Headteacher: Mr Oli de Botton
Head of Primary: Mrs Meg Drummond
Dates For Your Diary
Return Date for Academic Year 2019/2020 - Monday 9th September
Friday 22nd March - Last day of ClubsMonday 25th March - Year 4 Spark Speeches at Salesforce Tower
(Please see Letter for Details)Tuesday 26th March - Cheap + Healthy Meals Workshop - Come and Cook with your child (3:15pm - 4:30pm)
Tuesday 26th, Wednesday 27th & Friday 29th March - Book Fair
Thursday 28th March - Inset Day
(Great Oracy Exhibition)
Friday 5th April - Last day of Term
School finishes at 1:00pm
NOTICES:
Important Notices: From Monday 12th November, the Primary gates will not be opened until 2:55pm ready for a 3:00pm collection. This is due to the fact that many lessons are still taking place at this time and children may be working in the playground. Thank you for your co-operation and understanding.
Due to the confidential nature of information shared in the front office we ask that parents wait outside if you are collecting from clubs. Parents should not be waiting in the Front Office reception area after 4:30pm without a staff member. Morning break snacks are to be fruit (fresh, dried etc) not biscuits or cereal bars. Please leave these items for lunch or after school clubs snacks. Reminder: Football shoes are not to be worn to school, they are dangerous as they do not allow the students to have a good grip when running on hard surfaces and could lead to an accident. Any student who wears them to school will not be allowed to participate in PE lessons or use the playground at break and lunch times.
Break Time Snacks: All children can bring a snack from home to have at break time. This snack MUST be fruit. If any child brings a snack that is not fruit, they will be asked to put it back in their bags to eat after school. Birthdays - If you wish to celebrate your child's birthday by sharing a cake with the class, can we
please ask that it is brought to the classroom the morning of the celebration and that it is already cut up and packaged. Our teachers do not have the time or equipment to be able to cut up sheet cakes and distribute to the children. We ask that you do not drop birthday cakes or party bags to the front office during the day as they are not always guaranteed to have the time to take them to the classroom, and this can lead to disappointment for your child. Lost Property - We currently have an abundance of lost property in the front office, including winter coats. Can all parents please come
and check if any of the items belong to your children. We will be donating all remaining goods to a local charity before half term due to space restrictions.
It is important that parents model good behaviour for children. Please do not swear or use insulting language in the playground. If a member of staff hears this you will be asked to leave the premises and may be banned.Please also remember that our staff are always working for the best interests of the children. If you would like to discuss
anything regarding your child please speak to the class teacher, Mrs Drummond or Miss Dilger. Please do not shout or be rude to a member of staff as this makes the situation very difficult.
School Attendance - EVERY DAY MATTERS!The school target for attendance is 97% or better. As a guide the Education Welfare Service advises that if a parent would go to work with the same condition then the student should be in school. We ask that students returning to school following sickness observe good hygiene rules as an adult
would in the workplace.We are keen to support all our students to achieve their best and this must include ensuring that they attend school as often as possible. We will do the following to support students’ attendance:• Write to you if attendance falls below 95% or is we are concerned about a pattern of
absences.• Invite you into school to discuss any concerns/worries with the Attendance Officer, your child’s Coach/ Class Teacher, Key Stage Leader/Head of Year, or Head or Deputy Head of School if attendance continues to fall.• Where sickness absence occurs on 3 consecutive days or 3 different occasions
within a half term, the school will seek medical evidence, such as a letter from GP, an NHS appointment letter, a prescription from GP, prescribed medication labels etc, so that we are able to support your child in school. Additional days of absences may no longer be authorised.• Refer the student to our Education Welfare Officer if attendance falls to 90%.• Please contact the Attendance Officer or Head of School if you feel your child is well enough to be in school, but not well enough to go to all their lessons. We may be able to make special arrangements• If you believe your child is well enough to be in school, but is refusing, it is essential that you talk to the Attendance Officer, or the Safeguarding Leads. We can offer a variety of options to support you in getting your child back to school.• If required, prescribed medicines can be brought to school – including those needing refrigeration, and stored in the Medical Room. A form should accompany any medication, stating that the school has permission to administer it, along with the times that this should happen. This should also be signed off at the front office.What you can do to support your
