketing and brand. As a result of this meeting we have agreed some action points that will be included in the School Development Plan, the latest version of which is currently being put together, and these points will be actioned by the teaching staff and the non-teaching staff over the next academic year. To view all of the results please go to our website.
MEMOS AND REMINDERS Swimming (Y3-Y6): Key Stage 2 will walk down to Waterworld each Wednesday morning for their swimming lesson and fitness session. The cost will be £2 per child payable via your ParentPay account. Your child will need swimsuit/trunks, a towel (swim goggles and a swim cap are allowed) and a water bottle all in a small backpack. School polo shirt & jumper/cardigan to be worn as normal but jogger bottoms/leggings, hoodies, suitable coats and trainers are allowed on this day. The curriculum states that all schools must provide swimming instruction in either key stage 1 or 2, to teach pupils to do the following: Swim competently, confidently and proficiently over a distance of at least 25 metres; Use a range of strokes effectively – for example, front crawl, backstroke and breaststroke; Perform safe self-rescue in different water-based situations. Once a pupil has reached these goals there is no obligation for schools to continue to provide swimming tuition. However, at St. Matthews we feel it is important to continue to offer swimming tuition to all key stage 2 pupils on a rolling programme, regardless of whether or not the y have achieved these goals, to allow our pupils to develop more confidence and to improve his/her personal skills. School cannot cover the cost of this with the Primary PE and Sports Premium as the conditions make it clear that funding should not be used to deliver the minimum requirements of the national curriculum, including those prescribed for swimming. Due to budget constraints and to allow us to allocate our budget fairly across all areas of the curriculum we ask parents if they can make a voluntary contribution of £2 per week to partially help cover the cost of tuition. Please note this is ‘voluntary’ and pupils will not be treated any differently whether their parents have paid or not. However, it may mean that we will be forced to review which pupils we can offer swimming provision to in future years, in light of whether or not they can confidently meet the national curriculum targets above, which is something we really would like to avoid. ParentMail Upgrade: Letters have been sent home this week regarding registration for the upgrade of ParentMail. If you have any problems please contact the school office. Water and Fruit: Please remember to send a water bottle (water only) daily for your child. KS2 children may also bring in a fruit only snack each day for their mid-morning break. Smart Appearance: How lovely to see all the children dressed so smartly in their beautiful school uniform. Please remember that school shoes must be black, flat soled and polishable – not trainers. No jewellery other than watches should be worn in school. If ears are pierced this should be done at the start of the summer holidays so that studs can be removed in time for school - children are NOT allowed to wear jewellery, including stud pierced earrings, in school or during school swimming lessons. We respectfully request that extreme haircuts are avoided for example shaved heads, short haircuts including sculptured patterns and logos and dyed hair. If your child has long hair please ensure that it is tied back; this really helps to prevent the spread of head lice but is clearly also important for safety in PE. Thank you. Health and Safety Note - Parking: During the summer break the building works at our school got underway. We now have a spacious Year 1 Classroom and work on our Nursery and Year 6 Classroom extensions are ongoing. During this time our staff car parking space is greatly reduced and we would ask Parents/Carers to remember they are not allowed to park in our staff car park or Highfield Middle Schools’ staff car park at any time. It is also very dangerous to walk children down the road from that car park to our school/nursery. Please park out on Highfield Lane and walk down the designated footpath to our school. Thank you. Contents of Packed Lunches: Could I take this opportunity to remind parents that as an accredited Healthy School, packed lunch boxes must be nutritionally balanced and should not include fizzy drinks, chocolate or high fat crisps. By the same token, please try to increase the amount of fruit, yoghurt, brown bread, vegetables and unflavoured water, wherever you can. Nuts or foods containing nuts are not allowed. This is because of the number of children who have quite severe reactions, often life-threatening. Obviously these children avoid consuming nuts themselves but they can react in the same way if simply in a room where nuts can be found in another child’s lunch box. I am sure you will understand that we have to be very careful and I appreciate your support.
