Maybury News
Believe. Achieve. Succeed.
Issue 1
September 2022
A message from Mrs Merritt
A very warm welcome back to a new academic year, we are very excited to be back and are looking forward to enjoying and sharing all the exciting learning opportunities we have planned. We would like to welcome all our new families who are joining us, for many it will be the start of their, and their child’s journey with us here at Maybury.
We started our term with a special theme week to celebrate diversity the children have been learning about people from a range of backgrounds, including some who faced adversity that have made significant contributions to our lives and the world we live in today. Each class had a different influential person to learn about and created some amazing displays to celebrate their contributions to society, these included Stephen Hawking, Malala Yousafzai, Rosa Parks, Mae Jemison, Ellie Simmonds and Albert Einstein. Who all demonstrate that no matter what your background is you can achieve greatness!
This year we have made the decision to update our school values to reflect the changes over the last few years, for example kindness is a thread that has been pivotal in our work over the pandemic and we wanted to include this in our school values. We will be talking about these values within our curriculum and during assemblies. Our new Values are as follows.
Autumn 1: Respect, Autumn 2: Resilience, Spring 1: Positivity, Spring 2: Kindness, Summer 1: Equality and Summer 2: Independence
We will continue to share ideas about how you support the school and further embed these values at home in our monthly newsletter. Our values are important because they help children to grow and develop. They help us to create the future we want to experience and the community we want our children to live in.
This year we have embarked on a new Phonics programme. We will be using Read Write Inc to teach children in Reception, years 1 and 2 to read. Read Write Inc. is a popular phonics scheme. Like all phonics schemes, it teaches children the sounds in English, the letters that represent them, and how to form the letters when writing. Read Write Inc. Phonics includes reading books written using only the letters they have learnt at each level (and a small number of separately taught tricky words). The children will quickly feel confident and successful. Parents/carers of children in these year groups will have been invited to workshops to share how we will deliver these sessions. It is vital that we work in partnership to ensure all children reach their reading potential so could all parents/carers ensure their child is in school at 8:40 and ready to start learning and also that you support your child’s reading at home and return to the books on the specified days. More information about RWI can be found on their website https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/reading/reading-schemes-oxford-levels/read-write-inc-phonics-guide/
This month we welcome Mrs Robinson to our school, she will be working in Seahorse class as their Teaching Assistant, a huge warm welcome to her. Also I would like to say a huge thank you to Miss Nabbi , this month marks the 20th year of her working at Maybury Primary School, that is a huge milestone and I would like to thank her for her support and commitment to our school!
I am delighted to see that the children have returned to school looking very smart and are wearing their PE kit on PE days and full uniform on other days, as a reminder children in Years 3-6 must wear a tie and shirt and children in Years Reception-Year 2 should wear a polo shirt with our school logo. Could I please also remind parents that we have a no earring policy, children should not wear earrings to school, this is for their own health and safety, this includes the wood pieces and clear earrings. Also as a reminder school starts promptly at 8:40!
I am available every morning and after school on the school gate so any questions you have please ask. I look forward to working in partnership with you this year.
Mrs Merritt, Headteacher
Early Years Foundation Stage Update
Rainbow Fish
Starfish
Starting Nursery is big step for children, and their parents! All the children are happy and settled and it is lovely getting to know them at the start of their school journey. We are looking forward to working with the children and their families this year.
The children have been busy learning our routines and exploring inside and outside. We have been learning to listen to familiar stories and rhymes and follow simple instructions, a very important skill for our nursery children.
The children can have fruit and milk at nursery but if you would like to send in an extra piece of fruit you can. We have children with food allergies so please only send fruit, no foods with milk or nuts.
Please remember to bring a coat every day, the children love being outside in any weather!
Welcome back and welcome to our new children and families. The children in Starfish Class are settling in very well to life at school, exploring their new classroom and garden, learning our new routines, making new friends and developing their listening skills.
The children have adapted to having lunch at school really well, trying new foods and trying to use their knives and forks. I have never seen so many clean plates!
Thank you for attending our RWI Phonics meeting. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask.
See photos above of our happy, settled children.
Key Stage 1 Update
Seahorses
The children have settled in well to Seahorses Class. They have been getting used to being with each other again, taking turns and sharing. We have spent the first few days of term learning new routines and exploring the classroom and outdoor area.
We loved painting and decorating our own paper plate Seahorse for one of the displays in the classroom.
Jellyfish
This month in Jellyfish, we have been learning about adjectives and how to use them. We read Hairy Maclary and then have been writing our own versions with different animals and choosing between a farm or a zoo.
