March 2020 Newsletter
Dear Parents, Carers and Children,
It is great to be back after our February half term.
Coronavirus
Thanks you for your cooperation in the light of recent updates regarding the Coronavirus. There are no reported cases of coronavirus in this area so there is no need for alarm. Please be assured that St Bernadette’s will issue fresh updates in response to the potential risks reported across the UK. Be assured of our continued vigilance in caring for the welfare of our children and staff.
Diary dates – March/Early April 2020
Date Event
Monday 2nd March Y5/6 Reading workshop at Town Hall (am)
Monday 2nd March Y1 Phonics screening input for parents, 2.30pm
Tuesday 3rd March Book swap (£1 & Book donation)
Wednesday 4th March Y1 Assembly, 9am
Thursday 5th March World Book Day (£1 & dressing up)
Friday 6th March Cake sale and Fun run (£1 & Cake donation)
Wednesday 11th March Parent consultation evening, 3-6pm
Thursday 12th March Parent consultation evening, 3-6pm
Wednesday 18th March Y6 Assembly, 9am
Friday 27th April Y1/2 Lenten liturgy, 9am
Wednesday 1st April EYFS (Nursery and Reception) Lenten liturgy, 9am
Friday 3rd April Y3-5 Lenten liturgy, 9am
Thursday 9th April Y6 Stations of the Cross (all welcome)
Thursday 9th April Break up, 3pm (School’s Out open as normal)
Monday 20th April Return to school (8.40am Registration)
Sports Activities for selected pupils
Monday 2nd March Y5/6 Basketball, pm
| Friday 27th April | Y1/2 Lenten liturgy, 9am |
| Wednesday 1st April | EYFS (Nursery and Reception) Lenten liturgy, 9am |
| Friday 3rd April | Y3-5 Lenten liturgy, 9am |
| Thursday 9th April | Y6 Stations of the Cross (all welcome) |
| Thursday 9th April | Break up, 3pm (School’s Out open as normal) |
| Monday 20th April | Return to school (8.40am Registration) |
| Sports Activities for selected pupils | |
| Monday 2nd March | Y5/6 Basketball, pm |
School council
We really value the opinions of our children. One way our children influence school improvement is through the work of the school council. Elected Y1-6 school councillor representatives meet regularly with Mr Lynn. An update of their activity this academic year is attached with this newsletter.
Curriculum videos
Mr Bourner has made 2 curriculum support videos to clarify our Reading and Times table practise. You can view these videos on our school website in the Curriculum area. Please continue to support us in developing these basic English and Maths skills – it really makes a difference.
Parking
Thank you for your efforts in parking safely around school recently. I was recently informed of an incident at a local primary school whereby a parent was injured as a result of someone parking on a curb side. Please ensure you prioritise our children’s safety and have an awareness of our neighbours in parking around school.
Baby bank
I have been asked to share the following – please support if you can:
A Baby Bank will launch on Wednesday 4th March at St Thomas More’s church hall in Beechwood. The idea is for mums and families in need to come along and pick up essential baby items and equipment – nappies, wipes, clothes, toiletries, prams, etc. It’ll run on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of each month from 10am – 12 noon. People can just drop in. If you know of any families who are experiencing difficulties or hardship then we would really like to be able to support them.
Equally, we would be really grateful of any donations of baby items in good condition. Donations can be dropped off at St. Thomas More’s Church House or we can arrange collection. We’re on Facebook as “The Little Flower Project” and our email address is [email protected]
Many thanks in advance for any help you can give to spread the word.
February Events
E-safety week
On the W/C 3rd February all children across the school explored a variety of age appropriate e-safety themes. The week comprised of an e-safety Theatre group for Y2-6 children; set e-safety themes in each class and a police presentation for parents and KS2 children. This year’s theme was online freedom. We discussed with the children how to use social media in a safe manner and to remove complacency.
If you would like further information regarding securing your children’s technical devices please contact Mr Bourner or the school office.
Year 3 Assembly
Our Year 3 children presented an Assembly on ‘Love’ to coincide with Valentine ’s Day. We heard how if we act in love we will make ourselves and others happy. Thank you for the great turnout in what was a super confident display of song, facts and acting!
Mindfullness
Emma Overton from Kalma Yoga School spoke to our KS2 children on February 13th about the importance of mental health and taught them some basic breathing techniques to help relieve anxiety and stress.
Y1 Emergency services visits
Y1 had several visits from our Emergency services throughout February to develop their understanding of the police, fire safety and nursing.
Lottos Meeting
Thank you to all the parents who came to the Nursery to Year 1 Lottos meeting last week. We hope the Lotto flashcards will support your children’s early reading development. It was great so many of you were able to make it. If you could not make the meeting you should have received a Powerpoint of information regarding the screening test. If you would like to know more about the Lottos please make contact with your child’s class teacher or Miss Brady.
