Newsletters

A message from Mrs Statham - Head of School

A very warm welcome back to our Autumn Term. After just over a week back at school,  the children have settled really well and there is a calm and happy mood across the classrooms and on the playground. 

We welcome our new Reception children and new children who have joined us further up the school. We hope you will be very happy at St. Andrew's.

New routines are pretty much in place and class agreements have been discussed and displayed in the classrooms. This week, our teachers will be talking to their classes about expectations around behaviour and will refer to the school's Behaviour Policy, where appropriate. We ask parents to support the school with this by reinforcing our Christian values of Love, Courage and Friendship.

A huge thank you to parents who came to the Welcome Meetings last week. We look forward to seeing our new Reception parents on Friday 18th September at 2.30pm, followed by a Coffee Afternoon and a chance to meet other members of staff. The PTA will be holding a Bake Sale after school, so perfect timing to buy a cake! 

How parents can help their child at the start of the term

Eating habits - we are noticing many children in Years 1 and 2 and 3 who are still not able to use a knife and fork effectively at lunchtimes. This means that our lunchtime staff are being called by children to cut up food which should be manageable by the children themselves. We ask parents to check how their child grips a fork. So many children are gripping with a closed fist which does not help them to cut or hold food. We hope to see an improvement in the coming weeks.

Write names on everything! We have several jumpers and cardigans already in our lost property bin. Please write names on all items of clothing and speak to your child about being responsible for their own items. 

Check emails and Arbor messages  - we expect parents to read emails sent from the school. We also kindly ask that notifications are switched on to receive messages on your Arbor App. Any new parents who do not have this installed, or need advice with this, please come in to see Mrs Eden or Mrs Bryant in the office. Thank you for your support.

We are a smartphone free school - Y6 pupils are NOT permitted to bring smartphones into school. If a child does need to bring a phone to school, it must be a 'brick' phone. Parents, family members and visitors are also reminded not to use their phones on site when dropping off and picking up. Thank you.

Attendance at St. Andrew's School

Attendance at school is not a choice – it is compulsory. If your child is not attending regularly, they will be at a disadvantage. Children who regularly miss the start of term, or have odd days off during the week, miss so many opportunities to socialise with friends, often have gaps in learning and may find it difficult to settle in class. 

Parents are responsible for ensuring their child comes into school on time, all the time. Please build strong positive habits for your child by sending your child in every day. Thank you.

What has been happening at this week?

Year 6 pupils visited Aldersbrook Park to research and sketch different playground equipment, as part of their DT unit. They will use their findings to design their own playgrounds over the next few weeks. 

Year 3 children have been busy in their science lessons, learning about bones and joints. One of their tasks was to arrange a skeleton to show the joints.

Meanwhile, in Year 2, a crime was discovered in the small hall! Someone had eaten Baby Bear's porridge – but who was the suspect? Sergeant Savage and PC Hutchins came in to question the children. More will be revealed...

Finally, our Year 1 children took part in a live lesson with the new release of Julia Donaldson's book 'Gruffalo Granny.' Miss Malone and Mrs Meekin were so impressed with the children's ability to sit and focus through the entire lesson. They even joined in the live sketching session. Mrs Meekin has already ordered her copy of the book, which was released on Thursday!