Guitar Clubs: After school guitar lessons will start again on Wednesday 27th September. Any new Year 4, 5 or 6 pupils wishing to join our sessions, please speak with Mrs. Saunders. Thank You. PE Kits: Please ensure your child has indoor & outdoor P.E. kits in school for the week, each Monday. All children must have indoor shoe (plimsolls) and trainers in their PE bags. Breakfast Club / After School Club: Our wrap-around morning breakfast club and after school childcare are both open for business as usual every morning at 7.30am and from 3.00pm - 6.00pm (Mon-Thurs) and until 5.00pm (Fri). Please contact school to book places. Please use the main school entrance. Absence from School: A reminder that you must telephone the school office on the first morning of your child’s absence. Holiday’s in term time are not and cannot be authorised. This is our school policy which is also on the website and in our school prospectus. We understand it can be hard deciding whether to keep a poorly child off school. A few simple guidelines can help. Not every illness needs to keep your child from school. If you keep your child away from school, be sure to inform the school on the first day of their absence. Use common sense when deciding whether or not your child is too ill to attend school. Ask yourself the following questions: Is your child well enough to do the activities of the school day? If not, keep your child at home. Does your child have a condition that could be passed on to other children or staff? If so, keep your child at home. Would you take a day off work if you had this condition? If so, keep your child at home. Common Conditions Cough and cold: A child with a minor cough or cold may attend school. If the cold is accompanied by a raised temperature, shivers or drowsiness, the child should stay off school, visit the GP and return to school 24 hours after they start to feel better. If your child has a more severe and long lasting cough, consult your GP. They can give guidance on whether the child should stay off school. Raised temperature: If your child has a raised temperature, they shouldn't attend school. They can return 24 hours after they start to feel better. Rash: Rashes can be the first sign of many infectious illnesses, such as chickenpox and measles. Children with these conditions shouldn't attend school. If your child has a rash, check with your GP or practice nurse before sending them to school. Headache: A child with a minor headache doesn't usually need to be kept off school. If the headache is more severe or is accompanied by other symptoms, such as raised temperature or drowsiness, then keep the child off school and consult your GP. Vomiting and diarrhoea: Children with these conditions should be kept off school. They can return 48 hours after their symptoms disappear. Most cases of vomiting or diarrhoea get better without treatment, but if symptoms persist or your child is young, consult your GP. Sore throat: A sore throat alone doesn't have to keep a child from school. If it's accompanied by a raised temperature, the child should stay at home.
Pupil Premium: Did you know that just by registering your child for Free School Meals it means that the school gets extra money? The Government is giving money to schools to help children from lower income families do their very best. This funding is called a ‘Pupil Premium’ and for every child registered, St Matthews gets £1320 this year. Looked-after children and eligible pupils who have been adopted from care or leaving care under a special guardianship or residence order will attract a pupil premium of £1,900. And any Service Children with parents in the Armed Forces will attract £300. Please see the School Office if you have any questions in relation to this. Pupil Premium is spent on teaching support to deliver small group work focusing on reading, Maths, speech and language emotional, social and behaviour skills. How does it work? 1. First, check if you qualify – it is not just if you are unemployed, so please look at the list below. 2. Registering is really quick and easy – if you think you qualify, contact the FSM Team at Gateshead Council who will help you to register. 3. If you want your child to have a free, healthy meal at lunchtime that’s great – they will get the free meal (saving you more than £350 a year), extra benefits and the school also gets £1300 extra. 4. If you don’t want your child to have the school meals they can continue as normal – as long as you qualify and are registered, the school still gets £1300 extra. No one will know you have registered and it will not affect any other benefits you are claiming. Do you qualify? You can register your child for Free School Meals if you or your partner get any of these benefits: Income Support Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance Income-related Employment and Support Allowance Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 The Guarantee element of State Pension Credit Child Tax Credit, provided they are not entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual income (as assessed by HM Revenue & Customs) that does not exceed £16,190 Working Tax Credit 'run-on' - the payment someone may receive for a further four weeks after they stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit You can apply in a number of ways, either online via Northumberland County Council's website, by calling 01670 623 592 or by completing a paper application form which is available from school.
