Headteacher’s Newsletter – Friday 5th October

As we move in to October the last of the warm weather stayed with us through the week which lifted everyone’s spirits. We launched Black History month at Monday morning’s assembly and paid tribute to the pioneering men and women whose inventions make our lives easier on a daily basis. Please spend some time reading the slides on the Latest News section. Lesson observations began and maths workshops for parents continued. Pictures of the workshop can be found on the school Twitter feed, Year 6 class pages and latest news section. It was good to see a small but hardy group of Year 6 parents supporting their child’s learning. Thank you for your continued support. The new members of the Friends of Parkside met on Thursday afternoon to discuss a calendar of events which will be sent out over the next week. Their Annual General Meeting will be held on Friday 9th November at 3:30pm in the school hall. Everyone is welcome to attend and a creche will be available. Please make every effort to attend. If you feel there are ways that the school can improve in its communication please speak to Mr Soyka about any ideas you may have.

The word of the week is : INSPIRATION –  a sudden, brilliant or creative idea.

YEAR 6 MATHS WORKSHOP FOR PARENTS – It was lovely to see a small but hardy group of parents on Friday morning supporting their children’s learning. They were put through their paces by Miss James and Miss Patel and experienced how the children access the curriculum through the concrete pictorial and abstract method of teaching about decimals. Judging by the amount of talk and posts on the Twitter they were fully engaged in the learning and enjoyed the experience. Thank you for parents and carers for supporting your child’s learning.

NEW MEMBERS OF STAFF –  We welcome Mrs Conway to the staff as the new School Administrator. One of her main roles will involve her tracking absences and helping those families who struggle to arrive at school on time. She takes up her post from Monday. Mrs Lauren Burke will also join the staff as a Teaching Assistant in Year 4. Like Mrs Conway she will be a welcome addition to the staff and will support the learning in Year 4. I am sure that you will make them feel very welcome.

UNIFORM – The children continue to look smart in their uniforms and uphold the standards we expect at Parkside but there a small number of children who continue to wear trainers to school. Trainers should only be worn during PE lessons or when the children use the MUGA pitch. Wearing trainers to school sends the wrong message to those who wear the correct footwear. Please make sure that your child wears the correct items of uniform at all times. Thank you for your support with this very important issue.

PARKING – It has been brought to my attention that there are some parents who are driving without due care or attention before and after school. Drop off and collection times are very busy periods of the school day.There are many families who bring their children to school along Aycliffe and Allerton Road and park sensibly but this week I have received reports of parents / carers who have driven in a very unsafe manner. Please make sure that you consider everyone’s safety at these very busy times of the school day.

DATES FOR THE AUTUMN TERM 2018 – Please find the key dates for the rest of the term below.

DATES FOR THE AUTUMN TERM 2018

TWITTER– We currently have 24 followers on the school TWITTER feed which represents a fairly decent response to last week’s challenge! The account is updated regularly with news and events and is a good way of discovering what is happening at Parkside. The account handle is @headparkside. Don’t forget to set up your account!

COLLECTION OF CHILDREN AFTER SCHOOL – A letter was sent to all parents/carers this week regarding collection of children after school. The safeguarding of all children is of the utmost importance and is a major priority for the school. Having taken advice, no child will be released in to the care of anyone who is under the age of 16. Please make every effort to collect your child after school they very much look forward to their parent / carer collecting them after a long day. Thank you for your support with this very important issue.

PFA MEETING – There was a good response from the parent body to the invitation to meet and discuss plans for the Friends of Parkside on Thursday afternoon. We discussed the possibility of holding popcorn nights for children and parents, discos for the children every term, quiz nights, race nights, cake sales, indulgence evenings, Christmas cards and a summer fayre. It was a very positive meeting and we look forward to our AGM on Friday 9th November from 3:30pm in the school canteen. Everyone is invited and welcome to attend.

THE WEEKEND TUNE – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OO2PuGz-H8

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!