HOMEFIELDS PRIMARY SCHOOL
NEWSLETTER 1 – September 2014
Welcome back to the start of another exciting year at Homefields.
We hope you all had a lovely Summer break and are looking forward to supporting your child on
their learning journey throughout the year.
We have recently reviewed our school mission statement and decided that the following best
matches our aims for the children of Homefields:“Working together to inspire every pupil to become a successful, confident and responsible
individual within a happy, secure, exciting and challenging environment”
In response to comments from the parent questionnaire there will be 6 main school newsletters
this year, one each half term, instead of one each term. We hope you will find this a more useful
way to receive relevant information.
Teacher/Parent Meetings
To find out what your child is going to do in class this term we are holding the following meetings
for parents:Wednesday 10 September….9am……..Year 4 ……….Mrs Burke
Thursday 11 September……9am…….Year 1/2……... Miss Hill
Thursday 11 September……3.00pm…Year 1/2…… Mrs Heald
Thursday 11 September ……5.00pm……Year 6…….Mrs Smith (children come too please)
Friday 12 September ……….…9am…..Year 1/2 …..Miss Donnelly
Monday 15 September ………9am…....Year 3……..Mrs Quinby
Tuesday 16 September ……..9.15am …...FS2 Starfish ……..Miss Spray
Wednesday 17 September …..9.15am ……FS2 Sea Turtles …….Mrs Rollerson/Mrs Gaskill
Wednesday 17 September …..5.15pm……Year 5 …….Mrs Holliday (children come too please)
Monday 29 September……...9am and 3pm……FS1…..Mrs Harris
There will also be either a handout or information on the website about what your child is
learning this term.
For the Spring and Summer Term you will receive a letter about the curriculum your child is
working on.
Please make every effort to support your child’s learning, as they love it when parents become
involved in what they do at school and this has a positive effect on their achievement.
School Staff
We are delighted to welcome Miss Donnelly to our teaching team. She will be teaching one of our
three Year 1/2 classes.
We are very happy to welcome Mrs Heald back after her maternity leave following the birth of
her lovely baby girl.
Miss Hollis will be joining our kitchen staff.
We also have 2 School Direct teacher trainees working in School. Mr Platt is working in Year 5
and Miss Queenborough is working in Foundation Stage 2.
Mrs Chapman continues her secondment supporting another Derby City school.
Class names
All our children look great in their uniform and have enthusiastically entered their new class.
The names of the classes stay with the teacher, so the only new class this year is Miss Donnelly’s
and they will be called Skittles. The children love the names of their classes as it helps them to
feel they belong to a special group and we can use them in positive praise and reinforcement.
The class names are as follows:FS2 Miss Spray ……………….Starfish
FS2 Mrs Rollerson and Mrs Gaskill …………..Sea Turtles
Year 1/2 Miss Hill ………………..Jelly Beans
Year 1/2 Miss Donnelly …………Skittles
Year 1/2 Mrs Heald ……………..Smarties
Year 3 Mrs Quinby ………..Rocket Lollies
Year 4 Mrs Burke ………….Starburst
Year 5 Mrs Holliday ………………Flying Saucers
Year 6 Mrs Smith ……………………Heroes
Attendance
Parents will be aware of the changes to requests for leave of absence from school that came into
effect last year.
We would like to thank all parents who supported our school by not taking their children out
of school during term time – particularly for holidays. This enabled us to maintain the high
attendance rate for our school of 97%. This is brilliant and something that Ofsted would
recognise as being excellent.
Our expectation is for all pupils to achieve a minimum of 95% attendance per year. This enables
children to maximise their progress and achievement.
We will therefore continue our school policy this year. This means that any holidays taken during
term time will be classified as unauthorised, and will be recorded on school and individual pupil
attendance data. All unauthorised absences are reported to the Local Authority and could be
subject to penalty notices i.e. fines.
The penalty notice is £60 per child per parent, going up to £128 if not paid within 28 days.
If fines are not paid the matter will be placed before the Magistrates Court.
All leave of absence should be requested on an official form available from the school office.
Again thank you for your support last year. Keep up the great work.
Walking Home
If you are happy for your child to walk home alone, please can you complete the form below so we
can issue them with a special card stating that you have authorised this.
School Dinners
The menu for school dinners this term is on our website. Please continue to support this service
by encouraging your child to have a school dinner as often as possible. Remember you can choose
to have a school dinner on any day of the week and pay on the day, weekly or half-termly.
The cost of a school dinner is £2.10 per day. Please can you ensure that payment for dinners is
made either on the day or before. We cannot supply a dinner for pupils once money arrears
exceed 2 days. Thank you for your help with this matter.
