Grandparent’s Stay and Share – Monday 16th November

On Monday 16th November, we will be inviting Grandparent’s in for a ‘Stay and Share’ session with their grandchild/children. The drop in will be a lovely opportunity for children to share their learning so far and spend time with their grandparent/s in school.

We will have two sittings:

Reception to Year 2 children – 1:15 – 2:15pm

Year 3 – Year 6 children – 2:15pm

Where grandparents have grandchildren in more than one year group, please attend the time of the older child (e.g. a grandparent visiting children in Year 2 and Year 4 should come at 2:15pm).

If you would like your child/children’s grandparent/s to take your child/children home after the stay and share, then please state this on Parent Pay in the notes section. 

Class teachers will have class lists of who has consent and who doesn’t. When they are ready to leave, grandparents must let class teachers know so that they can tick them off their list.

Tickets will begin at x2 per family however this may open to extra tickets nearer the event depending on the numbers.

Tickets cost £1.50 which includes a hot drink and biscuit for grandparents. Money raised will go towards subsiding trips and visits at Newdale for all children. Please note – only x1 transaction can be made so please ensure you purchase all tickets that you require. 

Deadline for booking tickets is midday on Friday 6th November.

If we have extra tickets these will go on sale shortly after this date.

We kindly ask that if a grandparent would like a hot drink, that they bring their own mug to help reduce waste/costs rather than the school purchasing single use cups.

With regards to parking on school site, this will be on a first come first served basis for blue badge holders only.

Please note, this is an event for Grandparent’s only.

Tickets are now available to purchase via ParentPay.

We look forward to welcoming everyone!

On this occasion, this event does not include Nursery, any upcoming events will be communicated directly to Nursery parents. 

Many thanks

Miss Cook

Halloween Events – Thursday 22nd October

Dear Parents/Carers,

We will be holding a Halloween Disco on Thursday 22nd October after lunch.

Children should come to school wearing their normal school uniform. After lunch, they will have the opportunity to change into their Halloween costume or dress-down clothes for the afternoon. Please ensure that all clothing and belongings are clearly labelled.

The disco will be led by staff and will take place either in classrooms or in the hall. Children will remain in their outfits for the rest of the school day and will go home wearing them at the end of the day.

We understand that some families may prefer their child not to participate in Halloween-themed activities. If this is the case, please inform your child’s teacher via the home-school communication book by Wednesday 21st October. We will ensure that an alternative, non-Halloween-themed activity is available for them to enjoy.

Please also see below our spooky hot dinner menu for Thursday 22nd October.

 

 

Thank you for your support.

Kind regards

Miss Cook

Arthog Reminders

Good morning,

Last minute reminders about Arthog:

  • Children can wear their comfortable/casual clothing for travelling. This should be sports-style clothing and not jeans.
  • Children will need a packed lunch for the first day. Please ensure that you have ordered one from the school kitchen (those entitled to free school meals) if you have not already done so by emailing the admin team.
  • Children will need to take their water bottle with them. We take these out with us daily.
  • Small torch for the night walk. Mrs Stack and I discussed this with year 6 yesterday. This does not need to be large or expensive, but is very useful for when walking at night. If you are not able to take a small torch/ head torch, children will be able to share.
  • All waterproof clothing, wellies and walking boots are provided by Arthog and therefore children do not need to take their own.
  • Please ensure that your child know where all of their belongings are packed in their suitcase. It is a good idea to have bedding at the top as the children will make their beds the afternoon that we arrive.
  • No snacks/ drinks to be taken. Everything will be provided by Arthog and all dietary requirements catered for.
  • Travel sickness pills will need to be taken before school and then staff need to be provided with travel pills for the return journey also.

    Please email the Year 6 Team if you have further questions.

Parents’ Evening Trial for Reception to Year 6– Autumn Term

Dear Parents and Carers,

This term, we will be trialling a new format for Parents’ Evenings: each year group will now have a designated Parents’ Evening date rather than appointments being spread across an entire week. Many primary and secondary schools have successfully adopted similar arrangements, and we are hopeful that this format will provide a more efficient experience for both families and staff.

On their allocated day, teachers will be released from class at 1:00pm and will hold appointments through until 7:00pm, allowing us to offer a greater number of appointment slots in one day.

 Booking Appointments

Appointments will be booked through Arbor. As this is our first year using Arbor for Parents’ Evening bookings, we kindly ask for your patience while we become familiar with the system. Further booking information will be shared nearer the time.

Monday 19th October – Reception, Year 1 and Year 2

Wednesday 21st October – Year 3, Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6

 Appointment Arrangements

  • Appointments will last 10 minutes maximum.
  • To ensure everyone keeps to schedule, teachers will need to adhere strictly to these timings.
  • Books and examples of your child’s work will still be available to view.
  • Meetings will take place in the hall rather than in classrooms.
  • If for some reason you are unable to attend, your child’s teacher will arrange a phone call appointment.
  • We recommend booking your appointments as soon as it is released especially if you have more than one child in school.

Appointments on Arbor will open on Monday 5th October at 6pm.

Booking system will close at 9am on Thursday 15th October. 

