Autumn Term 2024
Dear Parents and Carers,
We know that at this time of year, children often have sniffs and snuffles and parents are unsure whether or not to send them into school. Regular attendance is really important for your child's academic and social progress and we are aiming for children to have over 96% attendance. The NHS have published information for parents which you may find helpful if you are wondering whether or not your child is well enough to come to school - Is my child too ill for school? - NHS (www.nhs.uk)
Please can I stress to all visitors to the school about road safety - this includes safe parking, safe crossing and safe driving. We are writing to the Council again this week asking for support with traffic management in the roads around school as we are still seeing cars mounting pavements near children, performing up to 7-point turns in the road and parking on the yellow zigzags.
We have painted yellow ‘zig-zags’ road markings outside our entrances for a very good reason: the safety of pupils. You must not park or stop even for a short moment on these markings.
Any cars stopped or parked in this restricted area can hide small children who are about to cross the road. The children may not see approaching cars, and approaching motorists may not see the children.
We all want to keep your children safe. You can help – keep the zig-zags clear.
Thank you for support in the matter and have a safe and happy weekend with your children.
Mrs Arnold
Behaviour
All pupils should be able to come to school and learn in a safe, orderly environment. We do have high expectations of behaviour in our school and we will not tolerate disruption to pupils learning or unkind/aggressive behaviour towards others. Our Behaviour Policy is on our website and it clearly outlines our response to behaviour - both rewards and sanctions.
Amongst the range of strategies we use to promote positive behaviour, we have our Achievement Shop which parents may not be so familiar with.
Achievement Shop - House points are collected for many different things in school from behaviour to attitude to effort. Each time a child receives a house point, this is recorded in their achievement book. When they have completed all the spaces in their book, they take this to Mrs Arnold and 'exchange' the book for a small prize of their choice from the Achievement Shop. They also receive a sticker, a certificate in assembly and a new book to start all over again!
Donation Requests
Our Reception Staff are asking for donations to build up our stock of toys for children. They are in particular need of dolls, dolls clothes and cars. If you have any items that your children may have outgrown, are in a good condition and you fancy a clear out - we would be really grateful if you could donate them to our youngest children.
We also run extra curricular clubs for Board games and Quizzes and we would like to increase our capacity for this by asking for any donations of board games. Again, if you have any items you no longer want or need, we would love to take them off your hands!
We would also welcome any football boots that your child may have outgrown so that we have some spare sets in school or can provide a pair to children who do not currently have any to wear.
All donations can be dropped off at the Main Office. Thank you!
Online safety
Technology and the Internet can be fantastic – they can help our children to learn, to create amazing things, to communicate and to entertain themselves and each other. Our children are surrounded by this technology – it is part and parcel of their daily lives.
Using technology and the Internet well is about using it safely and responsibly. Things can go wrong by accident or if behaviour isn’t sensible or respectful. Our job is not to stop our children from using technology but to ensure that they have the necessary knowledge, skills and understanding to successfully navigate themselves through the online world, so they become good digital citizens.
We have been made aware of some concerns relating to TikTok and YouTube. Children all over the country are being exposed to disturbing content which is frightening pupils – the most recent being videos shared by ‘SmartSchoolBoy9’. This current content is yet another scaremongering type situation whereby children are told the user will come to their school and ‘do something’.
With a situation such as this this, schools are advised not to warn children specifically, as this creates even more attention on it, but instead use it as an opportunity to teach children about safety practices online. This is already done in school regularly though computing lessons and assemblies. Children are told that if they see something that scares them or makes them uncomfortable or upset, they must report it to an adult.
The following links may be helpful for parents - please do not think you know about everything your child can access online. We are constantly surprised by the content which is accessible and shocked that there are people out there deliberately targeting children for many different reasons.
Uniform
Thank you to parents for supporting the changes to our PE uniform. We have already seen a positive impact on this in the time it saves getting changed in school - that time can be used for more PE learning. The children have said they really like coming into school in their PE uniform.
PE sweatshirts should only be worn on PE days - they are not part of the daily school uniform and will not be permitted.
Curriculum information for parents
All of our topics and key aspects of learning in all areas of the curriculum are uploaded half termly onto the website. Teachers have outlined the learning in all subjects and have included ideas for parents should you wish to help your child at home. These can be found on the following link Curriculum Overviews/Information | Pheasey Park Farm (pheaseyparkfarmprimary.co.uk) - just click on the relevant year group for the half term.
