Newsletter 15.12.2020
Date: 15th Dec 2020 @ 2:23pm
15th December 2020
Newsletter
Dear Parents / Carers
INSET Days
You may have noticed in the national news that the Government have allowed schools to change the
In Service Education Days should they consider it appropriate, to facilitate an early finish at the end of term. Having considered the options, it has been decided that we will not be changing our finish date this term due to the late announcement and the fact that this would have a significant impact on parents as well as scheduling the remaining days. We will therefore finish at 3.15pm on
Friday 18th December as planned.
Miss Williams
I am delighted to inform you that Miss Williams will be getting married over the festive period. She will return to school in January to teach her class Reception Bollin, but will answer to the name of
Mrs Trigg. I am sure that you will all join with me in congratulating her on her forthcoming nuptials.
Class Move
Due to the increased number of children joining the Nursery in January, Miss Fox and Y1 Mersey will be relocating to the classroom off the small hall. The only difference to parents will be to drop their children off at the door to the left of the current class door. Collection will continue to be from the Year 1 entrance.
Tablets
I am delighted to inform you that we have now acquired sufficient Galaxy 7 Tablets to loan one to each child from Year 1 to Year 6. The children in the Reception classes will them receive a tablet as they enter into Year 1.
The roll out of the technology will help to develop the home / school learning link as the children will be asked to take their tablet home each night to complete their homework on, in the same way as they take home a reading book. We are currently uploading the required software onto each device, which will be managed by Guardian Angel, Mobile Device Management System. Once this has been completed the children will be issued the tablets for their use whilst they remain pupils at the school. You will shortly receive further details in the form of a home / school agreement for you to complete to enable us to regulate the use of the devices. Please note that it is likely that the majority of the tablets will be issued in January.
Christmas Updates
Pantomime
As previously mentioned we are pleased to be welcoming a small theatre company to school during the last week of term to deliver a production of Peter Pan for the children. Sadly, as with all events of this nature we will need to ask for a small contribution towards the cost of this from you as parents. This will be subsidised by the PTA, but we should be grateful if you could contribute £3.00 for your child to participate. Please can we ask those parents who have not made the contribution so far to do so before Wednesday via the Eduspot website.
Christmas Parties
It has been lovely to see the children enjoy their Christmas parties. On behalf of all concerned, we would like to thank Vicky Raddy for providing a cake for each child. As always these have been well received!
Rudolf Run
As per my last letter, we will be asking the children to take part in a Rudolf Run during this week. Please can you ensure that your child has outdoor trainers or wellingtons in this week as the run will be through the woodland area.
This is fundraising which will involve the children wearing a set of antlers and a red nose provided by St Luke’s Hospice and following a member of staff (dressed in a Santa Suit) around the school grounds to raise awareness of and to support support St Luke’s hospice. Should you wish to make a donation for this, please follow the link below which will take you to the JustGiving Page. A small donation, irrespective of the value, will help to maintain this wonderful service in the town. Please also share the link with your friends and families as the donations do not have to come solely from our school community. Thank you for your support with this matter. Please note that the children will get to keep their antlers and red nose and will also be provided with a pot of porridge.
You can donate to the JustGiving page by clicking here:
Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to St Luke's (Cheshire) Hospice, so it's the most efficient way to give - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.
Christmas Music
We are currently working hard at putting together recordings of the children singing Christmas songs. We will be releasing this later this week for you to share with your family and friends.
PTA Christmas Raffle
Many thanks to the PTA for organising the Christmas raffle on behalf of the school. I am delighted to inform you that the following members of the school community were the winners and have now collected their prizes:
1st J Oakes
2nd N Hargreaves
3rd D Hunt
School Starters September 2020
Please may I remind parents with children who are due to start Reception class in September 2021, that the final day for registering your child for a place in the school of your choice, is Friday 15th January 2021. Please note that even if you have a child in our school Nursery, you will still need to apply for a place through the Cheshire West and Chester Admissions Portal.
School admissions (cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk)
Dates for your diaries
December
16th Rudolf Run: Early Years and KS1
16th Theatre Visit: KS2
17th Theatre Visit: Early Years and KS1
17th Rudolf Run: KS2
Support payments for the winter period
Please note the following for families in need during this difficult time.
After the Government announced £170 million in funding would be available for local authorities through its COVID Winter Grant Scheme, Cheshire West and Chester Council will receive £925,000 in total to support residents.
This funding will help families struggling to pay for food, fuel or water bills throughout the winter period.
Who will qualify
- Families with children receiving free school meals on 1 December 2020.
- Families receiving either a Housing Benefit or Council Tax Reduction on 1 December 2020 AND with children below the age of four, or children between the ages of 16 and 18 inclusive.
- Individuals who have left the care of Cheshire West and Chester Council and are below the age of 25 on 1 December 2020.
Details of the award
Applications must be made online as bank details are required to make payments. An award of £45 per eligible person and £35 per household will be paid into the nominated bank account, subject to checks against records held by the Council. An automated notification will be sent out to confirm that an application has been received.
To apply online:
- Visit: Winter grant scheme
When payments will be made
Payments will start in December, but volumes are likely to be high. The Council is asking that, once an application form is completed, time is given to send the awards out as repeat contacts are likely to delay any awards made.
Contact us
- Telephone: 0300 123 8123
- Email: [email protected]
Other help available
Citizens Advice Cheshire West, in conjunction with The Fuel Bank Foundation will also receive funding to support people who are struggling to meet their fuel bills.
Disability Positive has also been awarded funding to support children and adults it works with who have long-term health conditions, helping them access food, energy or water bill support.
The Welcome Network is commissioned by the Council to coordinate food offers across the borough. Details of local food offers in Cheshire West and Chester over the Christmas are being compiled on the Welcome Network website.
May I take this opportunity to thank all parents/carers for your continued support during what has been and what continues to be a difficult time in school. The children have been brilliant, and have followed the new routines and have tried hard, making good progress and catching up on lost learning. We are very proud of what they have achieved and also what has been achieved by the school community.
Wishing all a restful and enjoyable Christmas.
Kind regards
Mark Joule
Head teacher