Lydgate Junior School
NEWSLETTER
September 2015
Dear Parents / Carers,
Diary Dates
Thursday 1st October
Wednesday 14th October
Tuesday 20th & Thursday 22nd October
Monday 26th – Friday 30th October
Monday 2nd November
Thursday 10th December, 7pm
Thursday 17th December
Individual pupil photographs
FOLA meeting
Parents’ Evening – details to follow
Half term holiday
INSET day – school closed to pupils
Christmas concert, St John’s Church, Ranmoor
Christmas disco – details to follow
Parent questionnaire
We are always keen to hear feedback from parents/carers. We are interested in what you think we do well,
and what you think we could do better. The Ofsted website has a link to “Parent View” – where you can
give your opinion on various aspects of the school. The survey takes a few minutes to complete and can be
found at www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk
Medical Appointments during the school day
We realise it is not always possible to make appointments after school; if you must take your child out of
school during the day please send a note to the school office well in advance. Please allow time on the day
for office staff to send for your child to come to the reception area. For safeguarding reasons we cannot
allow parents / carers to take children directly from the classroom.
Phoning home during the school day
We are sometimes asked by the children to phone parents at home/work to relay messages about forgotten
packed lunches, musical instruments, homework, ingredients for baking etc, etc. We will always contact
parents in the case of illness during the day or where a pupil is unsure about their going home
arrangements. However we are not able to phone home to ask for forgotten items to be brought to school.
Similarly we want to avoid disruption to the teaching in the classroom and so cannot always or immediately
pass on messages or items brought in during the school day.
School meals
For £1.98 a day children are offered a vast choice for both main course and dessert. There are always at
least two main courses, two sorts of potato or other ‘starch’, two hot vegetables, and a salad bar selection
featuring perhaps pasta and a variety of salad vegetables. A large proportion of children take a jacket
potato with a choice of filling. Dessert choice can be as great as seven: sponge, cookies, custard, different
flavours of yoghurt, fresh fruit salad and fruit and ice-cream. Recent observations show that nearly half the
children do not take full advantage of this choice, however; many take no vegetable, salad or fruit. Some
take no dessert at all. Baffles me, but we continue to encourage them to take and try.
“Leave of absence” – term time absence
Parents, understandably, are still a little in the dark about how I make decisions on authorising, or not,
absence in term time and the repercussions of taking unauthorised absence. Schools have had limited
guidance themselves on what constitutes ‘exceptional’ circumstances, and it is left to the Headteacher to
decide. In order to authorise an absence in term time
• The application should be made well in advance (local authority policy says 28 days)
• Parents must have no choice over dates whatsoever
• The break must be a one-off (not annual, for example)
• Your child must otherwise have good attendance
Unauthorised absence can lead to prosecution, and the local authority is urging Headteachers to refer all
such absence of five days or more for a Penalty Notice and fine. I consider individual cases before making
a referral. If you are considering an application, you could contact the school office for a chat.
Blogs
Our website, www.lydgatejunior.co.uk has blogs from each year group as well as my own. They can help
you keep up to date with what’s going on in school.
FOLA
I want to express my great thanks to Scott Blanks who has dedicated great energy and commitment to the
role of leading FOLA, our p.t.a. group. He has, at times single-handedly, driven activities and made them a
success. As he steps aside, FOLA needs a new lead; not a replacement in the same mould, perhaps, but
someone who can give ideas, time and energy and enjoy support and thanks. Step forward and come to
the next FOLA meeting – 14th October.
Medication in school
Some pupils keep inhalers for asthma and epipens for allergies in school. May we remind parents that it is
their responsibility to ensure their child’s medication has not expired. Thank you.
Before / Lunchtime / After School Activities
Day
Activity
Time
Year group
Contact
Monday
Spanish
Lunchtime
All Year Groups
Sue Anderson 2308975
Monday
Beat Club
3.15 – 4.15pm
All Year Groups
Toni Canelli 2684678
Monday
Cheerleading
3.15 – 4.30pm
Year 5 & 6
Sarah Hardy 07837811159
Tuesday
French
Lunchtime
Y4 - Y6
Sue Anderson 2308975
Wednesday
Karate
7.40 – 8.40am
All Year Groups
Wednesday
Art Club
3.15 – 5.15pm
All Year Groups
Thursday
French
Lunchtime
Y3 & beginners
Sue Anderson 2308975
Thursday
Choir
3.15 – 4.15pm
Y4 - Y6
Mrs Ridsdale
Friday
Fencing
7.30 – 8.30am
All Year Groups
Friday
Cooking
3.15 – 5.30pm
All Year Groups
Steve Hegarty
07952158838
Hannah Pearson
07937653946
Peter Ellinger
07890579127
Hannah Pearson
07937653946
We also run some clubs which rotate on a half termly or termly basis. Please check the school website or
ask in the school office for details of these.
Regards
Mr S Jones
Headteacher