NEWSLETTER 5
06/07 6.09.06
From
the Headteacher
Star Work: Congratulations to Jordan
Vaughan, Michael Hill, Hazel Papadopoulos, Ellie Pitman, Poppy
Patterson, Yazmine Douglin and Freya Thorner who have work on display on
our Star Work Board.
Website: Thank you for the feedback we
received about the website. A meeting
was held this week at which we discussed the future development of the site. The newsletter and diary sections should be
updated by Monday and improvements implemented just after half term. Many of the suggestions we received from
parents have been included, such as posting the menu on line, and some others,
such as a discussion board, have been considered for longer term development.
School Council: The new
School Council was elected last week and the list of councillors is included
below:
Year One: Charlotte Padfield and Ben Rossiter
Year Two: Katie Anderton and Joe Reilly
Year Three: Freya
Thorner and Michael Hill
Year Four: Kira Vincent and Kieran Wiltshire
Year Five: Lucy Pitman and Ché James
Year Six: Rebecca Carver and Jake Robertson.
The
children from Reception class will join the council in a few weeks’ time. Ché James has been elected Chair of the
Council.
I
hope that you will be informed about the council’s discussions and decisions
through this newsletter and on the website.
Guitar Lessons: Mr. Sweet
is unable to teach next Thursday due to an appointment he is unable to
change. There will be no charge for a
lesson lost in this way.
Friday Assembly: Last
Friday I took the decision to cancel the usual Friday assembly because of
torrential rain. I was not prepared to
bring three classes across to the hall in such conditions. They would have been soaked and would have
had to sit in wet clothes for 25 minutes.
I should not have to justify a decision like this but the reaction of
some parents and grandparents makes me think that a reminder is needed. The assembly is not for parents it
is for the children. The
children are the most important people and their needs are considered
first. We enjoy having parents at the
Friday assembly. It makes the occasion
different and special but it is part of the school day and is subject to
change/cancellation without notice.
Roger
Whitewick
Message from the Kitchen:
Please can you ensure dinner money is sent into school, 1 week in
advance of order. E.g. If your child
requires dinners for the week beginning 16th of October then money
should be in school on Monday 9th of October. The cost of school dinners is now £1.70 per
day. Thank you.
From the Friends of St. Aldhelm’s (PTA): Next Friday, a reminder that we will be holding a market after
the Friday assembly, in the annexe, next to the hall. The class responsible for the market on the 13th
October will be Year 4. We would
welcome any cakes, biscuits, plants, eggs, etc. to sell to raise money for the
school. Thank you for your
contributions. Please leave any of the
above at the office on Friday morning.
We hope to make £40 to £50 at the market for the school.
With
this newsletter you should have received a Yellow Moon catalogue. For every purchase you make from the Yellow
Moon fundraising catalogue the school will receive up to 25% cash back. Orders need to be sent directly to Yellow
Moon and not to the school. When
placing your order please remember to quote the unique source code on the back
of the catalogue to ensure that the cash back amount is attributed to St.
Aldhelm’s School.
Thank
you for your continued support.
Why
are there new routines?
The
aim of the new lunchtime arrangements is to help make lunchtimes in the hall
more pleasant for everyone. Children in classes across the school had
identified a number of problems with lunchtimes in the hall; they had also
thought about possible solutions. Class councillors then discussed these issues
at School Council meetings and decided the best ways to sort out the problems.
School councillors had a meeting with lunchtime supervisors where the problems
and proposed solutions were discussed and the new routines agreed. These are
shown below:
To
keep sound levels in the hall reasonable:
·
Lunchtime supervisors will play calm/ ‘chill’/
instrumental music, sometimes linked to our International theme. They will play
the music at a reasonable level. If they have to turn it up, it will be to
signal that the noise level in the hall is too high. Children will notice and
become quieter so that the lunch staff can then turn the music down again. Children
must keep away from the CD player.
·
Lunchtime supervisors will have a tambourine. If
they use it, it means the sound level in the hall is too loud and children need
to talk more quietly.
Lunch
box rubbish: This needs to be put in the lunchbox and taken
home. Taking home rubbish and leftovers will help parents to know what children
haven’t eaten and if they don’t like something.
A new table layout and some new lunch times: So that all children can
eat their lunch at a table with friends, the lunchtime supervisors will set the
tables out in a different arrangement, so more can be fitted in.
Reception,
Year 1 and Year 2 will go in to lunch at 12.
Year
3 and 4 will go into lunch at 12.20.
Year
5 and 6 will go into lunch at 12.30
Children
will have set places, sitting in the same seats at the same table each day, for
a term.
Children
in each class need to choose a partner they would like to sit with at lunch.
Each table sits 8 children. Lunch places need to be decided by Monday 9th
October, using class time to sort out the seating arrangement. Places will be
fixed for the term (until Christmas), and will then be reviewed.
Rewarding good behaviour
and good manners:
Table
stickers: Each table will have a sticker chart. Every
time a table of children has a good lunchtime (sensible, polite, not too
noisy), lunchtime staff will place a sticker on their chart. At the end of the
term, the children sat at the table with the most stickers will each be
presented with a certificate in assembly.
Party
table: Each week, one table from each ‘sitting’ will
have a party table for the Friday meal. This will be set out with napkins and
squash. Lunchtime staff will decide which table has earned this privilege,
based on how much effort and progress the children have made with their
behaviour/manners/helpfulness.