Whitehouse Weekly Bulletin 202

Friday 9th September 2022

Message from Mrs Hall

Welcome back to a new year school year at Whitehouse. As a school, we are very excited to be continuing our Rights Respecting School journey with a view to achieve Gold in the Spring Term. I have been impressed by the way staff and pupils are promoting those rights and linking them to the Golden Rules, Whitehouse Way and the Whitehouse Curriculum. If you are unsure about our Rights Respecting Journey please see our website for more details: https://www.whcps.org/our-rights-respecting-school-journey/. This year the government have changed the expectations for school attendance, so we will be following this guidance carefully (please read the update from the attendance lead so you are aware of the changes). We do hope that everyone has a great school year.

Assemblies

The theme of our assemblies for next week will be: What is Muscular Sclerosis? How can we at Whitehouse support the MS-UK charity?  (UNRC Link: Article 24: I have the right to the best health possible and to medical care and to information that will help me to stay well). 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.

Non-Uniform Day

Further to the above planned assembly, our children will be learning how living with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) can affect individuals and families.  The charity MS-UK helps to protect the rights of children across the country by providing access to information and supporting the health and wellbeing of anyone impacted by MS.  Please note we will be holding a non-uniform day on Friday 16^th September, to support the charity and their good work.  Children can come in non-uniform and wear purple, green or orange for a small suggested donation of £1.00.

Miss Payne, one of our teachers, will also be taking part in a 2-mile open water swim to raise money for MS-UK.  We look forward to hearing how she gets on!  Good luck Miss Payne!

Parking

As we move into the new school year, we would like to remind parents/carers the importance of ensuring they are parking safely and considerately in the area around the school site. As you will be aware the start and end of the school day is very busy with many cars and pedestrians near the site.  Please do think about whether it would be possible for you to leave the car at home and walk to collect your children.  We would also ask you to please be considerate to the residents living near the school and do not block the access to their homes when parking.

School Photos

We are pleased to let you know that the school photographers will be here on Monday 19^th September 2022. Please ensure your child comes to school that day in the correct school uniform. If your child is due to do PE on that day please note thy should wear school uniform instead of their PE kit.

Thank You

Ms Salmon and the PFA would like to take this chance to say a big THANK YOU to everyone in the school community who helped with the School Fair we held in July, as well as to all our children and families who came along and had lots of fun on the day.  A special big thank you to those who so kindly donated raffle prizes, we had a wonderful list of donations.  We are pleased to let you know we raised £1,660.03, which will be used to help the children have some fun events in school and to support their learning. 

Year 6: High School Places

Please note letters have been sent home this week to the Parents/Carers of our Year 6 children regarding applying for a High School place for next year.  It may seem early to think about this, but please be aware that the deadline to do this is Monday 31^st October 2022.  A copy of the letter from Suffolk County Council is also available on our website at the following link: https://www.whcps.org/07-09-2022-year-6-high-school-applications/.

Walk-in COVID Vaccination Clinic

As we enter the autumn and winter months, the NHS are advising that children and young people aged 5 to 18 should be offered the chance to be vaccinated.  This is particularly important for children who have health conditions that put them at a higher risk from Covid.  More information about clinics that offer these vaccinations can be found here:  https://suffolklearning.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Ipswich-5-18.pdf

Breakfast Club

A reminder that we are again running our popular Active and Quiet Breakfast Clubs this year.  Places must be booked in advance and children can be dropped off at 8.00am at the Marlow Road Hall.  Spaces cost £1.00 a day per child and this will include a simple breakfast of cereal, toast and fruit juice.  If you would like your child to attend, spaces can be booked via the Clubs section of the Arbor App, or alternatively you can contact the school office who will assist you.  If your child has been invited to attend the Thrive Breakfast Club, Read and Feed, or one of the Year Group Breakfast Clubs, please note you do not need to book a space or make payment.  

School Timings

Can we please remind parents/carers that the gates are opened at 8.25am each day.  Please be aware that any children arriving earlier than this time will not be able to access the school site, unless they are attending breakfast club.

