Issue 6 - Friday 18th October 2019

Headteacher's Welcome

Dear Parents and Carers

As we complete the final week of this half term I'd like to say I'm incredibly impressed with the behaviour and attitude of our Parkfielders. Our new Year 6 have quickly realised that they are all role models to the younger classes and have adapted brilliantly to this new responsibility. Also, our Reception class have quickly settled into life as Parkfielders and are showing some great qualities that will support them through their lives at Parkfield. This half term we have been focusing on the characteristic 'Listening' and I have noticed an improvement across the school. Next half term our focus will be 'Respect'.

Many of the events this term also proved what a great community we have here at Parkfield: Parents' Evening was attended by 96% of our families with some incredibly positive feedback on the questionnaire; Year 2 and Year 6 class assemblies have been well supported; PTA Race night was a huge success with over 100 people attending and finally the support we had at the Parkfield Dig Day a few Saturdays ago was excellent. Thank you.

I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate our amazing School Councillors that spent this Tuesday showing around prospective parents. They spoke with confidence, honesty and showed a great level of maturity when speaking to members of the public and I was incredibly proud of each and everyone of them.

Finally, I hope you all have a wonderful half term and I look forward to seeing you back in school on Monday 28th October.

Mr Kemp

Latest News

GOOD LUCK MR BARNES

Organ donation makes a huge difference to the lives of individuals and their families who battle with life-threatening illnesses every single day. It is with this in mind that I am writing to inform you that our Y6 teacher, Mr Barnes, will leave us for a short while to donate a kidney to a close family member. It will hopefully mean that this person will be able to live a normal life again.

Mr Hellon, an experienced Y6 and KS2 teacher, will join us to teach Year 6 until Mr Barnes returns in the Spring term. To ensure a smooth transition and to continue the high expectations we set in Y6, Mr Hellon will be working alongside Mr Barnes for a few weeks before his surgery. Mr Barnes’ last day will be Friday 22nd November and I’m sure you will all join me in wishing him and his family good luck for the big operation and a speedy recovery for both donor and recipient.

HARVEST DONATIONS

Thank you for your kind donations in this week's Harvest Service. All donations were collected by Middleton Foodbank and they will go to some of the most vulnerable families in the community.

PARENT'S EVENING FEEDBACK

It was wonderful to receive such brilliant responses to this term's parent questionnaire, which can be read on our website here - https://www.parkfieldprimary.com/website/parents-views.html

BOOK PEOPLE BOOK FAIR

We have some exciting news! The Book People 'Bus' will be on the school car park on the 4th November selling some great books at a fantastic price. School will recieve a proportion of the money that our friends and families spend on the day.

POPPIES

After half term poppies and other remembrance materials will be sold by the school council.

PTA RACE NIGHT

A huge thank you for all your support on Friday evening. It was a fantastic evening for the whole family. We made £230 profit which goes back to your children in the future. Our next event is on Friday 15th November, Fancy Dress Disco. We have a DJ booked, Fantastic raffle prizes and a quiz to keep everyone entertained. Tickets will be on sale from Monday 28th October at the school office, £5 family ticket. Please come along for a fun evening for the whole family! Prizes for the best dressed adult and child.

PARKFIELD DIG DAY

Thanks to those parents and children that came along and helped us clear a large section of the Friendship garden a few Saturday's ago. Your help was invaluable and has helped us make rapid progress with our outdoor learning space. You will be seeing some big changes to this area over the next few months.

YEAR 5 AND 6 SCHOOL TRIP

Please check your emails for payment information about the Year 5 and Year 6 trip to Stockport Air Raid Shelter on Tuesday 29th October. This is going to be a fantastic experience for all the children and an incredibly memorable moment to start their World War 2 topic.

LEARNING LOGS

We had an amazing amount of Learning Logs completed by many children across the school this half term. There were some incredibly creative habitat designs and pyramids! The written work was also of really high quality and the children had the opportunity yesterday to have a look at each others work. Thanks for your support.

ATTENDANCE POLICY

A reminder that our attendance policy has been updated and is now available on our website here. The key change is that our policy is now in line with the local authority and other local schools regarding penalty notices. A penalty notice will be issued for holidays taken during term-time which total 5 days or more. We recognise that this is short notice and as a result will implement the change from Christmas. In addition, if you have already booked a holiday after Christmas, and have the evidence proving that the holiday has already been booked we will not issue a penalty notice. I'm sure you will understand that having good attendance and punctuality is vital for children to achieve and succeed at school and thanks in advance for your support on this matter.

REMINDER - NEW STAFF ROLES

Mrs Whalen is the new Deputy Headteacher and will happily assist with any queries or issues you may have. Mrs Whalen will still be continuing her role as the school SENCO (Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator). Miss Steele will continue supporting families and work with outside agencies (such as social services and the NHS).

📅 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.