Happy New Year and welcome back to all our children, parent, teachers and community friends (locally and around the world). We hope you have all enjoyed the festive season and that you are all ready for the new term ahead.
New school news will be posted on our blog and Facebook pages and class newsletters and topic maps will be sent home this week to let you know about your child’s class and curriculum information for this term.
In addition to these, please click on to see key pieces of admin information and general reminders that are important for everyone to read and take on board:
The School Day
- School is open from 8.10am and school formally starts at 8.15am. Children should not arrive before 8.10am and be left unattended, as there is no supervision prior to this time. Lessons start at 8:15 and children who are late will miss valuable input at the beginning of these lessons. Children who arrive after 8:15am are marked late in the class register.
- School finishes at 12:00noon and 3.00pm and children should be picked up promptly. Teachers are involved in duties, clubs, meetings or assessments and are not available to supervise children who are picked up late. Please call ahead to let us know if there is reason for your delay. Children will be brought to the office when not picked up on time and a late charge will apply to children picked up after 3.15pm or 4:15pm if attending an after-school club.
Uniform (Optional for Toddlers, PS and JK)
- Comfortable shoes – no flip flops or backless shoes please. Younger children are best with shoes that are easy to take on and off and that will encourage independence with this process. Preferred sock colour – white.
- PE sports shoes are required for Years K – 6 – PE days should be the same as last term but check with your child’s teacher if unsure.
- Label all items with your child’s name.
Plan Healthy Meals
- The school will continue its hot lunch programme for full-time children on Monday 11th January. Menus will be available on the PoS later this week. Remember that your child will need a suitable container with a lid and cutlery to eat this with.
- All children need a healthy morning snack (fruit / veg encouraged).
- Those having a packed lunch need a healthy lunch. We do not allow chocolate, candy or soda in school.
- Please provide adequate water for the whole day. The school is able to provide water in emergency situations but regular top ups are an indication that insufficient water is being provided. Remember that extra water is needed on PE/Club days.
Medical / Hygiene
- Check for headlice. As always, we recommend checking for those critters that may have taken up residence over the holidays and treat accordingly, if necessary. Please remember that long hair should be tied back for school. We continue to recommend that you follow the ‘Take a Peek Once a Week’ Strategy throughout the year, but that you are especially vigilant this first month back.
- If your child should become ill or has an accident in school, we may need to contact you IMMEDIATELY to pick up your child. Please make sure that your contact numbers are kept up to date in school to make this possible. We ask that if your child is off sick that you ensure that they are fully recovered and well enough to return to school. Children returning to school after illness should clearly be fit to do so and be free from infection. Please err on the side of caution when making a decision about your child returning to school. As a rule of thumb, children should not come to school if they have a fever, have vomited or had diarrhoea within the last 24 hours.
- In school each class will review, and teachers will continue to encourage children to maintain basic hygiene routines on arrival, during and at the end of the school day. Hand washing is a learned habit, and is key to preventing the spread of colds, viruses, flu and parasites, etc. both at home and school.
Birthdays
- Please note that we do not encourage parties at school, with balloons, party food and party bags. We are, however happy to celebrate children’s birthdays at school by singing ‘happy birthday’ either in class, in assemblies or at the lunch tables.
- If you would like to bring in something special to eat or drink on your child’s birthday, please tell us a few days beforehand. We ask that these items are mindful of our healthy eating policies. As we recognise that some parents wish to monitor the food their child may be eating, we ask that you bring a small individually wrapped item. These will then be distributed and taken home at the end of the school day. If it is table-ready fruit, then we are happy to share this out during snack or lunch time.
- If you wish to distribute private party invitations at school, please ensure that all children in the class are invited; otherwise please distribute these out of school.
After School Clubs
- Our after-school programme will start in the week beginning Monday 11th January. Details of these will go out during the first week. Please let us know if you would like to help out with or run an after school club. Many children do lots of external after-school clubs so do pass on any schedules you have that will help us to arrange our clubs not to clash, if possible.
Car Parking
- To ensure the safety of everyone and to keep traffic flow at its optimum, we have specific parking recommendations that you can find in our School Handbook.
We hope you find this helpful and again, full details can be referred to in our School Handbook, available on our website. Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns or other helpful tips to pass on.
We look forward to seeing you all, saying hello to returning friends and welcoming new families to our community.
Provo Primary