DIARY DATES
21st June 2007 - RL Class Assembly (please join us) 9.10
28th June 2007 - 1M Class Assembly (please join us) 9.10
29th June 2007 - Brightlingsea Infant School 40th Anniversary Celebrations
28th June 2007 - School Choir singing at Infant Music Festival – Alresford Primary
30th June 2007 - Schools Association Summer Fayre
5th July 2007 - Open Evening – Infant and Junior Schools open together
6th July 2007 - Year Two Abberton Trip (half year group)
9th July 2007 - Year One Trip to the beach – Essex Wildlife Trust
10th July 2007 - Sports Day – am Yr1 and Yr2 , pm Reception
11th July 2007 - Year Two Abberton Trip (other half of year group)
12th July 2007 - Year Two Leaving Show (2.00)
13th July 2007 - Year Two Leaving Show (6.00)
19th July – 4th Sept 2007 - SUMMER HOLIDAY
5th September 2007 - First Day of New Term
SHAKE, RATTLE AND ROLL
We had a fantastic day on Wednesday working with the group Shake, Rattle and Roll guiding us through a musical feast of percussion sounds. Starting off with a whole school assembly we were able to hear the sound of different instruments (both loud and soft!) completing with smaller group ‘hands on’ activity. I spent the day in a reception class and they were very enthusiastic and couldn’t stop talking about it all day!
Thanks to the Schools Association (PTA) for their donation towards this event that was much enjoyed by everyone.
CHANGES IN LUNCH TIME ARRANGEMENTS
Some parents may be aware that we have changed our lunch-time arrangements this year to improve activity levels in the Year One and Two play times. Our Play Leader and Mid-day Assistants have enthusiastically worked with the children to ensure that we provide a range of activities for all to enjoy at lunch-times.
Due to a planned increase in classroom support next year throughout the school, the Governing Body are proposing to make the following changes to the lunch times to maximise the effectiveness of this support:
Current Arrangements Proposed Arrangement
Reception 12.10 – 1.20 12.00 – 1.10
Year One 12.20 – 1.30 12.10 – 12.20
Year Two 12.00 – 1.10 12.20 – 1.30
We currently only have the occasional child who takes their lunch-times at home so there is no duty for the Governing Body to consult about this change, however, if any parent would like to discuss any aspect of this change, please write or make an appointment to see me.
I am sure you will agree that improvements to the level of classroom support will have a positive impact on continuing to improve learning in our school.
REPORTS
It’s that time of the year – we are thinking about our reports to parents and carers about children’s progress this year. We have a legal duty to send reports to all parents and carers with parental responsibility and one copy will be sent to the main carer/s. We would like to hear from any parent who would like an additional copy for an additional parent who may not reside in the same home. We take care to colour photocopy your children’s contribution to their learning to ensure that the second copy is high quality. Please ensure that the name of the parent and current address is given to the office staff to ensure that a copy can be sent – Thank you.
WANTING TO ACHIEVE A MATHS QUALIFICATION? – Change of dates
We have recently held a successful numeracy course for parents in our school. In June the course moves on to preparing to take either the Level One or Two National Numeracy Test (Level Two is equivalent to A – C at GCSE). Tuition is provided to support the achievement of this qualification. The course starts on Thursday 14th June at 1.00 – 3.00 for five weeks. Call into the Office to find out more!
SUMMER FAYRE
The Schools Association are looking for help and support for the Summer Fayre activities on Saturday 30th June. A flyer is enclosed with this newsletter, please read and volunteer. At this time it is worth reflecting on the support offered by the Schools Association throughout the year. We received a donation of £4,000 from the Schools Association last year and this was spent on forming the covered area outside the Year One and Two classrooms (much needed on days like today!) and also contributing towards expensive productions like the ‘Shake, Rattle and Roll’ events this week. This was raised from your donations by participating in the events provided by the Schools Association. Working quietly in the background, the committee and additional helpers do a great job to make our school life more interesting – Thank you to the many people who help - Please keep supporting our events!
Bairstow Eves have offered to sponsor our Schools Association Summer Fayre. Can you have a ‘For Sale’ type board in your garden for two weeks advertising the date and time of our Summer Fayre? For each board Bairstow Eves will donate £5 to our event. We need gardens in Brightlingsea, Thorrington, Alresford, Wivenhoe and Great Bentley to display these signs – can you or your friends and family help us out? Please let the office know if you can help.
WATER BOTTLES AND SUN HATS
Please remember to send your child into school with a water bottle and sun hat each day. We do insist that the drink contained in the bottle is water rather than juice or squash so please do not send this in. Children need to hydrate throughout the day and although we do provide water for children without bottles this can lead to spillages so a bottle is more appropriate. Thank you.
SCHOOL PHOTOS
Monday is the last day to order the class photographs or return the proof. Any orders after this date will incur an additional charge from the photographers.
LOST PROPERTY
Our lost property seems to be breeding – we even have a pair of child’s glasses in our lost property! We have seen an enormous increase in un-named items of clothing and this likely to grow further as the weather improves. When it is warm, children tend to take their jumpers on and off more frequently, swap them by mistake with other children, leave them on the field and items get lost. Please ensure that your child’s clothes are labelled to enable us to return it to your child as soon as possible.
WHOLE SCHOOL FOOD POLICY
Thank you for your responses to our questionnaire. Your comments are extremely important to us and your opinions will influence the development of our whole school food policy.
SPARE GIRLS’ AND BOYS’ UNDERWEAR WANTED!
We now desperately need underwear for our emergency supply box! We would be very grateful for any donations to increase our supply – Thank you.
TESCO AND SAINSBURY VOUCHERS
We have been pleased with the number of vouchers for the Computers for Schools and Active Kids promotional schemes. If you have any more we would be pleased to receive them.
ADULT EDUCATION PROSPECTUS
The new Tendring prospectus for 2007/8 is due out in early July and contains many courses for adults to learn new skills. If you are looking to develop new skills, look out for the prospectus, these will be arriving soon.
Julia Hunt