September 2017 newsletter

Value of the Month – “Good Manners”

Welcome back to the new school year.  We hope you all had great summer holidays and are feeling excited about the challenges ahead for the coming school year.

Autumn term dates for your diary

4th September – school closed INSET day
5th September - school closed INSET day
6th September – First day of new school year, children return at the usual times, please note no Nursery classes this week
11th September – Nursery Admissions begin
19th September – meeting for parents at 9:00am - “Online safety” in the Infant hall
22nd September – Car Free Day
27th to 29th September – Year Five Residential to Stubbers Adventure Centre
5th and 6th October – Parent Values assembly at 9:05am in the Infant hall
10th October – 8:45am Reception Open classrooms
11th October – 8:45am Year Two Open classrooms
17th October – 8:30am Year One Open classrooms
18th October – 8:30am Year Four Open classrooms
19th October – Autumn term parent consultations from 3:30 to 8:00pm (part one)
20th October – last day of half term, school closes at the usual times
23rd to 27th October – October half term holiday
30th October – school closed INSET day
31st October – children return to school at the usual times
week beginning 6th November – “Bring a Parent” to school sessions for years Four, Five and Six
8th November - Autumn term parent consultations from 3:30 to 5:00pm (part two)
week beginning 13th November – “Bring a Parent” to school sessions for years Four, Five and Six
15th November - meeting for parents at 9:00am - “Our Big Ideas” in the Infant hall
16th and 17th November – Parent Values assembly at 9:05am in the Infant hall
week beginning 20th November – “Bring a Parent” to school sessions for years Five and Six
21st November – Family and individual pupil photographs this morning
28th November – 2:45pm Year Three Open classrooms
29th November - 8:30am Year Five Open classrooms
14th and 15th December – Parent Values assembly at 9:05am in the Infant hall
20th December – Last day of term, school closes at the usual times.  Please note this is NOT a non-uniform day.
Tuesday 2nd January 2018 – School re-opens at the usual times for the new term

Some of these details may change, please check the school blog for updates.

Timetable:
Please note our new timetable starts this term.  This does not affect the start or end of the day, which remain unchanged.  Our new split lunchtimes are as follows:
Infant classes – 11:45 to 12:45pm
Junior classes – 12:30 to 1:30pm


Class teacher list:
Nursery - Ms Suleiman
Reception class U - Miss Balakumar
Reception class T - Mrs Zubair
Reception class S - Mrs Waters
Reception class R - Miss O’Reilly
Year One class 1O - Miss Patel
Year One class 1P - Miss Fan
Year One class 1V - Miss Kang
Year One class 1W- Mrs Raymore
Year Two class 2L - Miss Kahlon
Year Two class 2M - Mrs Moore
Year Two class 2N – Miss Begum
Year Three class 3J - Mr Ali
Year Three class 3K - Mr Oranefo
Year Three class 3L - Mrs Sharma
Year Four class 4I - Mrs O’Driscoll
Year Four class 4D - Mrs Ahmed
Year Four class 4C - Mrs Dawood
Year Five class 5B - Mr Hession
Year Five class 5A - Miss Ahmed
Year Five class 5H – Mrs Matharu
Year Six class 6G - Mr Nobeebaccus
Year Six class 6F – Mr Alam
Year Six class 6E - Mr Ahmad

Staffing news:
We have a few changes for you this year.  Please welcome to our community our new Deputy Head, Mrs Dias.  Mrs Seal has assumed the role of Special Needs co-ordinator.  A few new teachers have also joined us this term, reflecting the expansion of classes in the school and replacing colleagues who left last year: Miss Balakumar (class U), Miss Patel (class1O), Mrs Raymore (class1W), Miss Kahlon (class 2L), Miss Ahmed (class 5A) and Miss Yates (collaborating with Mrs O’Driscoll in class 4I).  Miss Barnes has changed her role in school, and is now employed as an Early Years Practitioner in our Nursery.  Our support team are also joined by some new Practitioners; Mrs Sidhu, Mrs Ahmed and Miss Zahra.

News and events

Our Big Ideas - 2017
How are we going to make the school even better?  Our Big Ideas have been chosen to do just this. They are the most important things we will be doing in school over the next year.
Our Big Theme is: Towards Outstanding – raising standards of teaching and learning
We want to achieve the following:
1. We will organise new school day timings to use in our larger school
2. We will make an action plan for the Teaching School to help other schools with their teaching and learning
3. We will help every child to be a successful learner in music
4. We will help teachers to give good feedback to children in their lessons, and this will help them improve their learning
5. We will write a plan for teaching writing throughout the school
6. We will help every child to be a successful learner in mathematics
7. We will continue to write our new Personal, Social, and Health Education (PSHE) lessons
8. Teachers will find ways of helping each child to be a successful learner, and in particular those children who find it more difficult to make good progress
9. We will ensure that each child in our early Years classes is a successful learner
We are all a part of our school and all agree to take responsibility for making these Big Ideas happen.  We look forward to learning new things together, taking risks and enjoying our learning together.

