Grandparents Tea Party

Monday 17^th October 2022

We are excited to announce that we will once more be holding our annual grandparent’s tea party on Monday 17th October 2022.

We respectfully ask that only Grandparents attend this event. Please could all Grandparents arrive at school for 2.00pm at the main entrance where you will then be escorted to your Grandchild’s class (if you have more than one, we will try to gather them all together!).

You will spend around 30 minutes in the classroom where we hope you will enjoy some time sharing activities with the children.

At 2.30pm you will be invited to come to come to one of our refreshment areas with your Grandchildren for tea and cake / biscuits. We know it is tempting to sneak extra treats for your Grandchildren, but please do not, as we will only have catered for Grandparents. Children will get a biscuit!

Just before home time, your Grandchildren will return to class, and you will be asked to leave via the main entrance near the office. If you are taking your Grandchildren home, then you will be asked to sign them out at the main office.

Safeguarding: please remember that if you are not the usual person collecting, the teacher will need prior notice that you are authorised to collect – this is best noted by the child’s parent in their home school book.

This year we would like to link this event to the launch of our new GATEWAY project.  We are hopeful that some of our grandparents might be able to donate non-perishable food items or toiletries towards this project. These donations will undoubtedly support some of our families in our local community as everyone is feeling the pressure due to the cost of living.

Dear Parents/Carers

Attendance

As you know, being in school on time and every day is extremely important for all children in order that they receive the best possible start to their learning. We have recently sent out a one-page information sheet with lots of useful facts about attendance and what we do in our school.

We all know that good attendance is vital to a successful education, as this is the foundation for lifelong learning. We very much appreciate that sometimes children must miss school for a medical appointment that cannot be made out of school time. We also appreciate that sickness cannot be helped.

Please ensure that you make all reasonable efforts to send your child into school. Sometimes you might suspect that your child is slightly under the weather, but well enough to come to school. That is fine, as staff will monitor very carefully and if necessary, can administer medication and a call later on in the day. Sometimes a magic dose of Calpol is all that is needed. Clearly, there are some illnesses that mean there is no choice other than keeping them off for the day. The office staff are more than happy to discuss any queries you have.

Did you know that a child having 90% attendance is the same as having one day off every two weeks? If their attendance drops to 80%, that is the same as having a day off every week. Lessons are planned in sequences and if a child misses a part of this sequence, they are at a disadvantage when it comes to committing that learning to long term memory.

Mrs Powell, Mrs Millington and I, monitor the attendance figures every three weeks along with our Education Welfare Officer.  We discuss all attendance below 95% and put actions in place to support children and families where we notice patterns in absence.

Not only do we monitor individual children’s attendance, but we also look at the attendance of each class in our school. We are going to bring back more recognition for good attendance during our achievement assemblies now that we can be together in the hall again. The classes with the highest attendance will be announced in assembly every week.

Attendance Incentives

Cool Cat visits Newdale and greets the children arriving at school. He will visit again this year:

26^th – 30^th September 2022

23^rd – 27^th January 2023

24^th – 28^th April 2023

Children with 100% attendance will receive a treat.

The class with the best attendance each week will also receive a treat.

It is important to remind you the law states that: “The parent of every child of statutory school age is compelled by law to ensure such a child attends school unless there is a reasonable excuse for non-attendance.  Failure to do so may result in legal action being taken against you”.

Thank you in advance for your continued support in helping us do the best we can for your children.

Miss Cook

Headteacher