23 June 2022

Dear Parents and Carers,

I hope you are all well and enjoying the sunshine. Just a few notices to be aware of:

INSET DAY

Please note that Friday, 24 June, is an INSET day for training for staff. Children will not be in school on this day.

Temporary Teacher Appointment

We are pleased to inform you that we have appointed a temporary class teacher to cover Mrs Henderson-Howes’ maternity leave from September 2022. Her name is Miss Jackson and she will be teaching Year 5 next year. She is looking forward to meeting her new class at our next move up afternoon on Tuesday 28 June.

Teachers Next Year

All classes are taking part in ‘move up’ afternoons this week and next. Please note, the teachers for next year are as follows:

Reception Class: Miss Rundle

Year 1: Mrs Longster

Year 2: Mrs Aitchison

Year 3: Miss Shawcross

Year 4: Mrs Torley

Year 5: Miss Jackson, then Mrs Henderson-Howes upon return from maternity leave

Year 6: Miss Wiblin

Breakfast Club/Teatime Club Survey

Thank you to those who have already responded to our survey. If you haven’t yet responded and would still like to, please click the link here: https://forms.gle/ou6sL9FkvqaM89J4A

Parking

We have encountered further problems with parking recently. One of our coach drivers was spoken to aggressively when trying to drop a class of our children off at home time, whilst a Neighbourhood Officer has visited school to express concerns from residents around drives being blocked at drop off/pick up times and grass verges being damaged. Please may we remind all parents to continue to support us by parking considerately and avoiding parking on the yellow lines.

Summer Fayre

The time has almost come for our fantastic Summer Fayre event, organised by our fabulous Friends of St Matthew’s! This Saturday, 25 June, our Summer Fayre will be held on the school field from 12 noon until 2pm. All are welcome! Please also just get in touch if you are able to assist on a stall. Thank you.

Sun Protection

We are experiencing very warm weather at present. Please ensure you child has a cap, sunscreen and water in school at all times in the coming weeks.

Year 4 First Holy Communion

Many of our Year 4 children made their First Holy Communion on Saturday at St Matthew’s Church. It was a beautiful event and the children enjoyed a party in the parish hall afterwards. Congratulations to our children, who were so reverent and joyful on their special day.   May we say a huge thank you to Fr Saji and our wonderful catechists, who prepared our children so well. Special thanks to Mrs Boyle for leading this and Mrs Young for ensuring it was so well organised.

Bishop’s Cup Final

A huge well done to our football team, who played in the prestigious Bishop’s Cup final last night. They have had a super season – special thanks to our coaches Mr Brown and Mr Kelly, who have given up so much of their time and done a fantastic job of leading our team.

Year 4 Charity Sale

Some of our Year 4 pupils are very keen to raise funds for a number of charities close to their hearts. They will be holding a charity sale on Tuesday 19 July in school time.  Children will be able to buy items they have been making on that day such as friendship bracelets and bookmarks – more information to follow closer the time

Fundraise and Recycle

Don’t forget that we have our clothing bank in school for any donations of clothing, which helps to raise funds for school. We won an additional £50 last month for taking part in their jubilee competition!

Sport’s Day

We are delighted to be able to host Sport’s Day this year on Thursday 7 July – the very first time for our Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 children. At St Matthew’s, we try to create a sports day which is inclusive, fun and enjoyable for all. The children will compete in their houses: Matthew, Mary, Bede and Joseph, and will all take part in a range of events as a team in their year groups (egg and spoon/sack race/relays etc). Each child will also take part in one of our 4 main races on the track: the sprint; the hurdles; the long run and the obstacle course. As the children have missed the last 3 Sports Days, we thought it would be a nice gesture to award all children with a medal to commemorate the day.  There will be medals for all children at the end of each race (Winners will get Gold etc). We will look to start Sport’s Day around 9:15 am and we estimate that all events will be completed by 11:45 am.

All parents, carers and grandparents are welcome to attend. There will be seats lined up along the ‘home run’ of the track. If you wish to bring your own seating and sit in a designated area then you are more than welcome. You may take a seat and enter the yard, when you drop your child off in the morning. All children will be entering school straight away on this day.

The children are to come to school in their blue PE tops and shorts. Please ensure sun cream has been applied, they have a sun hat and a full bottle of water.

Fingers crossed for a lovely dry day and a great morning of sporting action!

May I thank you all for your continued support. As always, please just get in touch if you need anything at all.

Best wishes,

Mrs E Alderson

Headteacher