Dear Families,
Happy New Year and Welcome Back to the Spring Term!
We are very pleased to welcome back Mrs Madge. I know that the children have been excited to see her back in their classroom. I would also like to make you aware of students we are supporting in the near future across our schools. Mr Craven will be joining Mrs Smith/Mrs Naylor and Miss Colligon will be joining Mrs Wilson and Mrs Liston. They will be with us for the Spring Term as teaching members of staff. Further to this, we will be welcoming a student from East Riding College who will be joining Sand Hutton on Fridays until the end of June. She will be supporting in all classes. We are always happy to have extra hands and I know they will be made to feel very welcome.
Please check the email you were sent at the beginning of the week with new dates on for sharing etc. We will be sending out dates for Easter services and Parents’ Evenings as soon as we are able. There is also a date on the attached homework item to add to your diaries. This will link to the beginning of our focus on Mental Health Week. More information about this will follow in due course.
I wanted to bring your attention to a couple of safeguarding matters. Firstly, attendance. As I am sure that you have heard on the news, this continues to be an area of concern for school leaders and in turn for Ofsted. On the whole, our attendance figures are positive and I have previously shared information about the impact of decreased attendance with you all. Staying above 90% attendance is important however there are a small number of children who are teetering below this. An outbreak of chicken pox is the main culprit for this at Sand Hutton, but as we continue to navigate through the cough and colds season, please be aware that contact may need to be made with specific families whose children’s attendance is being monitored. Thank you for your support in this matter.
Secondly, a further reminder about choking and the additional risks some foods such as grapes and cocktail sausages present. I sent out a document just before Christmas with details on. I know this was a really busy time and may have been overlooked. Please cut these foods into smaller pieces if you are to add these to packed lunches.
Talking of lunches, you may remember the issue that we had with meals before the Christmas break. In response to a very disappointed email I sent, supported by an extremely helpful parent, we have been offered a gesture of goodwill, by way of an apology. On Friday 2nd February, the fish and chip meal will be free for all pupils across both schools to apologise for the disruption, inconvenience and food waste. Just book a meal as usual and there will be no charge for the meal on this day. In addition, Talking Tuesday lunches will begin next Tuesday at Sand Hutton. Mrs Thackray is not currently at Warthill and I would like to wait until she has returned to start this in that setting. Should you wish to book a lunch, please let Mrs Roughley know. The meal planner will also be attached to this email.
The car park at Sand Hutton is tight and we have had a car damaged this week sometime between 8am and 5.30pm. Please could l ask everyone be extra vigilant opening doors, especially in windy weather as it is easy for doors to be blown out of hands, especially if children are holding them. I have asked the same of all staff as I know there is much coming and going throughout the day.
Now for the homework:
Spring Term Homework
Dear Children,
Your home learning challenge this half term is linked to our Corinthian Values. We are challenging you all to complete an act of kindness in your community. This could involve many things: making your local area tidy by doing a litter pick with your family; writing a letter of thanks to someone who has helped you; making a gift for a family member from recycled materials or helping someone. I am sure you will have lots of creative ways to do this of your own.
When you have completed a kind act, we ask you to record this in some way. For example, you could take a photo, write about what you did or copy a letter you sent. Please bring this to school by Monday 5th February. We will celebrate your work in class as usual. Just think about how many people we could cheer up as a whole school! We look forward to hearing about how you have made a difference.
Miss Heffernan
I know the children will have some super ideas.
So, with such a lot of information to process, I will leave it there for today. Please enjoy a lovely weekend.
With every best wish,
Beverley Pawson
Headteacher
Sand Hutton and Warthill Federated Schools