Whitley Abbey Primary School

1. Newsletter No 1 8th September 2009 Dear Parents / Carers Welcome back to the new term and the new school year. All the staff are really excited to be back and all have worked hard during the Summer holiday getting the classrooms and curriculum ready for the children. We have had the hall painted and we are pleased with the bright and clean effect it has. Mr. Oughton has had a particularly busy time during the closure and we thank him and the cleaning staff for their hard work. Meet and Greet We will be holding an informal meet the teacher session on Monday 14th September from 3.30-4.40pm. This is just an opportunity to introduce yourself to your teacher and have an informal look around the classroom. Books will not be available on this occasion as the term is very young. Coffee and biscuits will be available. New Pupils We have welcomed quite a large number of new pupils through the school and we hope that their time with us will be enjoyable and successful. Our Reception children start part time soon and we are all looking forward to this special time in their life. I suspect one or two mums and dads will be slightly anxious this week and as usual the Reception team will work hard to ensure that all the children are relaxed and happy. Whitley Abbey Parent Teacher Association, would like to thank you for your support over the last school year. We have had a very successful fundraising year and have managed to provide the children with new equipment including, garden furniture for their eco garden and toys for their lunch time clubs.  We surprised the children with a Pantomime and hope to do the same this winter .We have also given Year 6 pupils a fantastic send off in the form of a roller disco and wish them every success for the future. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our members and helpers especially the new recruits who have proved invaluable this year.   I would also like to thank our Chairperson and Treasurer Tracey O’Leary and Laina Tebbutt for their tireless enthusiasm and commitment.  I hope that with your help, we can continue our success next year. Many Thanks Rachel Foley, Secretary  Whitley Abbey Primary School Dates for the Diary We will send out as many dates for the term as soon as possible.. However we do sometimes have to make amendments due to clashes of activities. We will keep changes to the minimum and give you as much warning as possible. Assemblies Last year we encountered some difficulties with scheduling Class Assemblies and Achievement Assemblies so we have decided to alter the day of the Class Assemblies. These will now be on Thursday at 9am. We will be offering Parents / Carers coffee and biscuits after the assembly. Achievement Assembly This will remain on Friday morning at 9am as usual. Staff will inform you on Wednesday if your child is to be involved. If you have any difficulty in coming on the chosen day please ring your class teacher and they will try and accommodate you on the next Friday. Coventry Fun Run June 2009 Well done to all who ran for us and those who came to support us on the day. We raised a total of £106.18 Thank You

2. Clever Parents We are so proud of our parents who attended the Share course last year. They had lots of lovely relaxing activities throughout the year. However it was also hard work as they all took part in a mathematics course culminating in an exam at the end of the course. I am delighted to say that all the course members passed the exam with flying colours and not without a few nerves! Well done to Wendy Hoffman, Hayley Chapman, Louise Carrigan and Dee Ward for all their work Jewellery in school Just a quick reminder that for Health and Safety reasons jewellery should not be worn in school apart from stud earrings. Pieces of jewellery such as rings are potentially quite dangerous as they can get caught in PE equipment and cause serious damage to fingers. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter. Thank you I have been asked by Rachel Babbington and Jake to convey their thanks to all the people who attended Gary’s funeral last term. So many people contributed to the fund that a total of £1800 was raised between the Charity night and donations at the funeral. The money raised is being given to the hospital where Gary spent his last days and will be used to buy equipment for the Intensive Care Unit that looked after him. We all hope that Rachel and Jake can begin re building their life and we are thinking of them at this time . Admissions 2010 We currently have twenty nine names for Reception for next September and the forms will be sent out this week. If you have a rising five child who should start school with us next year please ensure that you fill in the form as soon as possible and return it to school or the Local Authority. You can apply on line if you prefer. Wraparound We are having a competition to select a new name for this service. Please send entries to Mrs Holland by Friday11th September. The winner will receive a lovely prize. The children will be told in assembly about the competition and the winners name will also be announced in assembly on Monday14th September. Acorns & Supertots Supertots starts on Thursday 10th SeptemberAcorns starts Tuesday 15th September Mrs Gilmour has taken over the Leadership of Acorns as Nora is not able to be with us yet. I know that Mrs Gilmour and the volunteers who support the group will provide a high quality service to our parents and children. Thanks to all our volunteers for their continued commitment to our school Free Swimming Mrs Holland still has forms available for the Free Swimming fro children under 16 at city pools. Please contact the school if you would like one. School Meals Unfortunately there has been an increase in the price of school meals this term to £1.75 per day, making a total of £8.75 per week payable on a Monday morning please. Clearly marked with your child’s name and class. Thank You Whitley Abbey Primary School Happy Birthdayto all our children who celebrate their birthday during September Year R – Jack Year 1 – Kaustubh, Victoria, Stephen Year 2 – Adam, David, Connor, Lewis Year 3/B - Lois, Jodie Year 3/4R – Jake. Imogen, Joseph, William Year 5/6E - Megan Year 5/6W – Amina, Martyna, Catherine Yours sincerely Mrs N A Starritt Head Teacher