Weekly Newsletter

Upcoming Dates

Tuesday 4th November

• Parent-Teacher Pupil Progress Meetings

Wednesday 5th November

• Flu vaccinations

• Parent-Teacher Pupil Progress Meetings

Monday 10th November

• CARE Week begins!

• Odd Socks Day

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Tuesday 11th November

• 9am Reception Parent Drop In

• 11am Remembrance Service

Friday 14th November

• OPAL Stay and Play

Monday 17th November

• Reception fine motor skills workshop in the hall, 9:15am

Friday 21st November

• Non-Uniform Day in exchange for tombola prizes

Wednesday 26th November

• Rainbow Group meeting at The Hive, 9am - 10am

Friday 28th November

• Cake donations can be brought to school for the fayre

• Theatre group performance in school

Saturday 29th November

• PSA Christmas Fayre, 11am - 2pm

Tuesday 2nd December

• Reception Christmas Crafts in the hall, 9am

Wednesday 3rd December

• Year 6 Christmas Performance in Bath

• PSA Christmas Wreath Workshop, 7pm - 9pm

Tuesday 16th December

• Reception Nativity, 9:15am

• Year 1 & 2 Christmas Performance, 10:30am

• Year 4 Christmas Coffee and Carols, 2:15pm

Wednesday 17th December

• Reception Nativity, 9:15am

• Year 5 Christmas Coffee and Carols, 2:15pm

Thursday 18th December

• Year 1 & 2 Christmas Performance, 9:15am

• Year 3 Christmas Coffee and Carols, 2:15pm

Friday 19th December

• Last Day of Term 2

Monday 5th January

• INSET Day

Tuesday 6th January

• Term 3 starts for children

Message from Mrs Noall

Welcome back to a new term! This term is always an exciting one with Christmas seemingly coming onto the horizon at great speed! 

Tomorrow and Wednesday evenings we are welcoming all parents and carers to meet with their child's class teacher to discuss their progress to date and how we can continue to work together to ensure they have a successful year. If you need any support booking your appointment please speak to someone in the school office. Catherine Steadman will be on hand on both evenings in the library for a chat and to offer second hand uniform too. 

Please arrive and leave the school via the main door for your appointment.

Promotional Video

Next Wednesday morning we will be filming a promotional video for the school. Two cameramen from River Axe Media will spend the morning capturing the essence of what makes our school brilliant before turning this into a film we can use to promote the school to prospective families. Please be assured that all our normal safeguarding procedures will be in place throughout and we will only film children for whom we have permission. If you would like to withdraw your child from this as a one-off please let your child's teacher or the school office know.

Reminders

Nuts

We are a NO NUTS SCHOOL. Please ensure that no products that contain nuts come into school with your child.

Parking near school

Please take care to not block residents driveways when you park on Sunnyside. Thank you.

Dogs on school grounds

Please do not bring your dogs into school when dropping off or collecting your child from school. Bonnie, the school dog, has special insurance and a Risk Assessment in place but no other dogs are allowed without prior arrangement.

Head Lice - these continue to be an issue

Please can you check your child's head for headlice or eggs (nits). Whilst these are common in young children, they cause a child's head to feel itchy and spread to other children very easily. 

The NHS website has more information on how to treat your child if you find headlice or nits in their hair.

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/head-lice-and-nits/

Class News

Find out what we have been up to on our class pages and on Face Book.

Home Learning

The button below will take you to this week's home learning for every year group. Home learning is designed to enable children to practice skills they will need in school and so it is really important that they spend some time over the week on this home learning. 

Attendance Matters

If your child is unwell, please:

• Call, email or come into the school office, or use Arbor. Please try to do this before 9am on each day of absence.

• Please leave your child’s name, class and a clear description of their illness (it’s important for us to track any occurring illness in a class / year group).

If we don’t hear from you, the school office will:

• Call or text the child’s priority 1 contact.

• If we don’t get through to you, we will leave a voice message/request a call back.

• If we don’t hear back from you we may need to contact the police or children’s social care in order to ensure your child is safe and well.

• Your child’s absence may be marked as unauthorised in accordance with the MNSP Attendance Policy.

If your child attends a medical appointment of any kind, the school office needs to see a copy of that appointment.  This will be noted on your child’s attendance record.

Please note that schools are expected to query suspicious days or periods of illness which could potentially have been due to a holiday. This may be periods of leave before or after school holidays or pre-requested term time holidays or Mondays and Fridays for example.  Our Attendance Policy and Leave Request forms are available via our website under the School Office menu. Parents/Carers are also able to log an absence on the day via Arbor (select the three lines on the bottom menu and select attendance). 

Be punctual and arrive on time!

• The registers open at 8:30am: children should be coming into classrooms at this time.

• Children arriving between 8:45am and 9:00am will be marked as Late (L code) and must register via the school office when they arrive.

