St Mary’s Catholic Primary School Newsle er No 6 February 2017 Dear Parents/Carers LENT Thank you to all the parents who were able to a end the mee ng on ‘Learning without Limits’ and our whole school approach to ‘Choice and Challenge’. As an extension of this mee ng, I would now like to invite you to a end parent Learning Walks in your child’s class, which will be metabled throughout the whole of next term. The school now has an official Twi er account @stmarysrcp_1894 and you can follow us to keep up to date with key messages/events taking place throughout the term. Also, keep checking our newsle ers and website: stmarysrcp.medway.sch.uk for upcoming events where addi onal up to date informa on can be found. Thank you for your con nued support. Mrs Maureen Grabski Headteacher A Big Welcome! A big welcome to Mrs Alison Shepherd, who is our new Clerical Officer at St Mary’s, who many of you will have now met. We also welcome Mrs Alison Palmer who will be teaching Year 2 Cherry Class, Mrs Diana Tomas our new teaching assistant, who will be suppor ng children in Year 2 Beech class and Mrs Lisa White, our new teaching assistant who will be suppor ng children in Year 5 Birch Class, from next term. Mrs Be y Murphy will also be moving from Beech class, to support the children in Cherry class from next term. We wish Mrs Patrycja Gajda‐Wrobel and Ms Anna Molinari all the very best as they begin their maternity leave and await the birth of their babies. Lent begins with Ash Wednesday on Wednesday 1st March. Children in school will start this season with a FS/KS1 Liturgy and a KS2 school Mass led by Father Sean. CAFOD During this season of Lent your child will be bringing home an envelope from CAFOD. Thank you in advance for your generosity. CHILDREN AT HOME ALONE It has come to my a en on that a minority of parents are leaving their children home alone which could put your child at risk. The government quotes the NSPCC advice as follows: *babies, toddlers and very young children should never be le alone *children under 12 are rarely mature enough to be le alone for a long period of me If we ever had concerns about children’s well‐being and safe‐
ty while alone at home we would need to report our con‐
cerns to the relevant authori es. For further informa on and guidance go to h p://
www.nspcc.org.uk/preven ng‐abuse/keeping‐children‐safe/
leaving‐child‐home‐alone FUNDRAISING FOR ZEF — OUR SPONSORED CHILD Our Year 2 children organised and ran a Bring and Buy Sale to raise funds for Zef, our sponsored child in Albania. They made an amazing £85.00. Well done to them all, and a big thank you to parents who helped by suppor ng this event. Generosity – St Teresa of Calcu a (Mother Teresa) What qualiƟes come to mind when you hear Mother Teresa’s name? Compassionate? Generous? Mischievous?
St Teresa of Calcu a was generous and some mes that extra generosity made others uncomfortable. A story goes that she was invited to a grand dinner in thanks for her work amongst India’s poor. Many important people were there and she was to be awarded an honour during the meal. She and her nuns made their way to the recep on from their home amongst the poor. Perhaps others had been driven there in nted‐window limousines and hadn’t seen the beggars in the streets. Instead of si ng down to dinner and wai ng to be served, Teresa told the kitchen staff in the grand hotel to take the food to those beggars outside. Out went the pla ers of food meant for the important guests. What must the waiters have thought? How embarrassed must the organisers have been? The organisers wanted to recognise and thank Teresa for the work she was doing. Teresa, however, felt the need to be over generous and her ac ons made others think about their own posi on towards those in need. Jesus too could unse le people. We can all do good to those who are good to us, but that wasn’t His message: Go further. Love your enemies. Pray for those who hurt you. Shine ‘You are the light of the world.’ Ma hew 5:13 I must have woken early that morning because the moon was s ll out; shining brilliantly white in a blue, winter sky. I had to check my watch to make sure it really was morning. The strength of the moonlight astonished me. It made me think about what I was seeing; because it’s not, of course, the moon that’s shining, but sunlight reflected onto the moon’s surface. Without the sun, there wouldn’t be any moonlight. And so with us. We can shine in the world because God made each of us beau fully and uniquely. His crea vity gives us the ability to help others; to offer hope; to be generous with what we have been given. The morning moonlight didn’t last very long. It had vanished by the me I was bustling the children out to school. The sun had already taken over and was, as ever, ligh ng the day with unfailing power. Giving Myself Jesus, What can I use to be generous this week? My voice: I can encourage. My hands: I can mend and create. My face: I can smile. My me: I can give. My effort: I can do more than I am asked. Amen. Leave of absence applica on & A endance Policy th