Class Dojo for homework
This year, we are trialling the use of Class Dojo to share homework with parents. Most parents have installed the App already and will just need to click on your child's class story to find homework instructions. Most tasks will be through links to Apps such as Education City or Purple Mash which give parents instant feedback on the work your child completes at home. Spellings will be included on the Class Stories. You will receive a specific letter about this as well as all your child's user name and logins.
Visit from the Animal Man
We welcomed the Animal Man company to our school last week and all children had the opportunity to learn about an owl, a honey bear, a guinea pig, a corn snake and a gecko. They had a wonderful day and were even able to handle some of the animals!
School Admissions for September 2025
Thank you to all parents who attended the Secondary Transfer meeting this week. We hope you found this informative and have all the information you need.
The key dates for all transition ages are on the flyer below:
MacMillan Coffee Morning
If you are around and about next Friday, please join us at 9:00am for our MacMillan Coffee Morning.
Everyone is welcome to come along and for a donation, you can enjoy a hot drink and some cake. We are also planning to organise a raffle, with tickets available to buy on the day, and prizes available.
If you are in a position to donate any shop-bought or homemade cakes, these would be gratefully received. If you would like to do this, please bring your cake(s) to the Key Stage 1 Hall or the School Office during the morning of the event.
Y6 History Workshop - Tudors
On Tuesday, Year 6 had a special visitor: King Henry VIII. The children learned about his life and life in the Tudor times. They learned about coin minting and made their own Henry VIII coin. The children loved the Tudor dancing section of the day and they even had a go at archery. We very much look forward to our Year 4 History Workshop next week - The Egyptians!
Asda Rewards Cashpot for Schools
If you haven't done so already, please could we ask any parent who shops at Asda and uses the Asda Rewards App to select our school. There are no cost implications to yourself and instead Asda will donate a percentage of your shopping bill to school.
You have already raised £428.43 for the children at our school - thank you so much!
Dates for your diary
Monday 23 September - 9:00am - Reception Parents Phonics Workshop
Year 4 History Workshop - Egyptians
Friday 27 September - 9:00am - MacMillan Coffee Morning
Wednesday 2 October - Rags2Riches collection
9:00 - SEND Coffee Morning
3:30pm - Music Tuition Parents Meeting
Thursday 3 October - 4:30pm - 5:30pm - Back to School Disco (Y3/4)
6:00pm - 7:00pm - Back to School Disco (Y5/6)
Wednesday 9 October - 9:00am - Year 1 Parent Phonics Workshop
5:00pm - End of Reception Expectations
meeting for parents
Monday 14 October - 4:00pm - 6:20pm - Parent Consultation Evening
Tuesday 15 October - Flu Vaccinations Reception to Year 6
Wednesday 16 October - 3:40pm - 5:40pm - Parent Consultation Evening
Monday 21 October - Harvest Donations
Friday 25 October - 9:15am - Year 1 Harvest Presentation
Break up for Half Term
October Half Term: Monday 28th October 2024 - Friday 1st November 2024
Monday 4 November - School Re-opens
Thursday 7 November - Year 5 visit to the Space Centre
Monday 11 November - Anti Bullying Week
Nursery Rhyme Week
11:00am - Remembrance Assemblies
2:30pm - Parents Anti-Bullying Workshop
Tuesday 12 November - Nursery - Dress up as a Nursery Character Day
Friday 15 November - Children in Need Day
Tuesday 19 November - Photographer for individuals
Wednesday 20 November - Photographer for siblings
Thursday 21 November - Flu Vaccinations catch up session R-Y6
Friday 22 November - Christmas Fayre Donation Day
Wednesday 27 November - Photographer re-takes
Thursday 28 November - Year 1 trip to Sudbury Hall
Friday 6 December - Christmas Fayre
Thursday 12 December - 2:30pm - Reception Production
Friday 13 December - 9:30am - Reception Production
Wednesday 18 December - Christmas Dinner Day
Wear a Christmas jumper/item
Friday 20 December - 9:30am - Year 5 Christmas Carol Service
Break up for Christmas
Christmas Break: Monday 23 December 2024 - Friday 3 January 2025
Community Events and Family Support
Message from Walsall Family Support Information Services
Calling all parents!
We are moving!
Walsall FIS is moving to our new and exciting Family Hubs website where you will be able to find information for you and your family from pregnancy, to home learning to childcare options for you and your child. https://www.walsallfamilyhubs.co.uk/
Childcare in Walsall is expanding… You can find all your childcare needs on our NEW Family Hub website here: https://www.walsallfamilyhubs.co.uk/
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