Head Teacher Vision statement 
The school’s primary purpose is the meet the educational needs of the children who attend it. These are many and varied, and include:
• Academic attainment and progress (Reading has a central importance)
• Learning across a broad and balanced curriculum; the arts and sports are also important to us
• Social responsibility, including respect, independence and empathy
It is important to me that Gearies remains an inclusive school, welcoming all children through our doors, no matter the background.
Our teaching is informed by relevant research, for which we have an international reputation.
These are the guiding principles of education at Gearies, but must be reviewed in the context of the current financial and political world around us.  I am aware that:
• We operate in a very harsh financial climate
• There is an expectation from government that we must produce ever higher standards with ever diminishing resources
• We need to offer support for a growing level of anxiety, felt by children and their parents, about the world around them, their future and security
• We are leading in a school-led system, epitomised by the birth of the Redbridge Education Partnership, the importance of our place in local support as a Teaching School and the shrinking of our local authority
Our challenge ahead as a learning community is to work together, to use our combined knowledge, skills and understanding to work with our professional partners, the local community, including parents and carers, to continue to raise standards.  The children at Gearies are a credit to the community and are dear to us all.  We invest in their futures and relish the opportunity to serve a just society.

Governing Body Vision statement 
We will provide a happy, secure and stimulating learning environment where everyone will be inspired to do their best, to achieve their potential.
We will have high expectations for all.  Children will be encouraged to become lifelong learners.
We are committed to achieving the highest standards of teaching required for outstanding attainment and progress. We will support our staff in delivering this through continuous professional development, outstanding leadership, appropriate initiatives and the effective deployment of resources.
We will provide a broad and balanced yet challenging curriculum that is relevant to children’s interests and responsive to their learning needs.  Our core priorities are to our “Key Skills”, English and mathematics.
We will encourage each child to be confident, independent and well-rounded citizens who will be able to make a positive contribution to the world around them.
We are committed to ensuring that every child achieves their full potential in an inclusive, caring environment which respects our diverse, multi-ethnic community and the individual needs of all learners.

Our Achievements in 2016 – 2017
Our performance against agreed school targets: see chart on school noticeboards
We have recorded another highly successful year ever for the school in competitions and award ceremonies.
Gearies Primary School achievements:
• The school achieved the Gold Mark award in the Sainsbury’s School Games scheme (September 2016)
• The school was awarded a £300 grant from the Siobhan Dowd Book Trust (December 2016)
• The school team won the bronze medal in the Redbridge Boccia competition (January 2017)
• Children presented the winning entry in the Valentine’s High School Science Fair (March 2017)
• The school gained “Fairtrade Active” status in June 2017
• The school won the History Prize of the Historical Royal Palaces “Time Explorers Challenge” in June 2017 and featured on the front page of their annual catalogue
• Our sports teams won the Gants Hill Partnership inter-school trophy for the summer sports challenge in July 2017
• 29 children were awarded Full Attendance and no lateness certificates in the entire school year, in July 2017 (5 more than last year)
Individual Staff achievements:
• Mrs Saleem was awarded the level 3 TA Higher Diploma in August 2016
• Mrs Jarrett was accredited as an official trainer for Parent Gym in September 2016
• Miss Smith passed her English GCSE equivalency test in January 2017
• Mr Ahmad was nominated as the Moneywise Personal Finance Teacher of the Year in April 2017
• Mrs Hathurusinghe was awarded the level 3 TA Higher Diploma in June 2017
• Mrs O’Driscoll and Miss Fan were both awarded Maths Teacher Awards in the Leadership category by the North East London Maths Hub in June 2017
• Mrs O’Driscoll was awarded a UEL mentor award in June 2017
• Mrs Najmi was awarded a level 3 CACHE diploma in supporting teaching and learning in schools, in June 2017
• Mr Wilkes and Mrs Matharu were both awarded Masters degrees by the UEL in July 2017
• Mrs Ciobanu and Mr Oranefo both successfully passed their NQT Induction years in July 2017


Travelling to school
Bicycles and scooters – we encourage children to cycle to school as often as possible. If your child wants to do this, he/she is recommended to wear a safety helmet.  If the bicycle or scooter is parked in our cycle sheds/scooter parks, it needs to be secured with a chain.  Helmets can also be added to the chain or kept on the coat peg inside school.  Please do not allow your child to ride their bike around the playground before or after school.  This may be dangerous and contribute to an accident in the playground.
If you need to bring your children to school by car please note the following guidance:
• Only drive to school if you absolutely must
• Please avoid driving down and parking in Waremead Road and Gants Hill Crescent
• Never park across or in a neighbouring house’s driveway
• Parking spaces are available in the RIAE car park.  If you park here please note this is a pay and display park.  Before leaving your car you will need to pay for a ticket and display this on your dashboard.  The Institute will be installing a car registration monitor at the entrance and exit.  Please follow the parking rules in the car park and always park inside the designated bays.  You need to park and escort your children from your car once parked.  It is very dangerous to stop and let your children get out of the car and find their own way to school.