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BOOK WEEK: Monday 6 March‐Friday 10 March 2017 We are looking forward to celebra ng our Book Week commencing Monday 6th March. It looks set to be a busy week for teachers and pupils as we celebrate reading for pleasure in school. Each child will receive a £1 World Book Day voucher which can be redeemed at our Book Fair and this will run as usual from Monday to Thursday that week straight a er school. This year we have the author Andrew Clover and the poet Tony Peek visi ng us for workshops as well as The Right Step Dance Company who will be teaching different year groups various moves over the course of the week. Staff from Gillingham Library will be spending a day with us, and on Thursday 9th March M&M Produc ons will be giving two performances of The Hobbit for Recep on through to Year 6. We are extremely grateful to the PTA who have generously donated towards the cost of the week. Because of this, we will only be asking for a dona on of £3 from each child, and a separate le er with more details about events and compe ons will be sent out a er Half Term. Thank you for your con nued support of the exci ng opportuni es we have planned. Mrs Jacinta Read, English Leader ATHLETICS A team of 20 athletes from Years 5&6 competed in the Kent Sportshall Athle cs Finals on Wednesday 8th February. Athletes undertook a range of running, jumping and throwing ac vi es and St Mary’s proved themselves to be great compe tors finishing 5th out of the whole of Kent! This is an amazing achievement and we are so proud of how well they performed and represented the school. LOST PROPERTY There are a lot of items currently in lost property which are un‐named. All named items are easily returned to their righ ul owners but we cannot do this with un‐named items. Please ensure that anything that comes into school has your child’s name wri en clearly on it. Thank you. Please do not ask for holiday in school Ɵme as children can only
take leave of absence for an “Excep onal circumstance.” If
you are unsure please check our aƩendance policy on the
school website: www.stmarysrcp.medway.sch.uk (informaƟon,
policies, AƩendance policy) or come in and ask for a copy.
Carley Groves, HSSW
Dona ons Please Year 1 need dona ons of pants, knickers, ghts and socks. Recep on need bricks, piping, gu ering and sand. We also need plas c fruit and vegetables Small world toys e.g. people, animals Early learning type games e.g. snap, picture flash cards Absence from School / Sickness If your child is absent from school for any reason please telephone the school and choose op on one, which is a dedicated absence line, before 9.00am, on their first day of absence to explain why. Unfortunately there are a lot of sickness bugs that seem to be going around at the moment. If your child suffers from a sickness bug they need to stay away from school for at least 24hrs a er the last bout of sickness / stomach upset. This is because they themselves will s ll be poten ally unwell, but also to ensure the bug isn’t passed on. Parent Views I am proud of our school and I am keen to listen to your thoughts about how we are doing. I will be seeking your opinions again through our annual confiden al ques onnaire which is a ached to this newsle er for you to complete. Contact Details If you change address or telephone/mobile numbers please inform the office immediately. It is vitally important that we have accurate and up to date informa on so that we are able to contact you in an emergency. Please also remember to update this informa on in ParentMail. Please also inform the office if you wish to change any of the people on your child’s contact list. This can be updated at any me at the school office. It is important that anyone who may collect your child from school in an emergency, is noted on this list. MEDICINE If your child is unwell, and has been prescribed medicine by the doctor that needs to be taken during the school day, please bring it to the school office, where staff will give you a form to complete. PLEASE DO NOT GIVE MEDICINE TO YOUR CHILD TO BRING INTO