Please look on our website www.kf.starmat.uk for up-to-date information.

Dear Parents and Carers,

Happy New Year! Welcome back to a new year and a new term at school.

First of all, thank you for all of the lovely gifts and cards that myself and staff received at the end of term

We started the new term thinking about the 3 wise men and the value of perseverance, one of our school values. I'm sure we have all persevered over the last two years and this term will be no different as Omicron takes hold. Thankfully at this point, the number of pupils off school remains low so let's hope it stays that way. Please let us know if anyone in your immediate household tests positive so that we can support all our children and keep everyone safe. We, in turn, continue to be guided by Public health England and their local advisors who are working with all the schools.

After school school clubs will begin again soon although we have cut down on a few for this half term as the nights are dark so quickly and the weather is not favourable at this time of year. On top of this we are cautious of mixing children too much until we know what the impact of Omicron will be.

Just a couple of notices this week:

• We still have children coming into school with no coat. The children do go outside every day to play and also sometimes to complete classwork so it is important that they are warm. This includes having warm hands and dry feet. If you are struggling to provide warm outdoor clothes, please let school know as we can often help.
• Parking - A gentle reminder again to be considerate when you park to drop off and collect the children. We receive several complaints throughout the year because people have blocked drives or parked so that others can't move their vehicles.

Have a lovely weekend,

Mrs Karen Williams

Head Teacher

This week's certificates were awarded to the following children:

Bears - Thomas D and Ziggy P

Bees - Josh A and Eva K-E

Hummingbirds - Finlay O and Alex E

Tigers - Harvey S and Lenny T

Sharks - Flynn A and Skyla S

Earthworms - Harrison P and Bradley S

Jaguars - Grace P and Niamh M

Wolves - Zak B and Finley W

Well done to the following who earned the hot chocolate award:

Bears - Austin B

Bees - Erin N

Hummingbirds - Zion P

Tigers - Coby W

Sharks - Isabella H

Earthworms - Evie W

Jaguars - Lola O

Wolves - Cora M

Futsal

KS1: Mondays 3.15-4.15pm, starting Monday 10th January

KS1: Tuesdays 8-8.45am, starting Tuesday 11th January

KS2: Thursdays 8-8.45am, starting Thursday 13th January

Capoeira

KS2: Tuesdays 3.15-4.15pm, starting Tuesday 11th January

Bees Parent's Meetings - by phone

Wednesday 12th January 9.00 - 11.15am; 3.15 - 4.50pm

Thursday 13th January 3.15 - 4.50pm

Application for Primary School Places

Deadline is 15th January 2022

Pantomime in School

Tuesday 18th January

As you will be aware, Universal Free School Meals are automatically available to all children in EYFS, Year 1 and Year 2. However, if you meet certain criteria, your child may be eligible for Free School Meals for the whole of their primary education as well as additional funding to support them with their education, called a 'Pupil Premium'. This additional funding benefits our school to support us to increase your child's attainment.

To qualify for Free School Meals and Pupil Premium funding, you must fulfil one of the following criteria:

• Universal Credit, provided you have an annual net earned income of no more than £7,400, as assessed by earnings from up to three of your most recent assessment periods (£616.67 per month);
• Income Support;
• Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance;
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance;
• Support under part six of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999;
• The guarantee element of Pension Credit;
• Child Tax Credit, provided you are also not entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual household gross income that does not exceed £16,190 (as assessed by HMRC); or
• Working Tax Credit run-on, paid for four weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit.

If your family circumstances change, you may become eligible. Please see the North Yorkshire website below for more information and to access the relevant application forms. Once your application has been processed, school will be notified automatically . If you require any support with understanding Free School Meals and Pupil Premium funding or help with your application, please call one of our admin team who will be happy to advise.

https://www.northyorks.gov.uk/free-school-meals

FAO Parents of nursery age children

(who were born between 1 September 2017 and 31 August 2018)

If you have a child who falls into the age range above they are due to start school in September 2022 and you must apply for a primary school place for them to start in Reception.

The deadline to submit your application is 15 January 2022

You must apply for a school place even if your child has an older sibling at the school you would like them to go to or they are attending a nursery attached to the school.

This information is for families living in North Yorkshire. Families living outside North Yorkshire will need to contact their home authority to obtain their information regarding school admissions.

The information you need to apply for a primary school place is available at

www.northyorks.gov.uk/school-admissions.

If anyone would like to say thank you to or has any positive comments for a member of staff then please complete and submit the form below.

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friends@kf.starmat.uk

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Registered charity no: 1154660

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The easiest ways to raise funds for us is to register with Easy Fundraising and raise money as you shop online at no cost to you and search online with Easy Search

www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/kirkfentonparochialvoluntarycontrolledprimaryschoolchurchfenton

Like us on Facebook for up-to-date information www.facebook.com/FriendsOfKirkFenton

Please click on the following link for details of our current vacancies: