Newsletter · Feb 12, 05:17 AM

Dear Parents

Welcome to our latest newsletter with all the news and events of the past half-term.

Parentmail

If you have received a paper copy of this newsletter, and would prefer to receive a copy via e-mail, please ensure that you provide Mrs Williams with your current e-mail address and a mobile phone number and she will add you onto our Parentmail list.

Parentmail once again proved very useful during the recent snowy weather, as we were able to contact parents via both e-mail and text, in order to inform them that the school was closed.

Information Evening – Nursery to Reception Transition

This meeting was held on Wednesday 20 January at 7pm, with the parents of Nursery children, in order to discuss the benefits of their child progressing into our Reception class.
Thank you to all parents and staff who attended, and to Mrs Olorunfemi who spoke most eloquently from a parent’s perspective.

Following this meeting, I am delighted to confirm that twelve children from our Nursery will be joining our Reception Class in September, along with two children from other settings.

Nursery Places for September 2010

Nursery places for September 2010 are filling fast. If you have a child who has reached the age of 3 by 9 September 2010, and you would like to reserve a place, please ensure that you complete a registration form as soon as possible. Goodrington continues to participate in the Nursery funding scheme, which is available to all 3 and 4 year old children.

Please contact Mrs Williams, in the office, for further details regarding the availability of sessions for September 2010.

New Pupils

Regina has recently joined Year 3 and we wish her a very happy and successful education at Goodrington.

Inset

The Inset Meeting held on 6 January focussed on ‘The Needs of Bereaved Children and How to Respond to the Needs of Bereaved Children’. The speaker came from St. Francis Hospice and gave a most moving seminar for the staff. Whilst we hope never to use the most useful information we received, it is reassuring that we will be able to deal with bereavement situations in a sensitive and caring way.

Staff Training

Mrs Terry attended an Introduction to Child Protection Course on 21 January 2010.

Setting Specific Meeting

I attended the above evening meeting on Tuesday 9 February at the CEME centre in Rainham. The information from this seminar is relevant and designed for all staff and associated staff in Nursery Settings in Havering.

Library visits

Following the successful visits to the library in 2009, the Upper School were able to meet with Librarian Margaret Harris to further increase their knowledge. Years 3 and 4 visited the library on Tuesday 19 January at 9.45am and Years 5 and 6 visited the library on Tuesday 26 January at 9.45am. Mrs. Weatherup was able to assist the staff members in walking the pupils to the library.

Mrs. Harris then came into school on Tuesday 2 February to speak with the Foundation Stage and KS1 at the following times:

·Nursery – 9.30am to10am
·Reception – 10.00am to10.30am
·Year 1 – 10.55am to 11.25am
·Year 2 – 11.30am to 12 noon

The pupils thoroughly enjoyed her visit to the school.

Sharing Assembly

The parents of Year 1 and Year 2 were invited into the assembly this morning. The pupils were able to share with their families the work they have recently achieved. The parents of pupils in the Nursery and Reception classes will be invited to come along to their child’s sharing assembly next term on 28 May 2010.

Citizenship

Mrs Sania Dhir came into school to speak to Yrs 3-6 about banking on Friday 22 January 2010. The pupils had a most informative insight into the world of banking and our grateful thanks go to Sania.

Haiti Earthquake Appeal

The pupils were thrilled to have raised £176 for the Governments Help for Haiti Appeal. The sponsored silence whist eating their lunch in the hall was a great success, with even the youngest pupils taking part. Thank you to all who contributed to help this stricken country.

Contact Details

Please ensure that your latest contact information is given to the office, if for example, you have updated your mobile phone number. We must be able to contact you in the case of an emergency as well as to simply relay information.

Medical Update

Can you please inform the office immediately, if your child has developed a medical condition or allergy in the last 12 months and we will provide you with the necessary form for completion.

It is vital that you inform the school if there are any changes to your child’s health.

Pupil Absence

If your child is absent from school, please ensure that you inform the school office by 9.30am, and then send in an absence letter addressed to your child’s teacher upon their return to school.

Please also keep ill pupils at home. Whilst I appreciate that parents need to work, please ensure that you have contingency plans in place, should your child become ill.

