18th January Newsletter

Parking

Yesterday Mrs Gallagher emailed out a complaint that we have received from a neighbour. Whilst I feel quite defensive about some of the comments made in the complaint and its general tone, there are some issues around the drop off and pick up time that do need to be addressed.

• Firstly, there should be NO children in the playground, unsupervised by a parent, until 8:40am. We are aware of some older children arriving early and they are causing unnecessary noise.
• Secondly, no parent/grandparent, or any other person dropping off, must use School Terrace as a point to reverse and turn around. We know there are individuals who regularly do this and they are putting children at risk. Please drive a few meters up the road and turn at the junction.
• Cars must not stop on the zig zags, even to pause and let children get out. This is very dangerous. Please drop children off further down (where there is space for two cars to pass) so they can walk up to school on the path.
• Whilst there has been occasions where car horns have been pressed to alert other drivers of bad practice, we have been made aware of individuals allowing children to press the horn intentionally. This is also needs to stop.
• If parking your car, ensure it does not block the road, and definitely do not block our neighbour’s driveways or access to and from their house.

I am fully aware of how difficult the drop off and pick up times are. I wish more than anyone that we weren’t so limited for space due to our location but this is not a situation that I can change. Thankfully, most of our parents do adhere to the general guidelines for parking but unfortunately there is a small minority putting children at risk and causing this time to be stressful and unpleasant for everyone.

Interviews

We have shortlisted 4 candidates to interview for the part-time post of Year 2/3 teacher and these interviews will take place on Monday.  Our School Council have prepared their own set of questions and Class 2 are looking forward to being taught a lesson by each of the interviewees.  We will also be asking them to assess some of the writing that Year 2 and Year 3 have produced recently.  It is robust process and I am confident that we will be able to appoint an excellent addition to our hardworking, dedicated team.

Mid-Morning Snack

We are throwing away a significant amount of fruit each week.  This is fruit provided through the Free Fruit for Schools scheme and is given to pupils in Class 1 and Class 2.  I have noticed there are a number of children in these classes who are bringing in their own snack each day and wondered if parents actually knew that a fruit snack is provided.  It is a worry that so many children are not taking the snack at break time as not only will it instil healthy eating habits, it is helpful for their concentration and learning to have an energy boost part way through the morning.  Please encourage your child to take their free piece of fruit.