1. Autumn Term 2009 Newsletters

Dear Parents and Carers,

I am very pleased to welcome everyone to St Gregory’s as we return for the autumn term. A special welcome is due to our 30 new starters who begin their school journey today – I hope that this will be the beginning of a long and fruitful journey. Our Reception team, Mrs Pickering, Miss Carrahar (D) and Mrs Sowerby have all remarked on what a delightful bunch of children we can expect, after meeting them all during the induction programme. We welcome also, the families current and new, together with the staff and children, they make up the caring and committed community that is St Gregory’s.

Looking back I must express my sincere thanks on behalf of all the staff, for the many gifts and cards received back in July. Your kindness was very much appreciated; some of the cards were really thoughtful and so supportive. These gestures mean a great deal to all of the staff at our school. Thank you again.

The final week of term was so busy but full of good things from the Enterprise Day on the Monday (belated thanks to Mrs Thornton and Craig for providing the creatures for the mini zoo), to our Sports Day and Leaver’s Celebration. The school community was so busy and productive and we hope to continue in similar fashion this term.

It was a pleasure to see such a good turn out of children today as I realise that Thursday is rather a peculiar day to “start” the week, however there are good reasons for this linked to staff training, which needs to be balanced across the year. The children are looking fit and well, smartly turned out in their uniforms and most decidedly ready for action. They certainly seem to have enjoyed their holidays despite the rather inclement weather at home – no doubt we will be due a spell of hot weather now we are back at school?

Our Y3 children will be taught by Miss H Smyth and Mrs Christina Holt during this academic year. This job share agreement will see the school retain the skills of Miss Smyth so that she can continue her sterling work in RE and Pastoral Care for the school alongside Mrs Holt’s many talents in the Arts and Environment. They will make a good, experienced complimentary partnership which the children will enjoy and strengthen the overall staff team.

Communication over the past year has been helped by our e mail contact list and an up to date directory of mobile phone numbers. If you have changed either, or would like to register your details with the school, (parents / carers of new starters perhaps), please see Mrs Rochford early in the new term. Mrs Coates will add e mail addresses as soon as possible. (Newsletters are available for viewing at: www.stgregorysrc.ik.org )

For once we have had no major building / improvement work going on over the summer break so we should be able to commence the term with little or no disruption. We have, thanks to Mrs Wright, progressed a number of minor improvements to shelving, storage and the library area, the latter being an area for development over the coming term.

Our After School Activities should commence to schedule next week. Mrs Rochford and Miss Watson are finalising the details of what we can offer this term. As well as activities for children, following your responses to the questionnaire, look out for activities for parents / carers and families. Details soon.

We are looking to give as much notice as possible of the residential activities that take place in Y5 (Thurston) and Y6 ( Belgium ). Prices are currently being negotiated and will be communicated to parents to give as much saving time as possible. Savings cards or similar will be issued much earlier. The current economic situation however, may yet cast a doubt upon the Belgium trip planned for 2010. Prices have risen due to the weak pound and it may be that an alternative visit could be sought. I will keep you informed and welcome your opinion. This trip is usually so successful and is looked upon as a special option for Y6; certainly recent visits have been first class in all respects.

Prices for school meals and milk remain the same: £1.80 per day or £9.00 per week for dinners and £4.75 per term for milk. As always, cheques made payable to Borough of South Tyneside .

Looking ahead to the remainder of the term the following dates will be useful to you:

· Friday October 2^nd: Staff In service Day: School Closed for Children;

· From Week Beginning October 6^th to November : Foundation Stage Open Days (Further details to come but essentially this is an innovation we hope will replace the Reception class Autumn Term Open evening format and comes as another response to feedback);

· Y1 – Y6 Open Evenings: Monday 19 / Wednesday 21 October (Individual appointments nearer the date);

· Half Term Holiday for children from close of school Thursday 22 October until Monday morning November 2^nd.

· Friday October 23^rd: Staff In Service Day: School Closed.

· WB November 2^nd: School Mass TBC;

· WB December 14^th: All Parties and Performances:

· Nativity Dress Rehearsal: Monday December 14^th;

· Nativity Performance: Tuesday December 15^th;

· KS1 Party: Wednesday December 16^th;

· KS2 (Y3/Y4) party: Thursday December 17^th;

· KS2 (Y5/Y6) party: Friday December 18^th.

