Welcome back to the new school year and welcome to our new families. The children have made a wonderful start and are looking very smart in their uniforms. Thank you for making such an effort.
Please read on because we have included a number of reminders for the new school year!
Readiness…
This is the first of our 6Rs and something we ask you to focus on with your child, talking about how they can be ready for school. Please encourage independence and involve your child in their own preparations.
- Children need to be in school every day. They should arrive on time for the school day at 8:45am (8.51am will be marked as late in the Register) and be collected promptly at 3:30pm (RG and R1S at 3.25pm). Children who arrive early must be supervised by parents/carers. Teachers have commitments before and after school so are not available to provide supervision at these times. Children should be made aware of end of school pick up arrangements before they leave for school. If there is an emergency and parents are going to be late, please contact school in advance in order to share alternative arrangements.
- Coats – It is essential that all children bring a suitable coat (named), preferably with a hood, to school every day. The children will be going out in all weathers unless it is extremely wet.
- Uniform – Children should wear a maroon sweatshirt/cardigan with the school’s logo, white polo shirt, black/grey skirt or trousers, black school shoes (NOT trainers). Each item must be named. No jewellery, except a watch and stud earrings (no hoops etc.), is allowed. Long hair should always be tied up with a simple hair band (no large bows or bands). Children must not wear make-up or nail varnish to school.
- Water Bottle – These must ONLY contain water.
- Please ensure that PE kit is named and that it stays in school every day to afford flexibility for our timetable. Earrings must be removed or taped up with tape from home for PE lessons.
- School dinners MUST be paid for in advance.
- Please read all newsletters and written communications that are sent home - you may need to encourage your child to tell you when they have letters from school. We are encouraging the children to be independent.
- Our Behaviour and School Rules poster is on the last page. Please talk to your child/ren about it and display a copy at home if you wish.
Communicating with school
Please contact the class teacher in the first instance with any questions or concerns. If your child has a medical/dental appointment, a written note should be given to your child’s teacher. Please be aware that Mrs Awkal has many administrative tasks and responsibilities and is our only member of office staff.
It is crucial that you update your contact information when something changes. We MUST be able to contact you in an emergency.
‘Meet the Teacher’ meetings
We would like to invite you to our ‘Meet the Teacher’ meetings. We hope that all Parents/Carers will attend to find out about how the children will learn, how the classroom is managed, how you can help at home and whole school expectations. Please note that a parent meeting for Reception children (including Reception children in class 1RS) will be held later in the term.
| ‘Meet the Teacher’ Meetings | ||
| 6:00pm start | 6:30pm start | |
| Monday 18 September | 4/5N Mr Smith & Miss Wardman | 3/4M Mrs McMeiken |
| Tuesday 19 September | 1RS (Yr 1 only) Mrs Shaw | 6B Mrs Newson |
| Wednesday 20 September | 3H Mrs Hermann | 5H Mrs Higgins |
| Thursday 21 September | 2O Mrs Ollier | 1/2D Mrs Daniel |
Reminders
Parking/dropping off
Parking for parents is provided in the rear school car park off Shore Road. Parking is not permitted in the school car parks on Church Road - these are for staff use ONLY – or in Southlands car park. Parents and children should use the footpaths provided around school and avoid using the car parks at the front of the school as short cuts – there have been several near misses with children running/scootering/cycling across these car parks.
In Years 1-6, the children should enter the school from the playground entrances. Please drop them at the lower car park or walk around the building into the playground. The children in Mrs Hermann’s class may enter from the playground directly, up the slope and into the classroom. This will alleviate some of the congestion that may occur at the Key Stage 2 entrance. Reception pupils and Year 1 in 1RS will enter through their classroom doors.
Please be aware that on occasions the front doors of the school may not be opened due to adverse weather conditions.
School Dinners
We encourage all children to have a school dinner. They may choose daily from a healthy hot meal menu and a salad bar. We believe that this is good value for money when compared to buying ingredients for a packed lunch. Please ensure school dinners are paid for in advance. Should your child decide to swap from school dinners to packed lunches or vice versa, please give Mrs Awkal one week’s notice in advance, so that she can alert the kitchen and arrange for meal charges to be stopped for your child. School dinners this term cost £81.70 until half term, £156.95 until the end of term or £10.75 per 5 day week. Cheques should be made payable to the IOM Government. If you have not yet paid for school dinners, please do so immediately.
Pack of Curriculum and Assessment Information
All pupils will soon be provided with a pack of information to take home. This includes details of the topics they will be studying this term, the ‘Learning at Rushen’ letter, National Curriculum Assessment information and information about the 6Rs and Learning Muscles.
Medical
Inhalers (named) must be left in school every day. Children will take these with them if they go out of school for any reason.
Asthma forms will be sent home this week with all pupils who have an inhaler in school. It is vital that this information is kept up to date and we would be grateful if you could complete and return the form to school immediately. If your child has an inhaler in school and does not give you a form, please speak to Mrs Awkal. Please ensure that any updates are communicated to school immediately.
Absence
Please let the school know about any absences due to illness by 9am on the first day of absence. It is the Department of Education and Children’s policy to closely monitor attendance.
Clubs
The following clubs will start soon with more to come. Children will be informed in assembly of new after school clubs that are starting and asked to collect a letter to bring home. Please sign and return the slip attached to the information letters. Children will be informed about lunchtime clubs.
Art Club Year 1 Mondays 3.30 – 4.30pm until half term
Badminton Club Year 6 this term Mondays 12.05 – 12.30pm
Netball Years 4, 5, 6 Mondays 3.30 – 4.30pm
Gardening Years 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 Tuesday lunchtimes
Girls Football Years 2, 3, 4, 5 Tuesdays 3.30 – 4.30pm
Choir Years 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 Wednesday lunchtimes
Cross Crountry Years 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 Thursday lunchtimes
Mobile phones are not permitted in school.
THE SCHOOL YEAR:
Autumn Term 2017
Half Term: Monday 30 October to Friday 3 November 2017
Ends: Friday 22 December 2017
Spring Term 2018
Starts: Monday 8 January 2018
Half Term: Monday 12 February to Friday 16 February 2018
Ends: Thursday 29 March 2018
Summer Term 2018
Starts: Monday 16 April 2018
Bank holiday: Monday 7 May 2018 & Monday 28 May 2018
In-service day (school closed to pupils): Friday 1 June 2018
Half Term (TT): Monday 4 June to Friday 8 June 2018
Tynwald Day: Thursday 5 July 2018
Ends: Friday 20 July 2018
Wednesday 27th September School Photograph Day Please ensure your child is smartly dressed in full school uniform. All pupils will be photographed individually and with their school age siblings during the day. If you wish your pre-schoolers and secondary school children to be photographed with their Rushen Primary School siblings, please take your children directly to the Sports Hall at 8.30am.