Newsletters

Please keep up to date with all the news happening in school at the moment and click a headline to read more.

Week Beginning 18th October 2021
Sat 16 Oct 2021

Week Beginning 18^th October 2021
Year 6 Assembly: a huge well done to the children in Class 11 who led a wonderful class assembly about the Mayans, on Wednesday this week. It is amazing to have these special assemblies back up and running again and to welcome parents back into school to see your children in action and find out more about what the children have been learning about in school – it was great to see you all. Well done Class 11 – brilliant acting and singing, it was a fantastic assembly! Well done also, to Mrs Sutherland, Class 11’s teacher who wrote the script and put the assembly together – worthy of the West End!

Team Points: congratulations to Ashcroft who have scored a massive 3277 points over this last half term and on Friday 22^nd can come into school, wearing colours of their team (yellow) and in the afternoon, Mrs Olley, Miss Slade, Mr McAvoy and Mrs Thornton will organise extra play using various equipment as a reward, in the afternoon for all Ashcroft team members.

Parent Workshops: over the last two weeks we have held three parent workshops in school, one for parents of children in Early Years to share information about our Curriculum, one for parents of children in Year 2 regarding KS1 SATs and one for parents of children in Year 6 regarding the KS2 SATs. It has been so wonderful to welcome parents back into the school building again…it’s been a while! We thank those of you who were able to attend. If you are a working parent who were unable to attend for any reason, please do not worry. All presentations will be uploaded onto the school website in due course.

CPD: at the Hayes we promote lifelong learning and encourage our children to have a thirst for knowledge. This expectation carries across to staff and there is requirement for them to engage in continuous professional development (CPD). Sourcing high quality training opportunities for our teachers and support staff is a priority for us as it ensures that our staffing team maintain up to date knowledge and learn from best practice. Next week, we have secured an opportunity for three members of staff to visit Reykjavik, in Iceland to visit some schools known to be centres of excellence for their provision for children with Special Educational Needs. Mrs Sutherland and Mrs Field will be in Iceland from Monday to Wednesday and Miss Headley will be in Iceland from Wednesday to Friday. Upon their return they will share the knowledge obtained through staff meetings and Local Authority meetings and be expected to implement new strategies as appropriate. We will arrange cover for their classes whilst they are engaging in this professional development.

Children Workshops: next week we are delighted to welcome Cordelia Shaw into school to run a series of workshops for the children in Years 4, 5 and 6 on Identity and Community. Cordelia is the Education Officer for the Local Authority Prevent Strategy which seeks to protect children from extremist views and radicalisation. Through these workshops, the children will reflect on the things that make them unique whilst uniting them as members of a shared community. Promoting tolerance and acceptance of others is a key theme in these sessions.

Donations: thank you to those parents who paid their £2 contributions for the Mufti held on the 1^st October. This event raised £548. Along with a very generous parent donation of £250 pounds we were able to purchase new reading books for our scheme including books in the pink A, pink B, yellow, blue, gold and white colour bands. We thank you and hope your children enjoy these lovely new resources. Total donations were £798. Total spend was £858.

Homework Club: we are delighted to announce a new homework club for children in KS2. This will take place on a Tuesday after school (until 4:15pm) and will be led by Mrs Derodra in her classroom. Please sign up from Monday on Parent Pay, this will start after half term.

Reception Open Mornings: on Thursday, we will be hosting our Reception Open morning for prospective parents of children due to start in Reception in September 2022. To book a space on this visit, please register on our website. We will have a tour of the school but unfortunately, due to COVID, we will not be able to take you into the classrooms. We look forward to meeting you and showing you around our school.

Photo Competition: Share Your Creativity in the Great Outdoors Photography Competition: please see separate PDF document for this information. It is very exciting! Please do read.

Cake Bake and End of Term: on Friday, the children and staff break up for half term. School finishes at the usual time. On this last day, the PTA will be on the staging area, in the playground, hosting a Spooktacular cake bake for the children to raise much needed funds for the school. If you wish to purchase your child a little end of term treat to congratulate them for all of their hard work, please do visit the PTA stall. Likewise, if you are a bit of a dab hand at baking, please consider donating some cakes for us to sell by dropping them into the office on the morning of the event. Thank you in anticipation of your support.