Name Tags

I would just like to remind you of an excellent supplier of name tags for clothing and other items. All orders are dispatched first class within 24 hours and they can be contacted on 01242 237195.

The Company’s name and internet site is NameTag-it.co.uk

Fees

Difficult times are still upon us all financially, and I would like to thank parents for their efforts in ensuring that their fees are paid on time. My grateful thanks are passed on to you, as I am sure that you will appreciate that in order to run a successful school we need to have the finances in place at the beginning of each term.

Mrs Williams has made a polite request that if you do pay any fees directly into the school’s bank account, that you ensure your full name is entered against the amount paid; otherwise it can be very difficult tracing the payee, particularly when more than one parent is making the same payment.

The fees have been reviewed for the start of the Autumn term and remain exceptionally competitive. The revised fees, with effect from 1 September 2010, are as follows:

Main School Fees

Fees and tuition including books will be £1500 per term

Nursery Fees

In accordance with the Nursery Funding Scheme, fees for the nursery children will now be shown as an hourly rate of £4.42 per hour for the 2010/2011 academic year.

Nursery fees will be calculated each term by multiplying the number of hours attended (above the funded hours) by the number of weeks for that term.

Extras

Morning refreshments will be £45 per term.

Personal Accident Insurance will be £5 per term.

FOG Subscription will be £20 per family per annum.

Notice Period

I would like to take this opportunity to remind parents that, in accordance with our terms and conditions, there is a term’s notice period if you decide to withdraw your child from Goodrington School. For example, if you are moving out of the area in the Summer Term and your child is due to start a new school in September 2010, you must inform the school by 31 March 2010 that they will not be returning to Goodrington, otherwise a term’s fees will still be payable.

Recorders

I am pleased to advise you that Mrs Wiltshire, our Music Teacher, will be starting recorder lessons for Years 2 to 6 from Monday 22 February 2010, during their music lessons.

Pupils from Years 4 to 6 will need to bring their recorders and music books in with them each Monday, with effect from this date. Recorders and books have now been ordered for pupils in Years 2 and 3.

YMCA

Please remember that the school does not become involved in the arrangements made between the YMCA and parents. Therefore, please ensure that the YMCA knows the days that they need to collect your child from Goodrington. There have been a number of occasions recently where there has been a lot of confusion as to who is collecting a child from school.

Thank you, in advance, for your co-operation.

Websites

I would just like to remind all parents to be vigilant when their child is on the computer at home. Please do put in as many safeguards as possible to protect your child from younger people’s sites, which may not always be as innocent as they first appear.

School Trips

I would like to confirm that the following school trips have now been booked, and letters outlining full details will be sent out nearer the time:

Years 2, 3 and 4 will be going to Wimbledon Museum on Wednesday 17 March 2010.

Years 5 and 6 will be going to Hedingham Castle on Thursday 10 June 2010.

Nursery, Reception and Year 1 will be going to Colne Valley Railway on Thursday 17 June 2010.

Sport Relief – Friday 19 March

Information regarding Sport Relief has started to arrive in school. This will be a non-uniform day and pupils can come into school in sports wear. Please make sure that the sports wear is appropriate for school and warm enough for your child. Please send in a donation of £1 (or an amount that you feel you would like to donate) with your child and once all the monies have been received, they will be sent to the organisers to help the many good charitable causes they represent.

Wall displays

Staff change the wall displays three times a year in time for each half-term. Do take the opportunity to view the displays the next time you come into school to see how hard the children have been working.

Meeting Parents

I am always available to meet with parents at a mutually convenient time if there is anything you wish to discuss. My ‘open-door’ policy continues and unless I am teaching, I will meet with parents immediately if there is a pressing issue they would like to raise. In the first instance, please see Mrs Williams and Mrs Ruyten in the office, who will be very happy to organise a meeting.

After School Pupils

Please be prompt when collecting your child from school, whether at the end of the school day or from an After School Club. The staff often have appointments or courses to attend after school and it isn’t fair to put excessive pressure on them to try and reach their destination in good time. Do ring the school if there is a possibility of you arriving later than the scheduled pick-up time.

