Swavesey Primary School Parent Portal - Newsletter 86 (21.01.2024)

Updates from Mrs Norden

Today's newsletter has lots of updates and information about new events, so please take your time to read through to the end.

Friday 12th January, saw very successful New Year Discos which were enjoyed by all. Children and adults alike showed off their dance moves, and we discovered that some of the staff are very good at the 'Hokey Cokey'. Thank you to Tom Ambrose, our brilliant DJ, and Colin Ambrose, his roadie, and to the PTA helpers and staff for a great event.

Last week Year 3/4 delighted audiences with their 'From Cavemen to Celts' production, including fabulous songs, intriguing information and wonderful humour. If you were able to come and see your children, we hope you enjoyed their performance.

This year we have added to our newsletter sections which are standing items to support your organisation, updates for school and wider professional body information, as well as to provide easy access to areas of the website to support communication. We update areas as often as we can and especially when new resources are available which may support our families, so please do keep checking the whole newsletter to see what may be available to help.

Last week, we updated information in our 'SEND, Safeguarding, Health and Wellbeing Links' section below with new NHS guidance on childhood illness and knowing whether to send your child to school, as well as, an online chat option for gaining professional medical advice online. Both of these, as well as the links already there, can provide valuable support for you at home.

Our community partners' page (link towards the bottom of the newsletter) already has information about February half term activities so please do not forget to check this page of the website.

Since the start of term, lateness has increased, which leads to many children being embarrassed to come into school or their classrooms and also impacts on their learning as they often miss key aspects of the new day's teaching. The register is taken in classes at 8.50am, and closes at 8.55am. Straight after registering, classes begin their learning, or children come into activities during the register focussed on misconceptions identified from the previous day, which continue to leave a gap in a child's understanding. Additionally, lateness creates an administrative burden at the busiest time for the office staff, which could lead to us not being timely enough in safeguarding checks for absences amongst other duties. Whilst we understand that some days delays are created by external factors beyond your control, please ensure children arrive at school on time.

_{Anna-Claire Norden}

_Headteacher