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visiting www.oldfieldparkinfants.co.uk
2006 / 07 Number 11 . January 19th 2007
Dear Parents,
As promised last time
this newsletter has news of several events and activities coming up during
terms 3 and 4. Some are still in the planning stage so details will follow as
appropriate, however, it might be helpful to make a note of important dates.
A
new group for all parents ~ ‘Family Book
This year is ‘Family Reading Year’. Two of our parents Kate Kinson and Heather Kale who have children in Year 1 have
offered to run an informal
book group on Tuesdays from 9.00am until 10ish starting next
week. The group will be all about children’s books and how to support your
child with the important skill of learning to read. Kate and Heather have lots
of ideas for activities to enjoy both as a group of parents and to try out with
your child. They also hope that those who join the group will have ideas of
their own to share. As well as being focused on books it is intended to give
you a chance to meet socially and enjoy a cup of coffee and a chat together.
Pre school children will be welcome. Do come along to the canteen after you
have dropped your child off and find out what is going on.
Reading at Home
We are aware that many things are sent home for you to do
with your child and fully understand that it is not always possible to do
everything. We would however, like to reiterate the importance of reading with
your child regularly. This can be your child reading to you from their current
‘reading book’, reading together or reading a story to your child.
SEAL (Social and
Emotional Aspects of Learning)
This term’s theme is:- Going For Goals
Here are the assembly themes and behaviour targets. The targets are displayed in each class and by the entrances to school. These themes link to learning taking place in each class and are used for our weekly behaviour awards.
|
Week beginning |
Assembly Theme |
Behaviour
Target |
|
15th January |
Introduction to theme : knowing myself |
When setting a goal think carefully to make the right choice |
|
22nd January |
Working towards a goal : keep going |
Keep going : some things take a long time to achieve |
|
29th January |
Working towards a goal : dealing with mistakes and disappointment |
Keep going : even when something is difficult to do |
|
5th February |
Achieving a goal |
Be proud of yourself when you have achieved something new. |
|
12th February |
Festivals : Chinese New Year and Shrove Tuesday |
Listen to
others when they are talking. |
Later in the spring
we are hoping to offer parents the opportunity to come into school and learn
more about the SEAL programme.
Walk On Wednesdays
………………
Please continue to Walk On Wednesdays as often as possible.
We will be counting up the numbers for each class for January at the end of the
month.
……… and Park and
Stride
Just a reminder that we do have an arrangement with the
Co-op store in Shaftesbury Avenue which allows parents to park there and then
walk to school. You do need to display a badge to show that you are from our
school. These are available from the school office.
NSPCC Charity Fundraiser
Joanne Dawe-Lane from the NSPCC came to assembly on Wednesday to
talk
to the children
about the charity and its work. She did this in a very appropriate
and
sensitive way. Each child was given a fundraising activity sheet. Please can
I stress
that participation in this activity is entirely up to individual families. As a
school we
regularly support several charities and do try to include a national
children’s
charity from time to time. Any money raised will be collected by Joanne
on
Wednesday January 31st.
Zero Waste Lunchboxes
Look out
for news of this activity coming home with your child soon.
Theme Week March 5th to 9th
2007
The first
of this year’s theme weeks is in the early stages of planning. All I can say at
this stage is that it will be of a ‘mysterious’ nature! As usual it will involve the whole school
exploring an idea with input from visiting experts.
Watch this space !
Arrangements for Severe Weather.
Although cold
weather seems to be a thing of the past I though I ought to remind everyone of
what to do in case of bad weather in particular snow.
We will always
do our best to keep school open during bad weather such as snow or ice.
However, all the full time teaching staff do have to
travel some distance to reach school and we need to ensure that we have
adequate care available.
If the
school is closed we will normally arrange for announcements to be made on the
local radio stations as early as possible so advise you to tune in to these in
the first instance. We also belong to an internet service “Snowday”.
In the case of snow, please log on to www.snowday.co.uk
and search for our school’s name. The site will display whether the school is
open or closed. The office should be staffed from 8am to receive calls if you
are unable to get information from the radio or ‘Snowday’
Snow Contact Pyramid
Please make sure you have let Mrs Garbutt
know if you do not wish to be included on this contact list. We will finalise
and distribute it soon.
Open Morning for
Prospective Parents
This year we are going to trial an open morning when we can
showcase the school and some of the activities that go on here to prospective
parents, in particular those who have children due to start at a school in
September 2008. If you know anyone who might be interested please let them know
the date. Further details will follow both in the newsletter and via flyers to
local pre school settings.
Clover House Therapy : Natural Healing for Children
Clover House in Saltford has been successfully helping
children’s conditions and problems for the last ten years. They have a very
high success rate in helping children and their families over 3 sessions and
several children from this school have attended over the past few years.
Recently they have produced a DVD and book for use at home, explaining their
techniques. They also do a free talk session on the first Wednesday of every
month at Clover House from 10.30am until 12noon should anyone be interested. We
have further information packs available to lend parents in school. To find out
more you can also contact Clover House on 01225 344047 or look at their website
on www.cloverhouse.org
Grandad’s War
A few weeks before Christmas I
received a very interesting book in the post. It is called ‘Grandad’s
War’, was written by a group of 18 boys who attended the City of Bath Technical
School in 1947 and recalls their memories of
It may well be that some of the boys are related or known to
families who now attend the school. They are Ivor
Gibbs, Terry Tooth, Philip Urch, Keith Ward and Brian
Whetter. If
any one is interested in borrowing the book please ask me. Alternatively copies
are available from Mr R.G. Davis, Riverview Cottage, 20 Lower Fore Street, Saltash, Cornwall PL12 6JX for £8 including post and
packing.
I have replied to Ron to thank him for the book and tell him
a little about the school now which he passed on to the ‘old boys’. I have
since received one of the unedited articles by email which is also available to
borrow.
Opportunities to
Support Others
Learning Champions
Do you enjoy learning? Could you encourage and support
people back into learning? If yes you could be a Learning Champion. Learning
Champions volunteer with the B&NES Community Learning Service and receive
payment to train and gain work experience. For further information see the
flyer and leaflet on the notice board in the corridor or ask at the office.
School Based
Independent Parental Supporters (IPS) Volunteers
Are you a good comminuicator? Can
you offer some spare time to support parents of children with Special
Educational Needs? Parents may need help at meetings, understanding paperwork
or advice. No experience is needed. Full training and support provided by the
B&NES Parent Partnership Service. To find out more and for details of the
next training course contact Lynn Attwood on 01225 394294 or Chris Jorgensen on
01225 394382 or email parent_partnershipservice@bathnes.gov.uk
Yours sincerely
Jo Claridge
Headteacher
Dates for the term.
Monday 5th February Recycling Workshops for Y1
Friday 16th February End of Term 3
Monday 26th February Term 4 starts
Monday 5th March Theme Week begins
Friday March 16th Open Morning (for parents of children already in
school)
Tuesday
March 20th Parent’s
Evening (for reviews of Special Educational Needs)
Thursday March 29th Open morning for prospective parents
Wednesday April 4th End of Term 4