PTA Valentines Disco
Thank you to the parents and parishioners who helped with food stalls for the Valentine’s disco on Thursday 13th February. DJ Snaith entertained the children with some great modern tunes and some traditional favourites!
Health and Safety Inspection
St Bernadette’s had our annual Health and Safety inspection on Thursday 27th February. I am delighted to inform you that we received the highest recommendation from our external inspection team.
February Sport
Year 2/3 children have excelled themselves in recent swimming lessons. A huge amount of certificates over a range of stokes and distances have been presented in our weekly House meetings over recent months.
Extended schools timetable
Once again this half term we have a wonderful range of after school clubs on offer. We try to offer a variety of clubs over the course of the academic year for our Year 1-6 so that all year groups have regular access to different opportunities. Currently we only offer clubs to Year 1-6. Last week Mrs Smith, Y3 teacher and PE lead, has distribute letters for extended school clubs which take place after school, 3-4pm. We do not distribute consent letters for lunchtime clubs except Spanish and French which have a cost and are led by an external provider.
Please ensure you inform us through the school office should your child be unable to attend a club or wishes not to attend anymore.
Thank you to the staff for giving up their time to provide such a wide range of extended school activities. Over the course of the year, we try to offer extended schools clubs for a range of year groups. We will offer further clubs following the Easter break.
Future events
World Book Week
World Book Day falls on Thursday 5th March 2020 and we are having a whole school themed week of fun activities. Throughout the week, we have many activities planned and for some we would like to ask for some donations. The fundraising as a result of the World Book week will be used to supplement a literacy provision we would like to purchase to further enhance the reading and writing experiences of our children. As a school we struggle to purchase large scale resources to support our teaching and learning and use limited available budget funds carefully to add to our current resources. Without the request for donations for World Book week we would not be able to purchase the additional provisions we feel would really benefit our children’s literacy.
All donations are voluntary and all fundraising will be used directly to fund the literacy resources. Thank you in advance for your support.
Parent Consultations
Parent consultations for Reception to Year 6 take place 3-6pm on Wednesday 11th and Thursday 12th March. The children registered for School’s Out will be able to use the service as normal on both evenings until 6pm. Miss Brady and I will be available throughout each session for consultation. For your information – Nursery parent consultations take place as part ‘stay & play’ sessions. If you ever need a more regular update with the Nursery staff, please make an appointment with them via the school office.
Sports Relief Day – Friday 13th March
We will raise funds for sports Relief on Friday 13th March. Further details will be released next week.
Easter Egg Raffle
Advance notice that we will again be requesting donations of Easter eggs in the coming weeks. Our annual Easter Egg Raffle, organised by our small but committed PTA, will be on Friday 3rd April, at 2pm – please support if you can.
We have received several cheques to fund ipads, school trips, class resources and pantomime contributions this academic year. Without the support of PTA fundraising we would not otherwise be able to provide these for our children. Thank you to all who support the organisation of PTA events.
Lenten Liturgy dates
Please come along to share in our reflective, prayerful Lenten liturgies:
Friday 27th April Y1/2 Lenten liturgy, 9am
Wednesday 1st April EYFS (Nursery and Reception) Lenten liturgy, 9am
Friday 3rd April Y3-5 Lenten liturgy, 9am
Thursday 9th April Y6 Stations of the Cross (all welcome)
Year 6 2019-20 Northumberland Residential (June 2019)
This year’s residential visit will take place on 17th -19th June. All current Year 6 parents/carers will by now have received a letter providing further details.
Year 6 2020-21 – Robinwood Residential (October 2019)
The current Year 5 class will attend their Residential trip to Robinwood when they are in Year 6 in October 2019. All current Year 5 parents/carers will by now have received a letter providing further details.
Schools out Survey
Please could I remind those who use our School’s Out service to complete a short survey using the link below to indicate how we can continue to cater for the needs of your children and yourselves.
To access the link click:
The link will be available to complete until Friday 6th March. So we can accurately assess the results, please only complete the survey once. Please note we are not planning any immediate changes to School’s In/Out timings but want to ascertain your thoughts. Following your feedback we will inform you of the results and keep you fully abreast of future next steps.
Governor update
Please find attached with this newsletter, an update on our Governing Body this year and an account of recent actions.
And finally,
Friday drop ins – Throughout Lent we would love to invite you to support our morning activities in class. You are all invited to come into your child’s class each Friday in Lent, 8.30am-9.15am to listen to readers, support with times tables, support with handwriting or join in a class activity. We look forward to seeing you in school each week over the next month.
Volunteer plea:
As a school, we have had to make significant financial savings recently as a result of the relatively modest budget income we receive. We therefore would activity encourage any of you who have any moments spare to support school in volunteering your services to listen to readers or times tables and support in class. If you can volunteer regularly in any capacity please contact Mr Conway, Miss Brady or the school office.
Yours sincerely,
Mr.P.Conway
Head Teacher
