Friday News Archive

Welcome Back

Welcome back it’s great to see everyone all smiling, relaxed and ready to learn after a mostly sunny holiday. We have had a few new children join us this term, so a warm welcome to them and their families.

Playground News

A group of parents, staff members and I met yesterday to begin discussing ideas for improving the front playground. We have had some exciting ideas to create a more ‘natural’ green space for children to play in. Our next step is for two of our volunteers to put a plan together which we can then discuss with the children. The children can input their ideas and help to develop the plan. Another two volunteers will be looking at ways to raise the funding we will need to complete the project. In the meantime we will begin gathering scrap materials for our play boxes. The play boxes will contain a variety of materials such as nets, tyres and inner tubes, poles, card and so on for children to play with and construct dens etc during playtimes.

School Nurse Drop In

Our school nurse; Sarah will be running drop in sessions on Friday 9^th May from 8.30. If you have any little niggling issue like head lice, bed wetting etc you would like to discuss just ‘drop in’ on the day. The school nurse can advise you on a variety of health and wellbeing issues so do make use of the drop in session on offer.

Drop In Sessions with Our Family Worker

Helen Cattell will be available on Thursdays in May (1^st, 8^th, 15^th,) to discuss with you anything that may help you as a parent or carer. She can provide you with information on services and organisations and signpost you to support for more complicated issues. She is also able to simply sit and listen and support you with whatever your worry or issue might be. You can contact Helen on 01273 291478 or speak with Katie Jones our SENCo in school if you would like to arrange a time to come in.

Tom Gates News

Liz Pichon will be launching her new Tom Gates book; ‘Tom Gates (A tiny bit) Lucky’ at The Old Market theatre, Hove on May 10^th at 11.00. As well as talking about her new book, Liz will be showing how to doodle in Tom Gates style. Tickets cost £6 and are available from The Old Market theatre.

Children’s Parade

The children’s festival parade takes place on Saturday 3^rd May. We are as you know ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Please turn over for dressing up ideas. We still need lots of help preparing props etc so if you can help please let us know asap. There are workshops every day after school next week.

Our meeting point on the day is Pelham Street and our flag number is 42. The samba band should arrive at 10.00, everyone else should gather at 10.15. If you are joining us then please dress up (including adults) to ensure we look as  amazing as possible!

On-Time Teds

This week’s Key Stage 1 winners are Year 1 and in Key Stage 2 the winners are Year 6. Well done to both classes for being on time for school!

Attendance and Punctuality

I hope you all took the time to read the letter sent home before the holidays regarding term time holidays. You will have read I am sure lots of press items about term time holidays. Most recently in the press the condemnation of Centre Parcs appearing to encourage families to take holidays in term time. Our attendance rates must improve. Middle Street attendance is approximately at 94.3% the national comparison is 95.2% As I said in my letter, Middle Street is amazing and we are all so proud of our school, so if we can all work together to improve attendance and punctuality it would, as well as us feeling a sense of pride, more importantly impact positively on children’s learning and relationships.

The school is closed for Polling Day on Thursday 22^nd May. The day will become a staff training day replacing one planned before Easter.

Half Term Break

We finish for the half term break on Friday 23^rd May and return to school on Monday 2^nd June.

Anti-Bullying Workshop

A small group got together for the Anti-Bullying workshop. During our discussions we felt a workshop for parents on E-Safety would be really helpful. I’ll let you know when we have that organised.

Nursery Open Day

Our Nursery open afternoon on Wednesday was a great success. We have several prospective parents who took the time to visit and find out more about our lovely Nursery. We will hold more open days in the future. We are currently working hard to keep our Nursery running as sometimes our numbers are low and this affects funding. So do encourage friends and family who need nursery places to come along and visit us. No need to wait until an open day we welcome visitors and prospective parents at all times.

Netball Tournament

Our new netball team played well yesterday in the High 5 tournament. They won 2 games out of 3. Well done to the team!

Brighton Marathon

Charlie’s dad (year 1) and Mrs Julie Layzell are both running the Brighton marathon this year. There is still time to sponsor them. If you would like to just pop in to the school office and put your name on the sponsor sheet.  Charlie’s dad  and Mrs Layzell are both raising money for the school.

Children’s Parade Workshops

Mrs Purdy will be in school every day in the first week of the Easter holidays. She would love you to join her if you can to help produce the floats etc for the children’s parade. We are ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’. The children’s parade takes place on Saturday 3^rd May. If you would like to help Mrs Purdy please contact the school office and arrange to meet with Mrs Purdy and share contact numbers.

Parent & Carer Workshops

We are running a workshop for parents and carers on sleep and bedtime routines. Bedtimes can sometimes be exhausting so come along and pick up some tips on how to deal with this common but sometimes challenging problem. The workshop lasts for 2 hours with time for questions. This workshop is on Thursday 24^th April from 9.15 until 11.15. Please complete the attached form and return to the office if you would like to come along to the workshop.

We will be running some drop in support, advice and information sessions on any parenting issue on Thursdays beginning in May. More information to follow.

Punctuality Prizes

All children with 100% punctuality this term were awarded a certificate today. All the names were entered into a prize draw. The winners of the 100% punctuality £5 book token are; Max in Reception, Yana in Year 1, Finley in Year 3, Stella in Year 4 and Tia in year 5. Get to school on time everyday next term and you may win a prize too!

Congratulations to…

Gabriel in year 2 who has been selected along with 4 others (from 260 applicants) to have their recipe for a new ice cream flavour made and sold at Boho Gelato. You can buy Gabe’s ice cream from 10^th April till 17^th April. All proceeds go to the Rocking Horse Charity. Gabes flavour is; peanut butter and jam on toast. The flavour which sells the most will have their ice cream sold continuously from then on. The winner will be announced on Good Friday. If you want to hear the announcement (part of the Brighton and Hove Food Festival) go along to Hove Lawns at 10.30 on Good Friday.

Easter Break Children finish today for the Easter break. Children return to school on Tuesday 22^nd April.

We will also be closed for polling day on Thursday 22^nd May.

Happy Easter!