26th May 2023
Dear Parents and Carers,
Another week of glorious sunshine and we are all feeling better for it. On Thursday morning, Mrs McNamara and the Year 1 team took the children to a Sports Festival at Blackbrook. The event was very successful and the staff commented on how hard the children worked and how well behaved they were. The Year 4 children had some outdoor fun themselves this week in the form of an exciting, live-action game of Among Us. The children enjoyed solving the tasks and trying to find the imposter. Thank you to Mrs Farthing for organising this fun activity.
At the time of writing, Mrs Weetch and the Reception Class team were at Axe Valley Wildlife Park for the day, and they had fantastic weather for the trip! I popped into Reception Class before they left and all of the children were so excited to board the bus and get going. The children are so lucky to have the opportunity to go on these trips and our staff work very hard in the background planning ahead and completing risk assessments so they can take place. At the end of a busy half-term, I would like to thank the staff for the wonderful variety in learning experiences they create for the children, helping them to grow as learners and make memories in their primary school journey.
We were also delighted to hold a meeting for the parent’s of the children who will be joining us in September’s Reception Class this week. The meeting was very well attended, and it was so nice to see both new and familiar faces at the meeting.
Hot Weather
Please can we ask you to ensure your child comes to school with sun cream applied, a sun hat and a water bottle? You may send sun cream in their bookbags for them to reapply at lunchtimes. Roll-ons are very easy for younger children to apply themselves and are less messy! Thank you for your support with this.
PTA Meeting for the Summer Fete
Thank you to the parents who came to the PTA meeting this afternoon to begin to organise the Summer Fete. Some parents caught me this morning on the playground to say that although they couldn’t make the meeting, they were keen to help. I have passed their details on to the PTA and would encourage any other parents who couldn’t make the meeting but would like to help to contact the office so we can pass their details on.
Urgent Appeal – KS1 Reading Books
I have been asked to pass on an important message from the Key Stage 1 staff. As you know, we use the Little Wandle reading scheme which has been instrumental in raising the reading attainment of pupils at our school. The books from this scheme are very expensive and it was a big investment at the time buying them. Unlike other schemes, the books that go home are also the books that are used in the reading sessions in school. There are 6 books per set and worryingly, many of the reading packs are down to only 3 or 4 books now due to books not being returned to school from home. This puts the children at a huge disadvantage during reading sessions as they are meant to have one book each so they can fully follow the text, but are now sharing the books one between two or even one between three at times. Clearly, this is not ideal and is not faithful to what the scheme requires. School budgets are extremely tight at the minute and we are appealing for all families to please search at home to find and return any books that have not been returned to school. We have heard of other schools locally charging for missing scheme books so they can be replaced but we hope not to do that! We are so grateful for your support in this matter.
INSET and Calendar Dates
A reminder that the school is closed on Monday, 5th June for an INSET day and will reopen on Tuesday, 6th June.
The INSET dates for the next academic year have been set, and the school calendar of term time and holiday dates can be found on the School Website under Parents heading - term dates. Please note, our dates differ slightly from other schools in Somerset and as such, we request you use the St George’s calendar and not the Somerset calendar.
Parking
Sadly, we had an incident on Wednesday when a parent (who will be joining our school in September) parked on the upper playground. Another car scraped and damaged her car as they were reversing from the neighbouring space and left the scene without informing her. Thankfully, another parent witnessed it happening and provided all the details necessary to follow up on the incident. It is reminder of why we do not allow forward parking in our car park and has prompted the school to enquire about enhancing our cctv coverage of the area.
From all the staff at St George’s, we wish our pupils, parents and carers, and our wider school community a happy and restful half-term break, and we look forward to seeing you on the other side.
Best wishes,
Edwina McDonnell
Upcoming Dates:
Monday 5th June – INSET DAY – SCHOOL CLOSED
Wednesday, 14th June – Leaver’s Mass at Clifton Cathedral – the Diocese send their apologies that due to space available with so many schools attending, parents cannot attend.
Thursday 22nd June – KS1 Sports Day – 1.30 – 3.15pm. Parents welcome.
Monday 26th June – KS2 Sports Day – 1.30 – 3.15pm. Parents welcome.
Thursday 29th June – St Peter and St Paul Mass in Church – 9.30 am. Parents welcome.
Friday, 14th July – Summer Fete – save the date - details to follow.
Wednesday 19th July – Year 6 Leaver’s Mass in Church – 9.30 am in Church. Parents welcome.