Payments and money
Gearies Primary School is now operating a cashless office environment and, therefore, ask that parents/carers pay for items such as trips, events and music tuition via WisePay our online payment system.  WisePay is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and is a convenient and secure way of making payments to school.
 Usernames and passwords have already been distributed.  If you have not used WisePay before, you will be asked to change your password the first time you access the system.   A reminder of your child’s username and password will be sent out in September.
 Please keep these letters safe as, from September 2017, we will only be accepting cash and cheque payments for book and PE bags.  Payments for trips, events, music etc should be paid via WisePay.
 Wisepay can be accessed from our website at www.geariesprimaryschool.co.uk by clicking on the WisePay icon located at the top right hand side of the home page.
 We are very keen to make this transition as smooth as possible and encourage you to contact the school office if you experience any difficulties using the system.


Playground notices 
Reminder – children are not allowed to play on the climbing frames in the playgrounds before or after school.  Please respect this rule and keep your children from playing on them.
Football – children are not allowed to play football in either playground before or after school.  There is a risk of other people being struck by the ball.  Also, playing this game before school does not help the children focus for their learning in the first lesson.
Before school starts children should line up in the playground in their class lines.  Parents are reminded to supervise their children and make sure when they arrive that they are lined up ready for collection.   Children should not be left unattended in the playground before school starts.
We do not allow dogs on school premises.

Healthy Lifestyles  
We are committed to supporting children achieve a healthy lifestyle.  We wish to encourage the following and invite you to support this important message:
• Children should, whenever possible, walk or cycle to school
• Children should try to eat 5 portions of fruit or vegetable each day
• Children should take part in as much daily exercise as possible
• Children should brush their teeth twice a day
• Children should eat a well-balanced diet, avoiding regular treats
• Children should drink plenty of water each day
To support this, we will remind you of some current school policies:
• Children are encouraged to bring a personal water bottle to school
• We are a no-nut school – this includes peanut butter and chocolate spread
• Children are not allowed to bring sweets, crisps, cakes and carton drinks in their packed lunches
• Children will take part in all PE lessons even if they have forgotten their PE kit

General reminders
Please make sure your child is always brought to school on time.  This means he/she should be lined up in the playground five minutes before the start of the school day (by 8.45am in the Juniors and 8.55am in the Infants).  Please help your child to get the best start to the school day by always being punctual.

Sickness – if your child is not well and unable to come to school please contact the school office on the day to let us know what is happening.  If your child is off for more than 2 days we would expect your child to visit the doctor to receive appropriate advice.  On return to school following an absence of more than 2 days you will need to bring with you evidence that you have been to the doctor’s (an appointment card or copy of a prescription).  Failure to do this may result in a fine for unauthorised absence.

Assemblies
These classes attend the following Values assemblies, which begin at 9.05am:
Thursdays – R, U (both attending from the spring term), 1P, 1W, 2N, 4C, 4D, 5H, 6G, 6F and 6E
Fridays – S, T (attending from the spring term), 1O, 1V, 2L, 2M, 3J, 3K, 3L, 4I, 5B and 5A

Personal Property
Children should not bring their own playthings into school.  This includes balls, pencil cases, spinnners, trading cards and toys.  Please help us to maintain an orderly school by ensuring your child does not bring any of these items in.

Agreed Uniform policy
Details of our agreed policy are attached below.  All school uniform can be ordered via the Tesco website, Mapac website or the Unistat shop in Barkingside (details from our school office or on our website).  Please note also that:
White shirts are NOT school uniform!  Children should wear white polo shirts with the school logo.
Each child is expected to come to school wearing the correct uniform.  Please help us to maintain our high standards and comply with this policy!

Current policy:
It is the policy of the school that all children will wear our agreed uniform each day.  This fosters a feeling of belonging to our community, and helps children feel equal to each other.

Boys:
White polo shirt with school logo, grey trousers, navy sweatshirt/cardigan with school logo.  Summer option – short trousers

Girls:
White polo shirt with school logo, navy skirt or pinafore, or navy trousers, navy sweatshirt/cardigan with school logo.  Summer option – blue and white check dress

Headscarves/hijab:
These may be worn for religious reasons but must be in school colours – navy blue only.  These must also be removed during PE lessons, unless permission has been given by the Head Teacher following confirmation in writing from parents that the child is post-puberty, and only then if it is close fitting.

Footwear:
Flat, black shoes (not trainers)

PE kit:
Plain amber T-shirt, navy shorts, black plimsolls, and navy tracksuit bottoms as an additional option

Nursery:
White polo shirt with school logo, navy sweatshirt/cardigan with school logo, and loose clothing

Jewellery:
Jewellery is considered to be any form of adornment to the body, which is not clothing.  This includes all kinds of earrings (studs and “sticks”) and bangles.
Children will not wear any form of jewellery to school, in order to maintain their health and safety.
If a child does wear jewellery, he/she will not be allowed to take part in any form of PE or use any climbing equipment outside.

Make-up and nail varnish may not be worn to school.