School Newsletter

Summer Term 2010
Newsletter No. 9 - 6th May 2010

Dear Parents,

Sickness
Please remember if your child has been sick they must stay away from school for 48hrs after the last incidence of vomiting. We seem to have a never ending bug at the minute. Please ensure you stick to the guidelines.

Lunches
If you would like your child to have a school lunch you must pay for the meal in advance not in arrears. It would be helpful if you could book and pay for lunches at the beginning of each week.

Friday Sharing assemblies
Sharing assemblies will be held at 9.15am as follows:
Friday 14th May Oak
Friday 21st May Sycamore
Friday 25th June Chestnut
Friday 2nd July Willow
Friday 9th July Cherry
I would like to remind parents that anyone is welcome to attend any Sharing assembly.

Emscote Fun Run and Street Party
A special community day is being arranged to take place on the green outside the school and church on Saturday 15th May 11 - 2pm. This is in collaboration with All Saints’ Junior School, All Saints’ Church and the Gap. The event includes stalls, activities, a pig roast and a 3km fun run (or 1.5 km fun walk for families) that starts at 11.20am. We will be running stalls to raise money for the school, and the Emscote Cheerleaders will be doing a display. Do come along to support this event in the community. If anyone can help on the day even just for an hour please come along and volunteer.

Walk to School Week
The theme of this year’s Walk to School Week from 17th-21st May is Walk Your Way, focussing on how walking to school helps children learn vital orientating skills to help them navigate and get to know their local area, improving confidence and safety. Please walk to school with your children or if you live too far away, park a 10 minute walk away from the school and walk the rest of the journey. You could look for landmarks and see if your child can tell you the way to walk to school and lead the way.

Sponsored Bounce
The Friends of Emscote Infant School sponsored bounce takes place on Wednesday 19th May, during normal school hours. The Friends will be sending you further information about this fund raiser.

Year 2 Parents Coffee
The headteacher of All Saints’ Junior School Richard Machin will be coming to Emscote at 9.15am on Wednesday 26th May for a coffee morning to meet with year 2 parents. This will be an opportunity for those parents whose children move up to the junior school in September to meet with Mr Machin, and to address any concerns they may have about the transition.

School Closures
The school will be closed on Friday 28th May for a teacher training day.

New Parents Evening
Parents of children starting school in September will be attending a meeting on Thursday 10th June at 7.30pm. Induction day, when all the children spend a day in their new classes for next year, is on Wednesday 30th June. That is also the day the new reception children visit Emscote and year 2 visit the Junior School.

Group Photographs
Class photographs will be taken on Friday 11th June.

School Sunday
We are pleased to be taking part in School Sunday on 13th June in All Saints’ Church, along with the Junior School. The service is at 10.30am, we meet at 10.15am. This year the children will be singing one song with All Saints. Parents can drop children off if they cannot stay and they will be looked after by staff. The service concludes at approximately 11.30am and unaccompanied children will be looked after until they are safely collected. I hope as many of you as possible will be able to attend. The children do not have to wear school uniform. Please can you let class staff know if your child will be attending.

Book Fair
The Scholastic Book Fair will be visiting the school for the week commencing Monday 14th June.

Curriculum Focus Week
The topics of Curriculum Focus Week between 14th – 18th June are history and geography.

School Trip
We have an exciting trip booked for all the children this term. On Wednesday 7th July the whole school will be going to Cotswold Wildlife Park. We will have to ask for voluntary contributions from parents to enable the trips to go ahead. If you are able to help on the trip please speak to class staff. Look out for more details nearer the time.

Friends of Emscote Infant School
The trip to Cotswold Wildlife Park will be made possible because of a donation from the Friends of Emscote Infant School. Thanks are also due to the Friends for their payment towards new curtains in the hall, which will creates a much better environment.

Free Course For Parents
Find out new ways to enjoy time together with your child, build on your relationships and tackle the challenges. This course will help you learn effective ways to support your child’s behaviour. There will be a creche for young children. The course will run on Mondays starting in June. If you are interested contact Nicky Tolley on 07554 334210 or Westgate and Newburgh Children’s Centre on 01926 497968.

Bike and Scooter Park
As there have been a number of thefts from the bike and scooter parking area I need to ask you to use a bike lock if you bring your bike or scooter to school.

Governor of the Month
In each newsletter we will be introducing you to one of the governors. We are starting this month with Edward Leung, chair of governors:

“I have three children; Freya (in year 5 at All Saints Junior School), Henry (in year 3 at All Saints) and Beatrice in reception here at Emscote.

I became a governor at Emscote in 2005 when my eldest daughter started at the school. As I didn’t know very much about the running of a school I felt this was a good way to find out more, and to have some input into and make a real contribution to my children’s education.

I have seen the school go through some transformations including a change in the management team, the expansion from five classes to six with an extra teacher, and the school becoming so popular that it had a waiting list for the September 2009 reception intake. All the time, the changes have been for the school to move forward and preserve a bright future.

As a governor my role is to challenge the management team about the performance and direction of the school, making sure the children receive the highest standard of education possible. This is done by spending time in each class, observing the lessons and talking to the children. Each term, there are regular meetings to discuss progress and future plans of the pupils, finances and the school as a whole. My role is to keep in regular contact with the management team, chair the meetings, ask questions of all proposals and make sure we all understand the school’s vision for the future.

We have a very supportive and active governing body so please feel free to talk to any of the governors about any school matters; you will find their names and faces on the governors’ notice board in the school hall.”

New Parent Governor

Eamonn McFadden has finished his term of office as a parent governor, for which we thank him, and we will now be seeking nominations for a new parent governor. Please consider joining the team, and look out for further information.

Yours sincerely

Debi Cossins
Headteacher