1 Jul 2005 - Newsletter 13
Newsletter 13
1st July
Dear Parents,
We are making a change to our procedures for consultation between staff and parents. We have come to the conclusion that the beginning and end of the day are not generally suitable times for unplanned meetings, particularly on issues over which a parent may feel strongly. On four occasions since half term members of my staff have become distressed following an unscheduled and unexpected meeting with an angry parent, and on three of these occasions children were present, witnessing the anger that was expressed. As a parent myself, I have every sympathy with parents who feel that things are in some way not going well for their child, but I do feel that a calm and prepared meeting is the best way to resolve issues. Therefore, if you feel there is a matter that you wish to discuss with a member of staff, please call at the office and we will be pleased to make an early appointment for you. This will also give us the opportunity to consider the issue about which you are concerned, and prepare our response so that we can work together with you in the interests of your child. This procedure begins with immediate effect and will from now on be our standard policy.
The main theme of this newsletter is arrangements for next year. All details are inside, and parents of children who will be in Year 3, 4 or 5 next year should also have an insert giving the class groupings for that year. These show some changes from the present year, in order to balance the numbers and ensure an even spread of boys and girls and of abilities. If yours is missing, do let us know!
Yours sincerely
S E R James
Headteacher
STAFFING NEWS
We will be saying goodbye at the end of this term to our longest-serving Teaching Assistant, Mrs Carol Roberts. Carol has been with us since 1995, and in those ten years she has worked with all age groups and in a variety of roles. Following her success earlier this year in gaining her degree from the Open University, she has now been accepted for a teacher training course at Bath University, and so will be leaving St Andrew?s at the end of this term. We would like to thank her for her hard work and dedication, and wish her all the very best as she pursues her new career.
In her place we welcome Mrs Joanne Collard, who will be working next year as a Teaching Assistant in Years 3,4 and 5.
Two of our lunchtime supervisors are making the move to the classroom next term, and will be working as SEN Teaching Assistants in Year 3. Mrs Jill Cooper and Mrs Clare Constance are already well known to us, and to the children, and they move to their new role in September. We have been pleased recently to have been able to add Mrs Charlotte Fry to our team of lunchtime supervisors, and she has settled in very quickly!
We will be delighted to welcome back Mrs Paula Cox to the staff next term. Mrs Cox has been appointed as a class teacher to work for one day a week in Class 5P, in order to free Mrs Pook for her duties as an Advanced Skills Teacher around the county.
One final change will be that Miss Jupp is to be married in the summer! We send our congratulations to her and hope that she will have a fine and sunny day. Next term we will have to get used to calling her Mrs Collett.
CLASS GROUPINGS
Classes in Years 3,4 and 5 will have minor reorganisations in order to balance the abilities and genders in each of those year groups. The class group that applies to your child is enclosed in this newsletter. Class 5P will become 6M (Mr Morris) and Class 5S will become 6C (Mrs Collett).
CLASSROOMS
At present we are told that the new rooms will be ready to move into before the end of September, rather than at the start of term as we have been hoping.
Year 3 will be occupying the new block as soon as it is ready, and will remain there for the rest of the year.
Year 4 are about to have their period of disruption, but by Christmas they will be back in their present area, which by then will have been vastly altered and improved. While the work is being done Class 4D will be in the single hut, and Class 4P will be in what used to be Class 5S.
Year 5 will remain where they are in the double hut, until their new rooms ? the present Year 3 area ? have been renovated.
Year 6 will be in the same area as at present, assuming that the renovations there are completed on time.
STAFFING FOR NEXT YEAR
Y3: Class teachers: Mrs Cullimore (3C), Mrs Jones & Mrs Wayne (3JW)
Teaching Assistants: Mrs Huggins (4 days), Mrs Collard (2 days)
SEN TAs: Mrs Cooper (am), Mrs Constance (pm)
Y4: Class teachers: Mrs Dixon (4C), Miss Pankhurst (4P)
Teaching Assistants: Mrs Mead (5 days), Mrs Collard (1 day)
SEN TAs: Mrs Haines, Mrs Newitt
Y5: Class teachers: Mrs Cox (5P 1 day), Mrs Pook (5P), Mrs Sampson (5S)
Teaching Assistants: Mrs Chapman (4 days), Mrs Collard (2 days)
Y6: Class teachers: Mrs Collett (6C), Mr Morris (6M), Mrs Andrews
Teaching Assistants: Mrs Holford, Mrs Broom
SEN TAs: Mrs Newitt
HIGHER LEVEL TEACHING ASSISTANTS
Mrs Aylward and Mrs Bryant will take up their appointments next term, which means they will take classes each afternoon in order to allow class teachers the planning, preparation and assessment time to which they are now entitled each week. During the mornings they will work as SEN specialists with Mrs Skinner. Mrs Bryant will operate mainly in Year 3, while Mrs Aylward will be mostly in Year 5.
