Dear Parents and Carers,
Welcome back to the Summer Term. I trust that you all had a good Easter break and spent some quality time with loved ones, as well as eating some chocolate eggs!
Disco
Tonight, the children and PSA volunteers will have their dancing shoes on for the Rectory Gardens school disco. There will be tickets available on the door. Please be reminded that there will be a disco for our younger children at Church Lane, next Friday.
Polling Station
Historically, the Church Lane site has always been used as a polling station and that has never impacted on the school day. This year, due to new regulations, more space is required therefore we will have to close the Church Lane site on Thursday 2nd May. I am sorry for any inconvenience this causes. Please note that Rectory Gardens will be open and children in Years 3 to 6 are expected to come to school as normal.
Rectory Gardens (RG) is now a School Street
Thank you to everyone that has already made adjustments to their drop off and pick up routines to be compliant with the new School Street rules. It has been a smooth transition this week with only a handful of parents forgetting that they can no longer drive into RG at the displayed times. As we try and keep all of the community safe, please refrain from parking on the zebra crossing opposite RG to let your children out. It may be helpful to remember that Sainsbury’s car park gives you 90 minutes free parking and is only a 3-minute walk from the school. If you need to drive, take advantage of this.
When I Grow Up Day – Tuesday 21st May 2024
Can you offer some time to come and speak to some classes about your job? We are looking for family members who can do a brief talk about their career, inspiring and opening up possibilities for our children. Are you a builder, brain surgeon, social worker, musician, hairdresser, lawyer, designer, nurse, volunteer, IT developer or a lion tamer?! Do you own your own business, do you volunteer, what special skill do you have? Whatever you do, we want to hear from you! If you are able to offer some time, please email swalker@stmarysn8.co.uk to volunteer and see the letter below for more details of what the day will look like.
International Evening – a celebration of our similarities and differences
On 21st May we are holding our second International Evening to celebrate the huge range of cultural diversity in our school community. Does your child, or you, or a family member, have a song, a dance, a poem or a story that you would like to share. If so, please get in touch with Sally at the email address above.
Mobile phones in school
Please be reminded that it is only our Year 5 and Year 6 children who travel to and/or from school alone, who can have a mobile phone in school. These children have to hand their phones into their class teacher as soon as they reach the classroom. Mobile phone and internet safety is extremely important for us all to understand. As a school we would ask for your support in encouraging the following:
- Phones remain in children’s bags directly before and after school. At these times no one is supervising the content that they are looking at or sharing, and there is an increased risk of it being stolen.
- Please monitor extremely carefully what you child is doing on their phone, including the messages they send and receive and what they are watching.
- For their safety, please ensure your children do not have any of the apps below. Did you know that the minimum age for TikTok is 13years? Did you know the minimum age for WhatsApp is 16 Years?
Food for thought!
If your child does not have a mobile phone and you are thinking of getting them one for safety (eg when being out and about independently), you may wish to consider not getting a Smart Phone, but instead a cheaper basic one that allows them to just make calls and send messages?
Have a wonderful weekend,
Jane O’Brien
Headteacher
