10 Jan 2007 - Newsletter No. 3
Dear Parents
Welcome back, I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and your New Year has started well.
School Development Plan
Parents comments on the School Development Plan
Thank you very much for all the contributions you made at last term’s parents evening. The governors have reviewed every single one of your comments and considered them for inclusion in the plan.
Many of you confirmed our plans for extended school care provision and hot school meals. Both are currently being developed. The major suggestions were that consideration should be given to the following improvements :-
§ Increased sports provision, especially in after school clubs
§ Improved parking facilities and road safety, and
§ Use of electronic communications for newsletters etc
All three of these have been built in to our development plan to ensure even if we are not able to make immediate improvements, we work towards appropriate solutions.
If you have any suggestions to make then please do not hesitate to use the suggestions box in the school reception or email them to bursar@harpole.northants-ecl.gov.uk.
If you wish to see the full School Development Plan a copy is available in the information for Parent’s folder in the foyer. You may also obtain a copy by asking Mrs Capel in the office.
Andrew Doughty
Chair of Governors
As you can see from Andrew Doughty’s note, our School Development Plan is now complete. The main focus of the Development Plan is again on the Governments’ “Every Child Matters” agenda. This identifies 5 key outcomes for children. These are to:
Be healthy
Stay safe
Enjoy and achieve
Make a positive contribution
Achieve economic well-being
As a school we have taken each of these outcomes and identified what we can do to fulfil them. For example, the introduction of Hot School Meals and the Healthy Eating Tuck Shop falls under ‘be healthy’ as does the introduction of more after school sports clubs. First Aid Training for pupils in Years 4, 5 & 6 and Cycling Proficiency training for our Year 6 pupils falls under ‘stay safe’. In addition to the ‘Every Child Matters’ aspect, the School Development Plan also included a Section on Finance and Management and also Premises. Under the Premises section, two improvements identified were the replacement of the lunchtime tables and the refurbishment of the boy’s toilets in Years 5/6. Both of these have been completed.
Hot School Meals
I am delighted to say that we shall be re-introducing hot school meals after the February break. ‘Cygnet Catering’ will be providing this service. They are the County Council approved contractors. I have attached a ‘Sample Menu’ and a ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ sheet for your information. In addition, ‘Cygnet Catering’ will be offering a free tasting session on Thursday 18TH January at 3.15pm in the School Hall. You are welcome to attend and try out the food!
Activemark Award
We had some more good news at the end of last term. The school has been awarded an Activemark from the DFES/Sport England. In order to achieve this award a school must meet a number of criteria, two of which are that at least 90% of pupils undertake two hours of PE and Sport per week. Secondly, schools need to have met or bettered the national average for the range of sports it offers.
After School Sports Clubs
As requested by you and incorporated into our School Development Plan, we have organised a taster session for an After School Football Club. The Football Club will be run by qualified coaches and be aimed at children in Years 2, 3 & 4. The Club will operate similar to that of Hotshots Basketball Club in that there will be a charge of £3.50 per session. The taster session will take place on Monday 15th January. More information will follow.
Say No to Bullying
As part of our on-going PHSE work and linked to a National Government Scheme, our focus for this term is on ‘Saying No to Bullying’. The children will learn what bullying is and also how to deal with it. I have to say that we do not have a major problem with bullying within the school (only two reported incidents since September which were both dealt with immediately) however, we do not want to be complacent and bullying can often take place outside of the school setting.
School Website
We are very much aware that our School Website has not been up-dated since the summer. Unfortunately, this was due to both Mr Ayton and Mrs Robinson (our experts!) leaving at the end of the summer term. However, Miss Eyles, has been working hard on a new look Website for the school which hopefully should be up and running shortly.
Twinned Sri Lankan School
Last term both our school and Heendeliya Vidyalaya School undertook a joint arts project on our local environment. Our children have produced pictures of local houses, All Saints Church, the School and the countryside of Harpole. These have been sent to Sri Lanka. We will be putting up a large display of both school’s work in the hall. The aim is to show our children the differences between life in Sri Lanka and Harpole but also the many similarities.
In addition to the above, I have organised a Sri Lankan dance workshop for our pupils to participate in. This will be for Years 1 – 6 and will take place on Thursday 8th February. The school will cover the cost of this.
Threadworm
It has been reported to me that there was a case of Threadworm in the school prior to Christmas. This is easily treated and information is available on the Internet.
Commendation Assembly
The next Commendation Assembly will take place on the afternoon of Friday 9th February. Times will follow but the Assembly will be split into KS1 & KS2.
Yours sincerely
Terry Mortimer
Headteacher
Reminders:
Please -
- Ensure that all school uniform and other possessions, where possible, are named
- That each child has a PE Kit in school at all times
- When dropping off/picking up at school you ensure you do not park on the Zig Zag Lines, use the School Entrance or Staff Car Park
- If not already done so, ensure that all Data Collection Sheets have been returned to school by Monday 15th January.