Administering Medicine In School: Does your child need to keep an inhaler in school, or do they have a medical condition that requires medicines to be kept in school? If so, have you completed an ‘Administering Medicine’ form for the new academic year? Forms are available from the office. Completed forms and medicines should be handed into the office – medication should never be sent into school with children/in book bags. Outside Play: We allow children to play on the school field all year round. However, a pair of wellies/ outdoor shoes is required. In the event of wet weather children without additional shoes/wellies will not be permitted onto the grass areas. Universal School Meal Offer: The universal free school meals initiative continues this year. All pupils in Reception, Y1 and Y2 will receive a fully funded hot, nutritiously balanced meal each day, and we are again aiming for 100% take up, with all children enjoying and taking part in our family service. Our kitchen staff can cater for all dietary requirements. Please see the school office for a Special Dietary Requirements form should your child have a particular allergy or they are vegetarian or vegan. The benefits are far reaching in terms of health, behaviour and the development of social skills.
In our Prayers - Prayer booklet: If there is anyone you would like us to pray for in our school community please drop comments into the prayer box or email the school office and we will remember those intentions in our prayers. Happy Birthday: Many happy returns Matilda (8 Sep) WEEKLY ASSEMBLY AWARDS: Araceli (Class 5) - for a fantastic first week! Y4/5 - for a wonderful hard working week Bethany (Class 3) - for excellent independent writing
Nacho (Class 1) - for excellent work in R.E Reception - for having a fantastic first week Year 2 - for working hard all week
FORTHCOMING EVENTS AND KEY DATES Wednesday 13 September: Rec Parents Phonics Meeting - 6pm Friday 15 September: Buddy Assembly (Rec & Y6) - 8.50am Friday 22 September: Class 4 Liturgy - 8.50am Tuesday 26 September: European Day of Languages Wednesday 27 September: KS2 SATs Parents Evening – details to follow Friday 29 September: Class 3 Liturgy - 8.50am Friday 29 September: MacMillan Coffee Afternoon, 2-3pm Friday 6 October: Class 2 'Collective Worship' Assembly - 8.50am Friday 13 October: Class 1 Assembly - 8.50am Friday 20 October: SCHOOL CLOSES FOR HALF TERM Monday 30 October: SCHOOL RE-OPENS Monday 30 October: Tempest Photographers – details to follow Friday 3 November: Class 5 Assembly - 8.50am Monday 6 November: Start of Advent Tuesday 7 November: Parents evening – details to follow
Wednesday 8 November: Parents evening – details to follow Monday 13 November: Anti-bullying week Friday 17 November: Class 3 Assembly - 8.50am Friday 17 November: Children in Need Non-uniform Day. Friday 24 November: Class 2 Assembly @ 8.50am Friday 1 December: Class 1 Assembly @ 8.50am Friday 1 December: Christmas Fayre (Afternoon) - details to follow Monday 4 December: Assessment Week Friday 8 December: Class 4 Assembly @ 8.50am Friday 15 December: Sleeping Beauty Panto visit - details to follow Saturday 16 December: Carol singing in Hexham Wednesday 20 December: KS1 Christmas outing to Whitehouse Farm. Details to follow Thursday 21 December: SCHOOL CLOSES FOR CHRISTMAS Friday 22 December: Teacher Training Day Monday 8 January: SCHOOL RE-OPENS
Phew, a very full newsletter! As ever, any questions, please do ask. Good luck to all who will take part in the Great North Run this weekend. On behalf of Fr Michael, staff and governors may I wish you a happy weekend. God Bless. Mrs Pye
ST MATTHEWS CATHOLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL, PRUDHOE ST THOMAS MORE PARTNERSHIP OF SCHOOLS (07900532)
Next week will be
WEEK 2 Together we… Pray, Play, Work, Learn and Grow Tel: 01661 835484 / Email: [email protected] / Website: www.stmatthewsprudhoe.org
Congratulations to ..... who had ....% attendance this week Well done to ...... who achieved our 95% target This week our overall attendance was .......% Please ensure you make every effort to ensure your child gets to school every day to help us achieve our target Class Attendance
Reception
Class 1 Class 2 Class 3 Class 4 Attendance awards will start next week!
