08 Nov Mr Choueke’s Newsletter – November 2021
Dear Parents and Carers,
Welcome back to the second half of the autumn term. This term promises to be a fantastic term with preparations for our annual school play well underway. This year we are doing our own interpretation of The Jungle Book. There is a real buzz of excitement around the school from the children, who have already begun rehearsing, learning some of the songs and learning the music. Children in the art room have begun making the props and thinking about the backdrop. We will be sending out more information about the performances later this term.
Attendance & Punctuality
Following on from the last couple of years where our children have missed so much school we are turning our attention to working on improving the school’s attendance ensuring that our children are getting the most from being back at school and are catching up on missed learning.
Educational research undertaken on attendance, clearly states that good school attendance has a positive impact on the academic achievement of children. An excellent record of attendance is therefore essential for children to make the best progress in their academic, social and emotional development. Staff find that longer term absence from school is disruptive for the children, and that it can be difficult for them to catch up on any missed learning.
The same can be said for the children getting to school on time each day. Being late 10 minutes a day means that over the course of the week the children miss 50 minutes of their weekly learning. We therefore ask that you ensure you ensure that you children are in the classroom each day at 9am ready to start their learning.
Reading and Phonics- Update
One of the school priorities this year is to enhance and further develop our Reading and Phonics provision. A lot of work has already been undertaken and huge amounts of new reading books have been purchased to update the school’s collection of books for both the library and the and for classrooms.
In our first INSET day of the year, teachers who attended Reading and Phonics training last academic year fed back and delivered a training session for all teaching staff. Time in the afternoon was allocated to year teams to meet together to evaluate all our planning in light of the sessions run in the morning.
Last Monday, all staff had the first of two-day sessions on teaching phonics run by the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education. It was a hugely informative day, updating the staff team’s subject knowledge and learning new and creative ways teaching methods.
On November 17th at 9 am in the West Hall, Ben Strange (Deputy Head) and Louise Foulkes (Assistant Head) will be giving practical advice to parents on how to support their child with reading at home. The session is aimed at early readers – those children who are still learning to read independently. It is suitable for children in all year groups. For those of you who cannot make this session a recording of the session will be made available for you to watch at your leisure.
Covid-19
We continue to be ever vigilant in our efforts to keep the school safe and open for all children and families. Haringey have issued new guidance, which I have copied in below.
Lateral flow device (LFD) testing is now recommended for children under the age of 12, starting from reception age (4 years old). If there has been two or more cases within the class, all children within the class will be asked to take a LFD test as soon as it is possible to do so – and repeat the LFD test 3 days later. We would also ask that you still arrange for a PCR test.
Where there has only been a single case within a class, and the school have identified very close contacts to the positive case, we will be asking the very close contacts to take an LFD test as soon as it is possible to do so – and repeat the LFD test 3 days later. PCR testing for the very close contacts is still advised.
The West Play Grounds
The playground development is slowly beginning to take shape and we are anticipating that a majority of the works will be finished and ready for the children to use next week. There are still some outstanding works at the top end of the playground, which will now take place later this month. A lot of planting has taken place around the playgrounds, and we are keen to ensure that all the new plants are looked after and grow. Please therefore when you are dropping off and picking up can you ensure that your children are not climbing on the knee rails and are not playing in the spoil beds.
Leon Choueke
Headteacher