Previous Newsletters
CROSSLEY STREET PRIMARY SCHOOL
PARENT NEWSLETTER 6.1.12/10
Firstly, let me wish everyone a healthy and happy New Year. I hope you all had a relaxing but exciting Christmas and that Santa was very generous!
It was lovely to see the children back on Tuesday all fit and raring to go. As usual we have a really busy term planned which started with the whole school visit to the theatre on Thursday afternoon. KS2 went to the Playhouse in Leeds to see “Annie” and Reception and KS1 went to Harrogate to see “Beauty and Beast.”
Homework Club will resume next Wednesday 11th January and will run from 3.20pm until 4.00pm.
Music Fees are now due at a cost of £50 per term. Please send all monies to Mrs Mann by the end of next week.
Kenya Library I am delighted to report that Mr Kwallah has raised a staggering £2,057 for the library in Ngong in Kenya. He has agreed to take some photographs of his visit in April and will then do a presentation for the children on his return. I am sure you will all want to join me in congratulating him, and on his behalf, I would like to thank you for your support and contributions.
Booster Groups will begin on Monday 9th January for eligible children in Year 6. Sessions will be held on Monday and Wednesday evenings from 3.20pm until 4.20pm.
Parent Meetings By popular demand we will be holding a Maths information evening next Tuesday 10th January at 6.00pm followed by the SATs information evening at 6.45pm for Year 6 parents. Please do try to attend if at all possible and let Mrs Mann know so that we can arrange seating.
Staff Sickness At the moment we are going through a difficult period with members of staff being off school with very serious illnesses. Janet is still very unwell and is not expected to return to school in the near future and Mrs Robins is recovering at home from her surgery. Mrs Roberts will also be going in for surgery next week and could be off school for a while. Miss Smith remains off school as well but I hope will be well enough to return shortly. I know you will join me in wishing them all a very speedy recovery in what is a very testing time for all of them and their families. We will cover classes and responsibilities with staff already employed in school by increasing their hours, so again thank you to everyone who has rallied round.
Lunch time As three of the staff above cover lunches we are desperate for help at lunch time. This is the most difficult slot to cover as staff in class must have a break for obvious reasons. If anyone is interested in helping at lunch time please let me know as soon as possible. Thank you.
Forward dates:
| Tues 31st Jan | Greek visitor into Year 5 |
| Fri 3rd Feb | PTA Disco 6 to 8pm |
| Fri 10th Feb | Break up for half term |
| Mon 20th Feb | Return to school |
| Mon 26th Mar | Parents’ Evening 3.30-6.00pm |
| Tues 27th Mar | Parents’ Evening 3.30-5.30pm ‘Hans Christian Anderson’ theatre production whole school pm |
Wed 28th Mar |
Easter Assembly with Rev Giblin |
| Thurs 29th Mar | BREAK UP FOR EASTER AT 2.00PM |
| Mon 16th April | Return to school French visitors in school all week |
| Mon 7th May | School closed for May Day Bank holiday |
| Mon 14th May | SATS week |
| Sat 19th May | PTA May Ball |
| Wed 16th May | 6.00pm Year 6 Parent meeting re residential to Robinwood |
| Tues 29th May | Art exhibition- parents can offer sealed bids for works of art. |
| Wed 30th May | Y6 residential to Robinwood return Fri 1st June at 4.00pm |
| Fri 1st June | BREAK UP FOR HALF TERM |
| Tues 12th June | Return to school Nursery activity evening for new starters Visitors from Privas in school |
| Wed 13th June | New pupils to Reception |
| Fri 15th June | New pupils to lunch |
| Wed 20th June | Parents to visit Reception 1.30 to 2.30pm New parents meeting 3.30 to 4.30pm |
| Fri 22nd June | New starters to lunch |
| Mon 2nd July | Healthy school’s week Skipping programme for whole school Nursery Sports Day pm |
| Tues 3rd July | Reception Activity Day for new starters 9.30 to 10am and 1.30 to 2pm KS2 Sports’ Day 1.30pm |
| Wed 4th July | KS1 Sports’ Day 1.30pm |
| Fri 6th July | Olympic Celebration Day- whole school |
| Tues 10th July | Reception Activity sessions for new starters 9.30am to 10.00am and 1.30 to 2.00pm |
| Fri 13th July | Reports out to parents |
| Mon 16th July | “Charlotte’s Web” theatre production whole school |
| Fri 20th July | Y6 Leaver’s Assembly at 9.10am Y6 parents are welcome BREAK UP FOR SUMMER AT 2.00PM |
I will let you know any further dates as soon as possible. Thank you to everyone for their continued support.