· School Closes for the Christmas Holiday on Friday December 18^th at the usual time;

· For those planning further ahead: We return to school on Monday January 4^th2010;

· Spring Half Term, preceded by a Staff In Service Day on Friday February 12^th, is from Monday February 15 – Friday February 19^th2010; The Easter Break in 2010 again sees the school work through Holy Week until the Good Friday Bank Holiday. We return on Monday April 19^th.

· That’s enough about holidays – It’s time for work!

I look forward to meeting with you all as the term progresses.

Best Wishes.

Yours Sincerely,

K.J. Smithson.

Head Teacher.

Autumn Term Newsletter 2: Wednesday September 16th 2009

Dear Parents / Carers,

The school is functioning well as we all get back into the swing of things. Attendance is much closer to our normal high percentage so far this week and we look forward to this continuing. We do however need to remain vigilant for signs of Swine Flu as there remains a possibility that the virus will gain a hold as children return to school and begin to mix in large numbers. The advice from the Local Authority remains the same with parents advised to take sensible precautions should a case be suspected and to continue to place a high priority upon personal hygiene. We will reinforce this message in school and we have a supply of tissues and hand gel in each class as well as plenty of hot water / soap in the wash areas.

The Class Termly Forecasts should be with you by now and as I have asked all staff to look to inform quickly as regards trips and visits and this should give time to plan ahead. Longer term residential trips to Thurston (Y5) and Belgium (Y6) are being planned at the moment and letters outlining costs and arrangements will be circulated soon. It is not my intention to see the children’s return to school punctuated by letters requesting money, especially in these stringent times. The purpose of early communication is to maximise saving and preparation time, especially for the bigger trips. Payments spread over a longer period are easier to budget for and this seems preferable to the majority, though I appreciate that some still prefer to pay later in the year closer to the deadline. We are happy to cooperate in whatever way we can. I am pleased to report that despite the fall in the value of the Pound in comparison with the Euro that the cost of the Belgium Trip for Y6 children will be very close to last years total. Initially the costs were expected to rise by over £60, thankfully this is no longer the case and the school will look to provide the opportunity again should the numbers interested prove viable.

Our Out of School activities clubs are almost all up and running and take up has been very good. Staff are finalising details re computer and craft clubs that may commence next week. Story Club for Reception will return later in the year. Some places still exist for Junior Guitarists (Tuesday / Thursday / Friday), Infant Mini Gym (Tuesdays) and KS1 Football (Thursday). Netball is fully subscribed and KS2 Football is oversubscribed. The new SAFC Foundation course for family learners got off to a good start on Monday, though the levels of activity took some of our adult participants by surprise! This course too was heavily oversubscribed and I have already arranged a re-run in the Spring Term with all unlucky applicants this time guaranteed a place.

Our Karate class is very successful and I believe numbers are anticipated to rise again this term. This very good course has run for over four years with the group enjoying free use of all our facilities throughout this period as our purpose has been solely to encourage pupil participation in fitness and health related extended curriculum. In an effort to generate some funding the school is to charge the provider £0.25p per pupil for week (around £6.25PW) – a pittance as I’m sure you will agree, but capable of raising around £200 per year towards the upkeep of the hall. A recent re-surfacing of the floor along with some minor repairs cost over £700 so every little helps. I would ask our karate enthusiasts to bear this in mind when they note the price of sessions this year; certainly any increase is not solely down to the school as may have been intimated.

Our Lunchtime Supervisory Assistants are to be active again this year in encouraging our healthy eating programme. We will be reintroducing our “Golden Table” which highlighted good manners and pastoral care as those invited to share were recognised for these lovely qualities. On alternate weeks will be a “Green” table with invitations issued to those children who do “eat their greens” or make good use of the excellent salad bar, or are willing to try new healthy items as the week’s progress. We will be also working with our Local Authority Health colleagues to challenge South Tyneside ’s problem levels of obesity and inactivity- further communication in the near future. This is, as I’m sure you are aware, a national problem. We want our children to live long, healthy and active lives, what they eat and how they use their leisure time today will impact massively. Together we can help to install good habits at an early stage and your support is essential in progressing this vital agenda.

Our new starters are adapting to school life very well and I look forward to welcoming them all full time from next Monday September 21^st. The other children, especially older siblings, allied to a very caring staff team, have been very helpful in ensuring a good transition period. Well Done to all concerned.

