Issue 27 - Friday 1st April 2022
Headteacher's Welcome
Dear Parents and Carers,
As we enter our final week of the term, I'd like to congratulate the football team who played brilliantly on Thursday night against Little Heaton and beat them 6-3. There were some great performances and every player remained positive until the very end, battling for a well earned victory.
Thursday also saw our Y5 class visit St. Anne's Academy for two exciting Science lessons where they made periscopes and got to use bunsen burners. It was a great insight for them into what life at secondary school has to offer.
Our Science theme also continued this week with the arrival of some eggs in Reception class which have now hatched into incredibly cute chicks. They will be with us for a short while and will provide our youngest pupils with some wonderful learning opportunities and great memories.
Thanks for your continued support and have a wonderful weekend - for those that have tickets for tonight's Bingo event - we look forward to seeing you.
Mr Kemp
LATEST NEWS
BINGO EVENT - TONIGHT - FRIDAY 1ST APRIL - 6.30 - 8.30pm - TICKETS STILL AVAILABLE
Tickets are still available at the office for tonight's Bingo event. The event will take place between 6.30 and 8.30pm. Tickets cost £3.00 each and all monies raised will be spent on the new playground equipment that our school councillors have chosen.
Due to lack of demand we had to cancel the earlier session - however, we hope that after tonight's success there will be a large demand next year!
NON-UNIFORM DAY
Thanks for your support with today's non-uniform day. We now have plenty of prizes to use for tonight's BINGO event and for other Easter activities taking place over the next week at school.
Y3 CLASS ASSEMBLY
We're inviting you to join us on Wednesday 6th April to the Y3 class assembly at 9.00am in the school hall. We're sorry that we have had to alter the date due to staff absence. However, it will be lovely to have families join us that morning so that Y3 can demonstrate what they've been learning about this past half term in class. We look forward to seeing you.
DECORATE AN EASTER EGG AND BONNET COMPETITION.
Advanced warning that it is that time of the year where we'll be asking for decorated Easter Eggs and Easter bonnets. This year's event will take place next Thursday 7th April. We are sure there will be some incredibly creative designs as always. Children can bring in their Bonnets and Eggs on Thursday morning. The winners will be announced at the Easter Service on Friday 8th April.
EASTER SERVICE INVITE
We're inviting our families to join us on Friday 8th April at 1.30pm at All Saints & Martyr's church for our Easter Service. Year 6 will be leading the service with contributions from the choir and other classes.
PE KITS
A reminder that PE kit (i.e. Royal Blue Hoody) is school uniform and children must be wearing School Uniform whilst in school. Unfortunately, there are a small number of pupils that keep wearing other sports clothing in a variety of colours when they have a PE lesson or an after school event.
COVID UPDATES
The 1st of April brings around a new set of rules for covid across the country and in schools. We will update you with the new guidance when it is available from the government.
YEAR 6 BREAKFAST BOOSTER
With only a few weeks remaining before Year 6 take their SATS I would highly recommend all pupils to access our free breakfast booster club. The club runs every morning at 8.15am and is completely free. We are seeing some great results from those attending the session on a daily basis and hope that more are able to join.
ED START EASTER HOLIDAY CLUB
Great news! Over the Easter holidays EdStart will be using our school to run one of their increasingly popular holiday camps. All bookings need to be made through their website here: https://www.edstart.org.uk/franchise-areas/rochdale
POLLING DAY CLOSURE
Advanced warning that the school will be used as a polling station on Thursday 5th May and as a result the school will be closed to all pupils.
SAFEGUARDING - ‘Huggy Wuggy’
It has been brought to our attention that a character named ‘Huggy Wuggy’ is being viewed by children online, some as young as Year 1. The character can easily be viewed on YouTube channels and is a teddy bear with razor sharp teeth that sings worrying songs about hugging and killing. On one of the videos the bear asks the viewer to take their last breath. It is a very deceiving character, as hugs should be seen as something kind and loving, and because of its name it’s able to infiltrate firewalls and filters. Please be vigilant around what your children could be watching.
SAFEGUARDING INFORMATION
Mrs Whalen is our Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) supported by Mr Kemp and Miss Steele (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.
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%. We are currently below this target and we need your continued support to ensure that we meet this mark.
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.
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 8.50am.
If you arrive after 8.50am you will have to come through the school office.
HEALTH AND SAFETY
Dogs are not permitted in the school playground.
If driving, park further away from the school and walk to reduce congestion and the possiblity 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.