child:• Never grant days off for birthdays, shopping trips or any other reason other than illness.• Lessons begin at 8.30am prompt. We ask that all students arrive at 8.25am to avoid them starting their first lesson late. Students who are ‘dropped off’ at 8.30am on a daily basis will be
late to their lessons and therefore late for the start of the day.• Please leave a message on each day of absence by 8.30am at the latest - please email attendance@school21.org.uk leaving the name of your child, their Coach or Class Teacher and the reason for absence. It is for school to decide if an absence is authorised or unauthorised. Stating ‘Unwell’ or
‘Poorly’ gives insufficient information for us to make that decision, and the absence could be unauthorised.• Please phone or email daily unless you have made alternative arrangements with school. We do not know if you have sent your child to school and need to know this in order to keep them safe. If we do not hear from you we will endeavour to contact you, but we must have at least two up-to-date emergency contact numbers on record to be able to do this.• Last/First Day of Term, Non-Uniform Days or ‘Off-Timetable’ days are full curriculum days with content that is required by the national curriculum. It is unacceptable, and against the law, to keep students off on such days for any reason other than illness that renders a student too ill to attend. Any absence on days such as these could be unauthorised unless medical evidence is received, or prior agreement has been reached with school.• We have adopted a pragmatic approach towards the authorisation of Leave of Absence for Exceptional Circumstances where other schools have imposed blanket bans. Each Head of School considers every case personally and may ask for additional information. Taking leave of Absence in Term Time without authorisation is against the law, and phoning-in daily stating a student is unwell causes a breakdown in trust between home and school.• We approve up to two days of religious observance over the course of the academic year that fall during term
time.We understand that the majority of parents and carers support us fully in terms of ensuring their children attend school regularly and that you may have received this message on more than one occasion. However, we share this letter with all as it is important that we all understand the responsibilities school has to uphold to avoid any misunderstanding.Attendance Team
Mrs Drummond's Challenge Thank you to everyone who took part in last week's challenge. Try this weeks challenge below:
Primary Attendance Winners W.C 11/03/2019Reception Newton 97.8%Year 1 Pankhurst 99.2%Year 2 Monet 100% Overall Primary WinnersYear 3 Da Vinci 98%Year 4 Seacole 99.2%
Bring a Parent to School Week Thank you to every one who made the time to attend lessons this week - it was greatly appreciated by all the staff and the students!
If you do have any feedback please email Mrs Drummond at mdrummond@school21.org.uk
First Aid UpdateAll First Aid Incidents will now be reported online using Medical Tracker. Parents will be notified by email automatically when a First Aid Incident occurs. Phone calls will continue to be made for more serious incidents. Please ensure that the School is notified immediately of any change of Personal
Details.
Parent and Child Cooking SessionCome and make some healthy meals with your kids.We will be learning about making healthy meals and getting the kids involved too. You will prepare a meal that can be taken home. Tuesday 26th March 3:15pm - 4:30pmTHERE IS A MAXIMUM OF 10 FAMILIES FOR EACH WORKSHOP. Spaces will be allocated on a first come basis.If you are interested in taking part please email Miss DilgerStating your name and your child’s name and which session you would like to come to. You will be emailed back if you have a place. This will not be a drop in session.
Healthy Cooking SessionWe had a fab time cooking with parents and children from across Primary. This week we made Rice Paper Wraps. The recipe is below. The next session is on Tuesday 26th March 3:15pm to 4:30pm. There are still a few spaces available so please contact Miss Dilger if you are interested. There is a maximum of 10 families per session.
Rice Paper Wraps Ingredients 50g rice vermicelli noodles
1 carrot, peeled 1 avocado, peeled and destoned ¼ cucumber 8 rice paper wraps 8 king prawns, peeled and cooked 8 mint leaves ½ cooked chicken breast, shredded sweet chilli sauce, to serveMethodPut the noodles in a pan of water and bring to the boil, simmer for 3 mins, then cool under running water. Drain thoroughly. Cut the carrot into matchsticks using a knife or a mandoline. Cut the avocado into strips
and the cucumber into thin sticks. Soak 2 of the rice paper wraps in cold water for 1-2 mins until floppy. Lift 1 sheet of rice paper out of the water, shake gently, then lay it carefully on a board. Place 2 prawns in the centre, with a mint leaf between them. Add a strip of avocado, pile some noodles on top, then add a layer of carrot and cucumber. Fold the bottom half of the rice paper over, then fold the sides in and tightly roll it up. Repeat using the second wrapper and soak 2 more to make 2 more rolls.
