Tuesday 6 May 2014

Newsletter 32


SCHOLASTIC BOOK ORDER – Deadline Monday 12 May
With this letter please find a Scholastic book leaflet; please get your order back to the office by next Monday. 
We are afraid we CANNOT accept cash, so please pay by cheque (Scholastic Ltd) or complete the credit card part of the order form.

SATS & INTERNAL TESTING – from 12 to 23 May
We would like to advise you that children from Year 1 – 6 will undergo SATs tests and internal tests during next week and into the week after.  Please can we ask that parents exit the school buildings and grounds as soon as possible after the children come in in the morning.
Thank you.

DAD’S TO LUNCH – Tues 10 to Thurs 12 June
Look out for the letter coming home shortly to book a place for Dad’s to come to lunch with their children on one of 3 dates in June.  In addition to just having lunch, this year we are offering Dads the chance to come in a bit earlier to do some reading with your child in class.

LOST PROPERTY – Thursday 8 May on front playground
The lost property box at the top of the Nursery stairs was so full that we couldn’t fit any more in!  The Eco Council have sorted through it and will return any named items to the pupils.
All unnamed items will be put out on a table in the front playground pavilion on Thursday after school, so if your child is missing any uniform, PE clothing, coats, accessories or footwear, or any snack boxes then please can you come to reclaim your items.
Any items unclaimed will be sold at the next second hand uniform sale, or given to a local charity shop. 
PLEASE REMEMBER TO NAME ALL YOUR CHILD’S UNIFORM

DOES YOUR CHILD LIKE MAGIC?
The Friends are planning to organise a magic show (games, magic, puppets and juggling) for Foundation and KS1, and a magic workshop (a show and teaching the children some tricks) for KS2. The estimated cost for the magic show is £3.00 per child and the estimated cost for the workshop is £5.00 per child. The magic show and the workshop would last about 1 hour each and will probably be held on a Friday late afternoon/ early evening at school.
In order for The Friends to plan for this, please could you email Christina Hitchcock on tiajason@hotmail.co.uk with the ages and numbers of your children who are interested.
This is not a commitment to attend; it is just to give The Friends an idea of numbers.

FRIENDS FILM NIGHT - POSTPONED
The Friends apologize, but they are postponing the film night (from 16 May); they will either run it later in the term or they will run the magic show (see above). More details will follow.

REMINDER TO Nursery, CH & KM
Please return your slips and payment for the Aldeburgh trip
by next Monday, thank you.

CAKE STALL & DISCO
The cake stall before Easter was a great success – thanks go to classes KVNS & JC for the brilliant baking and also to all those who bought some Easter treats, it raised £133.
The Disco at the end of last term raised a brilliant £510.  Thanks go to all those parents who helped on the night.

MESSAGE FROM PARENT COUNCIL RE DROP OFF/COLLECTION
Although the new arrangements for the mornings have been working well, there does seem to be a problem with parking at around 8.40 am with lots of parents rushing to drop children off at that time. This does seem to be particularly affecting parking in Coucy Close.  Please could we remind parents that although the doors to the school are not opened until 8.40am the playground is supervised from 8.30 am and children can be dropped off from that time and can come into school up until 8.50am.
At the end of the school day could parents coming to collect KS2 children please wait until all the children from classes JC and LC have left the building before crossing their path as it is difficult for the teachers to make sure that the children are all together when parents are continually passing through their lines.
Thank you for your support in these arrangements.

CLARIFICATION ON PUPIL PREMIUM LETTER
All children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 will automatically get free school meals from September without having to register.  Only if you receive any of the Government benefits listed on the reverse of last week’s letter should you register for ‘FSM’ as this is the only way that schools get additional funding and the only way eligible children can receive the additional benefits that were listed on the front of the letter.

'Return to Teaching' course
The Teacher Recruitment Service (TRS) is keen to support qualified and experienced teachers who are on a career break make an effective and supported return to the classroom.
A ‘Return to Teaching’ course will commence later this term - Two tutored days (26 June and 18 September), run by the Farlingaye & Kesgrave Teaching School Alliance, will cover a wide range of topics, including the national curriculum, Early Years, special schools, inclusion, lesson planning, assessment and career paths.
At least one additional day must be spent in a Suffolk maintained or Academy school, to provide the opportunity to see teaching in action and talk to teachers, support staff and pupils. The cost of the course is £50.
For further details and an application form contact the Teacher Recruitment Service:
email: teachsuffolk@schoolschoice.org  Tel: 01473 263952  The closing date is Thursday 15 May

 DIARY REMINDER - WE HAVE A PD DAY ON MONDAY 2 JUNE WHICH IS STRAIGHT AFTER THE HALF TERM BREAK. (Thomas Mills are open on this day)