Issue 8 - Friday 18th October 2024
Headteacher's Welcome
Dear Parkfield Families,
I would like to begin by expressing my heartfelt thanks to all our families for your generosity this week. Your kindness in sending in food and toiletries for our Harvest assembly has been overwhelming. The donations were collected by Middleton Foodbank, where they will be used to support some of the most vulnerable families in our community. Your contributions truly make a difference.
I am also delighted to share some exciting news about our school football team, who played their first match of the year against Little Heaton earlier this week. The team showed tremendous effort, played with great skill, and secured a fantastic 4-0 victory. We are incredibly proud of them for their hard work and sportsmanship. Well done, team!
As we approach the end of the term, I would like to remind everyone about our special 'Maths Day' taking place next Friday. Even though it will be the last Friday of the term, we have a fun and engaging day planned where we encourage all our Parkfielders to dress up in maths-themed outfits. Please see below for further details. It promises to be a wonderful way to wrap up this long half term.
Finally, if you have not already done so, I encourage you to sign up for Class Dojo. This will allow you to receive notifications when your child earns Dojo points and keep you updated on their achievements. Click here to download the app and stay connected with our school community.
Wishing you all a restful and enjoyable weekend!
Mr. Kemp
LATEST NEWS
PARKFIELD MATHS DAY - WE ARE DRESSING UP!
Parkfield Math's Day will take place next Friday 25th October. Throughout the day children across school will take part in engaging and exciting Math's challenges and events. This is an opportunity for us to celebrate Maths as a whole school which will help to promote positive Math's mindsets for all of our children. As part of the Maths day, the children will have access to their Times Table Rockstars and Numbots accounts. Therefore, on Friday 25th October, children across the school can come to school dressed as a number, a robot or a rockstar. Please use materials/ clothing that is inexpensive, or use items that you already own. Costumes can be crafted from old t-shirts, boxes, tin foil, fabric pens etc. There will be a certificate for the best dressed in each class, so get creative! Non-uniform is also an option for those children that don't want to dress up.
PARENT'S EVENING
Parent's evening is taking place next Wednesday between 3.30pm and 6.30pm. The evening will take place in the school hall and you can sign up for a time slot following the link that has been emailed out to parents. If you haven't yet done so, you can click here to sign up. The 5 minute conversation with the class teachers will be focussed on how well your child has settled into their new class.
Please note that Busy Bees Club will be held in the Year 4 classroom so children can be picked from the Y3/4 door.
FREE SCHOOL MEALS - PLEASE APPLY
If you are entitled to Free School meals please ensure you have applied using the link here. School receives additional funding for those pupils that are entitled for free school meals and this much needed funding helps better support all Parkfielders. Even if your child is in Reception, Year 1 or Year 2 or they're on packed lunch - please still apply. If there has been a change in your family circumstances you may also be entitled to apply for Free School Meals.
YEAR 6 CLASS ASSEMBLY
Our families are welcome to join us next Thursday 24th October at 9am in the school hall for the Year 6 class assembly where our oldest children will be sharing their learning with the whole school. We hope you are able to make it.
FUTURE FAMILY LEARNING EVENTS
For information the future family learning events this term are:
Tuesday 5th November, 9-10am: Y2
SCIENCE CLUB
We can confirm that we’ve had a great response to the Mad Science After School Programme and it will be going ahead as scheduled on Fridays from Friday 8th November 3:15pm-4:15pm. There are places remaining so if you want to book your child on please book online at https://northengland.madscience.org/parents-register-a.aspx or contact the Mad Science Team on office@madsciencenw.com or call 01772 628844
ELSA
We are really pleased to share that we are now an ELSA school!
This means we have an Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA) at Parkfield.
Mrs Langan is now a trained ELSA and her role in the afternoons is to support children's emotional regulation and wellbeing. She has received training from the Educational Psychology team and has regular supervision sessions with the Educational Psychologists who she can approach for support as needed. Mrs Langan will be working with individual children and small groups on a needs-led basis. Mrs Langan is working closely with the SEND team and class teachers to support as many children as possible with their emotional needs and wellbeing.
If your child is identified as benefitting from ELSA support, you will receive a letter from Mrs Langan and the SEND team identifying the target that will be worked on over a block of sessions and the letter will ask for parent/carer consent for the sessions to take place.
Wellbeing Dominoes and Lego Therapy:
Running separately to ELSA sessions, your child may be involved in:
Wellbeing Dominoes groups
Lego Therapy sessions
Wellbeing Dominoes and Lego Therapy are part of our daily interventions and children involved in these groups are selected for a variety of reasons: to be to be good role models, to develop emotional resilience and to improve their emotional wellbeing. Parent/carers will not receive a consent letter for these groups. The children will be selected to be involved by class teachers and SEND team.
If you have any questions about any of the above - please email office@parkfield.rochdale.sch.uk and in the subject FAO: ELSA and SEND team.
CLASS DOJO FOR COMMUNICATION
We are trialling the use of Class Dojo as a communication tool over the next few weeks across Year 1 and 2. It will be used to promote the phonics videos that children can watch. Please ensure you have the dojo app on your phone so you can follow what is happening. You can sign up by clicking here.
HALF TERM
A reminder that school closes next Friday 25th October for one week. School will re-open on Monday 4th November.