DON’T FORGET that all children in Foundation Stage 2 classes (Miss Spray and Mrs Rollerson)
and Year 1 and Year 2 classes (Miss Hill, Miss Donnelly and Mrs Heald) are entitled to a school
dinner free of charge.
We are also looking for relief kitchen assistants and Midday Supervisers to cover for illness or
staff training. If you are interested please give your name to Mrs Adele Mann in the school
office.
Parent Questionnaire
A big thank you to everyone who responded to our Parent Questionnaire. We had 80 responses
this year which have been collated and will be considered by the staff and Governors. All of those
that responded had their names entered into a prize draw and the winner of a £10 voucher was
Mrs Samantha Edwards.
BE A STAR and keep our School rules.
Below we have listed our school rules so that you are aware of our expectations in school and can
help remind your child of them at home. These rules are adopted throughout the whole school.
We have Golden Time for half an hour each week for the children in each class to choose a
special activity that they want to do as a reward for keeping our school rules.
Any non-compliance to school rules results in a loss of Golden Time.
Our Golden Rules are:  We are gentle
 We are kind and helpful
 We are honest
 We work hard
 We look after property
 We listen to people
 We walk in school
 We always use kind words in and outside of school.
Please help support you child in knowing and keeping these school rules.
Homefields Attitudes for Life
At Homefields we have six attitudes to learning and life that we are helping our children to
develop. We believe that as they develop these attitudes, they will become better and more
independent learners and active participants of society.
The attitudes change and grow as the children go through school but they are basically:Resourceful – the children are encouraged to try and use different ways of learning.
Reciprocal – the children learn to work independently, in groups and as a class.
Remembers – the children need to remember facts and information and to bring what they
need for school.
Reflective – the children are encouraged to think about what they have learnt and how.
Responsible – the children develop responsibility for their learning and behaviour.
Resilient – children learn how to keep going when learning/life gets difficult.
School Pleases
1. Please let us know of any changes to addresses, telephone numbers etc so we can amend
our records. This is particularly important as we are hoping to introduce a new on-line
payment system for parents during this Autumn term.
2. Please make sure your child has a PE kit in school. Children in KS2 will also need jogging
bottom trousers and a warm top as we will be doing PE outside as often as possible.
Pumps or trainers can be worn indoors for games (no black soles please) and trainers
should be worn outside for games.
3. Please try to ensure that your child has everything they need for the day as they come
into school. Encourage your child to be responsible for ensuring they have all they need at
the start of the day.
4. Please do not bring pushchairs into the school corridor. We need to keep our school as
clean as possible. You can bring in pushchairs and leave them in the entrance and then
bring the contents in with you! Please help keep school clean.
5. Please try to hear your child read regularly each week no matter which class they are in.
6. Please help your child with their homework as talking through their thought processes
helps to consolidate their learning.....more information from teacher/parent meetings.
7. Please remember to send your child with a HEALTHY snack on Mon – Thurs with Friday
being treat day.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP
Year 5 Swimming
All Year 5 children (Mrs Holliday’s Class) will start swimming lessons on Wednesday 10
September so please make sure they have their swimming kit with them. Please note all
earrings must be taken out when swimming.
The children will be transported to Moorways Swimming Baths via transport provided by
Derby City Council. There is no charge for this activity.
School Clubs
Most after-school activities for the Autumn Term will begin in the week commencing 22 September.
However Clubs run by Mr Kinnerley always begin in the very first full week of school.
Monday
Homework Club
Year 6........3.30– 4.15.......Mrs Smith This club starts on Monday
15th September
Soccer Stars
Y1, Y2 and Y3 (there is a cost for this club) ...3.30– 4.30pm This
Club starts on Monday 8 September
KS1 Dance
Y1 and 2 …..…3.30 – 4.15 …Mrs Hanson…..£1 per session
This club
th
starts on Monday 8 September
Tuesday
Choir
KS1/2………3.30 – 4.15….Mrs Holland …….£1 per session
Hockey
KS2…….3.30 – 4.15 …….Mrs Pepper …….£1 per session
Wednesday
Magic Stars
Y1/Y2……..3.30-4.15……..Mr Theobald……..£2 per session
Thursday
Recorder Club
Y2/Y3 Beginners (12 places) during dinner… 12.30 -1pm...…Mrs King
Girls Football
KS2 ……..3.30-4.45……..Miss Kinnerley/Mr Kinnerley (£2.50 per
session. Club starts Thursday 11 September
Friday
Boys Football
Y4,5 and 6........3.30-4.30........ Football Mr Kinnerley (£2.50 per
session) This club starts Friday 12 September.
We can also offer guitar or ukulele lessons with Mr Walters each Friday. There is a charge for these
Lessons and children do need their own instrument. If you are interested please enquire at the
School office.
