Friday 25th January 2019
Dear Parents and Carers
It is difficult to believe we are half way through this half term. With the cold snap earlier in the week I was very impressed with our attendance on that day as the roads were somewhat slippery. As you know, we will always try to keep the school open but, if we feel we cannot keep the children safe, we will close. This will be published on the school website and on the list of closed schools on the Dorsetforyou website, and it will be announced on The Breeze radio station. We will also endeavour to text you via parentmail, but please don’t rely on this coming through immediately.
I was talking to Coach Ian, who comes into school on Tuesdays and Thursdays to teach the older children a range of sports, about using our field for his activities. He has asked that all children in Key Stage 2 have a pair of training shoes in school so that he can teach the children on the grass. As always, please make sure the trainers, as with all the children’s belongings in school, are clearly named.
I have been fortunate to attend a couple of very useful courses this week, one of which included a presentation about the hugely positive impact gained when adults come into school to talk about their careers. Hearing about jobs in the real world can bring home to the children the value of learning in school, and can transform children’s attitudes to learning. There is an organisation called Primary Futures, which states that the aim of inviting adults into school is to help the children see a link between their learning and their futures: ‘Children who can see the relevance of what they are studying are much more likely to achieve as adults.’ If you feel you have, or have had, an interesting job, or equally know someone who has, and would be happy to share the experiences with our children (in groups of any size), please let me know.
We are always looking for more opportunities for the children to be heard read in school. If you can spare any time to come in and hear the children, ask them questions about their books and instil a love of reading, please make a note for your child’s class teacher. Please also make sure you record any reading you do with your children in their reading record or home school diary. We ask that the children, whatever their standard, are heard reading at least three times a week, and, in order to pick up on missed or wrong words, or to be really involved in the higher order reading skills of predicting, inference and deduction, it is really important that this is quality focussed one to one time. It does make a huge difference to the children’s progress.
With best wishes
James Stanford