Secondary School Applications: October the 31^st is the closing date for secondary school applications. If you have a child due to start secondary school in September, please do not miss this important deadline.

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 children and goes to Miss Moll and Mrs Gourlay, for going Above, Beyond the Call of Duty with our extra-curricular activities, particularly the Cross Country event at Lloyds Park. Well done, Superstars!
Have a fabulous and safe weekend!

The Hayes Team
Week beginning 11th October
Fri 08 Oct 2021

Thank you to all who wore yellow today in recognition of World Mental Health Day. It is important that children learn it is normal to have good days and bad days and that there are people who can help them if/when they are feeling low. This message was reiterated in assembly today to ensure children know that our mental health is as important as our physical health. A challenge was set in assembly! For all to show three little acts of kindness to brighten someone’s day and spread some joy: 1. Say something kind to someone, daily. It will brighten their day. 2. Wave and smile at a friend. 3. Tell a joke (on the playground or when it is the right time to do so), and make someone laugh! Laughter is often the best medicine.

Well done to the children in Years 5 and 6 who took part in the inter schools cross country event. Over 150 children from Croydon schools took part and we were so proud of the children from The Hayes who represented our school. A special well done to Thomas who came 5^th and Sam who came 17^th. Both excellent achievements! Many thanks to Miss Moll and Mrs Gourlay who accompanied the children and organised the event – you are both superstars.

Next week we welcome a new member of staff to the team. Mr McEvoy will be joining our support staff and will be working with the children in Year 2. Mr McEvoy has much of experience working with children and runs sports clubs in local schools. Mr McEvoy will also be a midday supervisor and working in the after-school club. We know that you will give him a warm welcome to our Hayes team when you see him.

On Monday and Tuesday this week we will be hosting our What to expect from SATs meetings in the school hall at 9:00am. The government have announced that following two years of no statutory assessments for primary age children, they will be reinstating the Key Stage 1 and 2 SATs this year for children currently in Year 2 and Year 6. If you would like to know what this will involve and have the opportunity to view some past papers we invite parents of children in Year 2 to attend on Monday morning at 9:00am and parents of children in Year 6 to attend on Tuesday at 9:00am. This meeting will last no more than an hour and will take place in the school hall. As you will be sitting in close proximity to one another, in an enclosed space, face coverings are recommended.

On Wednesday morning, we will be hosting our first class assembly of the year. We are so excited to invite parents back into school for these special events and we are starting with the children in Class 11. If you have a child in this class and wish to join us for their class assembly, please come to the school hall for a 9:15am start. Once more we politely request that you wear a face covering for the safety of all. Please, no more than 2 spectators from each family, thank you.

We have recently sent out a letter requesting donations for swimming lessons. We are very fortunate to have a pool but it does place an additional financial burden on the school which, without parental support, we are unable to afford. Pre-COVID, this letter was sent to parents annually but we have not asked for donations for the last two years due to the disruption to lessons caused by the pandemic. We are now in a situation where swimming lessons have resumed fully and your support is needed. Swimming donations can be made in instalments via parent pay and we thank you in advance for your contributions.

Have a lovely weekend and many thanks for your support.

The Hayes Team
Week beginning 4th October 2021
Fri 01 Oct 2021

Week beginning Monday 4^th October 2021
Grandparents’ Day: firstly, we would like to wish all of the Grandparents in our school community a very happy Grandparents day for Sunday 3^rd October. We know that grandparents play a fundamental role in their grandchildren’s lives and we would like to thank them for all of the love and support that they show towards the children at The Hayes. We look forward to be able to be in a position to share breakfast together again in the hall, when it is safe to do so. In the meantime, we hope they have a wonderful day on Sunday and get truly spoilt!

Harvest Festival Donations: secondly, can we please say an enormous thank you to our wonderful Hayes community for your extremely generous donations to the Harvest Festival. We were overwhelmed by your generosity and willingness to support those in crisis in our local area. All donations received were sent to Purley Food Hub today, who also pass on their enormous gratitude. Our thanks also to Reverend Elizabeth for leading our Harvest assemblies to KS1 and KS2, today, it was great to welcome her back to our community and it was also great to be able to sing together! Please see our Twitter account for a short video of your contributions. Thank you, again.