Can I bring to your attention again the fact that dogs of all shapes and sizes are excluded from the premises? We have a small number of children who are particularly fearful of dogs, to such an extent that they would rather run into the road than contemplate passing one. I know several parents / carers walk the dog up to school to greet their children at home time, a good opportunity for exercise. I would request that this request can be kept in mind thus avoiding any incidents. Thank you for your cooperation.

Milk monies are still being collected – you can by the term or the annual fee whatever is the easiest.

Finally could all parents ensure that the “return slip” at the end of the Termly Forecast is returned as soon as possible? This ensures that day to day visits, to the baths, church or in the immediate vicinity of the school can take place without recourse to another form being issued for every “visit”. Thank you in anticipation of a prompt response (Extra forms available from Mrs Rochford if you have misplaced your original).

I look forward to seeing you as the term progresses.

Best wishes.

Yours Sincerely,

K.J. Smithson.

Head Teacher.

Autumn Term Newsletter 3: Wednesday September 30 2009

Dear Parents / Carers,

As part of our response to our questionnaire analysis we are planning to schedule some more courses aimed at parents and carers. Immediate dates for your diary may include the following options if they are of interest:

KS1 Mathematics: “Just how do we teach the kids to add up these days”? Well, come and find out at four sessions led by Mrs Jill McMullen, one of our two Y2 teachers. Each session will last around 45 minutes and take place in November:

· Wednesdays November 4^th; 11th; 18^th and 25^th.

We are hoping to be able to provide some sort of child care activity to facilitate attendance. The school does run a number of clubs at this time on a Wednesday and this may well reduce the need. The session is primarily for parents / carers of children in Y2 but may offer an insight to what lies ahead for some of our younger children as they approach the computation / calculating and “doing sums” stage. The sessions will not be threatening, involve tests or learning your tables, but enjoyable and informative!

Mrs Susan Coates is looking to run two Internet Safety courses for parents. This is something of interest to all parents / carers whose children are using the internet – a fantastic resource but how safe are they on “Face-book”; websites and chat rooms? We are always looking to protect our children but for many, ICT is unfathomable and this course can help to raise awareness and promote e safety.

The sessions on offer are:

Friday October 9^th; and Wednesday October 21^st, from 4 – 5pm. This later start enables set up and opportunities for questions. Again we hope to be able to provide some additional options for child care alongside the courses that usually run on these nights.

Interested parents / carers need to return the slip at the bottom of the page as soon as is practicable.

I am also looking to organise some additional courses that are more family orientated such as Gardening, Arts and Crafts and Cooking. Should negotiations come to fruition then I will be in touch as soon as possible.

Finally a brief reminder that the school is closed on Friday for Whole Staff In Service Training.

Best Wishes.

Yours Sincerely,

K.J. Smithson.

Headteacher.

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I ………………………………..would like to attend the 4 maths sessions in November: I do / do not require childcare (Delete as appropriate).

Signed:…………………………

I ………………………….. would like to attend the E Safety Course on Wednesday October 9 OR Friday October 21: (Delete as appropriate). I do / do not require childcare. (Delete as appropriate). Signed…………………………………..

Autumn Term Newsletter 4: Tuesday 13th October 2009

Autumn Term Newsletter 4: Tuesday October 13 2009

Dear Parents / Carers,

The response to the recently advertised Family Learning Courses for Art and Crafts and Gardening has been very good. However we do have quite a lot of spaces available still for the four maths sessions for Y2 parents / carers. I’m sure this may be partially linked to this in bred fear of maths a lot of us seem to have – trust me it’s a fun series of sessions that will help you to help your child. If you can’t make all four why not come to one or two – you will be very welcome. Don’t worry if you have lost the original letter a phone-call to Mrs Rochford will suffice.

The arts and craft course was hugely popular so much so we are running two, one in November / December and another in January. The gardening course is booked in from February. Individual letters to all applicants will be sent out today. All applicants for the maths course are successful and should attend as planned.

I am very hopeful that the Groundwork courses will prove to be enjoyable and interesting enabling some special learning to take place with parents / carers working alongside their children. The tutors are well recommended and are very much looking forward to working with you.