In History, we are learning all about different types of travel and transport. We have designed our own Viking Longships and compared these to modern boats. We have also compared the features on the very first car to cars we have nowadays. This week, we were learning about steam trains and writing stories about being a passenger on the very first steam train journey. We all decided that we would be very excited but also feel a little bit sick as it would have been the fastest any of us had ever moved!
For Art, we are creating our own artwork based on the style of Paul Klee. We have been building up to designing our own by drawing shapes and patterns with lots of bright colours.
Key Stage 2 Update
Manta Rays
The children have settled really well into Year 3 and have had a great start to their new key stage. They are enjoying our first topic about Ancient Egypt and finding out how long ago the Egyptian civilisation was.
The children are showing great team work skills in PE and are learning different skills in Netball.
We celebrated Queen Elizabeth’s life by creating some line drawings of some photos of her in Art.
We visited Woking Library and enjoyed finding out about all the different types of books stocked in the library, how to find a fiction book using the author’s surname and taking part in a quiz.
Angelfish
The children have settled well into Angelfish class and are getting used to the faster pace of Year 4. The children started off the year by creating some beautiful Angelfish artwork decorated by weaving strips of card. These were used to make a fantastic display in the cloakroom.
The children have started learning about the ancient Greeks in our History topic (Meet the Greeks) and enjoyed becoming archaeologists. They had to carefully use their paintbrushes to uncover the artefacts and decide what they thought they were.
Sea Turtles
In art we have been looking at the ‘blob’ tree, identifying all the different emotions and recreating them by creating skeletal structures. We used a variety of materials to investigate which would be best for our final Modroc sculptures.
We have been learning all about maps in Geography. We have become confident in using atlases as well as online maps. We have also been using an 8-point compass to give directions..
Dolphins
The children have settled in well and are adjusting to a busy start to Year 6. Please remind your children to complete their reading and home learning daily and return it to school for marking.
We began the year learning about modern day superheroes, we chose Stephen Hawking and spent a few days researching him and finding out why he is so inspirational.
In Literacy we are reading ‘Pig Heart Boy’ as our class text, it is about a young boy who has a failing heart and he is faced with the prospect of having a pig heart transplant! We have been writing diary entries and debating for and against the use of animal organs in transplants. This book links well with our Science topic which is all about the circulatory system.
School Dinners
Please can we remind parents that school dinners should be paid for in advance. Please ensure that payment for the week ahead is made by the Monday morning, the cost for one week is £12.25 (£2.45 per day). Please also note that it is also possible to pay for more than one week at a time.
Please click here to view the menus via our school website - School Meals
Flu Vaccinations for Reception to Year 6
The Child and Family Health Surrey immunisation team is visiting our school on Friday 7th October 2022 to deliver Influenza (flu) vaccinations via nasal spray.
Please complete the e-consent form by 4pm on Monday 3rd October 2022 by visiting:
· www.surreyimmunisations.co.uk and entering your school’s unique code SR125001
· If you do not want your child to receive a vaccine then please fill in the ‘No’ box.
· If you do not want your child to receive the nasal spray vaccine on the basis of porcine gelatine please fill in the ‘No’ box indicating this and you will be given the opportunity to consent for an alternative vaccination. This vaccination is delivered by injection into the arm (intramuscularly) and does not contain any porcine DNA agents.
An automated email will be sent to you on completion of the e-consent form from Cinnamon Digital Applications (who host the website portal for us). If you do not receive this, please check in your junk email or contact the Immunisation team.
You can find out further information about this vaccine at the following link:
If you have any concerns or would like to withdraw your consent please to contact the Immunisation Team on the telephone number above.
Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR) Information
By now your child should have had two doses of MMR to fully protect them from the diseases of MMR. If your child has NOT had two doses of MMR, and you would like them to be protected, please contact the Immunisation Team on the above number.
Information about MMR and answers to some common questions can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/measles-dont-let-your-child-catch-it-flyer-for-schools
If you would like any further information about the school-based vaccination programme, please contact the Immunisation Team on the telephone number above or visit www.childrenshealthsurrey.nhs.uk where you will find additional information about immunisations, school session dates and catch-up clinics.
Clinical Service Manager
Surrey Immunisation Team
Fixed Term Penalty Notice
We are aware that the pandemic has had an effect on families, but the expectation is still that every child should now be attending school full time. If you consider that there are exceptional circumstances relating to your request, please let the school have full details. Each application for a leave of absence will be considered on a case by case basis.
Penalty Notices to Address Poor Attendance at School
A Penalty Notice may be issued as an alternative to the prosecution of a parent/carer for their child’s unauthorised absence from school (absence without the agreement of the school or not covered by a medical note) and will be used by Surrey County Council in the following circumstances :-
1. Pupils identified by police and Inclusion Officers (formerly Education Welfare Officers) engaged on Truancy Patrols and who have incurred unauthorised absences.
