Newsletter 1: 7th September 2018

‘The best that I can be’

It has been so lovely to have the children back again. They have come back ready to learn and look so smart in their uniforms. We have a new intervention area outside Mrs McCormack’s classroom, which is also being used for breakfast club. Mrs Webb is joining us as a full time member of staff. Our new children have settled in very well and are already making friends. We look forward to welcoming our new Reception children on Wednesday.

Friendship and Holiday Homework

We have really enjoyed hearing about the children’s holidays and the activities they have taken part in with their friends. We will continue to learn all about friendship and what it means to be a good friend over the coming weeks. If you have any pictures of your children and their friends, it is not too late to bring them in and share them. There will be a display in the hall about friendship, which will be added to over the next few weeks.

Mrs. Omodara

We would like to congratulate Mrs. Omodara on the lovely news that she is expecting her first baby in January. We are currently in the process of recruiting a temporary teacher to cover her maternity leave and will let you know once we have found the right person.

Twitter

We now have a school Twitter account which we will use to share special events that happen at Dame Tipping and any tweets we think may be of interest to you. Please follow us on @DameTipping

Emergency Contacts and First Day Calling

New government regulations state that schools must have at least 2 emergency contact numbers for each child. Please ensure that the numbers you provide are current, working numbers for people who can be contacted during the school day in the event of an emergency. If these numbers change, you must let us know immediately. This is for your child’s safety. If your child is not going to be in school, it is vital that you let us know by 9.15am. If you do not, we will call everyone on your emergency contact list until we get an answer. If we still cannot make contact, we will carry out a home visit and if this does not confirm the whereabouts of your child, we will contact children’s services or the police.

Meet the Teacher

The dates for you to meet your child’s teacher are as follows :
Thursday 13th September : Class 3 and 4
Friday 14th September : Class 5 and 6
Monday 17th September : Class 2
Wednesday 19th September : Class Reception and 1

The meetings will take place in the morning from 9-10am in the hall and you will have an opportunity to participate in an activity with your child. The Reception and Year 1 activities will be arranged for a later date to allow your children to settle in, but you will still have an opportunity to meet the teacher on the 19th September.

Clubs

Please return your child’s club letters by Monday and pay on sQuid. Just a reminder that sports clubs run by foundation sports are £25 for the term and run for 10 weeks. The reason that they have a lower cost than other clubs is that they are subsidised by our sports premium funding.

Booster Classes

In preparation for the SATs tests in May, selected Year 6 pupils will be asked to attend booster classes. Maths with Mrs Omodara will be on Mondays and English with Mrs McCormack will be on Wednesdays, 3pm-4pm. If your child receives a letter inviting them to booster classes, we would like them to attend each week. Booster classes begin on Monday 17th September.

Dame Tipping Gospel Choir

Our School and Community Gospel Choir (who performed at the summer fun day and the Brentwood festival !) will begin rehearsals on Wednesday 19th September. Rehearsals will be at the school,from 6.30-8pm every other Wednesday. You do not need to be a great singer to join, or to read music, as long as you are enthusiastic and willing to commit to rehearsals. Feel free to bring friends with you. This is an adult choir, so over 16s only, please. We look forward to seeing you there.

Macmillan Coffee Morning

Mrs. Squirrell is organising a Macmillan Coffee morning to be held on Friday 28th September at 9.30am in the school foyer. It will be a chance for parents to meet one another and for us to raise money for this worthy cause (as well as to eat cake !). Please out the date in your diary- you will receive more information soon.

Achievements

Congratulations to Ellie Allen-Moss for achieving her level 3 and Alicia Moran for achieving her level 4 in swimming.

Dates for the Diary

Meet the teacher (see above)
Wednesday 12th September- New Reception pupils start (mornings only)

K. Waters