Class 5
Poor punctuality means your child misses valuable learning time and that lessons are disrupted for all other pupils. Please make sure that your children are in the yard by 8.45am every day. Dear Parents, Grandparents & Parishioners The first week of the Autumn Term is already at an end - and what a week! On behalf of all the Staff, Governors and myself, I would like to welcome everyone back to school after a good summer break. We also warmly welcome our new Parish Priest, Father Michael, together with all the new children and their families to our School. Just to touch on pupil achievement and attainment in 2016-17; results at the end of the summer term were once again fantastic with the rates of progress in all year groups truly outstanding. Every one of these results reflects the hard work and talent of pupils and staff at St Matthews. In addition, the tremendous support from parents and carers makes such an impact too - a fabulous team effort. We look forward to a happy and positive year ahead, working once again in partnership with you all. Finally, our weekly newsletter is a really important way of staying in touch. Please do take the time to read and digest it. Newsletters are sent home via email on a Friday afternoon. If you haven’t yet signed up to ParentPay, please do so as this will ensure that it doesn’t get lost on the way home! Each Newsletter is also published on the school website under the ‘Parent’ section (then click on ‘Newsletters’) on the bar of the home page. We look forward to a happy and positive year ahead and working once again in partnership with you all.
NEWS th
Weekly Community Liturgy: From Monday 11 September we will recommence our Community Liturgy in school – The Statement to Live By for the coming week will be 'WE ARE ALL SPECIAL'. Our Community Liturgy will be held every Monday at 8.50am - ALL are welcome! Class Assemblies and Liturgies: The dates for this terms class liturgies and assemblies are at the end of the newsletter. We look forward to welcoming parents and carers each Friday at 8.50am in the school hall. Reception and Y6 will start us off with their buddy assembly on Friday 15th September. th
World’s Biggest Coffee Afternoon: Come and join us for tea/coffee on Friday 29 September and support this fantastic national fundraising event. This will also be a non-uniform day in school (wear something green) we suggest a donation of £1 on the day for the charity. We will also have a raffle and cakes/sweets for sale. Cake donations required on the day. Thanking you in advance. th
Weekly Raffle: Our weekly Friday cake raffle will start again on Friday 15 September. The draw is made during Friday morning assembly, the first cake being donated by Mrs. Hunter – rota letters have been sent home this week. Please complete and return to school immediately so the rota can be set up. If you have sent a payment today you will be included in the first draw next Friday. Reception Phonics Meeting: This is a tremendously important time in the life of both you and your child. We appreciate that you have been, and will continue to be given lots and lots of information from school! With this in mind, Mrs Hatherley would like to invite parents into school for a phonics meeting on Wednesday 13 September. European Day of Languages: This event is celebrated across Europe on the 26th of September every year. It aims to promote the rich linguistic diversity of Europe and raise awareness of the importance of lifelong language learning for everyone. It was set up by the Council of Europe and was first celebrated in 2001. We will celebrate with activities throughout the whole school. – further details to follow. Christmas Performance Dates: We haven't even had Halloween or Bonfire Night yet and we are already talking about Christmas...where has this year gone?! Dates for this year's performances will be (please note - Dress Rehearsals are for Grandparents/Carers and Parents unable to attend the ticketed performances).
Tuesday 12th December, 10 am - KS1 Dress Rehearsal Wednesday 13th December, 9.30am - EYFS Show Wednesday 13th December , 2pm - KS1 Show
Monday 18th December, 10 am - KS2 Dress Rehearsal Monday 18th December, 5 pm - KS2 Show Monday 19th December, 1.30pm - KS2 Show
Thank You: Mrs Johnson would like to thank everyone for the kind cards, gifts and messages she received for her retirement.
