Week Beginning 8th November 2021
Week Beginning 8th November 2021
We have reached the end of the first week back and it has been wonderful to welcome all of the children into school after the half term break.
Security Gates: you will have noticed the new gates have been erected at the front of the school and hope that you agree that they add extra security for our staff and children.
From Monday (during the day), it is hoped that our gates will be completed in terms of the contractor coming to programme the gates to open at certain times of the day. At any time of the day, they can be ‘buzzed’ open by the office so please do not worry if you want to come to school for whatever reason, you will not be locked out! Please note the following which should be in force from Monday afternoon:
- From 7:30am, Wrap Around Care (Breakfast Club) families will no longer be able to enter the hall via the car park because this will only be accessible via a fob, which all staff will have. Please enter via the path leading up to swimming pool (to the left of the car park). You will then need to approach the hall through the back of the car park, via the manual gates which will be left unlocked until 9am. After this time, the caretaker will lock the gates so there will be no access into the car park area.
- Drop off: the new pedestrian entrance gate will open in the morning from 8:30am – 9:00am. This is the gate you have been walking through since the fences have been erected. After this time, entry to the school will take place as usual - via the main reception area. To do this, please buzz the intercom system at the door opposite the foyer, to access the pathway to the school foyer main entrance.
- At pick up, the pedestrian gate will open from 3pm and will close again at 6pm which is current practice to enable our after school club/external club parents to pick up their children. The black gate next to the Year 1 classroom will remain locked as current operation. Please buzz this which is usual practice.
Stolen: it is with sadness that the gate installation engineers have reported to us a theft during the school day of some of their machinery which was left for minutes outside our school. This has been reported to the Police. If anybody has seen anything suspicious or has any information about the missing item, please do let us know. Thank you.
Parents Evening: from Monday to Thursday we will be holding our autumn term parents evening. We thank you for your patience whilst rectifying the technical difficulties that we encountered on Wednesday. If you are struggling to make an appointment with your child’s class teacher, please do call the office where a member of staff will be happy to assist you with your booking. Please can we ask parents not to log on for an appointment any sooner than 10 minutes before the scheduled start time. IF this happens the system may become overloaded and crash. If for any reason you are unable to connect to the teacher on the evening, please do have your phones nearby as the teacher will attempt to call you to host a telephone conversation instead. We really do hope that by spring we will be in a position to host face to face meetings but our priority is to keep our school community as safe as possible.
Reception Wellie Walk: on Tuesday, our reception children are heading out on their wellie walks. They will enjoy time in nature (in the woodlands at the back of the school) and look for signs of autumn. If you have a child in Reception, please make sure they have their wellies in school and a waterproof jacket…just in case!
Remembrance Day: on Thursday, we will be hosting our virtual Remembrance Day assembly in school. As always, we will speak to the children about why we have Remembrance Day and pay our respects to those who served in the war including those who sadly lost their lives. We thank all of our children and staff who will be sharing poetry and reflections. We hope to be able to post this on our website – size of recording permitting. If we cannot, we will convert the recording into a powerpoint so we can share it with you. Thank you to all those involved. Watch this space.
Wrap up London: we have all noticed this week that the wintry weather is creeping up upon us and it is hard, during these spells of colder weather to think of those less fortunate than ourselves. As such, we are working alongside WRAP UP LONDON (flier attached) to collect any second hand or unwanted coats to help those in need. Coats collected will support the homeless, refugees, and children living in poverty across our local communities. We thank Mrs Rajabali, one of our parents for coordinating this project. A donation box will be placed at the school foyer area, next week and we will accept donations (adults and children) between the 8th and 12th of November. We thank you in anticipation of your generosity and support.
Lost Property: may we please ask you to check that your children have come home with the right uniform. We have had several parents reporting lost items of uniform which are named but have not come back to them via lost property. This often means that a child has taken home a jumper that belongs to somebody else by accident. Please double check and return any items that are not yours. Thank you.