S.J.Clynes.
CROSSLEY STREET PRIMARY SCHOOL
Parent Newsletter 29/11/11/7
CHILDREN IN NEED
We had a fantastic ‘Children In Need’ Friday with the whole school dressed in spots and eating buns! We raised a massive £523.80. A huge ‘thank you’ to everyone who baked and sold and dressed up.
LOLLIPOP MAN
Our Lollipop man has left to take up a new post and, sadly, it is highly unlikely that he will be replaced. We will have to manage with the Pelican Crossing but please do take extra care; cars do not always stop as you would expect. If you experience any problems let me know and I can pass it on to the police who are monitoring the situation. The School Council is also going to write to the police about the crossing and how cars don’t always stop.
WINTER MORNINGS
Some children are being left in the playground as early as 8.15am. Please do not send children before 8.45am at the earliest. There is no one here to supervise the children before school.
PRIVAS – TWINNING ASSOCIATION
I am pleased to report that Cindy Bentley, the Town Mayor and president of the Twinning Association will be attending our KS2 production and the Years 3 and 4 French Nativity. If you are interested in joining the Association you can contact her at cbentley@goggies.co.uk or speak to Mayor Bentley at our productions.
I look forward to seeing as many of you too as we start our Christmas celebrations.
CAR PARK
I am still getting complaints from parents who are worried about others using the car park to drop off and pick up children. For everyone’s safety, PLEASE DO NOT use the staff car park; we can avoid accidents in this way.
SUPERINTENDENT
Sadly, Janet is ill at the moment and we are really struggling to find a consistent replacement. Please be patient and understanding if things are not running as smoothly as usual – it is a busy time of year! I know you will all join me in wishing Janet a speedy recovery.
SATS/MATHS INFORMATION EVENING – Tuesday 10th January 2012
On Tuesday 10th January, Mr Hirst and Mrs Dodson will host an information evening as follows:
- 6.00pm Maths information session – open to ALL parents
- 6.45pm SATs information session – mainly for parents of Y6 children
Please complete and return the slip below so that we can make accommodation arrangements. I do hope you will be able to attend as I am sure you will find it/them useful.
Yours sincerely
Mrs S J Clynes
Maths session – 6.00-6.45pm - I will/will not be attending the session
Signed ……………………… Parent of …………………. Class ………………..
SATs session – 6.45-7.30pm – I will/will not be attending the session
Signed ……………………… Parent of …………………. Class ………………..
CROSSLEY STREET PRIMARY SCHOOL –PARENT NEWSLETTER 19.10.11/ 5
Parent/ Teacher Meetings
Thank you to everyone who attended our open evenings on Monday and Tuesday of this week, we had a 96% take up of appointments, which is wonderful. Staff really do appreciate the opportunity to speak with parents and I hope you also found it informative and set the year off to a good start. All children have now been set aspirational targets for the end of the year and we can work together to ensure that they achieve them. If you have any concerns or issues at any other time, please don’t hesitate to come and speak to me or a member of staff.
Parent Information Evening- Reading and Phonics for Reception
Mrs Wade will be in school on Wednesday 16th November to deliver an information session about reading and phonics for Reception children. The session will be at 3.10pm, as most parents will be collecting children then. Well behaved children are welcome to attend as this is an informal meeting! I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible. The session usually lasts about half an hour but this does depend on the number of questions asked. It will be in the Reception class.
