Dear Families,
We have had another very busy week in both our schools. After a lovely sharing assembly last week at Sand Hutton, this morning it was the turn of the children at Warthill to celebrate their values and achievements. Well done everyone!
Thank you to both our school communities for sharing in our Harvest celebrations. Should you still wish to support one of our named charities this year, the York Foodbank and LAB Charity, you can still send in a donation of food for the foodbank or a monetary donation for LAB. We will be able to send in the region of £200 and Nathan is preparing a video for our children. We are grateful on their behalf. I would also like to thank all the children and staff for their meaningful and entertaining services.
Should you not have already done so, can I please remind you to make an appointment for Parents’ Evenings next week. As we did last Autumn, we have also invited a scholastic book fair to leave books for perusal; maybe some early Christmas shopping? Communication about this should have arrived in a separate letter. The children will get the chance to look at the books during school time too.
Talking of books, I have a book related matter to share with you. We know that many families find ways to celebrate birthdays and other events with whole classes by way of bringing sweets or cakes to share. We have always seen great care and kindness shown to pupils with dietary requirements etc so that all children are able to share in this ‘party’ at the end of the day. At Warthill this often involves sweeties at the gate for the whole school. However, recent published guidance from the DFE has made specific reference to this practice. As a result, we are expected to create specific policies which outlines a change in guidelines. I would like to do so, without losing the excitement that children share when celebrating birthdays in school with friends:
Celebrations
Many families like to celebrate their child’s birthday and other special events by bringing in a cake or sweets to the setting to share. This can mean that some children are eating these unhealthy foods several times a week. The food and nutrition policy could include recommendations for special events to ensure any food brought in from home is balanced and meets the setting’s food guidelines (for example recommending fruit platters to share or non-edible options to celebrate with such as bubbles or stickers).
The above is lifted directly from this new DFE document. In school we wanted to help find alternatives (while stressing that there is absolutely no pressure to send in anything to celebrate a birthday). Our children get really excited about new books in their classrooms. We would like to invite you to purchase or new book or send in money towards the purchase of a new book (we often buy preloved books from https://www.worldofbooks.com/en-gb) instead of spending money on sweets and unhealthy treats. Should you be interested in doing so, your child’s class teacher will be able to provide you with a book wish list to encourage the selection of the best quality texts and avoid duplication etc. We will then share the new book with the class and celebrate the reason for its arrival.
Thank you in advance for your understanding in this matter. This of course may impact on decisions we make regarding fund raising activities such as bake sales.
A final celebration of sporting achievements. Well done boys from both schools who played in the Year 5/6 tournament last week. A further well done to all those who took part in the cross country this week and to those who cheered on their friends! Great effort everyone. And…. an extra special well done to Thomas who goes through to the next round!
Before I finish the letter today, there are a couple of dates to remind you of:
Wednesday 22nd October: Warthill Parents’ Evening
Wednesday 22nd October: Sand Hutton PTA Halloween disco
Thursday 23rd October: Sand Hutton Parents’ Evening
Thursday 23rd October: Schools close for half term at the usual time
Monday 3rd November: Schools reopen
Monday 3rd November: Flu Vaccinations in both schools
Next week is our mindfulness week and we will be packing our Christmas boxes on Monday, ready for them to begin their journey, following a church blessing. Many thanks for the donations we have already received.
With every best wish,
Beverley Pawson
Headteacher
Sand Hutton and Warthill Federated Schools