SANDIWAY PRIMARY SCHOOL

NEWSLETTER

NUMBER 11 / AUTUMN TERM 2014 / WEDNESDAY 26TH NOVEMBER 2014

PTA
Dont forget, this Friday is non-uniform day please send Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 children
in with some chocolates and Years 3-6 with a
bottle. These will be used in the tombolas at the
Christmas Fair.
The PTA are also requesting donations of cakes
for the cakes stall (homemade or bought) and
wrapping paper for the secret santa stall. Thank
you.
MATHEMATICS TEACHING
I have had a number of requests for us to
communicate the ways in which we teach written
calculation through the school. We have worked
hard on this as teachers and teaching assistants to
ensure that we are teaching this in a progressive
way through the school, i.e. that knowledge, skills
and understanding are built upon as children are
taught through the school.
The New National Curriculum has introduced
some changes as to what is taught in each year
group and has a higher expectation than the old
curriculum. To
support you, as
parents, when you
RECEPTION/KS1
are helping your
9th February 2015
child(ren) at home
from 7.00pm
with homework, etc,
we have put our
Calculation Policy on
the school website.
This can be found
under Our School
School Curriculum
Mathematics. Can I
stress that this is a
KS2
document that as a
school we are
2nd February 2015
constantly reviewing
from 7.00pm
and changing,
particularly as we get
more guidance from
the Government and
Ofsted about
assessment expectations and when we get more
information about the new assessments for
children from 2016. However, in the meantime, I
hope it helps!
In addition, I would like to invite you to school on
2nd and 9th February to listen to Sarah Skelley, a

mathematics consultant from First4Maths who has

been working with us for the past year. Sarah will
explain how maths is taught through the school
with lots of fun activities for you to get involved
with. The evenings have been split into Reception/
KS1 and KS2 in order to discuss specific mental
and calculation strategies for these ages of
children. You are, or course, welcome to attend
both evenings. Nearer the time, I will be asking to
see how many parents would like to attend. In the
meantime, I would be grateful if you could add
these dates to your diaries. Members of staff will
also be on hand to talk about specific strategies
they use with their classes.
It would be wonderful to have lots of parents
attending these evenings to help us ensure
consistences between home and school.
SCHOOL MEALS/SNACKS
Mrs Evans is very pleased with the uptake of
school dinners. She has cooked the menus a few
times this term and is really enjoying the variety of
food that is on offer. Her chicken tikka masala is
one of my favourites - one of the best curries I
have eaten - and I have eaten a few!
The new way that the snacks are ordered (at the
beginning of each week) is really helping to speed
up register time each morning and is maximising
the children's learning. Mrs Evans is aware when
children are absent from school and will make the
adjustments to the snack/lunch accounts
accordingly.
Mrs Evans gets the lunch mornings each week and
tries very hard to ensure that each children gets
what they ordered. On some occasions the last
few children in the line only have one choice, but
this is rare. She is trying to balance the challenge
of ensuring that all children have a choice and that
there is not too much waste at the end.
Christmas Dinner for the children is confirmed for
Thursday 11th December.
SCOOTERS/BIKES
It is wonderful to see so many scooters and bikes
being used for the journey to and from school. For
safety reasons, please ensure that children are
walking their scooters along paths and on the
playground. I continue to hear about parents and
children being bumped into. I dont want to have
any accidents when they can easily be prevented.

PLACES FOR RECEPTION 2015

Please note that the closing date for applying for a Reception place for a September 2015 start is 15th
January 2015. You need to apply for a place, even if you already have children in the school. I am
always happy to meet with prospective parents and show you around the school. Please contact the
school office if you would like to make an appointment.
PUNCTUALITY
I am noticing that there are a number of children arriving late into school in the mornings. At this stage
of the year, the children are becoming independent enough to get themselves into the classroom and
we will of course help them with this. It can be quite disruptive to classes to have this start to the day,
particularly when morning activities have been planned for the class (see below for approximate
calculations to lost school time - calculations are rounded).
If your child arrives after 9.00am, the gates will be locked and you will have to come into school through
the front door and there will be a late
mark added in the register.
As a school, the have a very good
attendance rate of over 97%, which I
would like to maintain all year.
HEAD LICE
Please continue to check your
childrens hair on a regular basis; we
have a number of children who we
have seen with head lice and/or eggs.
Please treat any lice that you find so
that they dont spread to other
children. Can I remind you that any
long hair should be tied back.
PE KITS
There have been a number of children
without PE kits recently; I would be grateful if you can make sure the children have these in school
each day. In addition, we ask that trainers are sent home when they have been used on the school field
and washed (or swapped for clean ones) so that they are then suitable for use in the school hall.
UPCOMING DATES
Sat 29th November

Y5/6 children performing in

Church for the Christmas
Market
Tues 2nd December Reception Stay and Play session
Fri 5th December
PTA Christmas Fair
Wed 10th December Reception and Year 6 visit to
Tatton Park
Year 3 Parent Lunch
Thurs 11th December Christmas Lunch
Fri 12th December
Y5/6 Children performing at
Sandiway Manor - Christmas
Songs
Mon 15th December Reception/KS1 Dress rehearsal
Tues 16th December Reception/KS1 performance at
10am and 6pm
Wed 17th December Theatre Production for the
children (in school)
Thurs 18th December Y3/Y4 leading Carol Service in
Church at 7pm
Fri 19th December
Break Up
Tues 6th January
Children return to school