St Francis’ Catholic Primary School Maryland Park Stratford London E15 1HB Tel: 020 8534 0476 Fax: 020 8555 3068 Email: [email protected] 3rd November 2014 Dear Parent/ Carer, Welcome back to the second half of the Autumn term. We hope you had a good half term break and were able to enjoy the mild weather that we were blessed with throughout the week. Mrs Gari After 12 years at St. Francis’, Mrs. Gari will be leaving the school this week due to family commitments. Her last day will be on Friday, 7th November 2014. I am sure you will join me in thanking Mrs. Gari for her contribution to the school and wish her the best of luck in her future endeavours. Prepared for School In order to support the effective running of the school day and to continue to develop the children’s independence we are no longer able to accept items for children after the school day has started. This means the children must come to school in the morning with all the items they need for the day such as PE kits, instruments, glasses, water bottles, etc. We will no longer accept any items brought to school by parent/carers after the start of the school day as we find that this disrupts learning. HMI Monitoring Visit As you know we had a monitoring visit from Her Majesty’s Inspector (HMI) on the 22nd and 23rd of October, the visit went as expected and we will share the outcome of that visit with you shortly. Black History celebration Please remember we will be celebrating our Black History work with you on Thursday, 6th November at 2:30 and Friday, 7th November at 9:15. The children will provide an exhibition of what they have learned and will be able to present information and answer questions about their topics during these sessions. Head boy and girl At St. Francis’ we believe it is important to provide the children with as many opportunities as possible to help prepare them for the future. This year we have decided we would like to extend this by providing more opportunities for the children to be leaders within the school and the community. So, we have created a Head boy and Head girl role; this will be a role open only to children in year 6. This year we had 13 children apply by filling out an application and creating a two minute oral presentation on a topic that was given to them by the school. The children did extremely well and made us proud, the way they often do. As a result, the Head boy is Pascal Marimootoo and the Head girl is Tinu Fakunle. They are ably supported by deputies as follows: Esther Armah, Manuel Leye-Huerta, Georgina Odunsi and Victor Sesay. Headteacher: Ms Natasha Scott Class assembly There will be a class assembly for 5K on Friday, 14th November at 9:15; parents with children in this class are warmly welcome. Coffee Morning Our next coffee morning will be on Friday, 21st November 2014 at 9:15; the school nurse will attend to discuss healthy lifestyles. School uniforms The children have started the school year looking beautifully in their school uniforms. I am always extremely proud to see them around the school looking so smart and particularly their sea of blue in assembly. However it is important that all children are wearing full school uniforms this includes school shoes not trainers and girls wearing hair accessories in only navy blue, black and white. Supervision before school The school’s gates open at 8:40 am; two members of staff are on the playground from 8:45 am to supervise the children. Birthday celebrations Please remember that for birthday celebrations the children can share a healthy snack with their classmates however we will not be able to hand out sweets and cakes. We do from time to time also give the children a small treat to celebrate special events in the school however we will only ever do this in moderation. Bikes/scooters Please ensure that your children get off from their bikes/scooters before entering the playground; children riding around on a busy and full playground pose a health and safety risk. Snacks at break time The children are allowed to bring a snack at break time however please ensure that this is a healthy snack such as fruit or cereal bar; crisp, sweets and chocolate are not permitted. Carers We realize from time to time parents may need to leave the country for emergency situations or planned visits abroad. If this is the case can you please let us know that this is happening and who will be caring for your child during this time so we can update the emergency contact information. This is particularly important if someone other than a parent will be caring for your child. N. Scott Head Teacher Headteacher: Ms Natasha Scott