Make the rest of the rolls up using the remaining 4 wraps and the shredded chicken instead of prawns. Serve the rolls with the sweet chilli sauce for dipping.
Flying HighThis week in Reception we have really enjoyed bringing our parents to school! We have been continuing our project about transport and this week we are learning all about vehicles which can travel in the air! We have been trying out some exciting new oracy protocols to help us in our discussions and this has helped us with our
listening skills too as we share and respond to the ideas of others. We have been making a lot of models using our new construction materials and we also made some paper aeroplanes which we have enjoyed testing out in the playground.
Calling all Reception parents! We have been invited to take part in an exciting project run by Eastside Community Heritage. The project focuses on empowering parents to plan fun activities with their children, based on sharing their cultures through songs, stories and games. Please see the flyer below to find out more details and to see when the first workshop takes place. We would love to see as many of you there as possible and we think that this could be a lovely experience for you and your children. For more information on Eastside Community Heritage, please visit: https://volunteerteam.london.gov.uk/organizations/2302
Football FansThis week in Year 2 in our PE session we have had fun with football! We have learnt the skills on how to dribble and pass the ball with control. It was tricky at first but most of us have got the hang of it and it has been great!
Spark speechesYear 4 are busy practising their spark speeches for their performance at the Salesforce Tower on Monday. We have been learning how to give each other kind, helpful and specific feedback to improve our speeches.
Bright Spot This week Year 3 have written poems about a plant of their choice. Below are an amazing example of how hard the students thought about their vocabulary choices to evoke imagery and emotion for the reader. Big bluebell loves to dance to the songs of the wind,Lets no one get in the way.Upset most of the time,Enthusiastic about the world, Brave, bold and kindEnergetic and loves to sometimes
dance, Loves to grow.Learns to be stronger. By Jase
Bright spot BluebellShe starts off as a
seed, and starts to grow.By days she has reached up to the sky. From then she dyed her hair bright indigo, and wore her dark green dress. Oh, my beautiful bluebell.Later on, she got bored so she started to dance, swaying side to side. She felt sharp stabs of hunger and thirst, so she lifted her head up and fed by the sun. She sat hoping for water to come, but the sun kept on shining. At night, rain finally started pouring,so the thirsty bluebell drank and drank. After the drink, the bluebell bent down to sleep. In the early morning she woke up. Days passed, the bluebell got old and tired, so she bent down.She felt weak, and could not stand anymoreShe lay down, that was the
end for bluebellBy Bethany
Equality Art ExhibitionThursday 4th April 3:20 pm in Primary HallThis month we have been learning about and celebrating diversity at School 21. We are all different shapes, colours and sizes! We are passionate about different things, disagree on different things and believe different things. In order to celebrate these differences we have created beautiful pieces of art using different techniques to show how even though we may not all be the same, at School 21 we are all equal and accepting of one another. The children have been so responsive and thoughtful in our discussions about ethnicity, disability and different kinds of
families. Why not come along and see the artwork they have created after school on Thursday 4th April?
Eloquence Certificate Winners Well done to those children who went above and beyond in eloquence this week! You spoke confidently and fluently in front of your peers! This week we celebrated: Amara, Haleema, Joelma, Sasha, Bijan, Rayyan, Mya, Emelia-Rae, Tiago, Andrei, William, Ziman, Luoning and Affan.
Overdue Library BooksPlease return your overdue library books! We currently have over 500 books overdue. This means that students are unable to borrow popular books. Students are allowed to borrow up to three books for a loan period of one month and can be renewed after this period should the need arise. Any books that are lost or damaged must be replaced. Mrs Fisher
Librarian
Next Week's Lunch Menu is Week 2!
|