Issue 3 - Friday 13th Setember 2024

Headteacher's Welcome

Dear Parkfield Families,

I am delighted to share that our new Parkfielders have enjoyed their first three full days in school this week, and I’ve been truly impressed by how quickly they’ve settled in. Mrs. Taylor, Miss Dippnall, and Miss Aspin have been hard at work teaching them the classroom rules and routines, and the children are already adapting well to our expectations.

It was also a pleasure to meet many of our new families at the 'Family Lunch' this week. Thank you to those who were able to attend—it was a wonderful opportunity to see how lunchtimes are organised and to sample some of the delicious food prepared by our kitchen team.

I’m pleased to report that attendance across the school has been excellent this week, with some classes nearly reaching 100%. Your support in ensuring children arrive at school on time is invaluable, as we know that higher attendance leads to better outcomes for our students. We want every child in school every day, and if your child is experiencing any difficulties with attendance, please know we are here to help.

Next week's newsletter will be slightly delayed, as I will be accompanying the Year 5 class on their residential trip to Robinwood. I’m excited to join them for three days filled with activities like rock climbing, zip-lining, caving, canoeing, and raft building. The excitement among our Year 5 students has been building as the trip draws closer, and I’m sure it will be a fantastic experience for all involved. 

Wishing you all a restful and enjoyable weekend. Thank you, as always, for your continued support.


Mr Kemp

LATEST NEWS

NAMES IN UNIFORM

Please take the time to add your child's name to all items of school clothing. Children regularly lose items of uniform and without a name it makes it very difficult to return it to the right person. At the end of last year we had over 100 school jumpers and cardigans in lost property.

YEAR 1 FAMILY LEARNING

Our year 1 families are invited to join our first 'Family Learning' event of the year this Tuesday 17th September at 9am in the school hall.  The event will include an opportunity to work alongside your child with some of our online maths materials such as Mathletics and Numbots. We will also include some information on our new approach to spelling. We hope to see you there.

MAD SCIENCE ASEEMBLY & AFTER SCHOOL CLUB

We have a special assembly on Monday where children are going to be treated to a whizz-bang experience delivered by a 'Mad Scientist!'. Children in Y1-6 will then have the opportunity to sign up to the Science club running every Friday after the October half term. Please keep an eye out for the information next week.

Y6 SILENCE THE VIOLENCE

Our Year 6 children took part in Rochdale's 'Silence the Violence' campaign earlier this week where they learnt about the impact knife crime has on families and the law around carrying knives.  There were some important messages shared and please feel free to talk to your child about this important topic.

YEAR 1 FOREST SCHOOL

The year 1 class will be taking part in Forest School with Mrs Banks every Friday until October half term.  Please can you make sure your child wears their PE kit, has a warm waterproof coat and some wellies or appropriate outdoor footwear.  Thanks, Mrs Banks.

AFTER SCHOOL SPORTS CLUBS

If your child has a place in any of the clubs you will receive and email this afternoon or over the weekend.  

Please can your child come to school in their PE kit if they have gained a place.

Monday - 16/09/24 -Year 3/4 Football

Tuesday - 17/09/24 - Year 5/6 Football (This does not start until the 24th September due to staff training)

Wednesday - 18/09/24 - Year 5/6 Multi Sports

Thursday - 19/09/24 - Year 4/5/6 Cross Country

REMINDERS

SPELLING

This academic year, we will be using the Emile spelling scheme to teach spelling to all children from Years 1-6. Emile has proven success for improving children's spelling abilities and over 15% of UK Primary Schools have used the scheme to make spelling lessons and practice fun and engaging. 

 Emile is very similar to Times Table Rockstars. The children will have a login to the web page (the same as their Times Table Rockstars login) and they can practice at home on the games and activities. They will also take part in regular 'Class Battles' tailored to their own spelling abilities. 

 Now that we are moving to this new approach, weekly spelling tests will no longer take place. Instead, children will have 2 spelling lessons per week and 1 'practice' session when they will use iPads to play the games and activities on their Emile account. Your child will still receive weekly spellings that have been taught that week, but there will be no written test in class for these. Spellings will be stuck in diaries as usual. 

 The 'Class Battle' will replace the spelling test and will take place every three weeks. Teachers will then be able to access reports that show which spellings each child needs more work on. The children's Emile account will then be automatically updated so they will be given spellings that they need further work on to practice in the games and activities. As parents and carers you will be able to see this information when you work on Emile with your child. When the children complete the Class Battles, Emile produces heatmaps showing the spellings the children are confident with and those that need some more work. These heatmaps will be shared with you at parent's evening and throughout the year if necessary. 

