Value of the Month – “Kindness”
Dates for your diary
10th March – 8:00 to 9:00 Fair Trade Breakfast event in Junior hall
13th March – School’s annual Film Festival to be held at the Stratford Picture house
week beginning 20th and 27th March - Year One “Bring a Parent to school” sessions
17th March – Early Years classes Easter Party – 3:15 to 5:00pm in the Infant hall
week beginning 20th March – History Week
week beginning 20th March – Reception classes “Bring a Parent to school” sessions
23rd March – Parent Values assembly – class 4C and class 6E will be performing
23rd March – Computing Exhibition from 3:30 to 4:15pm
24th March – Parent Values assembly – class 1O and class 3J will be performing
24th March – PTA Easter discos in the Infant hall – 3:15 to 5:15 for Y1, 2 and 3, 5:45 to 7:45 for Y4, 5 and 6
week beginning 27th March – Reception classes “Bring a Parent to school” sessions
30th March – Pop-up Museum after school in the school halls
31st March – last day of term – school closes at the usual times, please note this is not a non-uniform day
Some dates are subject to last minute changes; please check the school blog for regular updates
News and events
School expansion
Our negotiations with the local authority for the expansion of the school to accommodate en extra class in ach year group are progressing well. We anticipate housing a new year one class temporarily in a portable classroom outside the year two classrooms. We plan on bringing a part of the Institute’s car park temporarily into the school premises to secure the grounds for the new class. We expect building work on the new block to begin in the summer. Plans for the new build have been considered, we await confirmation from the local authority on the final proposals. The new building will be 3 stories high, include 4 classes on each floor, one each for Y5 and Y6, and house a new hall, cookery room and spare classroom on the ground floor. The new classrooms will all be considerably bigger than our present rooms. As soon as an agreed plan has been made ready we will share this with the community for feedback.
In order to accommodate more children, a new school timetable has been drafted. This will involve using all playground spaces over the lunch period and introducing split lunch breaks for the classes two key stages. This timetable is currently under consultation with members of staff. We plan on introducing this in September after a trial period in the summer.
Please speak to Mr Drew if you would like more information.
Staff changes
A number of staff changes are expected. Mrs Thakeria (Early Years Practitioner) will be leaving on 10th March and Mr Matthews (Senior Teacher) and Mrs Ryan will be both leaving at the end of term. They have all supported our school community superbly over the years and each one will be greatly missed. We wish them well for their future plans and thank them for their dedication to the school.
School budget
You may be aware that the government have been reviewing school budgets in England recently. Although the school is likely to have a marginally increased degree of funding in the coming financial year, overall budgets continue to fail to match the ever increasing costs in schools, primarily staffing expenditure. Gearies has managed its budget well and we are cushioned from many of the budget shortfalls by wise financial decisions made over previous years. We do still have to amend our budget for the coming years in anticipation of yet more real-time cuts. We are currently conducting a restructuring exercise with the staff to achieve best value for money, and staffing levels are planned to reduce over the coming years in response. We are also planning on reducing the funding spent on resources and staff training. Once firm decisions have been made, these will be communicated to you as soon as possible. Our aim is to maintain a balanced budget that supports the school in delivering the best possible support for the children, meeting everyone’s needs, and continuing to raise standards.
Film Festival finalists
Well done to the following classes who have been selected to take part in our school Film Festival finals at the Stratford Picture House on 13th March:
Class 1P, Class 2L, Class 3K, Class 4I, Class 5H and Class 6E
We wish each class good luck for the competition and hope they enjoy the experience. Our thanks go to the children in the School Council for judging all the class entries.
Science Fair success
Children in the year six classes recently took part in a Science Fair at Valentine’s High school. This was well attended and the children gave impressive account of their plans and proposals. We are delighted to share with you the news that their stall was voted the winners for the Fair. A big well done to the children, we are very proud of their learning, and a big thank you to Miss Begum and Mrs Dawood for organising our entry.
