Another academic year amazingly draws to a close already. It has been a pleasure to work with your children here at Woodcote School this term and I very much look forward to our new ventures in the Autumn.
Sadly we say goodbye to four members of staff, I wish Mr Morris the very best of retirements, Mrs Lecorgne my best wishes for her new goals, Miss McLaughlin for her new house move and Mrs Farrant for her teaching role in her new school as she too moves north. We will miss them all. They have provided so much of their time, energy and expertise to the school over the last few years that it seems hard to picture what we will do without them.
We will welcome a new and exciting team to Woodcote in the Autumn, Miss Beesley, Mrs Wornham, Mrs Crockett, Mr Odell and now Mrs McGinty into year 2 – sadly Mrs Sarah Hart was offered a full-time job elsewhere! Mrs McGinty has good references and has been in to meet the children. I am sure she will make a good addition to the team whilst we await the arrival of Miss Mayell. Miss Allen is getting married and will return as Mrs Welsh I hope she has a wonderful day and a relaxing honeymoon.
In September
You will find your child brings home a reading diary. This is intended to be brought in and out of school each day. We hope that, as you read each evening with your child, you will write a comment in the book. Each child will be heard reading their book at least once a week with an adult in school and you should receive a comment from them. This will be in addition to the guided reading work your child does with their teacher each week. I hope that this partnership in reading will work successfully throughout the school.
Every child in year 4 will be taught music through playing the clarinet. This will enable them to learn how to read music and play as part of an ensemble. The clarinet will be provided for you from the County Music Service and the lessons will be as a whole class in school time. This is a compulsory part of the music provision we intend to provide at Woodcote School. If your child then decides to take this forward after the year, information on how to continue will be given to parents towards the end of the year. If you would like to help with reading in your child’s class, could you pop into the office and let us know.
The year 6 children will be offered the chance to sing in a massed choir in the 02 Arena in London. I hope this will be a success and become an annual trip. The concert will be held on January 30th – so keep the date because parents are invited! More details next term.
As you return in September you should hopefully notice some changes to the appearance of the building. We intend to have a new fire door placed in the back of the hall, the Annex block to be redecorated, display boards put up in Oak and Hornbeam classes and the blue external doors to these classes painted. We had hoped to set up a good wireless network around the school but have not yet secured a suitable agreement so this will take place over the next few months we hope.
Can I please remind parents that black shoes and not trainers or open-toed sandals are required as part of the school uniform. Please ensure that your child has suitable footwear for the start of term.
From September could children refrain from riding their scooters or bikes on to the playground in the morning or after school at peak times? There are so many people around I believe we have been very lucky that an accident has not yet occurred. Could they please dismount at the school gate and push their transport onto the playground and wait until they have left the premises before climbing back aboard! Thank you for your support with this.
Some early dates for your dairy –
September 10th7.30 – 8-30 pm we will hold an informal “Meet the Teacher” meeting where you are very welcome to drop in to the classroom, pick up your curriculum newsletter and ask any questions you may have in an informal environment.
September 17th 6.30pm we will hold an SEN briefing for parents. At this meeting Mrs Welsh (Miss Allen) will provide parents with an overview of the changes to provision and expectations for children with Special Educational Needs. Any parents, whether with SEN pupils or not, are welcome to attend if interested.
I hope that by giving parents 7-8 weeks notice, those who need to arrange childcare or perhaps leave early from work will have time to make arrangements.
May I take this opportunity to wish the year 6 pupils the very best of futures as they move on to the next stage in their education. I hope they take with them many fond memories of their years here and remember them as “ the best days of their lives” . It has been a pleasure to get to know them and I have every confidence that the education they have received here will set them off well as they progress through their secondary schools.
I hope each and every one of you has a fabulous summer break. Thank you for all your support and good wishes during my first term. I look forward to welcoming you all back in September, refreshed, relaxed and ready for the exciting new year ahead.
Kind regards,
Liz Hunt
Aspens Catering, at Langtree Secondary School, provide the meals for Woodcote Primary School and as from September 2014 all parents, Key Stage 1 (KS 1) and Key Stage 2 (KS 2) will need to pre book their children’s lunches via the Aspens website.
We are pleased to confirm that from September 2014, all pupils in Key Stage 1 (Foundation, Year 1 & Year 2) will be entitled to receive a nutritious school lunch, at no charge, through the introduction of the government’s universal infant free school meals (UIFSM) policy. The policy is intended to increase the number of pupils who eat a tasty and nutritious school lunch and develop positive eating habits, improve pupils’ health, attainment and behaviour, through better nutrition and socialisation.
Pre ordering and payments will need to be made online for all meals, whether KS 1 or KS 2. This may be done at home or, for parents who do not have the facility to book meals online at home, we will provide a computer set up with the Aspens link in our school foyer. The Aspens website asks parents to enter their Key Stage 1 children’s status as ‘Free School Meal’.
For Key Stage 2, the payments are taken via PayPal with a credit or debit card and PayPal accounts. There is a minimum top up value of £10.00. Your children’s year group will need updating each new academic year.
If you have access to the internet – you can log on to the Aspens site (details below) and sign up to your own account, and register your child/children’s details, including their year group & KS1 UIFSM entitlement:
http://www.aspens-services.co.uk/schools/pri-woodcote.php
You can then go through the menu and pre select meals for the days you choose. We hope that during the summer break, parents will consider setting up their children’s accounts for the start of term and pre book the meals for the first week.
You can make a booking or cancellation right up to 9am on the day. After this time Aspens will need to be contacted directly on 01491 682 783. The school will receive a print out of the orders from Aspens every day so the children can be reminded of what they have ordered when they get to the canteen.
If you have any queries about this system – you can find a set of instructions to download from the link above or please ask in the office and we will endeavour to help.
July 2014
Sports Day – Key Stage 1: Tuesday 8th July 1.30 – 3.15pm. The Key Stage 1 event will take place on the school field.
Key Stage 2: Tuesday 8th July 9.15 – 12noon. The Key Stage 2 event will be over on the Langtree field.
Both events are subject to the weather and may have to be changed at short notice.
Please ensure your children have the appropriate PE Kit (Plain or school logo white PE T-shirt, navy or black shorts, plimsolls or trainers with white socks). They will need sunhats, sun cream and a resealable water bottle, all named please. Your children will not need a coloured team T-shirt this year as the school will provide coloured team bibs for all the children.
No Nut Policy – please remember that we have a no nut policy in school as we have 2 children with nut allergies. Therefore we ask that packed lunches and snacks do not contain any nuts.
Contact Details – please update the office with any changes to your contact details or those of your other emergency contacts eg. Grandparents. These may include mobile, home or work numbers or email addresses.
Nestle Box Top Tokens – a huge ‘Thank you’ to everyone who has collected and brought in box top tokens over the last 8 years. This year Woodcote Primary School has received 21 free books worth over £125.00. Over the 8 years the scheme has been running, the classes have benefited from more than 200 free books, worth about £2500.00. Thank you to Mrs Kew who has sorted and sent off the tokens for us each year. Nestle are no longer carrying on with the box top scheme.
