Whitehouse Weekly Bulletin 106
Friday 6th September 2019
Message from Mrs Hall
Welcome back to a very exciting year of learning at Whitehouse Community Primary. The staff have been very busy planning and organising some great opportunities for the children. Do visit your child’s new teacher week beginning 16th September.
We are delighted with our wonderful new classrooms in Key Stage 1, however they have expanded the school site significantly. We have had a few glitches this week moving around the school but we are doing everything that we can to manage the site as effectively as possible for the safety of everyone.
It is great that all parents have the opportunity to drop off and collect their child from the classroom door. Please can we ask that parents/carers do not arrive at the school too early at the end of the school day. For safeguarding reasons (site security) we cannot open the main gates until 3.00 pm. If you have children in multiple year groups please collect the youngest child first as Key Stage 2 (Y3, Y4, Y5 and Y6) do not finish their lessons until 3.10 pm. In addition, please can parents and small children stay away from the windows and doors of the classrooms whilst the children are learning. We do hope that everyone has a wonderful year.
Welcome
We are very pleased to welcome our new reception children and our new teachers to Whitehouse this academic year: Miss Hunt (Lions Teacher), Mrs Thorpe (Hedgehogs Teacher), Mr Hobhouse (Trainee Teacher in Owls Class) and Miss Jaspal (Rabbits Teacher). We also are pleased to welcome our new Teaching Assistants: Miss Knights, Mrs Rootes and Mrs Wali.
Assemblies
The theme of our assemblies for next week will be: New Beginnings: How can I be the best learner I can? Resources related to this assembly will soon be available on our website. To access them, simply go to Learning and click on our Enquiry Based Assemblies.
Walking Home
Children in Years 5 and 6 are permitted to walk home alone with written parental consent. If you would like your child to walk home, please fill in and return the form sent home earlier this week. A copy can be found on the website: https://www.whcps.org/autumn-term-2019/.
Safeguarding
In case of a Safeguarding (Child Protection) issue you will need to contact Mr Williams (Deputy Headteacher/Designated Safeguarding Lead) straight away. In his absence please report any concerns to our Alternative Designated Safeguarding Leads: Mrs Hall, Mrs Porter, Miss Siddall, Miss Till, Mrs Greggor, Miss Brinkley or Mrs Gotts. Please see the website for more details: https://www.whcps.org/safeguarding/.
Attendance
As you may have seen, one of the improvements Ofsted would like to see in our school is a rise in the attendance levels to the National Expectation of 96.1%. If you have any concerns or queries, please speak to a member of the School Office or Pastoral Teams who will do their best to assist. If you struggle to be on time for school, please note we do offer a Breakfast Club for just £1.00 a day per child. If you are unsure of the start times for school, more details can be found on our school website: https://www.whcps.org/the-school-day/.
PE Kits
Can we please remind parents/carers that PE kits should be left in school so that they are available for PE lessons each week. The kit comprises of a red polo shirt (with a logo), black shorts, black plimsolls/trainers with a black jacket and tracksuit bottoms for colder days. In line with the SCC guidance, please also ensure that earrings are removed on PE days. We would also ask that all items are named to help prevent them from being lost.
Parent/Carer Concerns
We are aware that at times issues will arise where parents/carers will have concerns and need to speak to a member of staff. We will always try to help as best we can.
We do have a structure in place to deal with any concerns and we would ask parents/carers to follow this procedure to enable us to best deal with all queries. Please address initial concerns with the class teacher. If this cannot be resolved, it will be referred to the Phase Leader, then the Assistant Heads and finally the most serious concerns will be passed to the Deputy Headteachers or Headteacher. We appreciate your co-operation in this matter.
Whitehouse Community Primary School – Midday Supervisors
Hours of Work: 1hr 10mins – 1hr 30 mins per day, worked between 11.30am – 1.30pm
Rate of Pay: £9.00 per hour – term time only
We have a number of vacancies for regular and relief Midday Supervisors to start immediately. You will need to be approachable, enthusiastic and able to supervise school meals and to lead and monitor children’s play in the playground.
Experience of working in a school is desirable but not essential. Application packs are available from the school office or on our website www.whcps.org/vacancies. If you would like help to fill in an application form, please ask. Satisfactory references, an enhanced DBS check and evidence of the right to work in the UK will be required prior to appointment.
For more information, please contact: Cath Anderson, Business Manager, Whitehouse Community Primary School, Marlow Road, Ipswich, IP1 5JN.
Closing Date: Tuesday 17th September 2019
Interviews: Friday 20th September 2019
Nut Allergies
Can we please remind you to avoid sending in products containing nuts in your child’s packed lunch or for their snack (KS2 only). This includes peanut butter. We have a number of children with severe allergies and even being near a child eating nut products can cause a serious problem.
Suffolk MIND
During this term, Suffolk MIND will be visiting the school to work with the children in Years 3-5 to deliver their new EARLY Minds program. EARLY Minds stands for Emotional Awareness and Resilience Learnt Young. It introduces helpful patterns that underpin good mental health in all children and young people for the rest of their lives through using stories, exploratory questions and activities. The program will be taught by fully qualified trainers and the sessions will be age appropriate. A letter explaining more will be sent home next week. If you do have any questions please contact the Pastoral Team.
Dates for the Diary
Monday 9th September – Framlingham Castle Trip – Year 2
Monday 16th September – EYFS Parent/Carer Drop-in Session – 3.00 – 3.30 pm
Tuesday 17th September – Year 1/2 Parent/Carer Drop-in Session – 3.05 pm – 3.35 pm
Wednesday 18th September – Year 3/4 Parent/Carer Drop-in Session 3.10 pm – 3.40 pm
Thursday 19th September – Year 5/6 Parent/Carer Drop-in Session 3.10 pm – 3.40 pm
Tuesday 24th September – Greek Day – Year 5
Monday 21st October to Friday 25th October – Half Term Holiday
Thursday 14th November – Parents/Carers Evening
Friday 15th November – Flu Immunisation – Year R to Year 6
Wednesday 20th November – Parents/Carers Evening
Thursday 28th November – Whole School Team Building Day
Friday 20th December to Friday 3rd January – Christmas Holiday
Monday 6th January – PD Day – School Closed to children
Monday 17th February to Friday 21st February – Half Term Holiday
Friday 3rd April to Friday 17th April – Easter Holidays
Friday 8th May – May Bank Holiday
Friday 22nd May – PD Day – School Closed to children
Monday 25th May to Friday 29th May – Half Term Holiday
Wednesday 22nd July – PD Day – School Closed to Children
Thursday 23rd July – First Day of Summer Holiday