Over St. John's CE Primary SchoolHead Teacher Blog: Friday 8th December 2023
Date: 8th Dec 2023 @ 2:31pm
Key Stage 1 Christmas at Cotebrook Trip
Hatchmere, Sandymere and Delamere spent a lovely day at Cotebrook Shire Horse Centre on Wednesday. They were all lucky enough to meet with the Big Man himself – Father Christmas - and came home with a lovely gift each. Although they were only at Cotebrook, the weather felt more like Narnia and the children braved the elements really well, although I think they were glad to be in the warm when they arrived back as school!
The children were fantastically behaved and thank you to those parents who were able to help out with the trip.
Christmas Activities
We held our Secret Santa in school on Monday. Our speedy team of parent helpers managed to wrap all the gifts with the children and they should now have arrived back at home.
Tickets for the Christmas Raffle are still available in school until Monday for those who wish to be in with a chance of winning one of our fabulous hampers at the Carol Service.
As per my blog each week since the 8th September, our Carol Service is being held in St. John’s church on Tuesday afternoon at 1.30pm. The children in Blakemere read the Christmas story as the children in Hatchmere present the nativity, all skilfully woven together by the beautiful singing voices of our children. Everybody is welcome to join us – the only reserved seating is the first 3 or 4 benches on each side in the central aisle for the families of those children in Hatchmere and St. John’s children will be sitting in the side aisles. The service is usually over between 2.30pm and 2.45pm and collection of all children will be from church instead of school.
We have Father Christmas coming to visit us next week at school – how exciting! He will be setting up his grotto in our ‘ski chalet’ up on the field, so do please come wrapped up warm as yourselves and the children will be waiting outside to see him (please may I ask that we refrain from using the play equipment during this time as it is dark and there will be no staff supervision in line with our risk assessment for use of the equipment). Times slots have been sent out and Father Christmas’ special helpers have already delivered some wrapped up presents for the children.
We have our Christmas Jumper day next Friday. Children can come to school in non-uniform with whatever Christmas embellishments they might like or you have – please don’t feel you need to go and get a Christmas jumper if you don’t already have one!
I would like to say a big thank you to all the adults who have helped us out with our Christmas activities over the past couple of weeks – from Secret Santa, to the disco, to trips and anything else that you have been roped into volunteered for!!! Seriously, thank you so much as we wouldn’t be able to do what we do without your help.
Christmas Crafts at New Images
New Images will be hosting 2 Christmas Craft workshops on Monday 18th December at New Images Youth and Community Centre which are aimed at Primary School aged children. There is both a daytime slot for those that will have already broken up for the school holidays, plus a twilight after school session for those that haven't.
Parents are welcome to drop their child off or indeed stay and join in the festive fun - it is entirely up to them. Snacks and drinks will be provided for all!
All other relevant information is included on the attached poster below.
Holiday Activities - Reminder
We have received information about lots of activities happening at Winsford Lifestyle Centre to keep the children active over the Christmas holiday.
Please take a look at the information attached below, if you are interested.
Also, there are some free activities available to pupils and their families across West Cheshire throughout the holidays. Edsential, on behalf of Cheshire West and Chester council, have coordinated a whole host of Holiday Activities with Food clubs, funded by the Department for Education, which are completely free for eligible FSM children.
This interactive map means it’s easier than ever for parents/carers to search for various activity clubs on offer in their local area. This Christmas there are a diverse range of activities on offer; from trips to the pantomime, ice skating, graffiti art workshops, sports and much more. And the best part? There will be free healthy meals provided throughout the programme, ensuring that children and young people stay nourished and energised throughout the holidays.
To find a full list of the Christmas holiday activity clubs visit this website
Attendance - Reminder
Well done to our joint winners of Sandymere and Delamere with the highest attendance this week. It is great to see that 3 of our 6 classes have made it over 96% this week, with 1 very close behind!
Hatchmere 93.81%
Sandymere 96.11%
Delamere 96.11%
Oakmere 91.82%
Linmere 96.09%
Blakemere 95.93%
Next Friday we will be handing out our certificates for attendance and drawing the prize for the Argos voucher – I look forward to sharing details of this with you next week!
#WakeUpWednesday
With more than 150 million subscribers worldwide, Disney+ has enjoyed a steady rise in popularity since launching four years ago: the platform’s deep library of treasured old-school animated favourites, modern classics and original series means that it can offer a rich seam of engrossing content that caters for young and not-so-young users alike.
Of course, a consequence of this approach is the presence of the sort of age-inappropriate material one might not expect to find on the platform, given Disney’s fabled status as a purveyor of family entertainment. There’s useful advice in avoiding this pitfall (and more besides) in this week’s #WakeUpWednesday guide, as Disney+ comes under the microscope.
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.
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.
Confirmed Dates for the Autumn Term 2023 – new dates highlighted
Dinner Week 1
Tuesday 12th December: Carol Service in St. John’s Church at 1.30pm. All welcome. Collection of all children from church.
Wednesday 13th December: Guitar/ Ukulele performance for parents.
Thursday 14th December: Whole school pantomime – Beauty and the Beast – at Northwich Memorial Court
Thursday 14th December: Santa’s Grotto 3.20pm – 5pm
Friday 15th December: Christmas Jumper Day – this is a non-uniform event with a Christmas embellishment!
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