Dates for your diary
10th March – 8:00 to 9:00 Fair Trade Breakfast event in Junior hall
13th March – School’s annual Film Festival to be held at the Stratford Picture house
week beginning 20th and 27th March - Year One “Bring a Parent to school” sessions
17th March – Early Years classes Easter Party – 3:15 to 5:00pm in the Infant hall
week beginning 20th March – History Week
week beginning 20th March – Reception classes “Bring a Parent to school” sessions
23rd March – Parent Values assembly – class 4C and class 6E will be performing
23rd March – Computing Exhibition from 3:30 to 4:15pm
24th March – Parent Values assembly – class 1O and class 3J will be performing
24th March – PTA Easter discos in the Infant hall – 3:15 to 5:15 for Y1, 2 and 3, 5:45 to 7:45 for Y4, 5 and 6
week beginning 27th March – Reception classes “Bring a Parent to school” sessions
30th March – Pop-up Museum after school in the school halls
31st March – last day of term – school closes at the usual times, please note this is not a non-uniform day
Some dates are subject to last minute changes; please check the school blog for regular updates
News and events
School expansion
Our negotiations with the local authority for the expansion of the school to accommodate en extra class in ach year group are progressing well. We anticipate housing a new year one class temporarily in a portable classroom outside the year two classrooms. We plan on bringing a part of the Institute’s car park temporarily into the school premises to secure the grounds for the new class. We expect building work on the new block to begin in the summer. Plans for the new build have been considered, we await confirmation from the local authority on the final proposals. The new building will be 3 stories high, include 4 classes on each floor, one each for Y5 and Y6, and house a new hall, cookery room and spare classroom on the ground floor. The new classrooms will all be considerably bigger than our present rooms. As soon as an agreed plan has been made ready we will share this with the community for feedback.
In order to accommodate more children, a new school timetable has been drafted. This will involve using all playground spaces over the lunch period and introducing split lunch breaks for the classes two key stages. This timetable is currently under consultation with members of staff. We plan on introducing this in September after a trial period in the summer.
Please speak to Mr Drew if you would like more information.
Staff changes
A number of staff changes are expected. Mrs Thakeria (Early Years Practitioner) will be leaving on 10th March and Mr Matthews (Senior Teacher) and Mrs Ryan will be both leaving at the end of term. They have all supported our school community superbly over the years and each one will be greatly missed. We wish them well for their future plans and thank them for their dedication to the school.
School budget
You may be aware that the government have been reviewing school budgets in England recently. Although the school is likely to have a marginally increased degree of funding in the coming financial year, overall budgets continue to fail to match the ever increasing costs in schools, primarily staffing expenditure. Gearies has managed its budget well and we are cushioned from many of the budget shortfalls by wise financial decisions made over previous years. We do still have to amend our budget for the coming years in anticipation of yet more real-time cuts. We are currently conducting a restructuring exercise with the staff to achieve best value for money, and staffing levels are planned to reduce over the coming years in response. We are also planning on reducing the funding spent on resources and staff training. Once firm decisions have been made, these will be communicated to you as soon as possible. Our aim is to maintain a balanced budget that supports the school in delivering the best possible support for the children, meeting everyone’s needs, and continuing to raise standards.
Film Festival finalists
Well done to the following classes who have been selected to take part in our school Film Festival finals at the Stratford Picture House on 13th March:
Class 1P, Class 2L, Class 3K, Class 4I, Class 5H and Class 6E
We wish each class good luck for the competition and hope they enjoy the experience. Our thanks go to the children in the School Council for judging all the class entries.
Science Fair success
Children in the year six classes recently took part in a Science Fair at Valentine’s High school. This was well attended and the children gave impressive account of their plans and proposals. We are delighted to share with you the news that their stall was voted the winners for the Fair. A big well done to the children, we are very proud of their learning, and a big thank you to Miss Begum and Mrs Dawood for organising our entry.
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