This Thursday sees our annual fun walk and games session for CAFOD. This will be preceded by our Y5 Assembly on Wednesday which will highlight the event for the children and family members who are cordially invited to attend. (11.35 start: Please arrive as close as you can to this time). Looking ahead again to Thursday, please ensure that everyone is appropriately dressed with coats etc just in case – we will keep an eye on the weather forecast. Previous years events have seen an excellent turnout from our community and I look forward to seeing all who can make it on Thursday.

The school, alongside many others in the borough, is continuing our participation in the Single Level Tests Pilot. The tests are not just for our Y6 children and can include children from across KS2 (Y3 / Y6). In the mid to long term this seems to be the preferred government option to replace SATs. As the pilot has burgeoned over the past two years the government’s appetite for the change seems to have increased therefore we are recommended to enter more children across KS2 for the tests in December and June. The tests are part of ongoing Teacher Assessment and provide useful evidence to support pupil progress and achievement. If your child is selected to take a test this is nothing to get stressed or worried about. You will receive an additional letter nearer the date explaining all the reasoning behind this development. Copies of this DCSF letter can be made available to any parent across the school and will be on display on the notice boards at either end of the school and the middle entrance.

What is very different for all pilot schools this year is that our Y6 children will not sit the Maths Test during SATs week. They will take a Single Level test in December and June instead. Tests in Reading, Writing and Spelling will take place as usual during SATs week (WB May 10). Some schools will after all, be asked to complete Science tests during this week also, but as yet we are not sure if we will be one of these schools. As soon as we find out we will inform all Y6 families.

In June (date as yet not confirmed), all our Y6 children will sit the Single Level Tests for Mathematics. I would ask all parents to note that holidays in school time are discouraged even further – the summer term as well as key weeks in May and June is vital for all children. This is something we are improving as a school community and we should avoid a crack down from the LA.

This is as up to date information as I have at the minute. The important thing is to note the changes and then not to worry about them, tests are a common part of the assessment process and the content of the SLT’s is pitched at L3, L4 and L5, rather than encompassing all levels in the one test. Your child will be entered at the appropriate level and will be encouraged to do their best on the day and I’m sure they will respond. Mrs Wilson, who leads this initiative for the school has worked very hard to see us at the forefront of the process and colleagues are supporting wholeheartedly in what is a very time consuming and fluctuating government development.

The testing regime has been called into question many times and this new approach will be carefully scrutinised to see if it helps to diminish the mentality inherent in some schools where the Y6 pupil does nothing but English and Maths as schools chose to bow at the altar of the SATs. As our Y6 pupils look forward to their enterprise initiatives across the year and prepare for their production of Hamlet in February, as well as paying close attention to all core learning, parents / carers should be assured that we aim higher. Our past record allied to excellence and enjoyment and the creative curriculum confirms this as true.

Moving on, it is heartening to see an increased number of children cycling / walking to school. Could I remind all cyclists to dismount in the yard – home times is an especially dangerous time to be dashing round in the yard. Thank you for your cooperation.

It is also really helpful if dinner monies can be paid each Monday. The monies are collected early on Tuesday morning and we are playing catch up too often. It is such a waste of administrator time too. Thanks in anticipation.

Our Open Evenings are almost upon us and I am sure we will have our usual excellent attendance. Individual letters have been sent to all parents / carers by class teachers – please try to adhere to your appointment times if at all possible. Staff do their best to accommodate all requests but sometimes their good nature is taken advantage of. Interim reports marking up to date assessment and target setting (Y2 – Y6) will provide a good focus for discussion. Mrs Nickels who supports some of our children will be available throughout the evening on Tuesday 20^th October. Reception parents are trialling their new Open Morning / Class Visit programme – I do hope this is successful and would welcome feedback.

A reminder that the school will be closed for all children in lieu of staff In Service on

Friday October 23^rd, marking an early start to Half Term.

I look forward to seeing you in the near future.

Best Wishes.

Yours Sincerely,

K.J. Smithson.

Head Teacher.

Autumn Term Newsletter 5: Monday October 19 2009

Dear Parents / Carers,

Over the course of the year SAPA (School and Parents Association) have worked assiduously in partnership with the school and wider local community, to raise funds to support our children. One of our key objectives this year is to refurbish and revitalise our school library. Miss Carrahar is the main driving force behind this initiative and already we have some considerable progress to report. Liaison with Whitburn School prior to the summer break saw the acquisition of some very serviceable “nearly new” purpose built library furniture (saving the school a considerable outlay). This has been reassembled and following the children’s input, set up in the space available*. Our book stock has been assessed and any old books in poor condition have been recycled or passed on. A new computerised system employing thumbprint recognition allied to a wealth of on line information about every book in our system, author, background etc is ready to operate. However, as you can imagine this has marked a significant outlay already and with the children identifying a range of other furniture and accessories, we are most grateful to SAPA and of course to you for the recent input of over £3000 towards the project.