To save unnecessary anguish, please inform the school if a different person will be collecting your child from school. Furthermore, please do not take another child in your car without informing the school AND their parents.

PE

It has been noticed that a number of pupils still do not have the full PE kit for their weekly lesson. Mrs. Cast will always take pupils out into the grounds unless the weather is very inclement. It is not acceptable for any pupil to wear their school cardigan or jumper for added warmth. A decision has been made that following the half-term break, any pupil who is not in full kit (as per the official list), will remain with their class teacher and complete academic work.

Please send in a note addressed to the class teacher and Mrs. Cast if your child has a valid reason as to why they cannot participate in PE in any particular week.

Hinduism workshop

A multi-cultural workshop has been organised for the morning of Tuesday 9 March. The Lower School (Nursery-Yr 2) will have their session before break, with the Upper School (Yrs 3-6) following break until lunch time.

This event promises to be extremely valuable for the pupils and they will be able to build upon their knowledge of the faith they have gained so far. This workshop will be quite expensive to run and, therefore, all parents are requested to contribute towards the cost. A letter will be sent out after half-term. Should any parents wish their child not to attend, they will be allocated a convenient room with a covering staff member and their teacher will supply appropriate work.

75th Celebrations/Summer Fete

The school’s 75th Anniversary celebrations are due this Summer and this very special occasion is to be combined with the Summer Fete on Saturday 12 June. Details will follow in due course, but please be aware that pupils will be involved with the celebrations during the afternoon. The F.O.G. Committee will once again be requiring offers of help to run stalls etc. and they will be asking parents in the near future.

F.O.G Meeting/Update

Due to inclement weather and parental commitments, the last meeting was eventually held on 3rd February 2010. Many items were discussed including the purchase of laptops, another basketball hoop, the forthcoming Quiz Night and the Summer Fete/75th Celebrations.

The next meeting will be held on Wednesday 24 February at 3.20pm in the library. Do make every effort to attend. The meeting usually lasts for approximately 40 minutes where future events are discussed for the benefit of ALL pupils in the school.

Laptops are now in the process of being organised and this purchase has only been able to go ahead due to the stalwart fundraising efforts of the Friends of Goodrington and the leadership of the committee. Our grateful thanks extends to them all.

Quiz Night

Following the successful inaugural Quiz Night in the Autumn Term, another one has been arranged for Friday 26 March at The David Lloyd Gym in Gidea Park. Tickets will go on sale after half-term at £8 each. Start organising your table (maximum 6 per table) and brushing up on your general knowledge in time for this social evening. Martin Day will once again be our Quiz Master and a light finger buffet will be included in the price of the ticket.

Seminar/Parents Evening

I have received notification of an important Head Teachers Seminar on the evening of Wednesday 3 March 2010. This unfortunately has clashed with the original date given for Parents Evening. The new date for Parents Evening will be Wednesday 10 March 2010 and I sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused by this change.

Carol Concert

This annual concert has been arranged for Monday 13 December at 6pm. Please make a note in your diary.

Pantomime

We have already made a booking to take all the pupils to see Aladdin, at the Queen’s Theatre, on Tuesday 14 December 2010. This always proves to be a very popular outing with both pupils and parents, and more details will be sent out to you in the Autumn Term.

Sainsbury’s Active Kids Vouchers

Sainsbury’s Active Kids 2010 has launched, and vouchers will be available from Sainsbury’s stores, petrol stations and with online groceries between 17 February and 8 June 2010. Our collecting box is already sitting in the hallway, so please start collecting your vouchers next week and bring them into school as Sainsbury’s have many exciting resources that we can purchase with our vouchers.

Pupil Achievements

Year 4

Tami participated in the Romford Festival on Saturday 6 February and came second in the Modern Junior Category.

Term Dates

Please be advised that Term Dates for the remainder of this academic year, and the academic year 2010/11 are detailed on the back of this newsletter.

I hope you all have a relaxing break, and look forward to seeing you all when we return on Monday 22 February 2010 at 8.45am with prompt registration at 9.00am.

Yours sincerely,

Mrs J.R. Ellenby
Head Teacher

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