Dear Parent / Carer,

Since we have returned from the Easter holidays Mrs Johnson is now   the Attendance Officer for both the juniors and the Infants and is employed by both schools.

Mrs Johnson will:

• Carry out First Day Contact
• Respond to ‘Leave of Absence’ requests
• Arrange for School Based Attendance Meetings
• Liaise with the Education Welfare Service

The government has set a target that attendance should be over 95%.

If your child’s attendance falls below 95% you will receive a letter informing you and letting you know that the attendance will be monitored for a period of time.  If it continues to fall, then a second letter will be sent saying there will be a further monitoring period.  If it falls again, then you will be invited to a meeting with the headteacher.  Any absences over 3 days will require medical evidence to be authorised (with the exception of some illnesses such as chicken pox).

If your child is ill, you should contact Mrs Johnson who is based at the Junior School on 01992 715885.

Apologies from The infant school, as some letters were sent out in error this week.

Fiona Reid                                                             Neil Woollcott

Headteacher                                                       Headteacher

Infant and Nursery School                                Junior School

VE Day Commemorations

Last Friday pupils and staff at both schools joined together to commemorate the 70^th anniversary of VE day.

Year 3 children iced cakes and displayed these in the shape of the Union Flag. They later sold the cakes to the children of the junior school. They also produced enough Union Flags for each child in both schools to wave.

During the afternoon the children and staff of the two schools joined together to hear Year 4 children and the choir sing a number of war time songs, Year 6 children danced the jitterbug and Year 5 recited Winston Churchill’s VE Day speech. The afternoon ended with the children and staff joining with the nationwide two-minute silence at 3pm.

TOP TIPS TO GET YOUR CHILDREN READING

• Read anywhere and everywhere.

1. While you are out with your children doing daily activities, read signs, letters, numbers and logos – so they know that writing means something.
2. Don’t just read books.
3. Read anything – newspapers, comics, magazines, emails, mobile texts, electronic devices, road signs or even shop posters.
4. Be positive.
5. Praise your child for trying hard at their reading. Let them know it’s all right to make mistakes. Turn off the TV! It’s easier for your child to concentrate if there are no distractions.
6. Children love to copy adults.
7. If you sit down with a book or magazine for ten minutes, it doesn’t just give you a break, it sets a great example for your kids too.

• Don’t read for too long.

1. A good ten minutes is better than a difficult half hour.
2. Chat
3. Talk about things you see in the book – who’s in it, what they did and where they went.

• Let them read their favourites.

1. It’s good practice to read the same books over and over again.

• Act it out.

Children can act out stories, this will help them to learn to tell stories based on what they’ve read and heard.

• Ways with words.

1. Talk about what different words mean and tell your child the name for anything they don’t know. This is how children learn new words and helps them to become better readers.

• Tell stories together.

Talking about your day and what you did means sharing time

Well done to

Lois Howes – NAM

Alexis Howe-McKeon – NPM

Tila-Lily Warner – Gold

Diesel Brede – Silver

Archie Sharp – Yellow

Rhea Dulieu – Purple

Alfie Moore – Green

Jack Wrigley – Blue

Well done to

Jack Cosford, Samaya Kaleel, Sydnae- Rose Smith, Harry Harmer (Miss Panagiotidou’s Class),Mulkom Kisitu, Lexie Sharman, Jodie Richardson, Olivia Wood, Freddie Greyson, Zoe Le-Couch (Mrs Campbell’s Class), Layla Kaleel, Archie Hemming, Connor Dunkin, Max Sichel (Mrs Sach’s Class) who received Green Cards this week.

Term Dates

This is a reminder that the Governing Bodies have agreed the following Term Dates for 2015-2016:

2015

Thursday 3 September            Children return

Friday 23 October                   Break up from School

Tuesday 3 November              Children return

Friday 18 December                Break up from school

2016

Monday 4 January                   Children return

Thursday 11 February             Break up from school

Monday 22 February               Children return

Thursday 24 March                 Break up from school

Monday 11 April                      Children return

Thursday 26 May                    Break up from school

Monday 6 June                        Children return

Wednesday 20 July                 Break up from school