Contact Details

We know as your child joins us at Whitehouse, moves into a new year group at school, or enters a new Key Phase, sometimes you will have a query and need to talk to someone.  Please note the school office can be contacted by calling 01473 741249 or by emailing parents@whcps.org and will always help if they can. The office is open from 8.00am to 4.00pm.  In addition, Miss Brinkley and Mrs Gotts, of our Pastoral Team, are always happy to chat over any issues and look at extra support the school can offer our families.

Our teachers are very happy to talk to parents/carers about any concerns.  Please be aware it is difficult for them to talk in the morning, when they are trying to take the children into their morning registration, but they usually are free at the end of the day. To help where there are concerns, please note we have the below structure in place which we find is the most effective way to offer help.

WHCPS PE Kit

Thank you to all parents/carers for your efforts with the PE kit at the start of this academic year, it has looked amazing and very smart this week! Just a quick reminder that the WHCPS PE kit consists of the items as shown below.

Please note that PE jumpers may be plain black and do not have to have the school logo. Similarly, tracksuit tops and bottoms also need to be plain black, however they may have small logos, stripes.  If you would like to purchase a WHCPS PE jumper or fleece for your child they are available at the PMG Schoolwear shop. The only item of the PE kit which requires the WHCPS logo is the red PE top. Staff will be keeping a close eye on the PE kit throughout the year and ensuring that the fantastic standards of PE kit remain as high as it has been throughout this first week back.   We would also remind you that no jewellery can be worn during PE lessons.

If there is an issue with PE kit i.e. it’s on order, become damaged, waiting to purchase a new one etc. please provide your child’s class teacher with a note via your child’s journal. Thank you again for your continued cooperation and support! 

Message from Mrs Calver, Attendance Officer

Welcome back everyone to the start of the new School Year. As we move forward, Whitehouse will be following the National Directive on attendance for all children to be at school every day. A Trust Education Welfare Officer has also recently been appointed who will be supporting the school in achieving the best possible attendance levels.  So, what does this mean for you? We expect children to be on time and in school every day. We do understand there will be some circumstances when this is not possible and it will be your responsibility to let the school know when your child is absent and for what reason. After 7 or more unauthorised sessions (3.5 days), which do not need to run consecutively, a fixed penalty notice will be considered.

There are so many great reasons for your child to be at school like learning new skills, making friends, taking part in exciting activities, building relationships, keeping up with their work and experiencing new things. Don’t forget the school is here to support you too, so if there is any part of our child’s attendance that is worrying you please get in contact with me or a member of the Pastoral Team. Don’t forget the Breakfast club is available to all children, every day, before school from 8.00am for a healthy start to the school day.

Job Vacancy: School Cleaner

We are currently looking to recruit another cleaner for the school.  For full details of the role please see the following link on our website: https://www.whcps.org/vacancies/ where you can also download a copy of the application form.  Please note applications forms are also available at the Main Office.

The role will be for 2.5 hours a day, 5 days a week for 44 weeks a year (including some holiday work).

Application forms must be completed in full, unfortunately we cannot accept CVs.  The closing date is 9.00am on Friday 23^rd September 2022 and interviews will take place shortly after.

If you have any questions please contact the School Office and ask to speak to Mrs Debbie Whight, HR Office.

Dates for the Diary

Friday 16^th September 2022 – Non-Uniform Day for MS-UK

Monday 19^th September 2022 – School Photos

Monday 24^th October 2022 to Friday 28^th October 2022 – Half Term Holiday

Monday 31^st October 2022 – Deadline to Apply for High School Place

Tuesday 1^st November 2022 – Flu Immunisations

Thursday 17^th November 2022 – Parents/Carers Evening

Wednesday 23^rd November 2022 – Parents/Carers Evening

Friday 25^th November 2022 – SMSC Whole School Day: Global Citizenship

Friday 2^nd December 2022 – Flu Immunisations Catch-up Day

Friday 16^th December 2022 – Last day of the Autumn Term

Tuesday 3^rd January 2023 – PD Day (School Closed to Children)

Wednesday 4^th January 2023 – First day back at school for the children