• The registers close at 9:00am. Children arriving after registers close will be marked as Unauthorised Late (U code).

• The minutes late will be logged in the child’s attendance register. In accordance with the MNSP Attendance Policy, children may be required to ‘repay’ this lost time through a detention.

SEND Updates

PFSA Updates

Free webinar for parents on Autism and self care: toilet challenges and hygiene this Wednesday 5th November.  

Click here to register

EYFS Updates

PSJ BITESIZE TERM 2 FINE AND GROSS MOTOR SKILLS 

Physical Development for pre-writing skills.

“Arm and finger control follows the same pattern: at first a child will be able to manipulate the arm from the shoulder joint; gradually he understands how to control the hands; finally he learns how to make the fine finger movements needed to write.” (Early Years Teach, 2024)

This term we will be looking at how we support the physical skills children need to hold, control and manipulate a pencil in order to write. The following is an overview of the guidance we use in the early years to help us to plan activities to support the physical development of the fine and gross motor skills required for a secure pencil grip.  

THE EARLY YEARS FOUNDATION STAGE PENCIL GRIP JOURNEY

NURSERY - 2 TO 3 YEAR OLD - Stage 3

•  Participates in finger and action rhymes, songs and games, imitating the movements. 

•  Hands start to operate independently during a task that uses both hands, with each hand doing something different at the same time 

•  When holding crayons, chalks etc, makes connections between their movement and the marks they make.

NURSERY - PRESCHOOL - Stage 4

•  May be beginning to show preference for a dominant hand.

•  Turns pages in a book, sometimes several at once

•  Shows increasing control in holding, using and manipulating a range of tools and objects such as tambourines, jugs, hammers, and mark making tools

• Holds mark-making tools with thumb and all fingers                  

NURSERY - Beginning Stage 5

RECEPTION - Strengthening Stage 5

•  Creates lines and circles pivoting from the shoulder and elbow

•  Manipulates a range of tools and equipment in one hand, tools include paintbrushes, scissors, hairbrushes, toothbrush, scarves or ribbons

Stage 6

•  Uses simple tools to effect changes to materials

•  Shows a preference for a dominant hand

•  Begins to use anticlockwise movement and retrace vertical lines

•  Begins to form recognisable letters independently

EARLY LEARNING GOAL

• Hold a pencil effectively in preparation for fluent writing using the tripod grip in almost all cases;

• Use a range of small tools, including scissors, paint brushes and cutlery;

• Begin to show accuracy and care when drawing.

PENCIL GRIP STAGES

FUN FACT FOR PARENTS

The ability to use symbolic forms of expression (letters, words, numbers, symbols) is what separates us from the rest of the animal kingdom. It enables the complex patterns of thought that have led to great literature, to vital scientific discoveries, and to amazing technological advances.

USEFUL LINK

Birth to 5 Matters: non-statutory guidance for the Early Years Foundation Stage https://birthto5matters.org.uk/ 

UPDATES

RECEPTION PARENT EVENINGS - Tuesday 4th and Wednesday 5th November. Please book an appointment on the Arbor App.

RECEPTION PARENT COFFEE MORNING - Tuesday 11th November @ 9.00am in the new hall. Come and have a chat over a hot drink and biscuits with Mrs Tutton, Early Years Phase Leader and Reception Teacher, Mrs Stevenson, Reception teacher, and Mrs Steadman our Parent Support Advisor. 

OPAL and Forest School Updates

OPAL Stay and Play – You're Invited! 

We are excited to invite you to our OPAL Stay and Play event on Friday 14th November – a wonderful opportunity to come and experience the joy and creativity of outdoor play with your children!

Event Times:

• KS2: 1:00 – 2:00pm

• KS1: 2:00 – 3:00pm

To support our OPAL play provision, we kindly ask for a donation from the list below or a £1 contribution via Arbor. Card payments will also be accepted by Mrs Stenner, who will be located by the boat in the playground.

• Laundry baskets 

• Suitcases 

• Pushchairs (real or toy) 

• Office chairs 

• Wheelbarrows 

• Tarpaulins 

• Guttering 

• PVC Pipes 

• Barrels 

• Plastic crates 

• Flexi-tubes 

• Brushes/Mops 

• Scooters 

• Chalk 

• Paintbrushes 

• Watering cans 

• Dressing up clothes 

We can't wait to welcome as many of you as possible to celebrate and share in our play – it promises to be a fantastic afternoon!

PSA Updates

Community News and Events

Avon and Somerset Police Christmas card competition

The theme this year is “Police at Christmas”, and two lucky winners will each receive a £25 book voucher and see their design featured on our official cards.

Full details on the website: Design our Christmas card: competition now open | Avon and Somerset Police

The closing date is the 10th of November so not long to go!