School Newsletter

18th September 2020 (Whole School - 18/09/2020)

In this newsletter:

Reading – why home is so important
Homework
Coronavirus: What if my child’s class closes
Packed Lunches
Dinner Money - Pay by Bank Transfer
Extra news from our youngest classes
Year 6 Drugs & Alcohol Education reminder

Reading – why home is so important

This week I asked one of our highest achieving children “What makes you so clever?” He said… “I read more than other kids so I have more to think about”.

All children read the same amount in school so the difference for our highest achievers comes from what is expected of them at home. Does your child read every day? Do you encourage them? Do they read more than just their school reading book? Are you a good role model for reading (on a tablet, on your phone included)?

Families can find great hints and tips on how to bring reading into every day family life at:
https://www.booktrust.org.uk/books-and-reading/tips-and-advice/reading-tips/
https://literacytrust.org.uk/parents-and-families/

Homework

Children who do work at home are more likely to overachieve. This is because family and school give the same message about learning. When we tested children in years 2 to 6 this month, we found that those children who had done their school work during lockdown were still on track or over achieving with their learning. But we also found that those who did little or no work during lockdown are now well over half a year behind everyone else. The school is investing over £150,000 in extra teaching, smaller class groups and tutoring for children this year to “do our bit” for your children after lockdown. Please make sure your family is also supporting your child’s achievement by being positive about homework, setting good expectations and being supportive of their learning. Teachers are setting homework based on what they can see children need to practice to keep up after such a long time off.

Coronavirus:

What if my child’s class closes?

When we are told by a public health team to close a class, their learning will move back on to Seesaw online for two weeks. For families who struggle with Seesaw, paper work will be made available. Doing work if a class closes is not a choice for families. The register will still be taken based on who is doing the work and families who don’t do work will be contacted using the normal attendance rules. As always, not “coming to school” – even if it is online or work sent home – can result in Education Welfare Officers investigating families and fines being issued. As noted above – children who didn’t do work during lockdown are massively behind their classmates now.

Packed lunches

Please be thoughtful about what food goes into packed lunches. Our school is not as strict as many schools are about what children can and can’t eat – we just ask parents to be sensible when deciding what to feed their children. That said, lunch boxes should have food that will help children to behave well and learn in school. There’s nothing wrong with a treat (every so often!) but chocolate bars and sugar-based snack foods send children’s behaviour ‘off the scale’ as they get a massive sugar rush then a massive crash when they should be busy learning. A reminder that school meals are free for all children in Reception Class, Year 1 and Year 2 so packed lunches are not required for these classes.

Dinner Money - Pay by Bank Transfer

Please ensure that dinner money accounts are paid on time. You can pay via bank transfer, details are
Victoria Primary School
Sort code: 16-26-32
Account code: 11562456
Reference: Your child’s name

Please then also email admin@victoriaprimaryschool.org.uk with the payment details and your child’s name.

If paying by cash please bring it to the office in an envelope with the child’s name and amount.

Extra news from our youngest classes

Children in Boot and Bell classes took home their first reading book this week. These books are brand new and a collection of well-known classics and modern books. We have 50 story books to read before the end of Reception. Read all 50 and you will get a special certificate! We hope you enjoy reading them together. Please remember to read every day and write in your child’s diary.

Children in Nightingale and Seacole have made a great start at reading their new books. We have bought a whole collection of new books which match the letters and sounds they know. Please help them to read each day and write in their diary.

Darwin Class has been very busy welcoming all our new Nursery children. Thank you to all the parents who have stayed and helped them settle in so well. A few tears at this point are hard to see but are normal - and they do stop once the day gets going and once the routine becomes normal.

Year 6 Drugs & Alcohol Education reminder

A reminder for families of Year 6 children that the DARE programme starts on the 24th September. The DARE 25 Programme is a 10-week course with a graduation at the end which teaches children how to make the safe and healthy decisions which they will need as they develop into adulthood and beyond. For more information please visit www.lifeskills-education.co.uk where you will also find a link to the most recent research about the course. Please contact your child’s teacher if you have any questions, queries or need any further information.