 Some children work on differentiated spellings (different to the rest of their class and matched to their ability). These children will still receive the weekly class spelling list based on the rule/pattern they have learnt in their class that week. This is to give all children the opportunity to access their year group spellings. However, when the children play the games on  Emile, these games and activities will be tailored to their own ability and work with their strengths and weaknesses.

 The day that your child will bring home their spellings will be shared with you on the 'Welcome to Our Class' presentations which will be emailed out to you next week. You will still find a spelling page each week in your child's reading diary which is there for you to use if you would like to practice with your child at home. 

 Along with this newsletter, you will find a letter detailing how to log in to Emile from any device. 

Please contact your child's class teacher if you have any questions.

EARLY BIRDS AND BUSY BEES BOOKINGS

Please note that you must now book online using the School Gateway app for Early Birds and Busy Bees. This new way of working means that clubs are paid for in advance and there is more flexibility for parents.  If you have any questions, please contact the office and they will be happy to help.

PUNCTUALITY

Poor punctuality can lead to your child feeling embarrassed in front of their friends, missing the beginning of vital lessons or missing important instructions for the rest of the school day. It is vital that children get into school on time.

A reminder that children from Y1-6 are to line up on the play ground before 8.45am so that when they are collected there is a prompt start to the morning. Doors will shut soon after the class lines have entered into school and any latecomers will have to come through the main entrance. 

Please note that we will be asking parents and carers to sign their child into school at the front office if their child arrives after 9am. This is for safeguarding reasons and ensures school registers are correct. A reminder that for any child that arrives after 9.30am this is classed as an unauthorised absences for the morning session. 

ATTENDANCE

You will be well aware with how important attendance is and we want every child in school everyday because it has an impact on the educational outcomes of your child. The government has altered the rules this academic year in relation to fining parents that take unauthorised holidays or have high absence rates. Please have a read of the information further down this page to familiarise yourself with the new rules. 

CASHLESS PAYMENTS

We are gradually making the transition to becoming a 'cashless' school  and as a result we will soon be able to accept card/mobile payments in school.

YEAR 6 BREAKFAST BOOSTER CLUB

Our Free Year 6 Breakfast Booster Club is available every day from 8.15 am and it has been fabulous to see so many of our Y6 pupils attend this week. The club helps further support and prepare our Parkfielders for their Year 6 SATS. Please note, if they arrive before this time (8.15am), you must book them onto that morning's Early Birds session. 

PE TIMETABLE FOR SEPTEMBER 

The days Parkfielders are to come to school in their PE kits from September can be seen below:

WATER BOTTLES

Children need to bring their own water bottles to school. Please ensure these are a sensible size and design. For cost saving measures, school can no longer provide water bottles.

FREE SCHOOL MEALS

If your circumstances have changed (for example, you may have been made redundant and are now in benefit of jobseekers allowance) you may be entitled to free school meals.  More information and how to apply can be found here: https://www.rochdale.gov.uk/benefits-money/free-school-meals/2 . School recieves additional funding for pupils entitled to free school meals so we always encourage you to apply.

SCHOOL MEALS PAYMENTS

Please note that from Year 3, children are not entitled to universal free school meals and as a result dinners will have to be paid for via School Gateway. School meals cost £2.60 per day (£13 per week). More information about our wonderful menu can be found here: https://www.parkfieldprimary.com/website/dinner-menus.html 

CLASS DOJO 

Would you like to see how well your child is doing at school? We award Dojo points for pupils that go 'above and beyond' in the classroom and these can be seen by parents if you download the app. We have over 75% of our families signed up already! If you click this link to set up a parent account we will then approve it. This acess will provide you with the opportunity to see how many Dojo points your child has earnt and what for. Please note that we are only using the app for Dojo points, not messages or photos, therefore you do not need any of the subscription options you might be offered. 

NO NUTS OR NUT RELATED PRODUCTS IN SCHOOL

A reminder that children are not allowed any nuts or nut related products in school because we have children that are allergic to these products. For example, Nutella or Reese's chocolate.

DATES FOR THE DIARY

We like to be prepared and give parents as much notice as possible and as a result we have updated our school calendar for 2024-2025. Please visit the calendar to see the wide range of events we have planned for next year.

National changes to the Penalty Notice Framework wef 19 Aug 2024.pdf

Latest Class Updates

Photos on X

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 £60 per child per parent which equates to a £240 fine for a two parent family with two children. 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…  

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 EARLY BIRDS - REMINDER

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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