29^th September 2023

I have been able to see all the children engaged in their learning this week. Visiting their classes has been a real pleasure. I draw a full range of lessons - Maths, Phonics, Library, Outdoor Learning, Independent Learning and English. In all cases, it was evident how much the children are enjoying their time at school, and they have already made some good progress. 

On Wednesday, we held the first of our KS1 curriculum evenings and Mrs Howarth and I were able to share the Year 1 curriculum with the group of parents who attended. The presentation and curriculum expectations booklets are posted on the Year 1 class home pages. Next week, we are holding the Year 2 session, so please sign up as it will be very useful for parents to know what the expectations are of the Year 2 curriculum and what will be covered this year. 

Last weekend was a busy one with the Back to School BBQ, which was a great success. Thank you to the team of parents which made the event possible. On Sunday, Sandygate Sunday at All Saints was a huge Harvest celebration. Thanks also to all the families that came along to the service and the Community day afterwards.

Mrs Reynolds

Next week's 'Learning at a Glance'

Parent consultations – Whole school

Parent Consultations slots are now live on our school website. We are holding these over two evenings, Tuesday 17^th & Wednesday 18^th between 4pm-7pm.

To book, you will need to log onto our school website, then a 'Parents' Evening' button will appear at the very top left of your screen. 

Appointments are 10 minutes long, and teachers will be sharing with parents/carers how their child(ren) has settled into the new school year, where they are in relation to the expected standards for this time of year, and some next steps for their learning.

Individual photos – Whole school

Individual photos are now live! Please log in with your QR code, and you can see all your child's images online. You can then make an order and pay online. In order to qualify for free shipping, you need to have made your order by Friday 13^th October.

Sandygate Sunday

Thank you to those families who joined us on Sunday at All Saints Church for 'Sandygate Sunday'. It was a lovely service led by Revd Sarah Jones and Revd Dave Bull.

Conkers – Year 2

Conkers are needed for Year 2's in their Outdoor Learning session later in the term. Please enjoy collecting some this weekend – but don't forget to hand them to your teacher.

Coats & other outdoor clothing – Whole school

At this time of the year, the weather can be very unpredictable and can change over the course of the day.

Please ensure that your child has a coat in school every day. We try to get the children outside during playtime and lunchtime as much as we can and, with the current changeable weather, a waterproof coat is essential. 

Please remember to check that all coats are clearly named.

Curriculum Evenings – KS1

• Year 2: Wednesday 4^th October

At this session we will be outlining the curriculum and explaining how the children will be learning this year and giving you some ideas on ways to support your child's learning at home. The meeting will be in the school hall from 7pm-8.30pm.

In order that we can set up resources, we do need to know how many people will be coming, so can we ask that you register for this meeting here.

Parent/carer regular helpers – Whole school

Mums, dads, carers and grandparents are all very welcome in school as helpers. We have had family volunteers working on a variety of activities including listening to children read, mounting and displaying work and helping with sewing and craft activities – the possibilities are endless. The school operates a policy whereby parents need to attend a short training session before helping out in class. This training will be held in the school hall. We are offering two sessions, 9am-10am 11^th October or 2.30pm-3.30pm 12^th October.

If you are interested in becoming a regular helper, please click here to read the Confidentiality Policy and here to read the Child Protection Policy. Then click here to complete the form.

Harvest Festival – Whole school

• Thursday 5^th October

We still have a few tickets left for the afternoon session.

We would like to ask all parents who would like to attend this service to book a session through EventBrite here.

One Can Trust

We will be collecting items for the One Can Trust during the week of 2^nd October for our Harvest offering. There will be boxes out at drop-off and pick-up all week. Please see below their priority list of items. If every child could bring in one tin or packet then we would have 165 items to donate to One Can Trust, which would make a big impact. We will send out another reminder closer to the time.

A big thank you

We were thrilled to see so many families at school last weekend for the back-to-school barbecue. Thank you to those who came along to support the school and an even bigger thank you to those of you who gave up your time to help out; especially Sandygate parent Jimmy Goodwin, the Human Jukebox, who did an amazing job entertaining the crowd.  A huge well done to Lauren King and Jenny Sanders for organising the event and raising around £1600 for school. Also, thank you to local business Kingsmill, who supplied the burger buns.

Second Hand Uniform

We will be holding a sale on Monday at pickup. If you have any donations, please leave your clean, re-saleable uniform by the office.

Tuck shop Friday

We have some leftover goodies from the barbecue which won’t last until May Fayre! So we will be holding a tuck shop for pick-up on Friday, October 6th, everything is 50p. Come along for an after-school treat and don’t forget to please bring cash.

Sandygate Light Trail - Sunday November 12th, 4pm

Join us to celebrate the Festival of Lights. In this brand new event, children will be given a paper lantern to decorate for the Light Trail. Together with our lanterns shining, we'll take a walk (approx. 45 mins) starting and ending at school. Look out for the gardens lit up on the way. When we reach the end of our trail, warm up with a hot chocolate and enjoy the winter evening. Book a slot on Parent Pay soon. Donations are welcomed.

Coming up…

• Second hand uniform: 2^nd October, 1^st November & 1^st December
• Tuck Shop Friday: 6^th October
• Bag2School: Wednesday 11^th October by 9am
• End of term donuts: Friday 20^th October
• Brickies: Sunday 5^th November 2pm – 3:30pm
• Light Trail: Sunday 12^th November  
• Christmas disco & Santa visit: Saturday 25^th November