SCHOOL THEMSELVES. We cannot give tablets or medicine that hasn’t been prescribed by a doctor, but if you feel that your child may need paracetamol, or something similar during the school day, you may come to school to administer this yourself. Page 2 PASSION PLAY The dates for the Year 3&4 Passion Play are Tuesday 28th March and Wednesday 29th March. We ask that the Wednesday date be kept strictly for adults only. Le ers will come home soon. Thank you for your coopera on. SCOOTERS Please do not bring scooters on to the school grounds as they can be a hazard. St Mary’s Catholic Primary School Breakfast Club PTA There are a few places available in Breakfast Club, which costs just £2.00 a day. Forms are available at the school office. Please make sure that you pre‐book your place—if you turn up with your child and breakfast club is full we will not be able to let your child in. Please also be aware that if you have to cancel your booking you WILL NOT be en tled to a refund as the food will already have been purchased in advance. A big thank you to our PTA, who all work extremely hard in raising funds, to support our pupils at St Mary’s. Please contact Mrs Natalie Read, PTA Chairperson, if you are willing to help with the events planned through the year. Further details of upcoming events will follow through the year. All your support is greatly appreciated. Music Provision We are very fortunate that with the support of Dynamics, The Music Educa on Hub, St Mary’s has been able to extend the music provision across the school. In addi on to the exis ng metabled music lessons in Key Stage 1 and Year 3 and 4 lessons in Ocarina and Recorder, pupils will be now able to have drumming lessons each week on a rolling programme, beginning in Year 5. There will also be taster lessons for pupils across Key Stage 2 in Guitar, Clarinet and Keyboard. If your child then decides that they would like to learn one of these instruments, there will be further opportuni es for a er school lessons. Collect FREE dona ons for our school with all your online shopping! Please support the pupils at St Mary’s Catholic Primary School, by raising much need funds to support our curriculum and events for the children, throughout the year. All you need to do is register with www.easyfundraising.org.uk and then visit any of the 3,000 retailers to start shopping. A er you have made your purchase, the retailer will make a dona on to our school at no extra cost to you. Thank you! Join, shop and raise here: h ps://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/
stmaryscatholicprimaryschool1/ Reading with your child A reminder to parents about the importance of reading with your child every day. It only needs to be for 10 minutes but really benefits your child. Half Term School closes for Half Term on Friday 10th February and reopens for children on Monday 20th February 2017. Page 3 Year R and Key Stage 1 Assembly Rota Year R and Key Stage 1 Assemblies are at 9.10am on a Friday morning. All parents are invited to the following Assemblies Friday Class Assembly 10th February Ash class th
24 February Elm class 17th March Beech and Cherry th
24 March Willow and Holly BAFTA Kids compe
on! ‐ ‘Kindness Superheroes' This week we have celebrated Children’s Mental Health Week and this year the theme is to ‘spread a li le kindness’. It is a pleasure to be able to award the children for showing excep‐
onal kindness each week in assembly. As part of this week, The Bri sh Academy of Film and Televi‐
sion Arts (BAFTA) and Place2Be have partnered on a series of schools events – the ‘BAFTA Kids Roadshow with Place2Be’ – aimed at championing crea vity and developing confidence. BAFTA and Place2Be are launching a compe on for children to design a super hero that represents the power of kind‐
ness. The winner will be chosen by a celebrity judging panel in‐
cluding BAFTA‐winning animators, and CBBC presenters Ben Shires (Officially Amazing, MOTD Kick about) and Ka e Thistle‐
ton (CBBC HQ, CBBC Book Club), and will see their character brought to life by BAFTA‐winning anima on studio Blue‐Zoo Produc ons, makers of Tree Fu Tom and Digby Dragon. The compe
February. on is now open and closes on Tuesday 28 To enter the compe on, please visit: ‘The Power of Kindness Challenge’ at www.ba akids.org/power‐kindness‐challenge SCHOOL UNIFORM It has come to my no ce that some children are not wearing correct school footwear. Children’s shoes should be black, blue or brown and NOT trainers. Please can you ensure that your child is wearing regula on footwear to school. St Mary’s Catholic Primary School