Dear Parkfield Families,
Welcome back! I hope you all had a wonderful Easter break. It has been a lovely week to return to school, with the sunshine making a very welcome appearance. As the weather begins to warm up, please remember to send children in with a water bottle each day so they can stay hydrated.
Our Year 4 pupils enjoyed a fantastic visit to Brimrod Primary School on Wednesday as part of the Linking Schools project. They had the opportunity to meet children from another school and take part in a range of fun and engaging activities, including an energetic beatboxing session. It was great to see our Parkfielders building new friendships and representing the school so positively.
This half term, our Parkfield Character focus is on being kind. We will be exploring what kindness looks like in school and at home, from small everyday actions to supporting others and showing empathy. If your child demonstrates kindness outside of school, we would love to hear about it. Please feel free to email the school office so we can celebrate these moments on our X page.
There is a lot to look forward to over the coming weeks, including Maths Passport Finals, Family Learning events, sports fixtures, Year 6 SATs and a range of school trips. Please keep an eye on the school calendar and your emails to stay up to date with all the important information.
Thank you, as always, for your continued support. Have a lovely weekend and enjoy the sunshine.
Mr Kemp
TUESDAY 28TH APRIL @ 9AM IN THE SCHOOL HALL - Y1/2 MATHS PASSPORT FINAL
WEDNESDAY 29TH APRIL @ 9AM IN THE SCHOOL HALL - Y3/4 MATHS PASSPORT FINAL
THURSDAY 30TH APRIL @ 9AM IN THE SCHOOL HALL - Y5/6 MATHS PASSPORT FINAL
FRIDAY 1ST MAY - Y5 FAMILY LEARNING @ 9.00am - Year 5 families are welcome to join us in the hall where they will learn alongside their child about the Year 5 spelling, punctuation and grammar expectations.
FRIDAY 1ST APRIL - NON-UNIFORM DAY FOR ASSHETON FOR BEING LAST HALF TERM'S HOUSE WINNERS
MONDAY 5TH MAY - SCHOOL CLOSED FOR BANK HOLIDAY
TUESDAY 6TH MAY - Y4 FAMILY LEARNING @ 9.00am - Year 4 families are welcome to join us in the hall where they will learn alongside their child about the Year 4 spelling, punctuation and grammar expectations.
THURSDAY 7TH MAY - SCHOOL CLOSED FOR PUPILS IN RECEPTION, YEAR 1, YEAR 2 AND CHERRY TREE ROOM DUE TO POLLING. KS2 pupils will attend school as per usual. Early Birds and Busy Bees will continue as normal.
MONDAY 11TH - 14TH MAY - Y6 SATS WEEK
MATHS PASSPORT FINALS
Good luck to the 30 children across the school that have been selected to take part in the Maths Passport Finals for 2026 after doing really well in the qualifying stages. The challenge is to answer as many questions as possible in 90 secods. Letters have been sent home to those pupils that are in the final with questions that they will be quizzed on in the final. Please take a note of the specific date for the final (28th, 29th or 30th April - found on the letter) as families are invited to come along and support their child.
SCHOOL DINNER PRICE INCREASE
A reminder that due to increase in costs for the school, school dinner prices will rise by 5p per day (25p per week) after Easter. These new prices of £2.90 per day and £14.50 per week will be altered on the Arbor app.
POLLING STATION - THURSDAY 7TH MAY - PARTIAL SCHOOL CLOSURE
Advanced warning that the school will be used as a polling station on Thursday 7th May. As a result, school will be closed to all pupils in Reception, Year 1, Year 2 and those that access the Cherry Tree room. Only pupils in KS2 (Year 3, 4, 5 and 6) will be able to attend on the day. We are sorry for any inconvenience this causes.
An email has now been sent to say whether your child has a space in a club.
Monday 27th April - Year 3 & 4 Athletics & Rounders Club 3:15pm - 4pm
Tuesday 28th April - Year 5 & 6 Athletics & Rounders Club 3:15pm - 4pm
Thursday 30th April- Year 5 & 6 Forest School Club 3:15pm - 4pm
PARKFIELD CURRICULUM
If you would like to know what your child is being taught, our curriculum pages have all the information you will be looking for. They can be found here: https://curriculum.parkfieldprimary.com/home
HEALTHY SNACKS AND DRINKS
A reminder to send in healthy drinks and snacks. Sweets and fizzy drinks are not allowed in school although some children have tried to bring them in recently.
DID YOU KNOW YOU CAN EASILY RAISE MONEY FOR PARKFIELD?
Everytime you spend money online a small amount will be donated to school if you sign up to EasyFundraising. It costs you nothing!
To get started and support our school, please click here: Easyfundraising for Parkfield . Every donation makes a difference to our pupils.
MAKE-UP AND FALSE NAILS
Please ensure your child doesn't come to school with make-up and false nails on. We have had a number of our older pupils this week having to be reminded of the school rules.
NUT FREE SCHOOL
A reminder that for the safety of our students with nut allergies, please do not pack anything containing nuts into children’s lunch boxes.
Mrs Balfe has worked at Parkfield for 5 years starting her journey in reception before gradually moving through year 1 and up to year 2. She enjoys working in such a wonderful school and loves to help children thrive both emotionally and academically.
Mrs Balfe's favourite thing to do is spend time with her husband and 2 children. She also loves clothes shopping, going for walks and having a cosy evening at home with a cup of tea and a good series.
Reception: 96.9%
Year 1: 90.7%
Year 2: 92.1%
Year 3: 96.4%
Year 4: 95.9%
Year 5: 96.7%
Year 6: 95.1%
Whole School: 94.9%
Number of lates this week: 7
A reminder that classes that achieve at least 96% attendance (no more than 6 days of absence across a class) get a reward on their attendance ladder!
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 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 and will certainly lead to them doing less well than their peers.
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.
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 shortly after.
Arrivals after 9am are marked as late and anyone arriving after 9.30am are classed as an unauthorised absence for the morning session.
ATTENDANCE - MEDICINES
Our overall school attendance is steadily increasing and one reason is due to many of our families taking up the school offer of bringing a bottle of Calpol in for their child if they are feeling slightly under the weather. The medicine can then be administered by school staff if your child needs it throughout the day. We do find that many of our Parkfielders show that true resilience when they arrive in school and get through their day with very little support. However, if your child is too poorly to stay in school, we will contact home so that they can be collected.
Mrs Smith is our Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) supported by Mr Kemp, Mrs Clawson and Mrs Edyvean. 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
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.
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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