Christmas Events - December 2024

All of the school have been busy decorating our trees again this year as we spread our Christmas spirit with families and our community - we cannot wait to share our Christmas Fair with our families and community this year too. We have also been decorating the inside of school and our classrooms as we prepare for the Christmas holidays.

Year 3 and 4 have been to Heathfield Church to Experience Christmas and some Year 6 pupils are joining Christ the King in their Carol Service later this week.

We have lots of things to look forward to this next week in the lead up to Christmas (see below for details). We hope to share many of these with you. 

Monday 18th December 9.30am

Carol Service for whole school in the Hall (pupils only) led by Pupil Chaplains

Monday 18th December 3pm

Carols on the KS1 Yard for Parents

Tuesday 19th December 10am

EYFS Nativity (supported by Years 1,2,3,5 and Choir) - spaces are limited to EYFS parents / family members

Tuesday 19th December 2pm

EYFS Nativity (supported by Years 1,2,4,6 and Choir) - spaces are limited to EYFS parents / family members

Tuesday 19th December 3pm

Carols on the KS2 Yard for Parents

Wednesday 20th December

Nursery Trip to Z-Arts for a Christmas Show

Thursday 21st December - Party Day!

Christmas Dinner Day - Children invited to wear Christmas Jumpers and Outfits.

Please don’t forget to order you child’s Christmas Dinner on Orian’s SchoolHub as soon as possible.

Friday 22nd December 

School closes at 1.30pm. Children may come in their own clothes.

Please get in touch if you have any questions at all.

Thank you,

Mrs Flatman

🗞 Newsletter 08.12.2023

Hope, Peace, Joy and Love

I received another lovely message from Heathfield Church this week telling me how well-behaved, well-mannered and polite Year 3 and 4 were when they visited.

In assembly this week, we learned more about advent, and reflected on the meaning of the Sundays that lead up to Christmas Day in the Christian calendar.

Each candle lit on the four Sundays leading up to Christmas Day symbolise Hope, Peace, Joy and Love.

As well as decorating trees and our rooms, we want to reflect on these hugely important values.

With the chocolates and toys in modern advent calendars, it is very easy to forget the Christmas story itself. A story of courage, hope, generosity and celebration.

It is the values behind religious stories that are so important to us in school, how we can all reflect upon them and what lessons we can learn in how we live our own lives.

NEWS AND UPDATES

Take a look at Year 6’s amazing Van Gosh inspired artwork. The work is amazing!

Parent Portal

Use this for updating contact details, child medical information, permissions, payments and seeing your child’s reports.

Click here to log in

---

Please ensure your child is wearing the correct uniform for P.E. days

🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨

Please ensure your child is wearing the correct uniform for P.E. days 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨

---

Good Attendance Draw!!

Don’t forget, for every week that your child has an attendance of 96%+, they are allocated a digital ticket for a draw that will take place every half term. The more weeks with an attendance of 96%+, the more chances to win!

---

Services and Events

Parish Sung Eucharist Sundays 10am - 11am

Sermon, music and Holy Communion

Place of Welcome Thursdays 10am - 12pm

Time for a brew and a chat

More information from Father Andrew can be found here

Click here to visit the church website

Messy Church

It typically includes a welcome, a long creative time to explore the biblical theme through getting messy; a short celebration time involving story, prayer, song, games and similar; and a sit-down meal together at tables.

---

Community News and Support

Scroll through the items below

---

Keeping our Hands Clean

As we go into winter, common illnesses can keep children and teenagers away from their classmates and studies. One of the best things we can all do to avoid illness is to practice good hand hygiene.

Good hand hygiene helps stop infections from spreading, which means less disrupted learning time.

Teach your child to wash hands properly for 20 seconds and stay away from others when sick. The e-bug resources for all ages can help you to explain and discuss hygiene habits – and why they are important - to your child or teenager.