Facebook: After a number of suggestions from parents on the Parent Questionnaire, we have set up a new St Matthews Facebook page this week. This will be a place where we can share things about our school, what we do and help update parents and carers of our children. We welcome positive and constructive interactions with our parents and carers and look forward to sharing lots more information about our trips, lessons, visitors and activities. Please note that any inappropriate comments that are left will be removed and may result in the user being blocked. Facebook will be covered under the photograph section of our annual parental consent form that will be sent out next week, however if any parents do not want their child to be in any photos that are uploaded please contact the school office. You can find the page by searching for St Matthews Catholic Primary School…make sure you give us a ‘like’! Parent Questionnaire: Thank you to those of you who took the time to complete our Parent Questionnaire before the summer. From the questionnaire results received, we are pleased to report that, on the whole, you are very satisfied with the experience your children are receiving at St Matthews. As with all questionnaires, there were some areas where you were less happy with aspects of school and you put forward some constructive suggestions about how you felt things could be improved. Your comments and responses have all been carefully analysed by us and the main themes have been discussed with the Head Teacher, Deputy Head Teacher, Governors and members of the Senior Leadership Team. We are also working closely with the newly appointed MAT Primary School Business Manager who will be focusing on improving our marketing and brand. As a result of this meeting we have agreed some action points that will be included in the School Development Plan, the latest version of which is currently being put together, and these points will be actioned by the teaching staff and the non-teaching staff over the next academic year. To view all of the results please go to our website.
MEMOS AND REMINDERS Swimming (Y3-Y6): Key Stage 2 will walk down to Waterworld each Wednesday morning for their swimming lesson and fitness session. The cost will be £2 per child payable via your ParentPay account. Your child will need swimsuit/trunks, a towel (swim goggles and a swim cap are allowed) and a water bottle all in a small backpack. School polo shirt & jumper/cardigan to be worn as normal but jogger bottoms/leggings, hoodies, suitable coats and trainers are allowed on this day. The curriculum states that all schools must provide swimming instruction in either key stage 1 or 2, to teach pupils to do the following: Swim competently, confidently and proficiently over a distance of at least 25 metres; Use a range of strokes effectively – for example, front crawl, backstroke and breaststroke; Perform safe self-rescue in different water-based situations. Once a pupil has reached these goals there is no obligation for schools to continue to provide swimming tuition. However, at St. Matthews we feel it is important to continue to offer swimming tuition to all key stage 2 pupils on a rolling programme, regardless of whether or not the y have achieved these goals, to allow our pupils to develop more confidence and to improve his/her personal skills. School cannot cover the cost of this with the Primary PE and Sports Premium as the conditions make it clear that funding should not be used to deliver the minimum requirements of the national curriculum, including those prescribed for swimming. Due to budget constraints and to allow us to allocate our budget fairly across all areas of the curriculum we ask parents if they can make a voluntary contribution of £2 per week to partially help cover the cost of tuition. Please note this is ‘voluntary’ and pupils will not be treated any differently whether their parents have paid or not. However, it may mean that we will be forced to review which pupils we can offer swimming provision to in future years, in light of whether or not they can confidently meet the national curriculum targets above, which is something we really would like to avoid. ParentMail Upgrade: Letters have been sent home this week regarding registration for the upgrade of ParentMail. If you have any problems please contact the school office. Water and Fruit: Please remember to send a water bottle (water only) daily for your child. KS2 children may also bring in a fruit only snack each day for their mid-morning break. Smart Appearance: How lovely to see all the children dressed so smartly in their beautiful school uniform. Please remember that school shoes must be black, flat soled and polishable – not trainers. No jewellery other than watches should be worn in school. If ears are pierced this should be done at the start of the summer holidays so that studs can be removed in time for school - children are NOT allowed to wear jewellery, including stud pierced earrings, in school or during school swimming lessons. We respectfully request that extreme haircuts are avoided for example shaved heads, short haircuts including sculptured patterns and logos and dyed hair. If your child has long hair please ensure that it is tied back; this really helps to prevent the spread of head lice but is clearly also important for safety in PE. Thank you. Health and Safety Note - Parking: During the summer break the building works at our school got underway. We now have a spacious Year 1 Classroom and work on our Nursery and Year 6 Classroom extensions are ongoing. During this time our staff car parking space is greatly reduced and we would ask Parents/Carers to remember they are not allowed to park in our staff car park or Highfield Middle Schools’ staff car park at any time. It is also very dangerous to walk children down the road from that car park to our school/nursery. Please park out on Highfield Lane and walk down the designated footpath to our school. Thank you. Contents of Packed Lunches: Could I take this opportunity to remind parents that as an accredited Healthy School, packed lunch boxes must be nutritionally balanced and should not include fizzy drinks, chocolate or high fat crisps. By the same token, please try to increase the amount of fruit, yoghurt, brown bread, vegetables and unflavoured water, wherever you can. Nuts or foods containing nuts are not allowed. This is because of the number of children who have quite severe reactions, often life-threatening. Obviously these children avoid consuming nuts themselves but they can react in the same way if simply in a room where nuts can be found in another child’s lunch box. I am sure you will understand that we have to be very careful and I appreciate your support.
