Issue 30 - Friday 6th May 2022
Headteacher's Welcome
Dear Parents and Carers,
The month of May seems to have arrived quickly and next week will see our Y6 pupils sit their highly anticipated SATs. I have been impressed with the positive attitudes of our Y6 Parkfielders over the past few months as they have prepared for these end-of-year tests and I am confident that next week each and every pupil will do their best and achieve the results they deserve. Good luck
Summer term and the removal of most covid restrictions means that we can return to some normality at Parkfield and provide our pupils with a wide range of wonderful learning experiences and memorable moments. Events planned over the next term for Parkfielders and their families include: Summer Fair, Parkfield's Got Talent, Sports Day, Jubilee Party and Art Exhibition, Maths Passport Championships, Spelling Bees, Y6 Residential, school trips, class assemblies and a Y6 leavers' disco. Please keep an eye out for further details in future newsletters and you can find the dates of events on our calendar.
Enjoy your weekend and thanks for your continued support.
Mr Kemp
LATEST NEWS
EID MUBARAK
For those families that celebrated Eid earlier this week, we hope you had a lovely couple of days of celebration with family and friends.
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION VISITS
This week, Eid provided an opportunity to talk to our Parkfielders about what Eid was and why it is celebrated by the Muslim faith. Today, Y5 have visited a Hindu Mandir which complements what they have been learning about in their RE lessons. Our Twitter feed will showcase some of today's highlights and our regular visits to a range of different sacred places across our curriculum play a vital role in our pupils' learning and understanding about different faiths.
CONGRATULATIONS MRS TAYLOR
Earlier on this week, Mrs Taylor gave birth to a gorgeous baby boy. Congratulations to both Mr and Mrs Taylor on the arrival of William - we look forward to meeting the new addition to the Taylor family.
CONGRATULATIONS ROCCO
Well done to Rocco in Y6 who competed last week in a borough wide spelling competition at Rochdale Riverside. He did brilliantly competing against a number of pupils from schools across Rochdale. Although he didn't win, he was amazing and we are all very proud of his achievement.
PUNCTUALITY
A reminder that every minute counts! Our mornings are structured so that pupils are learning as soon as they walk into the classroom and being a few minutes late can mean that they miss some vital instructions or don't have the time to complete any early morning tasks set. This can cause additional stress for your child that can be easily avoided, so please do ensure that your child is ready to line up on the yard at 8.45am. If your child is persistently late, we will contact you to find out if there is anything we can do as a school to support.
EDSTART HOLIDAY CLUB
Keep an eye out for the EdStart adverts and emails about the holiday club running at Parkfield for 3 days during May half term.
FOOTBALL TEAM
Although they were beaten 4-3, well done to our football team in their match against Boarshaw Primary earlier this week.
Well done to our football team that were beaten 4-3 earlier this week by Boarshaw Primary. The team battled hard and Mrs Banks was proud of all the performances.
COVID UPDATES
Schools are no longer recommending pupils to be tested for covid even if they have symptoms. As a result, children will be asked to stay off if they are poorly and return to school when they are well enough. If a child does test positive for covid, the national guidance is stating that children should stay off school for a minimum of 3 days as this is the period in which they are most infectious. Children can return after this period if they are well enough. There is now no need to re-test to see if they are still positive.
Y6 LEAVERS' PARTY
This year's Y6 leavers' party is going to take place in the school hall on Friday 8th July between 6.30 and 8.30pm. Our Y6 leavers will be invited to dress up for the occasion and dance the evening away! Although it's a change to our previous venue, a team of parents and staff have some great plans to make sure it's a party to remember.
YEAR 6 BREAKFAST BOOSTER
Breakfast club for Y6 pupils continues next week so that they can come in and relax before they complete their SATS.
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.
