Newsletter 5: 5th October 2018

‘The best that I can be’

I have been so impressed with our children this week: not only have they worked very hard in their learning, but they have shown real friendship and compassion towards one another. The Year 5 and 6 children are doing an amazing job of supporting their buddies during lunchtimes and even our youngest children are helping their friends, especially if they are feeling a little upset or finding school tricky. It makes me so proud to be Headteacher of Dame Tipping.

Queen Elizabeth Hunting Lodge

Last Saturday morning children from year 5 and 6 visited the Queen Elizabeth Hunting Lodge in Chingford to find out about the history of the building. It was commissioned by King Henry VIII in 1542 as a platform for hunting deer in Epping Forest. It was later used by his daughter Queen Elizabeth. Legend has it that she rode her white horse up the stairs. Afterwards we went for a walk in the forest and identified some of the trees. Thank you to all of the families who gave up their time to join me on this lovely sunny morning. Mrs McCormack.

Census Day Lunch

We had a great turnout of 97% for school lunches for census day yesterday. Thank you for your support. This will mean that next year’s funding will be more favourable than this year’s.

MacMillan Coffee Morning

As well as it being an enjoyable social occasion, the coffee morning raised £153.85 for MacMillan. Thank you for your support and to Mrs Squirrell for organising. If you would still like to donate £5, please text BUN CAM to 70550.

Coats

Please ensure that your child has a coat in school at all times now that Autumn has arrived. It is far colder at the back of the school than the front, so children without coats can get very cold on the playground.

Individual and Sibling Photographs.

Our photographer, Sue, did a great job taking your children’s photos yesterday (as she always does). You will receive the proofs soon and will be able to order and pay online directly to Sue, which should make the process a lot easier.

Musical Tuition

Our guitar teacher still has 3 spaces for this term. He teaches in school every Thursday afternoon. If you are interested in your child learning guitar, please contact Havering Music School on 01708 450313 or via their website: musicschool@havering.gov.uk

Curriculum Information

This year, our website contains more information on what your children are learning than ever before. Please look on the page for your child’s class (on the Pupil page) and read the curriculum overviews for this half term. We are hoping that this will help you to talk to your child about their learning.

Childcare Vouchers

If you are registered for childcare vouchers and would like to use them to pay for breakfast or after school club at Dame Tipping, please let me know what company your employer uses so that I can look into registering with them.

School Nurse Drop-ins

Our school nurse comes into school once a month and would like to meet with any parents who have any concerns over their child’s health and wellbeing. This could be concerns over their sleeping patterns, eating habits, mental health or anything else that a health professional could give you advice on concerning your child. The nurse comes into school for 8.30am. The dates for this year are:
27th November; 18th December; 22nd January; 12th February; 19th March; 30th April; 21st May; 18th June and 16th July.

Driving Carefully

Please drive slowly outside the school and be very aware of those around you. It is not permitted to drive on the pavement in Havering. One of our Reception children was very nearly driven into by a parent outside the school yesterday morning when they mounted the pavement in order to park. I have been in contact with the local council again regarding the traffic situation outside school and am going to continue, with the support of parents, to urge them to do something about the speed limit and other traffic issues. In the mean time, though, please try your best not to make the problem worse through careless driving and parking.

Punctuality

Whilst our attendance is steadily rising this term, there are several children who are late into school almost every day. Please allow enough time when you leave home for the children to be in class by 8.55 at the LATEST. We supervise children from 8.30am and they start their early morning work in class at 8.45am, so some children are missing out every day.

Picking Up from School

There are a few parents who are making repeated requests to take their children out of school early on Friday afternoons. Please note that school finishes at 3pm on Fridays and the children take part in important enrichment activities which they enjoy and which help them socially, right up until the end of the day. If you ever need to take your child out of school for any reason other than something medical, there is a form for you to fill in to request permission.

Please ensure that you arrive on time at the end of the school day to pick your child up from school at 3pm (or 4pm after clubs). As some parents have taken advantage of the school’s goodwill, we will need to charge for late pick-ups in future, as your child will need to go to after school club. Unfortunately, some parents regularly call the school to say they will be a few minutes late and staff end up supervising their children for 15-20 minutes. After school care is there to support parents who are unable to collect at 3pm, but it needs to be booked and paid for.

There are designated areas for parents to wait for their children in the front playground. Please ensure that you are waiting in the correct place INSIDE the gates. If everyone does this, we will be able to dismiss the children far more quickly and safely. Please inform anyone else who picks up your child where they need to stand.
Thank you for your co-operation.

Second Hand Uniform Sale

In the interest of saving you money and helping the environment, the Friends of Dame Tipping will be
holding 2 second hand uniform sales. They will take place on Wednesday 17th and Thursday 18th October, in the front playground or in the foyer (depending on the weather). If you have any uniform that your child has grown out of, please send it into school and the Friends will collect it from us.

After School Care Hours

As we have had interest from more parents, After School Care will now run until 6pm on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays and until 5pm on Fridays (starting next week). If you wish to take advantage of these extended hours, please let us know. You will also need to adjust your payments on sQuid. Costs will remain at £4 until 4pm and £10 after 4pm. If you are eligible for tax credits, you will be able to receive help with the cost.

Attendance

Reception and 1 :98.67 % ; Class 2 : 100 % ; Class 3 and 4 : 97.24 % ; Class 5 and 6 : 98.75%
Well done, class 2 !

Work of the Week

Reception/Year 1- Harlee Hammond-Johnson, for excellent, independent story writing.
Class 2- Isabelle Mahoney, for editing and improving her character description.
Class 3/4- Tom Marshall, for a very descriptive account of the day the Romans invaded Britain.
Class 5/6- Deborah Ajayi, for thorough reasoning in Maths.

Commendations

Reception/Year 1- Archie Ormes, for showing friendship and compassion to his peers ; Harry Ormes, for being a kind and caring friend and Amna Varga, for being kind, caring, patient and lovely towards her peers.
Class 2- Blake Turner, for persevering with his learning.
Class 3/4- Sinade Singleton, for working really hard in every lesson and always having a positive attitude.
Class 5/6- Kesiah Hughes, for being extremely kind, caring and helpful in breakfast club and Tahir Ceesay, for his effort and progress in reading.

Achievement

Well done to Fern Collins for achieving her level 6 swimming award.

Well done, everyone !

Dates for the Diary
Tuesday 30th October 2018- Termly Learning Conferences 2- 6.30pm
Thursday 13th December 2018- Reception, 1 and 2 Nativity
Monday 17th December 2018- Class 5 and 6 Pantomime

Mrs. Kathryn Waters