Dear Felbridge families,
Welcome to the first newsletter of the term. It has been brilliant to see the children return full of energy and ready to learn.
On Monday, we kick-started our topics with ‘Time Travel Day’. It was great to see the children dressed in costumes from the various eras, engaging in many fun activities; it was a wonderful and creative start to the term. Thank you, as always, for your support with the amazing costumes.
We have now welcomed all of our new Reception children, over the last three days, and from Monday, the whole Gecko class will be in altogether, which is very exciting! Mrs Rufffels and Mrs Woodward have been very impressed with how the children settled so well on their first day. Thank you parents for encouraging independence, even from day one and well done for coping so well with the goodbyes – always good to have the tissues to hand!
During this week, we have launched our new school values: Respect, Collaboration, Kindness, Courage and Resilience. We have discussed the meaning of each word and how the values can be shown in class and around the school. Please ask your children about the values at home and see if they can talk to you about them. Small conversations at home, for example, about showing respect or showing resilience really support children’s behaviour and learning.
Thank you to all parents who have attended the year group curriculum meetings so far. If your child’s meeting is still to come, please do try to attend — the sessions explain what your child will be learning this term and how you can support them at home. It is also an opportunity to ask the class teacher any questions you may have.
As you are aware, Olive Dining have now taken over as our school meals’ provider. The feedback so far from the children has been very positive, with one child commenting, ‘Cor, it’s like a 5 star restaurant!’ I have sampled the food myself and I have been very impressed.
Our Breakfast Club Leader and cook, Zoe Streatfield, will be leaving Felbridge on 22nd September, after four years of dedicated service. I am grateful to Zoe for being the smiling face that greets the children who come to Breakfast Club and of course, for the delicious lunches over the years — thank you Zoe! Olive Dining will be appointing a new cook and I am delighted to say that Graham Keetley, will be taking on the role of Breakfast Club Leader, alongside his current caretaker role. I am grateful to Graham for taking up this opportunity, allowing us to keep this provision ‘in-house’, with someone the children and parents are familiar with.
Within each newsletter, we will now be sharing an e-safety update or reminder with you. E-safety issues continue to be prominent within the world we live in and we will be continuing to ensure that this area is high profile within the school. For your assurance, we have strong filtering and monitoring procedures to ensure that children can only access appropriate material. I urge you to have regular conversations with your child around these issues, in order to ensure their safety online.
Key dates for the term have been published within this newsletter and on the website (Key Dates) Please take a note of any dates that may apply to you. Throughout the year, we will aim to give you as much notice as possible, for upcoming events and meetings.
As always, please keep us informed of anything happening at home that may affect your child in school. If you have any queries or concerns related to your child’s well-being or learning, your first ‘port of call’ should be the class teacher. If you require further assistance with a particular matter, Mrs Sims (Deputy Headteacher) or I will be happy to help.
As we start a new school year, I would like to thank you all for your continued support – the positive partnership between home and school remains of paramount importance.
Have a lovely weekend
With best wishes
