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 29th November 2021
Fri 26 Nov 2021

Week beginning 29^th November
Assembly: well done to Class 12 who led a fantastic class assembly to parents on Wednesday. We were transported back in time to experience what it would have been like to be an evacuee during the war. It was a powerful and moving tribute to those who fought in the war to enable the life we have today. The acting, singing and dancing was fantastic and we all thoroughly enjoyed the assembly. Thank you Class 12.

Sport: well done also to the netball team who played a friendly match against Kenley (away) and our football team who had a league match against Kenley (at home). Both teams represented the school brilliantly and played with confidence. The netball team lost 2-0 but showed great teamwork and the football team won 6-0 with hat tricks from Ethan and Jack. Well done to all who took part. We are very proud of you.

Post Box: from next week, we will have our post box up in school. If the children wish to write Christmas cards for their friends they are welcome to bring them into school and post them in our box. If you have not already done so, please can we ask that envelopes are not licked, just tucked inside to keep the spread of germs to a minimum. To ensure the cards make it to the right person please can we ask that on the front you have the recipient’s name and class. If there is more than one child in the class with the same name, we advise you to also use the first letter of their surname e.g. Sally B, Class 10. Thank you.

Free School Meals: whilst we are sure you are aware that children in Yr R through to Yr 2 receive free school lunches under the Universal Free School Meals programme. We would like to ask all parents of children in Reception to check their eligibility for free school meals. This is a quick and easy process that can be completed in less than 5 minutes using the following link: Free School Meal Eligibility Checker (lgfl.org.uk). If eligible, this attracts additional funding into school that can be used to directly support your child. Those eligible will have guaranteed funding for the next 6 years of their children’s schooling so it really is worth taking the time to check.

Year 2 Phonics Testing: next week, the children in Year 2 will take part in a phonics screening check. This is a short assessment in which children are asked to read 40 words (real and pseudo words). It is conducted 1:1 with their child’s class teacher and lasts approximately 5 minutes. Once all checks have been completed, results will be shared with you as soon as possible.

PTA: congratulations to the winners of the PTA raffle prizes. Ismay, Taylor and Zachary- we hope you enjoy your calendars! Congratulations. Thanks to the PTA for organising this raffle.

PARKING: please can we appeal to the small minority of parents who are continually parking over residents’ driveways in the mornings to stop doing so. Whilst this may be convenient for you, it is not for them and we are repeatedly having to talk to you and deal with complaints from local residents about inconsiderate and dangerous parking from parents in our school community. This is not the relationship we want to have with our neighbours and urge you to park with consideration and courtesy please. The Police are aware and have monitored from time to time but this is down to individuals to stop, please.

Safer Internet: Tuesday 30^th November is cyber security day and with children spending more time on line. Please click on this link to learn more about cyber-security and how to keep safe online. It is worth reinforcing these messages with children and making sure they know what to do if they see something or hear something online that makes them feel worried or unsafe.

Health: on Wednesday 1^st of December, the school nursing team will be in school to carry out height and weight checks for pupils in Year 6. During these checks, the children’s privacy is respected and no results are shared with the school. If there are any concerns, the nursing team will liaise directly with parents.

Croydon Schools Music Association: on Thursday, we wish the children in the drama club good luck as they perform a nativity tableau at the Minster Church in Croydon as part of the CSMA concert. The children in Year 5 and 6 will be attending this concert and we have no doubt that they will thoroughly enjoy the opportunity to listen to a live orchestral concert that includes a selection of Christmas songs and hymns. Parents of children performing (in the drama tableau) are also welcome to attend this concert and need to be at the venue for a 10:30 start.

Sport: also, on Thursday, after school there is a home football fixture against St. David’s school. Kick off will be at 3:45. Good luck team!

