World Book Day...

is on Thursday with a raft of activities taking place during the day. Mr. Howe has sent out all the details but here's a quick summary:

For the whole week:

• The library will open at 8.30am so families may enjoy sharing stories with their children.

On Wednesday:

• Our Patron of Reading, Karen Langtree, will be leading writing workshops with Yr 4 in the morning  Yr 2 in the afternoon.

On Thursday:

• It's a fancy dress day on the theme of nursery rhymes and fairy tales
• In the evening there'll be our ever popular Stories at Bedtime.

The Arctic Blast-Beast from the East

Just when we thought Winter was over we are facing the coldest week of the year with "significant" snow expected. We are proud that we have never had to close due to poor weather but, at the same time, mindful that five teachers do not live locally and they need to be safe when travelling to school. However, there are plenty of staff living within walking distance to open up and supervise children until we arrive. At the moment we don't know how bad this snow and ice is going to be so please check phones during the days ahead just in case we have to cancel clubs.

Governor Open Day

We were delighted to welcome Reverend Child, Mr. Crossley and Mrs Beck into school last Thursday. As most of the classes were having a mapping day, Mr. Crossley in particular was impressed with the progress he saw from year to year. They commented on enthusiastic children and enthusiastic teachers then had a conversation with the School Council who were equally complimentary about the school. There were one or two suggestions made by the children that the Governors passed on and the Councillors explained their plastic straws campaign. All teachers and classes were visited, even my morning maths group! We are hoping to have another Governors' Open Day in the Summer term.

School Excursions

It's our belief that visiting museums, galleries, places of interest and having visitors coming to school makes learning so much more real and exciting for children. We try to keep the cost of our trips as low as possible but, occasionally, when hiring buses and engaging experts for workshops, the cost increases. It's a sad fact that our school is not able to pay for children but budgets are increasingly tight. Everything, from the cost of having our bins emptied to staff salaries, increases annually. 

We therefore appeal to you to help us to meet that cost in whatever way you can. All contributions are voluntary so do not need to be the full amount charged. A recent excursion has brought this to our attention as we've struggled to cover the cost.  If the school continues to make losses on the cost of future trips we will have to limit excursions to Seaburn and the beach only, which is a great shame when we have such a wealth of regional resources.

Magical Mystery Trip

Don't forget that to achieve this end of year treat attendance needs to be at least 96%, uniform needs to be in green, which includes having PE in school for lessons, reading is expected to take place on 6 days out of 7 and behaviour and attitudes green across the year.

PE Kit

I've noticed an increasing number of children sitting at the side of PE lessons. PE is part of the National Curriculum so all children are expected to participate. Of course, if your child has a genuine medical reason (e.g broken or fractured limb, recent surgery) then exceptions are made. We would expect all children to have their kits in school between Monday and Friday, ensure they put their kits back in their bags (the amount of clothing and footwear abandoned in cloakrooms is astonishing) and take responsibility for their own clothing and equipment.