MUSIC TEACHING AT ST ANDREW?S
There has been quite a favourable response to my invitation to purchase music lessons next term, and so it appears we should now be able to go ahead with this venture. If you would like your child to be added to the list for lessons in brass, woodwind, keyboards or guitar, please let the school know straight away, as we will need to firm up the arrangements. I will be writing next week to all of those who have requested lessons.
SPONSORED WALK
Many thanks for your wonderful support with this year?s annual SASA summer fund raising venture. Our former record of £1700 has been handsomely broken. Today?s total has reached £1800, which is a marvellous effort, and will enable SASA to continue to offer the support they have given us over the years. Although today was the closing date for receipt of money, several children?s hands flew to their mouths when they realised they had missed the deadline, so late subscriptions will be warmly welcomed on Monday. Many thanks!
LEAVERS? SERVICE
This year, as a change, we will be holding our annual leavers? service at St Andrew?s Church, rather than in the school hall. Parents, particularly those with Year 6 children, are warmly invited to join us there for the occasion. The children will play a full part in the event, with readings and reminiscences of their time at St Andrew?s, and there will be a presentation made to each of them, of a copy of the New Testament. The service should last around 40 - 45 minutes or so, and the children will then be escorted back to school in time for the 11.00 break.
The children are singing beautifully in the hall as I write. The Lemonade Kid and Oliver are each coming nicely to the boil, thanks to the hard work of the children and their teachers, and I am sure you are going to enjoy what they produce. A number of our Year 3 and Year 4 children are also involved in the two-yearly festival known as ?Schools United?, and they will be performing ?Jonah? in a couple of weeks at King Alfred School. Exciting times ahead!
DIARY REMINDERS
Monday 4th July Meeting for parents of Year 2 children 7.00 pm
Tuesday 5th July Year 6 pupils visit King Alfred (2 days). Y2 pupils visit us.
Year 3 pupils perform ?The Lemonade Kid? 7.00 pm
Thursday 7th July Year 4 pupils perform ?The Lemonade Kid? 7.00 pm.
Wednesday 13th July Y5 / Y6 production of ?Oliver? at The Princess. (and 14th)
?Schools United? concert, involving Y3 & Y4 children (and 14th)
Friday 15th July Year 3 visiting King?s Wood
Pupil reports will be sent out today.
Monday 18th July Sports Day (tomorrow if wet)
Wednesday 20th July Leavers? Service and presentation at church at 10.00 am.
Thursday 21st July Last day of term
1st July
Dear Parents,
We are making a change to our procedures for consultation between staff and parents. We have come to the conclusion that the beginning and end of the day are not generally suitable times for unplanned meetings, particularly on issues over which a parent may feel strongly. On four occasions since half term members of my staff have become distressed following an unscheduled and unexpected meeting with an angry parent, and on three of these occasions children were present, witnessing the anger that was expressed. As a parent myself, I have every sympathy with parents who feel that things are in some way not going well for their child, but I do feel that a calm and prepared meeting is the best way to resolve issues. Therefore, if you feel there is a matter that you wish to discuss with a member of staff, please call at the office and we will be pleased to make an early appointment for you. This will also give us the opportunity to consider the issue about which you are concerned, and prepare our response so that we can work together with you in the interests of your child. This procedure begins with immediate effect and will from now on be our standard policy.
The main theme of this newsletter is arrangements for next year. All details are inside, and parents of children who will be in Year 3, 4 or 5 next year should also have an insert giving the class groupings for that year. These show some changes from the present year, in order to balance the numbers and ensure an even spread of boys and girls and of abilities. If yours is missing, do let us know!
Yours sincerely
S E R James
Headteacher
STAFFING NEWS
We will be saying goodbye at the end of this term to our longest-serving Teaching Assistant, Mrs Carol Roberts. Carol has been with us since 1995, and in those ten years she has worked with all age groups and in a variety of roles. Following her success earlier this year in gaining her degree from the Open University, she has now been accepted for a teacher training course at Bath University, and so will be leaving St Andrew?s at the end of this term. We would like to thank her for her hard work and dedication, and wish her all the very best as she pursues her new career.
In her place we welcome Mrs Joanne Collard, who will be working next year as a Teaching Assistant in Years 3,4 and 5.
Two of our lunchtime supervisors are making the move to the classroom next term, and will be working as SEN Teaching Assistants in Year 3. Mrs Jill Cooper and Mrs Clare Constance are already well known to us, and to the children, and they move to their new role in September. We have been pleased recently to have been able to add Mrs Charlotte Fry to our team of lunchtime supervisors, and she has settled in very quickly!
We will be delighted to welcome back Mrs Paula Cox to the staff next term. Mrs Cox has been appointed as a class teacher to work for one day a week in Class 5P, in order to free Mrs Pook for her duties as an Advanced Skills Teacher around the county.
