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Ferndown Middle School Parent Weekly Newsletter w/c 18 October 2021
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English
Why does reading matter? Why can’t I skip my 20 minutes of reading tonight?
If a child reads for 1 minute a day, they will have read about 8000 words in a year.
If they read for 5 minutes a day, they will read about 282,000 words in a year.
If they read for 20 minutes a day, they will read 1,800,000 words in a year.
Reading increases a child’s ‘vocabulary hoard’.
This equips them with the language they need to express themselves clearly in any subject and throughout their life.
A copy of the Reading and Literacy Newsletter Autumn 2021 #1 is attached to the ParentMail. School News and Updates
Interim Reports
Interim reports have been sent via email this morning, if you are yet to receive yours please check your spam/ junk folder. Postal copies will be sent out early next week. If you have not received an email please contact the school on [email protected]
Virtual Tutor Consultation Evenings
A letter regarding the virtual tutor consultation evening on Tuesday 19th or Wednesday 20th October between 4.00pm and 6.00pm has been sent out via ParentMail. To book an appointment please visit: https://ferndownmiddle.schoolcloud.co.uk/
Water bottles
Children need to be reminded daily that they will need to bring enough water with them for the whole day. If their water does run out, there are facilities for them to refill their bottles outside using sinks provided. We ask that pupils do not bring in water bottles with lids that spray a mist from their drinks into their faces.
Covid-19 absence
If you are a parent or a carer, it’s important you understand when your child should not attend school to help reduce the spread of coronavirus. Please keep your child off school if they have any of the main symptoms of COVID-19:
a high temperature
a new, continuous cough
a loss or change to their sense of smell or taste
Please stay at home and get a PCR test for your child.
Ferndown Middle School Parent Weekly Newsletter w/c 18 October 2021
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Parking
We have been contacted by the staff at Enterprise House in Old School Close as they have noticed a marked increase in the number of parents using their car park either to park in whilst they pick up their children, or just to turn in. They are also using the road in Old School Close to park up on the kerbs, therefore making it difficult for residents as well as their workers to come in and out of the road/car park. It’s not a big road and is very difficult to manoeuvre around them, obviously increasing the risk of either an accident between cars, or at worst hitting a pedestrian as the vision around these cars is reduced.
We ask that parents kindly refrain from using Old School Close as a car park and also coming into and using their private car park.
We do understand that you will sometimes need to drive children to school, however, we would urge to park away from the school and then walk in, to car share, walk or cycle into school.
Head Lice
Recently, cases of head lice have been identified across the school and we wanted to make sure you were kept informed. Whilst lice are nothing more than a nuisance, it is important that children are checked on a weekly basis so that any head lice can be dealt with quickly and before they are allowed to spread. As there have been cases in school, we suggest that you check your child’s head as soon as possible. Here is some simple advice you may wish to follow to keep head lice outbreaks to a minimum.
Check your child’s hair once a week.
Use a proper detection comb – with teeth no more than 0.3mm apart to trap head lice. The comb is usually white in colour so that lice can be easily identified.
If you find live lice, consult a pharmacist to check the whole family.
Further advice on the treatment of head lice can be found on NHS website. Head lice and nits - NHS (www.nhs.uk)
Thank you for your co-operation
'Bag 2 School'
On Wednesday 20th October we will be running a 'Bag 2 School' event. The last one was back in February 2020 and was a great success!
If you have unwanted clothes or shoes (full list provided below) please pop them in a bin bag (any large bag will do!) and send them with your child to school. They will be able to leave their bags outside on the way in to school. Alternatively, please park and you can enter though the side gate and bring the bags down. A representative from Bag 2 School will come along, weigh the clothes and pay us for the goods!
We are just starting to fundraise as a school and this will be out first event so we appreciate all the support you can give.
Many thanks
Miss Hurst
Ferndown Middle School Parent Weekly Newsletter w/c 18 October 2021
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WHAT BAG 2 SCHOOL COLLECT
They accept the following ‘good quality’ items for RE-USE*:
Men’s, Ladies’ and Children’s clothing Bags Paired shoes (tied together or elastic band around)
Handbags Hats Jewellery
Scarves and ties Lingerie Belts
Socks Household linen Soft toys
Household curtains Household towels Household bedding (bed sheets, pillow cases and duvet covers)
* We reserve the right to refuse any unsuitable items
THEY DO NOT ACCEPT …
Duvets and blankets Pillows and cushions Carpets, rugs and mats (including bath, shower and toilet mats)
Soiled, painted, ripped or wet clothing School uniforms with and without logo Textile off cuts, yarns or threaded material
Corporate clothing and work wear
If in doubt, please call them on 01609 780222.