To avoid catching bugs or passing it on to others wash your hands frequently and thoroughly with soap and warm water. This is most important following an episode of diarrhoea or vomiting, after using the toilet, before eating or preparing food, after changing nappies, as well as cleaning up vomit or diarrhoea. Alcohol-based hand sanitisers are not effective against some infections.

Anyone who has diarrhoea and/or vomiting should stay at home. Do not return to work or send children to school until 48 hours after the symptoms have stopped and do not visit your GP or hospital while symptomatic. If you are concerned about your symptoms, talk to your GP by phone, contact NHS 111 or visit the NHS web pages. For useful handwashing tips please have a look at the following NHS video

---

World Festivals and Celebrations

Hanukkah is the Jewish Festival of Lights, which celebrates the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem after it was recaptured from the Syrian Greeks by the Maccabee brothers in about 162 BCE. For the eight evenings of the festival, candles are lit from right to left in a hanukkiah, a nine-branched menorah – one candle for each evening. The ninth candle is the shamash (the servant candle) from which the other candles are lit.

Foods cooked with oil – such as doughnuts and latkes (potato cakes) – are traditional to remember the miracle with oil that kept the Temple lights burning so many years ago. A game of dreidel, a special, small, spinning top, is popular with children to commemorate ‘the great miracle that happened there/here’.

Like many Jewish festivals this is a time for celebrating freedom and independence. The positioning of the lighted candles in the window is an expression of liberty, and the giving of small presents to children each day underlines the role of the family in planning for the future they might not have had.

---

---

Article 13: Sharing Thoughts Freely

Everyone has the human right to express themselves, and Article 13 of the UNCRC makes it clear that this includes children and young people. Part of this right of freedom of expression involves being able to find out information for yourself— so you’re able to share it in the way you want.

People can express themselves in all kinds of different ways, and the right to freedom of expression covers them all. These ways include things like:

talking out loud,

posting things on the internet, and

writing things for a book or newspaper.

As other articles of the UNCRC make clear, a child or young person should be able to express themselves regardless of their religion or culture.

People should take special care to make sure that children and young people with disabilities can express themselves. One way they can do this is through making sure information is easy for people with disabilities to read, access and respond to.

Farewell to Mrs Knight

Mrs Knight, our Business Manager, is leaving us this week after working with us over the past year. She is moving on to a new role and we wish her all the best for the future.

I would also like to thank her for all the support and work she has provided with the building, grounds, finances and administration.

Thank you Mrs Knight

---

Email Mr Sharp

I’m really not surprised to hear praise about our children, but it is always lovely to receive it. Both Khizra Mosque and Heathfield Church have been very complimentary about how polite and well-behaved our children have been. I feel very proud of the children, and thankful that they show such respect and care for others.

We will have had our second class assembly in two weeks today, and I am very much looking forward to seeing Year 5’s later. Year 6 put on an excellent showcase of their learning last week, and I really would encourage everyone to watch the video earlier in the newsletter showing their artwork. Incredible standard.

We also had a visit today from the Local Authority as they are very concerned about the attendance levels of some children. Sadly, our school has some of the lowest attendance figures in the city. We will be working closely with Manchester City Council on bringing up attendance levels, particularly for children who are around 90% and lower.

Only two weeks left before we finish for the Christmas holidays at 1.30pm on Friday 22nd December. There is still lots to do before the end of term, and we are now around 1/3 of the way through the whole school year.

Enjoy the weekend everyone.

---

Most recent news:

---

Most recent Parent News:

---

🎄 Newsletter 01.12.2023

Looking Back and Forward

The image above gives an idea of what our previous school (1854 - 1964) would have looked like on All Saints’ Street.

As you may know by now, I find the history of our school, our church and Newton Heath fascinating. However, this doesn’t mean that we are stuck in the past at All Saints.

Just recently we have updated some of our IT, and with the installation of LED lighting in the next couple of weeks, we are taking further steps into the future.

There are certain things that don’t (and I hope won’t) change, in that the children are treated as individuals, shown care, provided with safety and security and challenged to be best they can be.

Teaching and learning principles don’t really change either. Find out what they know, show them how to do it, get them to practise, feed back improvements…and repeat. However, within these things, there are always changes in delivery. At the moment it is AI (artificial intelligence) which is being developed, but we must ensure it doesn’t lead to artificial learning.

NEWS AND UPDATES

A short animation about the people who help us make safer journeys and support people after a road crash.

Parent Portal

Use this for updating contact details, child medical information, permissions, payments and seeing your child’s reports.

Click here to log in

---

📲 Please ensure we always have correct contact details 📧

🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨

📲 Please ensure we always have correct contact details 📧 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨

---

Good Attendance Draw!!

Don’t forget, for every week that your child has an attendance of 96%+, they are allocated a digital ticket for a draw that will take place every half term. The more weeks with an attendance of 96%+, the more chances to win!

---

Services and Events

Parish Sung Eucharist Sundays 10am - 11am

Sermon, music and Holy Communion

Place of Welcome Thursdays 10am - 12pm

Time for a brew and a chat

More information from Father Andrew can be found here

Click here to visit the church website

Messy Church

It typically includes a welcome, a long creative time to explore the biblical theme through getting messy; a short celebration time involving story, prayer, song, games and similar; and a sit-down meal together at tables.

---

Community News and Support

Scroll through the items below

---

READ MORE

---

World Festivals and Celebrations

Advent means ‘Coming’.

It heralds the start of the Christian year, and commences on the fourth Sunday before Christmas. It is often celebrated by lighting the first candle in the advent crown – a circular wreath of greenery. A further three candles are lit on subsequent Sundays, culminating with the Christmas candle on the 25th of December. Together these signify the transition from darkness to light, the light of Jesus coming into the world.

There are several ways that Advent is counted down but the most common is by a calendar or candles. There are many types of calendars used in different countries. The most common ones in the UK and USA are made of paper or card with 24 or 25 little windows. One of these is opened each day in December and a Christmas picture is displayed underneath.

For Christians Advent is a time of preparation for and reflection on the mystery of the incarnation. It is observed through private prayer and self-discipline and its aim is to ready the believer for celebrating at Christmas the miracle of God’s taking human form.

---

---

Article 12: Respect for Children’s Views

One of the things the UNCRC does is to make it clear that human rights apply to children and young people as much they do to adults.

Children and young people don’t have as much power as adults. They can’t vote, and they don’t have as much money. But Article 12 says they still have the human right to have opinions and for these opinions to be heard and taken seriously.

It says that the opinions of children and young people should be considered when people make decisions about things that involve them. Their opinions shouldn’t be dismissed out of hand on the grounds of age. They should be taken seriously, with their evolving capacities taken into account.

Article 12 also says children and young people should be given the information they need to make good decisions.

Piano in Need of New Home

As we move back into the hall, we have decided that it would be best to find a new home for the piano.

It is rarely used in school as we use different ways of accompanying singing compared to the past where a teacher would always be playing the piano.

The piano does work and with a good clean and some TLC it could be useful to someone. We are happy to donate the piano for free on a first come first served basis, but the person taking it would need to arrange collection (remembering how heavy pianos are).

Please contact Mrs Mason in the office if you are interested.

---

Email Mr Sharp

I was delighted to see parents and carers able to come in to school for meetings with the teachers this week. These meetings are so important in sharing vital information about each child is progressing in school, and also for us to learn more about each individual.

I was also so happy to watch Year 6’s brilliant class assembly yesterday. They are the first class to host one in the hall this year, and made excellent use of our new interactive screen to showcase their amazing learning. One particular thing that impressed me (amongst many others) was the standard of their artwork. I definitely would like to share some of these in the next newsletter.

Even with the bitterly cold weather at the moment, there are a number of visits coming up. Year 6 are currently spectators at a Taekwondo event, Nursery are going to theatre and there are Experience Christmas events at Heathfield Church for Years 3 and 4 too.

As it is the 1st December, Christmas decorations are going up in school and the countdown begins (if it hasn’t already started for many) to the festive holidays. It is always a busy time of year with lots going on in school and at home, and we will be focusing on the messages of Hope, Peace, Joy and Love that each of the four Sundays before Christmas represent. Whatever anyone’s personal beliefs, I can’t imagine that there would be disagreement about how important these values are.

Thank you for your continued support.

---

Most recent news:

---

Most recent Parent News:

---

🎭 Newsletter 24.11.2023

Back Together

After an exhausting and at times frustrating nearly 3 months, we are properly back in our hall. It feels a little emotional to see the whole school together, and what an exciting first time out it is for many children.

The noises from the hall at the moment as the children enjoy watching Beauty and the Beast really show the excitement levels.

I apologise if the children are a little wired tonight, but I’m sure many of them will have something to say when asked ‘What did you do at school today?’

Children have also restarted their P.E. lessons in the hall and also for lunches too.

Thank you to everyone for their support in reopening our hall safely, and my thoughts go out to the children in schools with RAAC who are facing ongoing disruptions.

NEWS AND UPDATES

A short animation about the people who help us make safer journeys and support people after a road crash.

Parent Portal

Use this for updating contact details, child medical information, permissions, payments and seeing your child’s reports.

Click here to log in

---

⏰ START TIMES: 8.45am - Nursery, Reception, Year 4 & Year 6 ⏰ 8.50am - Year 1, Year 2, Year 3 and Year 5 ⏰

🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨

⏰ START TIMES: 8.45am - Nursery, Reception, Year 4 & Year 6 ⏰ 8.50am - Year 1, Year 2, Year 3 and Year 5 ⏰ 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨

---

Good Attendance Draw!!

Don’t forget, for every week that your child has an attendance of 96%+, they are allocated a digital ticket for a draw that will take place every half term. The more weeks with an attendance of 96%+, the more chances to win!

---

Services and Events

Parish Sung Eucharist Sundays 10am - 11am

Sermon, music and Holy Communion

Place of Welcome Thursdays 10am - 12pm

Time for a brew and a chat

More information from Father Andrew can be found here

Click here to visit the church website

Messy Church

It typically includes a welcome, a long creative time to explore the biblical theme through getting messy; a short celebration time involving story, prayer, song, games and similar; and a sit-down meal together at tables.

---

Community News and Support

---

Year 5 Visit to Khizra Mosque ☪️

Year 5 had a fantastic morning visiting the Khizra Mosque. They learned about the five pillars of Islam and what each one meant. They also got chance to look at the dome and how it increases the volume of the sound.

I wasn’t surprised to hear that the people at the mosque felt that our children were the best behaved and most knowledgeable that had visited, but it still makes me very proud and appreciative. Well done Year 5.

It is a very important part of our school ethos and curriculum that the children learn as much about the wider world in which they are growing up in, and to promote understanding about differences and similarities between all religions and viewpoints.

---

World Festivals and Celebrations

Road Safety Week is Brake's biggest road safety campaign. Every year, thousands of schools, organisations and communities get involved to share important road safety messages, remember people affected by road death and injury, and raise funds to help Brake care for more road victims and campaign for safe roads for everyone.

We all drive too fast sometimes...

"I didn’t notice I was going so fast!"

"Everyone else is doing it so why can’t I?"

"A few miles an hour won’t make much difference will it?"

But every time we driver faster than the speed limit, or too fast for the road conditions, we increase the risk of a crash – and we increase the chance that someone we love will be killed or hurt on a road.

Whoever you are, however you travel, We need to talk about SPEED.

---

---

Article 11: Protection from Kidnapping

Article 11 of the UNCRC says children and young people shouldn’t be taken from their home country against their will. If this does happen, the government of their home country should make sure they can return.

The Article also makes it clear that nobody should take a child or young person from their home country for personal gain. They shouldn’t be abducted by anyone, including their parents. Countries should have agreements in place to make sure abducted children and young people can get home.

Piano in Need of New Home

As we move back into the hall, we have decided that it would be best to find a new home for the piano.

It is rarely used in school as we use different ways of accompanying singing compared to the past where a teacher would always be playing the piano.

The piano does work and with a good clean and some TLC it could be useful to someone. We are happy to donate the piano for free on a first come first served basis, but the person taking it would need to arrange collection (remembering how heavy pianos are).

Please contact Mrs Mason in the office if you are interested.

---

Email Mr Sharp

It has been great to see the pleasure and excitement of everyone going back into the hall this week. It will have been the first time for some children, and also the first time as a whole school too. It is also very reassuring to know that the ceiling is safe. We actually have a more efficient, brighter and safer room as a result of the safety deck that has been installed.

While the work has taken place, we have also looked at new ways of doing things including the removal of the projector and the installation of replacement mobile interactive screen that can be used for services, assemblies and also lessons too. It has also given us the opportunity for another clear out, and another skip filled.

I hope the parents who attended the Dough and Doughnuts session on Wednesday took home lots of good ideas for Parenting through Play. Practical games and activities are so important in supporting children with social skills, language development, confidence and many other things.

With the pantomime, photographs, trips, taekwondo sessions, the hall on top of the usual timetable, it’s been a busy week, but a very productive one.

Enjoy the weekend.

---

Most recent news:

---

Most recent Parent News:

---

💡 Newsletter 16.11.2023

School Hall

As I am writing this week’s newsletter, the contractors are removing their equipment, making last minute adjustments and cleaning up before handing the hall back tomorrow morning.

I am really pleased with the outcome of the work and we now have a safer, more efficient and certainly brighter hall.

As part of the changes, we have not replaced the projector and instead purchased a portable screen which we think will help improve assemblies, services and teaching groups of children.

The period without the hall has shown what an important space it is for not just learning, but definitely for coming together and we can’t wait for next week.

NEWS AND UPDATES

Say hello to the new National Online Safety mobile application. Created by experts, developed by us.

With all our online safety knowledge available at your fingertips, the National Online Safety app empowers parents and teachers to understand and address online safeguarding risks – any time, anywhere.

Parent Portal

Use this for updating contact details, child medical information, permissions, payments and seeing your child’s reports.

Click here to log in

---

⏰ START TIMES: 8.45am - Nursery, Reception, Year 4 & Year 6 ⏰ 8.50am - Year 1, Year 2, Year 3 and Year 5 ⏰

🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨

⏰ START TIMES: 8.45am - Nursery, Reception, Year 4 & Year 6 ⏰ 8.50am - Year 1, Year 2, Year 3 and Year 5 ⏰ 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨

---

Good Attendance Draw!!

Don’t forget, for every week that your child has an attendance of 96%+, they are allocated a digital ticket for a draw that will take place every half term. The more weeks with an attendance of 96%+, the more chances to win!

---

Services and Events

Parish Sung Eucharist Sundays 10am - 11am

Sermon, music and Holy Communion

Place of Welcome Thursdays 10am - 12pm

Time for a brew and a chat

More information from Father Andrew can be found here

Click here to visit the church website

Messy Church

It typically includes a welcome, a long creative time to explore the biblical theme through getting messy; a short celebration time involving story, prayer, song, games and similar; and a sit-down meal together at tables.

---

Community News and Support

---

Newton Heath Library

These are some free books that one of our families got from the library recently.

It can be easy to forget about some local services, and the library is probably one of them. If you haven’t been for a while, please drop in… there is loads on offer for everyone.

• Books to borrow,

• Internet access,

• Story sessions for tiny tots,

• Job advice for ambitious locals,

• Knitting groups for the creative and thrifty,

• Saturday Club, Code Club and Chatter books Reading Group for young people.

The library is situated in a lovely location next to the canal which attracts visitors who come to see the canal boats and resident Canada Geese.

Regular opening times

Monday - 9am to 8pm

Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday - 9am to 5pm

Thursday - Closed

---

World Festivals and Celebrations

Held in the second week of November, Inter Faith Week aims to strengthen good interfaith relations, increase awareness of the different and distinct faith communities, and increase understanding between people of religious and non-religious beliefs.

Central to these aims is celebrating and building on the contribution which members of different faith and non-faith communities make to their neighbourhoods and to wider society.

The Week, in England, Northern Ireland and Wales, is led and supported by the Inter Faith Network for the UK but is community-led, with organisations of all types holding their own events. The Inter Faith Network’s member bodies include national faith community representative bodies; national, regional and local interfaith organisations; and educational and academic bodies with a focus on interfaith or multi-faith issues.

---

---

Article 10: Contact with Parents Across Countries

Article 10 of the UNCRC says children and young people should be able to stay in contact with and visit their parents, even if they live in different countries.

It also says children and young people should be able to live with their parents if possible and talks about the ways in which States should make this happen.

Piano in Need of New Home

As we move back into the hall, we have decided that it would be best to find a new home for the piano.

It is rarely used in school as we use different ways of accompanying singing compared to the past where a teacher would always be playing the piano.

The piano does work and with a good clean and some TLC it could be useful to someone. We are happy to donate the piano for free on a first come first served basis, but the person taking it would need to arrange collection (remembering how heavy pianos are).

Please contact Mrs Mason in the office if you are interested.

---

Farewell to Mrs Shaw

Today is Mrs Shaw’s last day with us after nearly 8 years working with us as a Lunchtime Organiser. She has been a really valuable member of the team, and we will miss her.

We all wish Mrs Shaw the very best in the future and thank her very much for all her hard work with the children and the staff.

---

Email Mr Sharp

Why don’t Head Teachers look out of the window in the morning?

So they have something to do in the afternoon. 🤭

I walked through the Year 2 classroom one morning this week and was told that some of the children were ‘being Mr Sharp’. They had books turned on their sides and were pretending to type on their computers. I asked them if that was they thought I did, and they said yes and also checking on the cameras. 🤣

They aren’t far wrong (apart from looking on the cameras), I do have to spend a lot of my time using my computer, but I try very hard to get around the classes and playgrounds every day to see where the really important work takes place. Plus, speaking to the children is a very good tonic for the more stressful parts of my role.

It is funny the perceptions children have of us as adults, and the things that are important to them and the memories they carry (good and bad). Many years ago I taught twins and apparently every Saturday morning one of them put on one of their Dad’s ties and told his brother off and put him in detention - again being Mr Sharp. Though the years at All Saints I’ve also been the guitar man, bad jokes teacher (see above) and every year many of the youngest children call me Mr Shark… and these just the ones I know about.

I had better finish now as I’ve spent too long on my computer Year 2.

Have a lovely weekend everyone.

---

Most recent news:

---

Most recent Parent News:

---

🌺 Newsletter 10.11.2023

Remember

With Armistice Day tomorrow and Remembrance Sunday this weekend, we have been reflecting on the suffering caused by war and the meaning of peace.

Our Pupil Chaplains have continued to be busy and have delivered collective worship in different classrooms.

I always think of my Great Uncle who was killed in 1942 at the age of 19, but as time passes, some people may not have close connections to people lost in war (and wouldn’t it be wonderful if everyone was in that position?).

The images above show the names of our ex-pupils who lost their lives in WW2, and we carry their memories with us in school.

NEWS AND UPDATES

Every year the country comes together for Remembrance Sunday. A period of silence is held at 11am to remember the people who have died in wars around the world.

Parent Portal

Use this for updating contact details, child medical information, permissions, payments and seeing your child’s reports.

