Parkfield Newsletters

Issue 16 - Friday 19th December 2025

Headteacher's Welcome

Dear Parkfield Families,

As we come to the end of a busy and memorable term, it’s been wonderful to see the school filled with so much festive excitement and celebration over the past week.

The children thoroughly enjoyed their Christmas parties on Thursday, and it was lovely to see so many smiles, laughter and festive cheer across the school. These moments are always a special highlight and a well earned treat after such a hardworking term.

Our Christmas shows were another real success. Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 put on some truly wonderful performances, showing confidence, enthusiasm and plenty of festive spirit. Thank you to all the families who were able to attend and support the children. It means a great deal to them and to our staff.

Earlier in the week, the whole school had a fantastic time visiting Middleton Arena for the pantomime. The children were fully engaged from start to finish and loved experiencing live theatre together. It was a brilliant shared experience and a lovely way to celebrate the season as a school community.

This morning, Year 6 delivered a lovely Carol Concert in the school hall. They delivered their lines brilliantly and should be extremely proud of themselves. A big thank you to the Year 6 families who were able to join us, and to the choir who also performed brilliantly and helped make the occasion so special.

As we now break up for the holidays, I would like to thank all our families for your continued support throughout the term. We look forward to welcoming everyone back into school on Monday 5th January, ready for the next part of the school year.

Until then, I would like to wish you all a fabulous Christmas and a very Happy New Year.

Mr Kemp

UPCOMING EVENTS

MONDAY 5TH JANUARY 2025 - SCHOOL RE-OPENS AFTER THE CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS

FRIDAY 9TH JANUARY 2025 - NON UNIFORM DAY FOR ARCHERS HOUSE - A non uniform day for all pupils in Archers house (blue) because they had earned the highest number of House Dojos in the second half of the Autumn term.

TUESDAY 13TH JANUARY - YEAR 6 FAMILY LEARNING at 9.00am - Year 6 families can join us in the hall for information about SATS and an example reading paper.

WEDNESDAY 14TH JANUARY @ 2.15PM - EYFS READING CAFE - Familes can join their child in EYFS for a workshop on reading. We hope you can make it!

LATEST NEWS

CHRISTMAS VIRTUAL RAFFLE

Thank you to everyone that purchased raffle tickets over the past few weeks. The draw was made yesterday and everyone has been contacted if they won one of our fabulous prizes. We raised £1140 and this money will be used to purchase equipment for the children that will help enhance their break and lunchtimes (more exiting information below about this!). A huge THANK YOU to those businesses and individuals that donated the raffle prizes - your kindness and generosity at this time of the year is greatly appreciated.

THANK YOU - MIDDLETON FUNERAL SERVICES

We would like to say a huge thank you to Ian and Deano at Middleton Funeral Services. They have provided all our infant children with selection boxes (which Santa's elves delivered on party day) and donated a large number of gifts that have been sent to many of our families and will be enjoyed over the festive period. We appreciate their support as always

REINDEER RUN

Thank you to everybody for your kindness and generosity!! We made approximately £1400 for Springhill Hospice by completing the reindeers runs over this past couple of weeks. Our highest total ever!

AUTUMN TERM REPORTS (Year 1 - 6)

End of Autumn term reports were emailed to parents and carers earlier this week. We hope you found the information useful and if you have any questions, please contact the class teacher in the new year.

CHARACTER AWARD NOMINEES

Congratulations to our five nominees and two winners of the Parkfield Character award. This half term's award went to those individuals that demonstrate the characteristic of being positive. Having so many positive individuals across the school makes those nominations from staff at the school even more special.

GOOD LUCK MISS EATOCK

Miss Eatock had her final day at Parkfield today where she has worked in EYFS for the past 7 months. Thank you for all your hard work and best of luck for the future.

HOME CORNER - DONATIONS REQUESTED

EYFS are refreshing their Home Corner to support children’s communication & language, imaginative play, and understanding the world. If you have any spare, clean and safe items, we would love your donations.

Useful items include:

Dolls and doll clothes, prams or other doll accessories
Small handbags, purses, or wallets
Empty, clean food packaging (cereal boxes, coffee jars, tea boxes, spice jars)
Toy kitchen utensils, pans, or trays
Scarves, aprons, hats, or small cushions
Notepads, calendars, or small mirrors

Your donations help children role play everyday experiences, explore real-life objects, and develop social and language skills. Thank you for supporting our learning environment!

EYFS OUTDOOR EQUIPMENT AND KS1 YARD ENHANCEMENTS

We are please to announce that in the new year that both the KS1 playground and continuous provision area that is used by Reception, Year 1 and the Cherry Tree Room are going to have some fabulous enhancements. This will provide the pupils with even greater opportunities during these times and we are very excited. The designs below show what fabulous additions our Parkfielders will see in the new year.

AFTER SCHOOL SPORTS CLUBS

A new sign up sheet will be sent out after the holidays on Arbor for he After School Sports Clubs.

