Dear parents and carers,
Welcome back, we hope you have all had a wonderful half term break.
As I am sure you are aware covid rates locally and nationally are rising. We will be closely monitoring our school case numbers and will implement additional measures should an outbreak occur. Our aim is to balance the safety of all children and staff in school whilst providing the best quality education that includes partnerships with parents. Please be assured we continue to work with Public Health England to follow their guidance and advice, should additional measures need to be introduced I will write to inform you of the changes.
We will:
- Ensure we all wash our hands regularly
- Have windows open for ventilation (so please ensure your child has plenty of layers on!)
- Ask that children have a test if they show covid symptoms
- Ask all who test positive to self-isolate and work with the test and trace team
- Follow DFE and local Public health guidance
Book Sale – Thank you to everyone who donated books to and bought books from our second hand book sale. We have raised over £100 towards some new books for our school library (which is almost completed!).
Harvest Festival – Thank you all for your generous donations to our harvest festival. We had boxes of dried food to send to the Westfield Centre food bank in South Elmsall. The children received a lovely letter from the food bank thanking them and their families for their generous donations. Please remember if at any time you need support from the food bank you can contact them on 01977 642335 or search Westfield Center food bank.
Tiny Hands Baby Bank Yorkshire – We will be continuing our work to support local charities in the run up to Christmas by supporting the Tiny Hands Baby Bank. This local charity provides support to families in need at what may be a difficult time in the run up to Christmas. We will be collecting small Christmas gifts suitable for children from babies through to teenagers. This may include games, soft toys, books, fragrance gift sets etc. to donate to the charity on behalf of the school. The charity will then deliver these to families in need this Christmas. If you need help or support this Christmas and would like some support from the bank please pop into school and speak with a member of staff who will be able to support your application.
Pupil Progress Meetings – Thank you for taking the time to come into school and talk to your child’s class teacher about their progress. If you have a few seconds please could you fill in the online feedback form. This will really help us move our practice forward and to better understand what is working well for parents and what we need to improve further. You will have received a link to the form by text.
Start of the School Day – The start of the school day seems to now be running smoothly with Reception entering through the back and Year 1 and 2 entering from the front. There will no longer be a bell on the main playground to start the school day. Your child just needs to line up with their teacher who will lead them into school when the majority of the class have arrived.
A Few Dates For Your Diary –
Thursday 4th November – Lion’s class assembly (parents welcome)
Friday 5th November – School parliament meeting
Wednesday 10th November – World Science Day
Thursday 11th November – Koalas assembly and Year 2 visit to the cenotaph
Friday 12th November – World Kindness day
Bonfire Night Safety – West Yorkshire Fire Service have asked school to share the following leaflets with families and children in preparation for bonfire night celebrations over the coming weekend. Please enjoy celebrating together but stay safe. We will be talking to children in school this week about bonfire night and how they can keep themselves safe.
Goodbye (for now…) to Miss Lawson! – Miss Lawson will be starting her maternity leave this week as she prepares for the exciting arrival of her first child. We hope Miss Lawson enjoys a well-deserved rest before her baby boy arrives! We wish Miss Lawson and her partner the best of luck and send her with our love and best wishes. I will let you all know when her bundle of joy arrives!
We welcome to the Common Road family Mrs Boycott who will be teaching our nursery children during the start of Miss Lawson’s maternity leave. I have been fortunate to work with Mrs Boycott at my previous school and know she is an excellent teacher who will take excellent care of our youngest children in nursery. Please pop in and say ‘hello’ at drop off/pick up!
Miss Hale welcomed a baby boy 24th October and named him Arthur. Arthur was so excited to meet his Mummy he decided to arrive (3 weeks!) early. I will pass on your congratulations to Miss Hale and Arthur.
Finally, can I politely remind parents about the use of language whilst on the school premises. We have a number of young children on the site at all times and we do not want our children to be exposed to any inappropriate language or behaviour during their time in our school. Any incidents of inappropriate language or behaviour will be taken very seriously by myself and the governing body. Thank you in advance for treating each other with respect and supporting the school in promoting excellent behaviour to all our children.
Yours sincerely,
Mrs D Edwards
Headteacher