Our collection is booked for 9.00am on Wednesday 20th October, so please don't bring any items before or after this time.
Run with Joe Wicks
On Thursday 7th October, bright and early (at 7am), Mr Higgins and Mrs Barnes joined Joe Wicks (a YouTube fitness coach) for a 5K run along Bournemouth Beach, along with about 600 other people! The run went from Bournemouth Pier to Boscombe Pier and back again. The event attracted a variety of different people, including children in pyjamas!
During the 2020 lock-downs, I took part in as many ‘PE with Joe’ sessions as I could. When Joe stopped doing them, I realised that I didn’t want to lose my new-found fitness and started the Couch to 5K programme. Having completed it, it was lovely to be able to run with Joe, who inspired me in the first place!
If anyone is looking to get into running, do go along to Running Club on Wednesday lunchtimes (open to all year groups).
Mrs Barnes
Ferndown Middle School Parent Weekly Newsletter w/c 18 October 2021
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Christmas Card Design Orders
If your child completed and handed in their artwork for their Christmas card design, they will have brought home their sample card along with an order form payment envelope.
For every item purchased, the school receives commission which will be used enhancing our Art department.
If you would like to place an order, please carefully read the following instructions.
What products are available?
Cards £5 (pack of 12);
Gift Tags £2.25 (pack of 11);
Wrapping Paper £6 (6 sheets);
Mug with gift box £6;
Full colour Tea Towel £7.50
Full colour Bag for Life £8.50
How to order
All order envelopes must be returned to their tutor by 4pm on Wednesday 20th October. We will not be able to process any orders received after this deadline, so please ensure your child hands in their order envelope promptly. Late orders can be placed directly with Class Fundraising, but you will need to pay a delivery fee.
If you would like to order more than 4 of any item, please email the office and this can be arranged.
How to pay
Payment via ParentPay must be received by 4pm on Wednesday 20th October. Please ignore the comment on the payment envelope stating "return this order form back to the school with the correct payment". DO NOT SEND IN CASH.
Six different payment items have been set up in ParentPay – one per product
Each payment item is set up to allow orders for a maximum of 4 of each product
Mugs are £6 each so the payment item is set for a maximum payment of £24
Gift Tags are £2.25 per pack so the payment item is set for a maximum of £9.25
Only pay the total cost of the products you wish to order for each payment item - e.g. if you would like to order 2 x £5 Mugs and 3x £2.25 Gift Tags, please pay £10 against the Mugs payment item and £6.75 against the Gift Tags payment item.
Ferndown Middle School Parent Weekly Newsletter w/c 18 October 2021
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For the order to be processed, the order form payment envelope must be handed in to their tutor or the office and the payment made on ParentPay.
If you have any questions or queries at all, please urgently contact the office by email to [email protected]
Thank you in advance for your support of this fun fundraising initiative.
Kind regards,
Mrs Ratcliffe and the School Office Team
After School Homework Club
We are pleased to offer a free After School Homework Club for a maximum of 8 children in the school library on a Tuesday and Thursday.
Children will have the opportunity to use this time to complete their homework using the library computers and books, as well as using other resources in the library. There is an expectation that children will remain in the library for the whole hour.
Parents will be responsible for making arrangements to collect their child at 4.20 and will make sure that they are aware of these arrangements.
Please note any child displaying challenging behaviour and who may pose a risk to their own/other’s safety, may be refused a place at the After School Homework Club.
As places are limited we have set up a booking system using Eventbrite. If you would like to book a space for your child, please use the links below.
Tuesday 19th October https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/copy-of-ferndown-middle-school-after-school-homework-club-tickets-188266459047
Thursday 21st October https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/copy-of-copy-of-ferndown-middle-school-after-school-homework-club-tickets-188267923427
After School Clubs
An updated after school club list will be sent out with the bulletin next week.
Ferndown Middle School Parent Weekly Newsletter w/c 18 October 2021
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What is Squid Game?