Nasal Flu Vaccinations: nasal Flu vaccinations will be taking place in school on Monday for those who have completed the online consent forms that were emailed out to all parents. If you have not yet completed this form and wish for your child to receive the nasal flu vaccination, please ensure that this is completed before Sunday evening.

An invitation to parents of children in Reception: on Tuesday, we are hosting our ‘How we learn in Reception’ meeting in the school hall at 9:00am. This is an optional meeting for parents of children who are currently in Reception. We are acutely aware that, due to COVID-19, you did not get a chance to visit the school and look around. We warmly welcome you to come along to this meeting to hear from our Reception staff about how we plan and support our children’s learning in the Early Years and you are also welcome to stay and have a short tour of the school. Unfortunately, due to COVID we are not able to take you into the classrooms on this occasion but we will show you around as best we can! Please may we ask that as you will be in an enclosed space, for everyone’s safety, please wear a face covering. Thank you.

World Teacher’s Day: Tuesday is also World Teacher’s Day and we thank our wonderful teaching staff for the brilliant work they do with the children. We are so fortunate to have such a dedicated and hardworking team.

Cross Country event: on Wednesday 6^th October we wish good luck to the children in Year 5 and 6 who are representing our school in the interschool cross country event at Lloyd Park. We are sure you will be wonderful ambassadors for our school and ‘Be The Best You Can Be!’

Unacceptable parking outside the school: we are deeply saddened to have noticed that despite monies being spent on a zebra crossing to make our school a safer place, a small minority of parents continue to park illegally and dangerously, across the zig zags. This is selfish behaviour that is endangering our children’s safety. From Monday, we will be sending photos of the cars to the Council who have informed us that they will send the parking enforcement team to issue fines.

INSET Day- School Closure: on Thursday it is INSET day and, as our school is being used as a polling station for the governance referendum, we are unfortunately closed to children. Staff will be in school undertaking staff training.

#Helloyellow – World Mental Health: on Friday 8^th October 2021, we are celebrating World Mental Health day as the mental health and wellbeing of our students and staff is incredibly important to us. In this regard, we will be talking to the children about ways to keep their minds healthy, such as exercise, getting to bed on time, minimising screen time and eating a healthy balanced diet. We will also be teaching the children about the importance of talking to a trusted adult if they have any worries that are causing them upset. To mark this occasion, the children are invited to wear a yellow item of clothing with their school uniform (e.g. T-Shirt, socks, hairband, scarf, hat) in support of the #HelloYellow campaign. We thank you for supporting this initiative.
Security Fence and Gate: this is to inform you that the Local Authority are commencing with works outside our school from the 11th October, with completion on the 22nd of November. We are the only LA school that does not have a perimeter fence or electronic fence to our car park, this is partly due to the new build which was in place around 7 years ago. We are pleased that we will have a perimeter fence (paid for by the LA and partly by The Hayes), because it means that we can make use of the grassed area in front of the school as well as opening the hall large doors when it is hot, both of which we cannot do yet because we are open to the elements. It is not safe to do this. The contractors will start the foundations for the carpark sliding gate on 11th of October and the fencing works will take place from the 18th October, but it will be completely safe to still come to school via the front entrance. The fence will be a grey colour to match the metal frontage.
ABCD: Above and Beyond the Call of Duty, is a new award which recognises any staff member who deserves special recognition for doing something amazing. This week our superstar has been nominated by members of staff and children and goes to Mrs Dobson one of our wonderful TAs, for planning resources, working late after school, coming in early, for being well organised and passionate in all she does and all for the children at The Hayes.

Date change to the school calendar: lastly, we are giving you as much notice as possible about a date change in our school calendar. As the Queens Jubilee falls during the half term break, schools have been instructed by the Department of Education, to add an additional date off for families. To minimise disruption this has been added to the end of the school year, in July. We will now, therefore, finish for the summer holidays at 1:30pm on the 21^st July not the 22^nd July. Please ensure this is added to your diaries.

Thank you for your ongoing support and have a lovely weekend.

The Hayes Team