January has almost gone – where exactly? – and we have had a calm and productive start to the term. The only noticeable change is a slight rearrangement of the school day, with assembly much earlier, lunch slightly earlier for our older children, and a longer afternoon. So far, a busy lunch hall has been the only issue, but we’re working around that one. Assembly is 9.05 every day, the time at which the registers close.

Today and tomorrow, the school is undergoing an assessment for the Investors’ in People award. Our assessor, Gerry Mountrey, is working with staff at all levels to look at the school’s progress as an organisation. Should anyone else wish to contribute, please come and see me and I’ll introduce you.

Facebook

I’m not on Facebook – after all, I have no friends. However, I have been increasingly concerned about hearing issues arising in school because of comments made on Facebook. OR, incidents in school being discussed. Neither of these are appropriate. In fact, for school business to be discussed on Facebook is utterly unacceptable – staff know it is a disciplinary offence to discuss school issues on Facebook.

Children under 13 should not be using Facebook. If you have an issue that has something to do with an incident in school please see us. If I discover that a child has posted something offensive on Facebook, or that a school issue has been discussed, I will report it to Facebook’s safe usage agent, who may well close those accounts. I will treat this as a Child Protection issue.

Work Club

Please see on the back of this newsletter an advert for a new job club starting at the Children’s Centre. This group is in touch with a number of big employers in the area, and are trying to provide positive solutions as the new government initiative about getting parents back to work take effect.

Finally, advance warning number 1 – school closes on Friday 18th February for half term, and reopens for pupils on Tuesday 1st March.

Zak Willis

A happy new year to you all, if I haven’t had the chance to say it already. We’ve had a calm and settled (and wet!) start to term, which has been really enjoyable. Uniform is, as ever, very smart, and attendance seems to be on the up. Thank you all – let’s keep it going. 38 children had 100% attendance in term 2, and 42 are gold attendees. Term 3 was our poorest term last year – please join us in trying to make it our best so far this year.

Start times

We are delighted that more children are attending on time. However, may I remind you all that no-one should be in the school building, other than for breakfast club, before 8.50, and key stage 2 should not come in until their teachers arrive to collect them from the playground. If you need to see your teacher, then please see them at this time, or mention to them about an appointment which we can book at another time. If, however, it is raining, we will ensure the children get the chance to come indoors and stay dry.

Scooters and bikes

For the safety of the children, especially the smaller ones, please can everyone – adults included – refrain from riding bikes and scooters in the playground or on the main path.

Smoking

Parents and carers have been smoking in the playground and on the path. Smoking on the school grounds is strictly forbidden and will be challenged.

Texting service

Please remember that we have whole school texting service to inform you immediately of any notices – this will be our preferred method of contacting you should we need to close school for January snow. In order for us to contact you, we need your very latest number – please ensure the office has this information.

Stay warm and dry everyone!

Zak Willis