Issue 10 - Wednesday 4th December 2019

Headteacher's Welcome

Dear Parents and Carers

December has arrived and for our Parkfielders, it's always a special time of the year. Last Friday some dedicated Parkfield elves stayed behind after school to make sure the building looked incredibly festive for when the children returned on Monday - photos of the decorated school can be found on Twitter. Santa has also left a special postbox in the foyer where letters to him can be posted and he will reply personally to every letter recieved.

The next few weeks are incredibly busy with pantomimes, nativities, parties, christmas dinner and a whole school carol concert. Please keep an eye on the school website and your emails for up to date information.

A reminder that from 3.15pm this Friday 6th December all friends and families are welcome to join us at the annual Christmas Fair. There will be a number of stalls where prizes can be won. All of the profits go to the PTA who will be using some of this money to subsidise the pantomime visit.

I look forward to seeing lots of our friends and families joining us this Friday for the Christmas Fair at 3.15pm.

Mr Kemp

Latest News

FORFEIT DAYS

A reminder that children can come into school this Friday in non-uniform if they donate a £1 shop toy or gift. Donations will be used for prizes in Friday's Christmas Fair.

PANTOMIME - REMINDER

Another unforgettable experience for Parkfield! The whole school will be visiting Middleton Arena for this year's Cinderella festive pantomime on Tuesday 10th December. The PTA will be kindly donating 50% of the ticket price towards the show which means it will only cost £5 per child and payment can now be made on the School Gateway.

STAFFING UPDATES

Our Y4 teacher, Mr Howson, has been given the fabulous opportunity to go and teach in China from January 2020. Unfortunately for Parkfield it means he will be leaving us at the end of the month. Since joining the team this September, Mr Howson has made a positive impact on he school and the children he has taught and he will be missed. Mr McGhee, who has recently been teaching in Oldham, will be joining the team in January teaching Year 4.

Mrs Seddon, who has been working in Y6 at Parkfield for the past 9 years, sadly leaves us at the end of this term. She is off in pursuit of a new career and we wish her all the best for the future. Mrs Seddon has been a dedicated member of staff that will be missed by staff, pupils and parents. Mrs Naughton will be moving into Y6 for the remainder of the year as she knows the Y6 curriculum and has recently worked with the Y6 children. We will therefore be welcoming the very experienced TA Mr Collins back to Parkfield again to join Mrs Acil in Year 5.

NEW READING INTIATIVE: 'LOVE OF READING'.

One of our priorties this year is to inspire children to read more high quality texts and one initiative we've just started is the use of our improved classroom libraries. Children will be able to take home up to one book a week from the class library and each time they complete a book it will be recorded by an adult in the class on a jazzy new bookmark! Over the year, children can win a bronze, silver and gold reading reward dependant on the number of books they read. You can support us with this initiative by reminding them to read, share and enjoy the class library books in addition to their reading scheme book.

POLLING DAY - WE'RE OPEN!

A reminder that Parkfield will be a polling station for the forthcoming General Election but you will be pleased to know that we are going to be open on Thursday 12th December. To ensure the safety of all pupils and the smooth running of the school day the following changes will be put in place:

  • Polling will be in the Blue Room: the internal doors will be locked so there will be no access to the rest of the school.
  • Before and After school club will take place in the hall.
  • All children will enter and leave the school through the KS2 playground at the back of the school. A member of staff will collect their classes.
  • The large green KS2 gate will be locked all day.
  • Dinner and break times will be staggered for KS1 and KS2 to minimise the number of children using the larger KS2 playground.
  • The main entrance doors will be closed and not open automatically. They will only be opened by a member of the Parkfield office team.
  • Children requiring changing will have access to the toilet at the front of the school
  • Items from the Blue room will be taken and used in the KS2 library area for those pupils that require time out of class
  • The staff toilets will be for males and females for one day
  • No children in Reception/Y1 to get changed in view of the windows – as public will be walking past.
  • Staff will not be able to use the car parking spaces near the school. As a result, only 14 members of staff will be able to park in the spaces opposite the school building, spaces outside the office and Reception class will be for members of the public. Unfortunately, everyone else will have to park on the road. If you arrive after 8.15am – you’re going to have to park on the road.

NATIVITIES - RECEPTION, YEAR 1 AND YEAR 2

Information has been sent out about the upcoming nativities. Rehearsals have been successful so far and Year 1 and 2 will be performing together over two afternoons on the 16th and 17th of December at 2pm. Reception will also be performing their nativity for one afternoon only on Friday 13th at 2pm. Tickets are limited to four per family as space in the hall is limited. We look forward to seeing you at the performances.

