🎄 Christmas Reminders

Hello Families

With only over a week to go until the end of the first term, I know some of you have a few questions about the next 8 school days, so I will try my best to answer them here. Please do get in touch if you have any further queries.

Christmas Jumpers

We are not joining in with Christmas Jumper Day this year. I am very aware that we have already had a number of charity days in school, and I don’t want to put any further pressure on family budgets at this challenging time. Many of the charity days also encourage people to wear special items, which is another cost to everyone. We will be alternating some charity days from one year to the next in future. The children are more than welcome to wear a Christmas jumper on the last day of term (Friday 18th December) for Party Day.

Party Day

We are having our parties on the last Friday (18th) this year, and please, please, please don’t forget that this day is an early finish. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, we will continue to stagger the finish times and these will be:

1.25pm - Reception, Year 3 and Year 5

1.30pm - Nursery and Year 1

1.35pm - Year 2, Year 4 and Year 6

• The school kitchen will be making the food this year, and we will provide the little extras too.

• Children do not need to bring their lunch with them on this day, as this year the school is covering the cost of paid meals and those children on packed lunches.

• So the children only need to remember their special outfit (non-uniform day) and their excitement (I’m sure they won’t need reminding).

Nativity

The virtual nativity is ready and will be shared with families next week.

Christmas Cards

A reminder that children who wish to send Christmas cards must only do so with people in their bubble, and that they need to be in school by the end of Friday (11th).

Christmas Gifts

We really don’t expect gifts, but for those of you who really wish to, please ensure that these are brought in by the children (not handed over by adults), and by Tuesday 15th December so they can be quarantined.

All Saints Church

We have added the various church services to the school calendar, and please check the church website for more information. A busy time of year for Father Andrew.

Test and Trace

Please ensure that if your child receives a positive test result in the holidays you will need to inform NHS Test and Trace, and also notify us too. It is extremely important that we help identify people who need to self-isolate, as well as knowing who might need remote learning when we return. You can email us to let us know outside of working hours.

This time of year is always a very busy one, but this time it is even more complicated. Thank you for your patience and understanding, we really do know how hard it can be to organise yourselves and the children with school dates and notices.

Mr. J. Sharp

Head Teacher

🧪 School Infection Survey Update - 12.11.2020

Hello

I wanted to give you all a quick update on the testing that occurred in school on Monday.

Good news!! There were no positive cases from the 80 tests conducted.

The positive test result within the Year 6 bubble this week was not connected to the survey in any way. It was the result of very responsible and selfless behaviour by the individual with COVID-19 symptoms.

I know there are a range of opinions on all aspects of COVID-19 and the national response, but please can I ask that everyone remembers that school staff are working tirelessly within the national guidance and law. We are very happy to explain the steps we are taking in school to anyone who wishes to speak to us, and we are very thankful to the families that do so in a polite and compassionate manner.

Finding positive results early is vital in keeping cases low, keeping everyone as healthy as we can and therefore keeping the school open for as much as possible for the rest of the year. Leaving undiagnosed positive results in the community and school will not stop the children from self-isolating. If anyone comes into school with COVID-19, and it is not identified, then it is only a matter of time before it spreads to others, including the staff. If we get to that position then multiple bubbles could be sent home and regularly.

There is another round of testing at the end of this month and the links for registering are still live and can be used at anytime to join the survey.

Thank you for your support and I encourage anyone not yet involved to register.

Mr. J. Sharp

Head Teacher

🧪 School Infection Survey Update

Hello

I wanted to give you all a quick update on the testing that occurred in school yesterday.

The children completed their swab tests calmly and sensibly and with little fuss. The staff completed their swabs in school and we all had varied experiences taking our own blood samples for the adult antibody tests at home (even I managed it).

If a positive COVID-19 result is identified, the individual and the school will be notified within 24-48 hours and the usual procedures will kick in relating to self isolation. For negative and void results the school are not notified and the individual won’t be notified for a few weeks. So no news is good news.

Antibody test results are a simple yes/no result and they will be sent to individuals only and in about 4-6 weeks time.

There is another round of testing at the end of this month and the links for registering are still live and can be used at anytime to join the survey.

I know there have been some mistakes made by the survey organisation in terms of registration and we are feeding these issues back to them.

Thank you for your support and I encourage anyone not yet involved to register.

Mr. J. Sharp

Head Teacher

👨‍👩‍👦 Parents' Meetings Update

Hello

I wanted to update you on the parent phone meetings that are now taking place. I must say that I am very worried that many children do not have a parent who has booked a meeting at the present time.

Currently, we have 104 children who have a meeting booked about their progress, which leaves 126 children who do not.

It is vital that school and home work together to help provide the best possible education and start for all the children, indeed the children spend a lot more time at home during a year than they do in school. It has been proven beyond doubt that the children who are supported the most at home learn more, and make better progress than those who are supported the least.

If you are struggling to book an appointment or have now missed the meetings for your class, please contact Mrs. Mason in the school office and she will be able to help you. We now have 72% of children with a parent logged into Arbor Parent Portal which is good news, but we still have a little way to go. We will be contacting families who aren’t yet logged in or booked a parents meeting appointment to see how we can help.

I know that technology can be difficult to use for the first time and that life can be busy, but the children only get once chance at education and I don’t want them to miss out on any future happiness.

Please get in touch if you need any help.

Thank you.

Mr. J. Sharp

Head Teacher

⚽️ 🏃🏽‍♀️ After School Sports Clubs Suspended

Dear Parents/Carers

I am incredibly sad to inform you that the DfE released guidance yesterday instructing schools to suspend after school clubs that were not in place for childcare purposes. Please see the DfE paragraph below.

Schools are able to work with external coaches, clubs and organisations for curricular activities where they are satisfied that it is safe to do so. Where schools are offering extra-curricular activities (that is, before and after school clubs) they should only do so where it is reasonably necessary to support parents to work, search for work, or undertake training or education, or where the provision is being used for the purposes of respite care.

Therefore, Monday’s Athletics club for Year 4 and Wednesday’s Football club for Year 5 will not take place until further notice starting immediately.

We will get in touch with you all as soon as the restrictions are due to be lifted, to tell you what our plans are.

All sports activities within the school day will continue, so One Goal and City in the Community sessions will carry on. Breakfast Club and Windsor Road After School Club are not affected.

I know this is another body blow and I feel really sorry for the children, who I know absolutely love the sessions.

Many apologies and thanks

Mr. J. Sharp

Head Teacher

🇪🇺 EU Citizens Settlement Scheme

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🏊🏽‍♀️ Swimming Cancelled During Lockdown

To Year 4 Families

We received this message from MCR Active who run our schools swimming programme:

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In light of the recent Government announcement of a further lockdown from Thursday 5thNovember, it comes with great regret that we have to once again close the programme due to the leisure industry having to close down. As swimming is compulsory on the national curriculum we thought we would have had justifiable reasons for school swimming to still take place, but unfortunately this is not the case due to the fact the leisure centres are public places and schools would have to leave their premises to get there. 

This is an awful blow for the programme and the impact this is having on our pupils learning an important life skill, please be assured that we are already looking at contingency plans to try and ensure we deliver a full programme once we’re allowed to open back up.

Once we are clear that the lockdown will end on 2nd December I will back in touch regarding starting the programme back up at the most appropriate time.

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We really hope that the restrictions on swimming do not last too long as it is a crucial part of our children’s education (as well as something we know many children look forward to).

When we receive more information, we will immediately pass it on to you all.

Thank you again for your understanding and patience.

Mr. J. Sharp

Head Teacher

🧪 Signing up for the School Infection Survey

Dear Parents/Carers

Here are details on how to enrol your child in the School Infection Survey, which as I mentioned previously, will involve the children who we have consent for being tested for COVID-19 and antibodies every half term.

This helps explain how the tests will be conducted with younger children.

This video helps explain the process for testing children in school who are in KS2.

We have scheduled test dates for the 9th and 10th of November and if required (dependant on numbers) the 11th November (next week).

You need to register prior to 5:00pm on Thursday 5th November.

Unique school code is 105505 and we will text families the link to sign in.

Parents need to register themselves first.

• You must select NO to the Student and Staff Yes/No questions at the first registration page this will direct you to the Parents area of the portal. It’s your name to use at this stage of registration .

• You will then receive an email to confirm registration to validate your email addresses. This could go into Junk mail so it is important you check there.

You are then able to register your child. This is when you need to enter the child’s name and our Schools unique reference code (105505).

• There will then be an enrolment questionnaire, child information questionnaire and a questionnaire regarding the household.

When you get to ‘my impact’ page, the process is all completed.

If parents don’t complete stage one of registration to validate their email it shows on the system that numbers of parents registered but did not register the child.

In summary, the process is three steps:

• sign up get the validation

• complete the enrolment

• then click the button to say registered.

If you have any questions then please get in touch ASAP. The deadline is only three days away so please try and enrol today if you wish your child to participate.

I encourage as many children to take part as possible so that we have a better picture of COVID-19 infections in school, which we can then use to improve our risk assessment.

Thank you for your ongoing support

Mr. J. Sharp

Head Teacher

🐛 Threadworm Cases in School

To all families

It has been brought to our attention that we may have cases of threadworm in school. It isn’t usually serious, but as you can see below it is not very pleasant to have.

Further information can be found by visiting the NHS website using this link https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/threadworms/

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Threadworms are common but are not usually serious. Threadworms infect the gut and lay eggs around your anus which causes itch. Treatment usually includes me...

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If your child is infected, then please get the relevant advice and treatment necessary by visiting your local chemist. You do not need to visit your GP. Threadworm doesn’t require children to have time off school but treatment must be started immediately. 

Please note that this is highly contagious and if a member of your family does have them then the whole family needs to be treated even if you aren’t displaying symptoms.

Thank you very much for your support in this matter.

Mr. Sharp

Head Teacher

🗞 Reminders 12.10.2020

Dear Parents/Carers

I thought I would highlight a few reminders for this week, as there are quite a few things to remember:

1 - Due to staffing shortages, there will be no crossing patrol on Culcheth Lane for 2 weeks.

