Issue 14 - Friday 24th January 2020
Headteacher's Welcome
Dear Parents and Carers
Our Parkfield character focus for this half term is dedication and in our new HIIT workouts taking place at the end of dinner times in KS2, there are many pupils demonstrating this quality. Our HIIT workouts are a way of getting our pupils more active on a daily basis and encouraging a healthy lifestyle. The children have loved this new initiative and have enjoyed the variety of exercises that they complete along with music. I am hoping to introduce something similar in KS1 in the near future so they can also demonstrate their dedication to keeping fit.
Congratulations to many of the sports teams that have competed over the past few weeks. Both boys and girls football teams have played really well recently with one of our 6-a-side teams getting through to a final earlier on this week.
Many parents have signed up for Parents Evening which takes place this Wednesday between 3.30pm and 7pm. The sign up sheets, which are filling up, are available in the foyer. All parents will also be able to visit classrooms to look at English and maths books. I look forward to seeing you there.
As always, thanks for your support and please ensure you read the news below, including the dates for your diary.
Mr Kemp
Latest News
MAD DAY (Music, Arts and Drama)
We've had an incredibly 'memorable' day here at Parkfield. All pupils across the school have taken part in a MAD day where they've visited every class and completed a carousel of activities involving music, art and drama. It has been a great opportunity for many of our pupils to demonstrate a love for the arts and there are some wonderful pictures of the day on Twitter.
AUSTRALIA DAY
Monday is a non-uniform day as we are asking for donations towards the Australian charities in need of money following the fires. Children may come to school in something Australian themed...Australian colours, Aussie sports team colours, animals or just Aussie socks or ribbons in your hair - anything at all, no need to buy anything special.
During the day we'll be linking live to Mrs Bracken's son who is in Brisbane, completing activities in class, having a special lunch, raffling off a giant cuddly kangaroo (kindly donated by H Bell and Sons) and a beautiful Koala Bear (donated by JC Mills). We'll also be tree planting with Australian Steve and Mrs Acil. (Fruit Trees donated by H Bell and Sons) and selling seeds such as wildflower meadow, lavender, sweet William etc. (all donated by Recycle Dave) Available from the office or at the Bake Sale. Finally, we will be holding a Bake Sale at the end of the day. Please help by baking or donating some buns or a cake - perhaps some biscuits.
TRIPS AND VISITS
A number of trips have been booked for the next few terms with classes looking forward to some great opportunities linked to their topics. Ordsall Hall, Lyme Park and Tatton Park are just a few of the memorable days out that our Parkfielders will be experiencing.
WEBSITE
Please visit our website regularly as it has lots of useful information about the school. It's also regularly updated and includes information about our curriculum, previous presentations for parents, e-safety information and links to school policies.
LOVE OF READING
Your child will be bringing home another book alongside their usual reading book each week. This is their 'reading for pleasure book' that they can choose from the class library each week. When they have completed the book, then please sign their reading record with the date/title/'finished'. We love reading at Parkfield and so to encourage the children to read for pleasure more, they will have a special bookmark ticked off each time they complete a book. They may even win a prize for reading lots and lots! Thank you for your continued support and we hope that you enjoy sharing these books with your child.
SECRET READER
To promote a love of reading we are introducing an exciting new initiative called 'Secret Reader'. This is where an adult comes into the class for the last 15 minutes of the day and reads a book to the children. However, the children won't know who is coming in and what is being read until the adult arrives. The secret reader maybe a teacher, older pupil, ex-pupil or a family member from someone in that class. If you're interested please click here to suggest which days would suit you best and the class teacher or office will contact you.
YEAR 2 SATS PARENT MEETING
If you have a child in Year 2, you're welcome to join us this Tuesday 28th January in the 'Blue Room' at 9.00am or the Y2 classroom at 3.15pm for a short presentation about the Year 2 SATs tests that take place in May. For those unable to attend, we will upload the presentation online.
STAFFING UPDATES
As you may be aware, there have been many changes to teaching staff this academic year. However, from Easter I am delighted to announce that I'm expecting to have two of our dedicated Parkfield teachers return back to school: Miss Danby (now Mrs Hartley) will be joining us to teach Year 3 whilst Miss McCall will return to teach Year 4 for the remainder of the school year. Whilst we looking forward to welcoming them back, we will be sad to wave goodbye to the fantastic teachers that have stepped in and done a fantastic job. We wish them all the best for their futures in teaching!
LUNCHTIME SUPERVISOR POSITION
If you're interested in joining our Parkfield lunchtime team, a position has recently become available. The role involves working in the hall between 11.30 and 1.30pm term time only. For an application form and further details, please contact the school office.
⏰ Attendance and Punctuality
Firstly, and most importantly, a HUGE well done and thank you to the 38 children who have 100% attendance for the academic year to date.
Our current attendance figure is 95.2% the national average is 95%.
Arriving on time for school is important as late arrivals are disruptive for the class and can be a cause of distress for the child who is late.
Children can also miss important information during registration including the plan for the day.
- Doors open at 8.45am and close at 8.50am
At this time of year, thoughts may turn to booking a summer holiday. Absence during term time will not be authorised and it is very important that parents and carers understand that children with unauthorised absences, including holidays, and unexplained absences are at risk of receiving a Fixed Penalty Notice from Rochdale Council.
If your child is too ill to attend school, please contact the school office before 9.30am with full details of your child’s illness/symptoms. If we do not hear from you, we will ring you to find out why your child is not in school. If we are unable to make contact and you do not provide a reason for your child’s absence, this absence will be recorded as unauthorised.
Small changes can make a big difference! Why not pack your child’s bag or lunchbox the night before? Set the alarm clock ten minutes earlier? These small changes can help everyone to be ready to leave home in good time, arrive at school punctually and be ready for the day ahead. Thank you for your support in helping to raise our school attendance. If you would like any support or advice on attendance please speak to Miss Steele.
We need to work together to ensure that our children receive their educational entitlement that they deserve.
⚠️ 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.
PTA News
The PTA are working hard to organise events to raise funds for the pupils of Parkfield.
The up and coming events that need your support are:
- Reception and Year 1 Valentines Tea on Thursday 13th February 3.15 to 4.45pm. There will be fun games, music, food and refreshments provided. The cost is £5.00 per child.
- Year 2, to Year 6 Valentines Disco on Friday 14th February 3.15 to 4.45pm. There will be a DJ and refreshments. The cost is £5.00 per child.
- Forfeit Day (Donate an Easter Egg) Friday March 27th.
- Family Easter Bingo in the evening. The first session will be 3.30 to 5.30. There will be soft drinks and hot dogs available, fun family bingo and games. The cost is £5.00 for a family of 5. The second session will be at 6.30 to 8.30pm. There will be drinks and food available, fun family bingo and games. The cost again is £5.00 for a family of 5. We are trying to accommodate more families by having 2 sessions.
- This year we are going to try and have a Summer Family Fun Day on Saturday 4th July. This will be instead of our usual Summer fair after school. More details will follow.
- We would like to do a family sponsored '3 Park Challenge'. This will be held on Saturday 6th June. We are inviting the whole family to join us starting with a 1 mile walk at Heaton Park, moving on to Chadderton Park for another 1 mile walk and finishing at Queens Park for the final 1 mile walk. We would like your child to enter our create the poster competition to advertise this event in around the school. The closing date for the poster competition is Thursday 13th February and the winner's will be announced in assembly on Friday 14th February.
Thank you for your continual support, we are promoting fun family events that will raise money for the pupils of Parkfield.
Our current balance is £3480.56.
🍴 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.
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!