OCTOBER 2021

School Tour Primary 6 and 7    We would hope that the School Tour to Edinburgh/Glasgow from 6th – 9th June 2022 will still be able to go ahead. A letter with further details will be sent out next week.

Breakfast Club     This club is once again proving to be very popular. Could I remind all parents that children should not come to the Club before 8.05 am and entrance must be no later than 8.25 am. Children will then leave the club at 8.40 am to line up. The cost is £2.00 daily and various healthy cereals and toast is on offer, together with breakfast juice or milk.

P1     Primary 1 children will be staying until 1.45 pm each day from Monday 4th October.

Dinner Money    Could I please remind all parents that dinner money is paid on a Monday morning only. Dinners are £2.60 per day.

Free School Meals    If you feel you are entitled to free school meals please contact the office urgently for a form to apply.

Labelling of Clothing    It has once again come to my attention that children do not have names on formal uniform and indeed P.E. uniform. It is very difficult for the school to trace lost property and prove ownership when labelling is not present. Could I ask that all items of clothing worn to school be labelled clearly with the child’s full name as other children can have the same initials. Also could you please check that all items belong to your child and if you find this is not the case please return them to Mrs Logan. Thank you.

Dogs in School    In line with the Education Authority Policy it is no longer permitted to have dogs in the school building or indeed in the Playground. The only exceptions are assistance dogs eg guide dogs or medical alert dogs.

Nut Free School     Please remember that we are a nut free school. Other allergies in individual classes will have been communicated by class teachers to the relevant parents. 

Car Parking Safety/Leaving/Collecting of Children    Thank you to all for operating the one-way system for leaving and collecting children. I know this will greatly improve the safety of all pedestrians. Could I also point out that congestion would also be eased in the mornings if parents settled their children in the playground and then left. This would also develop your child’s independence. It is also noticeable that some parents are bringing children in through the school car-park gate, in the interests of safety this is not permitted. I would also ask that parents do not park and block the car-park entrance for staff. Please also remember that parents should wait at the top end of the playground to collect children in the afternoon. 

P1 Intake – September 2022     During November we will be inviting those parents who have registered an interest in their child coming to Primary 1 in September 2022 to our “Open Week”. If you have a child who will be starting Primary 1 next September, please give their name to Mrs Logan as soon as possible. Thankyou. 

Appointments  I realise that hospital appointments are generally during the school day and are of a more urgent nature, however, unless it is an emergency, could appointments for Doctor’s, Dentist’s or Optician’s please be made outside of school hours, or as near the end of the school day as is possible. Thank you for your support.

Jewellery    The school operates a “No Jewellery Policy” with the exception of a watch. It is noticeable that some children are wearing earrings! This is a health and safety issue and a note from a parent indicating that they will take responsibility for the wearing of the earrings is not legally acceptable. I would ask for your support in the removal of earrings/rings etc.

Parent/Teacher Interviews    The school will be closing at 1:00 pm on Monday 18th, Tuesday 19th, Wednesday 20th, Thursday 21st and Friday 22nd October to accommodate parental interviews. An invite will be sent to you shortly.

Anti Bullying Policy    We have recently revised the School’s Anti Bullying Policy. Any parent wishing to avail of a copy should contact the School Office immediately. If you do request a copy of this document, I hope you are able to find some time to read it. If you have any comments or questions about the policy, please bring them to my attention by 31st October 2021. 

Complaints Procedure     Whilst we as a School would seldom have complaints it is hoped that any problems can be solved by informal contact between parents and the School Principal. However, it is a requirement of the Department of Education that we inform you that where a parent feels that a matter should be progressed further, then the following people should be contacted in the order shown. 1. The Principal. 2. The Chairperson of the Board of Governors. 3. The Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman (NIPSO). Should you wish to have a copy of our Parental Complaints Procedure please contact the school office.

Safeguarding/Child Protection    Any parent wishing to receive a copy of the school’s Safeguarding/Child Protection Policy please contact the school office. Just a reminder that our Designated Teacher for Child Protection is Mr Purdy and our Deputy Designated Teacher is Mrs McNair. The Designated Governor who has responsibility for safeguarding is Mrs Gibson.

PTA Events    Once again we are looking forward to working with our PTA Committee in the incoming year. Things will be different to previous years, but we are all keen to give our children enjoyable events/activities where possible.

Prize Donations for fund raising events         If you know of anyone, or indeed any company, who would like to donate prizes or offer sponsorship of events during the year, please let me know. Thank you also to all of those parents who have donated unwanted new gifts for prizes during the year. Anyone who has gifts large or small which they feel would be suitable please leave these with Mrs Logan.

Congratulations     We would like to congratulate Marshall in P3 who was the overall winner of the Mid and East Antrim in Bloom Tallest Sunflower Competition. His sunflower grew to a huge 3m 29cms!! A photo of him and his sunflower can be seen on the school website.

Sponsored Walk      This year we will be holding a Sponsored Walk, in place of our normal Sponsored Bounce, during the week beginning Monday 18th October 2021. This is our annual fund-raising event and it gives us an opportunity to raise funds for the school and for various charities. Children can be sponsored for how far they walk, with individual class teachers setting a target for their class. We hope to make this as successful as previous years so we ask that you encourage pupils to collect sponsors from known friends or relations. We do not have a licence to allow children to collect from door to door so we ask that you assist us in making sure this does not happen and this is particularly important in the current climate. Thank you for your anticipated support.

HOLIDAYS/DATES TO NOTE

OCTOBER 18th – 22nd Parent/Teacher Interviews – School will close at 1.00pm

Week beginning 18th - Sponsored Walk

22nd School will close at 1.00 pm for the Halloween holidays

25th – 29th October (inc) Halloween Holidays

DECEMBER

Wednesday 22nd December – School closes at 12.15 pm for Christmas Holidays

JANUARY Tuesday 4th – School reopens