Dear Parents and Carers,
Welcome back to the 2024/2025 academic year. I hope that the summer break was all that you wished for and that the start of the new term has been successful. As a staff team we are excited to be back, and the children have settled extremely well. We are very much looking forward to working with you to enable your children to flourish, and to enjoy the many community events that we have planned across the year.
Teddy Bears Picnic
The rain didn’t stop our Teddy Bear’s Picnic with Ducklings and Goslings last week. Thankfully we were able to meet under the canopy until the rain had stopped. It was great to see parents, carers, staff and children chatting, introducing their teddy bear friends, enjoying their snacks, playing and completing activities.
Curriculum Evenings and Year 6 Transition Meeting
Thank you to all of the parents who attended the curriculum evenings this week. We hope that you found it useful to hear more about what your child is learning and what routines and systems are in place. For those who were unable to make it, the information that was shown will be shared with you soon. As the Year 6 children and their families start thinking about transition to secondary school, we organised for five different secondary schools to deliver presentations to share information about their schools. We hope that this supports the Year 6 parents as they attend open evenings and make choices for their applications.
Change In Term Dates
We wanted to let you know about a slight change in the term dates for this academic year. Please note the following:
- There will no longer be a Teacher Training Day on Friday 4th April, so children will be expected to be in school on that day.
- Monday 21st July will now be a Teaching Training Day. This means that the children’s last day of the academic year will be Friday 18th
A revised copy of the term dates is attached for your reference. Sorry for any inconvenience caused.
Holidays in Term Time and Fines
You may have seen in the news that the new government are still supporting and encouraging schools to take action when families take unauthorised holidays in term time. Like most schools we have many families who take their children out of school during term time and in line with guidance, St Mary’s will start issuing fines to families. If you were thinking of booking a term-time holiday, please consider that you may be at risk of a fine.
Condolence Book For Sarah Blakeley, Teaching Assistant
As you will be aware from our previous correspondence, our wonderful teaching assistant, Sarah Blakeley died at the beginning of the summer holidays. From Monday 23rd September until Friday 27th September, the condolence book for Sarah will be in the main foyer at the Rectory Gardens site. If you would like to write a message in the book, sharing your memories, sympathy or thanks for the wonderful work that Sarah did, please visit Rectory Gardens and speak to Sally Walker or Rebecca Greensmith. This book will then be passed onto Sarah’s family. Please note the condolence book is not for the children to write in.
Wishing you a lovely weekend,
Jane O’Brien
Headteacher
