Dear Parents

							                                                            6th September 2010

Dear Parents

It was lovely to welcome back so           All the values interlink and support
many familiar faces this morning.          one another. Each month we will be
For ninety children, and their             focusing on one of these values and
families, it will be the start of a new    sharing with you its definition.
chapter in their life as they join our
school this week.                          Septembers Value ~ Unity
                                           - Unity is togetherness.
I hope you all had a really enjoyable      - Unity is collective strength and
summer and made the most of the            harmony.
gorgeous days we did have.                 - Unity is personal commitment.

Our Values                                 Birthdays
Our school ethos and the principles        As part of our values development
which underpin our vision and aims         we     want   to    celebrate    each
are those that support your children       individual’s birthday, making their
and help them to grow and flourish.        day even more special in class and
                                           throughout the day. We will no
Last term I invited all parents,           longer be having the weekly birthday
staff, governors and children to           reflections, but having a birthday
meet with me to discuss the key            book for each class which celebrates
values for our school. The nine we         each child.     Don’t worry if your
have all agreed on, and we are aware       child’s birthday falls on a weekend
this is not an all encompassing list,      or holiday - we won’t forget! As part
are       honesty,       responsibility,   of this we would like to ask those of
cooperation,       unity,     humility,    you who do bring in sweets to please
acceptance, freedom, respect and           stop this. Please save the sweets
happiness. We appreciate these are         and treats for the parties.
not new values to the school.
However, with an increased focus on        Hot School Lunches
these values and them being brought        From September we are reintroducing
to the forefront of everyone’s mind,       beef into the school menu. If you do
                                           not wish for your child to have beef,
we know it will pull us together to be
                                           please let us know by email or in writing,
an even stronger community and put
                                           many thanks. Please visit the school
us in a greater position to be life
                                           lunch website.
long learners.                             www.myschoollunch.co.uk/surrey/
All ready for school                     Nuts
I know you will have spent the last      I would like to ask for your help in
couple of weeks getting uniform and      continuing to be nut-aware. We have
shoes preparing for your child’s         some children in school who suffer
return to school. As always, we          from severe allergic reactions to
expect the children to be outside in     nuts – and while we cannot guarantee
all weathers. This does mean that        the school to be completely free of
children need to have rain-proof         nuts and recognising that there is
clothing in school at all times ~        always risk, we can help. I would like
ideally a small Mac in their PE bag.     to ask you to be aware of what
Please label all items. To help          health bars and snacks you include in
make      reading     bags      easily   your children’s lunch boxes. We ask
identifiable, and if you wish to         that you don’t send your children to
personalise your child’s bag, please     school with any raw nuts or items
do so by sewing on something small       such as peanut butter. Thank you
or tying on a ribbon. Please do not      for your help in this matter.
attach any key rings. These have
been lost and this has led to tears.     Website
                                         Please visit our website which is
We know all children learn best          constantly being up-dated. It lets
when they feel emotionally happy         you know what is happening at school
and safe. They also need all their       and in the classroom. Remember to
physical needs to be met. Please         browse regularly. We will spend the
continue to send in fresh fruit in the   first week changing and updating
mornings and we provide fruit in the     information and photographs for the
afternoons or at home time. All          new class.
children also need a named cup,
without a lid, so they can access        Bags2school
water when they are thirsty.             Bags2school will be collecting
                                         unwanted items on Tuesday 28th
Planning, Preparation and                September 2010.        Please return
Assessment time                          items in the bag provided and return
We release teachers from their           on the above date.
classrooms for 10% of the teaching
week. The Reception teachers are         Induction meetings
released on a Wednesday and the          The Induction Meetings take place
children’s routines are unchanged.       during the week beginning the 13th
Year 1 teachers are released on          September for Years 1 and 2, and
Thursday afternoons; the children        the week beginning the 20th
have a range of activities designed      September for Reception.        This
for them which extend the                explains the year ahead with a short
curriculum. Year 2 children will be      presentation from your child’s class
having a sports afternoon on a           teacher. You will also get to see
Thursday at the Horsell Church of        your child’s classroom and ask any
England Junior School.                   questions.
New staff
As you know we are delighted to
welcome Miss Johnson, Miss Unwin,
Miss Curlis and Miss Taylor to our       September Dates 2010
team of staff. Their pictures are        6th Induction visit for reception
already on our website on the parent     children born in the Autumn or Spring
info page, under ‘meet the staff’.       months
                                         7th Induction visit for reception
We were very lucky to have such a
                                         children born in the Autumn or Spring
strong field of candidates.
                                         months
                                         8th Year R – Autumn birthdays stay until
As with all teachers new to teaching     12.00
they will have an additional half day    9th – 14th Summer birthdays induction
non contact to continue their            visits 1.45 – 2.45
learning journey.                        10th Year R – Spring birthdays stay
                                         until 12.00
Harvest Festival                         13th Induction visit for reception
We will be holding our Harvest           children born in the Summer months
                                         14th Induction visit for reception
Festival on Friday, 1st October at
                                         children born in the Summer months
9.30am in the school hall. This is for
                                         Squirrels Induction Meeting 2.30
the children only. We will be making
                                         15th Year R – children born in the
a collection of tinned and dried         Autumn and Spring can start at 10 and
food, which will be donated to the       stay all day
York Road Project ~ Centre for           Year R – children born in the Summer
the Homeless. Could you please           months start
send your contribution with your         Snowy Owls and Tawny Owls Induction
child on the day.                        Meeting 2.30
                                         16th Good as New Sale – the barn
                                         Barn Owls, Badgers and Hedgehogs
                                         Induction Meeting 2.30
                                         23rd Otters induction meeting 9.00
Warmest wishes                           PTA meeting at the HVS at 7.45pm
                                         21st Foxcubs induction meeting 9.00
   Elaine Cooper                         24th Rabbits induction meeting 9.00
                                         24th Parent tours for September 2011
                                         29th Reading meeting for reception
                                         parents 2.00
                                         30th Reading meeting for reception
                                         parents 2.00 and 7.00