2 - It is individual photographs on Wednesday this week. Sadly, due to COVID-19, this year we can not include siblings who do not attend our school. On this occasion, If your child has P.E. on Wednesday please can they come to school in their uniform and then they can change for P.E. later.

3 - Please remember to send in an offering for Harvest on Wednesday. The newsletter sent out last Friday explains what we are collecting.

4 - Please remember that it is Show Racism the Red Card 🟥 on Friday. The children can wear red on Friday if they bring in a £1 donation per family. We will continue to take cash for non-uniform and charity days as the money can be stored away before being counted.

Please don't worry if you are not able to find clothing that exactly matches the colour theme of the charity days. We know that family finances can be tough and we certainly do not want to add to any pressures. Even a small accessory is fine. For charity days and our own non-uniform days, we suggest £1 per family. For our school fund, the money is used to help provide extra things for the children, and this year our school council will be deciding on what it will be spent on. Any contributions will be greatly received and the children will report back to you on what they have spent it on. Again, we know some of you may be experiencing money difficulties at this challenging time, so please give what you can afford.

Thank you in advance for what is a busy week.

Mr. Sharp

Head Teacher

Letter to Families from Manchester City Council

⚠️ Zig-Zag Lines Parking

Parenting Support Virtual Drop-in

Wednesday 22th July 2pm

Is your 5 year old talking non-stop or shouting every time you are trying to work or speak on the phone?   

Are you feeling like a broken record because your children just don't listen?  

Are they saying 'NO' to every request you are making, such as doing their school work?

Are they having more tantrums and melt-downs than usual?

If you would like to learn how to help your children with the above behaviours and more, please do come along to this supportive drop-in which will be led by a Family Learning tutor, and meet other parents who are in a similar situation to you and share your dilemmas and ideas. 

Please use the link below to sign up to the drop-in session

This session is delivered by Family Learning and will take place on Wednesday 22 July at 2 pm. Please write your name and email address so the tutor can send you the link to the online meeting.

ELSA Support Summer Challenge

Letter to Parents/Carers from Manchester City Council

Coronavirus Toolkit - Return to School

Parenting Support Virtual Drop-in

Wednesday 8 July 1.30 pm

Is your 5 year old talking non-stop or shouting every time you are trying to work or speak on the phone?   

Are you feeling like a broken record because your children just don't listen?  

Are they saying 'NO' to every request you are making, such as doing their school work?

Are they having more tantrums and melt-downs than usual?

If you would like to learn how to help your children with the above behaviours and more, please do come along to this supportive drop-in which will be led by a Family Learning tutor, and meet other parents who are in a similar situation to you and share your dilemmas and ideas. 

Please use the link below to sign up to the drop-in session

This session is delivered by Family Learning and will take place on Wednesday 8 July at 1.30 pm. Please write your name and email address so the tutor can send you the link to the online meeting.

Parenting Support Virtual Drop-in

Wednesday 1 July at 2pm

Is your 5 year old talking non-stop or shouting every time you are trying to work or speak on the phone?   

Are you feeling like a broken record because your children just don't listen?  

Are they saying 'NO' to every request you are making, such as doing their school work?

Are they having more tantrums and melt-downs than usual?

If you would like to learn how to help your children with the above behaviours and more, please do come along to this supportive drop-in which will be led by a Family Learning tutor, and meet other parents who are in a similar situation to you and share your dilemmas and ideas. 

Please use the link below to sign up to the drop-in session

This session is delivered by Family Learning and will take place on Wednesday 1 July at 2 pm. Please write your name and email address so the tutor can send you the link to the online meeting.

Family Learning Science Drop - in Tuesday 30 June at 11 am

Science Drop - in 

Tuesday 30 June at 11 am

Would you like some tips on how to support your child with Science activities sent home from school?

Do you want to know more about what Science topics and skills are covered in primary school? Would you like some suggestions for Science activities to try at home with your children? 

Do you want sources of further information and activities suitable for your child?

If you would like to ask specific questions regarding your child's Science activities, please do come along to this supportive drop-in which will be led by a tutor from Family Learning, and meet other parents.

Just fill in the form below:

This session is delivered by Family Learning and will take place on Tuesday 30th June at 11 am. Please write your name and email address so the tutor can send you the link to the online meeting.

Parenting Support Virtual Drop-in - Wednesday 24th June at 2pm

Is your 5 year old talking non-stop or shouting every time you are trying to work or speak on the phone?   

Are you feeling like a broken record because your children just don't listen?  

Are they saying 'NO' to every request you are making, such as doing their school work?

Are they having more tantrums and melt-downs than usual?

If you would like to learn how to help your children with the above behaviours and more, please do come along to this supportive drop-in which will be led by a Family Learning tutor, and meet other parents who are in a similar situation to you and share your dilemmas and ideas. 

Please use the link below to sign up to the drop-in session

This session is delivered by Family Learning and will take place on Wednesday 24th June at 2 pm. Please write your name and email address so the tutor can send you the link to the online meeting.