Archive for September, 2004

24th September 2004

Friday, September 24th, 2004

PE Kit



Thank you so much for your support with the new school PE kit. Most of the children are now very smartly turned out in a white Tee shirt and navy blue shorts for PE and Games lessons. The teachers have all noticed how the children’s attitudes and preparedness for these very important lessons have significantly improved since introducing the school kit. We are expecting a delivery of Tee shirts and shorts any day now, if you haven’t been able to get a kit for your child yet.

School Uniform



I have received several replies from parents and carers regarding whether or not there should be a school uniform at Middle Street. So far, the opinions are pretty evenly divided between wanting a uniform and preferring not to have one.

Please let me have your thoughts by the end of next week, so that I can take parents’ opinions to the governing body. This issue will be an agenda item for the first School Council meeting.

Year 6 at Little Canada



The children are having a wonderful time at Little Canada on the Isle of Wight. They have been very fortunate with the weather, and they have been doing a fantastic range of activities. They are due back this afternoon at 5 p.m., and I am sure that they will all have extended and challenged themselves in ways that they would not have thought possible, as well as having a lot of fun!

I would like to thank the members of staff who freely give up their time to accompany the children and ensure that we can offer these valuable residential experiences at our school.

Walk to School Week



This event will be taking place during the week commencing Monday 4th October.



The Children’s Trust



Are you interested in finding out about new developments in services for children and families in Brighton and Hove and how parents and carers could have greater influence on decision making about those services? If so, then you might want to go to a meeting on Thursday 14th October in the Hanover Room at the Brighthelm Centre, North Road, Brighton between 10.00 a.m. to 12 noon.

Contact Elli James on 01273 294414 to book a place, by Wednesday October 6th.

Congratulations to….



Zoe Ward in Year 3, who has made her Brownie Promise.

Please do let me know about your children’s achievements outside of school so that we can share these with the whole school community.

Morning and Afternoon Routines



May I remind parents and carers that Year 1 and 2 children must be dropped off in the mornings and picked up in the afternoons at the playground door to the Year 1 and 2 classrooms, not through the shared area. This is to ensure that all children are safely delivered and collected, and to prevent congestion and disruption to the daily routines. It is important that the children learn to hang up their own coats and manage their lunch boxes themselves, it all helps with their independence skills.

Children in Years 3 to 6 should come through the Middle Street gate onto the playground, put their lunch boxes on the trolleys in the hall and come into the cloakroom through the playground door. Again, to avoid congestion, please say your goodbyes to the children on the playground, unless you need to come in to the office in the mornings. Junior children are collected from the main playground, not from inside the school. Thank you.

17th September 2004

Friday, September 17th, 2004

New School Council



I am pleased to introduce our newly elected Class Reps who will be representing their classes on the School Council for this coming school year. They are:

Year 1 Otto and Poppy

Year 2 Madeleine and Joey

Year 3 Danny and Molly

Year 4 Leili and Antony

Year 5 Josephine and Oscar

Year 6 Oliver and Kavannagh

Congratulations to all of them, I am looking forward to working with them all to continue to make Middle Street a school where children have a voice.

Toys in School



A reminder that children may bring in only toys that are small enough to fit in their drawers. We do not have Pokemon type cards in school except on Fridays for Golden Time. Anything brought in is the responsibility of the child, please discourage them from having precious, expensive or breakable items in school.

Sickness



Children must be kept at home for at least 24 hours after they have been sick. We have had quite a lot of sickness at school this week, so please help us to keep it at bay.

Skateboards etc.



There is no room for skateboards or micro scooters in the cloakroom or anywhere else at school, so please don’t let the children bring them in.

Contributions for Trips



The children at this school go on an exciting range of school trips, outings and residential visits. Contributions are voluntary, and we make a suggestion for how much money would cover the cost for each child. If you have difficulty finding the money we can help by arranging for payment in instalments, or by supplementing your part contribution from a small fund that we have. We cannot insist that parents and carers pay, but if we do not receive enough money through voluntary contributions, then trips will have to be cancelled. Please let me know if you wish to discuss this at any time in confidence, we do want to continue offering trips and will always try to help in any way that we can.

Little Canada



The Year 6 children are all looking forward to their residential trip to Little Canada next week.

Year 5 at the Museum



The children had a most enjoyable visit to Brighton Museum this week, looking at the paper sculptures of Philip Cox.

Congratulations



Well done to Georgia Marshall in Year 2 who has been awarded a certificate for swimming 10 metres.

Lateness



There has been quite a lot of lateness at the start of term, the school is open from 8.45 and register is at 9.00 a.m.

School Gates

Please do not use the Nursery as an entry to the main school, nor must it be used as an exit when the Middle Street gate is closed. Thank you.

Contact Telephone Numbers



Please ensure that the office staff have up to date contact details, including the ‘phone numbers of three people who can be contacted if we can’t get in touch with you.

Labour Party Conference



I have been advised by Brighton and Hove City Council that there will be “zero tolerance” to any parking violations during the week of the Labour Party conference, which begins on Monday 27th September. Also, there may be delays to traffic along the seafront and in Western Road, so please allow extra time to get in during that week.

Clubs



Currently, we only can only offer Drama for Years 5 and 6 and Art club for Years 1 and 2. If you would like a place for your child on either of these, please send a note to the office. Mr Dyer organises Cabinets and Pods himself, and sends out details of this club separately. We are having problems finding a coach for Football and Infant Sports, but will start these clubs up as soon as we have a coach.

24 Hour Museum

Do have a look at the link for the 24-Hour Museum website on our school website: www.middlestreet.org

There are some reviews of places to visit in Brighton from children at this school.

