Over St. John's CE Primary SchoolHead Teacher Blog: Friday 29th September 2023
Date: 29th Sep 2023 @ 1:43pm
Library Opening Hours
The library has been proving very popular after school on a Monday and a Wednesday with Mrs M, so much so that Mrs Worstencroft stepped in to give her a hand on Wednesday! It is lovely to see the children finding books that they are excited about and taking them home to enjoy with their adults or independently. Please do visit between 3pm and 3.30pm on Mondays and Wednesday – there is no charge for taking a book and you do not need a library card, we just want you to enjoy our books!
Extra-Curricular Clubs
Extra-curricular clubs have also been proving very popular too! We now have aerobics, coding, cricket, dance, enviro warriors, football, French, guerrilla art, mindfulness, multiskills, scrabble and origami on offer for our children – a fabulous selection! My thanks to all the staff for giving up their time to run the clubs. Please note, there will be no clubs after school the week beginning 16th October due to Pupil Consultation Evenings, except for dance and multiskills.
Art Workshop at The Winsford Academy
I took a group of 5 KS2 children to The Winsford Academy after school on Wednesday to take part in an Art workshop based on the work of Niki de Saint Phalle. The children represented our school beautifully and teamed up with another local school to complete a fabulous piece of art using collage and mosaic that will be part of a display at The Winsford Academy. Well done Danielle, Holly, Isabelle, Jack and Joshua!
Attendance
We are seeing quite a number of absences for illness – please refer to the previous guidance sent out from the NHS Is my child too ill for school? It is always up to myself as Head Teacher to make the decision as to whether to authorise time off for illness or not, it is not automatically assumed that time off will be authorised just because we have received a message to say your child is ill.
It is also important to remember that Fixed Penalty Notices can also be issued for irregular attendance – not just for holidays – when there are 5 or more days absence over the course of a term. Our policy is quite clear that time off for things such as birthdays and shopping trips will not be authorised and as such, will count towards the 5 days for irregular attendance – these do not have to be consecutive days.
If your child has a medical appointment, it is always best to arrange these outside of school hours or in the school holidays. If your child needs to attend a medical appointment during the school day, we will require proof of the appointment, such as a letter or text message, otherwise we will no longer be able to authorise these.
Class weekly attendance has been better this week – thank you for your support. Please remember that everyday counts!
Well done to Hatchmere with the highest attendance this week and we had 3 classes with above 96% attendance.
Hatchmere 98.00%
Sandymere 97.78%
Delamere 92.78%
Oakmere 96.36%
Linmere 93.48%
Blakemere 94.07%
|
Attendance during one school year |
Equivalent Days |
Equivalent Sessions |
Equivalent Weeks |
Equivalent Lessons Missed |
|
95% |
9 Days |
18 Sessions |
1.4 Weeks |
45 Lessons |
|
90% |
19 Days |
38 Sessions |
3.4 Weeks |
95 Lessons |
|
85% |
29 Days |
58 Sessions |
5.4 Weeks |
145 Lessons |
|
80% |
36 Days |
72 Sessions |
7.1 Weeks |
180 Lessons |
|
75% |
48 Days |
96 Sessions |
9.3 Weeks |
240 Lessons |
Applying for Secondary School Places for September 2024
If you have a child in Year 6, the application round has now opened for you to apply for a secondary school place. It is very important that you do this before the deadline, which is 31st October 2023, otherwise your application will be classed as a late application and could have a severe impact on your preferred school choice. Results are available from 12.30am on 1st March 2024. To apply, you will need to create an account or log in on this link. Before making your application, it is important you view the Transferring to Secondary School Booklet to help you with your choices.
As a school, we are a partner primary with both The Winsford Academy and Hartford CE High School which means that applications for children from our school are considered above some other categories, should the school be oversubscribed. However, you have the option to apply for 3 secondary schools of your choice. Further details with regards to this can be found in the ‘Transferring to Secondary School’ information booklet in the link above.
Applying for Primary School Places for September 2024
If you have a child who is turning 4 years old between now and 31st August 2023, or know of a child who is, then the application round is also open for them to apply for their Reception place. The timescale is slightly different for this and you have until 15th January 2024, but like the secondary school place, before making your application, it is important you view the Starting Primary School Booklet. Results are available from 16th April 2024. To apply, you will need to create an account or log in on this link. If you would like to visit Over St. John’s with a view to a Reception place next September or know of someone else who would, please do just ring the office and we will arrange a time to suit yourselves and us. We do not hold an open morning as I prefer people to see us as we are on a daily basis and have more personal time during a look around with me to ask any questions that they may have.
#WakeUpWednesday
You’ll notice that this week’s #WakeUpWednesday guide is a bit different. A lot of schools have been asking National Online Safety to introduce guides on other pressing issues affecting children and young people. They’ve listened and from now they will be expanding their guides beyond online safety. You should now expect guides to cover a range of issues relating to supporting and protecting children and young people.
In the UK, the proportion of 11 to 18-year-olds who vape doubled between 2020 and 2022. That figure has continued to rise: a worrying trend that’s not exactly been countered by frequent portrayals of vaping as cool and fashionable on social media platforms.
Many young vapers simply aren’t aware of the habit’s potential pitfalls, but with risks including unregulated products, toxic ingredients and future nicotine addiction, there’s plenty for trusted adults to help children understand. This week's #WakeUpWednesday guide brings you the essential info.
School Dinners
School dinners cost £2.70 per day, £13.50 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 as we do not accept cash in school.
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 schools 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 Autumn Term 2023 – new dates highlighted
Friday 13th October: Individual photographs
Tuesday 17th October: Pupil Consultation Evening 4pm – 6pm
Thursday 19th October: Pupil Consultation Evening 3.10pm – 5.10pm
Friday 20th October: School closes for half term at 3pm
Monday 30th October: School gates open at 8:35am
Monday 13th – Friday 17th November: Anti Bullying Week
Monday 13th November: Odd Socks Day for Anti-Bullying
Thursday 16th November: Vale Royal Falconry visit for assembly and to work with Delamere
Friday 17th November: Friendship Friday
Wednesday 6th December: Christmas at Cotebrook trip for Hatchmere, Sandymere and Delamere
Tuesday 12th December: Carol Service in St. John’s Church at 1.30pm. All welcome. Collection of all children from church.
Thursday 14th December: Whole school pantomime – Aladdin – at Northwich Memorial Court
Friday 15th December: End of term at 2pm
Wednesday 3rd January 2024: School opens at 8:35am
Have a lovely weekend.
Take care,
Mrs E Snowdon