SAPA have ordered and paid for the following this past week:

· Project Books: £1844.00;

· Fiction Books: £313.00;

· Furniture* (Chosen by the children): £590.98;

· Library Supplies (Labels / Cataloguing Materials): £371.79

· Grand Total: £3119.77.

This is a tremendous boost to support this long term project. Our Y6 children are currently planning many more enterprising ways to raise cash or donations of books and I anticipate that you will be hearing about their intentions in more detail as the year progresses. Books are a vital resource and we must make sure as far as we can that our children have as many as possible at their fingertips, however good quality hard backs to cover all areas of the curriculum do not come cheap. That is why we see this as a long term project – thanks to SAPA we are ahead of schedule.

SAPA are also running a Halloween Tuck shop later this week so the children will enjoy this I’m sure.

Our Y6 children may have reported that we had a number of visitors from the Primary Care Trust in class to interview the older children on Friday afternoon. This is another example of the school trying to work in partnership with Health Care Professionals to promote pupil and family well being. The focus of the visit was to talk about and around the problems we have in South Tyneside with obesity. It is a well documented national problem and one that is sometimes difficult to approach sensitively. From 3pm this afternoon, Helen Smith (Health Development Officer) and at least one other colleague from the Primary Care Trust will be in the yard to speak to parents. They are seeking to gauge public opinion as to how to best approach the problems associated with obesity and your input will be valuable as they look to develop a better understanding of how to tackle this issue. If you have a minute and are asked please give your opinion – it may lead to a discussion about “fast food” or advertising etc, you will be helping to move this issue forward. It is not an easy one to tackle and the council is to be applauded for looking at ways to begin to make a difference. We all wish for our children and indeed ourselves to live long, healthy and happy lives – indeed if the scientists are correct a very high percentage of our school age children will live to be 100! As long as they are fitter then this is something they can look forward to.

Open Evenings this week are scheduled Monday / Thursday and as I said last week, I anticipate our usual good turn out. Please try not to overrun your session or to be patient if things don’t run exactly to schedule!

Our Reception parents have something different to look forward to with the Open Morning invitations proving very popular. I will be interested to hear your views on how successful this venture has been and may set aside a brief response form to monitor your comments.

We do have a football match** scheduled for Wednesday (St Oswald’s Away) but our school run After School Clubs (Karate also) are not in operation and will return after half term. We have had further responses for the Maths Course (all to attend) and the two Arts and Crafts plus the Gardening courses are booked and scheduled (Everyone interested should have received a letter by now – if for any reason you haven’t please contact Mrs Rochford). I do hope these prove to be as god as we anticipate.

A final reminder that the school closes for Half Term at 3.30pm on Thursday evening the 22 October (Staff In Service) and we reopen after the break at the usual time on Monday November 2 2009.

I look forward to seeing you as the week progresses.

Best wishes.

Yours Sincerely,

K.J. Smithson.

Head Teacher.

The Bishop’s Cup game scheduled for Thursday at St Matthews Jarrow has been cancelled at St Matthews request they are having a Disco that evening. The game will now be played in the first week after Half term. To ensure the game kicks off in good time I will look to arrange KO at 3.30 prompt. This will mean the team being collected by parents / carers at 3pm. As soon as I know the exact date I will let the A team members know.

1. Autumn Term 2009 Newsletters

Autumn Term Newsletter 1: Thursday September 3rd 2009.

Autumn Term Newsletter 2: Wednesday September 16th 2009

Autumn Term Newsletter 3: Wednesday September 30 2009

Autumn Term Newsletter 4: Tuesday 13th October 2009

Autumn Term Newsletter 5: Monday October 19 2009

Autumn Term Newsletter 1: Thursday September 3rd 2009.

Autumn Term Newsletter 2: Wednesday September 16th 2009

Autumn Term Newsletter 3: Wednesday September 30 2009

Autumn Term Newsletter 4: Tuesday 13th October 2009

Autumn Term Newsletter 5: Monday October 19 2009