PARENT DROP INS - THANKS

Thanks very much to those able to make it to the spelling lesson drop ins that took place over the past couple of Fridays. We hope you found the drop ins useful. Thanks to those that provided positive feedback for the drop ins - it can be found here: https://www.parkfieldprimary.com/website/parents-views.html

Y6 SATS BOOSTER CLASSES

Throughout the Spring term, we're inviting all Y6 pupils into school from 8.15am every morning to take part in some additional booster classes to help them prepare for the end of year SATs tests. The classes will be free of charge and we will send more information in the near future.

TWITTER ADVENT QUIZ

Our annual Christmas quiz has returned, with a new question being tweeted for 12 days in December. Children have brought home answer sheets (see Mr Haughton if you've somehow not got one) and all you have to do is cross out the answer to each question to find out which naughty elf is left that has eaten all of the cookies! Hand in your completed sheet to your class teacher with £1 and we’ll pick out two hamper winners at church on Wednesday 18th December.

TRADITIONAL CHRISTMAS LUNCH - WEDNESDAY 18TH DECEMBER

Our traditional Christmas lunch is very popular and if your child has a packed lunch and wants a dinner, then please pop into the office and let them know. It's free for children in KS1 and in KS2 it is the usual price of £2.20.

NO CLUBS

Please note, there will be no after school clubs, other than Busy Bees, on the final week of term.

SCHOOL CLOSED

A reminder that school closes for the Christmas holidays on Thursday 19th December 2019 and we re-open on Monday 6th January.

PTA News

PTA RAFFLE TICKETS

Would you like to win £500 before Christmas? Raffle tickets have been sent home and if you'd like to take part please return your ticket with the £5 entry fee. The raffle is now going to be drawn at the Christmas Carol Service on Wednesday 18th December.

TEA WITH SANTA - RECEPTION AND YEAR 1

We are once again inviting our Reception and Year 1 children to have Tea with Santa on 9th December 3.15pm to 4.30pm.

The children will be taken straight from class to the school hall where they will have a special afternoon tea and a few games, Santa will arrive and the children will meet him and have a story before being collected at 4.30pm.

If you would like a ticket for your child for Tea with Santa, please complete the slip being sent home and return with your payment of £5 to school before the 6th December.

MOVIE NIGHT

A huge thanks to all for your support with the movie night - we made over £450 profit.

📅 Calendar

🐦 Twitter

🍴 School Dinners🍴

  • Please let the school office know as soon as possible if your child is changing from school meals to packed lunches and vice versa.
  • In line with local authority guidance, the price of school meals has increased to £2.20 each day, £11 per week for KS2 children. All monies will be collected using 'School Gateway'. Please note, if school meals are 2 weeks in arrears you will be asked to provide a packed lunch.
  • The school provides healthy and nutritious school meals that are cooked onsite. The contents of each school meal is in line with Healthy Eating Guidelines which is a requirement for all schools.
  • All children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 are entitled to a Universal Infant Free School Meal (UIFSM), irrespective of family income and family circumstances. If your circumstances change in future and you then receive benefits, you will need to apply for a Free School Meal (FSM). The number of children entitled to a FSM affects the funding we receive as a school. Therefore, we kindly ask all parents that believe they may be entitled, to apply for FSM. These forms can be collected from the school office or downloaded online from http://www.rochdale.gov.uk/schools_and_children/free_school_meals.aspx

🔗 Useful Links 🔗

Find out about how our curriculum is structured and the objectives children learn in each year group and subject. We are currently in Autumn 1 Cycle B.

A range of activities are set each half term related to the learning taking place in the classroom.

Payments for dinners, trips and other activities can be made online using the School Gateway.

Would you like the opportunity to win £25,000 each week and support the school? If so, please join the Parkfield school lottery where one person from our school is guaranteed a prize each week. A percentage of the money raised goes towards school funds.

🔔 Reminders 🔔

✅ Please read as much as possible with your child. Just 10 minutes a day can make a huge difference.

✅ There is a spelling test each Friday for Y1-6 and new spellings to be learnt are also given out on a Friday.

Library days: Mon – 5/6, Tues – 3/4, Weds – 1/2, Thurs – R.

✅ Mathletics tasks are set online each week to consolidate and extend learning.

✅ ‘Plain black’ shoes or trainers with no other colours on them

✅ Information about school uniform can be found on the school website here.

✅ All after school clubs finish at 4pm. Please let us know if your child doesn’t want to continue as we usually have long waiting lists.

✅ School water bottles are available for £1 from the school office. No other water bottle is allowed.

✅ All equipment is provided by school. Please don’t send pens, pencils, pencil cases…etc.

✅ Remember to check your emails, we like to send plenty!

⏰ Attendance and Punctuality

  • School doors are open between 8.45 - 8.50am. Thank you for getting your children to school on time so that they are able to complete the start of day activities.

⚠️ Health and Safety

  • Please do not park in front of the school gates at any time. This week we have a had a few complaints because people are parking and the road is being blocked. This is unsafe for both our children and parents.