Netflix’s Squid Game is set to become the streaming service’s most successful show of all time, with huge numbers of viewers taking to social media to discuss each new episode. The South Korean thriller features some scenes of fairly brutal violence and is rated 15 by the BBFC. It follows a group of adults who compete to win innocent-looking playground games, but who are killed if they do not succeed at the tasks.
An unexpected success in terms of viewing figures, Squid Game’s popularity is beginning to spread across various online platforms. There has been a slew of content created – ranging from memes to apps – that convey the violence of the show, so it is important for parents, carers and educators to understand the basis of Squid Game and the potential risks to young people who might be exposed to it.
What are the hazards for children?
Squid Game’s 15 rating has not prevented clips and images from the show being uploaded onto social media sites such as TikTok, with the #SquidGame hashtag being viewed more than 22.8 billion times. There have been reports of children who have accounts on these platforms inadvertently viewing gory, explicit scenes from the programme, and parents and carers should be mindful of the prevalence of these uploads.
The popularity of the programme has also led to online challenges based on various scenes, which see people taking part in seemingly innocent children’s games. On the show, however, characters are executed if they fail in the game – and videos of people pretending to kill each other after competing in Squid Game-style contests are going viral on social media, where they are easily accessible to children.
What is the Squid Game Challenge app?
Squid Game Challenge (also known as K-Game Challenge) is an app for smartphones and tablets that has been released for Android and iOs, and the two systems differ significantly on their age ratings for the game. The iTunes Store rates the app as 12+ (advising of “mild/infrequent horror/fear themes”), while the PEGI rating for Android is just 3+, which means that very young children might be able to download and play the game even with parental controls activated on their device or through Google Play. The gameplay is frequently interrupted by pop-ups and ads (sometimes appearing while the user is rapidly tapping their screen while attempting to complete the challenge). This could easily lead to unwanted purchases or accidental visits to inappropriate sites beyond the app.
What can trusted adults do?
As a parent or carer, keep a watchful eye on the content that your children are viewing. Speak to them openly and chat about how they have been spending time on their devices; let them ask questions, too. Ensure that the parental controls are activated on your child’s device and that age-restricted child profiles are properly set up any on-demand services available through the family TV (such as Netflix, in this case) to prevent inappropriate content being streamed.
If you see your child replicating the challenges from the show or hear them talking about scenes and characters from Squid Game, it would be a timely opportunity to discuss with them that the programme is not intended for children, that much of the content would be inappropriate for their age, and that the violence in the series is very realistic and often upsetting.
Ferndown Middle School Parent Weekly Newsletter w/c 18 October 2021
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Term Dates 2021 - 2022
Autumn Term Dates 2021 to 2022 *2 INSET DAYS TO BE CONFIRMED
Inset Day Thursday 2 September 2021 Bank holidays in the autumn term
Christmas Day: Monday 27 December 2021
Boxing Day: Tuesday 28 December 2021
Inset Day Friday 3 September 2021
Transfer Day Monday 6 September 2021 – YEAR 5 ONLY
Autumn term starts Tuesday 7 September 2021 – YEARS 5, 6, 7 AND 8
Autumn half term Monday 25 October 2021 to Friday 29 October 2021
Autumn term ends Friday 17 December 2021
Christmas holidays Monday 20 December 2021 to Monday 3 January 2022
Spring Term Dates 2021 to 2022
Inset Day Tuesday 4 January 2022 Bank holidays in the spring term
New Year's Day: Monday 3 January 2022
Good Friday: Friday 15 April 2022
Easter Monday: Monday 18 April 2022
Spring term starts Wednesday 5 January 2022
Spring half term Monday 21 February 2022 to Friday 25 February 2022
Spring term ends Friday 8 April 2022
Easter holidays Monday 11 April 2022 to Friday 22 April 2022
Summer Term Dates 2021 to 2022
Summer term starts Monday 25 April 2022 Bank holidays in the summer term
Early May bank holiday: Monday 2 May 2022
Spring bank holiday: Thursday 2 June 2022
Platinum Jubilee bank holiday: Friday 3 June 2022
School bank holiday: Monday 6 June 2022
Summer bank holiday: Monday 29 August 2022
Summer half term Monday 30 May 2022 to Friday 3 June 2022
School bank holiday Monday 6 June 2022
Summer term ends Friday 22 July 2022
Summer holidays Monday 25 July 2022 to Wednesday 31 August 2022