REMINDERS

ARBOR - WE NOW HAVE 90% OF OUR PARENTS AND CARERS SIGNED UP!

We’re delighted that 89% of parents have now signed up to the Arbor app. Because of this excellent uptake, we will soon begin using the app to send messages and important updates. This will further strengthen communication between school and home. If you haven’t yet signed up, please do so as soon as possible so you don’t miss out on future messages.

ATTENDANCE

Over the past few weeks, we know that many families have been dealing with the usual seasonal illnesses, and this has had an impact on whole school attendance. If you feel your child is well enough to come to school, a gentle reminder that you are very welcome to hand into the office a small, clearly labelled bottle of Calpol, which we are happy to give if needed during the day. We often find that many Parkfielders feel much better once they arrive, settle in with familiar routines and enjoy learning alongside their friends. Being in school whenever possible helps children to keep up with their learning and enjoy the social side of school too.

EASY FUNDRAISING - ONLINE AND APP

We’d like to let you know about a simple and completely free way to help raise funds for Parkfield Primary School through an online platform called easyfundraising that we have currently raised £40 from.

Easyfundraising allows schools, charities and causes across the UK to receive donations whenever supporters shop online. It doesn’t cost you a penny, as over 7,000 retailers (including John Lewis & Partners, Argos, Iceland, Amazon, eBay and M&S) donate a small percentage of your total spend to the school every time you shop via their site or app.

So far, over 190,000 causes have raised more than £56 million through easyfundraising, proving that every little really does help.

To make it even easier, you can download the easyfundraising app to your phone. This means you can raise donations for Parkfield automatically every time you shop online.

To get started and support our school, please click here: Easyfundraising for Parkfield . Every donation makes a difference to our pupils.

FREE SCHOOL MEALS, FREE HOLIDAY CLUBS AND FOOD VOUCHERS

Did you know that if you are entitled to free school meals you also get access to free holiday clubs and food vouchers during the holidays? To apply or if you're not sure if you are eligible, please read the information and apply using the link here. School receives additional funding for those pupils that are entitled for free school meals and this much needed funding helps better support all Parkfielders. Even if your child is in Reception, Year 1 or Year 2 or they're on packed lunch - please still apply. In addition, if there has been a change in your family circumstances (i.e. recently become unemployed) you may also be entitled to apply for Free School Meals.

Meet Our Parkfield Staff

Mrs Acil (Year 5 Teacher)

Mrs Acil joined Parkfield Primary School over twenty years ago, beginning her journey as a trainee teacher before becoming a valued permanent member of staff. Throughout her teaching career, she has taught across all year groups, with Key Stage 2 being her particular favourite.

Outside of school, Mrs Acil fosters trainee guide dogs for the blind while they complete their training. At home, she has a fluffy cat called Tigger, who is well known for his habit of bringing home unexpected 'gifts' in the form of mice! Before entering the teaching profession, Mrs Acil worked in a variety of roles, including in a bakery, a bank, a department store and even for BWFC.

Mrs Acil is married and lives in Bolton with her husband and their nine-year-old son. She enjoys spending time with her family and loves being creative. She is a big fan of horses, especially the larger breeds like Shires and Clydesdales.

Latest Class Updates

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Reception

Newsletter Slides

SAFEGUARDING INFORMATION

Mr Kemp is our Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) supported by Mrs Clawson and Mrs Smith (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.

More information can be found on the school website here: https://www.parkfieldprimary.com/website/safeguarding-and-child-protection.html

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% this year and we need your continued support to ensure that we meet this mark.

ATTENDANCE - HOLIDAYS IN TERM TIME

Please note that, in line with the school policy, fines will be issued to families that go on a term time holiday where children miss 5 consecutive full days. Currently the fine is £160 per child per parent which equates to a £640 fine for a two parent family with two children. This is reduced to £320 if paid within 21days. If you are going on holiday due to exceptional circumstances, please speak to the headteacher as a fine may not have to be issued. More information an be found on our attendance policy found here.

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. Please ring the school office no later than 8.30am to report an absence.

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 shortly after.

If you arrive after the doors are closed you will have to come through the school office.

Arrivals after 9.30am are classed as an unauthorised absence for the morning session.

HEALTH and SAFETY

STAY SAFE REMINDERS

If your child is attending Early Birds, please walk down the path and through the KS1 yard - it may take a few more seconds but it's much safer than walking through the busy car park. If the hall door is ever closed, simply ring the bell for assistance.

Dogs are not permitted in the school playground.
If driving, park further away from the school and walk to reduce congestion and the possibility 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.

MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLBEING

5 WAYS TO WELLBEING

At Parkfield we promote the 5 ways to Wellbeing which can help children and adults to achieve a more positive lifestyle.

#THRIVE offer a local service for children and young people aged up to 19 years who are experiencing health and wellbeing issues such as feeling stressed, worried or not enjoying things. #Thrive can also provide advice and support to parents, carers and anyone that works with a child or young person. You can find out more information about the service by clicking here: https://www.penninecare.nhs.uk/thrive

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