Please note that Mr McFarland, our SENDCo, will not be attending Parents’ Evening appointments in the way he has done previously. To better support families of pupils with SEND, he now has a dedicated system for meeting with parents throughout the year, outside of the general Parents’ Evening arrangements. Families requiring SEND-related discussions should continue to contact Mr McFarland directly to arrange an appropriate meeting. NewdaleSENDco@taw.org.uk

 Arrival and Departure

  • Please enter through the main office entrance.
  • Exit will be via the hall doors.
  • Due to limited waiting space, we ask that you do not arrive too early for your appointment.

As this is our first Parents’ Evening of the year, the focus is on how your child has settled into their new class, building positive relationships, engagement, discussing attitudes to learning, and identifying areas for development.

As a result, we will not be sending home our usual ‘What My Child Has Achieved’ summary during this Parents’ Evening week. Instead, these reports will be shared later in the Autumn 2 term, once children have had greater exposure to their year group’s curriculum and teachers have gathered a wider range of assessment information to accurately reflect their progress and achievements.

We believe this will provide parents with a more meaningful and comprehensive overview of their child’s learning and development.

 Children at Parents’ Evening Appointments

  • Please note that children will be unable to attend Parents’ Evening appointments during the school day (1:00pm to 3pm).
  • We understand that childcare arrangements can sometimes be challenging. Children are welcome to attend appointments after school; however, this is entirely optional. As space within school is limited, we kindly ask parents and carers to make alternative childcare arrangements where possible.
  • Any children attending an appointment after school must remain under the direct supervision of their parent or carer at all times. Thank you for your understanding and support.

 Separated Parents

We appreciate that some separated parents may wish to have individual appointments. Where possible, we kindly ask parents to attend together. However, we completely respect that this may not be suitable in some circumstances and will accommodate separate appointments where needed. On Arbor, parents will be able to make one appointment per child. Should you wish for a separate appointment, please contact your child’s teacher directly.

Please note that there will be no onsite parking for parents apart from blue badge holders during parents’ evening days.

Thank you for your understanding and support as we introduce this new approach. We look forward to hearing your feedback following the trial.

 

Miss Cook

Introducing Our New Go Green Days! 🌿

 

We are delighted to be launching Go Green Days for our Year 2 to Year 6 children this year.

Many of our KS2 pupils thoroughly enjoyed taking part in EKO Days last year. These experiences provided valuable opportunities to develop teamwork, resilience, independence and a love of the outdoors. Unfortunately, due to budget constraints, we are unable to continue with the external EKO provision this year.

Instead, we have developed our own Go Green Days, which will take place once each term. These special days will build on our commitment to outdoor learning and will link closely with children’s nature walks and time spent in Base Camp, all in one designated day. Activities will encourage children to work collaboratively, solve problems, explore the natural environment and develop a greater appreciation of the world around them.

Our aim is for Go Green Days to:

  • Promote a love of the outdoors and nature

  • Develop teamwork and communication skills

  • Build resilience, confidence and independence

  • Encourage curiosity and exploration

  • Support children’s wellbeing through outdoor experiences

You may be wondering why this opportunity is only available to Year 2 to Year 6 pupils. This is because our EYFS and Year 1 children already benefit from regular Forest School sessions as part of their outdoor learning curriculum, ensuring they continue to access high-quality outdoor experiences throughout the year.

Teachers will share further information and specific dates for each Go Green Day in the coming weeks, including any arrangements that families need to be aware of.

We are excited to see our children embrace these new enrichment opportunities and look forward to sharing photographs and updates from our first Go Green Days soon! 🌳🍃

Contacting the year 6 team

You are able to contact the year 6 team in a number of ways: through the reading diaries, catching us on the door or via the year 6 email address (newdale.year6team@taw.org.uk).

Just a reminder to not use the chat facility on Class Dojo to contact teachers please, as this is not a monitored method of communication and messages sent this way will not be seen.

Many thanks for your continued support.

The Year 6 Team

Finance and Personnel Governors Involvement

Governors from the Finance & Personnel Committee met in school on Monday 28th September. The meeting began with a tour of the school’s SEND provision, where governors learned more about how this additional support is meeting the needs of pupils and its impact on both the school’s educational and financial planning.

The committee then reviewed the current financial position of both the school and nursery. Governors recognised the importance of securing additional funding from the DfE & Local Authority to help sustain the provision currently in place. They also considered the three-year budget forecast and discussed the long-term sustainability of the staffing structure across the school and nursery.

The meeting concluded with a staff voice session featuring a teacher who has recently completed an NVQ in School Leadership. She shared her experiences of the programme, the positive impact it has had on her practice, and her aspirations for further professional development. Governors agreed that investing in the talented staff team at Newdale is a key strength and an important part of ensuring strong succession planning for the future.

Swimming dates

Just to clarify that the swimming dates for year 6 are as follows:

Friday 2nd October 2026 – Mrs Arthurs’ class only

Friday 9th October 2026 – Mrs Stack’s class only

We would be grateful if you could ensure that consent for your child to attend has been given on Parentpay.

Apologies for any confusion.

Kind regards

The Year 6 team

Swimming for Mrs Arthurs’ Class

Good evening,

 

To confirm, our assessment session is Friday 2nd October for Mrs Arthurs’ class. I appreciate that there has been confusion as the dates were changed by the swimming provider after we had sent out the first communication. The Arbor information is correct.

Kind regards,

Mrs Arthurs