Children MUST sign up to attend a club (there will be limits on places allocated on a first come, first served
basis) so please let staff at reception know as soon as possible which club your child would like to attend.
We expect children who sign up for a club to make a positive commitment to attend EVERY
week. There will be a register of attendance.
Parents please collect children from the School Reception.
Thank you.
Harvest Assembly
We will be holding our Harvest celebrations on Thursday 16 October starting at 9.10 am. Parents
of Year 2 (only) are invited to join our Assembly. On that day we would like ALL our children to
participate by either bringing 1 item of fresh produce or something from the list below. Some
children like to bring a basket and in the past some children have put notes in to the recipient.
As normal we will be supporting both our local community and the Derby City Mission.
All our fresh produce will be distributed to the residents of Parkway flats and Bluebell Park.
Derby City Mission have asked if it would be possible to supply some of the following;Washing up liquid
Bath/shower gel
Shampoo/Conditioner
Tins of meat
Biscuits/crackers
Tea bags
Sugar
Coffee (small jars)
Boxed UHT milk
Peanut butter
Chocolate spread
Sandwich paste
Honey
Cuppa soup
Packet jelly
Tins of dessert
Tins of potatoes
Tomato/brown sauce
Dates for your Diary for Autumn 2014
Autumn Term
Tuesday 9 September
Wednesday 10 September
Thursday 11 September
Friday 12 September
Monday 15 September
Tuesday 16 September
Wednesday 17 September
Thursday 18 September
Monday 22 September
Thursday 25 September
Monday 29 September
Wednesday 1 October
Thursday 2 October
Monday 6 October
Tuesday 7 October
Thursday 16 October
Friday 17 October
Monday 20 October
Monday 20 October
Thursday 23 October
Friday 24 October
HALF TERM
Year 6 visit to Rosliston
Year 1/2 Circus Visit
Y4 Parents meeting at 9am
Year 1/2 Jelly Beans…..Miss Hill parents meeting at 9am
SEAL Assembly – New Beginnings
Year 1/2 Smarties……..Mrs Heald parents meeting at 3pm
Year 6 Heroes….Mrs Smith parents meeting at 5pm (children to come
too)
Year 1/2 Skittles ……Miss Donnelly parents meeting at 9am
PTA meeting in school at 9am ALL PARENTS WELCOME
Year 3 Rocket Lollies…..Mrs Quinby parents meeting at 9am
Year 4 visit to Conkers
FS2 Starfish – Miss Spray - Parents meeting at 9.15am
FS2 Sea Turtles – Mrs Rollerson/Mrs Gaskill – Parents meeting at 9.15am
Year 5 Flying Saucers …….Mrs Holliday parents meeting at 5.15pm
(children to come too please)
School Council Assembly
After school clubs begin
Photographs – individual school photos will be taken
FS1 new parents meetings at 9am and 3pm
Full Governing Body Meeting 6.30pm
School Council Voting in the morning
Black History Week assemblies
Smart Kids Workshop……..Y5 and Year 6
Harvest – FS2 and KS1 lead Assembly
Y2 parents only invited
PTA Fashion Show – More information to follow
Divali – celebrations in classes.
Parents Meetings Week (no Homework Club)
SEAL Celebration Assembly.
School Closes for Half Term
Monday 3 November
Wednesday 5 November
Monday 10 November
Tuesday 12 November
WK beg 17 November
INSET Day
Bonfire/Firework Art Assembly
SEAL Assembly – Getting on/Falling out.
Bag 2 School Day
Road Safety Week for KS1
Anti- Bullying Week
Thursday 27 November
FS1 January 2015 starters Parents Meeting – 4pm.
Wednesday 10 December
Year 1/2 Jelly Beans….Miss Hill Xmas performance – 5.45pm
Thursday 11 December
Year 1/2 - Smarties ….Mrs Heald Xmas performance – 5.45pm
Year 1/2 – Skittles……..Miss Donnelly Xmas performance – 6.30 pm
Thursday 11 December
FS1 am/pm Xmas singing….11.30am and 2.30pm.
Friday 12 December
Xmas Jumper Day
Tuesday 16 December
Xmas Dinner
SEAL Celebration Assembly
Wednesday 17 December
FS2/Y1/Y2 Xmas parties in the afternoon
Year 5 Xmas performance at 6pm
Thursday 18 December
Y3/Y4 Xmas party in the afternoon
Friday 19 December
Y5/Y6 Xmas party in the afternoon
FS1 Xmas party in the morning and afternoon
School closes for Christmas
School Re-opens on Monday 5 January 2015
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Permission to walk home from school
I give permission for ……………………………………………….. (insert your child’s name) in Class ……………… to walk home
from school alone.
Signed ……………………………………………………..
Date ……………………………………………….