January Newsletter

Value of the Month – “Kindness: I say and do kind things”

Dates for your diary

4th January	All children return to school at the usual time Morning visits to the Gants Hill Library for class 4D and class 4C
5th January	Morning visits to the Gants Hill Library for class 5B and class 6F
11th January	Beginning of “Bring a Parent to School” sessions in Year Three classes – please speak to the class teachers in order to book a visit Morning visits to the Gants Hill Library for class 4I and class 5H
12th January	Morning visits to the Gants Hill Library for class 3J and class 6E
18th January	Morning visits to the Gants Hill Library for class 3L and class 3K School Athletics team competing in a Sportshall Athletics competition at Beal High school
19th January	Morning visits to the Gants Hill Library for class 2N and class 5A Arts trip to Somerset House today
20th January	8:40 to 9:00 – Year Three Open classrooms
22nd January	Class 2N visit to Kensington Palace today
25th January	Year Three visit to the British Museum today Morning visit to the Gants Hill Library for class 2M Beginning of “Bring a Parent to School” sessions in Year One classes – please speak to the class teachers in order to book a visit
26th January	Morning visit to the Gants Hill Library for class 2L
27th January	9:00am – meeting for parents of children in the Reception classes, in the Infant hall: “Introducing the “Bring a Parent to School” scheme
28th January	9:05am – Values assembly for parents – class 2N will be performing
29th January	9:05am – Values assembly for parents – class 3J will be performing
1st February	Morning visits to the Gants Hill Library for class 1P and class 6G
2nd February	Morning visits to the Gants Hill Library for class 1V and class 1O
3rd February	Arts trip to the Imperial War Museum
4th February	8:45 to 9:15 – Open classrooms for classes 2M and 2L
5th February	8:15 to 8:45 – Open classrooms for Year Six classes 8:45 to 9:15 – Open classroom for class 2N
9th February	8:15 to 8:45 – Open classrooms for Year Five classes Trip to Kensington Palace for class 2M and 2L
10th February	8:30 to 9:00 - Open classrooms for Year Three classes 8:30 to 9:00 - Open classrooms for Year Four classes 3:30 to 5:00pm Part One: Spring term Parent Consultations – please see your child’s class teacher to make a booking
11th February	Trip to the West Stow Village for the Year Four classes Last day of school for the children before the half tem holiday – school closes at the usual times
12th February	No classes today – school open only for Parent Consultations - please see your child’s class teacher to make a booking
22nd February	Children return to school at the usual times Beginning of “Bring a Parent to School” sessions in Reception classes – please speak to the class teachers in order to book a visit
3rd March	9:05am – Values assembly for parents in the Infant hall Class 2L visit to the Gants Hill library to celebrate world Book Day
4th March	9:05am – Values assembly for parents in the Infant hall
8th March	Year Five trip to Kensington Palace for classes 5A and 5H
Week beginning 14th March	Start of our History week
15th March	School Choir performing at the bi-annual Redbridge Music Festival at the Royal Albert Hall (7pm start)
17th March	3:30 to 4:30pm – Pop-up museum in Infant and Junior halls
18th March	2:45 to 3:15pm – Reception Open classrooms
22nd March	Nursery photos today
23rd March	Trip to Kensington Palace for class 5B
24th March	Last day of term, school closes at the usual times Non-uniform day – children choosing to come to school out of uniform ar invited to contribute £1:50 towards the School Fund
11th April	Children return to school after the Easter holidays at the usual times

Please note all dates are subject to change: check with the school in advance

News and events

Welcome back to the new school term.  We wish you and your families a happy new year, and look forward to working with you to meet our collective challenges for the rest of the school year.

• Staffing news

We can confirm the following news: 

The following members of staff will be starting their maternity leave in January:

Mrs Seal (SEN support teacher) and Mrs Hinkley (Nursery co-teacher).  Mrs Seal’s duties will be covered by Mrs Naeem, who regularly provides cover for the school.  We are still finalising the contract for Mrs Hinkley’s replacement, details of her cover will be announced shortly.

Mrs Bhandal-Tratt will be joining us in January as our new Finance Assistant.  Please join us in welcoming her to the school and make her feel welcome.

• Parent Governor vacancy

We did not receive any nominations for this vacancy on our Board of Governors when this was last announced, earlier in the year.  We therefore ask parents interested in this strategic role to speak with Mr Drew, to find out what is involved.  Nomination forms can be provided to those interested, once a conversation has been had.  More details about the function and responsibilities of the Board of Governors is available on our school website.

• Charity collections

We have been collecting money for local charities over the past term, to support meeting the needs of local vulnerable groups.

Our collection for Children in Need raised £635:51.

We collected for Barnado's (our nominated local charity) over the Christmas period.  The final total will be available shortly.  Please keep an eye on the blog for the final total.

We thank all those in our community for their generous support.

• School sports teams

We look forward to receiving our new official school sports team kits in January.  These have been paid for by our PTA, in association with our sponsor: RusselUp.  We will be taking team photos for all our sport teams as soon as the kit arrives, and displaying around the school.

For news of our teams’ successes, view our blog for news and photos.