Churchtown Chatter Imagine … Believe … Achieve… Newsletter 14 – 2022
We have had a busy end to the school term, that has been full of festive fun and joy! The end of term performances for Nursery, Reception, Year 2 and Year 5 have allowed children to perform to parents/carers. It has been lovely to have a live audience (post COVID) and we have received lovely feedback from you – thank you! 750 Christmas dinners were served last week; the food was delicious! Children ate, and sang along to Christmas songs whilst looking very festive in their Christmas jumpers. Thank you to our kitchen staff and midday supervisors for working hard to provide a tasty lunch and fun lunchtime experience. Buddy assemblies took place at St Cuthbert’s Church yesterday, where Reverend Rebecca supported us by reading a Christmas story. It was atmospheric and the children’s behaviour was exemplary. It is important that the children understand about their local community and St Cuthbert’s is a part of this, who we have worked with for many years. A BIG thank you must go to our newly formed PTA. Their efforts this term, all voluntary, has been very much appreciated. This week alone they made a grotto in the School Lodge, dressed up as elves, whilst we had a special visit from Father Christmas. He read stories to most year groups. Presents were provided for all children - thank you for supporting this through parent pay (if you haven’t already there is still time to do this). They have lots of plans for the New Year, please look out for information in the newsletter and on Facebook. Unfortunately, last week we were made aware that some children from our school were seen on the Botanic Garden’s lake when it was frozen over. We have spoken to the children in school, both in classes and assembly, as well as posting messages on Facebook. Please remind your children that they should NOT be on the lake under any circumstances (see water safety poster below). Finally, I would like to wish you a very Merry Christmas! The children will be coming home tired, but excited for the time ahead. We are fully aware that the Christmas period can be hard for families for many reasons. Attached to this newsletter are support networks that may help if required. We look forward to seeing you in the New Year, Thursday 5 th January 2023, for the start of
term.
BUDDY ASSEMBLY GROUPS Each week in the ‘Friday Praise Assembly’ we have been checking the totals of the Buddy assembly groups. Classes and children gain points for super behaviour.
ATTENDANCE The statistics below show what impact a child’s attendance can have on their learning. Attendance during one school year
equals this number of days absent
which is approximately this many weeks absent
which means this number of lessons missed 50 lessons 100 lessons 150 lessons 200 lessons
1st
272
Green Team
2nd
260
Blue Team
95% 90%
9 days 19 days
2 weeks 4 weeks
3rd
254
Red Team
85%
29 days
6 weeks
4th
251
Yellow Team
80%
38 days
8 weeks
Attendance is monitored weekly and if your child’s attendance falls below 90%, they are classed as a persistent absentee and Mrs Welsh will notify you.