SATs Parent/Carer Meetings: thank you to all those who attended the Year 2 and Year 6 SATs meetings. For those who were unable to attend, these presentations have now been added to the school website. For those requesting support with revision materials, there are various options available for parents to choose from but in the past we have found the CGP materials to be particularly useful (Y2 materials look at KS1 and for Y6 materials look at KS2). Additionally, as discussed at the Y2 meeting, the children will be sitting their Y1 phonics check this term as they were unable to take this check last year. There is a workshop led by Mrs Farr on our website to explain a little more about this check. It can be found here: Parent Workshops | The Hayes Primary School. The check will take place for Y2 children in early December. To see an example of a past paper, please click here: 2019 phonics screening check: pupils' materials (publishing.service.gov.uk) We will report results to you by the end of the term.
TV Programmes/Video Games: we would also ask that parents keep an eye on the programmes that their children are watching at home on the television or video games that children are playing/talking with others online. We have had children in school talking about some really inappropriate programmes with high levels of violence and explicit language. Please be vigilant and protect your children from programmes that are not age appropriate. Thank you.
Bonfire Night: we focused on this during yesterday’s assembly. This weekend is Bonfire Night and possibly Diwali celebrations (although we know Diwali was Thursday). We reminded our children to be careful of fireworks and to remember to stay safe.
We reminded our children if they are handling sparklers, then they must wear gloves and not to wave them in any faces, to stand well back from bonfires and never, ever to go near a firework after it has been lit. Please enjoy this weekend, but please be safe. Additionally, in case anyone with pets are not aware, in order to keep our much loved four-legged family members relaxed during this time, Classic FM are broadcasting two special programmes to help pets and their owners to stay calm and relaxed. For the 1st time, on Friday and Saturday evenings between 6pm and 10pm, Classic FM will be playing calming classical music just for pets, designed by an animal therapy Doctor to help our furry, scaly and feathered friends to feel less stressful and anxious. Equally and for future reference, Miss Slade has found that playing fireworks on You Tube for a week before, has helped Coco to deal with the loud bangs, this and treats! Please be safe and calm, all!
A Miracle of Nature: a reminder that our photography competition is soon coming to an end for the autumn term and many thanks to all those who have entered so far! We have some amazing photographers. The closing date is on Wednesday 10th November. So continue to get outdoors, take photos of wildlife, woodland or sea- autumn at its finest. Entrants will be announced on Friday 19th November after a decision has been made by the School Council, our Governing Body and Miss Slade. Can we please remind you that this competition is for children who should be taking the photo. Many thanks and good luck!
ABCD: Above and Beyond the Call of Duty, recognises any staff member who deserves special recognition for doing something amazing. This week our superstars have been nominated by staff and children and goes to Mrs Sanchez, our amazing teaching assistant, for being an exemplary member of staff who always goes out of her way to be kind and supportive of others. Also, to Mrs Skilton, a valued member of our cleaning team, who always goes above and beyond with her fantastic cleaning of our school and sorting out and tidying the whole reading scheme in the KS1 corridor!
Well done, Superstars!
Lastly, a message from the PTA…the PTA are pleased to announce that the following events are now live to be purchased. Please visit www.thehayespta.co.uk and click on product sales and event tickets to purchase the below.
*Christmas Cards: artwork for these would have come home either yesterday or will do on Monday. If you wish to purchase a Christmas card designed by your child, please return your child’s artwork to school having completed the form on the reverse, no later than Friday 12th November. All items ordered will be sent to school by 6th December and sent home with the children.
*Advent Calendar Raffle (sales close 14th November): play to win a Smiggle, Fidget Toy and Bodyshop Calendar. The choice is yours and play as many times as you like.
*12 Days of Xmas Raffle (sales Close 12th December): play as many times as you like for as many prizes as you like.
*Elfrdges Christmas Gift Shop (sales close 5th December): £3 per gift (pre-pay for as many gifts as you like). Elfridges will open 6-9th December during lunchtimes.
COMING SOON...
*Pre order your child's personalised letter from Father Christmas which will be sent direct to your home address.
*Purchase Reindeer food
Please remember you can also read about upcoming PTA events on our Facebook page. Simply search for The Hayes School Association (PTA). Thank you all!
That just leaves us to say have a very safe and fun weekend!
The Hayes Team