Guitar Clubs: After school guitar lessons will start again on Wednesday 27th September. Any new Year 4, 5 or 6 pupils wishing to join our sessions, please speak with Mrs. Saunders. Thank You. PE Kits: Please ensure your child has indoor & outdoor P.E. kits in school for the week, each Monday. All children must have indoor shoe (plimsolls) and trainers in their PE bags. Breakfast Club / After School Club: Our wrap-around morning breakfast club and after school childcare are both open for business as usual every morning at 7.30am and from 3.00pm - 6.00pm (Mon-Thurs) and until 5.00pm (Fri). Please contact school to book places. Please use the main school entrance. Absence from School: A reminder that you must telephone the school office on the first morning of your child’s absence. Holiday’s in term time are not and cannot be authorised. This is our school policy which is also on the website and in our school prospectus. We understand it can be hard deciding whether to keep a poorly child off school. A few simple guidelines can help. Not every illness needs to keep your child from school. If you keep your child away from school, be sure to inform the school on the first day of their absence. Use common sense when deciding whether or not your child is too ill to attend school. Ask yourself the following questions: Is your child well enough to do the activities of the school day? If not, keep your child at home. Does your child have a condition that could be passed on to other children or staff? If so, keep your child at home. Would you take a day off work if you had this condition? If so, keep your child at home. Common Conditions Cough and cold: A child with a minor cough or cold may attend school. If the cold is accompanied by a raised temperature, shivers or drowsiness, the child should stay off school, visit the GP and return to school 24 hours after they start to feel better. If your child has a more severe and long lasting cough, consult your GP. They can give guidance on whether the child should stay off school. Raised temperature: If your child has a raised temperature, they shouldn't attend school. They can return 24 hours after they start to feel better. Rash: Rashes can be the first sign of many infectious illnesses, such as chickenpox and measles. Children with these conditions shouldn't attend school. If your child has a rash, check with your GP or practice nurse before sending them to school. Headache: A child with a minor headache doesn't usually need to be kept off school. If the headache is more severe or is accompanied by other symptoms, such as raised temperature or drowsiness, then keep the child off school and consult your GP. Vomiting and diarrhoea: Children with these conditions should be kept off school. They can return 48 hours after their symptoms disappear. Most cases of vomiting or diarrhoea get better without treatment, but if symptoms persist or your child is young, consult your GP. Sore throat: A sore throat alone doesn't have to keep a child from school. If it's accompanied by a raised temperature, the child should stay at home.
Pupil Premium: Did you know that just by registering your child for Free School Meals it means that the school gets extra money? The Government is giving money to schools to help children from lower income families do their very best. This funding is called a ‘Pupil Premium’ and for every child registered, St Matthews gets £1320 this year. Looked-after children and eligible pupils who have been adopted from care or leaving care under a special guardianship or residence order will attract a pupil premium of £1,900. And any Service Children with parents in the Armed Forces will attract £300. Please see the School Office if you have any questions in relation to this. Pupil Premium is spent on teaching support to deliver small group work focusing on reading, Maths, speech and language emotional, social and behaviour skills. How does it work? 1. First, check if you qualify – it is not just if you are unemployed, so please look at the list below. 2. Registering is really quick and easy – if you think you qualify, contact the FSM Team at Gateshead Council who will help you to register. 3. If you want your child to have a free, healthy meal at lunchtime that’s great – they will get the free meal (saving you more than £350 a year), extra benefits and the school also gets £1300 extra. 4. If you don’t want your child to have the school meals they can continue as normal – as long as you qualify and are registered, the school still gets £1300 extra. No one will know you have registered and it will not affect any other benefits you are claiming. Do you qualify? You can register your child for Free School Meals if you or your partner get any of these benefits: Income Support Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance Income-related Employment and Support Allowance Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 The Guarantee element of State Pension Credit Child Tax Credit, provided they are not entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual income (as assessed by HM Revenue & Customs) that does not exceed £16,190 Working Tax Credit 'run-on' - the payment someone may receive for a further four weeks after they stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit You can apply in a number of ways, either online via Northumberland County Council's website, by calling 01670 623 592 or by completing a paper application form which is available from school.
