Dear Parents

Happy New Year to you, and welcome to the new term. It hasn’t been the best of starts due to the snow, but I hope we will soon be able to get back into a proper routine and start to really make progress with teaching and learning. Here are some reminders for the term.

The children will be going swimming every Thursday afternoon from 7^th January at Hexham Swimming Pool for the whole of this term. They will be taken by coach, leaving school at 1.00pm and returning at approximately 2.40 pm. There will be 2 members of staff accompanying them – Mrs Hughes and I will alternate each week, and Miss Harrison will go every week. I would really appreciate an offer of regular help from one or more parents to get the children changed before and after lessons. If it would be more convenient for you, you could meet us at the pool rather than travel with us on the coach. The helpers would have to be CRB checked for Child Protection. If you would like to help but do not already have a CRB check in place, please let me know and we will try to arrange one in time for next term. There will be a voluntary contribution of £2 a week to cover the cost of transport and tuition.

We have re-arranged the school timetable this term so that Collective Worship is at the beginning rather than the end of the day. This means that the children will be having lessons or finishing off work when they return to school after swimming. Because of this I am requesting that parents do not collect their children from the Swimming Pool after swimming lessons, but allow them to go back to school so that they can receive their full curriculum entitlement.

It is likely that there will be further occasions when we will need to close the school because of snow. The procedure will be that I will make the decision on the morning of each day. I will then inform Mrs Bell, and she or I will telephone around all parents to tell them of the closure. We will try to let you know by 8.15 am at the latest, otherwise you can assume that school will be open. Obviously it will assist everybody if we can keep the calls as short as possible. I am sorry not to be able to let you know the day before whether or not the school will be closed, but the situation can change so much overnight that it makes it very difficult to make a decision in advance. It may be that the decision is made to open the school, but that the road conditions where you live make it too dangerous to travel, or you are not confident to make the journey. In that case you must use your own discretion in deciding whether or not to bring your children to school, and ring to inform us as in the usual case of absence.

Now that children will be taught in their own classrooms at the end of the day instead of being all together in the hall, teachers have asked that parents please wait on the playground at the end of the school day, and they will walk their children out to meet them. Children must make sure they tell their teachers that their parents or carers have arrived before they leave school. We will start operating this system as soon as the snow melts and the playground is clear at the end of the day, but in the meantime the children will leave through Class 2 as before. If parents are delayed, the children will be brought back into school to wait in their classrooms. We know that sometimes delays are unavoidable, but please can you try to be as punctual as possible out of consideration to members of staff who have to travel long distances to get home in the bad weather. If you know that you are going to be late, please can you call the office so that we know when we can expect you to arrive.

For the safety and enjoyment of all pupils I am requesting that children do not throw snowballs on the school premises. Some of the younger children find it very upsetting if they are accidentally hit by snowballs, and we have no facilities for drying clothing if pupils get really soaked through and cold.

I am also requesting that children do not bring their sledges into school to use at playtimes. In the very bad weather, we are likely to be understaffed and there are simply not enough adults to supervise children sledging safely, or to take them to hospital in the event of accidents. If parents want to bring their children to school by sledge, they may leave the sledges by the front door and take them home at home-time, but please do not allow children to use them in the playground or on the school field.

Please can you return photograph money or unwanted photographs to the School Office by Friday 22^nd January. We would be grateful if you could send all monies into school in an envelope labelled with the child’s name, the purpose and the amount of the money.

The Parish Hall trustees will be holding their usual Burns Night Celebration on Saturday 30^th January, and have asked us to let you know. The evening will start at 7.00 pm for the arrival of the Haggis at 7.30 prompt. Please ring Malcom on 673 267 for tickets.

A car key has been found in the snow outside school. Please enquire at the office if you think it might be yours.

Thank you for your patience and cooperation during the difficult weather, and we will do our best to carry on as normal.

Yours sincerely

Miss Jenny Morgan

Head teacher