10th September 2004

Friday, September 10th, 2004

Welcome Back



We have had a wonderful start to the new school year. It has been so calm and the staff have all commented on what a lovely week they have had with their classes.

We are pleased to welcome some new children and families to our school, and some new members of staff.

Here are some details of new staffing this year.

Miss Jess Mepham is an Education Assistant in reception class. Miss Katie Whiting is our Year 2 teacher, and has management responsibility for the Arts throughout the school. Miss Joanne Rollason is a new Education Assistant, also in Year 2. Miss Ruth Stewart is our Year 4 teacher and Miss Fran Perry is an Education Assistant in Year 5.

Mr Mick Brazil will be here on Thursdays and Fridays, teaching throughout the school to give teachers non-contact time, including teaching music to each class.

Julie Aldous has taken over responsibility for Special Needs throughout the school.

I have been appointed by the Education Authority as a Primary Strategy Consultant Leader, and will be supporting the Leadership Teams in four other Primary schools.

New Lunch Arrangements



We have been very pleased with a new system that we are trialling at lunchtimes for the Junior children. We have managed to arrange it so that the children do not all go to lunch at the same time. This has meant that it is far quieter and calmer in the hall when the children eat their lunch, and they have so much more space to play on the playground. So far, so good!

Congratulations to:

Lauren in Year 6, who has won a superb trophy for becoming Junior Champion in the Plumpton Bowmen Archery Club.

Curtis, in Year 1, who has received the ASA Rainbow Award for swimming 5 metres, and his sister Daisy, in Year 6, for achieving Level 9 of the ASA National Swimming Awards.

Little Canada



Year 6 children are off on their residential visit to the Isle of Wight on Monday 20th September. Mrs Hadgkiss is holding a meeting for parents next Wednesday 15th after school in the Year 6 classroom.



Meet The Teachers Year 1 to Year 6



On Monday morning between 9.10 and 9.30, you are invited in to meet your child’s new teacher in the classrooms to find out about routines and ask any questions you may have.

New PE Kit



The children look so smart in their new kit, ready to settle down to their PE lessons. Mrs Brill has some more navy blue shorts for sale now, but not many in the smaller sizes. Any plain white tee shirt and navy sports shorts are acceptable, if you don’t want to buy from school. Please remember to name each item, as they do all look the same.

We have in stock:School logo Tee shirts – £4

Navy shorts – £4

School logo PE bags – £3.50

Water bottles – £1.50

and,

School logo book bags – £3.50

School Uniform



Some parents have been so pleased with the new school PE kit, that they have asked about the possibility of introducing a voluntary school uniform, perhaps a school logo sweatshirt and white polo shirt. They feel that it would make their lives much easier, especially in the mornings if the children didn’t have a choice of what to wear.

I know that some of you prefer your children not to wear a uniform, so I would

like to canvass your views.

Would you be in favour of:

A voluntary school uniform, if so what?

A compulsory uniform, again, if so, what?

No uniform at all

I will put this issue to the new School Council, and will take it to discuss with school governors. I would like to hear from as many of you as possible, please drop me a line via the school office by the end of next week.

Swimming



This term (Autumn) Year 6 children will be swimming.

Next term (Spring) it is the turn of Year 5 children.

In the Summer, Year 4 will swim for the first half term, and Year 3 for the second half term.



Healthy Snacks



The children are really enjoying their playtime fruit and veg snacks, and drinking plenty of water. Thank you for supporting us so magnificently in this, especially at such short notice! We sell a selection of fruit such as apples, bananas, satsumas and nectarines, and bottles of water at the snack shop, if you run out at home.

Lost Property is now kept in a large basket in the corridor near the hall door, and will be disposed of weekly.

Can You Help?



The teachers in Years 3 – 6 are requesting donations of any unwanted shirts or large

tee shirts to be used as art shirts.

Nursery would appreciate any unwanted bricks, guttering, crates etc for construction play.

Children’s Hair



Please remember that long hair must be tied back.

Also, please ensure that hair is combed each day, checked regularly for head lice and treated immediately if you do find any.

Helping in school



Any volunteers must have a certificate of disclosure from the Criminal Records Bureau before being able to help in class or on trips. If you do not have one and would like to help out, please ask at the office for a form. If you have a CRB certificate, please make sure that the office has a copy of it for our records. Thank you.



Times of the Day



The doors open at 8.45 each morning (except for breakfast club which is from 8.00 a.m.), register for all children is at 9.00 a.m. If a child is late after close of register, they must report to the office.

Children in Reception (full time), and Years 1 and 2 finish at 3.00 p.m. and should be collected from the classroom door to the playground. The Years 3 to 6 classes finish at 3.05 p.m. Please allow children a few minutes to come down from the upstairs classrooms on to the playground at the end of the day. Please wait for children in Years 3 to 6 on the main playground, not inside the school, as it gets very congested. Thank you.

Anti Bullying Workshop



Mosaic, the Black and Mixed Parentage Family Group is running workshops for black and minority ethnic children between the ages of 8 –12 years on Sunday 19th September from 1.45 – 3.30 p.m. at Fiveways Playgroup in Florence Road. There is a parents’ workshop after that at 3.30 – 4.00 p.m. Phone 234017 for further details.

School Council



The children from Year 1 to Year 6 have been invited to put themselves forward for elections to become class representatives on the School Council. This is a very important role, and previous School Councils have done a magnificent job in helping the school to improve for all of the children. Elections will take place next week. To be fair, only children who have not been reps before (except last year’s Reception) will be eligible to stand.

Parent Governors



A letter is coming home today about vacancies for two parent governors.

Clubs

A letter will come home next week about after school clubs, which should start the following week.