Here is this week's news:
Another busy week has passed in school. All children seem really settled and are working hard which is great to see so early in the term. Well done to our new Rabbits Class who have completed their first full week in school - it was great to see them in assembly this afternoon.
Thank you to those families who have already completed a Summer 2024 Challenge! If you still have any sponsorship/fundraising to bring in, please can you hand it to Mrs Bowen in the office as soon as possible? Many thanks.
Congratulations this week go to...
Isiah S
Luke B
Molly E-C
Elliott N
Prudence C
Bridie B
17th September - Reading / Phonics meeting for all Reception Parents 2:15pm
23rd September - Reading / Phonics meeting for all Year 1 Parents 2:15pm
30th September - School Photographer in school all day to take children's photographs..
9th October - Harvest Festival 2pm in the hall
9th October - PTFA meeting in school 7.30pm - all welcome!
23rd October - PTFA/School "NEON" Disco - information to come...
4th November - Parents evenings all week
13th November - PTFA AGM meeting in school 7.30pm - all welcome!
15th November - Children in need day
7th December - School Christmas Fair 12-3pm
11th December - Nativity 2pm - Rabbits, Squirrels and Foxes
11th December - PTFA meeting in school 7.30pm - all welcome!
12th December - Nativity 9.30am - Rabbits, Squirrels and Foxes
16th December - Year 4, 5 & 6 Christmas Carol Service at Church End Church 6pm
18th December - School Christmas Lunch
20th December - Break up for Christmas Holidays
23rd January - Reception and Y6 height & weight (and vision for reception only) checks
At the start of this school year, I would like to take this opportunity to remind all parents and families about posting photographs online. Please ensure that you only include other people's children if you have specific permission from their parents to do so. Many thanks.
We are holding phonics and reading information workshops this half term so that we can share with you how we teach your children to read with important information about how you can be of the very best support to your children with the books that they bring home.
We really encourage parents to attend these sessions and recommend that at least one parent for each child attends.
Tuesday 17th September 2024 at 2:15pm - Reception parents ONLY
Monday 23rd September 2024 at 2:15pm - Year One parents ONLY
Please click on these links to view our guides to contacting school. We have also linked relevant policies for reference.
Please note that ALL school dinner accounts should be in credit at all times. If your child is in year 3 or above you will need to ensure that they have a credit balance loaded onto their account to cover their needs.
The cost of a school dinner is now £2.71.
If you believe your child may be entitled to free school meals, please look at this link www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/education-and-learning/free-school-meals/apply-for-free-school-meals/
Menus for this term are now available from the school website - click to download or ask at the office for a printed copy. www.twyningschool.co.uk/page/school-lunches/106163
Many thanks.
Please register for this if you shop at ASDA - not only do you gain points but school does too when you shop in store or online!
PTFA meetings are informal and a good way to get involved. Meetings will be held on the 2nd Wednesday of the month, in school, at 7.30pm.
New committee members are always needed, and if you wish to find out more, get involved, have ideas to help raise funds or would even like to be part of our fabulous PTFA feel free to come along to one of our get-togethers, connect via Facebook or pop along to one of our regular meetings or to the AGM this November 13th in the school hall.
Clubs start next week. You should have had an email to confirm your child's place if you requested one.
I would like to draw your attention to the letter that was sent to all families in July regarding the new School Attendance guidelines set out by the Department for Education. I have attached the letter again to this newsletter email, but have copied below a section of information from the letter regarding penalties. To clarify, a session is a morning or an afternoon, so 10 session equates to 5 days.
Any holiday-related absence taken that includes 10 sessions in 10 weeks, may result in a Penalty Notice. In this instance, a ‘Notice to Improve’ notification will not be issued beforehand.
The penalty amount is increasing to £160 from September (reduced to £80 if paid within 21 days for the first offence). If a parent receives a second penalty notice within a rolling three-year period, the fine is £160 and there is no option to pay the fine at a reduced rate.
Parents with parental responsibility, and adults residing with the child, including for example, stepparents who have day-to-day responsibility for the child, may be fined, and this applies to each child who is absent. For example, if two adults take two children out of school, the total fines would be £640 (reduced to £320 for a first offence paid within 21days).
If a Penalty Notice is not paid within the time limits set out in the letter to the parent, the Local Authority may proceed the case to court.
We recognise that these Penalty Notices may be unpopular with families, but it is important to inform you of these changes promptly.
Before and After School Care - Price Increase
Fees for our before and after school care facility are increasing from September 2024 to £3.50 for a morning session and £7 for an afternoon session. We have kept the price stable for the last 2 years.
Balances should be cleared by the end of each month at the latest. Many thanks. If you use government vouchers please email Mrs Tingle at bursar@twyning.gloucs.sch.uk to advise when you have made a payment, each time you do this.
How do I register my child?
To register for Before or After School Club, please complete and send in the booking form which can be downloaded from our website or ask Mrs Bowen for a printed copy. These forms should be returned to Mrs Bowen at admin@twyning.gloucs.sch.uk .
Please see below some useful links to a few excellent wellbeing and mental health resources and an amazing digital therapy app for children:
www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/media/mujkq12k/gcc_3002-cyp-mental-health-handout_aw-crop-large.pdf
hubofhope.co.uk/concerns?concerns=86&latitude=52.0286023&longitude=-2.1466844
It is important to continue to 'make a noise about bullying' and we hope that this link to the BBC's anti-bullying resources will be useful.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/curations/anti-bullying-week
We would also like to bring to your attention a helpful guide on finding the ratings of online games and social media applications. This is a universal guide for any entertainment content:
Some useful links:
If you believe your family to be eligible for Free School Meals, please click on this link:
Health and sickness information "Is my child too ill for school?"
https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/is-my-child-too-ill-for-school/
Register for School Milk:
A collection of links to find and get help in all sorts of situations from Anxiety, Health related, young persons help, depression and much more:
hubofhope.co.uk/concerns?concerns=86&latitude=52.0286023&longitude=-2.1466844
Contact
Please feel free to make contact with me via email head@twyning.gloucs.sch.uk should you need to speak to me. During evenings and weekends, I may not be able to respond to you straight away but I will make contact with you during normal working hours as soon as I can. Many thanks for all of your support.
Kindest regards
Miss L Gladstone
Headteacher