Time to say Goodbye!
Please could I ask all Reception parents to say goodbye and leave their children in the playground after half term. The children are settled and now need to develop their independence, it will also relieve the congestion and minimise accidents in the corridor. Mrs.Wade has discussed this with the children so they are expecting to be left in the playground! Thank you for your support.
Home School Agreement
I would like to say a huge thank you to Mrs Roylance, one of our parent governors who coordinated the re vamp of our Home School Agreement. It involved a lot of hard work including consultation with staff, pupils and parents at an evening meeting and research into other Home School Agreements. It has been produced so that all stake holders can clearly see what we are about and how we can work together to ensure the best education for our children. However, I would just like to apologise for the fact that a draft copy was sent out which did contain some typing errors. The final copy is available on the website and a hard copy is in the Parent File in the entrance hall. I am sorry for any inconvenience.
Thank you to everyone involved and to all parents who have read, signed and agree with the document.
Children in Need CD
Our choir was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to record a CD at the West Park Music centre along with ten other Leeds schools. The children were superb and were commended by the recording studio for their professionalism and exemplary behaviour. The CD will be on sale for £5 after half term and all the money raised will go to Children in Need. Please return the slip below if you would like to order a CD.
......................................................................................................................................................
Name of child....................................................Class.............................................................................
Number of CDs at £5 each......................................Total cost..........................................................
Cheque/cash enclosed (please delete as appropriate)
All orders must be prepaid, thank you for your support for this brillian charity.
S J Clynes
CROSSLEY STREET PRIMARY SCHOOL
PARENT NEWSLETTER 13.9.11/2
Residential for Year 5
Before we broke up I sent out a questionnaire about a possible residential for Year 5. The results can be found of the reverse of this letter.
From the results and through consultation with the staff and in particular Mrs Coldwell who is the Year 5 teacher, we feel that it would be a very positive thing to organise and propose that a 1 night residential be arranged during the summer term 2012 for Year 5.
We will of course consult in greater detail with a variety of bodies. They include Year 5 parents and Year 5 children but also the School Council who represent the children as a whole and our Governors who oversee all our visits. We will also consult with LCC Health and Safety advisers who will support us in completing a risk assessment.
If you have any suggestions or would like to volunteer to grill sausages please get in touch!!
PTA first meeting of the year
This will take place tomorrow, Weds 14th Sept at 7.00pm in the staffroom. Please do come along, you are not obliged to commit yourself to volunteering it would just be good to welcome new parents particularly of our younger children so that we can keep our numbers growing!
Last year the PTA raised a staggering £ 4,291.53 through discos and fairs and many enjoyable family events. The money goes towards providing IT equipment, new furniture for classrooms, cinema visits and icecream for the whole school, the giant reading chair and bench circle and part of the adventure playground to mention just a few things. I would very much like the money raised this year to go towards an outdoor climbing wall and music trail but I am always interested in hearing what parents would like providing for our children as well.
So if you have a little free time or any ideas about fund raising or what we should spend the money on please come along tomorrow. Mr Hirst and I will both attend the first meeting.We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible!
Extra Curricular Activities
Please find attached a brief summary of possible clubs, with costs, that could be organised this year. Please complete the form and return it to the office by Monday 19th September.
Our French student
Angademe will be arriving on Saturday 1st October and she will work across school helping with French conversation. Initially, Angademe will stay with Carol Wood who accompanied me on the visit to Privas. Hopefully our French will improve and school will be well placed to join in the 20th anniversary twinning celebrations combined with the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee next June.
Thank you for your support.