Administering Medicine In School: Does your child need to keep an inhaler in school, or do they have a medical condition that requires medicines to be kept in school? If so, have you completed an ‘Administering Medicine’ form for the new academic year? Forms are available from the office. Completed forms and medicines should be handed into the office – medication should never be sent into school with children/in book bags. Outside Play: We allow children to play on the school field all year round. However, a pair of wellies/ outdoor shoes is required. In the event of wet weather children without additional shoes/wellies will not be permitted onto the grass areas. Universal School Meal Offer: The universal free school meals initiative continues this year. All pupils in Reception, Y1 and Y2 will receive a fully funded hot, nutritiously balanced meal each day, and we are again aiming for 100% take up, with all children enjoying and taking part in our family service. Our kitchen staff can cater for all dietary requirements. Please see the school office for a Special Dietary Requirements form should your child have a particular allergy or they are vegetarian or vegan. The benefits are far reaching in terms of health, behaviour and the development of social skills.
In our Prayers - Prayer booklet: If there is anyone you would like us to pray for in our school community please drop comments into the prayer box or email the school office and we will remember those intentions in our prayers. Happy Birthday: Many happy returns Matilda (8 Sep) WEEKLY ASSEMBLY AWARDS: Araceli (Class 5) - for a fantastic first week! Y4/5 - for a wonderful hard working week Bethany (Class 3) - for excellent independent writing
Nacho (Class 1) - for excellent work in R.E Reception - for having a fantastic first week Year 2 - for working hard all week
FORTHCOMING EVENTS AND KEY DATES Wednesday 13 September: Rec Parents Phonics Meeting - 6pm Friday 15 September: Buddy Assembly (Rec & Y6) - 8.50am Friday 22 September: Class 4 Liturgy - 8.50am Tuesday 26 September: European Day of Languages Wednesday 27 September: KS2 SATs Parents Evening – details to follow Friday 29 September: Class 3 Liturgy - 8.50am Friday 29 September: MacMillan Coffee Afternoon, 2-3pm Friday 6 October: Class 2 'Collective Worship' Assembly - 8.50am Friday 13 October: Class 1 Assembly - 8.50am Friday 20 October: SCHOOL CLOSES FOR HALF TERM Monday 30 October: SCHOOL RE-OPENS Monday 30 October: Tempest Photographers – details to follow Friday 3 November: Class 5 Assembly - 8.50am Monday 6 November: Start of Advent Tuesday 7 November: Parents evening – details to follow
Wednesday 8 November: Parents evening – details to follow Monday 13 November: Anti-bullying week Friday 17 November: Class 3 Assembly - 8.50am Friday 17 November: Children in Need Non-uniform Day. Friday 24 November: Class 2 Assembly @ 8.50am Friday 1 December: Class 1 Assembly @ 8.50am Friday 1 December: Christmas Fayre (Afternoon) - details to follow Monday 4 December: Assessment Week Friday 8 December: Class 4 Assembly @ 8.50am Friday 15 December: Sleeping Beauty Panto visit - details to follow Saturday 16 December: Carol singing in Hexham Wednesday 20 December: KS1 Christmas outing to Whitehouse Farm. Details to follow Thursday 21 December: SCHOOL CLOSES FOR CHRISTMAS Friday 22 December: Teacher Training Day Monday 8 January: SCHOOL RE-OPENS
Phew, a very full newsletter! As ever, any questions, please do ask. Good luck to all who will take part in the Great North Run this weekend. On behalf of Fr Michael, staff and governors may I wish you a happy weekend. God Bless. Mrs Pye
