Archive for September, 2005

30th September 2005

Friday, September 30th, 2005

Labour Party Conference

The conference has now ended and fortunately the week passed uneventfully with no disruption caused to the school.

Harvest Festival

Please remember to bring in Harvest Festival items early next week to be taken to the St Patrick’s Night Shelter. They are very appreciative of any items given, especially coffee, tea, sugar, cereals, tinned goods or any of the other items on the list attached to last weeks Friday news.

Year 2 Visit

Year 2 had a lovely time at the Museum on Tuesday looking at artefacts and displays for their history topic.

Congratulations

Congratulations to Ollie and Poppy Stout for achieving their Level 1 and Level 2 swimming awards. Well done.

Mad Hat Day

I hope all the children are thinking about their Mad Hats ready for Mad Hat Day on Friday 21st October. All the sponsor money raised will be donated to the Monsoon Trust.

Walk to School Week

Next week 3rd to 7th October is “Walk to School Week”. I hope as many of you as possible will walk to school and avoid getting stuck in traffic jams.

Cryptosporidiosis

This infection has a combination of symptoms such as diarrhoea, stomach
ache, or vomiting and can be very common in children. It is very contagious, so if your child has any of the symptoms they must be kept off school until they are completely well. Please make sure your children understand how important it is to wash their hands thoroughly after going to the toilet.
If your child has suffered from sickness or diarrhoea they must stay away from school until 24 hours have passed without suffering any symptoms.

200 Year Bi-centenary Celebrations

You will see attached to the Friday news is a poster to advertise the 200-year bi-centenary celebrations at the school on Saturday 15th October. Would you please display the poster in your window. If you would like an even bigger poster to put in your window, come to see Mr Dyer. Also, any parents/carers that have circus/entertaining skills and will be available on the 15th October please contact the office.
The school associations are asking parents if they could donate any home made delicacies for the bi-centenary celebrations. Further information will follow.

Emergency Contact Forms

These forms will be sent home on Monday for every one to complete and return immediately. It is very important that we have up to date contact names and telephone numbers.

After School Clubs

Please can all payments for after school clubs be made to the office by Monday.

Little Canada 2006

The deposit for the Little Canada trip must be made as soon as possible as we have to send the deposit off as soon as possible.

23rd September 2005

Friday, September 23rd, 2005

School Council

The Middle Street school council was elected this week. They had their first meeting on Wednesday and have already set themselves a few tasks. The school council members are:
Year 1: Katie Mackender and Issac Shirley,
Year 2: Izzy Lewis and Harry Fancy,
Year 3: Roman Waters-Stewart and Georgia Marshall,
Year: 4 Joe Mulvay and Libby Bradbury,
Year 5: Charlie Millyard and Ben Scarletti,
Year 6: Adhum Nayee and Esme Jeal.

Year 2 visit Brighton Museum

Year 2 are visiting Brighton Museum next week. They will be looking at artefacts and displays in relation to their history topic.

200 Years celebration

As you are aware the school is celebrating it’s bi-centenary this year. We will be holding a special day of celebrations on Saturday 15th October here at school. The School Association are working hard to ensure this will be a day to remember. The School Association are in the process of recruiting volunteer jugglers etc to perform on the celebration day. If you are able perform any type of circus skills and able to take part on the day please let us know.
Topics During the lead up to our bi-centenary celebrations each class will be working on a historical topic linked to the 200 years the school has been open. You can view each classes topic work displays and other items of interest on Saturday 15th October.

International Walk to School Week

Walk to School is taking place the week beginning 3rd October. I’m sure you will all be walking to school every day that week.

Harvest Festival

We will be collecting for St Patrick’s Trust again this year. They are always very appreciative of our food parcels every year. See attached list of items most needed. Please send your Harvest Festival items in before October 3rd. Thankyou.

All Weather Parenting

Being a parent can be at times very stressful and challenging. Knowing how to cope with your child when they are being difficult is not always easy. If you would like to attend a course that will support and guide you as well as de-stress you please phone 296467. The course starts on Tuesday 27th September at the Tarner Children’s Centre from 10.00 –12.00. You can pick up a leaflet for more info from the Parents notice board in school.

Labour Party Conference update

The police are keeping me up to date on the conference arrangements and so far everything seems to be fine and we shall carry on as normal. In the highly unlikely event that we are asked to evacuate the building arrangements have been made for us to assemble at the Komedia in Gardner Street. From there we will phone parents to arrange for children to be collected and taken home. Local radio will keep you up to date with conference events and any potential difficulties that may occur.

Mad Hat Day

We will be holding a sponsored Mad Hat Day on Friday 21st October. More information will follow but I thought you might like to start thinking about just how mad you want your Mad Hat to be. All money raised will go to the Monsoon Trust

16th September 2005

Friday, September 16th, 2005

Partnership Books

All children from Year 2 to Year 6 should now have a ‘Partnership Book’. If your child has one I hope you have had time to look through it together. The children seem very pleased with them and are enjoying keeping a record of their homework as well as reading the interesting facts that are contained in the back of the book.