S.J.Clynes
CROSSLEY STREET PRIMARY SCHOOL
WELCOME NEWSLETTER
7.9.2011 / 1
Welcome back to a new school year and especially to the four new families who have joined us for the first time. Also, welcome to our new Year 1 teacher Miss Murray and welcome back to Mrs Dodson who has returned from maternity leave part time to cover PPA time. I hope everyone had a very restful holiday, all the children looked very smart and pleased to be back and so did the staff!
Summer maintenance
We have had a busy summer with general maintenance being carried out to keep the building looking in tip top condition. I am delighted to say that we have not had any incidents of vandalism or trespass over the summer which is fantastic. Janet and her team have done a fantastic job with the summer clean, school is gleaming.
Open Afternoon for prospective parents and children for Reception in Sept 2012 will be held on Tuesday 8th November in the afternoon from 1.30pm to 3.00pm.
Open Morning for parents of children currently in Reception will be held on Friday 14th October from 9.30am until 11.45am.
Extra Curricular Activities
A full range of after school clubs will be planned for this year and individual teachers will keep you informed of all clubs which will vary from term to term and involve different year groups. This will include specialist coaching sessions for different age groups which Mrs Miller will inform you about.
Please let me know if there are any clubs that you are able to run or that you feel would be beneficial to the children.
Home School Agreement and Behaviour
We all work extremely hard to maintain excellent levels of behaviour throughout school. It is essential that we work in partnership with all parents particularly with behaviour management as excellent behaviour is the foundation of our school. Our Behaviour Policy is available to read at any time and will be available at Parent/Teacher Meetings. If you have any concerns about behaviour please speak to class teachers or to me directly. We are holding a parents meeting to review our Home School Agreement next Wednesday 14th September at 6.30pm, half an hour before our first PTA event. I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible so that we can all get involved together. New members are always welcome!
Busy Starts
Whilst our Reception children are part time parents are welcome to stay for the first 20 minutes every day and when children are full time parents are welcome every Friday from 9.00 until 9.30am. Please do not feel obliged to stay as we understand how difficult this is for working parents.
Music fees for this term are now due which are £50 per instrument.
Dinner Money has increased to £1.90 per day for Y5 and Y6 and £1.85 for all other years. Please make cheques payable to Leeds City Council and we are happy to take payments for half or full terms.
Homework
In order to facilitate the marking of homework and to ensure children have a grasp of new topics before homework is set, homework will go out on Wednesday and be collected the following Monday, spellings will go out on Friday and be tested the following Friday, except in the case of Reception and Year 1 who have a different system which will be explained by Mrs Wade and Miss Murray in their curriculum newsletter. Please write any comments you may have in the homework diaries. Children who complete homework and hand it in every week achieve much better results than those who do not.
Reading at Home
Please do read with your child at home every day if possible, it really does make a huge difference. It is essential for parents to record and comment in reading diaries on what children have read at home. We can then change books and update records accordingly.
Absence from school
May I remind parents that term time holiday cannot be authorised for children in Year 2 and 6 from January until after the SATs have finished and for all children from Year 3 upwards during SATs which is w.b Monday 14th May 2012 until Weds 23rd May 2012. A maximum of 10 days may be authorised in one academic year.
PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS THE FIRST YEAR THAT ELIGIBLE Y6 CHILDREN WILL BE TESTED AT LEVEL 6 ON MON 21ST AND TUES 22ND MAY.
Car Park
As a matter of Health and Safety, could I please remind everyone that the car park is for staff parking only.
Photographs and Local Visits
If for any reason you do not wish your child to be photographed, or if you do not want them to take part in local walks round the school or town, please drop a letter into the office. If I do not receive a response I will assume you are happy with the arrangement. Please be assured risk assessments are carried out for all activities off site including visits to cafes, allotments and the library. Class teachers will always inform parents of any special events and visits further afield.
Medicines in School
Please ensure that any prescribed medicines are handed into the office and a disclaimer form signed. Children should never be given medicines to put in their bag nor should medicines be handed to staff, as they are unable to administer them. Only prescribed medicines with the child’s name and dosage clearly printed on the bottle can be administered by either me or Mrs Mann.
