SANDIWAY PRIMARY SCHOOLNEWSLETTER

BRITISH HEART FOUNDATION AND DEFIBRILLATORFurther to my recent updates, I can now confirm that we have raised a fantastic £1533.30 towards the purchasing a defibrillator for the school and supporting a very worthwhile charity. We continue to be amazed with the support that you give.

Originally, I stated that (Newsletter 16): “I am proposing using the first £600 raised to help fund the defibrillator, with the rest of the money sent to the British Heart Foundation.” We have also been supported by a business who is able to contribute towards the purchase of the defibrillator,

meaning that we are able to train the staff in its use and install the device in a central area of the school where it can be accessed by all members of the school community.

As I spoke to the children in assembly - let’s hope we are never in the position when we have to use it. We will update you further when the defibrillator has been installed - thank you again.

CAR PARKINGThe recent wet weather has highlighted again some of the safety issues around the drop off arrangements at school. We had a number of complaints from parents last week, which I have

made an attempt to follow up. These are mainly around speed of vehicles entering and leaving the car park, parking in the drop-off zone and blocking the road

trying to get into the car park.

Mrs Worrall (mum to Olivia) has kindly offered to help me in the mornings reminding parents not to park in the drop off zone and to help children cross the car park to the pedestrian gate. If any other parents are able to offer 20 minutes of their time in the mornings, I would be very grateful.

I have referred the matter to the school governors, who will monitor the situation.

The school is lucky to have the Parish Car Park as a facility, however it only benefits the school if we all work together to monitor its safety. Can I remind you that the car park next to the playing fields/village hall is also available for parking and is only a short walk to school along the pavement towards the Millennium Gate.

PARENTS’ EVENINGSWe are looking forward to meeting with you for the second time this year at the Spring Term parents’ evenings. These will be on Tuesday 24th and Wednesday 25th March from 3.30pm until 6.30pm. The school website will be available for booking your appointment times for parents’ evenings from 9.00am on Thursday 5th March. The appointment time is 10 minutes. If you wish to discuss any matters in more detail than the time allows, please make an additional appointment with the class teacher by emailing them directly. Alternatively, I will be available both evenings. There will be some books available for you to look through and refreshments will be available in the school hall.

• To book your 10 minutes appointment, go to the the school website (www.sandiway.cheshire.sch.uk).

• You will then need to log in as your child using their username and password.

• Then click the ‘Wikis’ button at the top of the page.

• Find your child’s class teacher and click ‘view’.• Click the ‘Edit this Wiki’ button. You can then

add your child’s name to the time slot that you would like. Finally, click the ‘Save this Wiki’ at the bottom of the page.

• Please note you will need to book appointments with all teachers that your children have.

• I suggest leaving at least 20 minutes between appointments to allow you time to get to the classroom and have a look through books etc.

• Please check back to the appointment table after you have clicked ‘Save’. On occasions, if two parents save at the same time, your appointment may not be saved.

Please contact class teachers if you do not have your child’s username/password. All children have now been issued with this information.

NUMBER 20 / SPRING TERM 2015 / WEDNESDAY 4TH MARCH 2015

HOLIDAYS IN TERM TIMEI would like to take this opportunity to remind you of the policy of the school for granting leave during term times - this includes the requests for holidays during the term time. In September 2013, the government passed legislation that meant that Headteacher’s are obliged to only authorise leave in

‘exceptional circumstances’; holidays are not deemed to be exceptional. If you are planning to take your child out of school during the term time, you are obliged to seek permission from school before you have made the booking. This is done by completing a form that is available from the office. I will then look at the circumstances around the request and write to you stating whether the leave can be granted as ‘authorised’ or ‘unauthorised’. If you continue to progress with absence from school that has been deemed to be

‘unauthorised’, I am obliged to contact the Local Authority who may issue you with a fixed penalty fine. This is currently £60 per child/per parent. The fine increases if it is not paid within 21 days. If the fine is not paid within an extended time, you may be taken to court and be prosecuted (fine of up to £2,500, a community order or a jail sentence up to 3 months. The court will also give a Parenting Order).

Whilst I can empathise with parents who are seeking cheaper holidays outside the designated school holidays or who are looking to enrich their children’s experiences with travel to other countries, I cannot authorise holidays in such circumstances.

Please contact me if you would like further clarification. Guidance can also be found on the school website where the policy can be downloaded or by reading information on the Government website:

https://www.gov.uk/school-attendance-absence/overview

COMIC RELIEF - FRIDAY 13TH MARCHAs we have been supporting so many charities recently, Comic Relief will be a smaller event this year. Year 4 are selling cakes at playtime for the children with their

proceeds being sent off for the charity. Cakes will be available for 50p each.

‘STAY AND PLAY’ IN RECEPTIONReception parents are welcome to ‘stay and play’ on the morning of Tuesday 31st March (9.00am-10.00am). This is a lovely opportunity to spend time with your children and engage in some Easter activities.

SCHOOL EVENTSMon 2nd March! Vale Royal Lions Easter Egg raffle starts (£1 per ticket)Wed 4th March!! Year 5 start their 2 night/3 day residential to Conway Centre, Anglesey! ! ! Inflatable planetarium visiting school for Year 1 and Year 2Thurs 5th March! World Book Day! ! ! Year 6 Parent Lunch and meeting about residential visit to London (12.30pm)Tues 10th March! PTA Meeting ay 8.00pm at Mette Millers’ house (137 Norley Road)Thurs 12th March! Full Governors Meeting (4.00-6.00pm)Fri 13th March! ! ‘Red Nose Day’ - Y4 will be selling some cakes at playtime for the childrenWed 18th March! Year 2 start their 1 night/2 day residential to Fox Howl, DelamereThurs 19th March! Year 4 Parent LunchTues 24th March! Parents’ EveningWed 25th March! Parents’ EveningMon 30th March! Meeting for Year 6 parents about residential visit to London (4.15pm)Tues 31st March! Weaverham High School Music Festival (School Choir performing)! ! ! ‘Stay and Play’ in Reception (9.00am until 10.00am).Thurs 2nd April! Easter Service in St John’s Church led by Year 5 and Year 6 (1.30pm)! ! ! PTA Easter Egg Hunt (morning in school)! ! ! BREAK UP for Easter holidays