One final change will be that Miss Jupp is to be married in the summer! We send our congratulations to her and hope that she will have a fine and sunny day. Next term we will have to get used to calling her Mrs Collett.
CLASS GROUPINGS
Classes in Years 3,4 and 5 will have minor reorganisations in order to balance the abilities and genders in each of those year groups. The class group that applies to your child is enclosed in this newsletter. Class 5P will become 6M (Mr Morris) and Class 5S will become 6C (Mrs Collett).
CLASSROOMS
At present we are told that the new rooms will be ready to move into before the end of September, rather than at the start of term as we have been hoping.
Year 3 will be occupying the new block as soon as it is ready, and will remain there for the rest of the year.
Year 4 are about to have their period of disruption, but by Christmas they will be back in their present area, which by then will have been vastly altered and improved. While the work is being done Class 4D will be in the single hut, and Class 4P will be in what used to be Class 5S.
Year 5 will remain where they are in the double hut, until their new rooms ? the present Year 3 area ? have been renovated.
Year 6 will be in the same area as at present, assuming that the renovations there are completed on time.
STAFFING FOR NEXT YEAR
Y3: Class teachers: Mrs Cullimore (3C), Mrs Jones & Mrs Wayne (3JW)
Teaching Assistants: Mrs Huggins (4 days), Mrs Collard (2 days)
SEN TAs: Mrs Cooper (am), Mrs Constance (pm)
Y4: Class teachers: Mrs Dixon (4C), Miss Pankhurst (4P)
Teaching Assistants: Mrs Mead (5 days), Mrs Collard (1 day)
SEN TAs: Mrs Haines, Mrs Newitt
Y5: Class teachers: Mrs Cox (5P 1 day), Mrs Pook (5P), Mrs Sampson (5S)
Teaching Assistants: Mrs Chapman (4 days), Mrs Collard (2 days)
Y6: Class teachers: Mrs Collett (6C), Mr Morris (6M), Mrs Andrews
Teaching Assistants: Mrs Holford, Mrs Broom
SEN TAs: Mrs Newitt
HIGHER LEVEL TEACHING ASSISTANTS
Mrs Aylward and Mrs Bryant will take up their appointments next term, which means they will take classes each afternoon in order to allow class teachers the planning, preparation and assessment time to which they are now entitled each week. During the mornings they will work as SEN specialists with Mrs Skinner. Mrs Bryant will operate mainly in Year 3, while Mrs Aylward will be mostly in Year 5.
MUSIC TEACHING AT ST ANDREW?S
There has been quite a favourable response to my invitation to purchase music lessons next term, and so it appears we should now be able to go ahead with this venture. If you would like your child to be added to the list for lessons in brass, woodwind, keyboards or guitar, please let the school know straight away, as we will need to firm up the arrangements. I will be writing next week to all of those who have requested lessons.
SPONSORED WALK
Many thanks for your wonderful support with this year?s annual SASA summer fund raising venture. Our former record of £1700 has been handsomely broken. Today?s total has reached £1800, which is a marvellous effort, and will enable SASA to continue to offer the support they have given us over the years. Although today was the closing date for receipt of money, several children?s hands flew to their mouths when they realised they had missed the deadline, so late subscriptions will be warmly welcomed on Monday. Many thanks!
LEAVERS? SERVICE
This year, as a change, we will be holding our annual leavers? service at St Andrew?s Church, rather than in the school hall. Parents, particularly those with Year 6 children, are warmly invited to join us there for the occasion. The children will play a full part in the event, with readings and reminiscences of their time at St Andrew?s, and there will be a presentation made to each of them, of a copy of the New Testament. The service should last around 40 - 45 minutes or so, and the children will then be escorted back to school in time for the 11.00 break.
The children are singing beautifully in the hall as I write. The Lemonade Kid and Oliver are each coming nicely to the boil, thanks to the hard work of the children and their teachers, and I am sure you are going to enjoy what they produce. A number of our Year 3 and Year 4 children are also involved in the two-yearly festival known as ?Schools United?, and they will be performing ?Jonah? in a couple of weeks at King Alfred School. Exciting times ahead!
DIARY REMINDERS
Monday 4th July Meeting for parents of Year 2 children 7.00 pm
Tuesday 5th July Year 6 pupils visit King Alfred (2 days). Y2 pupils visit us.
Year 3 pupils perform ?The Lemonade Kid? 7.00 pm
Thursday 7th July Year 4 pupils perform ?The Lemonade Kid? 7.00 pm.
Wednesday 13th July Y5 / Y6 production of ?Oliver? at The Princess. (and 14th)
?Schools United? concert, involving Y3 & Y4 children (and 14th)
Friday 15th July Year 3 visiting King?s Wood
Pupil reports will be sent out today.
Monday 18th July Sports Day (tomorrow if wet)
Wednesday 20th July Leavers? Service and presentation at church at 10.00 am.
Thursday 21st July Last day of term