Over St. John's CE Primary SchoolHead Teacher Blog: Friday 17th June 2022
Date: 20th Jun 2022 @ 7:50am
Well done to our Year 4 who have been busy doing the Multiplication Tables Check this week. The check in itself only lasts a couple of minutes as they answer 25 questions with 6 seconds for each one, but as you can imagine, a lot of work has had to go in preparing them for it, so well done to the children and Mrs Riley, Mr Pasquill and Mrs Winder.
I was fortunate enough to join the Year 5 children as they took their violins to The Bridgewater Hall in Manchester to play with the Halle orchestra yesterday. What a fabulous afternoon! The children were fantastic, they behaved beautifully and played their instruments so well. It was fantastic for them to see ‘real life’ violinists as well as all the other members of the orchestra playing music that some of them were even familiar with. A fabulous afternoon – well done Year 5.
A Fisherman’s Tale
During this week and next, there is a family friendly and free event taking place at St John's Church in Hartford. It is open to the public during the evenings and on Saturday 18th June.
St. John’s Church are warmly inviting their local community to join them for ‘The Fisherman’s Tale.’ This immersive story trail will take you back to the first century as you listen to Peter the Fisherman retelling his experiences of meeting with Jesus.
The trail is completely free to attend, but you do need to book. Full details of opening times and how to book can be found on their website www.stjohnshartford.org
#WakeUpWednesday
Many people have never even heard of it but for gamers, Twitch, is big. On 15 June 2020, for example, 2.3 million users (a record for the platform) were using it to watch someone else play Fortnite. Quite staggering, when you consider it. Perhaps less surprising if we provide the context that Twitch is owned by Amazon and sits among the top 30 most-visited sites on the internet.
Within an online community of roughly 15 million people, however, one will invariably find a proportion of bad apples. Twitch, unfortunately, is no exception – with potential bullying and the chance of unsolicited contact from strangers among the hazards to young people. This week’s #WakeUpWednesday guide brings trusted adults the essential information on Twitch.
Mid-Day Assistant
We are looking for a new mid-day assistant to join our team from September, Monday to Friday from 12pm – 1pm in term time only.
We would like someone who will:
- supervise pupils whilst eating and playing;
- help prepare the eating space for lunch and for lessons after;
- ensure the safety and behaviour of the pupils in accordance with school policies;
- arrange indoor and outdoor activities;
- enjoy working with children;
- be a team player.
Full training will be given.
If you are interested in this role, please contact Mrs McFarland on admin@overstjohns.cheshire.sch.uk for a copy of the application pack.
This week I have been made aware of a Facebook page under our name, but it is has not been set up by us nor is it anything to do with us. We have a closed Facebook page that parents and carers can join by answering a couple of simple questions and the content is not open to the public in anyway. There appears to be very little to no content on the page but if you perhaps know who the admin is, please may you ask them to remove it? If you currently like the unofficial public page, please may you unlike it so as to discourage others from mistaking it for real. Thank you.
School Dinners
Please may I remind those taking school dinners that they must be paid for in advance? We recently had as much as £600 owing in dinner money and this has to be covered by the school, which takes vital money from the budget that can be spent on the children’s education. Thank you.
School dinners cost £2.34 per day, £11.70 per week. Children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 receive free meals as part of the government’s Universal Infant Free School Meals (UIFSM) scheme. Dinner money must be paid in advance via School Spider.
If you are in receipt of benefits and think that you may be entitled to free school meals, please click here for more information and support and how to apply. It is very important to apply for free school meals whatever year your child is in, even if you receive the UIFSM in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2, as the school receives a sum of extra money to further help support your child and their education.
Absence during Term Time
Please may I remind you that schools are not allowed to authorise pupil holidays in term time. Any child going on holiday in term time will receive an unauthorised absence. Our registers are regularly checked by the Education Welfare Service and parents may be issued with a fine from the Local Authority for unauthorised absence, which is currently £60 per child, per parent and this rises to £120 if paid after 21 days but within 28 days.
Confirmed Dates for the Spring Term 2022 – new dates highlighted
Tuesday 21st June: Year 5 and 6 trip to Weaver Hall Museum
Friday 24th June: Year 3 and 4 trip to Weaver Hall Museum
Saturday 25th June: Delamere Street Festival – Hatchmere to perform (details to follow)
Thursday 30th June: Sports Day – weather dependent. KS1 at 9.30am and KS2 at 1.15pm
Wednesday 6th and Thursday 7th July: Year 6 transition days at The Winsford Academy
Friday 8th July: Pupil Reports due out
Tuesday 19th July: School closes at 2pm
Monday 5th September: School opens for the Autumn Term
Have a lovely weekend.
Take care,
Mrs E Snowdon