Designated Child Protection Staff
Mr Hirst is now our designated Child Protection Officer as part of his role as deputy head teacher. He shares this role with me, so if parents have any concerns please don’t hesitate to contact either one of us.
Appointments to see teachers
Could I please remind parents to come into school before the bell goes to speak to teachers in the morning or make an appointment after school. It is not appropriate for parents to try to talk to teachers when classes have already come into school.
Please ensure we have up to date addresses and mobile phone numbers
FORWARD DATES:
Thursday 8th Sept Nursery and Reception intakes
Weds 14th Sept Home School Agreement Review 6.30pm in hall.
PTA Meeting 7.00pm staff room
Tues 20th Sept Individual photos whole school
Tues 27th Sept Year 5 visit to Filey
Year 2 visit to Harlow Carr Gardens
Mon 3rd October Nursery open for prospective parents 10 to 11am and 1.30 to 2.30 pm
Weds 5th October French Evening- Cindy Bentley talk on Privas and Wetherby Twinning with light refreshments of cheese and wine.
Weds 12th Oct Harvest Assembly whole school
Fri 14 th Oct Reception Open Morning for parents of Reception children 9.30 to 11.45am
Monday 17th October 3.30pm to 6.00pm Parent’s evening
Fire Safety talk to Y5
Tuesday 18th October 3.30pm to 5.30pm Parent’s evening
Choir recording CD at West Park Music Centre
BREAK UP FOR HALF TERM on Thurs 20th October ( Fri 21st Oct TRAINING DAY- SCHOOL ONLY OPEN TO STAFF)
Mon 31st Oct TRAINING DAY- SCHOOL ONLY OPEN TO STAFF
Tues 1st Nov Children back to school
Tues 8th Nov Reception Open afternoon for prospective parents 1.30 to 3.00pm
Fri 11th Nov Year 4 visit to Armley Mills
Fri18th Nov “Wizard of Oz” Whole school Christmas pantomime
Tues 22nd Nov Nursery Activity Day for new starters
Thurs 24th Nov Year 6 RJC Dance Final
Tues 29th Nov Reception and Nursery Christmas Activity Day
Friday 16th Dec Carols round the Tree for whole school
BREAK UP FOR CHRISTMAS Friday 16th December – Early finish 2.00pm
Tuesday 3rd Jan start of Spring Term for children
Nursery closed for Home Visits
Tuesday 10th January Year 6 Parents SATs evening 6.00pm in hall
BREAK UP FOR FEB HALF TERM Friday 10th Feb
Mon 20th Feb Children back to school
Tues 28th Feb Nursery Activity Day for January starters
Monday 26th March Parent’s Evening from 3.30pm to 6.00pm
Tuesday 27th March Parent’s Evening from 3.30pm to 5.30pm
Weds 28th March Easter Assembly
BREAK UP FOR EASTER THURS 29th MARCH AT 2PM
FRIDAY 30th MARCH TRAINING DAY school open to staff only
Monday 16th Apri Summer Term begins
MONDAY 7th MAY SCHOOL CLOSED for May Bank Holiday
Monday 14th May to Tues 22nd May SATs week for Year 3 to Year 6
Weds 16th May Robinwood meeting for year 6 parents 6.00pm
Weds 30th May to 1st June Robinwood residential for Y6
BREAK UP for half term Friday 1st June
Monday 11th June TRAINING DAY- summative assessments ( school closed to children)
Tuesday 12th June children back to school
Nursery activity evening
Friday 13th July Reports out to parents
Mon 16th July “Charlotte’s Web” whole school theatre production
Fri 20th July Leaver’s Assembly for Y6 9.15am Y6 parents welcome to attend
BREAK UP for summer early finish at 2pm Friday 20th July
As soon as any other dates or visits are booked I will let you know.
If you have any concerns or comments please don’t hesitate to speak to me.
Thank you for your continued support.
S.J.Clynes