PTA: following the success of our Spooktacular bake sale which raised £700 for the school, on Friday 3^rd December, the PTA are hosting a Christmas bake sale after school. If you would like to donate any baked goods for this event, they will be greatly received. Please remember that we are a NUT FREE school and bring your donations to the school office on Friday morning. Items will be available for purchase after school from as little as 50p. There will be an opportunity inside school for those attending clubs to buy a treat just before the end of the day. There will also be the chance to buy Christmas hats and reindeer food.

Christmas Performances: we are going to make a decision about ticketed EYFS and Year 1 performances early next week. Covid numbers are rising in our community and we want to be as safe as possible, particularly so near to the holidays. We have heard today that three local schools are videoing their performances for the same reason- which we know would have been disappointing. However, safety is of the utmost importance. We will be in contact with you early next week.

Miracles of Nature Competition: a massive well done to all the photographers who entered into our first photography competition. During the last few months, children have been taking wonderful photos of nature at its finest when going for a walk or staying at home, in their garden. The talent has been astounding. We will run the competition again in the winter, spring and summer – it is great to get out and see the beauty around us and the children certainly captured this. A massive well done to all who entered - you are all so talented. A huge thank you to Mrs Staines who has been the administrator for this competition. Because there were so many amazing entries, the judges: committee of the school council, the school governors and myself decided to have more winners- one from each year group. A collage has been designed and this will take pride of place in one of our large frames in the lower corridor. The winners will also have their photos published on our website in due course. Today, everyone who entered, received a certificate- well done again.

The winners of this year’s autumn wonders of nature photography competition are:
Reception: a huge well done to Orla with her fabulous Pumpkin Picking Patch. The school council said: a lovely scene with autumnal colours, a sense of beauty. Unevenly scattered pumpkins, a natural affect. The colour ‘pops out’ at you.

Year 1: well done to Devon who took this photo of autumnal leaves, called Firework leaves…..our school council said beautiful contrasting colours, the description fits the photo, well focussed, leaves stand out with a foliage blur.
Year 2: well done to Thomas for your toadstool in autumn. The school council said: a red, stunning colour. The background shows autumnal green highlights alongside red and orange. The fungi has lovely and bright tips that blend into orange.

Year 3: A huge congratulations to Oliver who created the Golden Light photo with the sun sinking behind the tree. The school council said golden leaves cover the sky as the sun pops out. Sun balances with a beautiful hue and the golden light is mystical.

Year 4: Well done to Amelie! A wonderful photo of an autumnal reflection with birds hovering overhead. Our school council commented: birds flutter in the sky whilst the red bright reflection shimmers on the glistening lake.

Year 5: Ascending to the Autumn Sky- excellent Byron! A photo where he positioned himself under the thin branch to capture the depth and tones that only autumn can bring. Our judges remarked: the colours blend perfectly, it looks like the sun burning in the trees.

Year 6: Well done Anabela! A leaf with a bright ladybird – in focus, showing contrast and clarity. Our judges said great combination of spots on the ladybird and buds about to bloom. Autumn shades blend in well. Good focus on the insect with the green of the foliage behind.

Well done again to all who entered.

Thank you for your ongoing support and have a lovely weekend.
The Hayes Team
Week beginning 22nd November
Fri 19 Nov 2021

Week beginning 22^nd November 2021

Well done to our netball team who played their first football match against Kenley this week. Although we did not win, the girls showed great sportsmanship and made us all very proud.

On Monday, we are hosting our Governors Day when we welcome members of the Governing Board into school to see the children in action. Our Governing Board are instrumental in driving the strategic direction of the school and it is great to be in a position to welcome them back into the school following many virtual meetings as a result of COVID. You can find out more about our Board of Governors by visiting the governor section of our website here.

On Monday, we will also be leading an assembly on Disabilities History Month where we celebrate the lives and achievements of those with disabilities now and in the past. We will also be raising awareness of hidden impairments such as dyslexia, asthma, ADHD and autism. We will challenge disablism with a view to raise awareness and achieve greater equality.

