Blandford St Mary Primary School Newsletter Headteacher: Mr Paul Lavis Deputy Head teachers: Mrs Sam Harris & Mrs Lauren Houlston
June 2012 Volume: 4 Issue No. 22 Contents:
Dear Parents
Behaviour
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School Uniform
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School PE KIt
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Used uniform
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Helping out
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Hello All!
After School
This is a peculiar newsletter in that it contains some information for you about some of our expectations for now and next year.
Children are expected to be with their parents or carers after school and not playing on or with the school equipment. Teachers are not responsible for your children after they leave us. Please be mindful that if your child is playing with the school equipment, they could be spoiling the learning of others as we do spend a lot of time learning outside the classroom too.
The intention is to clarify few points and support you in reinforcing those expectations with your children. School Uniform & PE Kit Inside this newsletter are some pictures of our expectations along with consequences for children who choose not to wear the correct school uniform. The pictures are something for you to use when explaining to your child what is expected.
Celebration Assembly Dates
6th July - Year 5
13th July - Year 4 & Musicians
There is some information on the back of the newsletter regarding where to find uniform. Punctuality Children need to be in school for 8.45am—this is when formal learning begins. Remember, the doors open at 8.30am. Please don’t bring your children before then because school staff will be preparing for the day. Anybody arriving after 8.45am need to be signed in at reception and will be considered to be late. Attendance
20th July - Leavers Assembly (2.00pm)
Unless they are poorly, children are expected to attend school. It is at the school’s discretion as to whether we allow time off for holiday. Please do not assume that the school will grant time off for holidays. Each case is considered on its merits. Be prepared for school to say: no. Pre-booking a holiday and then requesting time off will not be considered as a reason for granting permission. Any absence that hasn’t been authorised is known as unauthorised absence. The school and the local authority take a dim view of this. Any absence will have an impact on your child’s success at school.
Before School Certainly in KS2, children are expected to be able to come into school and begin the day independently. If you need to speak to the class teacher then by all means pop in and have a quick chat first thing or ask to make an appointment to speak later on. However, please leave your children at the door at the very least so they can concentrate on starting the school day on their own. As time moves on through the year—KS1 will communicate with you when they feel the time is right for more independence. Lunchboxes & Snacks We are a healthy school. As such, we expect our children to eat a healthy lunch and snack at school. Our staff are expected to monitor what our children are eating and will be concerned if they feel the food the children are consuming in school is having a negative affect on their learning. Guidance for healthy lunches and snacks are on the school website under the “Being Healthy” pencil. Children are expected to drink water whilst in classrooms so please ensure they have a water bottle with water in it. Sticky drinks and juices can cause problems. Juices in lunchboxes are fine.
Apologies if this sounds like a lecture! But the intention is simply to clarify some points and help you support your children!
Blandford St Mary Primary School Newsletter
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Volume: 4
Issue No. 22
Behaviour Matters The school has a Good Behaviour Policy which is reviewed every year. We are in the middle of this year’s review. We felt it would be useful if we once again shared with you how we deal with all types of behaviour, good and bad and take some feedback on your thoughts. Please be aware that the government are raising the profile of expected behaviour and as such are highlighting the Headteacher's ‘powers’ and ‘responsibilities' to deal with poor behaviour both in and out of school. Part of these powers is to be able to keep children after school for an appropriate amount of time. It may be that your child is delayed in leaving the classroom if they have not behaved appropriately. (See below). Good Behaviour We expect our children to behave well. Indeed, they have a responsibility to do so as they and their friends have a right to be safe and happy at school. Whenever our children behave well they have a chance to be awarded Ace Points—these accumulate over time. Certain amounts of ace—points equate to certificates. 30 Ace Points = 1 Certificate—children are awarded certificates until... 150 Ace Points= Bronze
300=Silver
450=Gold
The children also earn Golden Time. In order to earn Golden Time, the children are expected to be working hard and behaving well. Poor Behaviour Alongside our Ace Points we have our Consequences system. In the classroom, if the children are not behaving as we expect, they are given a warning. We would hope that this would be enough. If however, they don’t heed the warning, they are warned again. This time there is a consequence. This continues up to 4 warnings. The consequences at each stage are set out below.
Number of Warnings
Consequence
W
Just a warning…
2
Last to leave the room at the end of the day.
3
Last to leave the room and 5 minutes lost from Golden Time
4
Last to leave the room, 5 minutes from Golden Time and children to write a note home explaining their actions.
There are of course more serious matters to deal with at times. These are considered to be Serious Breaches of Discipline and will be dealt with by the head teacher as he sees fit (in line with our Good Behaviour Policy). Repeated instances of 4 warnings will result in the head teacher becoming involved and will be considered a Serious Breach of Discipline.
Blandford St Mary Primary School Newsletter Volume: 4
Issue No. 22
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School Uniform All children are expected to wear school uniform to and from school. The purpose is to promote a standard of dress that is the same for everyone. Children are expected to look after and care for their uniform. They are expected to be clean and presentable for school. Please support your children by labelling their uniform—it makes life so much easier! The school uniform consists of: For boys: a jade green sweatshirt, a navy polo-shirt, grey or black trousers (or shorts in summer) and black shoes. For girls: a jade green sweatshirt or cardigan, a navy polo -shirt, grey or black trousers or skirt and black shoes. Summer dresses may be worn in the summer.
Shoes Please ensure that your child has school shoes and that they are wearing them to school. Training shoes are not a suitable alternative. Children who do not wear their school shoes to school run the risk of being asked to wear school plimsolls instead. School PE Kit All children are expected to wear school PE kit during PE lessons. The school PE kit consists of: A navy t-shirt, black shorts, inside or outside training shoes/plimsolls. When children are taking part in specific activities there may be a need for different kit: football boots for instance. If it’s cold then extra kit (like a hoodie or tracksuit bottoms) may be worn. Football shirts and other kit is not acceptable for PE lessons. After school clubs are different—other kit may be worn then.
Blandford St Mary Primary School Newsletter Blandford St Mary Primary School Birch Avenue Blandford St Mary, Dorset DT11 9QD
Phone: 01258-453331 Fax: 01258-455865
School Diary Dates: Wednesday 4th July - Friday 6th July Wednesday 11th July Thursday 12th July Friday 13th July - Sunday 15th July Tuesday 17th July
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Year 4 Leeson House trip Transition day Olympic torch Year 5 camp Beach trip
Friday 20th July Monday 23rd July Tuesday 24th July - Monday 3rd September Tuesday 4th September Wednesday 5th September Thursday 6th September Monday 29th October - Friday 2nd November Friday 21st December
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Children break up for summer holidays Staff training day Summer Holidays Staff training day Staff training day Children return to school Half term Children break up for Christmas holiday
Where Can I Get School Uniform From? You can buy uniform from Ragtags in Blandford or from school. If you do buy from school, you’ll also be contributing to school fundraising. Second Hand Uniform We would love to formalise our second hand uniform collection and dispersal. Our intention is to have an opportunity to buy second hand uniform at least once a half-term in the school hall—however, we need someone to coordinate this! If you feel that you could help run these events (we are talking about after Friday morning assembly and after school once a half-term) then please get in touch and let us know what you can offer.