2. Leave of absence in term time (5 days or 10 sessions or more).
Please be aware that The Education (Pupil Registration)(England)(Amendment) Regulations 2013, which became law on 1st September 2013 state that Headteachers may not grant any leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances.
The Headteacher is also required to determine the number of school days a child can be away from school if leave is granted.
In such cases the Headteacher/Governing Body must decide whether there are exceptional circumstances. They may request that the Local Authority issue Penalty Notices when the absence is not authorised.
Warnings will not be given where it can be shown that parents have been notified that such absences will not be authorised.
3. Finally, the issuing of a Penalty Notice will also be considered where it is judged that a parent is failing to ensure their child's regular school attendance.
This will be considered when a pupil has incurred 7 or more unauthorised sessions in the previous 6 school weeks, which may include a pupil arriving late after close of registration.
If you believe at any stage that your child’s absence from school may leave you liable to receive a Penalty Notice, it is extremely important that you act without delay to secure their regular attendance.
If you have any questions or require further support to achieve an improvement in your child’s attendance, please contact your child’s school or the Inclusion Officer.
Penalty Notice relating to Exclusions
If a child is excluded from school, Section 103 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 places a duty on parents/carers to ensure that their child is not in a public place without justifiable cause during school hours.
This duty applies to the first five days of each exclusion. Failure to do so will render the parent/carer liable to a Penalty Notice. (Alternative education provision will be made available from the sixth day of any exclusion.)
Amount Payable for a Penalty Notice
The amount payable for a Penalty Notice issued in any of the above circumstances is currently £60 if paid within 21 days of receipt of the Notice, rising to £120 if paid after 21 days but within 28 days.
If the Penalty Notice is not paid, the local Authority must consider a prosecution in the Magistrates Court for the offence for which the Notice was originally issued.
Please be aware that each parent is liable to receive a Penalty Notice for each child who incurs unauthorised absences, for example, if there are two parents and one child, each parent will receive one Penalty Notice.
If there are two parents, and two children incur unauthorised absences, each parent will receive two Penalty Notices, which in this case would amount to £120 each if paid within 21 days.
Advice and support is available from an Inclusion Officer by contacting your local Education Office as follows :-
North West - Tel: 01483 518130 South West - Tel: 01483 517179
North East - Tel: 01372 833588 South East - Tel: 01737 737777
Harvest Festival
It is Harvest time at Maybury and we have been thinking of ways we can celebrate and help our local community. As part of our Harvest celebration we are going to be collecting food for our local food bank which supports families in Woking. This food bank is part of the Trussell Trust food bank project. These food banks are helping thousands of families across the country and in our community during these difficult times.
How it works:
It’s easy to help all you have to do is bring in a donation. It can be any of these items:
· Any tinned foods
· Tinned puddings (rice pudding)
· Jars of cooking sauce
· Dry pastas
· Rice
· Cereals
· Fruit juice
· UHT milk
· Jam
· Tea bags
· Instant coffee
· Biscuits
We are asking each child to bring in one item on Monday 3rd October to add to our school collection during our whole school assembly and then we will take all of the donations to the Woking Food Bank.
To find out more about how your donation will help our community take a look at the Woking Food Bank website at www.woking.foodbank.org.uk.
I hope you can help us with our collection, your support will be greatly appreciated!
Year 6 Parents - Secondary School Admissions
A reminder to all year 6 parents to register your child's Year 7 school placement. Deadline is 31st October 2022 via Surrey County Council's website. Please also see information below:
Maybury Heroes
It's nice to be nice and if a member of Maybury Primary staff made you smile then let us know and we will pass on your comments to them. It can be for absolutely anyone in school and for any reason - we'd just like to know! Maybe someone in the office was super helpful, someone made your child smile, your class teacher or support staff went the extra mile, or you were helped by the Home school Link Worker, Inclusion Leader or Senior Leadership Team or you just want to say thankyou. Please click on the link and fill out the form it will take you to, then just add in the information about the Maybury Hero. We will share these nominations with staff each week in our staff meeting!
The form can be found here: Maybury Heroes Form
Online Safety Guides
Useful Dates - Autumn 2022
Please bear in mind that all of these dates are subject to change
Our Values - Autumn 1
Respect
This half term’s value is Respect. Children will talk about recognising, appreciating and valuing the rights and differences of other people, animals and the planet. Respect is more than accepting or tolerating other people, it is about valuing everyone’s contribution, including their own. Ways you can develop children’s understanding at home include:
· Being a good role model. One of the best ways’ children learn is by watching you.
· Encouraging them to help you with household chores to look after your home.
· Praising respectful behaviour when they show good manners and respect others.
Books you could share at home:
Early Years
Key Stage 1
Key Stage 2