AFTER SCHOOL SPORTS CLUBS
Please can your child come to school in their PE kit if they have a place in the After School Sports Club.
PLEASE KEEP AN EYE ON THE CLUBS OVER THE NEXT HALF TERM AS WE HAVE LOTS OF FIXTURES AND SCHOOL ACTIVITIES ON SO IT WILL AFFECT THE CLUBS!
Monday - 21/10/24 -Year 3/4 Football
Tuesday - 22/10/24 - Year 5/6 Football (CANCELLED DUE TO FOOTBALL MATCH)
Wednesday - 23/10/24 - Year 5/6 Multi Sports (CANCELLED DUE TO PARENTS EVENING)
Thursday - 24/10/24 - Year 4/5/6 Cross Country - (YEAR 4 ONLY AS YEAR 5/6 HAVE A CROSS COUNTRY COMPETITION AT ST PETERS)
PLEASE NOTE: MRS BANKS WILL BE SENDING OUT A NEW CROSS COUNTRY SIGN UP SHEET AFTER HALF TERM FOR YEAR 5/6 ONLY.
CROSS COUNTRY WILL NOT BE ON THE FIRST WEEK BACK.
REMINDERS
PROSPECTIVE PARENT OPEN MORNINGS
Is your child due to start primary school in September 2025? Do you know anyone that has a child starting school in 2025? If so, we are inviting prospective parents into the school on Tuesday 12th November from 9.15am. There will be a presentation from the headteacher followed by a tour of the school from our school councillors. Please contact the school office to book your place.
CLASS DOJO
Would you like to see how well your child is doing at school? We award Dojo points for pupils that go 'above and beyond' in the classroom and these can be seen by parents if you download the app. We have over 80% of our families signed up already! If you click this link to set up a parent account we will then approve it. This acess will provide you with the opportunity to see how many Dojo points your child has earnt and what for. Please note that we are only using the app for Dojo points, not messages or photos, therefore you do not need any of the subscription options you might be offered.
Latest Class Updates
SAFEGUARDING INFORMATION
Mr Kemp is our Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) supported by Mrs Clawson and Mrs Smith (Deputy DSL). If you have any concerns about the needs or welfare of a pupil, please don't hesitate to contact the school. We all share a responsibility to our pupils safety and wellbeing.
As a school our promise is: We will listen, we will support and we will take action.
More information can be found on the school website here: https://www.parkfieldprimary.com/website/safeguarding-and-child-protection.html
ATTENDANCE and PUNCTUALITY
As you are all aware, school attendance and punctuality is one of Parkfields priorities and I have been thrilled with the support that parents have been giving with regards to improving their children’s attendance.
Our school target is 96% this year and we need your continued support to ensure that we meet this mark.
ATTENDANCE - HOLIDAYS IN TERM TIME
Please note that, in line with the school policy, fines will be issued to families that go on a term time holiday where children miss 5 consecutive full days. Currently the fine is £60 per child per parent which equates to a £240 fine for a two parent family with two children. If you are going on holiday due to exceptional circumstances, please speak to the headteacher as a fine may not have to be issued. More information an be found on our attendance policy found here.
Persistent Absence
Persistent absence is defined by the Government as attendance below 90%. This equates to 19 days or more of absence a year or 100+ lessons missed. If a child’s attendance drops below 90% this could lead to them becoming a safeguarding concern. This could also result in the authority taking legal action against parents, resulting in a fine or court appearance. Over the next few weeks I will be making contact by letter with the families of children whose attendance is below 90% to invite you into school for a discussion about how we can support you to improve your child’s attendance.
Thank you so much to all the families who have been working hard to ensure children’s attendance and punctuality is high. Establishing early good habits really will make a positive difference to their lives. The link between attendance and achievement cannot be over stated. Your child will achieve better if they are in school every day. Only in very exceptional circumstances should a child be absent from school. Please ring the school office no later than 8.30am to report an absence.
Punctuality
Please get your child to school on time. Poor punctuality can lead to your child…
Feeling embarrassed in front of their friends
Missing the beginning of vital lessons making them fall behind
Missing important instructions for the rest of the school day
At Parkfield children are to line up before school and doors open at 8.45am. They close at shortly after.
If you arrive after the doors are closed you will have to come through the school office.
Arrivals after 9.30am are classed as an unauthorised absence for the morning session.
HEALTH and SAFETY
STAY SAFE EARLY BIRDS - REMINDER
If your child is attending Early Birds, please walk down the path and through the KS1 yard - it may take a few more seconds but it's much safer than walking through the busy car park. If the hall door is ever closed, simply ring the bell for assistance.
Dogs are not permitted in the school playground.
If driving, park further away from the school and walk to reduce congestion and the possibility of any serious accidents.
Unfortunately, Parents and Carers are not allowed to drop off and pick up from the school car park at any time.
Children are not allowed on the play equipment before and after school. Please keep them off.
MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLBEING
5 WAYS TO WELLBEING
At Parkfield we promote the 5 ways to Wellbeing which can help children and adults to achieve a more positive lifestyle.
#THRIVE offer a local service for children and young people aged up to 19 years who are experiencing health and wellbeing issues such as feeling stressed, worried or not enjoying things. #Thrive can also provide advice and support to parents, carers and anyone that works with a child or young person. You can find out more information about the service by clicking here: https://www.penninecare.nhs.uk/thrive