Click here to log in

---

🧸 Next Friday it is Children in Need and everyone can come in non-uniform and have 'CRAZY' hair.

🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨

🧸 Next Friday it is Children in Need and everyone can come in non-uniform and have 'CRAZY' hair. 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨

---

Good Attendance Draw!!

Don’t forget, for every week that your child has an attendance of 96%+, they are allocated a digital ticket for a draw that will take place every half term. The more weeks with an attendance of 96%+, the more chances to win!

---

Services and Events

Parish Sung Eucharist Sundays 10am - 11am

Sermon, music and Holy Communion

Place of Welcome Thursdays 10am - 12pm

Time for a brew and a chat

More information from Father Andrew can be found here

Click here to visit the church website

Messy Church

It typically includes a welcome, a long creative time to explore the biblical theme through getting messy; a short celebration time involving story, prayer, song, games and similar; and a sit-down meal together at tables.

---

Community News and Support

---

Newton Heath Library

These are some free books that one of our families got from the library recently.

It can be easy to forget about some local services, and the library is probably one of them. If you haven’t been for a while, please drop in… there is loads on offer for everyone.

• Books to borrow,

• Internet access,

• Story sessions for tiny tots,

• Job advice for ambitious locals,

• Knitting groups for the creative and thrifty,

• Saturday Club, Code Club and Chatter books Reading Group for young people.

The library is situated in a lovely location next to the canal which attracts visitors who come to see the canal boats and resident Canada Geese.

Regular opening times

Monday - 9am to 8pm

Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday - 9am to 5pm

Thursday - Closed

---

World Festivals and Celebrations

Deepawali or Diwali, the Hindu new year’s day, is the biggest and the brightest of all Hindu festivals. It is the festival of lights: deep means ‘light’ and ‘avali’ a row’, so divali is ‘a row of lights’. It coincides with the darkest night (15th) of the lunar month of Kartik, which usually falls in late October or early November.

Divali has a special significance for Jains, as on this day in 527 BCE Mahavira gave his last teachings and at midnight attained ultimate liberation. Today temples and shrines are decorated, often with toys and images of animals, and Jains meditate on the teaching he gave on this day. Many devout followers fast for the two days of Divali, following the example of Mahavira. Lamps are lit and children are given sweets by their parents, though the songs, dances and noise of Hindu celebrations are not common amongst the Jain communities. Jain business people traditionally start their accounting year from the day after Divali.

---

---

Article 38: Protection in War

Article 38 of the UNCRC covers how the rights of children relate to the armed forces.

When people between 15 and 18 sign up to the armed forces, priority should be given to the oldest among them.

Children and young people should never be forced to fight in the armed forces or go to war. This right covers all jobs in a war, so doesn’t just apply to soldiers.

---

Hall Ceiling Update

We should be back in next Friday!!

Our new hall ceiling is coming on really well and we are approaching the final stages now.

All the wooden supports will be completed by Monday and the painter is coming in over the weekend to paint all the timber. I do think it looks pretty impressive now, and that with a bit of a dark brown staining we could have our very own Tudor hall.

Next week the electrician will be fitting the new LED light fittings and then there is the process of tidying up, moving machinery offsite and putting everything back where we need it.

---

Email Mr Sharp

I have a feeling that my local reputation is now as resident leaf blower rather than Head Teacher, and it is tough task at this time of year with all the lovely trees we have in our grounds. I was blown away (no pun intended) of the gift of a leaf sucking machine by one of our families this evening. Thank you again.

It was great to hear from Year 6 children returning from their Crucial Crew visit this morning. They had the opportunity to learn more about the importance of keeping themselves and others safe and healthy.

One of the children said on the playground today…”How is it Friday already?”. I know how they feel, but I take it as a real positive that the week is so fuil of experiences, challenges and successes that time passes without thinking about it.

Enjoy the weekend and see you all next week.

Thank you

---

Most recent news:

---

Most recent Parent News:

---