Beechwood Bulletin
Friday 6th September 2013
Dear Parents and Carers
We hope you enjoyed the much-deserved summer break and were able to spend lots of time relaxing with family and friends. This new fortnightly ‘bulletin’ is intended to help us keep in touch by sharing with you what has been happening and what is coming up, as well as the usual reminders. There are many important messages so please read right through to the end!
This may have only been a short first week back, but it has been lovely to see all the children return to school looking so smart and in such a calm manner. We have also begun to welcome some of our new Foundation Stage children, and look forward to welcoming many more next week.
Miss Picot
We begin with the lovely news that Miss Picot gave birth to a very healthy baby boy – named Samuel – during the summer break. We are sure that you will join us in passing on our very best wishes to Miss Picot and her partner at this wonderful time.
Mr Davies
Further to Mr Davies’ letter sent out yesterday, we are pleased to let you know that his operation went well. He will now spend a few weeks recuperating at home. We are sure that you will join us in wishing him a very speedy recovery. Many thanks for all of your good wishes.
New Staff
We welcome a number of new teachers to Beechwood this week:
Miss Cross – Lower KS2 Team Leader
Miss Lewis – 3/4L Class Teacher
Miss Dolan – 1/2D Class Teacher
Mrs Downes – 1D Class Teacher
Miss Costello – FS2C Class Teacher
In addition, we have a multitude of new teaching assistants joining us this week. A very warm welcome to: Mrs Freeman, Miss McDonald, Mr Pownall, Mr Boseley, Mrs Soutter, Miss Randy and Mrs Castle.
We trust that you will make them all feel very welcome as part of our school community, and will obviously allow them time to settle in and become used to our routines.
Morning Routine
This is just a gentle reminder that only parents of children in Foundation Stage should be coming through the gates in the morning. We’ve allowed parents of children in Year 1 to ‘sneak’ past this week but could we please request that you now give your child a little more independence by letting them come into school by themselves from Monday. Mrs Caswell does a wonderful job on the gate each morning and will help to ensure that children make their way safely into the building.
Stranger Danger
Following reports in the media this week about the potential for children to put themselves in danger by engaging in conversations with unknown adults, please take the time this weekend to pass on the ‘stranger danger’ message to your child. This is particularly important for those children who walk home from school alone, or those who may wait near the Woodley library or precinct to be collected by car.
Water Bottles
Please ensure that your child comes to school with a filled water bottle every day. Many children returned from the summer break without one and the weather was very hot. Water is not only important during warm weather, but also helps to maintain children’s ‘brain power’ throughout the day!
Jackets
Roald Dahl Day
You should have received a letter this week detailing how we are going to celebrate Roald Dahl Day on Friday 13th September. The children will be taking part in lots of fun-filled activities based on one of his much-loved books and we can’t wait to see what amazing writing they produce!
Don’t forget to dress your child as a character from any of Roald Dahl’s books. We hope to bring you some entertaining photos in the next bulletin. As a reminder, there is no £1 ‘charge’ for this non-uniform event but we would be extremely grateful for any donations towards the purchase of new library books.
Meet the Teacher
This is advance notice that we will introduce a brand new ‘Meet the Teacher’ event in the coming weeks. This will be an opportunity to meet the teachers in your child’s team and find out what your child will be learning this year and how you can help them. More details will follow next week, but dates for your diary are:
Foundation Stage: Tuesday 17th September, 5.30pm
Key Stage 1: Tuesday 17th September, 6.30pm
Lower Key Stage 2: Wednesday 18th September, 6.00pm
Upper Key Stage 2: Wednesday 18th September, 7.00pm
We hope that you will find these very valuable so we look forward to seeing you there.
Year 5 Pendine Meeting
Just a reminder that Miss Anderson will be holding a preview meeting for this year’s Pendine residential visit next week. Parents of children in Year 5 are invited to attend the meeting at 6.00pm on Thursday 12th September in Room 11. This is a popular trip so do ensure that you come along to reserve a place for your child.
Early reminder
You will be receiving your termly curriculum booklet at the end of next week. This will include lots of important information about your child’s learning and will also be accompanied by a list of important dates for the term.
Please note these upcoming events in the meantime:
5/6L Assembly: Friday 20th September, 11.15am [please note the new time]
5/6A Cake Sale: Friday 20th September, 3.15pm
Clubs
Clubs for Years 3 to 6 will begin on Monday 16th September. Club forms will be issued next week and should be returned to Mrs Baker as quickly as possible.
Best wishes,
Rachel Minter
Acting Deputy Head
Gareth James
Acting Assistant Head Teacher