On Wednesday, the children in Class 12 will be leading assembly in the hall. If you have a child in this class you are invited to join us in the hall for a 9:15 start. To keep everybody as safe as possible, please can we politely request that face coverings are worn and no more than two supporting adults per child may attend.

On Thursday after school, our football team have a match against Kenley. We wish them the best of luck! Be the Best You can Be!

Please may we remind you that dogs are not permitted on the playground at drop off or pick up and also, a reminder to not congregate on the walk ways/paths into school – Covid cases are increasing and we want to keep everyone safe as they walk past. Many thanks.

The judges of the Miracle of Nature competition have met and were incredibly impressed with the creativity of our children. The decision was difficult and the winners have been chosen and will be announced next week and reported in the next bulletin. A massive well done to the many photographers that took part to capture nature at its finest – and you most certainly did that! You are all so talented. A huge thank you to Mrs Staines who was the administrator for this competition and it was also her idea – a great one! All photographers will receive a certificate and the winners will have their photos displayed in pride of place in a large frame in the lower corridor, and on our website. Well done to all! Our next competition will capture spring, watch this space!

That just leaves us to say have a fantastic and safe weekend!

The Hayes Team
Week beginning 15th November
Fri 12 Nov 2021

Week beginning 15^th November

School Photography: on Monday, our school photographer will be in school taking photographs of individuals and siblings. Please make sure that your children are in full school uniform. Where possible, we will always try to ensure that children swimming on Monday have their photographs first to avoid wet hair pictures. We will also try to get our children in reception through early before they have the chance to get covered in paint or splash in the water tray! We know how special first school photos are.

PE Kits: while mentioning school uniform we have noticed that some children are not wearing the correct school PE kits. If we are to continue to allow the children to come to school in their PE kits, it is important that this is correct uniform. Children attending school in Adidas or Nike tracksuits for example or their own choice of clothes for PE will be loaned a school uniform from our spares to wear for the day to assure they are adhering to our uniform expectations. To remind of correct uniform, please click on this link.

Anti-Bullying: Monday is the start of our anti bullying week and the theme is ‘One Kind World’. This theme will be explored with the children through a virtual assembly and through class activities all week. Kindness is more important today than it has ever been. The isolation of the last year has underlined how little acts of consideration can break down barriers and brighten the lives of the people around us. This is one of the reasons, that ‘One Kind Word’ has been chosen as the theme of Anti-Bullying Week this year. To mark this event on Tuesday 16^th November the children are encouraged to wear odd socks. The message behind this initiative is that we are ALL unique and different, but despite this we must be kind to each other and respect each other’s individuality.

Space: on Tuesday, our children in Year 2 will also be going into space! With a virtual reality experience allowing the children to be immersed in a visit to outer space we know they are going to thoroughly enjoy this experience. Thank you to all parents who have made their payment for this on parent pay. Please can we remind those who have not already done so to make their payments before the event please. Thank you.

Reception Open Morning: on Thursday, we will be hosting our second open morning for parents of children due to start in Reception in September 2022. There are still some spaces available and these can be booked via our school website. The meeting will begin at 9:30 in the school hall and attendees are asked to wear a face covering unless exempt please.

Remembrance: on Thursday, at the 11th hour, we remembered all those who served their country and those who died whilst on duty during the wars. 1000s of thanks to all children and staff who took part in this poignant virtual service which we hope to put up on the website soon.

Wrap Up London: huge thanks for your generosity and support so far. We are still accepting donations next week if you would like to collect any second hand or unwanted coats to help those in need. A donation box will be placed at the school foyer area. Thank you.

We thank you for your ongoing support. Have a great weekend.
Week Beginning 8th November 2021
Sat 06 Nov 2021
Week Beginning 8^th 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 8^th and 12^th 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 1^st 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 10^th November. So continue to get outdoors, take photos of wildlife, woodland or sea- autumn at its finest. Entrants will be announced on Friday 19^th 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 12^th November. All items ordered will be sent to school by 6^th 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