Family Learning Week

Brighton and Hove library service are running lots of activities and events over the course of a week starting on Saturday 8th October. Events you may be interested in are:
• Writing workshop with children’s author Miriam Moss on Saturday 8th October
• Jacqueline Wilson will be giving a talk on Wednesday 12th October. Free tickets can be obtained from the children’s library.
There are many other events during the week, some of which are also linked to Black History Month. Pick up a leaflet for further information from the library.

Year 1 Visit

Year 1 will be visiting the Toy Museum on Tuesday as part of their topic work.

Year 3 Visit

Year 3 are studying the Romans at the moment. They will be visiting Bignor Roman Villa on Tuesday to find out what it was like to live in Roman times.

School Association Meeting

The School Association are holding a meeting on Wednesday 21st September at 9.00. The meeting will take place in school. New members are very welcome so do come along if you would like to join in.

No Nuts Please

We have some children and a member of staff who have a severe and dangerous allergic reaction to nuts. So please remember that children must not bring nuts in any form into school.

Please Close the Gate

Please ensure the main gates to the school are closed after entering or leaving the school grounds. Sometimes the gates appear closed but the magnetic locks have not quite connected. Please check the gate is secure before walking away. The gates are closed at 9.00 am when all children should be in class and registered and opened again at 3.00 pm.

Labour Party Conference

I have recently met with the police and the council’s emergency planning officer to discuss the security measures and procedures in place for the Labour Party Conference taking place from the 24th September. The police have assured me that we will be perfectly safe and secure during the conference week. They tell me that due to the high level of policing and security measures in place that Brighton will actually be a low risk area during the week of the conference and will probably be the safest place to be in the UK during that particular week. The police and the emergency planning officer will liaise with the school on a regular basis and will keep us updated on events and any possible disruptions. They have also given me telephone numbers to ring if we have any queries. The main difficulty you will encounter will be if you travel by car. The seafront road will be heavily congested due to stop and search procedures and there will also be traffic diversions and single lane traffic. The police have suggested you allow a longer travelling time to and from school if you travel by car and that you enter the seafront road via West Street and then into Middle Street. The best travelling options are of course to either walk or cycle if possible. The police have assured me that we will be fine and that we should carry on as normal which is what we plan to do.

9th September 2005

Friday, September 9th, 2005

Welcome Back!
We have had a brilliant start to the new school year and are all very pleased to be back. The children have settled quickly and are getting to know their new teacher and education assistant. Two new talented teachers have joined the school this term. Miss Dawn McNally is our Year 6 teacher and Ms Sarah Moriarty is our Year 5 teacher.

Ms Julie Layzell is our acting Deputy Head and has also taken on the role of SENCo.

Building Work.
You may be aware of the building work being carried out in the school at the moment. A new office has been built and is now almost completed.

Water Bottles and Snacks
All children should have a named water bottle (with a sports top) in school. We are encouraging children to drink water throughout the day. As you know dehydration can affect children’s learning and behaviour. Water bottles can be purchased from the office.

Fresh fruit is available to buy from the office at playtimes alternatively children may bring in their own fruit from home. As last term no other form of snacks are allowed.

Children are allowed the following in school if they wish and they have your permission:

A small toy that fits in their drawer.

Gameboys are allowed in school but children are responsible for the safekeeping of their own Gameboy.

Mobile Phones are not encouraged but are permitted. Mobiles must be switched off at all times during the school day. Again, children are responsible for their safekeeping.

No type of collecting cards should be brought into school as they seem to cause so much upset and distress.

School Council Elections
These will take place shortly. Two children from each class will be elected and will form the new School Council. Reception children choose their representatives later in the year.

Meet Your Child’s Class Teacher
You are welcome to come and meet with your child’s class teacher on Tuesday 13th September at 9.10 am. The meeting will last for 20 minutes. This is an opportunity for you to find out about class routines, topics and have a general chat.

Parent Consultation Evenings are being held on:

Tuesday 18th October 3.30pm – 6.30pm and Thursday 20th 3.30pm – 6.00pm.

Ms Layzell will shortly be sending home a letter containing more important dates for your diary.

Swimming Lessons

Year 6 will begin their swimming lessons with Ms Busby on Wednesday 14th September. A more detailed letter will follow.

Congratulations

Curtis Barrell Shearer who has been awarded the Rainbow 10 metres swimming certificate. Well done Curtis!

Well done Hannah Buttle on achieving your Grade 2 Piano certificate

Reminder

Please do not use the Nursery gate to enter or leave the school grounds unless you are dropping off or collecting a child from the Nursery. The Nursery outside area needs to be safe and secure. It’s difficult to ensure this if main school parents use the Nursery gate as a short cut.